- fourteen -

Jeno started panicking from there.

What? 

The woman seemed to soften even more in her chair, if that was even possible, and started to speak again in an even softer tone.

"Jeno, we know. So if you do deny it, we still all know the truth."

Those words, even though they were meant no harm and were completely soft, they intimidated Jeno. The silent man beside her didn't help Jeno's stiffness.

He felt pressured, the tenseness filling his body, and starting a storm in his head.

Both of the boys meant something to him, whether he meant anything to them or not. Thinking like this, he remembered the rejection from Jaemin last week. The sudden heaviness made his heart hurt, and his features to turn down. But he still liked the boy, and Renjun too. 

Jeno liked taking care of the older boy, even if Jeno was younger.

He liked the feeling of calmness when he knew the boys were O.K.

His boys. 

The thought of them not being with him at this moment made Jeno's gaze to become watery.

Anything could be happening to them, he thought, very gloomy now.

The woman seemed to shift the darker shift of Jeno's emotions, seeing the turmoil in the boy's face.

"They are fine," she tried to reassure the boy, not wanting to cause a fit.

Jeno was silent, still shocked to find that his upmost kept secret was general information with the Capital. Surely they would have put him into the Outside already, but he also knew why they hadn't yet.

Jeno was a special case.

He was only half a Defect. 

His biological father had been a half Defect as well, with slightly sharper than average features that seemed almost a bit too strange. Cheek bones that seemed too high, but a kind smile and boyish laugh that could've made anyone melt then and there. It was too easy.

His biological mother was from the Outside and was also half a Defect. She was too had slightly different visuals than normal. In her case, she was almost too round. Round face, that seemed too friendly, and round cheeks that gave her the most perfect eyesmile. But she herself in size, was not round at all, just a slightly rounder than normal face, and round cheeks. She was beautiful.

They had met each other on the Border, a strong almost glass-like surface that separated the Outside from the Inside. Jeno's father had gotten too curious, living his life on the Inside, and decided to go to the Border.

And Jeno's mother, too, had become curious at the crystal-like dome sheltering people inside.

When they saw each other, it was love at first sight.

They had started to meet in person, Jeno's mother sneaking into the Inside because it wasn't as dangerous for her than his father going into the familiar Outside.

Then Jeno happened.

The Capital had rushed in when they found the couple and what they had been up to. They had dodged the system, and was living on the Inside as quiet as possible.

Jeno's dad continued to go to work, supporting his new family, while his mother hid in the shadows of his home so that the neighbors couldn't rat them out.

Jeno, since he was a small child, was supposed to be at a daycare center and by the age of three, taken from his father.

But his father didn't write down Jeno's birth record, in safe keeping if Jeno were to ever be caught.

And he had every excuse for it, because affairs between the Inside and Outside was banned, let alone having a child between the relationship.

This lasted until Jeno was about seven years old. He had made friends with the little boy next door, where the daycare was located.

Na Jaemin.

A name he would remember forever, because he was Jeno's first friend. 

And first love.

Jeno's features didn't change except slightly during puberty, but he knew that was only the half the battle.

His features became a mix of his parents, with a sharp jawline, blessed cheekbones, and one of the softest eyesmiles to exist.

Sooner or later, he knew his behavior would become in-tuned with his emotions, as did with all Defects.

No matter how much a Defect you are, the link to your emotion always remains one thing that sticks. 

No matter what you feel, it shows on your sleeve, and it causes a very physical pain when you try to hide it.

That's the main reason Jeno was scared to acknowledge the fact that he indeed is a Defect, even though half.

He looked up at the woman, sadness shown in his glassy eyes.

The woman reflected the expression, and reached out with her hand to hold his.

Like my mom used to do.

That action and thought caused Jeno to burst, tears running down his face, making him cough.

She was holding his hand still, and he allowed the comfort, he was going to need it.

"Miss, I- I'm scared," Jeno said, voice small and cracking.

She gave him a sad smile, letting his hand go.

"Of what?" her voice cooed at him, trying to calm him down.

Something is off.

He didn't know if he should say it, so he went with something else.

"I- I think I l-love them," he answered, voice just as small.

She nodded.

"Who, dear?"

She's being persistant. 

"Them."

"Who, Jeno?" the woman's voice was drifting along in Jeno's ears.

Not quite right.

He felt sleepy, the tense man staring at the boy. 

He felt like he was in a daze, not sure what to do.

The woman's soft voice was too soft, the man's gaze made him too sleepy.

He tried to get out of the sudden pull, but he decided to relax, which seemed to work, and answer the woman, who looked at him with wide eyes.

Jeno knew the whole time what they wanted, the answer they were absolutely dying for. He realized the man was tense to match his own actions, and that the man was going to manipulate him mood soon. 

Jeno knew. 

The man had been focusing, trying to become as tense as Jeno, to capture the emotion to manipulate as needed. 

Jeno remained the same the whole time, until the man's mental attack, which was why he relaxed so suddenly.

Jeno looked at the man as he deflated in his seat, experiencing the aftereffects of a failed attack.

This is what his dad warned him about.

But he looked back at the woman, who's eyes were still large in shock.

"Hello, Marie," Jeno said, able to see her name, causing her to gasp.

"My name is Lee Jeno, and I am in love with Na Jaemin and Huang Renjun," he said, extending his hand in her direction.

Still in shock, the woman took Jeno's hand which was like an intense shock to her system. 

She tried to let go, but Jeno stood firm, allowing the feeling to penetrate her body, and soon she was unconscious.

Jeno knew they had get out of there,so he quickly left the floor, tossing the metal chair out from behind him as he got up. Taking it with him, he propped it against the door handle as he trapped the people inside.

He turned down a hall, trying to figure out where the others would be.

He saw a flickering light down the hall, with steps following the shadows.

He took a stance, knowing that they were going to be Defects.

He needed to get Jaemin and Renjun.

Time to get them.