#chenle oneshot

[rrxnjun]

potential • z. chenle

pairing. zhong chenle x fem! reader genre. rich kids au, childhood friends au, friends with benefits au. angst, fluff, suggestive. word count. 20k (20.079) warnings. alcohol consumption, swearing, mentions of sexual activity, sexual innuendos, a heavy make out session or two, use of lyrics from ariana grande and sarah close and masking them as my own words a/n. why do we call it a rich kid chenle au when he's a rich kid irl. anyways for the fact that this was one of the most spontaneous fics ive ever written it sure did take a lot of time to execute. took a lot of inspo for the lifestyle from the sky castle kdrama so if its not accurate dont @ me bc ive never been rich LMAO

playlist. in my head – ariana grande ; successful – ariana grande ; nonsense – sabrina carpenter ; supermodel – måneskin ; that's what i like – bruno mars

You saw his potential without seeing credentials. And maybe that's the issue.

August 28, 2020 – somewhere in the Bali sea, 1:27 AM

The music is loud. The weather is humid.

Wrapping up the summer before your senior year, dancing around in the bar of the cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, one last stop before your 28-day cruise around Southeast Asia is over, the loud music from the bar rings in your ears as you dance around, a glass of expensive Mendis coconut Brandy swirling in your hold. The taste of the alcohol on your tongue burns, not quite used to the burning sensation in your mouth– this is one of the first times you’re drinking, since your parents were always big on prestige and acting classy. Your parents went to sleep, though– excited to explore Benoa tomorrow, to immerse themselves in nature and explore Bali’s temples and heritage. You, on the other hand, took this as an opportunity to party– accompanied by none other than your parents’ friend’s son, who grew into the position of your childhood best friend solely because his and your family have always been close, choosing to spend vacations together; a relationship that was mostly fueled by the immediate closeness of you two during the summer breaks and ski trips to Swiss Alps every January.

And while you’re no stranger to pearls, charity events in your parents’ mansion in Hong Kong, golf courses in Miami and fashion shows in Milan, growing up in the world of designer bags and prestigious titles, you feel quite stranded in the middle of the sweaty teenagers, all of them with the same social status as you, drinking expensive alcohol and swinging your hips to the EDM music playing through the speakers. It almost feels like this is the first time you’re able to enjoy yourself without anyone’s supervision, screaming at the top of your lungs into Zhong Chenle’s face as he laughs at you on the dance floor, and truth be told, you could care less about the pictures you’re going to take for your Instagram tomorrow, showing everyone just how good you’re doing and how much fun you’re having on your lengthy cruises around the continent, because somehow, even though the bar is clothed in gold and you feel a bit like in The great Gatsby, this feels like the least pressuring part of the whole trip.

“We should go to parties more often!” you scream into Chenle’s ear, taking a sip of your Brandy as you twirl yourself around him, the straps of your sparkly spaghetti-strap tiny top falling off your shoulders in a moment of carelessness, your thoughts somewhere completely else. You may be 19 years old and insanely wealthy, but that still doesn’t mean you are experienced in the art of partying– quite the opposite, actually, having to always seem cultivated and presenting yourself in a way that would suggest that your family is high on prestige and recognition– so to finally be surrounded by people your age, dancing along to the music and jumping up as you all chant the lyrics to Barbie girl by Aqua (how ironic) feels quite ecstatic.

“Like our parents would let us,” Chenle rolls his eyes, lips almost pressed against the shell of your ear as he makes sure to get close enough for you to hear him.

Sighing at his argument– knowing he’s absolutely right, but also hating the fact that he had to ruin your mood by stating it out loud– you shake your head as you down the last bits of your drink, putting the heavy glass onto the tray of a waiter that’s passing by to gather the rest of the empty ones scattered across the shiny tables in the corner of the room. Your brain is starting to get a little fuzzy and you can’t help the giggling escaping out of your throat whenever your eyes meet Chenle’s, the flush on the boy’s cheeks hinting at the fact that he’s not any better at handling his alcohol than you, having just as much experience in heavy drinking and partying as you do. 

You’re only 19 years old and you don’t know a lot about the world. After all, you were brought up in a family that always did everything for you– you never had to move a single finger. You never even had to clean your room, because your parents had people that would come by every morning while you were in school, just so you could arrive home to a tidy place when you were done with your lectures. You went to a private school, so you were always surrounded by people with a status similar to yours. You spoke about your tutoring classes that cost more than groceries for a middle-class family a week, you talked about your trips abroad, and if you had time, you even went shopping with your classmates after school before your driver picked you up and drove you back into the suburbs; your neighborhood guarded by a gate, the asphalt behind it so much smoother than it is in the rest of the town.

You never got to experience partying like this– only gaping with an open mouth when you saw those scenes in the movies you watched on Netflix in your own private movie room. And if you’re being totally honest, you never imagined enjoying such a thing. You never had the experience, so you didn’t really yearn for it, but now that you’re here, surrounded by loud music, experiencing the weird emotional feeling that comes with being in a crowd screaming in joy at the same time first-hand on your own skin, you don’t think you’ll be able to go back to how you were before.

This is not how rich kids party. At least not when their parents are around.

“You’re gonna be hungover tomorrow morning,” Chenle mutters into your ear when your eyes light up at the sight of more alcohol, contemplating on getting another drink, just because. 

“And you’re not?” you tease him, pointing to his glossy eyes and lazy walk, his legs tangling with each other every few seconds from the haze he’s been put in just by having a few drinks. The sight is quite funny– the ever-so composed millionaire son is now a troubled mess in your eyes; one wrong step and he could ruin the image his family has spent years to build up, but it doesn’t seem like either of you care, tripping over your feet and lounging at each other in the middle of the dance floor. 

Feeling like you’re playing a dangerous game, hanging off his neck and swaying your hips to the rhythmic beat, you gape into his blown-out eyes and desperately try to get your brain straight. The more you drank and the more you spent time in Chenle’s close proximity, the less you were able to control your emotions and the weird thoughts in your brain that have been slowly eating up all your notions for quite some time now. Gaping at his plump lips and feeling his palms burning at your hips, his fingers ever-so-slightly hovering above the curve of your ass, you’re finding it hard to concentrate on the music or on the words spilling off his tongue, his voice never shutting up even in the loud bar. You always told him he talks too much, but he doesn’t seem to mind– he seems to actually take much pride in his annoying tendencies, talking your ear off on multiple occasions even when you tell him he should probably stay quiet for at least a minute, so your brain could recharge.

Truth be told, you listen to him most of the time anyway. He always talks and you always listen, rolling your eyes at the snarky parts and giggling at the jokes; so the fact that you suddenly can’t focus and just desperately want him to shut the fuck up must be the effect of all the alcohol you’ve been drinking tonight. 

And your next step might as well be the main consequence of the coconut Brandy as well– because even though you’ve been dreaming of his plump lips on yours for quite some time now, you’ve never actually dared to act up on the desire. But your intention to make him go quiet seems to be working when the train of words stammering out of his mouth is cut off, a surprised noise trailing out of his throat when you kiss him on the dance floor; and to your surprise, he doesn’t seem to mind your weird sign of protest to his endless talking– quite the opposite, really, as he lets you take the lead and taste the mix of alcohol in the Long Island cocktails he’s been drinking the whole night off his tongue, your hands mindlessly trailing up to thread themselves into his hair. 

This is not your first time kissing a boy– you once pecked Song Eunseok on the lips when the two of you sneaked out of class one day in 9th grade– but you never once kissed anyone with such passion and desire before. You’re not sure where you got all the courage from and you’re also not sure where you learned all of this– but it must be working, with how heavily Chenle’s breathing when you finally let go of his lips and he rests his forehead against yours. In no time, he’s chasing you down again, drunk not only on the alcohol now as he tilts his head to get closer, one hand resting on the side of your neck, just a few inches below your jaw, keeping you in place. 

“You should learn how to shut up,” you mumble against his lips, breathing heavy as you break away from him again and open your eyes to meet your gaze with his. The music is still loud in your ears, but you swear you hear a static noise somewhere in your brain, a tingle in your fingertips making you feel like you’re about to have an out-of-body experience. Your drunken brain is not allowing you to ponder about your actions that much, not letting you think and contemplate the fact that you just made out with your childhood best friend on one of the most expensive cruise ships, drinking alcohol you weren’t supposed to spend so much money on, and maybe that’s a good thing– because there’s nothing stopping you in having the time of your life, no overthinking making you doubt your next steps and no feeling of shame or regret making the whole experience bitter as you dance pressed against your companion, letting him press short, yet daring kisses to your lips as time passes.

“I think I’m good,” he snickers, when the music suddenly cuts out, an announcer telling you that the bar closes at 2 AM and that this song is the last for the night.

Sighing in disappointment– because who even knows when the next time you’ll have this opportunity will come– you let Chenle lead you out of the bar, his hand glued around your exposed waist. Your walk is a little loop-sided and you two almost smash into the glass door (doesn’t matter that it’s automatic and it quite literally opened in front of your figures). Soon enough, you’re met with the golden interior of the cruise walls again, the design a little vintage, yet still luxurious, reminding you of the movie Titanic. Tripping over the doorsteps, hands getting caught on the red, velvety curtains hung around, you giggle at every word that comes out of Chenle’s mouth, bodies slowly, but surely getting closer and closer to your suite bedrooms. You’re quite sure your parents could hear you talking outside in the hall, but you choose to not ponder on what they would think of you if they saw you in this state too much, instead making yourself believe that they’re long asleep and won’t be woken up by your voices resonating through the quiet space. 

“So I guess this is where we say goodnight?” you mumble, hanging off Chenle’s neck. His breath smells of the vodka-tequila mix when he hovers over you, bodies off-balance pressed against the cold wall just outside of your bedroom. Flashing you a grin, face looking close to a cheshire cat, he nudges your nose with his, a quiet hum landing to your ear, not heard by anyone.

“Or we could stay up a little longer.”

Squirming under his touch, his lips softly, yet still a little uncoordinatedly landing on yours, you waste no time in unlocking the door to your room– even though you have a bit of trouble with finding the key in your small purse, even surprised you haven’t lost the bag somewhere in the middle of the night– letting your childhood friend in to your space at the suggestion, your clothed bodies falling to the soft cushions of the water bed. 

You’re only 19 and don’t know much about the world when you messily undress yourself under your friend’s eyes, blinded by the glints in his deep chocolate orbs when he looks at you from above and attacks your neck with kisses. And you usually don’t regret much, considering yourself a responsible individual, always rethinking everything and making sure it’s the right choice, but when you look back at this day now, you don’t really know if sleeping with Zhong Chenle on a cruise around Southeast Asia was the brightest idea of yours, considering the mental turmoil it’s gonna cause you on the way.

Well, at least you can say you lost your virginity somewhere in the middle of the Bali sea, and at least that’s something to boost your ego with, am I right…? 

July 12, 2007 – Tokyo DisneySea, 2:21 PM

If anyone asked you for your favorite childhood memory, you wouldn’t have a hard time picking one. Sure, one would think you have too many pleasant memories to choose from, so realistically, you should take more time to pick and weigh the value of each one, contemplating if the trip to Rome was a happier memory than the summer you spent in Los Angeles when you were 10, but you are 100%, completely in tune with the fact that if anyone ever asked you this very question, the words falling off their tongue with interest and enthusiasm, no judgment and no hidden intentions behind their question, you’d have an answer ready with a smile on your face.

You don’t hold much emotion to your past memories. You’ve been on more vacations than you can both count and remember growing up, and so even though you do think the pictures you took in Italy came out good and your skin glistens prettily in the warm sun, even though you do think you experienced a lot of fun while going to the Target for the first time with your nanny– the woman your mum hired just because your parents were too busy with their business meetings the whole time you walked the streets of Los Angeles with the new woman you were supposed to trust with your life at the ripe age of 10– you wouldn’t say any of those memories are as close to your heart as the trip you took to Japan with the Zhong family when you were 6, the summer before attending first grade.

This was the year you and Chenle watched the Pirates of the Caribbean together for the first time, and even though it wasn’t in the initial plan, you two spent hours and hours and hours  of the flight persuading your parents to take you to Tokyo Disneyland, because you heard from his cousin Yizhuo that you could meet Jack Sparrow if you went. While your plan didn’t exactly work and the two of you didn’t get to go to the large theme park– because your parents were busy, mostly traveling because of business and so they didn’t have the time to arrange it, the amount of sulking you two did when you arrived to the rented house in the expensive part of Tokyo to the teenager that was supposed to watch you two for the time being was enough for him to take you two on a short train ride to the twin of the famous theme park– the Tokyo DisneySea. 

The 15-minute train ride you three took to the theme park was your first, and also last time you ever rode such a mean of transport. All you were used to were expensive sports cars and limousines– you never imagined that people took such transport even every single day, at times. You and Chenle were so immersed in the journey that it was hard for your babysitter to get you out of the train, your small, excited bodies almost tripping over your own little feet as the raven-haired boy dragged you through the streets of Maihama station. 

You could see the towers of the park and you could smell the salt from the sea even from a distance. The whole atmosphere felt magical, giggles often erupting out of your throat as Yuta– the boy your parents hired to watch over you for the day– bought a bubble blower from one of the stands and blew out bubbles you two chased around and tried to pop before they got to the ground. There were no expensive cars in sight, no people dressed in suits and designer shoes– well, except from the two of you, but you couldn’t quite grasp the idea of how much your attire cost at that age yet– and you felt truly, insanely happy. The adults that always watched you when your parents went to business meetings were stern and serious, never letting you have much fun, but today was different, and you find yourself wondering why your parents even let you be babysat by a reckless teenager in the first place. He was 16 at the time– 10 years older than the both of you– and when you look back at the day now, you think it was the time pressure that brought your parents into hiring him. You bet they paid him a lot of money, hell, you bet they even lended him a credit card he could use to entertain you two for the whole afternoon, and even though you found him using it a few times, you didn’t think he spent just as much as all your previous babysitters did. 

Not that you knew the value of money back then, after all. Maybe the fact that you couldn’t tell how much money everything was worth back then is what truly made the whole day so carefree and happy for you.

You were children of wealthy Chinese business owners. You always had everything they saw in your eyes– you didn’t even have to say it out loud and it was held up to you on a silver platter. This day, though, you didn’t even have to use that much money– if you truly compare it to other vacations your families have been to– and you can’t help but think it’s ironic how despite this fact, this day is still your favorite childhood memory. 

The Tokyo DisneySea was catered to a more mature audience– even serving alcohol in the premises, a thing no other Disneyland does– but even though you were just 6 and couldn’t drink and there was no Jack Sparrow waiting for you in the streets of the theme park, you and Chenle had a blast. Maybe it was a good decision on Yuta’s part to take you to the DisneySea instead; it catered to your Pirates of the Caribbean needs perfectly despite it not being the initial theme. The ships and wooden coasts and harbors were enough for your imagination to create stories about pirates in your head, the three of you attending various rides and screaming at the top of your lungs together over the course of the afternoon.

“Wanna go to the Tower of Terror?” Yuta asked you, his toothy grin on full display as he dragged you two to the scary ride when you finally got to the American Waterfront. 

The teenager was wearing a black muscle top with L’arc en ciel written on it– you found out only a few years later that it was a japanese rock band– and with his long, black hair falling to his forehead, he looked just like the person that would enjoy scary rides and horror movies. You, however– you weren’t prepared to get scared by green ghosts and eerie music. Not at 6 years old anyways, although you doubt you’d do better on this day.

If there’s one thing you need to know about Zhong Chenle, it’s the fact that he’s a lover of horror. And Korean dramas. But mostly horror– a few years later, when you were both the age Nakamoto Yuta was when he brought you to the Tokyo DisneySea, your friend came to a Halloween party dressed like the clown from IT and managed to jump-scare you every moment he physically got. There was no surprise in the small boy liking the idea of attending the scary ride, and no matter how hard you tried and protested, there was no use in you saying no. Because the two of them wanted to go, and you, quoting Yuta, ‘couldn’t just stay alone outside’, so you were pretty much forced into the darkness of the Tower of Terror, your small body pressed against Chenle and Yuta’s– you refused to sit anywhere but sandwiched between the two in the middle of the cart– shutting your eyes close when the scary music started playing and you could feel the anxiety forming in the pit of your stomach.

You trembled the whole time, panic resting in your beating heart, and somewhere along the way, you found yourself clinging to Chenle’s small hand, squishing it so hard he screamed at you in the dim lightning of the ride. You didn’t let go, though– that’s what he gets for dragging you along– fracturing his bones wasn’t in your concerns, if it made you feel more secure and safe.

The fond memory of the day ends with the moment the scary ride is over and you finally get out of the darkness– with Yuta having to carry your out of terror half-paralyzed body from the cart. To this day, you still don’t have a clear outlook on why this day is your favorite childhood memory, but you think it might be the mix of Chenle’s excited laughter as he scared you every two seconds after the ride, the apologetic hug he enveloped you in after you almost burst to tears the third time, the taste of the sausage Yuta bought you two for dinner, the taxi ride to the rented house you had to take in a rush before your parents got back from their business meeting, and the melodic voice of your best friend when he sang you the opening theme to the Pirates of the Caribbean before you two fell asleep on the same bed in your hotel room.

Either way, despite the terror, you don’t think you’ve ever had this much fun ever again. 

When you peed the bed that night, your parents decided to never hire a teenager to look after the two of you again. From that moment alone, there was less horror, but also less fun.

May 5, 2019 – tennis courts in Jinqiao, Shanghai, 4:17 PM

One would think that growing up with Zhong Chenle would put him into a position of your almost-brother. And while you did agree with the statement on most days– like when he laughed so hard that snot came out of his nose and almost fell into your lunch plate when you were 15, or when he shot you with his paintball gun so hard you had a bruise on your knee for three weeks when you were 17– you think you’re starting to slowly outgrow this phase. 

Zhong Chenle is no longer a brotherly figure to you when you two pick up tennis at the ripe age of 18. 

It wasn’t either of your ideas, of course. Tennis is not a sport a teenager just suddenly picks up one day because they’re interested– at least not when you’re incredibly wealthy and can pretty much afford any other hobby in the entire world. No, it was the idea of Chenle’s mother– because, quoting, ‘the kids barely go out these days, they might as well pick up a sport!’ – and with the copycat tendencies of your dear mum, you were dragged along into it as well. And so now, during the finals season, on top of that, you two have to go play tennis on one of the private tennis courts your families rent for three hours a day every Friday afternoon instead of studying or focusing on getting your stress out of your body doing other, much more enjoyable things.

“You know, you look a little too excited for someone who hates playing tennis,” Renjun– the neighborhood kid (your parents being business partners for quite some time now made you and the short boy become friends somewhere along the way)– states, snickering as he lays on one of the benches on the side, his own tennis racket thrown carelessly on the ground as he watches the two of you running around the court, playing.

“I only do it because I’m bored,” Chenle mutters under his nose, sending the little yellow ball over the net with much force, making you run to the other side of the court. 

“And I only do it because I need to prove to him that he’s not the best at everything he tries,” you add, sending the ball back to your friend. 

“Just say you want to impress him and go,” Yizhuo– Chenle’s cousin from his mother’s side– teases you from the bench, sitting next to Renjun. Her remark doesn’t go unnoticed by you as you send the yellow ball her way after her cousin passes it towards your side of the court again, aiming precisely for her forehead but missing, earning yourself a terrified yelp out of the girl when she scootches closer to the boy next to her.

“That’s totally not what’s going on, but sure,” you roll your eyes at her when she throws the ball back, but you don’t feel interested in continuing the game anymore. Tiredly walking closer to the two sitting at the little shaded bench, wiping the sweat off your forehead, you try hard to not think of the snarky remark that was sent your way. 

Is it really that obvious? Because sure, you’ve always found Zhong Chenle to be your brother figure over the years of growing up– but there’s something about the humid air of the tennis court and his competitiveness that have you eyeing him when he takes a sip from his water bottle or when he adjusts the hairband sitting on his damp forehead. He wears shorts that reveal his calves very nicely, and when you play 2 on 2, you find yourself focusing less and less on the game– earning yourself a frustrated yell from Ning Yizhuo herself as she plays along your side– and more and more on the Gucci tennis shoes adorning his feet as you scan the boy up and down, his figure growing taller and taller each passing day captivating you in a sense you’ve never quite experienced before.

“I can’t believe my mum dragged you all into this shit,” Chenle giggles when he sits next to Renjun on the bench, following you to the shade. There’s only 20 minutes left in the time your parents rented the court for and you figure that you can spend that time recharging your energy instead of playing the boring game. 

“Not me,” Yizhuo says, “she made my mother feel bad about not signing me up for any sports. You know, your mum’s pretty persuasive, especially when it comes to looking good in front of everyone. If it wasn’t for my mum, I wouldn’t be doing this shit,” she complains, shrugging as she adjusts her ponytail that’s always sitting neatly on the crown of her head.

“I love the fact that Renjun here is the least athletic out of all of us, but he is the only one here willingly,” you snicker, earning yourself a chant of amused laughs at the spoken truth. Now, nobody forced Huang Renjun to come play tennis with you every Friday– but the fact that he doesn’t have many friends in the neighborhood was what made him come along, too bored on his own and with nothing to put his attention to. He doesn’t like playing much, but everything’s better than sitting alone at home, am I right?

The three of you gossip about everything and nothing– the new family in the neighborhood, especially, because Renjun saw their son last Sunday and found his outfit absolutely atrocious (“You’d think people with money would at least know how to dress well, but no. That’s not the case with that Wen Junhui guy.”). The time passes by quickly, and when the timer on Chenle’s phone goes off, signaling that the three mandatory hours at the tennis court are finally over, you all stand up and walk over to the gate, shoes dragging along the sandy surface of the ground with much tiredness. At least you’re getting some cardio in…

“Is your driver coming to pick you up?” Chenle asks as you pay goodbye to your friends, both of them getting into expensive cars waiting for them at the parking lot. Turning to him, you hum in agreement, suddenly shy under his gaze. It’s not even summer yet, but the May sun is already harsh on the skin, getting redness to spread along his cheeks, only further sculpting his handsome bone structure you’ve grown so familiar with over the years. 

“What about you?” 

“Told my mum I’ll walk home instead. It’s not like it’s only a 20 minute walk anyway,” he mutters, rolling his eyes at the irony of you having to drive home despite living only a few meters away from him, in the same wealthy neighborhood. You grew up together, in the same mowed lawns, in the same green labyrinths of your families’ villas, in the same high ceilings and golden accents on the interior of your houses. After watching him from the corner of your eye, you start to wonder about what changed between the two of you that made you so weak to him now, that you’re both 18. Did he change? Was it the fact that you were now both adults? You don’t think that’s the case– because even though you were 18, there were no more responsibilities waiting for you than they were the years before. 

“My driver can take you,” you say, kicking the rocks below your feet, “well, unless you want to walk home alone instead,” you add, noting his previous sentence.

You see him take a sip out of his water bottle, shrugging at your suggestion. Chenle’s not a fan of inefficiency, no matter the fact that you can afford anything you could ever want. It’s a quality of him you find quite strange some days, but you don’t ponder on it too much. 

You’ve known each other since you were in diapers. And after replaying all the memories you have with the boy in your head, you think that your 18 year old self isn’t so stupid for falling for him. See– you’ve got to know a lot of men over the course of your life. Many tried to get with you barely before you even grew into an adult, seeing the vision of money and the social status you could give them. Some, on the other hand, never gave you back the attention you were giving them. All relationships you had in your life were blinded by the imaginary price tag you always carried around with yourself, and so everything always stayed surface-level and plain. No wonder you fell for Chenle– no matter how long it took you to get to this part of your friendship– he’s the only one that ever showed you his true self, he’s the only one that ever trusted you enough to go deeper in conversations with you and treated you like a real human being. You know him well and he knows you well; he’s like a book you always find yourself rereading, excited to find that your favorite characters always stayed the same. At the end of the day, you think you were always meant to fall for Chenle.

Standing under the blazing sun, you wait for your driver to get to the tennis courts. You wait for 10 minutes, then 15– and when you get a little too overheated, Chenle offers you his water bottle and mumbles something about being on time. When the time passes 45 minutes after your driver’s supposed arrival, your friend turns to you with a glint in his eye, a grin sitting on his annoyingly handsome face.

“Wanna walk home with me instead?”

And the truth is, you don’t find yourself disagreeing. And you also don’t find yourself hating the walk up the hills of the neighborhood– no matter how tiring it was to your already exhausted limbs– and you don’t find yourself complaining about the lack of AC or the vehicle driving your ass home to your, admittedly, too big of a house. Chenle entertains you with his talks– because he always talks too much for his own good– and when you stop paying attention to him and lose track of where you’re going, he drags you back to the sidewalk by your hand and your fingers stay interlocked when he teases you about the fact that you almost got ran over by a white Cadillac. 

“Listen, there’s this song I think you’ll like,” he hums when you’re 5 minutes away from your house, pulling out his phone out of his back pocket and opening up the Spotify app. He plays you a song by Ariana Grande, singing along to the lyrics of the chorus. His voice goes thin when he tries to mimic the singer’s voice, dragging along the english sentences of ‘it feels so good to be this young and have this fun and be successful, i’m so successful!’, irony seeping from his tone. Your hands are still intertwined as he swings them back and forth and you don’t even really care about the subtle implication of the lyrics he’s singing– because it’s Chenle, and despite being just as wealthy as you, he’s no stranger to calling you a snob. 

When you’re 18 and walking back from your weekly tennis endeavors, you can’t help but feel the fluttering in your heart when your friend twirls you around in your driveway, your white tennis skirt childishly fulfilling your unsaid dreams of becoming a ballerina, before he walks to his house standing on the opposite side of the road. 

You don’t even care that your poor driver got fired by your mother right after she realized he forgot to pick you up from the tennis court as much.

October 17, 2020 – a charity evening, Shanghai, 9:11 PM

Your whole life so far has been guided in the aura of money. When you were little, you didn’t realize it as much– your young, undeveloped brain couldn’t phantom the fact that your annual trips to Italy and summer vacations at yachts and in the Paris DisneyLand weren’t a normal occurrence to everyone. You couldn’t understand the value of money, and you think that maybe, you never truly will. Because you were born fortunate, never having to worry about a single thing, always living in wealth and with gold around your neck. 

The closest you are to understanding just how much money your family truly has is at the charity evenings you are forced to attend. Walking around, mostly bored– because truly, you didn’t have much of an idea just how much money you’re sending to the unfortunate parts of Africa and what the whole thing even has to do with you, when the money wasn’t really yours in the first place– you try to at least look through the flier your family made for the event, reading through the carefully crafted sentences, feeling at least a little sorry for everyone that doesn’t get to live the way you do.

“Isn’t it funny how this is the only way our families can present themselves in a good light?” Chenle mumbles when he reads over your shoulder, a dry chuckle leaving his lips.

Turning around to look at your companion, you furrow your brows at his snarky comment. “What do you mean?”

“Well, we give to charity so people don’t hate us as much,” Chenle shrugs, taking a sip from the champagne poured in a tall glass you’re pretty sure your mother spent hours and hours picking out when renting this place, just so everything could be perfect. 

“It’s just jealousy,” you say as you walk side-by-side with the boy, the expensive fabric of his white button-down hugging his body in all the right places, leaving you light-headed when you let yourself indulge in your thoughts for too long and stare at the curves of his forearms. It’s been a few months since you slept with your childhood friend– and while you must admit that you regretted it a little when you woke up in the morning, with a hangover and sore limbs, you also didn’t regret it as much as to turn the offer down when it was next brought to you. And the next time, and the next… 

“You think?” Chenle asks, and his interest in your answer seems genuine.

“Yeah,” you nod, shrugging to yourself, “we have more money than any of them ever will, so it’s only natural for people to feel jealous and talk spiteful things about us.”

Chenle hums at your answer, licking his lips before he looks you dead in the eye, the smallest glint of irony shining from behind the dark orbs, making you shrink under his gaze. “It’s not like it’s hard work anyway,” Chenle mutters, “if it wasn’t all stolen money, at least the charity work wouldn’t feel as fake.”

You stop in your tracks at the comment, furrowing your brows. “Stolen money?”

The boy next to you snickers at your clueless eyes. It’s no wonder you never really cared about the source of your family’s wealth– you were born to it, so you never had a reason to doubt it. And truth be told, you never really complained either. You don’t think anyone in your place would, really. You just accepted it the way it is, and you never asked any questions. For all you know, your parents are hard working business owners– you bet their money is well deserved for the amount of effort they put in– so to hear that it’s stolen money, from someone who is in a similar position as you, on top of that, you can’t believe your ears.

“I mean, they’re business owners. Let’s not act like both yours and my parents don’t meddle with the taxes at least a bit, sweetheart,” he chuckles, shaking his head in disbelief, “if I were all those people outside of it, I’d hate myself too.”

His words do little to comfort you. They do quite the opposite, really, and even though Zhong Chenle has no proof to show you of the fact that your parents might have at least a bit of dirty money on their hands, you can’t say you don’t trust a word that comes out of his mouth. You start to wonder if you’re that gullible– and who is the one lying straight to your eyes now, if it’s your friend or your parents– and you start to believe that you’d trust everything Chenle tells you, because that’s just the relationship you have with him. He could do anything and you’d follow him to the end of the world. It takes years to build that bond, and so even know, although you have the urge to scream at him for talking such things about the ones that brought you to this world– this perfect, shiny world– you find yourself holding back, the bubble around you bursting in a second, although you spent 19 years of your life living in the fake glory and bejeweled experience. Opening your mouth to ask him more about the matter– to get yourself out of the confusion you’ve been put in with just a few sentences uttered out of his always too-honest mouth, you turn to the boy when a man with a camera approaches the two of you, asking to take a picture of you.

And you comply, because what else are you supposed to do? This is how you’ve been raised. You smile for the pictures, you grin when you find yourself in the magazines, you nod when people recognise your name, you greet people with a polite nod, because you never know when someone wants to make business with your parents and you wouldn’t want to ruin good opportunities for them, would you?

With Chenle’s arm around your waist, your body instinctively leaning into his touch, you smile for yet another picture for the portfolio. Sometimes you feel like a princess– with everything it takes; both the royal responsibilities and the special treatment. More often than not, you find yourself enjoying the spotlight.

“Now they have proof that we were here,” Chenle mumbles into your ear, his lips gently brushing the smooth skin, “wanna get out of here? This party doesn’t look as enjoyable as the last one we went to,” the boy references the time you spent together at the cruise ship, with both the screaming on the dancefloor, and also the aftermath in your room, making heat puddle in your cheeks as you swat his hand away before it gets too low on your back in front of everyone in the room.

“I have to give a speech, but… maybe later?” you look at him, innocently batting your eyelashes at him, when the boy shrugs and takes a step back, downing the last drops of champagne from the expensive looking glass.

“I’ll be waiting back home,” Chenle says, “I bet our parents will stay until this all ends, so we have plenty of time for ourselves when you decide you’re tired of the gala.”

He disappears out of your sight the moment after, putting the empty glass onto a tray of one of the waiters carefully walking across the room, his back escaping out the front door. If you squint hard enough through the glass, you could see him getting into one of the sports cars he got from his parents for his 18th birthday– the vehicle driving off in the hands of his driver for the night, since he just had a glass of alcohol– and leaving you alone in the world of faux and feathers, fulfilling the responsibilities given to you by your mother. And for the first time– not only because you hate giving public speeches– you so desperately want to follow him, getting out before midnight like Cinderella, never attending another one of these evenings ever again. 

You don’t, though. You’re an obedient daughter.

And when you call him up from the entryway a few minutes after midnight, his rough hands welcoming you to his bedroom by undressing the thousand-dollar Tiffany dress you wore to the event– being the aftermath of his previous words or not, you start to think how ironic it is that your attire for the evening cost more than than the monthly rent of the people you were giving to in your speech. 

After a while, your words turn bitter.

March 23, 2020 – South Cape Owners Club, Namhae-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, 1:17 PM

“Did you really have to choose the most boring thing to do for your birthday?” Chenle mutters under his nose when all of your parents stride forward to get another hole in one, beads of sweat appearing on your foreheads as you stand directly under the midday sun. 

“This wasn’t my idea, okay?” Renjun huffs, carrying his golf equipment with him, the silly-looking golf gloves tugged right off his hands when his parents are no longer in sight. “All I wanted was to visit my grandma, but they decided we needed to do something special for my birthday, and when I couldn’t tell them anything I’d like to do, they dragged everyone to play golf.”

“I was thinking more like… clubbing and then crashing at your grandma’s place overnight, but okay…” Yizhuo snickers, watching as all of your parents joyfully talk between themselves, their conversation rarely leaving business matters as they play golf with as much enthusiasm as one can have while focusing on this boring sport. You don’t really know who made this game and why they made it– you can imagine seventy thousand different ways you’d love to spend your afternoon doing instead, more than a half of them supposedly more mundane than the sport itself; but you still know you’d enjoy even sitting down and getting ice cream better than having to pretend you’re interested in, what Chenle called, rich-people-only sport. 

“Maybe I can sneak a bottle up into my room later, but I’m not promising anything,” Renjun shrugs, sighing to himself as he takes out his phone from his back pocket and shakes his head at the sight of the time appearing on his screen. You’ve been at the golf course since 10 AM, and with how interested in the game your parents seem to be, you’re not leaving any time soon either.

Not really engaged in the conversation– because Chenle once told you you complain too much (you truly thought he was the one doing so, but you believe pretty much everything that comes out of the man’s mouth, because he’s mostly right about things) and you think you’ve done your fair share of complaining on your way to the golf course in the first place– you look around, trying to find a thing that could occupy your attention instead. Finding anything fun to do while playing golf may just be the hardest thing to do, but when you notice your companion Chenle missing and his figure appears striding towards your small group in a golf cart, the vehicle going full speed (even the barely 40 km/h looks like it could kill when he seems to not give a single damn about running you over), and suddenly, your mind is occupied enough.

Screeching when the golf cart barely misses your figure, you jump to the side and watch Chenle laugh from the driver’s seat. His malicious instincts barely ever leave his body and the operation of a golf cart is seemingly bringing out the worst in him– thank god he barely drives anymore– and you can’t help but laugh at his little stunt when the cart comes to a sharp halt and he waves you three over with a motion of his hand.

“Hop on, motherfuckers, we have places to be!” he says, all of you following his footsteps and jumping into the small vehicle– you in the passenger seat, next to Chenle, and Renjun and Yizhuo taking the two seats on the back. Once you’re all in, the engine grunts with the speed Chenle’s intending to get to in the weak thing, the atmosphere shifts into one with much more fun and adrenaline– because you know you’re not supposed to ride the carts (not this fast anyway) and when your parents find out, you’re gonna get in a lot of trouble. No, you’re not going to get grounded– you’re not a kid anymore– but the silent treatment and nagging from them about being well-raised and respectable members of society is enough to leave you scared of their anger for the rest of your lives.

“Slow down, I’m gonna fall out!” you scream when Chenle takes a sharp turn, the golf cart almost toppling over on the green grass. 

“I got you, don’t worry,” he notes, one of his hands loosely falling to your thigh to keep you in place, your skin heating up even more from his touch now, enjoying the hold but also fearing the eyes of your friends from the backseat. Your earlier terror is quickly erased with another sharp turn the driver takes– having much more things to worry about now, surviving being one of them– and when he zooms past the group of middle-aged people standing a few meters ahead of you, you already know you’re in big trouble.

Now you’re gonna get scolded for abducting a golf cart. When it wasn’t even your idea in the first place.

Well, that’s something to worry about later.

Chenle drives with the cart all over the golf course, the vehicle providing you enough entertainment for the next few minutes until you get tired of the ride. Looking over at him on your side, gaping a little at the view of your childhood friend driving the cart with only one hand, the other one still securely glazing your thigh, you almost choke out with how attractive the strange sight is to your eyes. Forcing yourself to focus on the road– and thank god, because if you didn’t hold to the side of the cart now, you’d surely fall out despite Chenle’s reassuring words and his hold on your leg– when the man cuts through a small hill in the golf course, the vehicle jumping up and falling back down making you scream in terror mixed with just a bit of excitement.

“Fucking hell, at least warn us before!” Renjun screams from the back, followed by Yizhuo’s amused laughter. You can only imagine Renjun’s almost fallen out, and even though the mental image looks hilarious, you really don’t need him to get hurt today, because he wouldn’t shut up about it for the next 8 working days. And it’s his birthday, after all– you wouldn’t wanna ruin it by having too much fun.

And so, with a last giggle escaping the boy’s throat, Chenle brings the golf cart to a halt, the vehicle stopping far enough from your parents to not get scolded immediately for making so much ruckus at the golf cart, the four of you enjoying the silence, still recovering from the wild ride. Smiling fondly to yourself and gaping at the boy next to you again, you suddenly grow appreciative of him. If it wasn’t for his wild nature, you would still be sulking somewhere on the golf course, pretending to enjoy living your snobby life alongside your parents. You bet even Renjun himself will find this moment captured in his brain as a core birthday memory, and the more you stare at Chenle’s side profile, the more you want to hold his face in your hands and thank him.

“Ew,” you hear Yizhuo’s voice from behind you, bringing you out of your thoughts. Looking back to see what she’s referring to, you watch her gaze landing on Chenle’s hand playing with the flesh on your thigh, heat suddenly rising to your cheeks in being caught in the exact position you feared a little while ago. 

“What–” Chenle snaps his head back at his cousin, while you quickly shrug his palm off your skin, but it’s too late now– you’ve been caught in the act and now you can’t do anything to erase Ning Yizhuo’s memory.

“You know, I thought you two were cousins at first. Like, from your dad’s side, I mean,” Yizhuo sighs, shaking her head in disbelief at the two of you, her comment not doing much to ease the situation either. Chenle seems to be confused at her words, his face scrunching up as he glares at the girl.

“We’re not,” you note, clearing your throat and looking at her with a glare, mentally praying for her to drop the topic.

“Yeah, thank god,” Chenle adds, and you should’ve expected him to make the situation even worse– it’s Zhong Chenle, after all– but his next words shock you and leave you gasping, mentally killing him right here and in this moment, “that would make a lot of things weird.”

“Ew,” Yizhuo repeats, and suddenly, that perks up Renjun’s attention– the boy previously facing the other side of the golf course and not paying you three much care– as he looks around and watches you with confusion in his features.

“What are you talking about?”

“That they are–” the girl takes it upon herself to explain her findings, but she’s quickly cut off by a sound of a middle-aged woman screaming through the place, her small figure striding towards the golf cart.

“Zhong Chenle, what do you think you’re doing?!”

And with that scolding tone, the previous topic is dropped. Thank god.

June 12, 2020 – Zhong Chenle’s room, Shanghai, 11:21 PM

A hand stroking through his hair, smoothing back the bangs and revealing his forehead in the dim blue of the neon light in his room, you lay on your side next to your friend Chenle, a blanket carelessly thrown over your half-naked middles to shield you from the breeze. You hum a song under your breath as you play with his locks, the black disappearing between your fingers like sand, eyes carefully watching his tired expression. 

If you thought hard enough, you could see the little boy you first met at your parent’s conference room when you were 3 materialize in front of your eyes. His cheeks were chubby and he was short, waddling behind you almost a head less than your size, and his voice was thin as he asked you for your name. From that moment on, you knew you were supposed to stick together– and while your parents were the first relative to bring you two together, you didn’t mind always being glued to each other’s hips. 

When you look closer at him now, it’s hard to see that boy in him. Harder than you expected, if you’re being totally honest. Don’t get me wrong, you can still see in his features– even though his cheekbones are more prominent now and his jaw is more chiseled, lips plumper and his figure built more firmly than when he was a little boy– but there’s something about his demeanor that completely changed over time. He seems less enthusiastic, and while one would think that it’s just him growing into being a more laid-back and relaxed person– he’s not a kid anymore, after all– you think there’s something more to it, you just can’t quite put your finger to it. 

Seeing him close his eyes every once in a while, lids falling under the weight of his tiredness and the comfort your gentle strokes through his scalp give him, you feel your heart clench with all the care you’re currently putting into the boy, and all that you’ve been putting into him throughout your growing up. After so many years– after getting so close and intimate with him– you don’t think you’d be able to let the boy go, and just the sheer image of ever losing him or leaving him behind leaves you trembling with anxiety. 

And so, despite being afraid of ruining the calm atmosphere that comes after making love to him, you speak up with a weak voice, contrasting to what you’re logically supposed to feel after getting to know the news this morning– just because you have to know. 

“Lele?” you mumble, hearing him let out a hum, his voice sounding as if he’s half-asleep, but you know he’s listening to you. “What are your plans… after you graduate?” you ask. The day of graduation is coming faster and faster towards you, the years you’ve spent at high school finally fulfilled after all the effort you put in on your finals.

“Dunno,” he replies, eyes barely opened as his arm that’s been previously laid on the mattress in between your two bodies moves to your hip, fingers drumming over the soft skin, “why?”

“Just wondering…” you speak, voice barely louder than a whisper. The boy stays silent– his eyes once again closing on themselves as you continue to play with his hair. One would think he’s fallen asleep, not awake enough to have this conversation, and you would even believe the fact and let the conversation go, thinking you’d find another time to dwell on this topic, but then, as a surprise, his voice startles you from your deep thoughts when he curiously inquires you, the hand on your hip steadying.

“What about you?”

Taking a deep breath in and out, a smile battling to take over your lips, you lick your lips in the heartbeat that comes before your answer. Swallowing your nerves– because even though you should’ve told him the moment you got the news this morning, you’re somehow stressed out about the action of doing so– you open your mouth and finally break the rules to him. 

“I… I got to Yale,” you say, on your toes. The joy and relief you felt this morning when you saw the email appear on your phone screen is daring to creep into the way you speak to Chenle right now, but you’re keeping it in. Not letting yourself scream and shout the accomplishment from the rooftops, you look at the boy, not a change appearing on his face at hearing your announcement. “I got into their business program,” you add anxiously, waiting for him to say something– anything– to your news.

As your friend, he’s supposed to be happy for you, isn’t he? He’s supposed to hug you now and squeeze you and tell you how you’ve done a good job and that he’s proud of you and that he’s cheering you on in your dream. None of it comes, though, as he only hums and nods at your sentences, not even bothering to open his eyes to look at you when you oh so excitedly talk to him about your life goals. 

Something inside of you breaks just the tiniest bit, your mood falling as you anxiously chew on the inside of your cheek.

“Are you not gonna say anything?” you demand, halting your movements through his raven locks, averting your touch and looking at him curiously.

You watch him as he finally opens his eyes and looks at you with an empty look, licking his lips before humming again and asking you in a tone of voice that barely meets interest or excitement. “So you’re gonna be a businesswomen like your mum when you get your degree?” he asks, nodding to himself.

“Yeah,” you answer, clearing your throat. You’re a little confused at his weird stance towards the topic, but you battle out a tight-lipped smile. “I’m hoping for it.”

He hums again, the noise seemingly enough for him to consider it a valid conversation holder, a deadpan: “Good,” leaving his lips after a second, making you furrow your brows in confusion and utter disappointment. This is not the way you imagined the conversation to go– this is not how you wanted it to go at all.

Heaving out a sigh, you tug your arm to yourself, contemplating on speaking up– knowing you’re just gonna make everything worse if you do– but doing so anyway. “That’s all you’re gonna say?”

“I mean, what else is there to say?” 

Looking at him in disbelief, your face scrunching up in various different emotions, all mixing into one– disappointment being the dominant feel, you think, you scoff at him. This is not Zhong Chenle as you know him, and sure, he hasn’t been the most overly-excited, cheerful individual these past few months, but you still think you deserve at least a bit of praise for the achievement of getting into one of the hardest universities to get to in the world, no?

“I don’t know, you could… congratulate me, I guess…? Tell me I did a good job, I dunno… would be nice,” you mutter, snickering once more to prove your irritation with the man.

“Oh,” he says, looking genuinely surprised, taken-aback, even, “well, congrats on the legacy admission, I guess,” he says, nonchalant, as if his words aren’t a dagger to your heart each second that passes, your blood pressure rising as the reality downs on you that he’s being serious and that this is not a sick joke.

“The legacy admission?” you repeat, eyes big and shocked, your whole body moving an inch away from him on the bed without you realizing.

“Yeah,” he shrugs, not a bit caring about breaking you from the inside, the humiliation slowly creeping from the tips of your fingertips to the depths of your soul.

“So you’re saying I went through the whole admission process and put in so much effort only for you to say that I got in because of stupid legacy?” you chirp, gazing at him with sharp eyes, blood boiling from the impact of his words. “What legacy are you even talking about?”

“Don’t act like you’re not a nepo baby,” he snickers, rolling his eyes.

Gasping at his words, baffled at the unexpected reaction, you stand up on the bed and stare at him with sharp eyes. At a loss for words, you stutter a little when you speak up again and utter out the next words, hoping to hit him where it hurts. “Like you’re not?”

“Never said I’m not,” he shrugs, “don’t have a problem with admitting I am.”

“So you’re saying I only got to university because of my parents,” you get out, glossy eyes scanning his peaceful figure, “so you’re saying I’m not smart enough to get into Yale?” 

“That’s not what I said–”

“But you implied.”

“You only hear what you want to hear,” Chenle sighs, as if he was tired of your antics, which only makes you more furious at the whole interaction.

“No, Chenle–” you stutter, his name rolling off your tongue as if it was meant to stop him with hurting you even more for discrediting your efforts, yet, you can’t find any more words to say to him as you stare at this limb body laying on the soft mattress of his king sized bed, shaking your head in disbelief.

Standing up from the bed and scattering around the room for your clothes, ignoring the way putting them on in front of him makes you feel like you’ve been stripped away from all your dignity, you hurriedly come to the door of his bedroom, almost forgetting your phone that you gather on your way out from the messy desk in the right corner of the room. 

“Where are you going?” he asks monotonously, watching you move through the place.

“Home,” you bark out, running your hand through your hair as you walk back to the door, ignoring the hot tears pricking your eyes at the feeling of your whole entire world collapsing in on you when he mourns from the bed.

“Don’t be mad, it’s not like I said anything bad…”

“Goodnight,” you snap, not bothering to look back at him as you escape his house in the middle of the night, running through the street to your house much earlier than you anticipated, wiping at your cheeks with angry palms. 

This is the first time he disappointed you, and you can’t tell if that felt worse, or if it was the excitement slowly and painfully stripping off your bones, making you feel like you’re running around without your flesh, completely see-through for everyone around.

June 27, 2020 – IFC Mall, Shanghai, 4:33 PM

“Do you think this makes my ass look extra hot?” Yizhuo asks, gaze shifting from you to Chenle to Renjun, the four of you currently in one of the designer shops at the mall. Leaning on the wall, arms crossed on your chest and chewing on the inside of your cheek, you shrug, not a word escaping your mouth.

“I’m your cousin, I’m not looking at your ass like that,” Chenle mutters under his nose, sighing as he takes a seat on one of the expensive looking sofas situated in the changing room, resting his head against the neck rest and closing his eyes in what seems to be tiredness or annoyance– either of, or both mixed in, equal parts.

“Oh come on, I need to know!”

“It does look super hot, Yizhuo, now can you–”

“So you are staring at my butt!” Yizhuo excitedly yelps, pointing a sharp finger towards Renjun, a bright grin settling onto her lips when the accused boy stutters, cheeks reddening at her comment.

“You literally asked us to, for fuck’s sake!”

“You could’ve refused, just like Chenle did,” she shrugs, smiling to herself in victory. If anyone was listening to your conversation right now, they would surely have a lot of questions you wouldn’t be able to respond to. Hell, even you’re confused half of the time you hang out with Ning Yizhuo– what the hell is going on in her head?

“He’s your family, of course he refused,” Renjun mutters, shaking his head as he drags a hand through his hair in despair.

“Whatever you say, Renjunie,” she chirps, closing the curtain behind her and changing back into the pants she wore when she got to the store in one swift motion, leaving the boy puzzled with her next words as she walks up to the counter, “I’m only buying those because you think I look super hot in them, just so you know.”

Paying for her things and escaping the store, the rest of you tagging along, you notice the boy aimlessly trying to forget about the whole situation, and his prayers were listened to, after all, since Yizhuo seems to drop the topic after teasing him so much, turning to you instead. Walking alongside with you, leaving the two boys a few steps ahead, she nudges you with her elbow, raising up her brow in question.

“What’s up with you? You haven’t even tried anything on,” she notes, “and we both know you’ve been eyeing that new LV collection, so there must be something bothering you.”

Sighing, hating that the girl knows you so well– that, or you’re being awfully obvious– you roll your eyes in annoyance and try to shrug the topic off. “It’s nothing, I’m fine.”

“Well, that’s obviously a lie. Is it something with Chenle? You two are usually all over each other, so–”

“It’s not about Chenle,” you snap, cutting the poor girl off, “so drop it.”

“Did he say something stupid? I know my cousin, come on. I can slap some sense into him, sweetheart, just let me know–”

“Please let it be,” you insist, tone of voice almost a little too sharp for your own liking, but it seemingly does its job as your friend only shrugs and takes a sip out of the coffee you all bought when getting to the mall, catching up to the men a few steps in front of you, talking about basketball.

“Well, if you need to talk to anyone about it, you know where to find me,” she says, and joins the discourse with her cousin and the boy she’s been teasing for whatever reason for the last few weeks instead, leaving you to trail behind them like a lost puppy, deep in your thoughts.

It’s been a few weeks since you last talked to Chenle. He tried reaching out to you a few times, sending you texts to ask what you’re doing that day to see if you wanna hang out. It seemed that at first, he didn’t really understand that he upset you. After you continued to ignore him even on graduation day, only greeting him and sparing him a few words, he seemed to get the memo as he let you deal with your emotions by yourself instead. You were never given an apology– and truthfully, knowing Chenle, you didn’t even expect to get one in the first place. But still, it’s been bugging you and you couldn’t get his words out of your brain, because you know you can’t do anything about them– if this is the image he has of you, the opinion he created, you don’t think you can talk it out with him in the first place.

“Everything okay back there?” Chenle asks, looking behind at you. His eyes are big and honest, and you find yourself nodding to his caring question. Sparing him a word seems like too much effort right now, and so when he offers you a tight-lipped smile, you don’t have enough energy to reciprocate it.

“Princess Yizhuo here has sore feet, so we are calling it a day. You wanted anything from the mall? I can stay behind with you and go get it,” he continues, his words jabbing into you only reminding you more of the days you spent ignoring him. Realistically, he should be mad at you for it– maybe you even wanted that to happen so he would ignore you instead, giving you the silent treatment, but this is your childhood friend Zhong Chenle we’re talking about. He talks too much in situations where he should shut up instead, and that’s exactly what’s happening in this very moment as well.

“I’m good,” you note, shrugging as you throw the empty coffee cup into one of the bins on your way, your small group now escaping the mall and getting to the parking lot.

Walking towards Chenle’s Zenvo TS1 parked in the corner of the parking lot, you hear the chatter of the group resonating in your ears, not really engaging in the conversation yourself, but choosing to listen to feel included anyway. It’s not their fault that you’re not in the mood, and frankly, you’re glad they even invited you to the outing in the first place. Everything’s better than being left out in your books, even if it means forcing yourself into social interaction. 

“My driver should be here any minute,” Yizhuo smiles, waving at Renjun currently getting into his Porsche Cayenne that he got after you all arrived from his birthday trip to Korea. Watching the boy drive off– while listening to Chenle bitching about his driving (he does have a point though, the poor boy almost crashed into a pole on his way out) – you feel a nudge to your elbow, making you turn to your friend.

“Wanna get back with me, neighbor?” he asks, eyebrows raised in question. 

In any other circumstance, you wouldn’t miss a heartbeat before answering. But now, you ponder on the question for a bit– you got to the mall with Yizhuo, having hanged out with her at her place before– but now that she’s getting a drive home, there was no use in you tagging along with her, since you live quite far from her house. Getting a drive home from Chenle is the most logical solution, after all, and that’s why you find yourself nodding.

Jumping to the passenger’s seat, waving at Yizhuo still waiting for her driver to get there– it should take only about 5 more minutes, with the speed her driver can get to when called– you silently gaze out of the window on your way back, not sparing the boy next to you a glance. He seems to not mind, carefully taking turns and waiting at the stop signs and red lights on his way to your neighborhood, humming along under his breath to the songs on the radio instead to fill the silence. You spend the ride chewing on your cheek, nerves eating you up from inside just at the sheer fact of being in his close proximity again, yet still being so painfully hurt at the feelings he expressed the last time you hung out one-on-one.

His car smoothly gets to the parts of the town that feel more rich– houses growing bigger in size, the gates taller in the sky and the lawns mowed more carefully, with more fancy bushes in the yards and pure-blood dogs running around in front of the gates. After a few minutes, your neighborhood appears in front of your eyes, his car driving past your house and into the Zhong property instead, making you furrow your brows in confusion and annoyance.

“You could’ve just stopped in front of my house so I could get out, you know,” you hum, sighing when he turns the engine off. 

“I was thinking we could hang out over at ours for a sec,” he shrugs, turning his face to you with a hopeful glint in his eye, which you dismiss with an annoyed huff and a roll of your eyes, reaching towards the door handle to get out and walk over to your house instead. 

“Come on, Y/N,” he calls for you, “are you still mad?”

“No,” you snicker, shrugging as you move towards the front gates, his figure quickly catching up to you as he grabs your wrist, halting you in your movements.

“I’m sorry. Let me make it out to you?” he mumbles, looking at you with eyes big and deep like honey, and suddenly, you’re a putty under his touch– just like always, you cave in– as you sigh, following him inside. You don’t miss the victorious pep in his step as he leads you inside, his hand still in contact with your arm, only letting go when you get to his room and he leads you to sit on his bed.

“Wanna play something?” he asks, thrusting a PS5 controller into your hands, not really leaving you much room for disapproval. Grunting and rolling your eyes at him, you watch as he opens up It takes two, your characters running around the split screen trying to figure out the way around.

The silence between the two of you is cruciating, suffocating, even, as neither of you have enough courage to open up the topic again. Tugging at your bottom lip, biting off the dry skin up to the point it bleeds, you sigh and turn to the boy again, putting the controller down. “Is this your way of making it up to me?” you ask.

Cocking his head to you, he shrugs. “I mean, I had a different idea, but that’s up for a discussion…” he mutters, the suggestion of his words making you roll your eyes at him, in disbelief of the fact that he still has the audacity to tease when he knows you’re clearly upset with him.

“Okay, I’m… really sorry, okay?” he says when he registers your mood, sighing to himself and running a hand through his hair. “I kinda fucked up, and I realise that. I didn’t mean to imply that you’re stupid, or anything– come on, I always cheated off you on exams, after all– so, I just- it came off wrong, is what I’m tryna say,” he concludes, looking at you hopefully, his face seemingly in tune with the words coming out of his mouth.

Humming, you shrug, not really knowing what to say. The apology settles a little in you, noting that at least he acknowledged that he fucked up, and so you pick up the controller again and avert your gaze from him. Seeing as his character refuses to move, you look at him from the corner of your eye, raising your brows in question.

“So you forgive me?” he asks, licking his lips in nerves– the action making your eyes travel down to the plump rosiness, involuntarily following his action. His glistening mouth has your gaze wandering around his body, eyes focusing on things you’ve been purposefully ignoring the whole day– the way his forearms show off in his short-sleeved shirt, the way his hair is parted in a way that shows his forehead in the most strangely attractive ways, and also the ever-so casual demeanor of the male. Chuckling to yourself, you shrug, taunting him.

“I dunno,” you mumble, “how can you make it up to me?”

And again, Chenle gets the hint– he’s not stupid, after all. 

Slowly lounging himself towards you, making you drop the controller to his sheets, you close your eyes in expectancy of his touch, already so used to the rhythm of his lips against yours. His hand holds your jaw in place, firm kisses pressed to your yearning mouth, you try to remember the way his touch feels– just in case you have to give it up soon again– a selfish action of your body as you thread your fingers through his hair. 

Lips ghosting over yours, he snickers against them as he speaks. “You taste of blood,” he notes.

“Shut up,” you mutter, taking matters into your own hands as you lock yourself to him again, pressing shaky, hurried kisses to his lips. 

He finds a better place to attach them to, though, as he gently pushes you towards his mattress into a lying position, traveling towards your jaw and your neck. His touch never stays long enough to leave a mark– at least not in places visible for everyone to see, saving you a lot of explaining to your parents and your friends– but the kisses still leave you breathless and yearning for more, hands traveling down his back and humming in pleasure.

“Missed this,” he speaks against your skin, breathless, “so much.”

“Missed my body or me?” you ask, a hint of bitterness on your tongue.

“A bit of both,” he smirks, gently sucking on the skin of your collarbone, leaving you to squirm under the feathery touch. Hands traveling up under your shirt, his fingers trailing across your belly and the curve of your hip, you’re left shivering under the contrast of the heated atmosphere and his stone-cold hands, giggling when he presses an unusually sweet kiss to your cheek in between the more risky ones.

“And which one did you miss more?” you tease, locking eyes with him as he hovers over your body, plopped up by an arm on either side of your head.

His eyes glimmer as he stares you down, cocking his head to the side. “I miss when you didn’t talk,” he says, leaning down again and taking your breath away with a kiss, a displeased grunt meeting his lips as you disapprove of his snarky comment.

In the sheer second where you two break away for air, his hands undress your top, leaving you under him just in your underwear, a position you two have found yourselves in a number of times before. Still, it leaves you shy away under his hungry eyes, only relaxing again when his raven locks tickle the underside of your jaw, lips attaching to every inch of your now exposed body, not afraid of bruising the skin you always keep covered, out of everyone’s eyes. Sometimes, you yearn for him to plant a lovebite to your jaw, to the juncture of your shoulder and your neck, wanting to show them off to everyone and claim the boy as yours– you know you don’t have that power, though, when Zhong Chenle will never be yours and the bruises of desire are always hidden away from everyone, like a dirty little secret; much like what you two have going on in the first place anyway.

“You know,” he mutters against your skin, in between the kisses that have now grown lazier, “I was starting to get a little crazy when you ignored me. That was a first,” he says.

Snickering, hands once again finding their place in his locks, you shrug. “Was the first time you deserved it.”

“Does my opinion really matter to you that much?” he asks, chuckling as he presses another kiss to your skin, to a place a few inches below your collarbone.

“We’ve been friends forever,” you say, “‘course it does.”

“Well, then you should’ve known that as your friend,” he huffs, lips pressed against your skin, “‘m not looking down on you.”

Humming, you let him work his magic as his lazy kisses inch closer to the fabric of your bra, his other hand playing with the fabric of it, twirling the little bow in between your breasts in his fingers as he leans on one of his plopped-up hands, looking at you from the side. 

“Guess I was just more curious about what you wanted to do after school, y’know,” you say, the conversation flowing despite his hands all over you, “before you called me a nepo baby, of course.”

He chuckles at your remark, rolling his eyes at you as his finger trails up your side, your skin growing goosebumps under his touch. “Dunno yet. Why do you care?”

“Wanted to see how far we’re gonna be,” you say, the moment suddenly growing more intimate. The relationship you two have was never inclusive– you two had sex sometimes, sure, but you never once told each other this was more than that. You two were just mere fuck buddies, childhood friends that found sexual attraction in each other somewhere along the way, and while that was enough for you for a while, you found yourself growing anxious of the fact that he was never going to be fully yours. And with the growing anxiety– the smallest remainder of your worries that overtake you in the middle of the night sometimes– your throat closes up on itself when you choke out the next words. “Wanted to see how much time we have left together.”

His hand settles on your hip, his eyes bearing into yours with a newly found heaviness in them. Furrowing his brows, he licks his lips in nerves before speaking up. “Well, I’ll always be your neighbor, so you can find me when you come back. Unless we move, y’know…” he jokes, an airy laugh coming out his lungs that doesn’t meet the expected intention of easing the situation.

You chuckle– but there’s not a hint of lightheartedness in the gesture, quite the opposite, really– as you avert your gaze from him, your head lollying to the side when you try to hide your slowly, but surely growing red eyes. “That’s not what I meant.”

The hand on your hip squeezes the skin under it, his figure now fully hovering over you again, eyes desperately wanting to meet yours. A finger gently pressed to your chin makes you turn your head back forward, his worried gaze bearing into you, and for a moment, you two only stare into each other’s eyes, frozen in time. 

And again, Zhong Chenle isn’t stupid. 

But for a second, he acts like he is. 

“What are you talking about?” he chuckles. “You’re scaring me.”

And when you don’t give him an answer, but instead chew on the inside of your cheek– another place to bleed after you bite down too hard from the nerves crushing you from the inside– he seems to finally get the hint, an airy laugh full of disbelief meeting your ears. Having figured it out, still, he speaks it into existence– as if he needed a confirmation; 8 words tormentingly escaping from between his swollen lips.

“You don’t have feelings for me, do you?”

Sniffling, you shut your eyes close at the question, your silence a clear answer to your childhood friend as he peels himself off you, the feeling of cold air on your exposed skin like a painful slap to reality. You stay like that for some time, mentally counting seconds, each hammer of your heart in your chest like a threat to your existence. Finally, the silence is broken by a determined, yet a little weak sentence coming out of Chenle’s mouth.

“I think you have to leave.” 

Numb, you follow the orders.

July 25, 2020 – Ning Yizhuo’s room, Shanghai, 6:11 PM

“So I was right all along?” Yizhuo snickers, eating from the bowl of almonds she has settled in the free space between her lap and her crossed legs, staring at you with the hydrating sheet mask on her face. You heave out a sigh at her comment, rolling your eyes as you fall back into her soft mattress, shaking your head in disbelief.

“That’s all you got from this conversation?” 

“Almost,” she mumbles, but nudges you with her foot right after, “I’m joking. I was listening, I’m just… shocked that I was actually right and that you were fucking my cousin all along.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not happening anymore, so you don’t have to be disturbed,” you grunt, wondering why you actually told the girl in the first place, regretting the decision perhaps the most right now. Yes, she did bug you for the last few weeks about the reasoning behind your attitude, and the fact that you refused all the invitations to hang out with your friends in fear of seeing Chenle were starting to get a bit suspicious, so you figured you can’t hide it anymore and that Yizhuo was bound to find out either way sooner or later. And still, you think you needed a bit of girl advice too.

“‘m not disturbed,” she mumbles, voice suddenly considerate, “I just- the whole situation is all kinds of weird and fucked up right now.”

“Tell me about it,” you chuckle, the bitter taste on your tongue never leaving despite trying to drown your sorrow down in sweets. “I fucked it up, Yizhuo.”

“Now, that’s just not true,” she sighs, putting the bowl of almonds to her coffee table and laying next to you, reaching for your hand and swinging it around in failed acts of encouragement and affection. “It’s not your fault he freaked out and made it weird.”

“I made it weird!” you mourn, breaking away from her grasp and dragging your hands through your hair in frustration, the feelings bundling in your stomach making you feel like acid is just bound to shoot out of the crevices of your insides, throwing up from the stress and despair. “I’m moving across the world the next month and I won’t see any of you for a long time, since Jun is moving to Korea and you’re gonna work in your parent’s company as well as going to uni here, and instead of spending the last moments of summer break together, I fucked it up and made everything weird and awkward just because I had to fall in love with my childhood best friend. While we’d been fucking. Isn’t that fucking great?” you huff, closing your eyes shut with the tears threatening to fall down your cheeks at your own words falling from between your lips.

“We are spending time together right now, though,” Yizhuo tries to cheer you up, her pout heard in her tone.

“There are millions of different ways you’d love to spend your time with me instead of moping because of your cousin,” you note, sighing, “and I don’t even fucking know what he’s gonna do after summer break, and now, I won’t get to know.”

Yizhuo grows quiet next to you, suggesting the thickening atmosphere. Turning on your side to see your friend with her eyes glued to your figure, you chew on the inside of your cheek. She sighs, preparing herself for the mental tangent she’s gonna bring you on, and reaches over to smooth down your messy hair. 

“You know, Chenle never really liked… this life,” she says, shrugging, “he hates shopping, he hates hearing about investing, he hated traveling so much when you and your family didn’t tag along… At every family reunion, he just hid away in his room and never got out, because he found the whole situation snobby and fake and all those adjectives I’ve never really thought about calling my own relatives. He… he…” she licks her lips, trying to come up with the right words to say, “he sees the world around us with different eyes, and I don’t think he’s happy with it. So don’t- don’t be mad at him for not really… going anywhere with it, okay?” 

Furrowing your brows at her, you shake your head in confusion. This is perhaps the first time you really realized Chenle’s view on things– it’s not like you haven’t heard his annoyed rants about all the prestige and over-the-top lifestyle you all have, but that’s all you thought it was. Annoyance– because at the end of the day, your life is comfortable. You wouldn’t want it any other way. If money moves the world around, you were the one walking through every hallway, all opportunities opened up in front of your eyes; and you don’t think you’d enjoy your life more if you had a bit less money. Chenle, on the other hand, seems to be quite the opposite. His joy is not determined by money, and for the first time in your life, it seems like you’re getting what he’s been talking about your whole life, the words you heard but never truly listened to. It was right in front of you the whole time, but you never saw it, and now that your eyes have been opened, you find it hard to deal with the revelation.

“But what is he going to do?” you gurgle out, confused. 

“I don’t think he knows either,” Yizhuo shrugs, “he’s… figuring out things, I suppose.”

Chuckling, you shut your eyes in despair, thinking for a bit, but still failing to grasp the situation. “I don’t get it. He- he could have everything, but he’s just… throwing everything away? He could move across the world, he could start his own company, he could buy a house or work or study, but he just won’t,” you ramble, “I don’t get it.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying,” Yizhuo shrugs, “but he sees it a different way.”

Laying flat on your back, eyes glued to the ceiling, your friend clears her throat and awkwardly shuffles around her sheets. “And at the end of the day, even though you’ve been friends for forever, I think you’re just in love with the version of him that you’ve created in your head. The version that you’re trying, but cannot fix,” she notes, pausing for a moment before proceeding,  “the only person you can fix is yourself.”

And maybe, Yizhuo’s right. Maybe you fell in love with the Chenle in his sports car, Chenle in the golf cart with his designer clothes on, Chenle on the cruise ship sipping on expensive alcohol. Maybe you fell in love with the version that has the whole world in the palm of his hand, the version of him that goes to Yale with you and rents out a luxurious apartment in the middle of the city, kissing you behind the tall windows, watching over the busy streets– the version in your dreams, the version you wanted to achieve.

But what about the version of him that walked you to your house after tennis class? What about the version of him that cuddled you in his sheets, the version of him that fell asleep soundly when you played with his hair, cradled your fingers through his scalp? What about the version of him that scared you in the dark, because he knew you get creeped out too easily, the version of him that ate cheap sausage with you in Japan, the version of him that studied with you and brought you to your bed when you fell asleep at the table? What about the version of him that cried to Disney movies with you, the version of him that danced with you to the tunes of One Direction in your room when you were sixteen, the version of him that threw rocks on your window in the moonlight the night you turned seventeen, wanting to be the first one to wish you happy birthday before slipping inside of your room in the middle of the night, only to fall asleep seconds later, huddling your sheets?

Did you make that up? Was that not him in the first place?

And maybe, there is a discrepancy between the dream you’ve made up in your head with him, the idea of you two staying together, trying to fix the view he has on the world you two live in, but at the end of the day, none of it was a lie. 

And maybe, Yizhuo’s right; you should change the way you view things to match Chenle’s better, because at the end of the day, maybe you’re the one too blinded by the gold and silver around your neck to see the real issue here.

August 2, 2020 – Lehai Villas, Baicheng, China, 10:15 PM

When you finally see Zhong Chenle after the night he kicked you out of his bedroom, both of you are a mess. 

You’re a mess in the more subtle sense. Your dress is neat, the jewelry on your neck was carefully picked out days before, the heels enveloping your feet are one of the most comfortable ones for you to walk in, since you prepared yourself for being on your feet the whole evening. Your makeup is fixed on your face, earrings dangling off your ears and your purse matches the outfit perfectly; your hair in a fancy updo that you even drove to a hairdresser for, all so that you could look flawless for another one of your parent’s gatherings. Their business partner’s son is turning 21, and while it doesn’t look like that big of a deal, they are celebrating the fact that Mark Lee is now one of the shareholders of their company– and in your world, this is the most moving moment of the child’s life.

You’re a mess in the more subtle sense– you keep looking around, restless, not really paying attention to anything anyone is saying. Aimlessly humming and picking at the skin of your cuticles, you try hard to both catch a glance of your friend, and to also avoid him at all costs. The reality that Zhong Chenle is a mess too hits you only when you finally see him– his tie loose on his neck, a grunt escaping his throat that you can hear from all the way to where you are, his walking a little wobbly and his hair messy as he runs his hand through the sprayed-down locks, his composure disheveled and so obviously out of the place.

And you want to stay away, you really do– to let him deal with his own things by himself, to pretend you weren’t cautiously looking for him all evening– but when he picks up another glass of alcohol from one of the tables and downs it in one go, cheeks getting rosier by the minute, you wonder how far you can let him go until he gets into trouble with his parents; and suddenly, you’re on your feet, just like you expected, dragging your figure closer to the one you’ve been trying to avoid.

“Don’t you think you’ve drunk enough?” you mumble when you appear behind him, his shoulders slouching at the tone of your voice. When he looks around and catches your eyes, he snickers to himself, shrugging, before he makes a face full of disgust at your remark.

“We’re celebrating, aren’t we?” he says, “Mark Lee’s a big man now, taking all the responsibility for a company that’s so great, and he loves the job so much,” he continues, over-exaggerating every word, “and we’re here to celebrate his birthday! Have you… seen the motherfucker anywhere, by the way? Would wanna congratulate him on… the thing…” he trails off, dramatically scratching his head as he speaks the last words.

“Chenle–”

“Right! We are celebrating a guy we don’t even know, or seen the whole evening, but that’s so great, because at least we have all this alcohol–”

“Okay, you’re getting out of here,” you snap, shaking your head at his antics and digging your nails into his forearm, dragging the boy out of the crowded place before he throws a tantrum. With how his voice was getting louder and louder, a few figures turned to watch your exchange, and you can’t imagine the turmoil this will take on him once his parents find out– it’s better to get him out of there before he messes up even more badly.

His feet stumbling on the stairs outside, he mutters something under his breath as you drag his half-limp, half-stubborn body through the enormous land. The gardens are full of fairy lights and adults talking to each other in hushed whispers, laughter erupting out of their put-together figures every now and then, and you take some time before you finally manage to find a silent corner in one of the carefully mowed gardens, Chenle’s complains silencing after a while, admitting his fate.

Carelessly throwing his body towards one of the benches, the lighting dim in the corner, you watch as he takes a seat and looks at you with defeated eyes, the emptiness behind his gaze breaking you on so many levels you didn’t even think you could master; Zhong Chenle is a mess– has been a mess for a while now, and you didn’t notice– you didn’t do anything about it until now.

“What happened to you?!” you yelp out, voice betraying you somewhere towards the end of the sentence, sounding more desperate than you intended. Eyes scanning over his slouching body, you notice him playing with his fingers in his lap, an action of calming himself down that he’s picked up after you slapped his hands every time he tried to bite on his nails growing up, and you take a few steps around the place, running your fingers through your carefully styled hair. 

“Don’t scold me like my mother,” Chenle grunts, rolling his eyes at your composure.

“No, Chenle, because I don’t get it,” you shake your head, looking him dead in the sparkless eyes, “I do not get it.”

When he offers you no explanation, rather just gazing your whole body up and down, eyes half-lidded, you presume he’s a bit out of it– the alcohol truly hitting his system now, making you result in a little tangent of yourself, because you presume everything’s better than his parent’s scolding, and maybe he just needs someone to wake him back to reality. “What happened, Chenle? What the actual fuck is going on lately? You don’t speak to anyone about it, you don’t tell me, out of all people–” a snicker leaves his lips to this, making you huff in frustration, “you don’t tell anyone how you’re feeling, and it’s eating you up from the inside, and believe me when I say, Chenle, it’s pretty damn heartbreaking to watch.”

Looking at him, you’re offered nothing but silence. His cheeks are rosy and puffed up from the alcohol, his frame is small– opposed to the power stance he usually takes– and you don’t think you’re getting a conversation from him any time soon. Ready to give up, you shake your head at him and scoff. “Okay, fine. You don’t have to talk to me, since you have an issue with the fact that I care about you more than I should,” you snap, agreeing to be petty with him, if this was how he was gonna play.

“I don’t talk to any of you, because you wouldn’t understand,” he says, voice almost a bit annoyed, tongue dipped in bitterness. 

“We grew up together, Chenle. Our lives are pretty much the same, why the fuck would you think that I, out of all people, wouldn’t understand?” 

“See, that’s the thing,” Chenle catches you off guard, charming in with an argument barely before you are able to finish the sentence, “our lives are pretty much the same, yet you love it. You fucking love it, all of you do– you love waking up in your little fancy bedrooms, doing great at school because if you don’t, your parents are going to threaten you with disowning you– and what else do you have if not your parents wealth that you coincidentally, also despise at the same time? You go shopping to your favorite mall with your equally wealthy friends, because you’re not allowed to befriend people that are lower class– that would just look fucking embarrassing in front of your parents’ contacts, wouldn’t it? You go to charity events and birthday celebrations of a guy you’ve never seen in your whole life before, just because someone told you to– and don’t you dare tell them you won’t go, because how the fuck are they gonna look all pretty in front of their business partners if their only son doesn’t attend a celebration of someone inheriting a share from their parents’ company– a thing you’re supposed to do as soon as you turn 20, if you don’t attend university they picked out for you instead. You go on fancy holidays and take pictures in front of all the attractions, and it doesn’t even feel special anymore, because you do this every month– and the only time you ever felt alive was when you were drunk and making out with someone that you shouldn’t even think about in that way in the first place, because it’s your parents’ friends’ daughter, and at the end of the day, they would just love the fact that we were together, because that could strengthen the business bond they have– the only reason why they’re friends in the first place, and I’m so fed up, I hate it, I despise it–” he stops to take a breath, his eyes getting glossy,

and suddenly, you’re helpless, you’re falling apart– because the issue is so much bigger than you anticipated and you don’t know how to do anything about it.

“And I don’t fucking feel real, Y/N, I don’t, and I don’t think I ever have, because I just wake up in the mornings and then somewhere along the way, I realise I’m alive and I laugh, because how could all of this be real? How could the money be real? How could anything be real, and– and it’s so confusing, because I should be grateful, but I’m not, because I can’t even fully grasp it,” he breathes, tears now streaking down his cheeks.

It feels like the whole world stopped for a moment; it feels like you are in a movie and someone pressed pause. You stare at him, you blink, and you pray for something to send you strength to deal with this, to tell you what to do or how to comfort him– because this must have felt so alone, and you can’t stand the image of Chenle ever being lonely.

Opening your mouth and closing it, you gasp for air. No words feel suitable for this kind of conversation, and so you just chime towards him– despite all your best assumptions– and hold him. Because at the end of the day, what helps more to ground someone back to earth than human touch?

Pads of your thumbs wipe at the teardrops strolling down his cheeks, every contact with the salty liquid hurting you, cutting through your skin like razor blades– because Chenle never cries, he never feels like something is worth indulging in enough to bring him to tears– and when he catches his trembling bottom lip in his teeth, you break; pulling him towards you and threading your fingers through his hair, the action once lullying him to sleep now used like a broken mantra– please be okay, please relax, please let me hold you until you’re glued back together again.

“I dunno what to do,” he shrugs, his head resting on your stomach, voice burrowing itself into the fabric of your expensive dress, “dunno where to go. ‘Cause Jun’s leaving, and Yizhuo’s gonna be busy with everything, and– and you’re moving across the fucking ocean, and I’m just– I turned everything down, because–” he says, voice breaking, and you shush him with a pat on his back, touch growing more affectionate.

“It’s okay,” you hum, “I got you,” you say; words he once told you at the golf cart, looking after you, or in the hotel room back in Japan when you were 6 and falling asleep, still scared of ghosts appearing in your bedroom– and you believed them, you always did, because Chenle was always there when you needed him– so you only pray he finds comfort in the sincere phrases, because what more is there to offer him?

His breathing grows steadier as you continue to play with his messy hair, his hands gently allowing themselves to wrap around your thighs, your standing figure shelved between his legs, and he laughs to himself, the whole situation kind of ironic to him now. “I don’t even know why I’m crying. ‘m kinda numb, you know, so it doesn’t even really hurt in the first place,” he says, and you wish you found the same humor in it than he did– or at least the bitter sense of soothing yourself with irony– but you can’t. Looking down at his body, latched to you like a lifeline, you wonder how you could ever leave him there alone, to deal with the burden by himself. How could you ever move so far away from him?

“My parents wanted me to go with you,” he starts, the sentence sparking up something inside of you, but he doesn’t pull away and meet your eyes when he continues, foreshadowing a sad ending to your hope, “they said I should study business at Yale as well, that it’s a great opportunity.”

You don’t reply to him, choosing not to push him. After a sigh, he continues. “And I didn’t get in, because, naturally, I was too stupid for it in the first place– no, I was–” he says when you gently slap the back of his head at the comment, “but then they paid the dean and suddenly I was allowed to go. Can you believe that?” he snickers bitterly, shaking his head in disbelief. “Bad mouthed you for a thing I despised in myself, when you were the one that got in fair and square in the first place.”

“‘s okay,” you mumble, compassion dripping off your words.

“And I turned it down, ‘cause I hated the fact that they did that. I was okay with studying the fucking business program, even though I despised it, I was okay with moving across the world, because at least you’d be there, y’know, but I couldn’t bear the fact that they did that to get me in. I think I was too ashamed, too embarrassed, because they had to pay for me to get there, but– I don’t know…” he trails off, and you sigh, shaking your head in disbelief.

“It’s okay to take opportunities that are presented to you, Lele,” you mumble, “I know you hate it, but you can’t change who you’re born to. The best you could do is to not waste all of this,” you say, trying to find a source of light in the deep abyss of his thoughts.

You try hard to solve the problem– to offer him a solution that could work, that could let him forget about the pain for at least a second– to wake him up from whatever deep thinking that got him into this mess. You try hard to solve the problem– but you don’t know how to deal with it. All you know is that you’re trying to pick up the patterns; you’d fit in his skin if you could, you’d crawl in and fix everything– but at the end of the day, as Yizhuo said, the only person you can fix is yourself.

“Bought,” he says, fixing your mistake, “opportunities that were bought for me. I couldn’t do it,” he says.

Huffing, indulging in a spare second of your own pain– a spare second of the despair eating you up from the insides, the helplessness you’ve been feeling ever since you were forcefully kicked out of Zhong Chenle’s life– and you didn’t even tell him you loved him in the first place before he got stuck in the fire of the woods; before you two started acting like it didn’t matter and always ended up in feuds– you mumble a comment, voice barely louder than a whisper, but he can hear it because of the closeness of your bodies in the few stray raindrops that come over you two once the clock strikes midnight.

“We could’ve lived together, you and me,” you say, “us against the whole world,” you comment– a childlike yearning spilling out of your lips, “we could’ve gone to Yale together and you’d figure something out along the way. Maybe– maybe you’d find a purpose if you moved, we could–”

“Y/N,” he shushes you, uttering out your name, finally breaking away from you as he looks up and gazes into the swimming pools of your eyes, shaking his head with a faint smile, “‘s okay. It wouldn’t have fixed anything anyway, it– it wouldn’t have helped.”

“But–”

“You can move, Y/N, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter, ‘cause you’re taking yourself with you.”

August 20, 2020 – the backyard of your childhood house, Shanghai, 11:11 PM

You were never really that good at science– sure, your parents demanded you get good grades in every subject and your private school put quite the pressure on your education, but even though you always managed to pull satisfactory marks in exams, your understanding of the logistics sometimes lacked; you were much better at humanities or business-related courses, hearing enough at family dinners to find out your way through the lectures and apply the facts into examples from real life.

So, if anyone asked you how many stars there were in the universe, you wouldn’t be too confident in your answer. You wouldn’t know how to apply the Milky Way as your model– since it was said that it has around 100 billion stars alone– and multiply the part by the amount of galaxies in the universe– approximately 2 trillion– to get a number somewhere close to 200 billion trillion, also called 200 sextillion. 

You wouldn’t know how to do any of that, or how to even count this amount without a calculator, so you’d take a more liberal arts approach– literary, even– and say, that on August 20, 2020, at 11:11 sharp in your backyard, gazing on to the deep, dark sky and wishing for a star to fall so you could propose a selfish wish that could change everything, there’s still not more stars there than in Zhong Chenle’s eyes when your gazes meet after your friends leave for the evening, leaving you with your neighbor completely alone.

And it’s strange, seeing him like this– maybe because you didn’t even realize how used to the dull and emotionless Chenle you’ve been all this time– but it warms something inside of your heart as you take a hesitant step towards him, the first one out of the whole evening, and take a seat next to him in the corner of your terrace, sighing to yourself.

“You actually came,” you note, seeing as he turns to you and furrows his eyebrows at you in confusion.

“Should I not have? I mean, by the text you sent me, it seemed like you wanted me here, but if I misread the situation, I can go…” he snickers, teasing you just the slightest as he nudges you to your side.

You hum, shaking your head in disapproval. “No,” you say, “I just… I dunno.”

“Expected me to ignore you?” 

“Kinda,” you admit, snickering.

“Damn,” he giggles, “that’s fair, though. Considering the previous events, and all.”

Rolling your eyes at his composure, finally getting used to the old Chenle– the one that teases you over the smallest things, the one who doesn’t let his emotions show in his face– you watch him as he takes a seat on one of the rattan sofas and you follow him, body slouching next to his, feeling his head gently rest on your shoulder in the mere moment of silence between your two figures.

“Wouldn’t let you leave without seeing you for the last time,” he says, voice quiet and vulnerable, “god knows when I’ll see you again.”

“Chenle–”

“Just because you don’t want to talk about it doesn’t mean it’s not real,” he snickers, already knowing where your words are going– you’re going to try to stop him, tell him you don’t want to think about it right now, on the last evening at your house for the near future. 

“I’d rather not think about that, y’know,” you huff, frustrated. The anxieties of leaving everything behind are clenching on your insides right now, holding you back from moving freely and with enthusiasm, and you wonder– if you knew how this would feel all those months ago– if you knew how terrifying and painful the whole process could be, would you still apply to Yale? Would you still want to go?

“Okay,” he dotes, tone of voice casual, like it��s not a big deal. 

“Okay? Just like that?” you snicker, surprised at how easily he gave the topic up.

“Yeah. Don’t wanna make you sadder.”

Sitting in silence, you realize there’s so many words you’d like to say to him. You’d like to tell him just how much you’re gonna miss him and how you regret ruining the last few months you two had together, and how you’re sorry your feelings scared him to the point where he felt like he had no one to confide in. You’d like to tell him how you built a future with him in your brain, carefully placed him into your reality, only for him to break away from your grasp and go his own way, and how much it hurts, but how you’re always going to support him in whatever he chooses, because you care for him more than your little heart could take. You’d like to tell him how you’re gonna call him every day to check up on him, how you’re gonna send letters and press a secret kiss to each sheet of expensive paper you’ll get downtown, wishing he could feel the essence with the growing distance between you two. You’d like to ask him to visit you often– he’s gonna have more time on his hands, and god knows money’s not the issue. You’d like to selfishly tell him you find it hard to deal with the distance, and how you wish he wouldn’t find somebody else while you’re gone, and how you so dearly hope that somewhere in there, your feelings are silently reciprocated, but hidden away in fear of everything falling apart once again.

But instead, you don’t say anything. You tend to wait for him to speak up first– he’s always had a problem with talking too much in the first place, after all.

And he does– you can still predict his next moves. You know him that well.

“I’m gonna miss you, though,” he sighs, catching you off guard by saying something from the list of your silenced words, “don’t think that I won’t. Or that the way I’ll miss you is different than the way you’re gonna miss me,” he speaks, tone of voice laced in honesty and sincerity, his words heavy with the essence of what he’s never going to say out loud– or so you think.

“In what way?”

“I’m not gonna miss you like a friend misses a friend,” he says, “and I don’t mean the sex,” he snickers, brightening the mood with his comment.

Rolling his eyes at him, you feel him lift his head up from your shoulder, forcing you to look at him and meet his starry eyes again– the damn starry eyes that always make you spill the truth, because god knows you cannot lie to him– and you find yourself scanning his features, the structure of his bones you fear you’re gonna forget when you’re away, so desperately wanting to lock your lips with his for one last time, because when you come back one day, you may not have the right or chance to do so anymore. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asks, not a hint of teasing in his voice.

“You know why, Chenle.”

“Can you say it out loud?” he demands, and you shake your head– maybe it's best if the words are left unsaid. Doesn’t matter if they’re hanging in the air, for everyone to read.

“Why?”

“You know how I feel about you,” you snicker, “don’t make me say it out loud.”

Because even if you told him you loved him, it wouldn’t change anything. It wouldn’t make it all better, it wouldn’t make it all good– no matter how hard you wish that it would. 

“Okay,” he nods, agreeing too fast again– and with that, he smiles, the gesture so soft and sudden, and there you are– you’ve got a caving heart in your open arms, and Chenle takes it, carelessly choking out the hushed confession, “I’m in love with you. If you don’t say it, I’m gonna, because… you deserve to know.”

Heart sinking into your stomach, you watch him, frozen in your place, for a while. Your eyes carefully scan every curve of his face– the curve of his lips, the curve of his cheeks, the hood of his eyes, his brows, the thousand stolen galaxies in his orbs and mouth glistening like honey, inviting you in. Snickering under your breath, you choose to not give in to the temptation.

“You’re only saying that because I’m leaving tomorrow,” you say, shaking your head. 

“Maybe,” he agrees.

And you know that– you know that if you weren’t leaving, he wouldn’t tell you that he loves you. He wouldn’t allow himself to be this vulnerable, he wouldn’t tell you how he feels about you, because he had all this time– all those months and weeks spent with you in his bed, and you know his touches weren’t just shallow desire– and he never once said anything. He didn’t do anything about it, and now that there is nothing more to do about it, nothing that could change the trajectory of either of your lives, he chooses to speak it to the universe; because it doesn’t change anything, it can’t possibly do so– and so he doesn’t have to fear the consequences, he doesn’t have to fear the attachment that comes with such confession.

And for a minute, you think it’s selfish. You think it’s laughable, ironic, even, but you accept it. 

His hand reaches for yours, interlocking your fingers with his when he launches you forward into him, arms gently enveloping your body when your head settles itself to the curve of his shoulder. You stay like this for a while, in his hold again, breathing in his scent and trying to remember it for weeks and months before you’re able to smell it again, letting out a nosy question out of your lips– and truly, you don’t know why you do so, when you know the answer to it already anyway. Maybe you just want to hear it again.

“So… you do have feelings for me too, after all?”

He stays quiet for a while, before he softly laughs into your hair. “Yeah,” he nods, “but it doesn’t matter, ‘cause you’re leaving for Yale tomorrow, aren’t you?”

And he’s right– you are. Thinking for a while, feeling him place a shy peck to the crown of your head– the only kiss you two allow yourselves at this point of time– you come to the conclusion that  even though you love him, care for him like you’ve never cared for another before, you wouldn’t change a thing about your plan– wouldn’t change the trajectory of your whole life, wouldn't stay in Shanghai, wouldn’t drop out of university, wouldn’t stop everything because of him, because in a way, you strangely have it all figured out. 

And he doesn’t.

And you pray that one day, he’ll find the purpose in all the potential he holds in his hands.

[luvyutae]

Brothers best friend pt.1<<< series here

Summary;chenle wakes you up in the middle of the night to fuck you dumb

WARNING; smutty,chenle doesn’t give a fck, dom chenle, sub reader

a/n;DONT LIKE DONT READ! (I am sorry this is so very short 🙁)

(🌱)

“W-wait chenle we shouldn’t be doing this” you stutter out,trying to catch your breath as chenle place sloppy kisses and hickeys over your neck.

Chenle doesn't reply, he only presses his body more to yours, hands roaming down your body. You bite down on your lip to keep from moaning out. Chenle pulls away from your neck and looks at you with a grin on his face.

"I know you want to and no one is going to find out unless you keep making noise” he says.

He was one of your brother’s good friends for god sakes and you wanted him so bad and him you.

The problem is your brother haechan is asleep in the other room with the rest of their friends.

Chenle having snuck in your room because he was horny.

His cock already deep inside of you throbbing. You try to hold back your moans from the pleasure but it was impossible.

"Y/n,I’m gonna make you feel so good baby.so good you won’t think about anything else besides the feeling " chenle whispers in your ear as he slides out of your before slamming back into you.

You squeeze your eyes shut at the feeling of him going in and out of you, thrusting up and hitting your g spot every time. “Fuck,chenle” you whimpered grabbing onto his hair. Chenle moves one of his hands up to your nipple and begins to play with it as he continues to thrust in and out of you.

"you're so fucking tight baby, i love it" Chenle says in between thrusts and groans. You begin to feel a knot forming in your stomach.

"Chenle I-i'm gonna cum soon I can feel it" you cry out, squeezing around his neck.

"That's right baby cum for me" chenle says into your ear as he begins to pick up the speed. Your legs begin to shake as the knot in your stomach finally breaks.

"FUCKKKKKK" you moan loudly but quietly as possible as you orgasm. Chenle pulls out of you and flips you onto your stomach and raises your hips up. You feel chenle line himself up again and slide back into you. You whimper from sensitivity but it doesn't stop chenle from fucking into you harder. You bury your face into the pillow to keep quiet but it was all too much.

“Too much chenle t-too much” you cry,slapping at his hands that gripped you hips.

Chenle pulls you up against his chest and wraps his hand around your neck,giving it a squeeze, "you can fucking take it,” he whispers into your ear. You bite your lip as your eyes roll into your head. “Like the slut you are” he chuckled and gripped your neck tighter.

“I'm going to cum baby" chenle says. You squeeze around him once again and feel him cum inside of you. “Shit shit shit”he moans.

you whimper, letting yourself relax into chenle's arms as his warm seed fills you. “So good” you sigh.

You feel chenle move out of you and place you onto the bed, “I’m not done with you”.

[justalildumpling]

⇢ just for you

pairing: best friend!chenle x reader genre: fluff word count: 628 warnings: jokes about murder, food?? note: going thru sad boi hours and i love chenle. chenle makes me less sad

“If we’re still single in ten years, let’s get married.” 

You and Chenle were sprawled across the rug on your living room floor, munching on the bags of snacks he had brought from his trip to the Asian grocers. Chenle’s focus which was once set on the movie playing on screen quickly averted to your figure, nonchalantly adjusting your position on the couch, shrimp chips in hand.

“That’s a stupid idea,” He replied, rolling his eyes at you.

“Why?” You sat back up whining, “We basically live with each other, know everything about each other and I wouldn’t mind if you were the one to kill me in my sleep so what’s the problem?”

Chenle snorted, shuffling back to reach into your bag of chips before placing a couple in his mouth, softly chewing on the savoury goodness. 

“Why do I have to wait ten years to marry you when we could just do it now?”

The hand that held your precious snacks halted mid-air, your head turning to face your best friend’s innocent eyes. 

You weren’t exactly sure how you were meant to interpret his response, was he finally done with the dating field? Was this his way of telling you that no one was ever going to love you? Or was it-

“Don’t tell me that you didn’t realise that I had a crush on you until now,” Chenle interrupted your thoughts, sending you a pointed look from below.

You sat in silence, blinking every so often at Chenle who now sat crouching on the floor, cackling at your obliviousness to his feelings. Though only laughter overwhelmed his current state, there remained a state of what seemed like disappointment. Maybe disappointment with your lack of response or maybe disappointment of what felt like a silent rejection of his confession, which — was not true at all.

You and Chenle met in the second grade when your homeroom teacher had seated the two of you together for an art project. You were a relatively shy child, opting to quietly pick up your paintbrush and sketch out a design on your own whilst Chenle sat with his arms crossed, clearly unimpressed with this arrangement.

“You don’t have cooties do you?” He grumbled, peering over at your poor attempts at drawing a field of flowers.

You merely shook your head as you pushed a small brush to his side of the desk, gesturing for him to join you. You remember him giving you that skeptical look, the same one he holds at you now for a few seconds before sighing and picking up the brush, scooting his chair closer to yours.

“Fine, only because you look like a flower.”

Badump went your heart.

Your feelings only grew as the years went by, with you pathetically waiting for a sign of reciprocation. It wasn’t like Chenle was actively talking to you about other girls, in fact — he just didn’t seem interested in anyone, period.

Throughout the course of your schooling journey, you and Chenle did everything together. From being each other’s prom dates to going to each other’s respective sporting games, with no signs of romantic affection from him — it was only fair to assume that nobody had caught his eye yet, until now.

With Chenle’s infectious laughter bubbling in the background, you quietly spoke, “What about the ring?”

Chenle paused, whipping his head back around to face your cautious gaze. 

“Well, if we’re gonna get married, then I want a ring,” You mustered out, holding your hand out to him.

Chenle glanced down at your outstretched hand in awe, eyes widening at your unexpected response before letting out a short giggle.

“Just you wait Y/N. I’ll get you the prettiest ring in the world, just for you.”

taglist: @polarisjisung @wooyoung-a @w3bqrl @ficrecnctskz @rv7hsua @n0hyuck @neosdaisy @baekhyunstruly @rum-gone-why @xxxx-23nct @maeumiluv @produmads @shwizhies @dearlyminhyung @barbkh8450t @cupid-yuno

[scarletwinterxx]

that time you made him a sweater - chenle oneshot

hello! i'm back😊 before this year ends hopefully i can put a couple more stories out, for this holiday season i already have a few in line. this would be the first one of my mini dream fluff series, idk i just miss them nowadays and a bunch of cute scenarios keep popping in my head😂 hope you like it!

For my other works you can check them out here, and for my other story series’ you can check them out here.

All works are copyrighted ©scarletwinterxx 2022 . Do not repost, re-write without the permission of author.

(gif not mine, credits to owner)

"Absolutely not"

"Even for me?"

On any other occasion, Chenle would've easily succumbed to his girlfriend's cuteness. Not today though, he's had enough embarrassing moments in the airport to last him several lifetimes (e.g. when the dream members dressed up in matching neon green outfits). So just this once he's trying his best not to yet again fold under your request

"Baby, do you want me to perish?" he asks back

"You're being dramatic, and this isn't even that embarrassing. Do you think it is? I made it myself" well now he feels like an a-grade asshole, you were so excited to come over and show him your finished project.

While he was gone overseas you can't stop talking about this gift you made for him, a knitted sweater. It's a thing you do whenever he goes oversea and can't be with you, to distract yourself from missing him too much you find a hobby to do. Something to occupy your time.

What he didn't expect was for it to be so... bright. He's sure if he wore it outside it would cause some traffic accident. It's even brighter than the matching neon green hoodie him and the other dream members wore before.

He doesn't really have a problem wearing it, but nowadays his closet is composed of that one jogger pants he love, a black shirt, and his favorite jacket. The color palette you chose would stand out too much, he's just worried someone might notice and asks question where it came from. It's not like he's trying to hide you, that's the farthest from the truth. If he could he would show you off and all your silly gifts he cherishes so much to the world but your safety comes first, and in order to that he has to keep things private.

"I love it, who said I didn't" he says, taking it from your grasp before pulling you in for tight hug. Immediately the frown turned to a big smile, returning the hug and tangling your arms around him.

There's really no other comfort you need, his hugs were all you wanted day and night.

"I'll wear it loud and proud the next time I go out. I promise" he tells you, kissing you on the cheeks in between every word

"Really?"

"Yes" all thoughts of holding his ground is gone, already succumbing to your cuteness. And the truth is any gift from you is precious to him. "I'll tell stylist noona to make my next outfit with this" he promises, this time earning a kiss from you.

"Even if you feel embarrassed?"

"Doesn't matter, you made it for me. I'll wear it either way"

"Good, I already started on another one so give me a couple days to finish..."

[sungbeam]

𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞

nonidol!chenle x fem!reader

premise. you and chenle fell hard and fast. but chenle's been hiding something from you, and he'll try his damnedest to keep it that way. but no matter how hard he may try, the truth always finds a way to be revealed. and that just may cost him everything.

genre. not exactly slow burn, fluff, angst!!, s2l, arranged marriage au later, college basketball star!chenle, richkid!chenle problems, college au, theaterkid!reader

warnings. ANGST, fluff, low-key cheating-ish?, chenle embodies down bad, reader tries and fails to resist, flirting and innuendos asf (it's chenle, cmon), kissing+making out (like one scene), cursing/swearing, chenle is kinda smooth asf, did I say ANGST yet?, angst, panic

word count. 24.2k (heh)

permanent taglist: @tayunji @im-a-big-mess @justanotherkpopstanlol @johlee @frickyratz @liamsholygrail @staysstrays @w3bqrl @y3jiishot

taglist: @j4eminie777 @jenosbliss @hibernatinghamster @user103843 @watermelonlee05

a/n: i speedran this fic and i am in shambles. i hope u all enjoy tho! pls pls pLs help a girl out and reblog, comment, or even send asks abt the fic! pls spread the word if u do enjoy reading this. it would mean the world to me <3

also huge thank you to @tayunji for being my sanity check and letting me live word count dump on her (and for always sending kind words, even if she angst cancels me 🤡)

You remembered the exact day you met Zhong Chenle.

It had been a long day. Actually, "long day" was an understatement. You'd been working at the café since opening until now, which was 4:32 in the afternoon, and for what reason? Absolutely none, other than the fact that you were dirt poor, and only the glimmer of false hope called overtime could grant you any reprieve. Ironically, you had little to no breaks today.

Funny, right? Always funny.

But it made for a sour mood as you took orders from people. You honestly tried your best to be nice and energetic and "happy to take your order!", even if that meant they wanted five more pumps of raspberry syrup, a dash of caramel sauce, and an extra pinch of turmeric. Turmeric, seriously?

You were just trading off places with one of your coworkers to take the register again when you heard the bell above the door jingle. Swiftly tightening the ponytail on your head, you adjusted the pencil seated in the little divot behind your ear. Your mouth widened in the perfect service smile, ready to spew out the same bullshit you always did.

The young man who sauntered through the door—yes, he sauntered—was lowering the Ray Bans from his eyes and hanging the leg from the collar of his black and white Balenciaga shirt. He had dark hair, the strands slightly wavy and curly atop his head; he reminded you of Ryan Gosling. At least, somewhat like Ryan Gosling.

But then that gut wrenching feeling came to you. Oh no, you knew exactly who this chad was.

And you saw the way his dark eyes looked you up and down, the same glimmer of recognition in them. You watched in slow motion as he approached the counter with a smirk curling at his lips, and you braced for goddamn impact.

Zhong Chenle smiled at you. "Hey."

If you hadn't known who Zhong Chenle was, then you would have been living under a rock—he was the boy who had everything. Basketball star, trust fund baby, academic genius—he was criminally famous around campus for not only being an all-rounder, but a total ladies' man. You were not oblivious to the rumors that circulated about him, but you had also never heard any solid evidence that he was dating anyone. He was an effortless flirt, and you had a feeling you might find out just how effortless he was.

Your smile tightened just slightly. Keep it up, Yn, he might tip well. And you need this new set of microphones for the stage crew. "Hi, what can I get started for you?"

"A tall, black coffee, please."

Easy enough. Your tense shoulders loosened as you reached up and took the pencil from your ear, the thin wooden stick twirling between your fingers mindlessly before the eraser came down on the screen to input the order into the system. "Cash or card?"

"Card."

And then you watched as he whipped out a slick, black credit card like it was the prophetic playing card you had pulled from his deck in a magic trick. You raised a brow, unimpressed, as he handed it over to you across the café counter for you to insert into the credit card reader. A black card for a four dollar cup of coffee?

Your friend Felix would be hounding for a good tip by now. You could imagine the dollar signs lighting up in his eyes.

"So uh, are you doing anything after your shift?" Chenle suddenly asked, leaning against the counter with one hip as he took back the card and tucked it into the inside pocket of his leather jacket. He brushed the dark hair from his forehead, glancing at you with cool nonchalance.

You were close to telling him that this was just a McDonald's drive-thru. Maybe if you weren't so tired from today's shift, you would have given him the reaction he wanted: shy giggling, tucking your hair behind your ear, smiling through soft blushes. It was the reaction he would probably expect. Instead, you could only give him a half-hearted smirk. "Probably take a nap."

"You could take a nap with me."

"Uh-huh." You finished off inputting his order into the system with the end of your pencil. You spun the pencil between your fingers, tucking it behind your ear once more, the feeling comfortable and familiar. Unlike the weight of his stare. You pretended you didn't see how Chenle's eyes bursted into hearts while he watched you do that particular move again. "Could I get you anything else?"

"Yeah, actually." He feigned confusion as he patted down his jacket and pants pockets. "I think I lost my number. Could I borrow yours?"

The feminine urge to—

"Ynie, what's taking so—oh hey, Chenle!" Thank the Lord for Felix Lee. The blondie appeared at your side, hand planted on your shoulder, as he greeted his friend with a bright smile. "Dark coffee again?"

Chenle nodded. "Yep. I was just introducing myself to your pretty friend over here." He winked at you, and you realized just how much confidence he must have had if he could wink at you in front of Felix.

Felix's head whipped over to you, eyes comically wide, and you sent him an earnest "don't you fucking dare, Lee Yongbok!" look, but alas… the man never did listen to you, did he? Felix smiled, slow and mischievous. "Oh? Well, I'm sure Yn would love to keep introducing herself to you while I go get your coffee ready, huh, Ynie?"

"Don't you 'Yn-ie' me, mister," you practically hissed. The cheeky bastard just threw you to the wolves!

Your friend patted you on the back and left soon after, swiftly stealing a cup from your side as he went. It was too late to haul him back without making a scene.

"He's gonna expect you to tip him for this, y'know?" You joked as a sorry attempt to make conversation. Or not be left in awkward silence. But you had an idea that Chenle was gifted at avoiding awkward silences.

Chenle bit his lip to suppress a smile. "Yeah, but I'd much rather tip you instead." The most magical thing he could have possibly done? He glanced around as if this were an illegal drug deal, and in a way this was, but he pulled a black, leather bifold from his jacket pocket and began counting out bills.

You slapped a hand over your mouth. "That," you said slowly before you could stop yourself, "is probably the sexiest thing you've done since you walked in here."

Aaaaaand there you go, Yn. Genius. Fantastic. If I could slap myself—

The man's eyebrows shot up and his hands stopped flicking through the bills. A grin crawled onto his sculpted face once more. "Ah, so you think I'm sexy? I knew you'd come around."

There was no doubt about it—your face was on fire. "No, that isn't what I said. I said that your action was sexy; not necessarily you."

But the damage had been done. You had inadvertently inflated Zhong Chenle's ego even more than it already was blown up to.

"That's cute," he said and folded a handful of bills in half. He gestured for you to stick your hand out, and he grabbed your wrist, placing the bills into your palm and curling your fingers around them.

After you had slipped the bills into the pocket of your waist apron, you saw Chenle lick his lips; there was a worrying sparkle in his eyes. "Hey, if you put your number on the cup, I'll give you more."

Your eyes nearly bulged out of your head. How much money did this man have? "Dude, I think you've given me enough. I'm close to giving you this wad of cash back."

He shrugged. "Then your number, and a date and time."

"Date and time?"

He sighed, hand draping over his forehead. Chenle shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Tsk tsk, for such a pretty face, you sure—"

You glowered. "Finish that sentence, Zhong. I dare you."

Chenle let out a sharp laugh, but he raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, sure, baby. Whatever you want." He chuckled under his breath. "Damn, you're hot when you're feisty. I should rile you up more."

"Your presence is enough to do that."

"Ah, so I'm enough for you? I'd use the word perfect, but we can work on that." He opened his mouth, no doubt to say something to make you even more flustered, but Felix's squawk of distress pierced through the café's lo-fi music.

"Uhhhh, Yn? A little help, heh."

You pursed your lips. "Duty calls."

Chenle nodded in understanding. "'Course. Remember, Yn: number, date, and time." The image of his smirk was ingrained in your brain as you abandoned the counter to see whatever Felix had done to mess up his coffee. And you would end up scrawling all three of those things onto the side of Chenle's cup. For what reason? None at all, except for you trying to convince yourself it was because he practically paid you to do it, and not because you were the slightest bit interested.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐈—

It scared you, how quickly you and Chenle had fallen into a routine. After your first meeting at the café, you both had planned out an outing together—dinner and a movie. Simple, right?

Yeah. Except, dinner and a movie was in his penthouse with a private chef flown in from his home province of Shanghai, and the movie wasn't even out in theaters yet. Yeah, you tried to explain it to Felix the next day, but there were little to no words to describe everything you had experienced that night. The luxury, the awe—the guilt.

God, you couldn't stomach seeing yourself sometimes. Especially whenever he popped into the café calling you babe, slapping too much money on the counter for just a cup of plain old coffee, and hanging out on a stool to keep you company for the rest of your shift. Sometimes you had something planned at the theater that you had to go run and manage, but whether it was that or going straight home, Chenle was offering you a ride there.

You would be walking on campus and see him pass by with his group of wild friends. He would wink at you, blow you a kiss, shout your name; anything to get your attention. And it definitely caught people's attention.

You didn't have a shift at the café today, but you had been holed up in the backstage office all afternoon. The theater society at the university was going to be thrust into chaotic, hellish Tech Week, the week right before opening night of their most recent play, The Lucky Ones. It was actually a student-written and student-directed play, and you were so excited to see the finished product on opening night. You had already sent out advanced tickets to your friends and family, spread word to your theater friends at other schools, and most of all totally found a date.

It wasn't like Huang Renjun, the director, was forcing you to bring a date. It was just that you had never brought a date before. You never needed one. You always chose to enjoy the play on your own, or in the company of your closest friends, but with recent events? You had an idea.

A confident knock on the door broke you from your stupor, and you told them they could come in.

Speak of the Devil…

Chenle poked his head into the room, eyes already roaming about the small office space with curious eyes. He allowed himself in, easily finding a seat in the chair across from you. "Hi Yn-ie. Renjun said I could find you in here."

"Oh, right," you clicked your pen closed and tucked it behind your ear, "sorry, I forget how time passes when I'm alone in here. Did you call or text? I always keep my phone off." You dug around your desk drawer before finding the device deep in the mess of paper clips, random SD cards, bookmark stickies, and the like. It was like the aftermath of an explosion at an office supply store.

"Alone? You could always call me to come hang out; keep you company," he said, ignoring your previous statement. He twisted in his seat, draping his legs over the arm of the chair and resting sideways in it. "Unless this is your private space. Then I won't intrude."

You found yourself smiling. "Ah, no. Having someone in here will probably ground me to reality, actually."

"I do need something though."

You perked up. "Sure."

He grinned. "Don't sound too eager now."

"Zhong," you rolled your eyes.

"Okay, okay! God, you're kind of sexy when you're like that. Anyways!" He said loudly to prevent you from making yet another remark. He giggled. "You're cute. But yeah, I have court side tickets to our opening game of the season this Friday, and I would absolutely love to see your pretty face in the stands."

He added cheekily, "Screaming my name, of course."

Oh god. How did you not expect that? You sighed. "Yes, of course."

Chenle propped his chin in the palm of his hand, head tilted sideways as he looked at you. "That's a yes to the tickets and wearing my jersey then."

"Yes—wait, what?"

He clapped his hands together loudly. "Next topic! A little birdie also told me that baby needs a date for a certain opening night next week." He flipped his imaginary, long hair over his shoulder. "Just let me know when and what color your dress is."

You crossed your arms over your chest and you were scared at how fast it was pounding. "Bold of you to assume that I don't already have a date."

For a second, you swore you saw his confident facade falter. But it must have just been a glitch in the matrix, because there was no way, right? "Okay, and? I'm better."

"Uh huh," you hummed, unimpressed. "I'll need a better reason than that to ditch my prior commitment," you teased.

You knew he had caught on, tongue poking the inside of his cheek, corners of his mouth lifting. "Ah, I see. I don't think I'll buy myself into this one, will I? Well, what if I told you I'm an excellent play watcher? Probably the most well behaved person you'll find in the seats—"

You covered your laugh with a cough. "Chenle, you couldn't sit through one two-hour long movie. This play is at least three."

Chenle pouted, wrinkling his nose at you. "Why are you making this so difficult for me, Ynie? I just wanna return the favor, support your play, support your art!"

"Okay, okay, you big baby," you caved. "I'll let you know when I pick out a dress." But inwardly you were grateful. God, you were so grateful. There were so many rumors about this man, but he had yet to disappoint you. And even if you were nervous, you knew the butterflies in your stomach were from the things he was making you feel.

If he was as the rumors said he was, then why would he put so much effort into impressing you? Or, as he said himself, supporting you and your craft?

Chenle lifted his head, mouth falling open slightly. "You mean you haven't picked out a dress yet?"

"No, you are not buying me a dress or watching me choose a dress."

"You're literally no fun."

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐈𝐈—

Karina, your roommate, was skeptical. You had to admit, however, that she had every right to be, given her last relationships and the fact that she knew every drop of gossip that landed at SMU's front door. She was fully immersed in campus news, especially since she ran the university's magazine and yearbook committees. So Zhong Chenle was a subject she heard about often, but she never thought she'd have to hear about him at home from you, too.

"Just think about it, 'kay? Don't make any hard decisions yet."

You waved him off, this being the seventh time since the theater that he was bugging you about the dress. Jesus, it was like this man was eager to waste his money somewhere. You already felt terrible as it was. "Chenle, I will. But absolutely no promises."

He gestured with his hand, his back leaning against the wall in the hallway right across from your door. "Sure, fine. Whatever you say."

"Zhong Chenle, you are not getting your way this time."

He smiled, like he knew that was a lie.

You shooed him off after that. Your pride needed a bit of restoration, as well as some reassurance that you would not let this man completely take down your defenses.

When you let yourself into the apartment, locking the door behind you, Karina was already on the couch with her laptop on her knees and the coffee table swarmed with spread upon spread. "Was that Chenle again?" She asked as you set your things down on the kitchen table noisily.

"Yeah," you said back. "Just came from the theater."

"He came by to see you?"

You threw open the fridge in search of a beverage. "Mhm. Asked me to go to his game on Friday. Court side tickets or whatever."

Karina nearly rocketed up from her seat. "Court—court side tickets?"

Your back was turned, so you hadn't seen her very physical reaction. You continued to scour the depths of the fridge before you settled on a can of iced tea. "Yeah." When you faced her, sipping on your tea, you lifted a brow in silent question at her widened eyes and now disturbed position.

Your roommate set her laptop aside so she could lean against the back of the couch. "Yn, sweetie, he asked you to sit court side. Did he happen to ask you to wear his jersey?"

At this, you snorted. "Pretty much told me to."

Karina puffed out her cheeks, and you recognized this particular quirk as something she did when she was trying not to spontaneously combust on the spot. "He's literally staking his claim on you. Like… ever read those Wattpad books where the guy is possessive and makes the girl wear his jacket or jersey or whatever?"

"You have?"

"That's not the point!" She stammered. "But that's what's happening right now, Yn! The basketball players hardly ever bring someone to sit court side, unless they're family or close friends. Honestly, I think only two or three players are thought to be bringing their significant others to the game this week."

You screwed the lid back onto your tea bottle and settled on the couch beside Karina. "Why is it such a big deal?" You could probably answer that question yourself, to be honest.

Karina still answered nonetheless, "Because Chenle's single. Well, until he met you. Have you guys talked about a label yet? I don't mean to pry or push."

Actually? No, you had no label for whatever was happening with Chenle. "No, you're good. But no, we haven't talked about it, but to be honest, there hasn't been a need for it. We went on, like, one official date and then had a couple of hangouts afterward. We're like… friends right now."

That was generously put. He was practically your—no, don't say it. Maybe you should have a conversation about your boundaries.

"Okay well, does he feel the same way? I don't even know, Yn-ie, but I feel like I should warn you to be careful."

That was reasonable. You could understand where Karina was coming from, and you really shouldn't be falling so quickly into this thing with him until you knew his intentions. You didn't want to be just temporary to someone. If you were going to put your all into a relationship, it should be for real, right?

Karina sighed, bracing her elbow against the back of the couch and looking at you with her head tilted to the side. "I don't want to dishearten you. You like him, don't you?"

Your eyes widened. "L-like him? Maybe as like a companion, but not—not like that! Pfft." Yeah, no. You liked him, or at least, you were beginning to like him. But this could just be an infatuation, you thought. Feelings were fickle things, and you wanted to get this right.

Karina deadpanned at you. With an exasperated shake of her head, she shifted to pick her laptop back up. "Sometimes I worry about you."

"Hey!" You squawked. "It's too early to determine that."

Her hum was disbelieving. "Yeah, sure. So how many tickets did Chenle give you? Just one? It'd be kinda cool to sit court side for once."

You shrugged. "Actually, no idea. But I don't really wanna be sitting there by myself. I haven't been to a basketball game in a while, so it'd be nice to bring a friend or two."

"Shoot him a text?"

You were already pulling your phone out of your pocket, thumbs flying over the keyboard.

you: quick question

His reply was instantaneous.

zhong: yes i can pick u up to go dress shopping

You rolled your eyes. He really was not going to give this up.

you: no not abt the dress

you: i was wondering if my friends could come w me to the game?

zhong: yeah ofc! lmk how many and i'll send the tix

"He just asked how many," you told Karina, who's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I'll just say you and Felix. I don't think I'd want to burden him with getting a hold of so many tickets."

As you typed out your response to Chenle, Karina voiced her agreement. "Yeah, that sounds good. Tell him thanks for me."

you: two + me pls

you: and karina says ty

you: ty again for doing this, u really didn't have to :(

zhong: i did it cuz i wanted to bby, so no need for all that

zhong: i'll get the tix and my jersey to u by tmr ;)

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐕—

The jersey was red with bold, white letters on the back spelling out ZHONG, and the number 30. It was made of really nice, breathable quality, and was definitely the product of the administration's budget toward the school basketball team. You knew this from Karina's constant research and digging and interviewing with her organizations, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the basketball team was good enough to get so much funding. Chenle, you knew, was one of the best. Even if he wasn't captain, he was still talented.

You had been sitting on the edge of your bed with the jersey in your lap for the past ten minutes, trying to sike yourself out of whatever funk you were in. It was just a shirt, right? It didn't mean anything. (Except, it totally did. A shirt with Chenle's name and number on the back was a statement.)

There was a knock on your apartment door, and Karina yelled that she would get it. You were still considering the jersey.

Felix's blond head appeared in your bedroom doorway, eyebrows furrowed at you. "How long have you been staring at that thing, Yn?"

"Only ten minutes," you said sheepishly, standing up and walking over to your wardrobe. You were still in loungewear after you had taken a quick shower post-lectures. You knew you probably should have been at the theater tonight, but Renjun and Doyoung had waved you out of the building, telling you they "had it covered". You still worried.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed the doorknob. "Get dressed—it's just a shirt."

"It is not just a shirt, Lee."

He wagged his eyebrows, already closing the door. "You said it; not me…"

You glared at the closed door, but swallowed your fears, your nerves, your pride—and pulled the jersey over your head and over your tank top. Karina had suggested that you just wore shorts with the garment, but you realized now that the shirt fell to just about mid-thigh, basically hiding most of your shorts from view.

"Are you done? I want to see the floor from court side!"

Your eyes found the yellow cover of the book on your desk. Its cover read a pitiful Basketball for Dummies, and it was something you had bought on a whim at the bookstore yesterday in a sorry attempt to brush up on your basketball knowledge to ensure you didn't feel like a fool. You slung your small bag over your shoulder, leaving the book where it was, before you left the room. "You'll see plenty of the floor, alright!"

Felix was standing on the other side of the door, with Karina waiting by the couch. "Is that a threat, Ln?"

"Take it as you will."

The drive to the gymnasium was a brief one since yours and Karina's apartment wasn't far from campus. Finding parking? Now that was a whole different story.

Felix exhaled roughly as the three of you clambered out of his car, fresh night air rushing into your lungs after the stressful fifteen minutes of fighting for a parking space. It truly was war. All around you, car horns and squealing tires pierced through the night, only a taste of what you had just endured. Felix dragged a hand through his hair, huffing, "Christ, the people here are animals. Like seriously, it's like Black Friday!"

"I wouldn't compare it exactly to Black Friday," Karina mused. She adjusted the jacket on her shoulders to fit with the strap of her purse. Her eyes flickered to you. "Are you cold, Yn-ie? You can have my jacket?"

You dropped your hands from where they held your arms. It was a little chilly, but you should be able to manage until you got into the gym. You shook your head. "Nah, I'm okay. Just not used to…" You nodded to the jersey, your lack of pants. This was fine. Completely. You were practically swimming in the material.

Karina smiled at you and linked her arm with yours. "You look cute."

"You totes do!" Felix mocked a school girl squeal as he arrived on your other side, linking up with you. His asymmetrical silver earrings swung wildly from his earlobes as he began skipping through the tightly packed cars, dragging you and Karina behind him.

For a moment, you had allowed this to distract you from the whispers and glances you were getting from people. Once you reached the sidewalk to merge with the crowd of people headed for the gym, there was no way to hide the jersey now, except with a jacket. You held steady, kept your head level, and your eyes on the yawning doors to the gym.

"You think she made that herself?"

"It probably wouldn't cost a lot to make that. She must really want his attention."

You felt your friends' hold on you tighten, as if they were armoring up for something, but you wanted to tell them that you were fine. People could believe what they wanted to believe. By now, it was impossible not to draw attention to yourself.

The gym's bright fluorescent lights shone down on the court far below, and you and your friends showed your tickets to the nearest staff. He eagerly bounded down the stadium steps to show you your seats right where Chenle promised they would be—court side.

Felix could not get his mouth to close, or his eyes, as he gawked at the shiny floor under his soles. "Woah. This is so cool."

"I'm glad one of us is enjoying themselves," you chuckled, your hands finding your arms once more to hug yourself, maybe make yourself look smaller. From here, the big screens hanging above the court looked like the ones in Madison Square Garden, and everything just looked bigger, bolder. You had never watched a game from this angle, and you could only imagine how intense it got from here.

Once you were all settled, you felt a buzz from your back pocket.

zhong: hey u get here alright?

zhong: someone just told me they saw my jersey on u 👀

you: y r u acting surprised lol think I'd just leave it at home and say sike?

zhong: yeah kind of

you: zero faith

zhong: i'll make it up to u bby how does that sound?

you: and how exactly do u intend to do that?

zhong: win the game of course ;)

You shook your head, teeth gnawing on your bottom lip. This man was making your head spin with his words.

you: so u didn't plan on winning otherwise?

zhong: well yeah, that too

zhong: i might hug u when we win, just so u know

zhong: unless

you: let's slow it down, buddy

you: we can start w hugging

Perhaps you could hear his breathy chuckle in your ears now. It wasn't the classic, high pitched one that exploded and brightened a room whenever it happened, but the one that made your stomach twist with butterflies and your heart leap into your throat.

zhong: okok

zhong: i'll c u in a bit then, coach is calling us in

zhong: enjoy the game :)

you: good luck chenle

zhong: thanks yn

Karina nudged you with her elbow to show you something on her phone, and you pocketed your own into your small bag. Felix had gone somewhere to chat with someone he recognized a few rows back, and probably to boast about the amazing view he was going to get right on court side. He wouldn't ever forget that he watched the opening game from this vantage point.

Soon, Felix rushed back into his seat, body buzzing like a three year old on candy. "It's starting! Oh my god, here they come!" He gestured to the far opening where you could already see a mass of bodies lining up.

The announcer came on overhead, loud and clear, ready to hype up the crowd. "Live! From the honorable and world renowned SM University Stadium is the opening game of the season between the SM Sentinels and the FNC Falcons! Sponsored by KakaoCorp—where people and the world get connected; and Naver—helping businesses stay connected."

You could feel the energy in the room increase as the announcer introduced the FNC team to the arena, the team dressed in yellow and white. But it wasn't until everyone waited in bated breath for your own team to appear that the tension was palpable. You could practically taste it on your tongue.

"And now… put your hands together and make some noise for your—very own—SENTINELS!" The buzzer screamed loud, but the crowd screamed louder.

You could barely hear your own thoughts as you screamed your own heart out for the swarm of red that flooded into the stadium. The pep band on the other side of the stadium was playing some hype song—you thought it was Lil Nas X's Industry Baby, but at this point, all the sounds were melting together.

You caught a flash of that dark hair and terribly bright beam in the blurred masses. There was a red and white sweatband holding his hair back, and he greeted the crowd so proudly as he jogged along the border of the court.

And then there was that heartstopping realization as the team was approaching where you and your friends were, aiming for the silver benches about a foot in front of you. And suddenly, the only thought in your mind was—

"Zhong Chenle, you son of a bitch," Felix giggled in pure giddiness.

You caught Chenle's eyes as he was coming closer, stopping directly in front of you on the bench. There was this distinct gleam of approval in his eyes when he saw the jersey. He winked at you, then turned around so he faced the court.

He had put you right behind them. Directly.

The game quickly began, jumping straight into the first half of the game. You could barely keep your head straight as you tried either focusing on Chenle or the basketball being passed, Chenle or the basketball. Both moved swiftly throughout the court, weaving through and from player to player.

You could feel the weight of tension, the energy thrumming throughout the stadium like a heartbeat.

The ball swooshed through the FNC hoop once, twice, several more times. Chenle was passing the ball, dribbling it up, jumping up, passing it again. Each member of his own team worked seamlessly, like they were gears in one well-oiled machine. Now you knew why SMU was so revered on the basketball stage.

Players were switched in and out, replacing each player at least once, but sparingly and strategically throughout. Chenle was pulled out at one point, sweat dripping from his face, his hair, and he guzzled down an entire bottle of water in less than five seconds. He was heaving for breath, and soon, he was thrown back into the frenzy.

And then the buzzer blared. The first half was over.

You, Felix, and Karina all collectively let out equally relieved sighs. One glance at the scoreboard had your heart bursting into an excited overdrive again. SMU was winning. By a lot.

For the halftime show, it was something you definitely hadn't expected—a rap contest.

"Each of our beloved contestants, who are all members of your SMU Sentinels, by the way," explained tonight's host and SMU alumni, Johnny Suh, "will compete in saying a small paragraph that will be displayed on the screen. Whoever does it the fastest will be crowned our winner for the night!"

You and the rest of the crowd watched as people quickly brought on a whiteboard with a large poster of words printed on it. Lined up horizontally on the court, there were a handful of players, including Chenle. He didn't look nervous, but you knew he was cracking jokes to his teammates up there.

Jung Sungchan went first, raising the bar up incredibly high. Then it was Park Jisung, then Han Jisung who basically knocked the bar out of the ballpark. Seo Changbin raised it a little more after that. Chenle tried his hardest, but you caught his fumbling on tape. Bang Chan, Osaki Shotaro, and Lee Jeno all followed shortly. In the end, it was Han Jisung who walked away with the bragging rights of being the fastest speaker on the team.

"There you have it, folks! Our certified Eminem of SMU!" Johnny charmed the crowd as the team players bowed. "How about a round of applause for our participating Sentinels tonight?"

The game resumed shortly, and everyone was thrusted back into the tension and thrill.

The second half was noticeably more tense, as FNC strived to regain their disadvantage and SMU strived to keep their advantage. The points kept shooting upwards, and you could barely stay in your seat, but you somehow kept yourself anchored down to it.

At this point, your throat was hoarse from screaming just as much as Felix and Karina were.

By the time the buzzer blared for the final time, there was no doubt about who won. Everyone shot up from their seats in screams of pride and happiness. It was a complete madhouse in the stands, but everyone allowed the players on opposite teams to have their moment congratulating each other respectfully and with good sportsmanship.

And then Chenle was jogging his way over to you, brushing his sweat-dampened hair back. There was a massive, ear to ear grin on his face, and it only widened as you stood up and offered him what he had prefaced you with earlier.

"Hi," he said simply, stepping into your embrace and wrapping his arms around you. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course. Thanks for inviting me." You stepped back from him. "Even if you're all sweaty and gross," you commented, dramatically scrunching your face up.

Chenle laughed loudly. "Okay, get back here!" He teased you, opening his arms as if he meant to cage you again in his embrace; only chuckled when you feigned disgust. He looked at Karina and Felix then, greeting the latter with a fistbump. "Thanks for coming, too, guys. Your support means a lot."

"You guys did fantastic out there," Karina complimented with an approving nod.

Felix jumped in. "Oh my god, yes! That was so amazing, dude! And dude, the view from court side?" His eyes rolled back as he ascended to nirvana.

Chenle shrugged his shoulders, smiling eyes meeting yours. "Well, I hope you continue to like it then."

Your blond friend froze. "What? Uh, I—does that mean…?"

A nod.

You were certain Felix might faint from excitement, or at least, go running around telling everyone he just scored however many seats at court side. Felix disappeared to exactly that, and Karina sighed.

"I should probably go keep an eye on him." She passed you a knowing look, hand brushing against your arm. "Meet me outside when you're ready to head out, 'kay?"

You nodded, and she was melting into the crowd.

"So how'd you like it?"

You whirled back to Chenle, who had his head slightly tilted and arms folded over his chest. There was that twinkle in his gaze as he looked at you, and you had a feeling yours mimicked that. "The game? It was a lot of fun. Your rapping skills, however?" You shook your head and ran your hand across your neck in a definitive no.

He chuckled, stepping closer to you and gently holding your arms. "Good thing you don't like me for my rap skills then."

"Who said I liked you, Zhong?" You teased.

"I did," he replied, effortlessly arrogant. "I mean, I like you, too, so."

There he went again, making your heart feel like it could unlock your ribcage and fly.

"God, you're stupid," was the only thing you could say in response. Your cheeks were definitely burning brighter than his jersey, and you had to avert your gaze for a few seconds.

"Stupidly handsome, sexy, talented." He adopted a mocking thoughtful expression. "The list goes on and on."

You laughed at that, voice trailing off. "Um, by the way, you really made Felix's night with that thing you said back there. So thanks for that."

Chenle licked his lips, nodding. "I'm glad, but did I make yours?"

"Hm?"

"I'm glad I made Felix's night," he repeated, just a tad slower this time and with a small tilt of the corners of his mouth, "but did I make your night? That's all I really wanted—to make your night."

There was no doubt about it. You could only answer one correct answer because it was completely and utterly true. "Yes," you told him. "You made my night." And you hoped this wouldn't be the last. No, you definitely knew this wouldn't be the last.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐕—

The Lucky Ones was written and directed by Huang Renjun, co-authored by his alumni friend Xiao Dejun, and sponsored by alumni and head of the SMU theater department Kim Doyoung. It was about this pair of teenagers who had fallen in love with each other, but realized later in life that their love had been quick to spark, and just as quick to sputter into ash and smoke. It was riveting, realistic, and alluring. The entire play was so well written and so well directed, and you wouldn't just say that because you were friends with the directors and playwrights.

As you strode through the bustling and chaos of backstage, you couldn't help the distinct feel of pride in your heart. All of this work to get everything to come together would be well worth it.

"Yn!" A familiar voice called to you from somewhere amongst the madness. Renjun was hustling over to you, the ends of his bow tie left undone, but his two-toned hair was styled to perfection. "What are you doing back here? You should be in the balcony already."

You rushed over to him and grabbed his tie, expertly and swiftly tying it into a bow. "I know, but Doyoung and Xiaojun needed me to smack some sense into you."

He scoffed. "Some sense? I'm completely fine. Not panicking, of course."

You gripped hard onto his shoulders and forced him to look at you. "Breathe, Jun. Just breathe. The show's gonna be perfect, okay? You've worked too damn hard for it not to be."

Renjun inhaled deeply, held it for a couple seconds, then exhaled slowly. He opened his eyes, nodding to you. "Okay. Yeah. I think I'm… calmer. Thank you, Yn."

"Good, okay." You smiled softly at him, his hand reaching to grab yours on his shoulder. "I'll see you in the balcony?"

"See you there. Say hi to Chenle for me?"

"Yeah, I'll let him know!"

In a few minutes, you had hustled your way out into the lobby and up the stairs to where the balcony for stage left was located. You knew that Chenle must already be waiting there for you, judging from the texts you saw light up your phone screen.

zhong: paging nurse to patient

zhong: i'm incredibly bored w/o my seatmate

zhong: nurse, i'm gonna need someone's hand to hold to get thru this

You snorted, covering your mouth sheepishly as you passed an older couple.

you: heels and velvet covered stairs do not go well

you: patience is a virtue

zhong: i just miss u 🤨 isn't that a virtue

You were already coming up on the doorway leading to the furthest balcony to the left. The usher at the door recognized you as the general stage manager, nodded and let you through. Even in your dark blue evening gown and fancy getup, you could still be recognized, which was reassuring. You definitely felt like you had overdone it.

The balcony was dark and relatively empty. There were a few couples scattered about the rows of seats, but you walked toward the lone form seated near the edge.

"You know, it was kind of embarrassing to walk in without a da—holy shit."

Chenle had twisted around in his seat only to find you making your way toward him in that dress. Well, to you, it was a dress. But to Chenle, it was the dress. The one he had subtly sent to Felix, who had sent it to Karina, who had sent it to you. It was quite the simple transaction, really, but god damn.

He thought you would look good, but he didn't think you would look this good. Like drop dead, fucking gorgeous. If he wasn't sitting, he might have dropped to his knees and prayed. Because what in the world had he done in his previous life to deserve meeting someone like you?

Of course, you were completely unaware of the purely simp thoughts running amuck in Chenle's head; you were only aware of the fact that he looked really handsome in his tux and that he was staring an awful lot.

"Hey," you said, settling in the seat next to him. "Is there, uh, something on my face?"

"Beauty," he said, almost in instinct, then cringed. "Sorry, that was the absolute worst."

You laughed, actually finding it funny. "No, that was good," you reassured with a very convincing nod of your head. "Renjun says hello. I had to go calm him before he started pacing. Hope you weren't waiting long."

Chenle nodded in understanding. "Ah, makes sense. No, I wasn't waiting long." He smiled at you. "Just couldn't wait to see you."

Flustered and flattered, you reached for his hand, lacing them over the arm rest between you. "Couldn't wait to see you, too. You clean up very nicely, Lele."

His lips parted, and you could've sworn his cheeks blushed a hard red. "Sorry, what?"

"Lele? You don't like the nickname—?"

"No, please—" he cleared his throat, hand squeezing yours lightly. "I—it's fine."

You grinned. You just made Zhong Chenle flustered. "Whatever you say, Lele. Anyway, thank you for coming tonight to see the show."

He regained composure quickly, to his credit. His thumb gently ran over your linked fingers. "Wouldn't miss it." For once, he couldn't choke out the words to tell you how beautiful you looked.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐕𝐈—

It was about a week later that you were groggily ruffling through your damp hair with a towel as you walked into your room. It had been an awfully long day at the café, and because Felix had a dance comp and because Chenle had an away game in another city, you were left by your lonesome, overworked and bored out of your mind. You were about to get Renjun or Karina to come keep you company, but then Chenle had actually called you at work.

For the remainder of your shift, you had one earbud in, listening to him talk about his day while he listened to you talk about yours. Since his first game, you tried to go to all of his home games, and if the away games weren't too far, you would try to make it to those as well. And after the opening night at the theater, the two of you had grown even closer. You were practically inseparable, so the hours-long phone call from today was well appreciated.

You kicked the door to your bedroom closed, aiming for your phone sitting on the nightstand connected to the charger. The screen had gone dark after you had taken a very indulgent hot shower. So much so that steam had trailed after you when you opened the door, and you were certain you would hear from the landlady about your hot water use again sometime this week. Or at least, you would hear from Karina.

"You took that long to shower and you didn't invite me over?"

You rolled your eyes and silently thanked god that Chenle wasn't here to see your smile. Yes, the call was still going. "In your wildest dreams, Zhong. And how would you have gotten here anyway? Cube is like at least a nine hour drive."

"Are you saying that if I was in town, you would have invited me to join you?" You could practically hear the smile in his words, the way his eyebrows would dance with intent.

"You're incorrigible." You hung your damp towel on the end of your bed and crawled under your covers. The phone screen lit up again as you tapped it awake to be met with Chenle's profile picture: him with his hair tied in a ponytail, like a little sprout. It had actually been lovingly sent to you by Chenle's best friend, Park Jisung, sometime last week after the two of you formally met. Chenle always teased you for admitting he was cute in the photo, but you knew that he had originally been so embarrassed when he found out, and even threatened to give Jisung the silent treatment for "betraying" him like that. That bit of intel was courtesy of some of Chenle's roommates, Jisung himself and Sungchan.

Speaking of…

"Is that Yn? Hi Yn-ieeeeeee!!!" Jisung and Sungchan choruses from somewhere in their shared hotel room.

You laughed warmly. "Hi guys! Lele, lemme talk to them."

A beat of silence passed, and the phone was handed over. Jisung's voice was a lot louder now. "Haha, Yn, Chenle-ssi's sulking now."

Sungchan chimed in, "Yeah, he glared at us just now."

"Ah well, I requested to speak with you both," you said. "I've been talking to him all evening. How are you both? How's Cube?"

"Oh," Jisung replied brightly, "it's so beautiful, actually! Their campus is really pretty."

"Yeah, I'm really glad we got to stay for a few days." This was Sungchan again. "Maybe next time you can tag along!"

You smiled, fidgeting with the hem of your blanket. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Okay, I think Chenle might beat our asses in the morning if he doesn't get the phone back this instant," Jisung laughed again.

The phone was passed for the second and last time tonight. There were sounds of shuffling again, then laughter from far off, and then a huff of annoyance. "Hi baby."

"Oh, stop sulking, Lele," you admonished playfully. "They only wanted to say hello."

"I know." You could hear him settle into his bed, or at least, sit down somewhere. "I like talking to you though."

"I know; I like talking to you, too." A thought suddenly occurred to you. "Don't you have practice tomorrow morning?" You asked him. You tucked yourself in, eyes pinned to his smiling face in the profile picture, suddenly wishing he was closer. "You should sleep."

Chenle's warm chuckle echoed through your phone. "You'll miss me too much, baby. But I'll let you fall asleep first, how does that sound?"

The corners of your mouth curled upward. "You're so stupid."

"Stupidly in love with you."

The words made your heart stop, and you swore you could hear a slap from the other side, as if he had slapped his hand over his mouth.

You sat up. You suddenly weren't too tired. "Lele… can we talk?" You asked quietly, sitting up against your headboard.

You heard shuffling and a curse from the other side, along with murmuring. After a door had closed in the background, he said, "Um yeah. Sorry, had to get out of the room. Uhm…" You would never know how fast his heart beat in that moment alone, the utter fear he held believing he might have just stepped over a line. "Sorry, was that too much?"

"Was it, like, a joke?" You bit your lip, then clarified, "Are you serious about that? Your feelings?"

A sigh. "Yn, I really like you. It scares me to bits how much I do."

Your nerves soothed at that. At least you were both feeling the same thing. "Okay, same," you murmured.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm doing this over the goddamn phone!" He made a noise of anguish and you giggled. "I'm sorry, baby. No grand gesture," he groaned, "but we both feel the same way, right? Can I—can I be your boyfriend?"

Of course, he would give you the ultimate decision. And of course, there were no doubts in your mind.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐈—

You know those rumors you had been so worried about before? You couldn't give two shits about them now.

It was a Sunday, generally the only free day that you and Chenle shared consistently. Today, you were sitting in a window seat of a dim sum restaurant, gazing out at the duck pond just outside the window. The willow tree leaves drifted peacefully in the mid-spring breeze, flowers blooming in their wake. It was a beautiful scene to behold.

Arms came around from behind you, lips pressing to your temple. "Hi, baby. Sorry I'm late." Chenle slid into the seat across from you, freshly showered, and bright as usual. He wore a dark blue sweatshirt and dark jeans,with his Ray Bans hanging from his collar—just a casual look for a casual brunch date.

"It's okay; you had practice," you told him and brought your cup of tea to your lips. "How was it this morning?"

Chenle gave a half-hearted shrug. "Tiring, as usual, but good." The team had been practicing relentlessly this past week since finals were coming up soon. It was a miracle that the two of you even made time for each other since you and the theater company were gearing up for closing night of The Lucky Ones. Shows had been selling out just as fast as the seats in the stadium, and while you didn't watch every showing of the play like you did opening night, you were in the gym watching Chenle and his team beat every competitor who set foot in there.

This Friday would be finals between SMU and YGU, and when the Sentinels beat them too, Championships would be held next week. You were all hoping that Championships would be held at SMU instead of the other school. It wouldn't make a difference whether or not you would go, because you planned to definitely be there, but it would be great to have home court advantage.

As Chenle raised his hand and flagged down a nearing cart, your gaze wandered to the grassy pond area outside. It seemed to be a wonderland for all of the dogs whose owners were inside eating brunch without them, but they were all playing together.

The smell of fresh steamed buns and a whole smorgasbord of spices permeated your nose as BBQ pork buns, shrimp shumai, fried squid, and shrimp rice rolls drizzled with a sweet soy sauce were placed onto your table. Chenle was already whipping out his chopsticks and wiping them with a napkin. "Bon appetit." He followed where you had been looking briefly out the window. "So many cute dogs out there."

"I know," you cooed, reaching for a pork bun. "It'd be nice to have a dog. I think I've wanted one since I was a kid, actually, but owning a dog is like having a child."

"I have a dog," Chenle said offhandedly.

Your eyes positively lit up, and he chuckled at how cute you were. "You do? But I never see anyone else at your apartment."

"She's in Shanghai." He shoved the rest of the shumai into his mouth before reaching into his pocket and withdrawing his phone. "When I moved to Seoul," he said as he swiped through his phone with a furrowed brow, "I left her with my cousin, Ningning."

He then showed you his phone screen where a slightly younger version of Chenle was taking a selfie, but with a small, white ball of fur peeking over his shoulder.

The further he swiped, the more you just melted. "Aw, she's so cute. What's her name?"

Chenle smiled fondly at the photo he just pulled up. "Daegal. Yeah, I miss her a lot."

"Why didn't you bring her to college with you?" You asked and broke apart the bun, steam flowing up out of the yawning mouth of fluffy, white bread.

"Ah, I thought it would be too much of a hassle at the time, but I haven't been home for a while, so I haven't seen her in a long time." He suddenly frowned, and you figured it'd been awhile since he thought of going home. He must have been so immersed in his life here, and you wondered if he would have ever thought of going back.

"Have you ever thought about going home for a bit? Y'know, to take a break?"

His face shuttered, like he was thinking of something. "No, not for a long time." And by his clipped tone, you knew to not touch that subject. But he was back to his pleasant self in an instant, "So what's the plan for today? Go roller skating, go swimming—god, I haven't seen you in a bathing suit yet? What is this—"

You slapped a hand over his mouth, red seeping onto your cheeks. He only snickered under your palm, and you hoped that everyone around you either didn't hear that comment or was choosing to ignore it. Either way, you hoped it didn't draw too much attention. But then again, Chenle himself drew attention.

"Are you crazy?" You whisper-shouted at him after you removed your hand and sat back down in your seat. "Why'd you say that so loud?"

Chenle's eyebrows danced in amusement. "I'm very passionate about the subject."

You deadpanned. "Well, I don't think America heard you."

"America would be lucky to see you in a swimsuit," he shrugged and flagged down another cart, this time, with his eyes set on the Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce. His eyes twinkled. "As for me, I'd be very happy to see you in a swimsuit."

You tried to ignore the fact that your face was on fire. "You'll just have to wait then. I have a date."

Chenle wrinkled his nose at you sourly. "With who?"

"Felix and Karina—ooh, are those taro buns on that cart?"

Chenle was quick to flag down that cart, too, and got you a nice plate of four of them. He idly scratched his jaw, bottom lip pouting. "So I'm being cockblocked by your best friends?"

"Yah! Zhong Chenle!"

He bursted into laughter, the joyful sound drawing eyes, but making your fake anger melt away into fondness. "Sorry, baby, you're just so cute when you're flustered."

"That makes one of us," you muttered cheekily.

"Hey!"

You chuckled. "Deserved."

He made a face, cheeks puffed out as he scowled at the plates of food. "Remind me to not get you taro buns next time."

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈—

It was late when you finally made your way back in through the back door of the performing arts buildings, walking back to the theater through the back hallway. Tonight had been closing night of The Lucky Ones, and as usual, it had all gone incredibly well. Renjun, for the first time in the history of you knowing him, had bursted into tears as he bowed with his actors on the stage at curtain call. You had just walked the man to his car and now needed to hurry back to lock everything up for the night.

As you neared the backstage area, your footsteps faltered at the sound of music playing. Like from the grand piano backstage. You kept your footsteps light as you made your way toward the backstage door that was left open so the gentle serenade drifted out into the hall.

The stage lights had been turned off earlier to save energy, and the only light was from the little lightbulb hanging in the backstage area, above the piano.

You peered into the room, not wanting to interrupt the beautiful music being played, but knowing that no one else should be here. "Hello?"

The music stopped.

"I'm sorry," you said, stepping inside the doors, "but you're not supposed to… Lele?"

Even though he had a black hood thrown over his dark bangs, you still recognized his pretty eyes, rimmed in silver and red—like he'd been crying. He swiped at his damp cheeks, and you realized that, yes, he definitely had been.

"Oh, honey…" you murmured, rushing over to him and swallowing him in your embrace. Chenle wasted no time burying his face into the crook of your neck and hugging your waist tightly. Your hand gently rubbed his back in an attempt to soothe him. "Hey, are you okay, what's wrong?"

Last night was the game against YG, to which, of course, the Sentinels had won. Everyone had gone home jubilant and hyped for championships next week against HYBE U. Chenle had gone out to celebrate with his teammates last night, so you hadn't seen him since, only talked with him over call and text like usual. So maybe something had happened between that?

He sniffled. "You weren't answering your phone, so I came here, and you weren't in your office, so…" He half-heartedly gestured to the piano. "I thought I'd try to… distract myself a little."

You brushed your lips against his head. "I'm sorry, honey. I had my phone on silent for the show, and I was walking Renjun out to his car. I—do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head. "Just want you."

"Okay, that's okay." You patted his head gently. "I didn't know you played piano. You're really good." And that was the truth. The notes had flowed together as smoothly as a river, and it had almost lured you to dance on the stage—if you could dance. It was like his hands had been made to play.

"It's been awhile," he said as an explanation. "Did you like it?"

"I liked it a lot. It's so beautiful; just like you, you know that?"

Checked suddenly raised his head from your shoulder to look at you. You could see the glisten of unshed tears waiting to spill and follow their predecessors down the slopes of his cheeks. His bottom lip trembled. "Yn," he rasped, "be honest with me."

You prompted him to continue, worry plaguing your mind.

"Do you like me—just for my money? Are you with me because I pay for things and get you things and all that?"

So this was what this was about. You shook your head earnestly. "No. No, no, of course not, Chenle." You reached for his hands and laced your fingers together, both of you staring down at your hands. "Chenle, I like you because you're sweet and hilarious and brilliant. I like you because you make my days and you always care about how I am, that you're not afraid to be with me. You show me off, but you respect my boundaries; you support me like I want to support you all the time.

"Maybe the money is how you show your affection, and I appreciate it a lot, but it's not what I like about you," you told him. "Even if you were dirt poor, I wouldn't care. I would still feel the same about you." You saw the tears falling down his cheeks and reached up to brush them away. "Are you okay, Lele? Really?"

Chenle nodded, raising his head so you could see the trembling smile on his face. "You really mean all that?"

"Yes, of course. I wouldn't lie about something like that. And I hope I can show you just as much love as you deserve."

The flood would not stop; he swiped again at his tears. "Yn, I—" I love you. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me for loving you, Chenle."

He lifted his hands up to cup your face in his hands, and he slowly brought your face to his. "Yn, can I kiss you?"

Your breath hitched in your throat. "Yeah," you nodded, "yeah, you can kiss me."

Chenle brought his mouth to yours, his salty tears on his lips and brushing against your cheeks. You slid closer to him on the piano stool and let him tilt your head back with one hand, the other sliding down your body to hold your waist. Everything about him overwhelmed your senses—the familiar scent of his expensive cologne, the feel of his hair between your fingers, his warm touch making butterflies soar in your stomach.

He slowly pulled away, forehead resting against yours as your breathing intermingled. Then he braced his hand against the stool right next to your leg and pushed himself closer to you, pressing his lips to yours once again.

Under the dull glow of the lightbulb, Chenle kissed you in the empty theater, the dead of night. His tears had dried up by now, no longer there, and he was hauling you onto his lap with your legs dangling off the side of the bench. His hands were everywhere, fingertips trailing fire through the fabric of your clothing. He was clinging onto dear life, memorizing your every curve and edge…

And you couldn't help but think of all the words he was trying to say through his actions.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐗—

Chenle did not wake up to the comfort of your weight on his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut from the light streaming through the bedroom window, and reached his arm over to the other side of the bed, only to meet cold sheets instead of your body that he could latch onto again. He groaned into the pillow and rolled over. When his eyes finally adjusted to the morning light, he sat up and let the sheets pool around his waist.

You had been sleeping over at his place for the past several nights, ever since he snuck into the theater at night to find you. You stayed here at his insistence, of course, but either he or you had to leave before the other woke up because of work, practice, or classes. Today, Friday, was Championship day.

He leaned over to his bedside table and grabbed his phone. A smile broke out onto his face at the sight of you as his lock screen. It was a picture from the opening night of The Lucky Ones, with you in that gorgeous blue gown. The two of you had taken a mirror selfie in the hallway of the theater, just before leaving for the night. His arm was settled comfortably on your waist, your body leaning into his. Your faces were hidden behind the phone, but it was enough to let anyone know that he was happily taken.

The inside home screen was just you, but much more recent. It was dinner right here in the penthouse, but caught candidly. You had been enraptured by the TV, mindlessly shoveling noodles into your mouth. He had caught the moment right before you were going to open your mouth again, with that innocent, cute dazed look in your eyes and the chopsticks of noodles held just below your chin.

He bit his lip with a smile and opened up your text chain. You had already left him a message.

bbygrl: good morning love <3 had to leave for my 8am

bbygrl: i'll c u later tonight for the game!! good luck and have a good day x

He was about to send you a message back when another notification appeared on his phone screen.

(鸡蛋 - egg ; 笨蛋 - stupid)

鸡蛋: chenle they're asking again, i can't keep stalling

笨蛋: u have to keep stalling

鸡蛋: idiot do u understand how difficult it is to withhold ur phone number from them??? AND maintain innocence???

鸡蛋: they're getting suspicious

笨蛋: uh get better at acting??? 🤨

鸡蛋: ur so fxking stupid.

Chenle exhaled sharply and swiped out of his cousin's direct texts and back to yours. Ningning was one of his closest cousins who still lived back in Shanghai. She not only took care of Daegal, but was also the person on the inside trying to stall to give him some more time. Time and freedom from what was a whole other can of worms.

lele: gm baby missed u this morning :(

bbygrl: you'll see me later

lele: ur texting in class? 🤭 bad, bad girl

lele: u should be punished

bbygrl: …if u shut up, i'll kiss u

lele: right now?? bEt

God, how did he go so long without kissing your face. He could feel the plushness of your lips on him right now, on his mouth, on his cheek, on his neck. He needed your lips stained red to stain his skin over and over again. He wanted you to scar him with your love.

bbygrl: sighs chenle go get ready for practice

lele: yes ma'am x love u

bbygrl: i love u too

And he giggled as he hopped out of bed and went to get ready for the day.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗—

Your heart was pounding as the timer on the scoreboard counted down. You were in the second half of the championship game against HYBE University, one of the up and comers lately who was just rising to popularity and in skill. They had a lot of new, talented players lately, but not enough to beat the Sentinels.

"—Choi passes to Lee! Ooh—blocked firmly by number 17, Bang Chan!"

Felix was gripping your hand tightly in his as the three of you—you, Karina, and Felix—all leaned forward in your seats to watch the game. You thought the tension was palpable during the first game of the season, but you clearly hadn't watched a championship game before. At this point, electricity buzzed through the air and the tension was so thick, you could probably cut it with a knife.

"Twenty seconds on the clock to break the tie! Number 30, Zhong, maneuvering his way through to get the ball to his teammates!"

You murmured under your breath like a prayer, "Come on, Lele. Come on, Chenle; you can do this."

Your eyes feverishly followed as Chenle dribbled the ball, only to get stopped by Lee Heeseung from Hybe U. Chenle made eye contact with Han Jisung and Park Jisung, both the only two the most open. He feigned left, then passed the ball between Heeseung and Choi Yeonjun.

In slow motion, you saw Huening Kai and Han Jisung go after the ball at the same time—then time returned to normal, fast paced vision, and Han Jisung swiped the ball and passed it to Sungchan. In a smooth alley oop, Sungchan caught the ball and dunked it into the basket.

"And the tie is broken with five seconds to spare!"

You saw the players converge on the ball under the net in an attempt to either get it to the other side in a miracle maneuver, or keep it closely guarded.

It was the latter, and victory rang through the gym with a loud air horn, along with showers of red and silver confetti.

After a brief exchange of sportsmanship from both teams, Chenle came barreling out of the crowd toward you like a bullet. Sweat glistened over the sharp planes of his grinning face, and he raked a hand through his dampened locks. You both collided together, you jumping up into his arms, him swinging you around, then kissing you firmly on the mouth. It said sincerely, earnestly, I love you.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐈—

"Hey, Chenle, how the hell did you get Yn to like you?"

Chenle lazily looked up from his phone to where Sungchan and Jisung were both gazing at him expectantly. They were all situated in Jisung and Sungchan's shared apartment at the moment, hanging out and watching the game. "It's called having a personality, Park."

Sungchan oohed at Chenle's burn, to which Jisung rolled his eyes.

Chenle laughed. "It's just one of those things, y'know? It happens if it should. If it's meant to be, it should." He shrugged, thinking about it for a moment more. "Guess I'm just really lucky."

"When did you get so sappy?" Sungchan teased as he shifted his position on the couch, smiling at his friend.

"He wasn't in love before," Jisung chimed in with a wagging finger in Chenle's direction. "So what? You're just gonna give all the credit to luck? You're one of the lucky ones?"

Chenle considered it. He picked up his can of sparkling water and dunked the rest of it down his throat. "Yeah. I mean, Yn's… Yn." He couldn't help the smile that crawled onto his face. "I got her attention at first, but I think I'm lucky she didn't just blow me off because I sounded like a douche."

Jisung snorted. "That you are."

Chenle rolled his eyes. "Shut up, singleton."

"Ugh, look what married life has done to you!" Sungchan groaned jokingly. "You gotta help me, dude. I wanna find true love."

"Only if you're serious."

Jisung wrinkled his nose and stood up to walk over to the kitchen and pour himself another glass of whatever he was drinking. "True love's dumb, but Yn's cool."

"Yn is cool," Sungchan agreed. "Chenle is not."

Chenle scowled, then rose from his seat. "I'm done being bullied by you two losers."

As he showed himself out of their cozy apartment, he heard Sungchan yell, "Say hi to Bestie Yn for me!" Chenle tsked under his breath and shook his head. But yes, going to see you would be a fantastic idea.

He quickly glanced at his phone for the time—4:59pm. He could probably swing by that chicken place you really liked and catch you for dinner. With a plan in his mind's eye, he hurried down to his car and sped off.

Chenle was coming out of the fried chicken eatery just a few blocks from your apartment when his phone lit up with an incoming call. He dumped the takeout bag into the front seat, but frowned down at the unknown number. He wasn't expecting a call, but he figured there was no harm in answering.

"Hello?"

"Son, it's been a while since I've heard your voice."

Chenle immediately hung up and blocked the number. He knew it was no use since they had his number now, but it made him feel slightly better as he took off toward your apartment. The whole way there, numbers continued to call his phone; he would probably have to power off his phone while he was up there with you, or just leave it here, in the car.

But when the stupid thing would not stop buzzing, he parked in your complex parking lot and picked up the call again.

"What do you want?"

A muscle feathered in his jaw as his father spoke on the other end. "That is a terrible way to greet your father, Chenle. We've been trying to reach you for several months now."

Chenle poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. He knew. "Yeah, and you have my number now." Unfortunately.

"You will be coming to the Spring Gala in May, won't you? I've already put you down as—"

"I'm not."

His father paused. "Excuse me?"

Chenle glared out the front windshield of his car. "I said I'm not. I don't have time to fly back and forth for that and school. And I don't want any part of whatever business scheme you and Mom want to drag me into."

There was a beat of silence on the other end, and Chenle was so close to calling it a victory. "You will fly back home and attend the gala, Zhong Chenle. You can make up for your schoolwork later. You have a future—a business to run."

"Against what will? My own." Chenle scoffed as he glanced at the car's clock on the console. He had to go now if he was gonna catch you before you actually started eating dinner. He grabbed the bag of chicken, squeezing his phone between his shoulder and ear, as he climbed out of the car. "I already know what's going to happen as soon as I get there. I refuse to acknowledge that I have a fiancée when I didn't even propose to her."

His father let out a disgruntled, irritated sigh. "Chenle—"

"No."

"Stop interrupting me—"

Chenle rolled his eyes as he pulled the phone away from his ear as his father lectured away on the other side of the phone. He silently counted to twenty in his head, kicking the lobby door of your apartment complex shut behind him, then trudged up the stairs with his other hand holding a bag of takeout. He pressed the phone to his ear. "Are you finished?"

"Zhong Chenle, have some manners and respect—"

Chenle nearly growled into the phone. "You want to talk manners and respect? How about not forcing me to marry a woman I'm not in love with? What is this? The 1800s?"

There was one more flight of stairs left and Chenle's voice echoed against the walls. He always complained about how your apartment complex lacked an elevator, and you would always reply with something sassy like "climb up the window then" or "buy them an elevator or something". The irony was that he could buy the landlord an elevator if he wanted to. But that would definitely be a bit of overkill.

And everything was perfect. Even without an elevator.

Well, so far. His father was threatening to screw everything up again, but Chenle liked to think he had everything under control.

"An alliance with Jin Tech is imperative."

"And marriage is the answer?" Chenle scoffed as he bursted onto your floor. He nodded and smiled a hello to one of your neighbors as he passed, before lowering his voice and hissing into the phone. "Nevermind. I don't have time for this now or ever. I'm not coming home so you and Mom can just ship me off to some woman I don't even know the name of!"

"Her name is Alice Jin—"

"I really don't care."

"I will disown you if you don't come home and meet your fiancée," his father's tone firm and stone cold serious. Chenle wasn't afraid of many things, but that tone made a shiver crawl down his back. "That's a promise."

He opened his mouth, ready to say something back so that his father didn't think those words affected him in any way—

"Lele?"

Chenle slammed his thumb against the end call button, slapping a smile onto his face. You were just unlocking your apartment with your hair falling in gentle waves down your shoulders and your small purse slung over your shoulder. "Baby!"

You smiled at him, unknowing and oblivious to the call he had just hung up on. You peered at him curiously. "Hi, honey, what're you doing here?"

"Eating dinner with you, silly," he chirped, breezing past you into your apartment. He set the bag on your kitchen table, already pulling containers out. "Thought I'd swing by 'cause I missed you at lunch, and I was on my way home and your favorite chicken place was just—well, there. So I obviously had to get some for you… what?"

You pursed your lips, an amused look settled on your pretty features. Jeez, you were so pretty. "Are you okay? You're a bit… frazzled right now."

Chenle's cheery expression dropped for a millisecond as his mind flashed back to the phone call. Come home for the spring gala. Meet your fiancée. But his grin was back in an instant. "Yeah, I'm good." He flicked his wrist, a brief dismissal of the subject, then suddenly pulled you into a hug. Shoving his face into the crook of your neck, he tried to suppress the wave of guilt and dread building up in his stomach. "Just missed you, baby."

Your warm arms came around him as you gently rubbed his back. "Oh, I missed you, too, Lele."

You won't when you find out, he thought to himself.

But for now, as you and him sat down together to have dinner, as he took in your laughter and smiling face, as he remembered all of the reasons why he fell in love with you… he could fool himself into thinking that this could be his forever.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐈𝐈—

Disownment. The word reverberated around in Chenle's skull as he sat in his desk chair at home, computer open. The screen displayed the Shanghai Airlines website page, his cursor primed over the "confirm" button. The page detailed a round-trip flight to Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, set for the Sunday night of spring break to the Saturday morning right before it ended. He didn't want to spend any more time than he needed to be.

This would be this upcoming weekend, which was happening far too soon, now that he thought about it. He couldn't… how was going to do this without the people he had around him now? He would have Ningning, and that was about it. Kun hardly went back home now, and you… oh god, what was he going to tell you?

Chenle buried his face in his hands, rubbed them over his eyes, wanted to wash everything away and to shut everything up. What was he going to do?

He reached over to the touchpad of his laptop and pressed the confirmation button. He might as well have signed away his freedom if he stepped foot back in Shanghai, but—that ten letter word haunted him to his core.

He couldn't breathe. Jesus Christ, he needed to breathe.

His phone buzzed from the table and sent his soul flying out of his body for a second. But then he saw your pretty face in the caller ID and knew the pounding of his heart wasn't just from anxiety, but from the pure feeling he had for you.

Without hesitation, he answered. "Hi baby. What's up?"

Your beautiful voice met his ears, like the voices of heaven. He stared at the confirmation for his flight on the laptop screen. "Hey honey, what're you up to?"

He swallowed, scratching the nape of his neck, then closed the lid of his laptop. "I'm, uhm, I actually just booked a flight back to Shanghai." He cleared his throat and walked away from the laptop, toward the window in the living room overlooking the city. "I'm going back for Spring Break."

"Oh, that's great! Sounds like so much fun, Lele."

If only you knew. "Yeah," he said half-heartedly.

You sensed his tone and told him gently, "Hey, are you getting enough sleep? I was gonna ask if you wanted to hang out at the office with me, but I'd rather you catch up on—"

"No, I'll be there." He was already halfway out the door, keys and jacket and wallet swiped on the way out. "I really need to get out of this apartment," he chuckled. "I'll meet you there? Or I can pick you up."

"I'm here already," you admitted cheekily. "I'll see you in five, love."

Chenle hummed. "See you then, baby. Love you."

"Love you, too. Drive safe."

When you hung up, he tucked his phone away to race off toward the university theater. On his way, however, he swung by the drive-thru Starbucks to grab you something to drink. Knowing you and the theater office, you would be there until you were literally drooling over manuscripts and bills. And knowing him, he would probably be knocked out as soon as he sat down.

He was striding in through the performer's entrance, passing by plenty of students and peers who he recognized ever since you and him became a "thing". But generally, as he greeted people he passed warmly and who greeted him the same way, he thought that he had been accepted here. His heart clenched at the thought. He had a basketball family, he had a community, he had his friends, he had you. What would happen in Shanghai? Would it change his entire life?

Knocking briefly on your closed door, he swiftly let himself into the room. Your head perked up at his entrance, and even more so at the cup of coffee in his hand.

"Oh my god, I love you!" You gasped, making grabby hands.

Chenle grinned, eyes smiling just like his mouth. You were so cute. He shook his head, pulling the coffee out of reach from you. "Nuh-uh, I want my compensation first."

You pouted, but you leaned up to press a kiss to his mouth. "Thank you, Lele. You're so thoughtful." You took the warm cup from him and took a careful sip.

He plopped into the seat across from you with a satisfied hum. "So what're you working overtime on today?"

"What do you mean overtime?" You asked innocently, your head already bowed over your documents.

"You know exactly what I mean." Chenle stood up and rounded the desk. Before you could object, he was lifting you off your chair. He sat himself in it, then placed you onto his lap. He peered over your shoulder. "Ew, why is that deadline so soon?"

You deadpanned. "That's exactly why I have to work overtime. The idiot at the office likes to give me this shit two weeks too late."

Chenle dug his nose into your neck to let the comforting smell of your perfume calm him down. Disownment. Shanghai. Fiancée. You. "Mm, the bastard. Want me to go talk to him?"

"No, it's okay. I'm good at making deadlines."

His mind wandered off to those skyscrapers across the Yellow Sea. Five days away from here. Things could change in five days. "Do you think you'd be done by dinner? We could go out to eat."

You made a noise of approval. "Yeah, I can be done by then. Any ideas?"

"You can choose. I just have an idea for afterwards. A moment of spontaneity, if you will."

You laughed. "We're planning it out beforehand, honey, that's not spontaneity."

Chenle pouted into your skin, wrapped his arms around you, and draped his body over your back. He watched your pen twirl and spin through your fingers. "Close enough."

"Well, what did you have in mind?"

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈—

The last thing you thought Chenle would do was drive you to some random neighborhood and to its sketchy basketball court, caged in the classic wire fencing and with amber street lights as its only light source. It was perhaps nine o'clock at night, and you had just finished eating dinner (finishing that document had taken a little longer than anticipated, but Chenle had seemed content to wait). The sky had darkened to a midnight cobalt, and you couldn't really see the stars, but it was a clear night out.

Chenle parked along the curb just across from the gate and was already tearing his seatbelt off.

You balked for just a moment. "Uhhhh, is this where I get murdered and dumped in an abandoned parking lot?"

He rolled his eyes. "Aish, you're so dramatic," he joked, tugging at your hand, "come on. I have a ball in the trunk."

The car door slammed shut on his side after he climbed out, and you were left in the silence of the empty car. Was that euphemism or…?

You slapped your hand to your forehead; you spent way too much time with Chenle. Not sparing another moment thinking about it, you followed Chenle out into the cool night. He was already hunched over the trunk of his car, digging through his basketball duffle bag.

"Jesus, you need to wash that thing," you grimaced, taking a step back.

He only laughed, pulling a basketball out of seemingly nowhere and slamming the trunk closed. He locked the car, offering his free hand to you. "I'm doing laundry before I leave," he reassured.

"I'd hope so," you muttered and faked a gag.

As Chenle pushed past the gate, you took a second to really look around at your surroundings. It was a classic neighborhood park with a playground over a little ways down the path, a grassy hill for kids and dogs to run around on, and of course, this court. There was a tennis court connected to it on one side of the fence, too.

Chenle released your hand and started to dribble as soon as his foot hit the faded lines outlining the basketball court on the grey cement. He dribbled the ball all the way to the three pointer line, stopped, then shot.

Nothing but net.

He grinned at you. "Easy enough. Your turn."

You sent him an incredulous look. "I don't think so."

He made a face, jogging over to get the ball back and to dribble it over toward you. He passed it, letting it bounce once before you caught it in your hands. It seemed like a very high quality (?) basketball, like it wouldn't deflate on you. To be honest, you probably hadn't touched a basketball since high school, and you told Chenle as much.

"Well, that's why I'm here, silly," he said and guided you over and across the court so you stood at midcourt. "Remember how to dribble?"

"I do." And you idly began dribbling the ball in place, using the pads of your fingers to push the ball down against the cement.

"Good," he praised. "Now dribble up to inner court."

"Say please," you stuck your tongue out at him over your shoulder, but walked and dribbled the ball all the way to the inner court. You figured you probably couldn't make a basket from the three pointer line anyway.

Once you were at inner court, you stopped the ball in your hands and made a sad attempt at shooting the ball into the net. It rebounded hard off the rim, and Chenle stopped it midair with one hand. He passed it to his other before returning it to the cement to be dribbled.

"That was cute."

You wrinkled your nose at him. "Oh, shut up."

He chuckled, placing the ball back into your hands. He stood behind you and guided your arms in the correct form. His voice was seated right by your ear, the warmth of his breath sending zaps of energy down your spine and to your curling toes. "You just need to follow through. Like this."

His hands moved yours to mimic correct shooting technique. Then he added, "You want to make sure when you shoot, your hands follow through and send it where it should be. If your hands aren't directed toward the hoop, it probably won't go in."

You nodded, and once you felt him take a step back, you tried again. You let the ball boost off the page of your fingertips once more, this time, keeping your follow-through. The ball didn't make it in the hoop, but it rolled around the rim once before slipping off the edge.

"Damn," you murmured and went to retrieve it.

"That was a lot better though," Chenle said with a glimmer in his eyes. You could feel the excitement and amusement rolling off him in waves. "Try again."

And you did. Until you made a stupid basket.

"Yes, yes, yes! Let's go!" You shouted, jumping for absolute fucking joy. Your grinning face met his as you stomped your foot on the ground in victory. "Did you see that? I finally got one!"

Chenle chuckled, nodding and indulging you with applause. "I did, baby. I'm proud of you."

The two of you would end up passing the ball around to each other, one of you taking a shot here or there. He taught you how to play Horse, too, and eventually, he went to get a mini Bluetooth speaker from his magical dufflebag to play some music.

"This is not fair!" You growled, nearly climbing up him like a tree as he held the basketball high above his head. "Chenle!"

Your boyfriend giggled like a maniac, not even bothering to fend you off as you braced your arms on his shoulders and tried to hoist yourself up. You clawed at the air in desperate attempts to get the ball from him, but the bastard was messing with you. "You're almost there, Yn-ie! Look!"

You were not.

You glared at him.

Chenle's laughter faded just a little bit. "Okay, okay. I'll give you the ball back if I get my compensation."

"That sounds familiar," you said, easily going up to him. You hauled him down by his neck, despite his squawk of surprise, and kissed him. As you pulled back, your teeth nipped his bottom lip.

His thumb came up to graze his bottom lip, tongue licking it, eyes growing darker. "Come here."

You giggled, backing away. "No."

"Yn," he said while slowly approaching you like a predator to his prey. He set the basketball down. "Come here, baby."

"No, no, no—AH!" Your laughter filled the night air as you darted off across the court, making a large loop around the wired perimeter. Chenle was hot on your tail the entire time, his own laughter intermingling with yours.

You were heaving for breath (goddamn, you were out of shape), and so clearly, Chenle caught you. He wound his arms around you, caged you in his embrace. You squealed, squirming in his hold, but he held fast and tight.

It was at this moment that both Chenle and you recognized the song playing. It was an old one, the lyrics prefaced by the melody of trumpets and violins.

"You know how to waltz, Zhong?"

He pulled a smile, but it was like there was something sad in it. "Ballroom dance. But yeah."

You mocked a curtsy to him. "May I have this dance then?"

He answered you by holding out his hand for you to take. You placed your right hand in his, and he guided you to the middle of the basketball court. You placed your left hand on his shoulder, his free hand on your waist. And you both marked the three-fourths time before stepping into the sway of a waltz.

You let your cheek rest against his chest as he pulled you closer and you were just swaying to the beat. Chenle rested the side of his cheek against your head, pressing a kiss to your hairline.

You could hear the speed of his heart, the quickness of its beat.

"Lele."

"Mhm."

"I love you."

His heartbeat quickened under your ear. Ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump.

He swallowed. "Yn, I love you, too."

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐈𝐕—

"Oh my god, how does Chenle stand you? You're so boooooring, Yn." Felix groaned from where he laid upside down on your couch. His socked feet were sticking up the back, giving you a strange view from your vantage point in the kitchen.

You had just dropped Chenle off at the airport to head off to Shanghai about an hour ago. He had been an awful lot clingier the past few days leading up to the trip, but you supposed you understood since he would be leaving Seoul after being here for so long. New-old environments could be weird.

You were a little worried about him, but maybe that was just the thought of being away from him for five days. You'd gone days without seeing each other, but that was because you frequently called and texted. You didn't know what he'd be doing in Shanghai, but you were sure you could pick up any call he dialled. You weren't doing anything spectacular this break anyway.

In response to Felix, you said nothing. Instead, you marched over to the couch and flicked the arches of his feet.

He helped in surprise, using his miraculous abdominal muscles to haul his head up from the ground to glare at you. "Hey! Rude."

"Hey you," you snorted. You collapsed on the couch next to him. "And I am not boring. I just haven't hung out with you in a while solo."

Karina was going to visit her home in Gyeonggi-do for the week, so Felix had temporarily become your roommate. He didn't plan to visit Australia until summer break hit. It was just the two of you, but you were alright with that. You and Felix still worked at the café together anyway; it would just be fully you two for a week now.

Felix grumbled and pulled himself onto the couch to sit upright. "I know. You and Chenle are so busy being disgustingly in love. I mean, you can date someone and still hang out with your favorite Australian, can't you?"

"I think I like Chan better—I'msorrydon'thurtme!" You squealed, leaping from the couch when he feigned pouncing at you.

He settled in his spot again, pouting, but he reminded you of Mofy Duck as you looked at him. "But you and Chenle seem to be getting really serious though, yeah?"

You sat back down on the couch and sighed in content. "Yeah. I dunno, Lix. I think… you know—I'd spend my whole life with him."

"Really?" He pocketed his phone and so the two of you zoned into the conversation. "I mean, no, that's fantastic. It's great, Yn. And I'm so happy for you. I did not think that Chenle sauntering through the door of the café that day would end in something like this, but… I think it's beautiful, what you two have, I mean."

"Oh, thank you Lix. That means a lot." You pulled your knees up to your chest. "He really does saunter, huh."

Felix pressed his lips together, nodding. "He does."

You and Felix shared a laugh. You hoped Chenle was going to have a good time in Shanghai. In an hour, hopefully, you would receive word from him that he had safely landed.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐕—

Chenle wanted to leave. He wanted to leave now.

There was nothing wrong with the city of Shanghai. God, he had missed this place, with all of the smells and sights and feelings. It was his childhood, where he had grown up. He would have loved to bring you here one day.

The plane had landed, safely and smoothly, as per usual. As soon as he had access to signal, he was shooting you text after text, before his family's hired security company was carting him off into a black SUV. He would have preferred to drive himself, but he supposed this allowed him to text back and forth with you.

He didn't want to give away his displeasure about being here to you, so he took pictures of the city sights he passed by, described any and all of the food smells he detected, and sent them all to you. It was like you were right next to him, experiencing all of this yourself. He knew it wouldn't live up to the real thing, but he would make do.

He knew he drew closer to the family apartments even before they got off the highway. He could feel the thrum of the coast, could see the grey sea in the distance, then the dark and cream tiled roofs of the apartments. They were built in a modern spin on traditional Chinese architecture, and they had become very familiar to Chenle.

The family apartments were not the typical apartment complexes like the one you lived in, but a row of small houses pressed up against each other to squeeze into the limited space of Shanghai's city limits. Each house-apartment was built with luxury and comfort in mind, however, and each apartment featured a connected backyard space that looked out at the sea view. Backyards were separated by large hedges for privacy, as well.

Chenle's foot hit the car floor rapidly as the car approached the first apartment. He didn't expect his parents to be waiting outside for his arrival or to be there at the airport to pick him up; he was hardly surprised at this point. It just made everything easier to swallow.

Bags were pulled out of the trunk, and Chenle reluctantly trudged up the steps into his family home.

It was just as he remembered: dark oak floors, traditional poetry and paintings hung on the walls, his mother's pet project Bonsai trees scattered about hallway tables. It was like walking through a time capsule; that was how stuck in the past his family was.

He feared a collision course with his family earlier than was necessary, and escaped up to his room where he could probably have at least a couple minutes of calm before the storm. Or, at least until Ningning came with Daegal. He grabbed his backpack and suitcase, then hightailed it up the stairs.

As he locked himself in his room, he felt his phone buzz to life once more.

鸡蛋: hey loser i'm almost there

鸡蛋: i think bb daegal can sense that she's going to c u

-

bbygrl: *image sent* here's my pet chick for the week

bbygrl: he says *i'm* the boring one 😒 and he fell asleep on the couch

bbygrl: u better send pics of daegal 🤨🔪

Chenle settled on the edge of his bed, still crisp and made from when he left. Nothing else had been touched over the course of the years he hadn't been here, but it was still nostalgic enough. All the posters of NBA players, the keyboard in the corner.

笨蛋: well i'm excited to see her too

笨蛋: and ig u too..

-

lele: jeez say pls first baby :/

lele: haha u should write loser on his forehead

bbygrl: i knew there was a reason y i liked u 😁

lele: uH HELLAUR??

There was a knock on the door. "Chenle xiansheng, Ning xiaojie has arrived."

He didn't recognize the voice from the other side, but figured his parents had hired a few more staff members for the household since he left. "Oh, uh, send her up, please. Thank you!"

The footsteps withdrew from the door, and Chenle set his phone on the bedside table.

He stood up, walking over to the floor to ceiling window that doubled as a balcony door. It looked out at the sea from here. Chenle braced his hand against the doorframe and gazed out. Maybe he should send you a picture of the waves as they pulled and pushed along the shoreline.

"Jesus, you look like you're in some bad C-drama." The door opened to his room without a knock, followed by the tap-tap-tap of little paws along wood and an ebullient bark. "That's the most excited she's been in awhile."

Chenle whirled around and knelt to the ground as a furry white blur came crashing into him. He chuckled, hugging Daegal to his chest as she lapped at his face. "Hi Daegal. I missed you," he cooed.

Ning Yizhuo, Chenle's cousin from Harbin, stood in the doorway with a smile on her face. Her long hair was dyed a fiery red, just like her attitude. While her parents were partners at Chenle's parents' company, she wouldn't get a piece of the pie due to "traditional" inheritance rules. It was stupid, but now, she modeled for luxury brands and designed her own clothes, too. Chenle might find her irritating at times, but he had always admired her strength and independence.

He raised his head up to her as he picked Daegal up in his arms. "Thanks for watching over her." His hand idly ran through her fur and scratched behind her ears.

Ningning nodded, shifting her weight from foot to foot. She closed his bedroom door behind her. "How's life, cousin? Seoul treating you well?"

"It's…" he sighed. "It's better than I could've ever imagined."

"That's good to hear," then she added, "I'm glad you've enjoyed your freedom."

Chenle's mood soured, and he set Daegal down. The dog scurried around his legs once or twice before giving up and running over to jump into his bed.

Ningning lowered onto the edge of his bed and massaged Daegal's stomach. "Sorry, that's probably a bad way to put it."

"No, it's all right. That's pretty much what it is, right?" He shook his head and picked up his phone again. He went back to the window and snapped a quick picture of the view to send to you.

lele: *image sent* it's prettier when it's sunny

bbygrl: it's still pretty when it's gray

lele: i think ur prettier anyway

bbygrl: always a flatterer aren't u?

lele: what can i say? give compliments where compliments r due ;)

"Does she make you happy?"

Chenle snapped out of her daze, the smile still evident on his face. "Huh?"

Ningning inclined her head to his phone. "I'm guessing that's your girlfriend. Or partner."

He worried his bottom lip between his teeth. "Yeah, she's… yeah. You better not—"

"I thought you knew me better than that, Chenle." She arched a brow at him in slight teasing. But there was that sadness in her eyes, too. Chenle knew why. Even if she wasn't getting her parents' company, she still had their name. She was subject to just about the same rules as he was.

"Right. Sorry."

"So what are you gonna do?" Ningning asked him. "You know that they're gonna make you meet her at least once while you're here. I bet they have some kind of dinner planned already."

That wasn't even a question in Chenle's mind. His five days here were going to be the busiest and most exhausting five days of his life, probably. He could see it now, meal after meeting after meal after meeting. His parents were going to soak the life out of him while they could. And then some.

Another knock on the door. "Chenle xiansheng, your parents would like to see you in their home office."

Chenle inwardly cursed. He'd hoped they would let him settle in first. "Hao ah, thank you. Give me five minutes."

Once the footsteps had left, Ningning brushed a hand over Daegal's coat. "Need moral support?"

"When do I not need moral support to talk to my parents?" He joked. Chenle slipped his phone into his pocket, scratched Daegal's head one more time, then left the room.

As he walked down the hallway and down the steps again toward his parents' home office, Chenle willed his heart to slow. His hands were even getting clammy and he wondered how he'd grown so soft in his time away that he was like a kid again in this house. Where was the spine he'd grown? He'd need it before facing the wolves this week.

Chenle brushed a hand through his hair as he stood before the engraved doors to the home office. It was in the shape of a circle, split directly down the middle. With a deep breath, he knocked on the door and pushed the doors open.

There were three people standing inside the office, surrounding the big mahogany desk at the far wall. He recognized his father in the office chair and his mother standing at his side. The young woman standing across from them was familiar, but he couldn't put a name to the face. Then again, there were very few options as to who she was racing through the forefront of his mind.

He had a sneaking suspicion.

"Ah, my son has finally graced us with his presence." His father did not stand, did not smile. "Close the door."

Say please. Chenle closed the door. As he approached slowly, his nod of greeting was more akin to a bow. "Fumuhao." (fùmù = formal word for parents; hǎo = a form of greeting lol idrk how to explain it)

"At least he has some manners left," his father commented.

Chenle's jaw clenched.

"Well," his father continued, "I suppose I should not dawdle any longer. Chenle, meet Miss Jin."

The young woman bowed shallowly to him in greeting and he returned the gesture. Her expression was the dictionary definition of polite.

"She's your fiancée."

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐕𝐈—

You felt like your stomach was about to explode. Dazed and half comatose, you reached for the remote and lowered the volume of whatever romcom was playing on the TV now. Felix's head was slumped over on the other side of the couch, light snores emitting from his parted lips. The smell of brownies filled and lingered in the apartment air, making you sigh in content. You wondered why Felix never started a brownie business.

You reached for your phone, which had been discarded on the couch cushions beside your body, and you picked it up. No messages, no missed calls. This had been the same thing for the past day and a half. Absolute radio silence from Chenle.

And you were… happy? At least, you thought you were, but only because this had to be an indication that he was having fun. Right?

You weren't too sure and you thought he would at least send you a check up message to assure you he was alive. This wasn't very… Chenle of him? But you didn't want to bother, and you had slowed down your messages for a bit.

You bit your lip, hesitantly typing out another few words to send.

you: hey honey just woke up from a post-brownie hangover lmao u really need to try lix's brownies

you: hope ur having fun over there! :) love you

"He still hasn't responded?"

You shook your head, as Felix drowsily pulled himself from dream land. His eyes fluttered and squinted to adjust to the light of the TV screen. The sky outside the apartment was dark, since the two of you had chosen to stay in this afternoon to make brownies. Then you both crashed in a food coma until now.

"He's probably just really busy," you told him, mainly trying to convince yourself. You feigned nonchalance as you tossed your phone back onto the couch and stood up. "Want some water? I think I need to flush out all the sugar I inhaled earlier," you mused.

Felix cleared his throat. "Oh, yeah. That's a good idea. Get me some please?"

"Sure." You pulled two glasses from the cabinet and filled them with water from the filtered dispenser into the fridge.

Felix called from the couch. "I think you got a message."

You nearly dropped both glasses right there.

He chuckled as you messily handed him both cups to pick up your phone.

lele: sorry i haven't been able to text u babe

lele: save some brownies for me tho 😞 love u too x

A smile bloomed on your face like the rising of the sun. He was okay.

you: dw abt it love! i'll c u in a few days x

You knew you probably wouldn't get a text back right away, but a girl could hope.

Felix noticed the shift in your mood. He scratched the side of his neck, peering down at his phone. "Chan's hosting a small get-together at his dorm. You think you're up for it? We don't have to go if you don't want to."

But you could see that Felix was itching to do something. And that he believed this might help you. It would do no good sitting around moping about your boyfriend who was gone. Where was your independent self now? You gave him a nod and stood up again, stretching your arms over your head. "Yeah, we can go. I'll go put on something presentable."

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈—

The tie around Chenle's neck was practically a noose. He had a terrible feeling that if he wasn't on his toes, the fabric would tighten around his neck and keep squeezing. The sky outside his window was already dark like the abyss, meaning the charity gala being held here had begun. He could hear cars pulling up to the driveway and guests chattering below. His parents were supposed to be announcing his return soon, so he just bided his time upstairs until he was needed.

Somebody knocked gently on the door, and he was mentally preparing himself to be summoned downstairs.

"Chenle xiansheng, it's Jin xiaojie. Could I… speak with you for a moment?"

He couldn't tell if this was better or worse. But then again, the brief and polite conversations he'd had with Alice Jin over the past couple of days had been okay to say the least. She was quiet, not timid, but she didn't say anything that wasn't expected of her. He figured she was in the same boat as him.

"Uhm, yeah. You can come in." Chenle scratched the back of his neck instead of raking his hand through his freshly done hair. He stood awkwardly in the middle of his own childhood bedroom as he watched Alice slip inside and quietly close the door behind her.

She was pretty, actually. She had a heart shaped face and high cheekbones, with her dark hair partly pulled into an elegant hairdo. She wore an embroidered red qipao that accentuated her slim figure, but put her as the center of all of your parents' standards. It was no wonder they were so eager to welcome her to the family.

But he loved you, not her; he didn't even know her, other than their fates were inexplicably intertwined now.

"I'm going to speak freely," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest. "You and I both don't want this."

He huffed, leaning against the edge of his desk. "No kidding."

"But we have to." Those words settled uncomfortably in his chest. The truth was so difficult to swallow. "And we have to put on a show for those pigs out there, no matter what our true feelings are." She spat out the word pigs with the most emotion Chenle had ever experienced from her. It made him listen really closely.

Alice released a trembling breath. "My parents made me break up with my boyfriend for this, and I'm guessing you must have had a partner, too?"

"I still have one," he corrected. For now. Oh my god, he needed to text you back.

She pursed her lips. "Well, good for you, I guess."

He thought he heard bitterness in her tone, and maybe a hint of sadness. He felt guilt rise in his throat; she had already let go of her boyfriend, but he couldn't bring himself to let you go. He didn't want to, not yet. You were one of the best things that had happened to him.

"This is going to be weird for us, trust me, I know." Alice turned her gaze out to the window, staring out into the obsidian night sky and the infinitely dark sea. "But… I figured you could pretend I'm her, and I could pretend you're him."

Chenle rubbed a hand over his face. "Okay. Yeah, okay." He could do this. He could do this, right?

"They're gonna need us to come out soon. We need to be there when they announce our engagement anyway," she laughed wryly.

That made him pause. "Wait what? I thought they were just announcing my return?"

Alice furrowed her brows at him. "Surely you didn't just think that, Chenle? This isn't a charity gala; it's our engagement party."

Fucking hell. Chenle swore, wanting to scoop his eyeballs out. That meant there was press here specifically to report on how he had a fiancée. This was not good. He didn't know how he had convinced himself that the press wouldn't focus too much on him, but on the charity gala as per usual. He was a certified idiot.

"Chenle, you need to breathe."

He felt her hands planted firmly on his shoulders. She was standing too close, too close—

Alice backed away, apology in her eyes. "You really thought they wouldn't publicise it and hark on the opportunity?"

"I was optimistic." And stupid.

His phone buzzed.

"You should answer her," she told him, gesturing to his device on the nightstand. "But we need to go afterward."

He nodded and swiped his phone up. A small smile pulled at his lips as he read through the words you sent. He quickly sent back a couple messages, wishing he could see your face for some semblance of strength. When he was done, he left the phone on the nightstand again.

Chenle swallowed his pride and offered Alice his arm. She graciously linked her arm with his.

"Ready to go put on our first performance?" She asked. The smile on her face looked loving, but he saw the sad empathy in the fine lines.

He tried his best to return that expression, to channel as much love for you he had and to show that to her. "Ready as I'll ever be."

The two of them walked out of the bedroom together as staff rushed to and fro, hurrying past or allowing them to pass. They received compliments to their cleaned up appearances and elegance, and they accepted all of the comments with perfect decorum. As they were expected to do.

Alice suddenly stopped before they were about to round the corner to the stairway. Chenle could hear the sounds of chatter and laughter from downstairs.

"Oh, I almost forgot." She glanced up at him, murmuring softly with that same smile plastered on her face. "Did your parents give you the ring?"

"Ring?" Chenle didn't recall receiving one, but he patted down the pockets of his suit. He wasn't even surprised when he found a diamond ring in the top left inside pocket of his suit blazer. The massive rock glistened in the hallway lights. He imagined what it might have been like if he was putting the ring on your finger instead of hers.

The ring slipped onto Alice's ring finger perfectly. Like his parents had measured her finger to the millimeter and had been curated especially for her.

Alice tested the ring's weight, curling her fingers and examining the diamond's luster. "I once wanted to become a geologist when I was a kid."

"I wanted to be in the NBA," he chuckled. "Guess we all have dreams."

Alice considered him for a moment with a sideways smile. "We're gonna be okay, Chenle. We'll make it through tonight."

He nodded. "I know. Thanks." Just pretend it's Yn. You can do this, Chenle.

They returned their arms to each other, each taking a deep breath in. Then the two of them rounded the corner and met the wolves with blinding lights and pretty masks.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈—

Thursday morning, you woke up to the sound of murmuring outside your bedroom door. You groggily noted the sunlight streaming through your window and estimated that it was probably late afternoon. You and Felix had been out late last night at Bang Chan's apartment, playing Cards Against Humanity and bonding with a few of Chenle's basketball teammates, Felix's dance team, and others as well.

—Was that Karina's voice out there?

You tossed your covers back and stumbled out of your room, half dazed on sleep.

Karina and Felix were conversing at the kitchen counter, solemn expressions on their faces. Karina's suitcase sat by the door as if she had just gotten back from the airport. Felix buried his face into his hands and you wondered what was going on.

"Hey Karina, I didn't think you'd be back until later tonight," you said, shuffling over to hug your friend.

Karina hugged you tight. "Hey, Ynie. Yeah, I was supposed to fly in tonight, but… uhm, something came up." She exchanged a glance with Felix.

You frowned, looking between them. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah!" Felix stammered. "I was just talking to Karina about our work schedule for next week. Boss put me on extra hours."

You immediately frowned. "Wait what? Did he ask you beforehand?"

"No, but—"

"Let me talk to him," you offered, already hurrying back into your room to find your phone. "He knows you have a dance competition coming up."

Karina and Felix's faces drained of their blood and they chased after you, wide-eyed in panic. "Yn, wait! Don't look at your—phone…"

They stopped in the middle of your bedroom. You were hunched over your nightstand, nose deep in your phone. You were frozen, heart sinking into your stomach. Your phone had been blowing up while you were asleep with people sending you some clippings of some headlines. Most of the headlines were in Mandarin, but there were a couple in Korean.

"ZHONG CHENLE AND JIN ALICE: ENGAGED"

"ZHONG CORPORATIONS AND JIN TECH TO BE BROUGHT TOGETHER IN HOLY MATRIMONY"

"CHENLE & ALICE: READ ALL ABOUT THEIR LOVE EXPRESSED AT THEIR ENGAGEMENT PARTY"

You could feel arms around you, holding you close against their chest. Then another set pulling you toward them, too. Was this real? It had to be, right? There were too many different sources that it couldn't have been fake. And too many people had sent it to her, asking about your relationship and if you were aware.

No, you weren't aware.

Goddamn, how could you have known? Just last night, you thought you were still in a loving, healthy relationship. Now? Apparently your boyfriend was engaged to another woman.

The phone was wrenched from your fingers and you were guided to sit on your bed. Breathe, breathe, breathe—

"Yn? Honey, do you want some water? Some space?" Karina asked softly, kneeling down in front of you so she met your eyes.

You blankly shook your head, wiped your eyes. "I need to ask him—" You cleared your congested throat, "—I need to get a hold of him. I want to know how he's gonna explain this to me."

I want him to say it to my face.

Felix frowned sympathetically. "Yn, I don't think that's…"

"Lix, give her the phone, please," Karina said. She held out her hand and Felix placed the device into her palm. She passed it to you and monitored you as you furiously pulled up his text message chain.

you: hey can we talk? pls?

you: I just want to know what's going on I'm so confused

you: if u want to break up w me, have some dignity and do it to my face

You trembled as a response came in, but you couldn't tell if it was from anger, sadness, panic, or all three.

lele: don't contact this number anymore

Then he blocked you.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐈𝐗—

You were probably insane, but at this exact moment in time, you convinced yourself that you were in the right. You deserved closure. And if Zhong Chenle lacked the balls to come to you and explain it to you himself, then you would march right up to his stupid penthouse apartment and give him a piece of your goddamn mind.

Chenle had been back from Shanghai for the past two days—it was currently the Monday after spring break. There had been nothing from him, as you expected. You were bound to take matters into your own hands to see exactly what went wrong. A handful of Chenle's friends who you had got acquainted with like Park Jisung and Jung Sungchan had reached out to you. They were really nice about it all, but couldn't offer any more information than you already knew. It seemed like no one knew what the hell was going on except for Chenle.

As a now engaged man—you thought of that title bitterly—he probably had the whole world's eyes on him. If he went to see you, everyone would pounce on the opportunity at a scandal. It was a disaster in the making. But maybe you needed a disaster. You'd felt far too helpless lately.

The doorman at Chenle's apartment greeted you warmly, and you made sure to wish him well. After all, he wasn't the one who deserved your wrath.

As you rose up in the elevator, you drummed your fingers nervously against the seam of your jeans. You had been rehearsing what you were gonna say ever since you woke up this morning, ready to hurt someone. You were adamant about getting your closure, and you knew Chenle didn't have classes until noon. So that gave you three hours to get shit settled.

The elevator arrived with a cheerful and metallic ding on his floor.

"Hello? Who—oh."

There he was, standing in slippers and his pajamas in the middle of the living room. He seemed surprised to see you for a moment, but that emotion vanished in an instant. You didn't recognize this Chenle. Fundamentally, nothing had changed about him, but you felt the shift. You felt the discomfort and tension, worse than it was at the Championship game. (That felt so long ago now.)

"How the hell did you get in?" He asked you, crossing his arms over his chest.

You stepped into the living room, not moving a step closer to him. This—this felt weird. Shouldn't the doorman have forewarned him you were on your way up? "The doorman, obviously. We need to talk."

"We're talking."

You know what? Screw the script. "What happened, Lele? What happened in Shanghai, what happened to us, what—"

"What do you mean 'us', Yn?" His tone made you start. "Can't you take a hint? I'm engaged to another woman, and you're just talking about the past?"

Your nostrils flared. "You mean the past that was literally a day beforehand? Chenle, what the hell? You don't even have the fucking decency to say you're sorry, but to block me without an explanation."

He rolled his eyes, like he had better things to do than to have this conversation with you. "You're really stupid, you know?"

"What?"

"You're really stupid." He tucked his hands into his pants pockets now, stance casual and gaze calculating. "You haven't figured it out yet?"

You wished you could speak. Fuck, you wished you could get words out.

"You were just a distraction, Yn. Just someone to have fun with before I needed to take over my responsibilities at the company."

You couldn't breathe. "Just a distraction."

He laughed, cruel and dark and wry. This was not your Chenle. But did your Chenle even exist? "You really thought I would keep you around? I have greater things in life than all this here in Seoul." Greater things than you, he seemed to say.

Wounded and heartbroken, you mustered all of your energy toward not crying or showing weakness. You held your head up high. "Guess you're even worse than the rumors say you are," you told him as calmly as you could. "Congrats on your engagement, and congrats on somehow living with such a shit personality. Have a nice, fake life."

You turned away and jammed the elevator button, willing it to come fetch you. Neither you nor Chenle said anything else as you left the penthouse. But as soon as the doors closed, your body shook so hard you fell against the wall, and you couldn't hold back the flood anymore.

Distraction. You were just a distraction.

For Chenle, the world was crashing down around him—walls crumbling, gravity flipping upside down. You had left with a stinging remark, and he couldn't bring himself to insult you anymore as you left. He was already breaking down as it was, collapsing onto the couch and trying to keep tears at bay.

How could he forgive himself for hurting you like that?

"You're a fucking dumbass."

"How could you talk to her like that? Don't you have any compassion?"

Chenle could feel Jisung and Sungchan practically run into the living room from his inner bedroom, where they had been hiding when you came in. He wouldn't have been able to do all that if it was in front of his friends, which was pretty pathetic of him, but he knew they heard everything. And they were rightfully furious at him for it.

Jisung planted himself on the glass coffee table in front of him, barely concealed rage on his face. "Have you any decency? Why the hell are you fucking crying when you just talked to her like that?"

Sungchan stood beside Jisung, arms crossed over his chest. "C'mon, Chenle. Aren't you gonna at least try to defend yourself? That was some pretty messed up shit you told her."

"I know," he croaked. Was it hot in here? "I was going to explain it all before she got here, but…" Well, you had gotten here before he could.

"So then explain," Jisung demanded. "You go to Shanghai for five days and all of a sudden you're engaged to some woman none of us know, you're acting like a douchebag, and you break Yn's heart. You told us yourself that you loved her. What the hell happened?"

Sungchan set a hand on Jisung's shoulder. "Jisungie-ah, calm down a little. Let's hear what he has to say."

They looked at Chenle.

Chenle leaned back against the couch cushions, eyes red with unshed tears. "My parents had my life planned out since I was born. Since I'm inheriting an empire, they had to ensure the future of it was in the right hands. Which also meant that they were going to pick who I married. They told me before I left for college here that I had a fiancée already and to keep that in mind, or some shit. I've been trying to avoid it, but it came to bite me in the ass when I met Yn.

"They basically threatened to disown me if I didn't fly back home and meet my alleged fiancée. And as much as I despise my parents for all the shit they've given me, I don't…" he struggled to find the words. "I don't want…"

Sungchan's expression was understanding. "You don't want to be without family. You still want that bond and you don't want to let people down, but you have to."

Chenle made a sad, noncommittal wave of his hand. "Yeah. That."

Jisung started at the floor, lips parted. "I'm sorry for going off on you like that. And I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this. But what you said was so brash—"

"Jisung, trust me, I know." Chenle let the emotion roll down his cheeks. He couldn't bottle it up any longer. "I want to throw up right now just thinking about what I said to her."

"Make it right, then."

"I'll have my ass beat if my parents hear. Everyone is watching me now. It's better if she leaves and never looks back." The press were harking for a scandal. If he so much as looked in your direction again in public, he was going to get a strongly worded warning from his parents. He was in a bind, and he didn't know what to do anymore.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐗—

Five days later, you were very close to committing murder.

You had managed to fool everyone, and even yourself, for a couple days that you were handling the breakup fine. You had gotten closure, and that had allowed you to scream and yell and cry it all out. But then you went right back to normal, albeit a little more of a workaholic than you used to be. Renjun and Doyoung were frequent visitors to your office and often had to drag you out by your ear. Felix forced you to make drinks and pastries while he dealt with customers at the café, probably for fear you would either snap or break down.

And you were fine. You were doing fine, you really were.

Until you were walking across campus to the library and heard the whispering, saw the pointing. And watched as Chenle and his fiancée walked arm in arm down the sidewalk toward you. You almost broke down on the spot, your legs were shaking so badly.

You made eye contact with Chenle for a split second, before you were speed walking past them, like you were never there in the first place. They had looked… content. And you wanted so badly to be happy for him, and to move the fuck on.

But that was just wishful thinking. Like you wishing this was all a fever dream or a misunderstanding.

Instead, everything you had experienced with Chenle felt like a mirage. All of it—had all of it been fake?

Today at the café, it was just you. Felix had a dance competition and Karina was on her way, but she wouldn't be here until later. You were slouched over the coffee machine, waiting for the cup to fill up.

"Hey, uhm, Yn."

"Hm?"

Liu Yangyang winced as he leaned over the counter, afraid to set you off. He didn't want you crying again; he hated when you cried, because he never knew how to help. "The coffee's spilling over."

You cursed, looking down. Indeed, dark bitter brew sloshed over the sides and onto your shoes. It stained your already dirty sneakers a dreadful dark brown. You groaned, smacking your palm against your forehead. "Damn it. Sorry Yangyang."

The man bit his lip. He knew you were struggling, and he felt bad that he needed coffee all the time. "It's okay. I can still drink that."

The coffee burned your fingers as you carefully slapped a lid on it and handed it to him. "I'm so sorry; I'm literally a mess right now."

"Take a break," he pleaded softly. He usually sat in the corner of the café on his laptop to do his work, but recently, he had moved up to the counter to monitor you. "Yn, please. No one's here; you can take a break. Come sit and talk to me."

He pouted at your hesitation. "I'm lonely."

You rolled your eyes, but wiped your hands on a towel and made your way around the counter. He grinned in utter delight (and relief) as you slid onto the open stool next to him.

Yangyang leaned his cheek against his fist as he looked at you—really looked at you. "Talk to me. Spill it all out; I can take it."

"I uhm…" you wrung your hands together. "I saw him." You struggled to swallow, already feeling your nose begin to sting. "I saw him walking on campus with her. I dunno why she's here, but she is and I—" a shudder quaked through your body and Yangyang frowned. "I thought I was gonna fall over, Yang, that's how badly I was shaking.

"God, I love him so much and it hurts so bad. I wish I could just stay mad at him, but all I feel is sorry. Sorry for myself, sorry for him, sorry for… I don't even know." You threw your hands in the air and let them flop onto your legs.

Yangyang scrunched his brows. "Why do you feel sorry for him? From what I heard, he's the one who should be sorry."

You shrugged. "I have a feeling this is arranged. Maybe he feels trapped; maybe he doesn't. Yeah, he was a jerk about it, but the more I think about it, the more I feel sorry for him. He has to live with himself like that. I don't even know if he's happy."

"You're so…" Yangyang tugged at the strands of his hair. "Why are you so nice?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you so nice!" He repeated in indignation, hands thrusted out for effect. "You said it yourself—he was a jerk about it, and yet, you want him to be happy. I demand whipped cream and sprinkles on my cold brew, and you say 'okay, that'll be 6,000 won'. I don't understand you."

You didn't know how he did it, but you were smiling, and then you were laughing.

Yangyang continued his little ruse, with even more dramatised movements. "And even like five minutes ago! You were gonna redo my entire cup of coffee, and you're still here instead of getting some other person to fill your hours for you. God, can you stop being such a good person?"

You sniffled, smiling down at the café counter. "Thanks, Yangyang. You're really good at this, y'know."

He shook his head, but the tips of his ears were turning pink. "Nah. I'm just a clown." He brought his cup to his mouth and took a grimacing sip. "Jesus, this is foul. Why am I even drinking this?"

"You ordered it, dumbass," you deadpanned.

He whined, "Well—I thought it was really easy for you to make, so I ordered it! I didn't want you to have to work too hard, but it still tastes like trash." He gagged, tongue hanging out of his mouth. "Ugh, I need a whole can of whipped cream after this one. I—"

The door to the café slammed closed, and your soul nearly left your body. Standing there in all his glory was Chenle. He had a glare fixed on you and Yangyang, and you couldn't tell how to feel about it. Yangyang, in classic Yangyang fashion, glared back.

You sighed, quickly heading for the counter as Chenle strode over to it. You grabbed the pencil from behind your ear and twirled it nervously between your fingers as the touchscreen loaded up. "Hi, um, dark coffee?"

Chenle nodded, pulling out his wallet. "Yeah, and an iced green tea, please." He wordlessly handed you, not a black card, but a regular old visa.

You didn't think much of it, but you grabbed it and quickly inserted the chip into the reader after inputting the order. So she drinks green tea, huh? "Here you go. Your order will be called shortly."

Without waiting for his reply, you scurried over to the counter against the far wall and began preparing his order. You wondered why he hadn't brought his fiancée along with him, but then again, did you want him to? You supposed this was better, but it was still killing you inside. You wanted the old Chenle back.

When you were finished, your voice was embarrassingly soft as you called his name. Chenle took the cups from you, fingers brushing against yours.

You were ready to turn away, to pretend he didn't exist, when he stopped you short. "Yn."

You hated how hopeful you were. Absolutely hated yourself for it. All he would do would break you some more.

You watched his Adam's apple bob in a rough swallow. "I'm sorry."

Yangyang nearly toppled over his stool as he lurched to his feet. "You have no fucking right—"

"Hey, stop it." You gave Yangyang an earnest look, pleading him to back down.

"But Yn!"

You shook your head firmly. This wasn't worth it. With a flick of your arm toward the door, you addressed Chenle. "I think you should leave."

His gaze lingered on you for a moment, but he surrendered, and left the shop.

For a moment or two, you and Yangyang were quiet. The only noises were coming from the speaker's overhead playing lo-fi music. You focused on your breathing: in for three, hold for three, out for three.

I'm sorry. Did he even mean it? You were just a distraction.

"Yn," Yangyang muttered. "What the fuck was that?"

"You think I know?" You tugged a towel from your waist apron and turned your back to him to start wiping down the counter you had spilled coffee all over. You needed to grab a mop, too, for the mess you'd made on the floor. You felt Yangyang's eyes on you for a while, but he must have given up after a few minutes.

Or he must have realized you couldn't face him after what happened. Because no matter what Zhong Chenle did or said, you would still be so pathetically in love with him.

—𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐗𝐗𝐈—

Summer hit you like a basketball in the face. With classes out of session for the break, you dove headfirst into your work either at the theater or at the café. You worked overtime, you took people's shifts, you worked until you wanted to cry and pass out.

You had accepted a lot of things. It would be a long time before you were okay again, but you were a patient person. Your friends—Felix, Karina, Yangyang, Renjun—all tried in their own special ways to make you feel better and to keep you in check. They dragged you out for karaoke, for BBQ, for impulsive shopping trips. They made you feel like yourself again, from before you met the man you had fallen so fast and hard for.

Those feelings, unfortunately, would never fade. And even if you still couldn't stand seeing articles about them, you knew you were slowly accepting it. Because you were never meant to be with him. Perhaps you were soulmates, but this wasn't the lifetime that you would get the happy ending. And some days, you wanted to commit crimes because you were so fucking pissed, but you were learning to live with it all.

It was late when you finally made your way to the backdoor of the performing arts buildings. You knew Renjun would kill you if he knew you came back, but you just remembered that you forgot your phone on your office desk.

Your paces were fast as you unlocked the theater door and let yourself in.

It was déjà vu.

The melodious sound of piano keys being played met your ears as they drifted out into the back hallway. The notes and melody were a familiar sound, and you suddenly felt a wave of emotion crash over you in a tsunami wave. You could remove that night like it was yesterday.

You slowly and quietly traced your steps to the backstage door to the theater. It was cracked open, just like that night, except you remember you had locked that when you'd left. He must have picked the lock or something.

Gently, you pushed the door open.

He had his head bowed over the keys of the piano as he played. His fingers danced as they pressed keys, like they had been made to play.

A week ago, you and Doyoung had decided to move the piano. The two of you had turned it around, so now, the bench and keys faced the door. So you watched his perfect posture, upper body clad in a regular old black hoodie.

"You're not supposed to be here."

His shoulders stiffened slightly, but he brought his fingers to a slow halt. "Sorry," he cleared his throat, "I… didn't think anyone was here."

He had picked the lock. He really didn't think anyone would be here.

You dared a step closer. "Chenle," you sighed, "what are you doing here? You have a piano in your apartment."

Chenle pulled his legs over the side of the bench so he faced you now. You could see the lines on his face under the dim light of the lightbulb, the roughness from stress and lack of sleep. It worried you to see him in such a state, such misery. But then you reminded yourself of his words to you and how it had all played out. He was the one who had broken your heart and smashed it into pieces, and left you to pick up the broken pieces. He had promised you the world—and you had been stupid enough to believe him.

"I—" he paused, "I don't even know. Yn, I don't even know why I'm here. I just needed to get out of the apartment and…" He halted on his words, thinking better than to repeat them.

Distract himself. Yeah, you figured.

You were tempted to tell him to go distract himself elsewhere, but you couldn't bring yourself to. You didn't want your sanctuary tainted by his memory.

You didn't know what you were doing and why you were doing it, but your feet carried you over to the piano bench and you sat down next to him. You felt the heat of his arm and leg by yours, wondered how easy it would be to be pressed up against him again. How good it would feel to have him in your arms for just one last time.

"How are you?" You suddenly asked. "How've you been?"

He tapped his fingers against his knee. "Really bad, honestly. How about you? You look happy with, uhm, Yangyang. I'm glad."

You shook your head. "We're just friends." Because you ruined everyone else for me.

"He makes you smile—"

"So did you."

Silence. Your heartbeat thundered loudly in your ears and you wondered again why he was here. Why he was tormenting you like this. Couldn't he ruin your life once and deem it over?

"You don't have to accept my apology," he started again. "You don't have to even listen to me right now, but I'm so sorry, Yn."

You didn't want to listen, but you did.

"I'm sorry," he croaked. "Everything I said—I hate myself for every word I said to you that day. Because all I wanted to say to you was that the engagement is a scam and I don't love Alice, and never will love her—not like I love you. Because what we had was the realest thing I have ever had in my life and I wish we had more time."

When you didn't respond, Chenle said, "It's no excuse. They threatened to disown me, and I didn't know how to tell you because I really am just a coward and a scared, little kid. And… you brought the best out of me, the best memories I will ever have in my life. And I'm just so sorry.

"You were never just a distraction, Yn," he rasped, "you were so real to me. I was trying to push you away, but… I wanted—still want—to spend the rest of my life with you. And I know you'd probably never take me back, but I'm trying to find a way out of this."

You stared at the black stage floor, licking your lips. Your hands were shaking. "You're wrong." You inhaled softly, breathed it out. "I would take you back—in a heartbeat. But Chenle, if you ever find a way out of this…"

The two of you looked at each other then, eyes finally clashing and colliding in an explosion akin to that of a dying star. Your love had burned bright and burned fast.

"It won't be easy. I won't make it easy."

Chenle smiled then through his silver-lined eyes. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you. I'll win you back. I promise."

Something settled in your chest, like the calming of waves. They smoothed out, brushed against the shoreline, but they didn't kick up in the winds anymore. This—this was the closure you needed. It was not whatever that screaming match of insults had been, but this.

"Can I… can I hold you? Just one more time."

You pursed your lips to suppress your bottom lip's trembling as you nodded.

Chenle leaned toward you and wrapped his arms securely around your body. He tugged you closer, and you leaned into his familiar and comforting embrace. You inhaled the smell of his cologne and allowed all of him to engulf and overwhelm your senses. You let his hands hold you tight, let him memorize your every curve and edge and inch.

And as you and Chenle sat there in silence together, you thought about how the boy who had everything had loved too hard and lost it all. But in his actions, there were about a thousand unspoken words, and for now, that would be enough.

"Thank you," he whispered into your hairline, lips pressed to your head and tears in his voice, "for everything."

You squeezed his hand. "You don't ever have to thank me for loving you, Chenle."

ending credits/aka my condolences: sorry chenle, i mayhaps did u dirty, but lmk what u guys think 😌💀

[theficblog]

[2:26 am]

ZHONG CHENLE

Genre: Fluff 

Wordcount: 338

Warnings: None

CREAK! The main door was louder than you expected, at least in the dread of the night.

Chenle facepalmed as he let out an airy sigh and then shook his head a few times. He was dressed in his favourite black hoodie with the matching black hair scattered on his forehead, unruly. He sprinted towards you, ensuring he didn't let out any sort of sound.

"You don't even know how to sneak out, idiot!" He grabbed your hand in his, pulling you swiftly.

However, something caused him to halt in his tracks, turn around, and face you.

"Why are you.. sweating?" He wore a bewildered look on his face

"What if they find out? It's freaking 2 am! Holy shit! I'm so scared." You let it all out in one breath, turning the boy's lips and eyes into little crescents. 

"We are not running away, we are just getting ice cream." He soothed.

 "Awww look at that face. Is it the same baddie from school?" He poked your cheek. 

You had never sneaked out at midnight like this before, and there is something about the unexpected that frightens everyone, even if later on it is laughed at and told as a tale.

"There!" The maple tree, whose leaves had already begun to fall, was Chenle's point of reference. He cleared a spot by using hoodie's sleeve.

"How old are you? Seven?" Before sitting down and resting your head on his shoulder, you smacked him gently.

"Please don't drop your ice cream on me; I don't like Butterscotch." He teased, laughing by himself seconds later.

Another playful hit. 

Your only focus was the cone in your hands. On the other hand, Chenle's only focus was on you.

You two sat under the tree with the scarlet leaves, your fingers entwined. A year of your togetherness would end with the approach of fall, which was not too far away. There was stunned silence, a quiet that was at ease.

With his thumb, Chenle caressed the back of your hand.

"I love you."

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[daeguzen]

Son of Hermes

PAIRING | z.ch x g.n reader

GENRE | angst fluff

WORD COUNT | 20k

NOTE | this is my longest one so far of all the stories. i don’t know how it happened but lol. heads up this has a slightly open ending if you wanna think of it that way. like it is mentioned what will happen but at the same time the length of when that event takes place is unknown. you’ll know. ;) 

WARNING | graphic depictions of fighting, blood, and character deaths. read with caution.

SONG | only in my dreams - the marias

SUMMARY | zhong chenle was a name everyone knew. not only due to him being a mischievious, conniving little brat but because his parents were the number one patrons of the academy of demigods. he had status, money, and hermes as his godly parent. he had all the skills to be a dangerous character to mess with. as such, chenle liked to play a lot, messing with other students, taking bets from yuta of the ares lineage. but he makes a fatal mistake in involving himself with you, the hephaestus kid no one even knew about. which was highly abnormal considering he knew every single person in the academy. he doesn't realize that he opened the door to his own tragedy where your name was one to burn up into ashes and his heart into flames.

Zhong Chenle. It was a name known to every single person who walked the halls of the prestigious Academy of Demigods. It was with good reason that everyone knew who the boy with dyed blonde hair was; after all the Zhong family were the academy’s best patrons. This came to mean a lot of things to everyone in the special academy for demigod children. The Zhong family had to be treated with utmost respect. In return for their patronage, they asked that the academy follow through with creating the best schooling for demigods; the students had to excel at everything ranging from languages and charmspeak to engineering and fighting. There was, however, an unspoken rule that was in place. Above all else, Zhong Chenle was to be respected at all times. 

The Zhong family was kind, but at the same time, they chose to turn a blind eye to Chenle's enlarged ego. The boy had grown up as such and making him change proved too difficult of a challenge. Even through all of the tough lessons he was put through, Chenle was too clever and cunning. He always made his way out of any situation thrown at him. He was at the top of the food chain because of his name, and that made him feel like he was untouchable in all his rich and genius glory. The only other person he had in his life that stuck with him through all this was Park Jisung. The clumsy, shy, and quiet boy was always found at Chenle’s side, like a right-hand man. He was rarely separated from the older boy, and that was a mystery to everyone who had crossed his path. Jisung may have rarely said anything, but when he did, he was very soft-spoken.

The most important piece of information about Zhong Chenle was who his godly father was. At times, his father seemed just as childish and a mischievous messenger for the Greek gods. But Chenle gave his father a whole new identity as he proved to be the very mirror image of him and more. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades were the most powerful gods in Olympus. Everyone knew this. What they didn’t realize was that Hermes too had his strengths, and they had all been passed down onto Chenle. He had certain perks that no one else did, and considering that he was a born prodigy, his mind was indeed up to par with the likes of Athena’s children. That in itself said a lot about his character. He was a master thief, better than the likes of the most notorious couple, Bonnie and Clyde. They were smart enough to get them through a few robberies, but they were mostly fools for being caught so easily.

Chenle could steal from the most secure places in the entire world. He didn’t need any type of insurance; he could get past anything or anyone without getting noticed or found out. His catlike steps and calculating gaze made him capable of sneaking up on anyone. He was the Academy’s book of secrets, and that had made him one of the most dangerous students. He had information on anyone and everyone, including the board members of the Academy. He took advantage of his position even if Jisung tried to discourage him from doing so. But as much as Chenle loved his dear friend, he was too stubborn to let Jisung try to change him for better, much to Jisung’s continuous disappointment. Jisung believed that Chenle had a good heart; it just had to be clawed out underneath all his ego and selfishness. But Chenle had a habit of trying to prove Jisung wrong. That is, until he finds himself caught up in a proposal he couldn’t reject. Consequences were always paid when it came to Chenle’s victims. Unfortunately, he finds that the price to pay for his own wrongdoings exceeded anything in his life and that ultimately, he had placed his heart in the hands of a tragedy.

~

It began with little thefts. Unnoticeable, really. A small nail would vanish from where it was; a bunch of screws that were left in a corner were no longer there. Eventually, it turned into a missing screwdriver, measuring tape, and other tools. It wasn’t anything too dramatic. But you were one of the only clean freaks in Hephaestus’ family. You knew exactly where you left everything and how you organized it. So when little things started to disappear from the Hephaestus Workshops, specifically your area, you noticed. It wasn’t a big deal at first. Your siblings were allowed to borrow anything they needed. Or take some screws if they needed it. They were, for the most part, replaceable. But you knew someone was messing with you because when you opened the bottom drawer of your work table, you noticed that your measuring tape was gone. The measuring tape. It was nothing to everyone else, but it was everything to you. 

That measuring tape was the first one you made using your own hands and intellect at the age of five. Prodigy? Very much so, but no one had to know those little details. That measuring tape was very special to you because of the memories it held. Simple as it may be, its sentimental value was something that couldn’t be priced or replaced. Strange enough, no one could tell you where it had gone because none of them used it. None of your siblings would lie to you; they were all pretty laid back, sometimes eccentric, but Hephaestus kids were known for keeping out of people’s business. Tools were important to everyone; they respected your space, and you respected theirs.

It did come as a very big surprise when Zhong Chenle came to you, a little sneaky glide in the way he walked, your measuring tape in hand. Claims of him having found it fell deaf to your ears. Chenle couldn’t have just found it anywhere, that measuring tape had no way of leaving your workshop. All the Hepaestus kids had a special way of locking the most important sections that contained personal works and items. Your workshop drawer had a mechanism that was rather simple; a series of taps on the drawer made it open. No one knew of it. It was something special to you, and yet here was Chenle, standing in front of you with the smile of a school boy but the glint of snake eyes staring back at you. You had become extremely suspicious of him. It was true that you always kept to your workshop, but everyone knew who the Hermes Prodigy was. Boy thief, huh? You avoided all contact with him because he was too dangerous and nosy for your liking. It was all detestable how he took advantage of his status as a rich student. Either way, you gave him a low and hesitant thank you, your eyes staring dully into his. But he seemed to not want to let you go because suddenly his voice rang out, and an unbelievable question left his lips.

“Would you like to grab coffee with me? Whenever you're available of cour-” You, however, didn’t pay attention to him as you let out a brief no, took a swift turn, and left Chenle standing in the middle of the hallway. You left him there like a fool, wide-eyed, and shock coursing through his veins at your indifference towards him. To him, of all people, the one who practically owned everyone’s souls. He let out a laugh, his eyes looking a little crazed, the other students who had walked by practically fleeing away from him, scared of his reaction. His hands slid into his pockets as he sauntered off back to his dormitory with a new sense of interest and a promise to win you over.

You knew nothing about Chenle’s proposal or more so bet. And you weren’t going to find out anytime soon. Chenle had a knack for keeping tabs on everyone, so he wondered how the hell you had passed by his eyes unseen. It wasn’t until Jisung mentioned how you were a great engineering partner that he’d realized you existed. Yuta had mentioned you as well, who was notorious for playing with people's minds. Especially with their hearts because war was great and all, but when it was caused by something as simple as devotion, it was even more bloody. Chenle had no interest in that, but he liked Yuta’s way of strategy and planning. He also enjoyed his bets because he was the only one who could make things really challenging for him. Yuta had challenged Chenle to make you his and then break your heart into pieces. The bet hadn’t really drawn him in; it was a children’s game that would prove far too easy. But Yuta had said that you were very different from most students. No one knew anything about you, and Yuta had wanted Chenle to expose who the mysterious Hephaestus kid was. Yuta had tried to profile you a bit, but he came up with nothing. Only that you were a child of Hephaestus and had been at the Academy for a little over a year now. You were also very smart amongst your siblings; you collaborated on intricate projects, and you kept to yourself. And someone like you definitely had to have secrets. You were too quiet, Jisung type quiet, and Chenle had a sudden hunger to know more.

Shockingly, he hadn’t expected your downright rejection of him. No one said no to Chenle if they knew what was best for them. Apparently, you didn’t get the memo, but that was fine. Yuta had said this was going to be a challenge, and Chenle looked forward to it. He needed to make you fall for his charms, a baby bunny falling into the trap of a big serpent. That’s what this was for him, and he knew you had to fall sooner or later. As for you, when you made your way back to the workshops, you were bombarded with questions by one of your siblings.

“Is it true? Did Zhong Chenle actually ask you out for coffee?” You look up at him in surprise, immediately pushing him towards your table and avoiding the stares of the others.

“Shh! Shut up, don’t let the whole world know, will you? How the hell did you find out anyway?”

“Dude, this is Chenle we’re talking about. Anything he does spreads like a wildfire in minutes. And I was also on my way to the workshops and overheard,” he gives you a sheepish smile.

“Gods the last thing I need is for some stupid boy to plan something shady. I just want to graduate in peace.”

“What do you mean shady?” Jungwoo was the sibling you trusted with everything. He was the closest you ever had to an older brother, and that was enough for you. You didn’t hesitate to tell him what Chenle had given to you before him asking you out.

“He had my measuring tape.” Jungwoo’s eyes widened, his body becoming tense.

“Wait, you don’t mean the measuring tape?” But you don’t need to answer for him to understand, “How the hell did he get that!? Your drawer is enchanted with morse code.”

“Yeah well apparently he found out, and I doubt you told him.”

“I don’t even know morse code. He's Zhong's kid, though, and he’s Hermes Prodigal son. He’s the only one able to sneak into whatever place he wants to. Including the damn White House in America. That kid is scary good at what he does. But why’s he interested in you? He doesn’t even know you.” You heave out an exasperated sigh, throwing your hands up confusedly. 

“Yeah well I’m not exactly someone everyone knows about. Probably Jisung, the kid was practically praising me for my engineering skills. I felt weird about it. I still wonder how a good kid like him is friends with an egotistical asshole.” Jungwoo laughs.

“It’s been a mystery for years. What are you gonna do now?”

“Ignore him, that’s the best I could do. I don’t need this shit.” You walk over to your desk, putting your measuring tape back in its place. Jungwoo just looks at you, and he wonders what Chenle’s game is. You're like family to him, and whatever is a threat to you is a threat to him as well. But he knew his place in the world of Zhong Chenle. It meant nothing to him. Jungwoo was as harmless as a hamster, really, not the slightest bit threatening to that conniving little spoiled brat. But that was okay with you because you didn’t need him to protect you as long as he was there for you that’s all that mattered. And Jungwoo knew you very well; you would stand up for yourself because to him, you were very powerful. You were like an immovable object, a statue that wouldn’t break easily. People just didn’t know it, and he hoped that Zhong Chenle wouldn’t be the one to invoke your wrath.

“You think it’ll work?” he asks, looking at you knowingly.

“Of course not, but he’ll tire eventually. Chenle likes to get what he wants. I don’t want anything to do with him but well you know what? Now that I’m thinking about this more, if it’s a date he’s looking for and he keeps asking me...I think I can play his game quickly. He’ll see I’m not at all what he wants in a partner, and he’ll leave me alone.” Jungwoo tries to see your thought process.

“He’ll read through those actions. Rejecting him coldly and then saying yes. He’ll know you're faking it.”

“Well then I’ll make it believable.” Jungwoo looks at you, something you discern as worry in his eyes.  He whispers to you two words that make you look away; you knew only you could hear him, but that didn’t mean you didn’t feel anxious.

“Fotia paidi.”

“Don’t. Please.”

“Please be careful, Y/N. Chenle is Hermes’ most beloved son. He runs this school. You were able to hide from him for some time. But if he’s getting close to you now, then he’s definitely planning something.” You avoid his stare and let yourself get to work on your assignments. Chenle was smart, but you were smart, too. You’d have to play him at his own game, and then you’ll disappear. And Zhong Chenle would be nothing, not even a memory worth keeping.

~

Chenle was actually both pissed and amused. He gave you back your measuring tape. He made himself obvious, and he’d gotten your attention. He didn’t miss the shocked and confused look in your eyes even after you went back to that dull stare of yours. You knew who he was, and yet you said no to him. You didn’t even let him finish his sentence when you just said no and left. Amusing really. But then again, he was pissed off that you’d do that to him so blatantly and in front of everyone in the hallway. Gods, you had just gotten him more interested. Oh, you poor soul, if only you knew what was to come. He was notorious, famous, and a prodigy yet you had turned down his pretty face.

Chenle was sitting in the garden of Persephone, a beautiful contribution made by his parents. There were flowers of all types around the towering garden fence. The stone water fountain that was placed in the center had Persephone sitting and gazing upwards towards the sky. The water poured out from under the slab she was placed on, and Chenle only took a second to think how pretty the clear blue water sparkled. When he looked away, he was staring at Jisung, who had just started to lecture him. Of all times, he does it when he’s clearly trying to enjoy his lunch.

“Chenle, I’m telling you, man, this is not worth it. There is no good at the end of this road. You’re gonna hurt Y/N, they’re a friend of mine.” Jisung had tried, day after day, to get Chenle to knock it off with his childish games. Sadly, it all fell deaf to Chenle’s ears, who just rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“Come on, Jisung, get over it. It’s just a stupid bet. But besides that, Yuta offered to give me a special made caduceus.”

“I’m sorry, a what?”

“A caduceus.” Jisung looks at him, confusion still in his eyes.

“Isn’t that your dad’s staff with the snakes?”

“Yeah.”

“Okaay…wouldn’t it be best to ask that of a Hephaestus kid who can actually make one to your liking?”

“My dear Jisung, you forget, Ares also deals with weapons. Although rather brutal the characteristics Ares holds, he does have some power over the makings of certain weapons. And Yuta is quite handy when it comes to it, too. Plus, he can get two real snakes and incorporate them into the staff without getting bitten.”

“You are absolutely mental.”

“Genius I think is the word you’re looking for.”

Chenle was stubborn. Dramatically so. But no matter what Jisung said he wouldn’t stop his advances on you. He had even just found out a very important piece of information about you. You seemed to have an uncanny resemblance to Jisung’s situation. You were not claimed until you had turned twenty. He overheard one of the board members talking about that in his office. It proved to be quite a strange scene. It was obvious that you were a demigod before your claim. You could read Greek without ever learning it prior. You were handy with swords and daggers of all shapes and sizes. You had quite the affinity for blacksmithing and simply creating so it was obvious that Hephaestus had to be your godly father. But unlike all the other twelve year olds at the academy, you weren’t claimed until you turned twenty. And you had been new to the academy. Some people spread rumors saying that you were left nearly half dead on the steps, others said that you had a family member on the board. 

After all you were quite well acquainted with all the professors and have even been called forward to some of their meetings. It set off a burning curiosity in Chenle when he realized he couldn’t overhear the meetings. His sneaking abouts and trying to hear your secrets were blocked from him and he couldn’t figure out how it was even possible to begin with. It was like talking to a wall, no interaction or thoughts could be sensed from you. You had been completely cut off from him and he found himself in a contradiction of hating it but also being amused. How was it that a demigod was claimed at the age of twenty? How come he didn’t know who you were? How did you even manage to get past him without being noticed? The most important questions stood in his mind though, if you were so quiet then what were you hiding and who were you truly? These thoughts plagued him but Chenle knew that he’d find out one way or another.

“Why are you so invested in them anyway?” Chenle looks down at his lunch.

“Y/N is cut off from me.”

“What?” Jisung looked up at him confused.

“Y/N is the only person in the institution who is completely cut off from me. You know how I can tell lies and truths apart. And how I can easily hear what I want and sneak around? I’ve tried to do it with them. It doesn’t work.” Chenle avoided Jisung’s gaze. This meant a lot if Chenle was confessing this to him quietly. 

“How is that even possible? You can find out whatever you want.” 

“Yeah well I’ve tried to eavesdrop on board meetings and I wasn’t able to hear any of their voices. That should be impossible. I hear absolutely everything.”

“Is that why you don’t want to leave this alone?”

“You know, Y/N is just like you.”

“What?”

“Y/N turned twenty when they got claimed. And I didn’t know them until you mentioned them. You know I keep tabs on practically everyone in this place. How is it that they got past me unnoticed?”

“Chenle please let this go. These should all be indicators that it’s something personal. You shouldn’t snoop around. And you shouldn’t play with their feelings.” But Chenle stopped talking because he knew that whatever he said Jisung wouldn’t like it. He loved his friend dearly, he was like a little brother. But he was too invested in this bet and he’d see it through. Yuta would make him  a genuine caduceus with enchanted snakes and he’d have even more powers like his father. He’d be just like his father and people would praise him even more. But for now Chenle settled on avoiding the subject.

“Are you having trouble in maths again? I’ll help you out.” Jisung was disappointed, he could tell, but he ignored it as he took over and put away his lunch  to tutor Jisung instead. Oh Chenle, I hope you don’t regret this.

~

It came to you as your biggest failure in life when Professor Iason asked you to meet him in his office. It wasn’t that, that had made you upset. It was the fact that a boy sat next to your empty seat, dyed blonde hair quite noticeable. When he turned his head, he gave you a cheshire smile and you wanted to punch it off of his face. Professor Iason invited you to sit in the empty seat, offering you a warm smile. You could tell his eyes held pity for you.

“Welcome Y/N, I believe you know Mr. Zhong.”

“Yes I do sir.”

“Great, I’ve called you both down for a reason and I will get straight to it. It has come to our notice that there’s something going on in the underworld.” You look at him, eyebrows furrowed.

“I’m sorry sir I fail to understand what I have to do with the underworld.”

“Yes yes, see, Hades is having a problem. And absolutely no one can know of this. What I will share with you and Mr. Zhong is completely confidential. Park Jisung is also aware of these circumstances. The board has been informed that Hades’ faithful and guardful dog Cerberus has vanished.” At this both you and Chenle sit up. Chenle speaks up first, his tone laced with incredulity. You were surprised he had other emotions besides selfish, egotistical, and flirtatious.

“I’m sorry I thought I just heard you say that the underworld's most dangerous hound is missing.”

You chime in after, “Cerberus is a big dog. He’s deadly, how is he gone?” 

“We do not know. It’s a very complicated situation to understand. That is why we need you three to find Cerberus and bring him back to Hades. He’s aware of all of this of course.”

You then ask him, “Professor, couldn’t Hades find Cerberus himself I mean doesn’t he have some power to trace his pet? And what does this have to do with me? I’m a child of Hephaestus. I have nothing to do with the underworld.”

“Well, Hades should be able to find Cerberus but we do not know how it came to be that Cerberus’ connection is untraceable. And Y/N, it seems that your current, how do I say, abilities, are needed for this type of request. We know that he’s located near the Milos Volcano and-”

“No, absolutely not. I won’t.” Chenle’s eyes follow you as you stand up, curious of your sudden outburst. Your professor avoids your glare, his hands tapping nervously against each other.

“Y/N, I am afraid you cannot reject this quest. Usually you can but Hades has asked this of you. And your father as well.” You stand there for a second processing the fact that your father has asked you to go to a place you promised yourself you wouldn’t. A place he promised he would never ask you to go back to.

“My father? My father has asked this of me when he clearly knows my situation?” Chenle doesn’t miss the Professor’s nervous finger taps and he wonders what is so special about Milos. And why were you adamant on not going?

“We are very apologetic for putting you in such a position but I am afraid that the underworld will not function without Cerberus protecting its gates. It’ll become utter chaos if we do not act quickly. Chenle is someone who can pass through the underworld just as easily as his father. Jisung can as well but his power has yet to fully manifest in his current weak body. And you, well, you are the only one who knows that volcano better than anyone. We need your help. Things are happening, things I cannot share with you. We need to act or as they say, all hell will break loose.” The Professor flinches when he hears your outburst again.

“But why me!?” you cried out. You wished that pity would leave his eyes, you didn’t need anyone's pity. You just wanted to be left alone.

“It just is that way Y/N. I’m terribly sorry. But please trust me when I say that you are the only person who can get Cerberus out. He needs you. And the three of you will help each other greatly. You leave tomorrow morning. The folders that will brief you further on the situation are here. Please go over it and prepare yourselves. Zeus has sent transportation for the three of you to take tomorrow. There are packs with any necessities you may need in the Hephaestus Workshop. Please take the two boys with you and talk among yourselves.” You don’t say anything more as you turn away, the folder from the desk now clutched in your hand. Chenle also makes a grab for the other folder and follows quickly after you.

“Hey, slow down.” But you don’t as you make your way to the workshops, your folder in hand. Your steps were angry, resonating loudly against the wooden floors. When you open the door you find Jisung already sitting by your workshop, folder in hand and reading. Chenle follows behind you and just watches as you throw the folder on your desk and look between the two boys angrily.

“What the hell is this? Would one of you like to explain why I’m involved in this!?” Jisung looks at you, mouth agape.

“Hey, would you calm down for a moment?” You look at Chenle enraged and he’d be lying if he said it didn’t surprise him.

“Calm down? I’m being sent on a quest with you of all people Zhong. Why don’t you explain to me how you got me here because I’m sure as hell that the board didn’t just select me.” He looked like he could take a screwdriver violently to your direction as he feels angry that you’d accuse him of something like this. You didn’t even know him.

“I don’t have anything to do with this! If you didn’t notice I was also taken by surprise at the news back there. You know the Professor was sharing quite some interesting information. Like how you happen to know the Milos Volcano. As far as I know, that place is all fire. No one can make it through there without the help of Hephaestus himself.” Chenle can tell that you were hiding something very important when your gaze flickers around. 

“That is none of your business,” Chenle scoffs.

“It is since we’re partners now.” You look at him with pure mockery in your eyes and Chenle can’t help but think it looks very attractive on you. Weird thought after having been yelled at by you; then again this is the most lively interaction he had with you. 

“Why should I trust you with anything if you're also hiding shit from me?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Why’d you ask me to coffee Zhong? You obviously don’t like me given your current attitude and lack of prior interest in me. What is it that you want?” You were good. You read right through his actions. A difficult challenge indeed you were proving to be. But Chenle was better because he lied with such ease, his pouty lips saying one thing but his eyes actually saying another.

“I do like you, you’re just infuriating when you’re all angry instead of taking a deep breath and talking things out.” You look away, one hand running through your hair. When you speak up again you’re as calm as you can be.

“The quest. We’re leaving tomorrow. So let’s get this down since apparently I can’t reject it because his godliness asked this of me. First things first. I command.” Chenle’s pout quickly fell and you had only infuriated Chenle further when you saw his look of disbelief. All while Jisung sat quietly like a frightened little hamster, not a word leaving the boy's lips as he watched you two quarrel.

“To hell with that! I’m in charge. I know best how to strategize and I can get us anywhere.” All of the sudden you have the worst outburst to the point where your words had to be pure nonsense to the ears of Chenle.

“I am telling you I am in charge because I was the one who commanded the demigods into the city of Milos!” Chenle looks at you for a moment and laughs real hard. It’s loud and true but you just look at him, no signs of jest in you. He blinks. So much for not letting anyone know who I am.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You are the Fire’s Death Soldier?” He sees you flinch slightly.

“Don’t call me that I hate it.”

“Yeah, okay and I’m the fucking King of Greece. Fire’s Death Soldier was killed in battle. They were engulfed in the very flames of Milos’ volcano as a sacrifice to Hephaestus after he blessed his children with temporary protection from the flames.”

“Well I’m here now aren’t I?” Chenle still finds it hard to believe you, even if there were no signs of lies.

“I led the Hephaestus Battalion into Milos when the city was in ruins before the war against Kronos began. I know how to strategize and I know the area best.” He now looks at you clearly, trying to discern truth from a lie. But he looks into your blazing eyes and realizes you aren’t lying. Chenle doesn’t know if that’s better or worse for the current situation.

“You can’t have possibly commanded them.”

“Well I did. And if you don’t believe it, ask your dad.” Now you’re the one staring into his eyes, watching his mouth go agape and his eyebrows raise slightly in surprise to ask you what that’s supposed to mean. This time around you see the genuine shock and confusion in his eyes but then another voice finally speaks.

“Holy shit.” Jisung looks up, now speaking, “Does this mean we’re completely fucked?” You don’t look away from Chenle’s calculating eyes as you two come to a realization.

“Yes it does. If my father asked for me personally it means there isn't just a problem in the underworld-” Chenle finishes your thoughts.

“It means there’s going to be another uprising and Cerberus is just the beginning.”

~

After cooling down from the intense quarrel with Chenle you let the boys settle into your workshop. Jisung praised you for your skills when you changed the chair he was sitting on. You had the power to make your work chair into a bean bag and that was crazy cool in the boys eyes. You had thrown them each a small bag of snacks that you had stashed in one of your drawers. It was almost comical how you kept taking out things from your drawer and throwing items at the boys. 

“So does your drawer ever run out of things?” Chenle asks, eyes glinting with mischief. You roll your eyes at him.

“Haha, very funny. It’s enchanted. I made it myself. It provides me with anything I ask of it.”

“So if I wanted a sword it’d give it to me?” You look at Chenle.

“Such a simple minded request for a supposed notorious thief.” Jisung laughs and Chenle scoffs.

“It won’t give you anything because it only provides to its maker. Which is me. Enchantments go a very long way. Anyways, let’s talk,” you take the folder in your hand and go through it as a marker writes notes on its own on the whiteboard you had just dragged out.  

 “Cerberus disappeared four days ago. This is very bad because he’s never left his post in all his time of existence. It also means he’s not guarding the gates of the underworld. Thanatos has been kind enough though to guard while we search for Cerberus. We also know that he’s in the Milos Volcano which has remained dormant for five years now. How he got there we do not know. What we do know is that Hermes spotted him but wasn’t able to get to him because he vanished as soon as he was noticed. Zeus’ transportation will get us into the city, after that we’ll have to travel all the way to the volcano. Which all adds to how we’re really fucked.” Chenle raises his hand and then throws a piece of popcorn in his mouth.

“Just a question, how the hell are we going to get him out and how are we fucked?” 

“Because even Zeus is getting involved. He’s arranged our transportation and we all know Zeus could care less. As for how we get him out, well we improvise.” You really had a knack for surprising Chenle at every turn.

“We’ll improvise? Yeah sure, anything else that’s totally impossible without a plan that you want to do?”

“You have to trust me on this okay. I know what I’m doing.”

“Yes yes you’ve had history with your dear volcano. So we’ll improvise but how are we getting Cerberus back to the underworld and not getting killed by fire?” You look down for a moment and then back up directly at Jisung.

“Chenle can get us free passage anywhere including the underworld. You, however, will be the one to keep Cerberus on his leash.” Both Jisung and Chenle look at each incredulously and then at you. Chenle speaks out first.

“And how do you suggest that little Jisung here will be able to control a three headed death hound? Is this your way of feeding us to the dog?” Your expression shows nothing as you speak your next words.

“He’s your fathers pet is he not?” It was like you dropped them into an ocean of ice water with chains at their feet. It was impossible. Utterly impossible for you to have known such sensitive information. Even the students didn’t know of Jisung’s godly parentage. But you notice that Chenle has a knack for knowing what’s in Jisung’s mind and speaking on his behalf.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Jisung walks around wearing all black,” you start.

“That’s a stupid assumption.”

“He’s got Death’s eyes. I know you can see them too.” Jisung turns pale.

“You say to trust you and then you say shit like this. How the fuck do you know?”

“Only those who have died and come back take a little piece of something. Except under special circumstances. I can see the ghosts too. And you do too.”

“What makes you think he hasn’t died and come back?”

“Because, I can’t control Cerberus. Neither can you. Who can? The boy whose silence offers a lot. People just can’t see it because they don’t think deep enough. And you were put on this quest too obviously not because Chenle needs his little buddy but because you have something to offer. And I highly doubt your Hermes’ kid too, to be able to venture off into the underworld. Either way, it doesn’t matter, I won't say anything. I have my secrets too.”

“How do you know? I’ve never told anyone else about the ghosts. Only Chenle…” Jisung practically whispers his words and you can’t help but feel soft for him. He was too innocent for this world but he was forced to grow up fast. To see things he didn’t want to see. That’s probably why he was at Chenle’s side. He was protectful of him and Jisung felt safe. 

“Your eyes wander too much Jisung.” He doesn’t say much else, choosing his silence once again.

“You are a piece of work, you know that?” You close your eyes, sighing with frustration and a hand coming up to rub at your temple. 

“Shut up Zhong. Anyway, I think that’s all for tonight. We have to get some sleep before tomorrow.” As you start cleaning up around your workshop Chenle makes a stupid joke. Mostly to lighten the mood but also to regain his posture and sanity.

“So, Hermes, Hephaestus and Hades. We should be known as Triple H.”

“Shut up.” Jisung and you both speak at the same time. You fight the smile that wants to grace your features and you succeed. But Chenle notices and he wonders how long will it be for you to keep your guard up. You all start walking towards the exit and share your last words.

“Well boys, we have a shit quest to do and we might die. But if we die at least I won’t have to see Zhong’s face anymore. Good pep talk everyone. Oh and Zhong?” Chenle looks up at you as you all make your way out of the workshop, you let go of the lock to the door and look up at him dead in the eye.

“Never go through my drawer again or I’ll happily feed you to Cerberus.”

~

It’s six in the morning when Chenle feels a light weight on his chest. As if someone placed a pillow on top of him. Suddenly, he feels a smack that hits him square in the face and his whole mood turns sour.

“Who the hell! Is waking me up so fucking damn early!”

“Get up idiot. It’s six am. We have to get going, Y/N is on her way.” 

“For the gods sake why am I in this situation again?” he asks while getting up slowly.

“Because we're Triple H.”

“I thought you hated that name.”

“Well it stuck. Hurry up, Y/N says that our transport has a great breakfast selection.”

“Oh well thank the gods now I can fall face first into my breakfast and inhale it.” Jisung ignores his whining as he finishes gathering his stuff.

Jisung and Chenle slept pretty well the previous night compared to you. You had stayed up worried about the quest for a few hours too long. You had also told Jungwoo certain details about what was happening, mostly things about you as you tried avoiding Chenle and Jisung’s involvement. He was also infuriated about the whole ordeal but most of all he was worried for you. He didn’t know everything about what went down in Milos but he knew it was too much for you. He had known you for a year only but he felt like it was an eternity. You were his little sibling he would’ve done anything for you. That was one of the first nights you let yourself sleep comfortably as he lulled you to sleep.

The following morning you got up thirty minutes before six and had gathered what you needed. You had grabbed three pairs of backpacks that were custom made by you. They worked just as your drawer had, enchanted to provide enough room to fit the entire Hephaestus Workshop honestly. And you changed their color to differentiate them between the three of you. Black for Jisung, green for Chenle, and orange for you. You also made sure you had everything you needed to put into your bag. Leaving Jungwoo with a big hug, you went to first check up on Jisung, then to the air nymph that was your guide and then back up to Jisung’s dorm room. You knocked on his door.

“Hey, I came back up because I forgot to give you guys something. Are you guys ready yet?”

“Yeah, Chenle hyung is just getting ready. Uhm you can come in if you want. He’s already changed and all just collecting some things he may need.” You walk in and notice the hazardous mess in their room. Boys were to dorm together, godly parentage not being important. It was believed that students gained a more enriching experience if they worked with other students of different godly parentage. Of course, Jisung and Chenle were the only ones allowed to dorm in a room for two. Usually it was four in one room but of course he bent the rules to his will. 

Chenle looked up to you with a grin on his face.

“What a beautiful sight to wake up to.” You gag.

“Never say that to me again. I’ll make you into a chew toy for Cerberus.”

“That’s mean.” You ignore his comment and he pouts as you throw him the bag that almost hits him square in the face. You kindly hand Jisungs his and the action doesn’t go by unnoticed, a glare burning a whole into the back of your head.

“What’s this?” Jisung asks.

“Enchanted bag. For the love of gods do not lose them. These are the only three in existence. Although impossible to lose, I don’t know with your friend over there, anything seems possible.”

“Do you mean as possible as our blossoming romance?”

“As possible as me driving a dagger through your chest.”

“You know, for a child of Hephaestus you’re really violent. Are you sure it’s not Ares that’s your father?”

“Fuck off Zhong,” and then he laughs.

“It’s Chenle.”

“What?”

“Call me by my name. Zhong sounds way too harsh coming from your pretty lips.” You ignore him completely.

“Anyways, you don’t need the bags the Professor gave you. Put whatever you’re taking, important things obviously, into these bags and it’ll weigh nothing.” Jisung’s eyes glitter.

“You mean like your drawer!?” You nod and you let a small laugh leave your mouth as you see Jisung hurriedly dump whatever he had in his other bag and put it into the black one. When he finishes, he zips the bag and weighs it in his hand, even throwing it in the air for good measure. It looked as if it were empty and as you had said, it weighed nothing.

“Awesome!” You miss when Chenle looks at you and then at Jisung. His friend was always quiet and shy around people. Rarely ever showing his jittery childishness. But here he was laughing and smiling at how cool the backpack you made was. Jisung was so comfortable around you after knowing you for less than a month. Interesting.

“Let’s get going, I’ll be waiting at the front steps.” Jisung nods and Chenle just watches you leave. He gathers all of his things, even more extra clothes now that you gave him an enchanted bag, personal necessities, and he pulls out a box from under his bed. He looked at it for a moment; the box was a beautiful deep green, the symbol of his father’s caduceus in the middle etched in gold. He shoved the entire box in his green bag and zipped it up. When he got up he saw Jisung waiting for him and a look of dread filled them both. Both boys knew the weight of this quest and it wasn’t like they hadn’t gone on quests before. But this was personal. Nobody got away with touching Hades’ faithful guard dog. The situation overall was too shrouded in mystery. Chenle was a born trickster, thief, a mischievous boy but he wasn’t stupid. And he wasn’t blind to all the signs. Something more than a lost hound was occurring and Chenle just hoped that the three of you would make it out of this alive.

~

When the two boys arrived at the bottom of the steps they noticed you talking to an air nymph. When they got closer Chenle noticed how animated you were in the conversation.

“Zeus has an airship?” The air nymph looks at you, her head tilting in thought.

“Well, more like a small boat. We would take you by Cloud Transport but the trip is long and we wouldn’t want to have any demigods falling out of the sky.” You look at her, face void of any expression when she says this, a little giggle to her voice. Then both boys whip their head right at you when you start laughing, your whole body reacting on its own. Gods, I didn’t know you could even laugh.

You wipe away your tears, a big smile on your face and say, “Wow, that’s hilarious. So, how are we gonna get onto the boat?”

“I’ll take you up on Cloud.” 

“Oh man, I can't wait to see it.” You look back and see both boys standing idly.

“Well come on then!” The nymph instructs the three of you to stand next to each other, Chenle coming up right next to you, as the air nymph lets a cloud form in front of you, about three feet off the ground.  

“Please keep your hands and feet inside the Cloud. Stand firmly on the Cloud. There are no safeguards around this Cloud and we will not be held responsible if one or more people tip over. Thank you!” Chenle didn’t know if you were on something but he heard you laugh again and he couldn’t help but ask,

“Are you high?” You look at him, blinking with confusion and your smile dissipating. He regretted saying that when he noticed your smile leave.

“What?”

“It’s just you’re laughing at the prospect of a demigod falling to their death.”

“It’s the whole perspective of it. I just find it hilarious that we’re standing on a cloud that is something like water. You go right through it technically. But here we are riding a cloud into the sky. And all I can imagine is some demigod with their arms flailing around dramatically.”

“Tsk, you have the humor of an old man.”

“Hey! Do not!”

“Oh will the two of you shut up? I feel like I’m gonna throw up.” Chenle looks at Jisung who looks paler than ever, a hand clutching at his stomach.

“Please don’t, I just got these shoes.” Chenle feels a smack on his shoulder and turns to you but says nothing.

“Asshole. Jisung, are you okay?”

“Y-yeah. Just gonna keep staring up. Because if I look down I'm gonna fall over. Chenle if you even think of letting go of my hand I will personally tell my dad that you’re to blame.”

“Okay there, let's not be too rash. I don’t think Hades would want me just yet.”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.”

“It’s okay demigods, we have arrived.” You and Chenle take a moment to really look around the infinite expanse of blue sky. It was a rather calming sight, almost serene. You feel the moving of very old school machinery before you actually see what it was that was in front of you. Before Chenle could tell the air nymph that he didn’t see anything, he noticed the ripples in front of him. And then, as if an invisible cloak was being lifted, a medium sized boat painted white with golden lines appeared. You watched in awe as the boat came into view, the sails getting taller and the bolt of Zeus printed on the white fabric.

“Welcome to the Olympian Boat. We will now be landing on the center of the boat.” You barely hear the air nymph when you watch as the Cloud by your feet disappears and you drop about a centimeter onto the boat's floorboards with the lightest thud. You notice Jisung's knees buckle immediately as he falls and takes a deep and shaky breath. Chenle looks at him making sure he wasn’t going to actually throw up.

“Never again. Never again.” Chenle pats Jisung’s back reassuringly. You drift away from them as you walk around the boat, taking in all of its mechanics. It was one of the most predominant powers among your siblings. Taking things apart, putting them together was the most obvious trait. But actually sensing, feeling, and hearing even the tiniest of clicks and clacks was the most important power of it all. It was easy to determine what was what, what made the other pieces work, how it was built, and even when there was an error in the design. All of this you could take apart in seconds and put back together in your head. But your eyes widen in surprise as you look back to the little nymph, a dazed grin spreading on your face.

“There’s a whole cabin inside!” 

“Yes, very good. You have been blessed well with the powers of Hephaestus. This door here will lead you down to a small hallway.  To the left there is a door to the main room with three doors to the dormitories. Each has a small bathroom. The kitchen is found through the door across the main room. You will find foods of any kind and they replenish just as it does in the Academy’s Pavilion. Getting to Milos’ Volcano will take twenty-four hours. Please accommodate yourselves, prepare and you can come to me with any questions you have.” You thank the nymph and she wanders to the back of the boat. You were feeling rather jittery at the newfound information of the Olympian Boat. It was rather extraordinary to you because it was something designed so simply and yet the inside was beyond anything you could imagine. You knew that the boat magically transformed to whatever its owner changed it too. Currently, it was enough to accommodate three demigods.

You ignored the boys in favor of wandering and studying the boat's design, your mind was running through images of what the layout of the boat was. You also started mumbling to yourself with eyes closed and hands out in front of you not noticing that they started to watch you in curiosity.

“There is no machinery on this boat. Three rooms….twenty square feet….the kitchen is pretty spacious. It even has an oven. Oh wow the pantry. The wood is extremely sturdy. It self paints if the paint wears off from any corner. Beautiful design and workmanship...”

“What are you doing?” You look up at Jisung who had spoken first.

“I can tell the design of the boat. There is no electrical machinery on here, it’s pure solid wood. The ovens work solemnly with coal and fires are made on metal slabs to cook food. It’s natural. Quite beautiful. As a Hephaestus kid things like this excite us. How do objects and machines work? There’s just so much in the makings of things in the world. Jungwoo specializes in engineering many types of machines. I work more broadly. Natural makings of things. Designing weaponry. And engineering as well but not as much as Jungwoo.” They barely nod or say anything as you ramble about the exciting ways of building boats. Chenle feels weird as he sees you so invested in something because up to now the only thing you spoke about was the current quest. You’ve been pretty quiet and serious. But he watches you as you practically glow, studying the boat like it was a big piece of candy. Cute.

You practically walk with a hop in your step as you make your way past the two boys and all the way to the door that leads to the hallway. Chenle tells you to wait up but it seemed you were impatient. You leave the door wide open for them to follow and venture off to your left. The main room was made of mahogany, you wondered why Zeus would choose such a design. Not that you minded. There were four white couches in the center of the room that created a square. In the middle of that was a glass coffee table. There were paintings on the walls that seemed to only depict Zeus’s apparent greatness as his Kingliness. You thought the boat could do without all that but you weren’t going to say that to the King of all Gods. Either way it didn’t matter, what mattered was the beautiful workmanship that you took pleasure in observing. You opened the door to one of the rooms, not caring which one it was because they were all the same. 

One simple bed with a baby blue blanket, a white round nightstand with a drawer, and a white dresser with two doors and golden handles. You hung your bag on the hook nailed onto the wall and made your way back out.

“Well, let’s talk about strategy.” Chenle and Jisung had already accommodated themselves onto one of the couches and you could only roll your eyes as you see pillows already on the floor. You also see each boy with snacks in their hands, Jisung’s guilty eyes looking at you and Chenle just looking at the fresh buttered popcorn in his hand. Of course they would immediately go to the kitchen, remembering their fascination with all the snacks you had pulled from your drawer the previous night. You snap out of your daze when Chenle looks up at you and asks,

“What’s the plan?”

“Well, we’re gonna land in the city of Milos. Right at the border of the town. We’re gonna land there and then walk up the path to the volcano.” Jisung raises a hand.

“How will we get up there? The pathway onto the volcano has flames everywhere and last time I checked we didn’t have Hephaestus’ blessings.”

“We don’t need his blessings. I’ll get us there.”

“And how do you propose we walk through fire?” Chenle looked at you, the little annoying snark in his voice.

“I can walk through the flames.” Both boys look at you and you wish you could just hide away in your workshop. You hated how this was panning out but you knew that you had to share important details about yourself if you were all going to get out of the quest alive. Your powers have always made you miserable. You didn’t want people to see you as a powerful demigod. You just wanted to be the demigod who could build and create, not lead and fight. Of course, Chenle throws another sarcastic remark but you were too tired of him to fight back.

“Yeah and I can walk on water. Stop messing around.”

“I’m being serious.”

“That’s impossible. Hephaestus kids are good for building stuff and working with mechanics. And yeah you guys work in a controlled area but no ones’ able to literally walk through fire. And with you being Fire’s Death Soldier, wasn’t that power temporary?”

“It’s hard to explain, okay? I’m the only one of my siblings who can do this. Hephaestus works with fire in his shop. He’s even worked in volcanos.”

“Okay and how are you going to protect us from becoming ashes?”

“...I designed a crown that helps me channel my power and focus. You two need to be close to me at all times so I can make a barrier around us. You cannot for any reason separate from me.”

“You made a crown? Well well don’t we think we’re a little special.”

“Well I can’t exactly have something simple like a cap or make a heavy metal helmet. A crown is lightweight and easy to make. Anyways, moving on. Jisung, can you control Cerberus?”

“I don’t control Cerberus. He listens to me. I used to play with him all the time so he’ll listen to me.” You look at him.

“You played with a three headed hound who could chew you up?”

“You walk through fire.”

“Well played.”

“Ok and what about me? Where do I fit in all of this?” 

“Zhong, you have the most important job of it all,” you can already imagine the tantrum he’ll throw, “covering our backs.” Chenle’s jaw drops and Jisung laughs out loud. You could see how much Jisung was enjoying this, even you did, as Chenle’s hands flailed around full of complaints.

“That’s nothing!” you try to reason with him, “It’s actually important.”

He points an accusing finger at you, “You just don’t trust me!”

“I’m literally telling you to cover my back, that is me trusting you.”

“Well I hate it.”

“Well don’t. You’re light on your feet. You calculate and you can hear anything. I need you to make sure there’s nothing lurking.” You almost regret saying it as you see the failure in your choice of words.

“I love that you’ve taken notice of me. I feel quite flatte-”

“Don’t say it. I’m not complimenting you. I’m simply stating your valuable assets to the team and how we’re going to work with them.”

“Dude, you just got partner zoned…” Chenle glares at Jisung with full force, his face becoming red.

“Partner zoned? Really Jisung!?” Jisung just shrugs, claiming you guys weren’t even close and laughing at his friend.

“Anyway, you’re the lookout. After we get out how are we taking Cerberus back to Hades?” 

“Shadow travel?” Jisung scoffs.

“Do I look like I can shadow travel the four of us?” 

“Come on Jisung, I've always wanted to shadow travel.”

You chime in, “I’m sorry, shadow travel?”

“It’s this thing he does where he melts into the shadows and travels in that form. He’s been practicing but he never takes me.”

“Because I’m not that good at it.”

“Sungie, don’t underestimate your power. You just need to focus on yourself.” The boys don’t say anything to you and when you look up at them you notice their eyes are blown wide. 

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

“Sungie!?”

“Yeah?”

“How come you have a nickname for him and not me!?”

“I do have a name for you. It’s Zhong.”

“That doesn’t count!”

“Well it does for me. Grow up. Anyway, Sungie, can you just shadow travel Cerberus?” He gives you a smile that’s between soft and shy. 

“I can take him for half the distance. He’ll take the both of us on land through the rest of the way. What about you guys?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take Y/N with me.” Your head whips around to look at him, his pout still evident from being denied a nickname.

“What’s your method of transport? Bet it won’t sound as cool as shadow travel.” 

Chenle puts a hand over his chest and speaks, “You wound me. Although I agree. Don’t worry though, we’ll get there when we cross that bridge.” You take a good look at Chenle and then at Jisung. No more words were shared as you reached for one of Chenle’s snacks. He yelped, claiming it was his and you responded by saying you’d never take from Jisung. It was comical how Jisung had come attached to you in a span of a few hours and Chenle was left pouting and kicking as you didn’t give him the attention he desired. You were truly turning the tables on him. 

He had tried to speak to you, flirt with you, offer you snacks, all after the planning of the quest was done. But you barely bat an eye at him. Jisung would just laugh at his friends' failed attempts of making you swoon. He just didn’t understand how you could resist all of his charms besides the fact that he ran the school. Why was it so hard to make you budge? What did he have to do to make you see, well think, that he wanted to be with you? He just wanted to get to know you but you were so adamant on not letting that happen. He tried to bring up the story of the Fire’s Death Soldier and he got a very serious reaction from you. You had glared at him and he swore he could almost see orange flames dance in your eyes as you told him never to speak of that name again. 

That was something else that was extremely curious to him. Chenle had heard about Fire’s Death Soldier in great detail. Of course the board had not been able to keep him out of the loop with such information, he always knew what was going on. From his knowledge,  he had understood that as the war against Kronos started to unravel, there were beasts that had attacked the city of Milos. No one understood why or what they were after, to this day it was still a mystery. But these beasts had left the city in flames. People were being killed, some burned alive, others preferring to end their misery quickly. Very few escaped on their own but many were saved by the battalion. Hephaestus had apparently blessed one of his most special children with the power to withstand fire and also bend it to their will. The rest of the children were simply protected from the flames. 

Fire’s Death Soldier was said to have been one of the deadliest demigods known after Poseidon’s son who defeated Kronos. They had mercilessly disposed of and burned all the beasts that had attacked the city. Their leadership was worthy of that of an army of five hundred and more. Their strategy was unmatched and all the demigods had followed this unknown warrior into battle. In a matter of a few hours, all the beasts were killed, many people were saved, and the casualties from the battalion was very minimal. It was surprising and most definitely a miracle. 

So how was it, that a little quiet thing like you was the blood thirsty soldier that killed so easily? After the battle was won it came to everyone's knowledge that Kronos had been defeated as well. Hephaestus spoke into the minds of his children, congratulating them for their victory. However, he informed them that he would have to take away the blessings and required the Fire’s Death Soldier as a sacrifice for his assistance in the battle. The battalion had cried for him not to but he was very fierce about his decision and the soldier whose beautiful face they couldn’t entirely visualize because of the flames that surrounded them, had been engulfed by orange and blue flames and made its last flight as a gorgeous phoenix before turning into ashes.

The ashes were spread all across the land, the Fire’s Death Soldier being no more. As much as Chenle wanted to call you a liar he couldn’t because he knew that you weren’t. He had looked into your eyes and saw the truth but he also saw something different that he simply could not understand. You were definitely hiding many secrets and he wanted to find out. He needed to know what made you tick because as of now, you were still a great mystery to him. He knew you’d get mad when he asked about the battle but he didn’t realize with just how much blazing frustration you’d deny him an answer. He knew his eyes weren’t playing a trick on him when he saw tiny flames flash in your eyes. He could’ve almost let his facade fade and smile eagerly with a crazed interest in his eyes. There were nineteen hours left in the trip and he wasn’t able to get anything out of you. You were in the kitchen, preparing something to eat when you saw him and scrunched your face in disgust.

“You following me now?” Chenle took a seat across from where you were standing.

“No I’m not. I’m just hungry and curious as to what we’re gonna eat.”

“I am going to eat this. You can make something for yourself.”

“Ouch, that’s hurtful. And why are you cooking if you could just get anything made immediately?” You don’t answer.

“Oh come on, if we’re going to work together we might as well get along. I’m your lookout, remember? That means you trust me.”

“It’s a gamble.”

“What do you mean?” He looks at you genuinely confused.

“Chenle, don’t think for a minute that I don’t know you have an ulterior motive for approaching me. Up to now I have been invisible to you. You don’t know me at all and you don’t need to for us to work together. You’re simply my partner in this quest who I have to work with. There’s nothing more that’s going to happen because after this,” and you look him dead in the eye, “I’m going to focus on my work and you’re gonna go back to tormenting other demigods and making yourself feel so special. Know that your eyes give you away Chenle. You're not as perfect with that facade as you think you are in front of me. I can see that sick interest and curiosity like a little boy looks at a piece of candy. And I’m not going to satisfy that.” 

You don’t look at him anymore, focusing on your food and taking in the nice silence. It only gets interrupted by the screech of a chair sliding back and footsteps hitting the ground angrily. You had pissed off Chenle and you could almost regret it because there would be repercussions  for speaking that way to the boy. But you could care less because you had also indirectly lied to his face. You were going to focus on your work but wouldn’t be going back to the academy to do that. And Chenle wouldn’t notice that you had already packed all your things, ready to get away as soon as the quest was over. You never asked to go back to Milos and being acquainted with the boys was proving very dangerous. So you would do what you did best. 

Run away.

~

When the boat reached its destination, its descent was smooth. The three of you had taken great advantage of all the amenities and were rather sad to see it all go. What you had to face now was extreme heat and an ascending walk. And a very petty Zhong Chenle who refused to talk to you. Jisung was left to wonder what had happened between the two of you but didn’t push on the subject. 

As you got down off the boat, you made sure you were prepared. You had given the boys strict instructions to follow as well as gear that they needed for the walk onto the volcano. They noticed that you were handy with enchantments after being presented with plain shoes that were meant to withstand the heat of the volcano. You had also provided them with fireproof t-shirts and shorts. You had definitely come prepared for everything. 

As you all bid goodbye to the air nymph, the three of you came to the rocky path that would lead to the volcano. The path had rocks of many sizes on either side. But in the distance you could see the outline and textures of the Milos Volcano. You turn to the boys, the crown that you had behind your back now coming up and being presented to them. Chenle looks at it and lets out a laugh.

“That’s your crown? It looks cheap.”  Jisung almost smacks Chenle for his insult, disliking the way he has started to speak to you. You on the other hand don’t pay any mind to it.

“Shut up Zhong. I want to just warn you guys first, please don’t…don’t freak out.” Chenle looks at you and you can see he’s still being a little petty with you.

“You’re not so special because of your crown.”

“Hyung, can you shut up?” 

“Look, trust me okay. I will do my best to keep you guys safe but remember you have to stay near me at all times. We go up there, we find Cerberus, we lead him out and then Jisung will take him to Hades and Zhong and I will follow. So please just trust me?” You look at them and Jisung nods his head with a simple yes from his mouth; Chenle decides to be stubborn and not say anything. That’s until Jisung elbows him rather hard and Chenle gets the message, a simple whatever leaving his lips. You nod a few times, taking a deep breath, and bringing the crown up to place it on your head.

Chenle has seen many things in life. Very strange things and very normal things. He saw a little snake making its way into his crib and asking him about his day when he was two years old. Chenle had been born with interesting powers, he had known what the snake had asked. He had laughed, clapping his hands childishly, as he spoke to the little snake. Before it could go any further the snake had slithered away just before his door was opened by his mother. When he was five he held his mothers hand while they walked into the bank. His mother had to withdraw some money and he was right next to her. No one noticed when the little boy slipped out and made his way to one of the safe’s down in the basement. He hadn’t taken much, just a few hundreds. He never shared that with his mother knowing that stealing was bad but being tempted by it. He saw the little snake again, he was a little more grown than last time. But he was there, this time he was silent and Chenle didn’t say much either. He made his way back to his mom who just turned in time to see her little boy smiling up at her.

Since then Chenle had seen that snake continuously. Sometimes he’d be in his garden at home, drinking whatever he liked, eating, or playing around. The snake would just look at him while resting comfortably. Chenle still remembers the day he had thrown what others saw as a full blown tantrum. Then again, even through all his childish insults and screams it could be seen that he was just a little boy in mourning. The snake had come to him, a deathly gash running through its scaly body. The maids had screamed when they saw it, stumbling over each other and running away to get someone. But Chenle had run forward to it, not knowing what to do. He remembered his hands shaking as he hovered over the snake with its gleaming eyes that had become more dull as the seconds passed. Chenle had let the snake weakly coil around his hands and arms. It looked a little awkward but it nudged softly at Chenle’s hand with its head. It has been a great service to serve under you, Master Chenle. I am afraid that I will not be alive to see you grow further but please do not cry. There will be another to take my place. 

But I don’t want another friend! You’re supposed to be my friend! Why can’t dad save you!?

Master Chenle please, it is okay. Another will take my place and you will not mourn. Please…t-take c-care…

He remembered his pathetic screams. His tears. His parents had misunderstood at first thinking that Chenle was being attacked or had been. But when they stood in front of him they saw that the snake had died, their sons hands covered in its blood. He had screamed for them to make the snake come back, to have Hermes save him but nothing happened. There was only rain that day and Chenle had prepared its funeral the same night. He ignored all the pleas to go inside because of the fever he would have from being drenched and cold. But he could care less. When he had stopped crying over the snake he saw his replacement. Chenle had been cold to him. Hating that he’d look just like his little friend when he had been five. Since then Chenle had stopped being genuine. He was sometimes but not all the time. Chenle had mastered the art of emotions. Truly. Or so he thought.

He stood now, cheeks dusted pink, heart palpitating, eyes blown a little wide, and his mouth agape. When the crown touched your head, a whirl of bright orange fire swirled around you like a tornado, you were now hovering a few feet off the ground. Instead of your simple black shirt, pants, and sneakers, you were now wearing greek styled robes, sandals that wrapped around up to your shins, and the crown had specks of fire swirling around your head making it look like a halo. Your face glowed beautifully because of the crown that exposed your power. You were decorated in a few black rings, bracelets, and necklace. You could’ve been mistaken for any of the Greek deities and Chenle stood by this thought.

“Woah…you look so gorgeous.” For the first time, Chenle notices that you’re shy. Your eyes are looking anywhere but at Jisung’s after his kind compliment. He’s never seen that expression on your face and if he was being brutally honest, it looked adorable on you. When you look at him he feels frozen. He doesn’t even know what to say. He tries to formulate something nice, a compliment, something flirtatious but he just opens his mouth and then closes it. He feels stupid then for being so easily struck by your ethereal being.

“The more you stare hyung, the more uncomfortable they feel. Also, your breath smells.” That makes Chenle’s hand come up to his mouth and he lets a shrill scream when he realizes that Jisung was messing with him. He pushes him harshly but Jisung just hunches over to laugh out loud and you let out a light laugh. A very pretty laugh. One he wished he could just bottle up. Oh gods. 

“We should get going. It’s a far walk up the hill. I need you guys to stand still okay?” Before they could ask why, you fly in a little closer to them, your left hand on Chenle’s cheek and your right hand on Jisung’s cheek. Both boys gasp lightly as they feel a warmth course through their bodies that leaves almost immediately. Chenle looks into your eyes and he finds it even harder to breathe when you’re literally glowing in his face.

“Just a bit of extra protection just in case. Now come on.” You stop hovering over the ground and land soundlessly on the ground. You turn and start walking, both boys following closely behind you. This was unexpected. Quite the turn of events because Chenle let his guard down. He let himself feel attracted to you…enamored would’ve been the word for it but he pushed that thought away. He couldn’t feel anything for you, that was not part of his deal with Yuta. And as quickly as all those fuzzy feelings had come, the faster they left as he started losing himself in his thoughts. Was it guilt gnawing at him? He did not want to think about it anymore. For now, he had to focus on getting to Cerberus without falling victim to a fire filled death. But you had made it so hard as your robes rippled from the light winds and the smell of something distinctly like something that was burned yet a sweetness mixed in. Chenle couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

“Have you ever heard of fire poppies?” your voice rings out with a pleasing lilt in it. Chenle shakes his head but realizes you’re not looking at him and then he answers with a no. He doesn’t pay attention to Jisung and misses the mischievous grin on his face.

“A fire poppy blooms in places where there’s been fires. Its scientific name is Papaver Californicum. It germinates from the smoke of a wildfire. It stands strong for one to two days. It’s rather beautiful.”

“Just like you.” Chenle wonders why there’s a silence that falls over and then he realizes he said that out loud.

“I- well, I mean- you see-”

“It’s fine Chenle.” That shut him really quick, not only at your response but because you had said his name. It sounded nice coming from your lips and he found that the warmth he tried to avoid kept rising up in his chest. He thought his previous tantrum to be stupid. He was starting to actually think he was stupid. But you bring him out of his thoughts.

“This place…I thought I’d never see it again.” The boys don’t say anything as they let you continue and they realize that you’re vulnerable right now. It’s why you have become a little more quiet than usual. You continue, slight hesitancy in your voice.

“I never wanted to lead the Battalion. I just wanted to live in peace. But Father had other plans for me. All of Hephaestus’ children have some of his most prominent characteristics besides power. He hates getting involved in things. He’d rather keep to himself and his workshop. Only when he feels it necessary does he ever do something. Like making Hera’s beautiful throne into a trap for discarding him. And humiliating Ares and Aphrodite for her infidelity. Things like that. But when I came into this world, he had a role for me. I’ve always hated it because I never wanted it. You know…I wanted to build cars. And cool gadgets like they have in those sci fi movies. And make natural works such as boats, wooden homes among other things. I wanted to have fun with that. But Father always pushed me towards bigger projects. If I’m honest, I resented him for that.”

“I think we all resent our parents for one thing or another. Hades had me which made me just like the previous pair of siblings. Ostracized. Feelings of loneliness and being a freak. My power deals with death, darkness, shadows. But I’ve always preferred bright colors and light.”

“Like Persephone?” It was like you could read right through him. You didn’t see it but a small smile played on Jisung's lips.

“My mom left me when I was ten. She could no longer deal with clumsy and depressed me. She left me at the cemetery where we used to visit grandpa. Dad knew what she had done. I always see other demigods upset that their godly parent barely pay attention to them. They’ve had so many kids that really how do they keep up with them all? But my dad barely had any kids because he knows his power. Yet he had me and he was just always there.”

“Did they take you in?”

“She did. And I’ve been grateful ever since. It hurts to know that my mom didn’t want me anymore. Dad…dad punished her for what she did even if I pleaded with him. But he was stubborn. So he kept me in the underworld with Mother. She would take me up with her when spring came around. Sometimes I’d leave on my own. Then dad suggested the Academy and I’ve been there ever since. It’s also why my powers aren’t as strong. I’ve spent time adjusting to the underworld. When I came up here I felt more drained than usual.” 

“I see. Your mom gave up something precious that she will never get. I’m sad that you had to know about what your father did. But at least they care for you.”

“What about you? Y-you don’t have to tell-”

“My mom…well I never had a mom. I don’t know what it feels like to have a maternal figure.”

“Oh.”

“What about you Chenle?” You avoid talking any further about yourself and redirect to the other boy.

“Me? Uhm well…I grew up with my mom and stepdad. I’ve been pretty well off in that department.”

“That must be nice.” Suddenly Chenle felt like he didn’t belong. Here you were pouring out your heart alongside Jisung about missing parents when he’s had both. He’s lived comfortably. And he didn’t know why, he couldn’t understand why, but he felt so desperate to fit in and relate so he said something he’d never even told Jisung. 

“I used to know someone. He wasn’t a pet but more so a friend. I've always found him to be more of a friend.” Chenle feels like he’s talked too much but you look back at him for the first time and you nod, gesturing for him to continue.

“He was a snake. He first came to me when I was two. And then again when I turned five. After that he showed up regularly in my garden or in my study room. Sometimes we didn’t speak. Other times we would have small conversations. He was very serene all the time. But one day he showed up in my garden, bleeding and wounded. He wasn’t going to make it. I-I never knew what happened. Or w-why…” He could hear his own screams again in his head. His cries for his friend. And he kind of hates that he let himself get weak because instead of feeling better he feels worse.

“He died and you lost a piece of yourself.” Chenle looks down at his feet, his mind being brought back to the present.

“More like buried.” 

“There’s nothing wrong with mourning someone you’ve lost. And yes, you might bury a piece of yourself with them. But that shouldn’t mean that you can ignore that side of yourself. There’s nothing wrong with  feeling. In fact it just shows that you are human. Being able to feel human is good.” Chenle doesn’t answer you, not even fully understanding a hidden connotation to your words. He feels the tears that burn at the back of his eyes and does his best to ignore them. 

“So, how much further do we have to go?”

“We’re getting close. Up ahead is an opening and then we’ll be on the path to the volcano. Good thing Cerberus isn’t inside of it. He’s lost somewhere around the middle of the volcano. This isn't looking so bad. I was expecting something to hap-” Suddenly, you feel the ground shake, you stumble and so do both boys. You feel it before seeing it. There was heat spreading rapidly, a sudden rumble booming in the sky as the Milos Volcano once again showed signs of activity.

~

You hear Chenle scream at you over the rumblings of the Milos Volcano, “You just had to jinx it!”

“Shut up Chenle!” The three of you rise to your feet, trying to adjust after the shaking of the ground. You knew there was something terribly wrong. The volcano had been active again, you felt the trembles under your feet, the heat that was rising. But among the heat there was wind. Chenle felt it too.

“There’s something else here! The currents are moving all over the place!” Chenle slips his hand into his back and brings out a deep green box. Before you could ask what it was for he opens it to show a pair of sandals with wings. 

“Just like your father.” Chenle wastes no time in changing his shoes, not as gracefully as he would think it would look like but it didn’t matter. The wings flapped to life and before you could yell at him he was flying. When he gets a few feet high he feels the onslaught of heat and falls a bit.

“Shit!”

“I told you to keep close to me, genius.” 

“Well, I need to see  what’s past the rocks.” You turn to Jisung, offering your hand. He takes it, holding your hand tightly, and you push off the ground. Your power had a way of being slightly shared, so instead of Jisung dangling from  your hold, he too was flying. You didn’t even say anything as you brought your right hand to hold Chenle’s. He looked at you startled.

“That way you don’t fly too far and drop little Icarus.” He doesn’t say anything about the nickname and how it makes his heart skip a beat, instead trying to focus on what was going on. Flying higher towards the sky he sees another silhouette hovering. Someone asks what is that but Chenle just moves closer, you and Jisung being pulled gently behind him. He realizes it’s a boy who looks much older than him. When he gets close he hears you gasp and feels your grasp tighten. The boy turns to look at you directly and when he speaks there is surprise evident in his voice.

“Y/N? What are you doing here?”

“I should be asking you that.” He looks to you and then to the boys. Chenle sees the disappointment bloom on his face.

“Oh my. It seems you came here rather early. I was hoping to have more time.”

“More time to what!?” The boy looks at you, a bit sad.

“To kill Cerberus of course.” Your blood runs just as cold as Jisung and Chenle. Then you feel the anger coursing through you and Jisung. You don’t notice how the flames on your crown grow, specks of blue coming out. 

“What in gods name are you doing Jungwoo!? Kill Cerberus? Are you out of your mind!?” Jungwoo laughs a rather empty laugh. His eyes were dull and cold. The opposite of your fiery and angry ones.

“Am I? I’m surprised you haven’t noticed Y/N. Don’t you know what I am?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jungwoo looks in your angry eyes and sees a battle within yourself. He hums.

“Don’t you see. We’re related. More so than our typical siblings. I thought you felt it when we first met,” he tilts his head as if in thought,  “it seems Hephaestus didn’t give you that.” But you don’t understand his cryptic words and before you could ask he speaks again.

“Or should I say Vulcan?” Jungwoo says that name, that one name, slowly. His eyebrows raised, his mouth forming into a smile, but his eyes treacherous and cruel. There’s a slight tremble in your posture and you look at him now, even more clearly than before.

“H-how? I’ve never…n-never…”

“We are not like the others Y/N. We were created from the very hands of Vulcan. But we were raised by his form as Hephaestus. Vulcan found it too tedious to care for us but Hephaestus did not. He knew what it was to be a discarded child even more than his roman form. In all honesty, I hoped Father would show up,” Jungwoo brings his arms up to gesture around him,  “alas he did not. Really I have no use for Cerberus. But I needed something dramatic to get him to come. Instead he sends you and your little pets.”

“Why would you do this Jungwoo? You were my brother. How could you just betray me like this!?” He hisses, his expression morphing into what you realized was decades of resentment and anger.

“Betray? I’m a traitor!? What about Vulcan? Is he not a traitor to us? He made us from clay and breathed fire and life into us! He gave us power but for what? To become the gods' little lap dog? He never let us do anything with our powers! We could do anything and  yet he has us as chained dogs on leashes, let free only when needed. And what about our mother?” You look at him conflicted and shocked at the piece of information. Jungwoo registers this and scoffs. His expressions change from one to another like a mask. You read empathy on his face but you know it’s not that. If this was who he truly was then Jungwoo knew nothing of being empathetic.

“You don’t know. He never even told you,” you don’t like his tone and Chenle puts one hand on your shoulder as his other takes your hand again, “we had a mother. Vulcan created her too. She was perfect. The most perfect maternal figure you could ever imagine. But you know what he did? Vulcan thought I was getting too docile to her. I had become too soft. And that was enough for him to get rid of her. It didn’t matter if he had just destroyed her, she was a living human to me. And so to me that’s murder. He killed our mother just so we could listen to him. So really, who's the real traitor? Me or him?” Chenle speaks up, having had enough of the demigods' games.

“The only traitor here is you.” Jungwoo looks at him as if for the first time he’s realized that he was present.

“Oh? You have no say in this Zhong Chenle. If anything you shouldn’t be talking about betrayal when you yourself are made up of lies. You didn’t approach Y/N because of your supposed feelings. If I were to guess, Yuta challenged you to get their attention. And then what? For that, Y/N, don’t you think that he should be punished? He wronged you. They all wrong us. Please, come with me. We can over power Hephaestus…Vulcan. And we could take his place. We would be so much better. Twins. I would take Hephaestus’ form. And you would take Vulcan because you are so powerful. You are just like me but better. Don’t you think fotia paidi?”

You almost freeze at his words and he takes a sick fascination in that. There’s something wild and crazed in his eyes and you realized what your father meant when he had told you about his many failures.

I was never a great father. I know this. I’ve had my success and my failures. My best traits and my flaws as a discarded son. I need you to understand that I made a show of your sacrifice to keep you safe. You have been the greatest success in my life. But like anything else in the world you are followed by my worst failure. Know that I never meant to burden you with this but one day you’ll understand.

Chenle wants to say something. He wants to fight back. But Jungwoo has not only exposed him but has made you feel exposed as well. He didn’t know what he could say to you. But it never seemed to end, the ways you caught Chenle by surprise. And this moment was no different as you brought your head up, eyes looking right into Jungwoo’s. Chenle, for the first time, felt a bit fearful as he saw the deathly resemblance between you and Jungwoo.

“Punish? For a silly little thing? You are childish and pathetic. You are the true traitor to every demigod, every god, and every one who has ever believed in your lies,” a look of rage claws at his face and you continue, “The Fire’s Death Soldier died in the war against Kronos. This is what the people will know and remember. I may have been created by the very hands of a god just like you. He may have been quite dismissive of us but I would never harm anyone out of resentment towards him. I love you Jungwoo. I always will. But you will have to pay for your crimes with your life.” Chenle’s eyes widen at your blatant threat and you feel Jisung’s hand tighten around yours. Jungwoo nods his head a few times, a disappointed smile stretching across his face. He slowly bends his elbow towards him with his hand coming up in his face, looking at it for a moment. You don’t miss the little tilt in his head when he brings his arm back and aims towards you.

You see the ball of fire that hurtles towards the three of you. In a quick second you form a barrier that blazes with intensity, to block Jungwoo’s attack. As he continues throwing deathly balls of fire in your direction, you begin to strategize what to do next and come to the only conclusion you knew would work best. You give both boys a light squeeze by your hands while looking in Jungwoo’s direction. 

“Boys, you need to get Cerberus and get out of here!” Chenle turns his head immediately and shakes it frantically and angrily. You didn’t need to look at him to sense the anger he was radiating at such a thought.

“We are not leaving you!” But you ignore his denial and turn to him as you explain your plan.

“You’re going to fly with Jisung towards the cave and get Cerberus out of here. I’ll deal with Jungwoo.” Chenle hates your proposition of having to leave you to fend for yourself, especially against Jungwoo. 

“I am not leaving without you Y/N! There has to-”

“There is no other way, Chenle! You are going to leave now!” You let go of Chenle’s hand and place it on Jisung’s forehead. 

“Wh-what-”

“Stay still!” Jisung doesn’t move, confused at your actions. He feels a strange warmth spread through his body. You take a glance at the barrier that has started to deteriorate little by little and try to hurry.

“You will both be protected by my power. That way the fire does not harm you.” You let go of Jisung’s hand and he lets out a yelp, thinking he is gonna fall but instead finds himself floating. When you turn to Chenle he braces himself for you to do the same but you surprise him when you grab him by his face and pull him towards you.

“What the hell-mmf!” Instead of a hand to his forehead like you did to his friend, your lips meet his. Without really thinking too much, his hands come up a little hesitant and grab at your waist. The warmth that spreads through Chenle’s body is different, it blazes with a strange intensity but although Chenle feels it, it does not hurt him in any way. Rather it just feels warm and inviting, just like your kiss on his lips. He feels it all ends too quickly and is also embarrassed after you let him go because he realizes he chased your lips as soon as they left his. When he looks into your eyes he sees something he can’t decipher and he swears that he can’t breathe properly, his heart has started beating erratically in his chest.

“Your eyes will always give you away. You’ve known me for so little but just a change of events has revealed your true nature. I see you now for who you are and if we get out of this, we can go for coffee any time. Don’t fly too close to the sun, little Icarus. Please go and be careful.” Chenle’s eyes tear up and he feels the slightest break in his usual character. He never foresaw any of this. He barely knew anything about you but gods you managed to unravel him so easily. Sharing details about his personal life, his childhood, the snake he had adored had all been unimaginable to him. But he had desperately wanted to fit in with the conversations you had with Jisung. He really wanted to fit in with you. Quarreling with you and being by your side brought him a happiness he never knew he’d enjoy. Having to leave you here alone with Jungwoo tore at him but he promised that as soon as he helped Jisung with Cerberus he would come to your side.

You give him a soft smile when you hear his words, “I’ll come back for you.” 

“Guys we gotta move!” Chenle hates it when your hands fall away from his face and you move towards Jungwoo who had just stopped throwing fire at you. His expression is a mix of anger, disappointment, and disgust. His once boyishly charming smile and sweet eyes had become twisted into a snarl matched with cynical eyes. 

“Are you blind? Or just blatantly stupid? You kiss the boy who uses you for his own entertainment? You befriend a useless child of death whose powers can’t manifest properly because of that weak body? You’ve barely known them and you dare choose them over me!?” You don’t look back at the boys who have started to back away slowly. Instead you keep yourself focused on the brother who you once loved.

“You don’t actually think you can kill me Y/N, do you? I am powerful too. I was the first. Honestly, it’s quite sad that you’ve decided to stay alongside those weaklings. Now you can die with them.”

Jungwoo lets out a surge of fire towards you, the onslaught of it causing the temperature around you to rise. That doesn’t affect you though, as you place one hand in front of you to block it. With a swift movement into an upwards arc with your right hand, you bring it back and shoot it towards Jungwoo with even more ferocity and speed. He tries to get away but not before he feels a slice at the side of his stomach. He hissed, looking down at the burning mark and back up to you in shock.

“You are immortal just as I am. But only our powers can harm or kill each other. You know this Jungwoo. Father was right,” and the way you tilt your head with eyes blazing, anyone could say you were a terrifying image mirror of each other, “you are his worst failure.” Jungwoo, lets out an enraged scream as he flies straight towards you. You simply let yourself drop when he gets close, his body passing by you instead and you grab him by his foot. He screams again, your hand engulfed in orange flames, burning at his skin. You tried to push away the sadness and pain in your heart as you heard his agonies. It proved to be a mistake as his other foot came to land a kick straight in your face. You let go of him, dropping a bit but keeping yourself still in the air, your head tilted back as you brought up a hand to your nose that bloomed with pain. When you draw away your hand you see a bit of blood on your fingers and glare at Jungwoo who just smirks.

“Can’t take a simple kick?”

“That was a mistake.” Jungwoo flies a little higher in the air, his head now moving to his right. You realize what he’s aiming for and immediately summon fire in the shapes of daggers. He dodges some of them, others due what they were intended to do but finally he moves out of your reach. His eyes were now focused on the two boys who were getting Cerberus out of the caged prison Jungwoo had placed him in. The boys don’t notice that Jungwoo is flying towards them but you follow close in pursuit. When you manage to catch up to him, you stop a few feet in front of him, a dagger now in your hand. He stops immediately, his body frozen at the weapon in your hand. His eyes blaze again as he stares at the dagger that had caused his undoing.

“Where did you get that?” He demands. 

“A gift from father.” Jungwoo looks between you and the dagger, it’s colored black except for a bright blue fire that surrounds it. He knows this dagger rather well. It was the very same dagger his father had used against the mother he once had. You could tell the tears that threaten to fall from his face, the redness in his eyes, and the even more chaotic look that takes over him. Jungwoo becomes even more unhinged by the second, his sanity being completely lost.

“Where the hell did you get that fucking dagger Y/N!?” You pity him really, even after all this, he had just been a boy who loved his mother. But his sins were too grand and you had to stop him at whatever cost.

“He said that the person whom I would have to slay would recognize this dagger. He also told me to tell you that he was sorry. You weren’t what he had intended to make. You proved to be the opposite of what he needed. And I’m sorry brother but your pain has only created chaos and death. It follows you wherever you go and it will follow you for the last time.” You lunge out at Jungwoo, trying to cut at whatever you could but he dodges them all. You want to cry and scream at the unfairness of having to kill your own sibling. Jungwoo wants to cry too, at the cruelty he’s presented with. He cared for you but he did not love you. He only knew to love his mother and being attacked with the same weapon his mother had died from shattered the last bit of sanity he had. It was remembering his mother’s face that made his reactions slow down and it proved to be fatal as you drove the dagger into his abdomen.

Jungwoo looked down, his hand coming up to grab at your hand. The very hand that held the dagger to his abdomen. He coughed in pain and before you could react, his power failed him and he plummeted to his death. You watch as his body landed with loud and crunching thud, dull eyes staring up at you. You come down from where you were and onto the ground harshly, the urge to throw up crawling in your chest. You don’t even realize that you’re sobbing at the sight of Jungwoo’s broken and bloodied body, knowing that you had caused it. You scream and scream and there’s a feeling of hands grabbing at you. You only notice it’s Chenle when he grabs your face and makes you look at him. Even then you can’t tell what he’s saying, everything sounding blurred. 

“I killed him. I-I k-killed my b-brother. I-” 

“Shh shh.” Chenle brings you into his chest, tears streaming down his face as he sees you break in front of him. There were no signs of Jisung or Cerberus, only Chenle, Jungwoo and you. Chenle understands the pain that you’re going through but knows that the both of you have to leave. He tries to make you stand up, telling you that you have to leave. But Chenle was so busy worrying over you that he didn't notice the small movement; the slightest change in the vast scenery took place in a dagger that was now hovering over Jungwoo’s hand. His aim was definite, impossible to miss, the dagger now hurtling towards the boy whose hands were gently cradling you by your neck. You’re the one who notices as your eyes can’t rip themselves away from the body of your brother.

“Chenle!” Your power fails you as you try to aim the dagger elsewhere and you move without thinking. Chenle doesn’t realize what is going on as he sees you step in front of him. He only hears you gasp, your body hunching over slightly. His eyes immediately wander to the black point that is now protruding from your chest and he catches you as you fall back into his arms. Chenle’s knees give away as he lets your weight fall on him, his eyes now staring at the terrifying sight in front of him.

His eyes meet the dagger that has impaled itself into the right side of your chest, blood starting to seep through your clothes. His hands tremble as his panic rises and his voice starts to cry out for you.

“N-no, n-no, no, no! Y/N! Y/N stay with me!” Your body no longer feels as warm as it did. You feel your power draining away slowly and a coldness seeping through you as Chenle holds you. Your teary eyes move from the sky to meet his and you cry, feeling afraid but not alone.

“C-Chenle…i-it hurts.” Chenle’s eyes scrunch up as his face contorts in pain at the mere thought of you dying. His left arm is around your shoulder, bringing you closer to him and his right hand cups your face. He mindlessly wipes away at your tears with his thumb as his sobs become even more broken and his head shakes in denial.

“You’re going to be fine. You’ll b-be fine. Stay with me, stay with me.” The last thing he sees is your lips smiling softly at him, your eyes filled with an unmistakable adoration, and your final words stuttering out.

“D-don’t fly…t-too close to the sun m-my l-little…Icarus. Don’t f-fall.” He shakes his head in denial, a whimper of pain escaping his trembling lips.

“Don’t leave me! Y/N don’t leave me please! Come back!” He watches, gasping for air as your eyes go from their warm blaze to empty and dull. He rocks your body back and forth, his face now nuzzled into your neck and a raw choked scream of your name claws its way out of his chest and rips through his throat.

You were dead and so was Chenle’s heart.

~

Chenle couldn’t have known how long it was. All he knew was that the winds had calmed down entirely. Any activity that the volcano had shown previously was gone. The burning heat had also ceased and so Chenle had no need for protection, his body feeling that strange warmth leave. It was getting dark but Chenle could care less as he held onto you, your eyes still wide open and staring. He felt numb and cold. His emptiness growing vastly. He ignored the blood on his hands. It wasn’t your blood or his but Jungwoo’s.

In the moment he had felt you die in his arms, he screamed. His chest ached in agony as he held you knowing that he could no longer speak to you or feel you. The playful banter you had always managed to engage with him would no longer take place. When his cries ceased he looked towards the boy who had been the cause. Letting go of you gently, he walked towards the other body, purpose being noticeable in his stride. Jungwoo came into view, a hand over his wound and blood seeping through, his breathing was irregular and teary eyes looked up at his executioner.

Chenle kneeled over him while Jungwoo could only stare at the boy who had taken the dagger out of you and held it strongly. Jungwoo’s powers were no longer within his reach, slight panic manifesting itself.

“I-it w-was…s-supposed to be…y-you.” 

Chenle couldn’t differentiate what Jungwoo felt about having killed you instead of him. He had been putting on all different masks but it almost seemed that he had regretted his decision. Chenle could care less as his hand let go of the dagger and wrapped itself around Jungwoos pale neck. His heart was ripped out and he was only present to return the favor. Chenle never considered himself a murderer. A cold blooded killer. But losing those he loved, feeling all that pain, he had enough of it. He wanted it out of his system. And through all his tears, the trembling of his hands, he spoke his voice barely above a whisper.

“You killed Y/N. You killed them and took them from me,” his tone turned poisonous, “Vulcan should’ve killed you when he had the chance alongside your mother.” Jungwoo could no longer speak, trying to gasp for a bit of air but Chenle did not let him.

Let go Chenle. Let him go. A voice spoke in Chenle’s head but he ignored it as he relished in watching Jungwoo kick pathetically and grab at his arms weakly.

Let go! Chenle wants the voice to shut up. He decides to put an end to all of this as he reaches for the dagger and tries to drive it into Jungwoo’s heart. But before he could finish, a force pushes him back a few feet. 

My son, stop your madness. Killing him won’t bring back your love. It will only serve to taint your hands.

“I don’t care! “

His father will deal with him. For now, you should go. Take Y/N with you to the underworld. Your friend awaits you there. Go. Chenle thinks for a moment as he looks towards you again.

“Will…will Hades bring them back to me?” There was no response.

“Dad?”

Go Chenle. All will be as it should. 

He looks back one last time at Jungwoo, death having taken him already. When he made it back to you he held you for hours before finally reaching out under you to pick you up. The wings on his sandals move as he starts to fly up and away from the volcano. The heat of the volcano no longer is present, the death of the two children putting it into a never ending slumber. Chenle barely stops to take a break from his flight. He’s focused solemnly on you and getting to the underworld. His tears don’t stop falling and his lips part, a song emitting from him brokenly.

Baby stay with me

I feel it happening

I guarantee

With every inch of me

Tonight I'll sleep

With demons in my hair

That talk to me

It's only just a dream

Baby stay here

The whispers in the trees

Are getting near

You're everything I need

To bare this fear

The demons in my bed

Are always here

It's only just a dream

Babe I'd rather stay inside your dream

If I could disappear beneath the leaves

~

When Chenle makes it through the underworld he lands softly at the entrance of Hades' home. He walks inside the mansion, knowing the halls pretty well. When he arrives at the center hall he sees Jisung. When the boy sees your limp figure he assumes that you're hurt. He tells himself that you're hurt. But Jisung was Hades' son. He knew a dead body when he saw one. Chenle's voice croaked out brokenly, his knees meeting the ground as his gaze met the god in front of him.

"Bring them back. Please bring them back."Hades looks at Chenle and then at you, face void of any expression. He speaks, his voice deep and cold resonating through the hall.

"I cannot." Chenle grits his teeth, desperation finally coursing through him.

"Why not!? You're the King of the Underworld! You can do something!"

"Child, I cannot help you because that body is void of a soul. I would help you as a recompense for helping my son bring Cerberus home. I am truly sorry but I cannot do much more than to tell you to speak with Hephaestus."

"H-how?" Hades looks towards Jisung who stands at his father's side. The tears and sniffles don't go unnoticed and Hades looks away. Persephone stands at Hades’ side, her gentle hand coming up to cover her mouth. Chenle sees her pity but he doesn’t want it. He doesn’t want pity, he wants you. He wants you to breathe again. He wants to feel your warmth. He wants to learn to love you because he doesn’t know how he’ll be able to live as he used to before knowing you.

"Jisung, help him take the body to the Olympian Boat. The air nymph will be there to guide you. She will take you up to Olympus where Hephaestus is currently located."

"Yes father." Jisung does as his father tells him, his steps echoing through the eerie silence. He tries to convince Chenle to let you go but he refuses to do so. He carries you now towards the exit of the underworld and up to where the boat has been placed on the ground. The air nymph does not speak as she sees the sad sight. Chenle reaches the dorm that you had previously used at the beginning of the quest. He places you on the bed, your crown placed itself directly on your head. Chenle couldn't take it off of you and he laughed thinking that you probably had enchanted it. You and your never ending enchantments.

You would've looked beautiful if your skin wasn't losing its color and the stain of blood where your wound was hadn’t been there. Chenle had taken the dagger and placed it into the bag that you had given him. He doesn't leave your side, choosing to lay down next to you. He places his head on your chest, ignoring the dried blood, an arm wrapping around your waist and pulling you closer to him. Chenle sings to you continuously, songs of love, pain, grief, and loss. Soon enough, he manages to fall asleep as he embraces you and after his cries cease once again. 

~

When they arrive at Olympus, Jisung is the one to come into the room to wake up Chenle. Both boys ignore looking at each other too long, their faces looking gravely pale and puffy.

Chenle picks you up once again, not wanting to leave you at all and not letting Jisung help him. He walks out onto the deck and towards the exit of the boat. He doesn't pay much mind to the intricate architecture that makes up Olympus. Or the fact that they’re surrounded by an infinite blue sky and clouds. He remembers your laughing about a demigod falling from the sky. He can’t manage a small smile because it hurts him more instead. He stares ahead with dullness in his eyes. When he comes to the front of big gates they open on their own; the boys walk on, making their way down the hall and come in front of the gods that are present. Zeus does not speak as he watches the little boy walk up to Hephaestus.

Chenle looks at the Greek God, his eyes now angry and desperate. He holds no respect for anyone as he makes his demands clear.

"Bring them back now." 

"Do you know of respect?"

"I said bring them back."

"Boy, they are dead-" Chenle raises his voice.

"Because of you! This all happened because of you! You forced Y/N to go to Milos! We put our lives in danger! We did what Hades wanted of us so our recompense will be you bringing Y/N back!"

"I fear that I cannot." Chenle feels tired. Tired of everyone telling him that they can’t do anything for you. 

"What do you mean you cannot? Stop lying!"

"The dagger that drove itself into their chest was a dagger meant to kill the children of fire. I cannot give them life again." Chenle laughs. He laughs at this so-called god and at himself for being so pathetic.

Zeus says, "Zhong Chenle, for your assistance in keeping the balance of the underworld kept, I will grant you what you wish-”

“I want Y/N back.”

“Hephaestus?” The god looked towards Zeus and then back to Chenle.

“I will not bring them back to life but instead will create a new child-”

“No! That’s not-”

“Do not interrupt me. That body cannot be reanimated. And so I will give life to a new body. I cannot promise you their memories will be intact. Hades will provide them with a soul and they will be mortal. However, I will promise you that they will no longer be the Fire’s Death Soldier.”

~

A month had since passed and Chenle always sat waiting at your workshop. The academy had heard that you were gravely hurt during a quest but no one knew exact details. They were all shocked to see Chenle become cold and unresponsive. Students didn’t try to interact with him, his eyes only staring at them with a chilling hollowness. They did not know the details of the quest but they did understand one thing, Zhong Chenle had fallen in love. And he had lost you just as soon as he had found out. Falling in love with someone took time. And maybe it wasn’t love at first. But Chenle knew that what he felt for you was something so strong and pure. He wanted to know more about you. He desired it. But fate had caught up to him and left him broken. He waited for you to walk through those doors of the workshops and smile at him but it never happened. And none of the Hephaestus kids bothered Chenle as they glanced at the boy who sat at your desk, touching all the things you left behind. 

Jisung was holding up better. He went on even if it did hurt to know that since your body was void of a soul, he couldn’t visit you in the underworld. It was lonely and he tried to speak to Chenle but his friend had become like an empty shell of his former self. He couldn’t find Chenle anymore, the sad boy was now lost in the very few memories he had of you.

Chenle was currently sitting alone at your desk again. It was two in the morning and everyone was in bed sleeping. But he was reminiscing just as he always did. His voice rang out in the empty room.

“I miss you so much. There’s not a day that doesn’t go by when I don’t think of you. And I hate myself and I hate the gods. I hate everything. You know, you were right to be hesitant with me at first…” he chuckles remembering how he got here in the first place, “Yuta made a bet with me because I asked him to. I was so bored at the time. I didn’t have anything to do. Yuta usually challenges my strength and skills. But this time he challenged my emotions. He asked me what I wanted if I won. I told him about a caduceus with two snakes on it. Two real snakes just like dad. I’ve…always wanted to be like him because he’s my role-model. I love him as he is and I’m grateful that I am his son. And I am grateful for being able to have a step-dad that loves me just as much as my mom because I know family is hard to find with kids like us.” Chenle feels the tears well in his eyes and he looks up to the ceiling, trying to blink them away.

“Yuta had told me that this bet would be different from the previous ones. That I had to make you fall in love with me and find out all your secrets. I thought it was stupid. Childish really. But then I realized that I didn’t even know who you were, that I couldn’t hear any conversations that had you in them. You were cut off from me and it frustrated me. So I went through with it. But gods…even the first time I met you and you said no to me…it felt so different. It felt so real to me. Because you didn’t do anything to appease me. You didn’t care who I was. You were true to what you felt and didn’t pretend. You weren’t scared of me at all. I should’ve been scared of you this entire time,” he laughs, “but I hadn’t known who you were. Fire’s Death Soldier. Even now, I can’t believe that you’re that person. Because you’re so quiet at first but when you talk about what you love your eyes brighten up and your lips curl into that pretty smile. And it’s something so small but to you it's everything. I wanted to know more about you. And it hurt that day in the kitchen when you told me that you’d go back to doing what you do and that I’d go back to tormenting students. It made me think about my shitty flaws. And I just didn’t want to hear it. Especially with how dismissive you were of me when really I just wanted your attention.” Chenle takes a pause before he speaks again.

“Will you ever come back to me?”

“My little Icarus, you fell.” Chenle almost falls over as he turns to the voice that just spoke. Your hands were in your pockets, your gaze so soft. But instead of Chenle accepting that maybe you were in front of him he realizes he’s most likely hallucinating. He has to be. He laughs, his knees on the ground, his posture falling apart.

“I’ve got to be losing my mind. I finally broke. Aha, I’m losing my mind.” You laugh too, your lips trembling sadly. Chenle hopes you're actually real.

“I’m here Chenle. I’m really here.”

[gureumcityrecs]

zhong chenle

nct dream masterlist

| ☁ personal fav |

| ♤ oneshot | ♧ smau | | ♡ chapter fics | ♢ headcannons | | ✿ angst | ❅ smut | ✥ fluff |

moving on or moving in... together [♤] college!au, establish relationship

[hwaflms]

𐙚˙⋆.˚ nct dream reaction to you touching yourself!

‧₊˚ 💭 ✩彡 , , 2.5k, smut under the cut [cw: masturbation, degradation, voyeurism, fingering, very mild dubcon in jaemin’s, nudes, allusions to phone sex, established relationship in most, i think that’s it]

♡ mark . . . the poor baby had just gotten back from practice and was nearing the bedroom door when he heard some sounds of what he thought was you in pain or distress. being the sweet boyfriend he was, he hurriedly went to open the door, but the sight that greeted him was certainly not one he was expecting. you were laid out on the bed, your pants pulled only halfway off your legs as if you were too desperate to even bother taking them off fully, a hand stuffed in your underwear as you threw your head back and let out the prettiest sounds, looking so blissful and fucked out. your eyes shot open at the disturbance that was mark's arrival, the light blush coating your cheeks nothing in comparison to the bright, tomato-red one that decorated his. "fuck, um– i'm sorry, lemme just– i'm just gonna go", he mumbles his way into the bathroom, bumping into the door while trying to enter, but you both knew he looked for too long. now what was he supposed to do? it's not like that godly an image of you is going to leave his head anytime soon, no, of course not, he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it for days, weeks, months even. sprawled out on the bed like that, lips parted and letting out such dirty, magical sounds– fuck, he couldn't help letting his hand travel into his pants in a similar fashion to you. before he knew it, he was jerking himself off to the thought of you (something he had definitely done before, but he had some wonderful new material now), pumping his cock up and down while his breathing became laboured, but in all his haste and pleasure, he had "forgotten" to lock the door. "um, need a little help there?"

♡ renjun . . . you thought renjun texting you “pleaseee baby, come over tn” meant that the two of you would spend time together until you eventually fell asleep, which did happen for a while until your boyfriend excused him to go play “one game with the boys”. though you rolled your eyes at him, you were fine with him playing a game or two, figuring you could just be on your phone for a bit. you weren’t, however, expecting to be sat on your phone for over an hour, with renjun now having his headphones on (you don’t know what the point was, though, you could still hear all the slurs being shouted mutedly from them). “renjun”, you grouched, but he doesn’t even turn to face you. “if you wanna leave me for a man, just say that.” he does laugh at this, but he pleads “one last one”, making you sigh and slump back down on the bed. you had chosen the pretty, new lace underwear you had bought the other day to wear tonight, but now you’re too salty to let him take it off you. deciding to take matters into your own hands, you shimmy out of your shorts, rubbing circles over your underwear with your eyes trained on his back. if he was too busy to touch you, what’s stopping you from doing it yourself? you try and fail to stifle your moans with your arm as you slip your hand into your underwear, rubbing your clit for a moment before dipping your fingers into your entrance. “renjun…”, you call out again, but both of you know it sounds different this time, and he glances over his shoulder at you. it’s almost comical the way he does a double take, pushing his headphones off of one ear, to get a clear look at you. slowly but surely, the tips of his ears and cheeks are dusted with red, but his eyes still shyly observe the hand concealed by your underwear. “oh…”, he sounds out while you throw your head back and whine, his headphones now fully off and you could hear whoever he was on call with distantly calling out “renjun? renjun, what the fuck we’re losing?” he shuts off his computer screen without even looking at it, getting up and slowly walking over to you, sinking down on the edge of the bed. “you just gonna sit there or you gonna help me?”, you grumble, but his eyes don’t miss the way your hips buck up. “wanna watch.”

♡ jeno . . . you swear you had meant to wait for him to return, you had tried your best to busy yourself while jeno was at schedules. he had told you the exact time that he would return, no earlier, no later, than 7:30 p.m. and there he was, promptly unlocking your front door at 7:29 p.m., expecting you to be reading a book in your room, or baking brownies-for-one in your underwear in the kitchen. he definitely wasn’t expecting the sight that greeted him. he had given you one rule for when he was away at work, to “not touch what’s mine”, one simple rule. you seemed eager enough to please him before he left, so he certainly wasn’t expecting to hear moans coming from the kitchen. he watches you for all of five seconds, back facing him with one hand disappearing into the waistband of your shorts, head thrown back a little as you leaned against the counter. “what are you doing?”, the sharp, gruff way in which he says it make you stop immediately, yanking your hand out of your shorts and holding it behind you. it was one thing if you were pleasuring yourself in the bedroom, but right out here? in the kitchen? jeno promptly walks over to you, reaching over and clasping the hand behind your back tightly, jerking it over to him. your fingers all but glisten when held under the ceiling light, and your cheeks redden at the short “pathetic” he spits while looking at you. not breaking the heavy eye contact, he closes his lips over your two fingers, swirling his tongue around them before releasing them with a ‘pop!’. the next thing you know, your face is being pressed against the cold granite surface of the counter hard, while jeno’s other hand holds both your wrists together behind your back. “you know how to count, right?”, he asks demeaningly, and while he lets go of your head, your cheek is still pressed against the counter so hard you can see the condensation form as you breath, nodding your head before he yanks your shorts down with such force that you can still feel the burn on your hips five seconds later. he places the palm of his hand flat against your ass, pulling your underwear up to reveal more flesh. “i’m gonna show you what happens to whores when they don’t follow a simple rule.”

♡ haechan . . . “well, well, well," you could practically hear the smirk in his voice, tone dripping, pouring with desire, just sounding so sultry. your eyes shot open at the sound of him, squealing shortly and rushing to cover yourself up with the blanket. "what do we have here?", he cooed from the door, one foot in front of the other and a hand placed against the doorframe, leaning against it. "f-fuck off, hyuck", you replied breathlessly, cheeks dusted with pink due to your embarrassment and also the rush you were feeling from touching yourself. he wasn't supposed to be back so early, you thought you were going to be alone for a little while longer; clearly you were wrong. "fuck off? did you mean 'fuck me'?", he drawled, letting out a half scoff and half chuckle, slowly sauntering towards you. “why don’t you show me what you were doing there?”, his suggestion sounds more like an order, and its like you lose the ability to think when he reaches over you to lead the hand straying away from your pussy right back, inclining his head to the side expectantly. under his urging, watchful eyes, you continue your previous actions, eyes widening when hyuck lets out an almost pornographic moan at the sight. sinking your fingers deeper into yourself, you whimper out of pure frustration from the fact that these were your fingers instead of his, and you swear you are almost in tears when he says, “stop”. he’s quick to replace your fingers with his own, coating his digits in your wetness before pumping two into you without any warning. “think you can give me three? maybe four orgasms?”, he cooes, tutting when you shake your head ‘no’. “i think we’re gonna find out.”

♡ jaemin . . . “aren’t you sweet?”, to say hearing your roommate jeno’s friend’s sultry voice startled you would be an understatement, fully believing you were home alone when you started pleasuring yourself. “jaemin– what the fuck–”, a blushing, bumbling mess, you’re quick to yank your blanket over your partially naked body, not knowing how long he’d been standing there watching you or how he had gotten into your house in the first place, choosing to ask about the latter first. “how the fuck did you get in? and did no one ever teach you how to knock?”. tilting his head to the side, jaemin raises his eyebrows but makes no efforts to hide the way his eyes scanned over your blanket-covered body, tracing your hips, collarbones, legs with his gaze. “jeno gave me the keys. and that’s not fair, the door wasn’t shut. besides, you called me”, he replies coolly, taking a step into the room but leaving the door wide open, as if you invited him in. “i heard you call my name in that pretty little voice of yours, but i thought you were hurt. didn’t think you were fucking yourself with your fingers to the thought of me.” you move to further cover yourself up as he walks closer to you, embarrassed out of your mind that he both heard you moan his name and watched you touch yourself. but what he does next really has you shocked– eyes never leaving yours, his hand snakes over to his pant-covered cock, gripping it with a satisfied hiss, a smirk curving on his lips when he sees your look of surprise and…desire??? “you see how hard i am for you, pretty?”, he all but moans out and you do see, the outline of his cock straining against the material of his sweatpants and making your mouth almost water at the thought of it. without another word, he’s in front of you, pulling his raging boner free from his pants. “what do you say we give jeno a little show when he comes back?”

♡ chenle . . . “damn, you started without me?” after enjoying the dinner you had cooked for the two of you, you suggested taking a shower together before slipping into bed to watch a show. following the routine that you had wherein one of you would cook and the other would clean, chenle grabbed your plate and his, placing them in the sink and telling you that he’ll be there in about ten minutes after he finished washing the dishes. figuring you could just get undressed and enjoy the extra space in the shower before your boyfriend joined you, you opted to start without him, but leaving the door unlocked for him. the second the hot water hits your body, you are relaxed, letting it soak your hair and cover your body. you trail your hands along your body to further spread the water, but soon you can’t ignore the dull thud coming from your core when you reach your inner thighs. grazing your fingers against yourself and testing the waters, you slowly begin your ministrations, spreading your folds with more intent now. another two minutes in and you’re blatantly touching yourself, head resting against the glass of the shower, steam engulfing its expanse while you sigh out of bliss. chenle, having left the dishes to dry, decided to join you, ridding himself of his clothes and finding the bathroom door to be partially open. when he’s greeted by the sight of you, your back is facing him, but it doesn’t take a genius to understand what you were doing. when you finally hear his voice, you look over your shoulder in surprise and slight embarrassment, but that is soon replaced with pure lust when your eyes mirror the look in his. “thought i’d get a head start”, you offer, slowly picking up the pace with your hand. “is that so?”, he muses, placing his hand over yours but not stopping your actions. “we both know that i can make you cum much faster than you can.”

♡ jisung . . . when you first started dating your boyfriend jisung, you didn’t realise just how much time you’d be spending on your own. if he wasn’t away at practices, he was busy filming various videos and content, so a large portion of your day was spent waiting for him. this was not to say you were unsatisfied with your relationship, you still got to spend time with him and when you did, it was time well spent. all you were saying is that you got a little lonely and bored at times, and that would explain why you were currently standing by the sink, debating whether you should hit send. you had just finished taking a couple photos of yourself during a moment of confidence and horniness and now they sat in the message bar of yours and jisung’s dms, waiting to be sent. you and jisung had gone there multiple times, but nudes were unexplored territory, yet you thought, fuck it, and hit send. even though you know he’s busy, it doesn’t take long before the ‘delivered’ changes to a ‘seen’, and you watch as the typing bubbles appear and disappear a number of times. after five minutes or so, you’re starting to worry and overthink, biting your lip when you see that jisung is now trying to call you. you pick up and play it off with as much confidence as you can, but jisung sounds the opposite– breathing heavy and voice quiet, like he’s trying to make sure no one hears him, and you hear the sound of a lock clicking. “why would you– are you–”, he blubbers, clearly at a loss for words and you can just picture him, cheeks coated with a sheen of red, eyes wide and mouth opening and closing. “what are you doing right now?”, he asks in a goofy manner and you can’t help your chuckle at the sound of his shy voice, cooing into the speaker. “i was missing you, sungie…”, you mewl, positively beaming when you hear him audibly gulp. “was thinking about you.” his breathing quickens and he mumbles “thinking of me?”, before he clears his throat. “what about me?” you smile at his inability to balance his shyness and desire, and you tell him what you were thinking about, soon hearing the telltale sound of a zipper being pulled down.

[rrxnjun]

how to self-sabotage: a bulletproof guide by zhong chenle

pairing: rival! zhong chenle x fem! reader genre: college au | humor, fluff wc: 10.8k warnings: swearing, a mention of alcohol and weed, this is written like a bad disney channel sitcom. i really channeled my inner business graduate with this fic i am so sorry a/n: this is a repost from yesterday bc tumblr was shitty and turned my text black!! playlist: self-sabotage - waterparks ; are you gonna be my girl - jet ; countdown (1, 2, 3) - nct dream ; teenager in love - neon trees ; maniac - conan gray ; drama - txt

one would say it's ungraceful to turn a charity fundraiser into a competition, but you and zhong chenle have no boundaries when it comes to beating each other in a fight. crashing each other's plans, making irresponsible decisions, all just for the sake of winning a competiton you two made yourself; zhong chenle finds a turn of events when the whole thing turns into a self-sabotage.

❥ hello! this is y/n and welcome to my new youtube video! to celebrate my 600 followers milestone, I prepared something special: let's look at all the boys I've ever had a crush on and interrogate them with a fun questionare! for today's part, we have the boy that tried to sabotage me, but ended up doing quite the opposite: zhong chenle himself! ❥

this fic is a part of my collab! find the rest of the works from the dream chronicles collab here! [tba]

Sitting at the table, fingers drumming against the light wood, you stare into the unknown and make your dear friend Jisung a little afraid of what’s about to come. Being your best friend is always a challenging fact, considering your over-the-top ideas and drive that makes your clueless friend a little taken aback, but with the premise of a challenge– the charity event that’s going to take place at your university, he already knows he’s up for something wild.

Maybe taking a step back from your master plan would be a better idea. Jisung would save his sanity and also, most likely, a lot of trouble; but that’s not who Park Jisung is. If anything, he’s a loyal friend. No one will take that title away from him. And that’s exactly why he’s sitting opposite of you right now, listening to the hum of the cafeteria, waiting for what you have to say.

“How many people are joining?” you ask, voice stone cold and focused. You don’t meet Jisung’s eye, focusing on the people flowing in and out of the cafeteria instead, the gears in your brain turning faster than on your midterms.

“I don’t know exactly, but I’d say around ten teams of people, each one consisting of at least two to three people, so… at least 30..?” Jisung hums, quickly calculating the numbers in his brain.

“30…. so that means we have at least a 20% chance of winning,” you mutter, chewing on your bottom lip and furrowing your brows, seemingly lost in thought.

“That- that’s not adding up, Y/N…” Jisung mumbles, running the numbers through his brain once again, trying to see if he’s made a mistake or if it was you. See, Jisung is not a straight A student– that’s what you’re here for, after all– but when it comes to Maths, he’s pretty confident. He’s not quite sure why it’s the only subject he’s good at, considering it might be the hardest of the course, but for some reason, logical things are easy for him to grasp.

“I ruled out the freshmen girls, they’re absolutely not winning this. Also, Renjun and Jeno are out as well, because they will underestimate everything and not try hard enough. That leaves us with Yangyang and Hyuck, since I know damn well that each and every girl that’s ever hooked up with either of them will hop on their dicks and buy anything they’re selling,” Jisung chuckles at the seriousness of your voice as you talk, finding the fact that you’re taking this whole thing as your main mission of the semester amusing, “and then… Him. He’s the professor’s favorite. And he’s super good at persuading people. And I know damn well he’s gonna try hard, so actually, the chances of winning are split into three teams, so we have an approximately 30% chance of winning the prize.”

Jisung blinks at you a few times, trying to clear his head. Right now, you look like you’ve been programmed– a robot with no emotions, only set on the task it’s been told to do. You’re not even blinking, he notes and immediately gets freaked out– because what if they switched his best friend for a robot while he was sleeping? What if this is some sick experiment? What if he’s in the Truman show? You may never know these days…

“Y/N, that’s not-”

“It’s 50/50, actually,” you cut him off, nodding.

“How can it be-”

“Simple. It’s me or him. And I will do anything in my power to win, Jisung, so be prepared for a fight,” you order, taking a sip of your water, still not meeting eyes with your companion. Jisung’s kind of glad for that, though– what if you turned into a siren and eye contact with you will turn him into stone? He really doesn’t need that, he hasn’t even had his first girlfriend yet. He’s too young to die!

“It’s for charity, for fuck’s sake, don’t be so competitive…” Jisung sighs, taking another bite of his sandwich that he forgot he was eating for a second as you started with your business meeting, shaking his head in disbelief at your antics. Is anyone even taking this whole thing so seriously?

The business department at your university is having a charity event the upcoming month. The goal is to sell things and raise the most money you can– it’s all for a good cause, of course. The only thing is that your university already realized that your generation, although it loves to help people in need, won’t do anything without having enough motivation. And so, the head of the business department– professor Lee– promised that the team that raises the most money for charity (or the winning team, as you like to call it), will get an iPad pro for their efforts.

Jisung would understand if you were doing it for the iPad. Hell, even he wants one. But the reality is completely different– you just really, really need to be the best at everything. It’s your main purpose in life and when you fail, you fall into weeks long depression, mourning every single aspect that made you fail at your task and getting angry at every person in your sight. That is even scarier than your weird transe that you’re in right now, Jisung admits, and so he usually does his best to help you with your efforts, because he doesn’t like to get screamed at for multiple weeks if you come second.

That, and he also really doesn’t like to see you sad.

“Yeah, so I’m having the right intentions, aren’t I, Jisung?” you finally meet eyes with Jisung, your devoted business partner, as you smile with that kind of curve to your lips that doesn’t really meet your eye.

A shiver runs down the poor boy’s spine at that, pupils widening with terror. Standing up from your position at the table, completely ignoring Jisung’s half-eaten sandwich left at the red tray on the table, you move towards the exit of the cafeteria, expecting him to follow along. “Let’s go, Jisung. We have work to do.”

“I’m so so surprised at everyone’s interest in the charity event! Thank you so much for coming here today to discuss the details,” Ms Lee chirps from her spot at the top of the table, swinging her arms around like a Disney princess when she sings to all the animals that gathered around her in the backyard of her palace.

Your eyes scan the figures gathered around the room. You’re sitting at one of the big, rounded tables settled in the middle of the conference room, two of the same, mahogany ones to your left and right side, all filled with business students. Some of the faces are familiar to you– like your classmate’s Renjun and Jeno’s, but some of the other ones are foreign to your eyes. You doubt you’ve ever seen those people in your whole, entire life, and you were in the student council last semester, so you were pretty much friends with everyone back then. Maybe it’s the freshmen, you think, as you look at your overly-excited professor and try to listen to what she has to say.

“Only if she knew that half of these people are here for the iPad,” Jisung murmurs into your ear, making you chuckle. He’s right– almost everyone’s here for that. But not you– you could never make your interest in charity so surface-level like everyone else does. You care about much more than getting an iPad, your interests are deeper than that. You don’t need the iPad– although you wouldn’t hesitate to take it if you win, you’re not stupid, after all– you need to win and beat your longest academic rival.

You need to win against Zhong Chenle himself, the top of the business class– he owns the title mainly because his parents own one and he’s had enough time to learn about all the wonders of the business world long before the rest of the people in your class– because you need the satisfaction of being the absolute best. See, you were used to that your whole life. In high school, you were the model student. The one that was set as an example. The best student, the most praised one, the most talented one, the gifted one, even.

You may already know why all of this was more damaging to you than it was good. Getting into university– into the sea of people that were told just that while growing up– was a feeling that made you fall down from the tallest heights of talent to the very middle of it all. The shift from being the best to being mediocre was perhaps the most painful experience of your whole life, but after you managed to get your shit together– and studied your ass off, because it won’t work any other way anymore, it seems– you set your mind on being the best one again, because in your whole childhood, you didn’t know any better. And if you were raised to be the picture perfect child, it’s hard to outgrow these habits.

So if Zhong Chenle was the top of the class in most of your courses, you had to be better than him eventually. The charity event is just another part of the whole process.

“I know this is all for a good thing, but I feel like we still need to set some rules for this whole thing. The main thing is to sell something– anything you want, really– and raise the most money you can for charity. I think everyone already got that, since you’re all sitting here, but I know that the vision of the iPad can blind some of you and get you to be a little too competitive, and while I encourage you to try hard, I also want all of you to play fair. So, here’s the thing,” your professor announces, making you shift a little in your chair and whisper to Jisung to get his notepad out so he can scribble the important info down, preventing you from forgetting it.

“Rule number one. No bad mouthing the others, no anti-campagne. I want all of you to be nice to each other and play it fair, got it?”

A few of you nod, humming in agreement, when a disappointed sigh comes from somewhere behind you, a low mumble reaching your ears and making you chuckle. “I had so much dirt on Donghyuck…”

“Rule number two. I don’t want you selling alcohol, cigarettes, or pretty much anything that’s against the university rules. God forbid if you bring drugs. I won’t hesitate to call the police on you if you do,” your professor continues, earning herself another set of bored hums and nods, cut off only by a pair of your classmates sitting right next to you at the big, rounded table.

A disappointed sigh leaves Yangyang’s mouth at this one, shaking his head in disapproval. You won’t say anything, because you don’t really want your classmate to get in trouble, but the last time you were on a party where Liu Yangyang was present, you couldn’t shake off the smell of weed for weeks, so you’re pretty sure his plan was to sneak in a little something to get more money for the charity. His friend and business partner in one– Lee Donghyuck from your Economy class– grins as his hand shoots up into the air, waiting to be called to ask a question.

“Yes, Donghyuck?”

“Are condoms allowed?” he asks, the innocent grin on his face making the freshmen girls in the back of the room chuckle and hide their face behind their hands.

“Why are you asking that?”

“No reason,” he shrugs, the innocent smile not leaving his face for a second as his childish friend only giggles at the encounter.

“Please don’t sell condoms at the charity event, Donghyuck,” professor Lee pleads, her eyes already full of misery as she realizes just what she’s gotten herself into when agreeing to lead the whole event.

Another disappointed sigh leaves his lips at that, shaking his head. “That’s our whole business plan gone, then…”

Taking exactly three seconds to calm herself down, your professor takes a deep breath in as she runs her hand through her long black hair and then clasps her palms together at her waist, regaining her composure. “Back to what I was saying, we have one more rule you have to follow. You can’t lie about your product. No false advertisement, no made-up stuff to make what you’re selling be more interesting than it already is. We want this to be a serious event, so please, take all of these rules to heart and try your hardest to follow them. Got it?”

Scanning the room, waiting for each and every single one of you to nod, the gathering falls silent. “If none of you have any questions, I consider this meeting to be over.”

The room is instantly filled with the shrieking of chairs on the linoleum ground, making your hair stand up as you arch like an angry cat, hating the sound. Waiting for everyone to get out of the room, you find a pair of men sitting still opposite of you, a cocky smirk plastered on the face of your moral enemy, his friend Jaemin sitting next to him with a well rehearsed poker face. They already look like they run a company, you realize, the thought making your blood boil just at the thought of Zhong Chenle looking more professional than you do– in your baggy sweatpants and a cropped top you grabbed from the top of the pile of half-dirty clothes in your room this morning.

“Ready to get your ass kicked?” Chenle asks, grinning to himself as your eyebrows furrow and you reveal an annoyed face to him. It makes him happy to see you like this– it gives him more satisfaction than anything in his life, to be exact.

“The game’s on, Zhong.”

Walking towards your table in the cafeteria, a pair of young boys looking very engaged in their conversation lands in your rear point of vision. Eyes squinting, as if it was supposed to make you see better, you watch your best friend Jisung walk side by side with the accomplice of your moral enemy, Na Jaemin. One of them looks cool, dressed in all black, flashing a charming smile, and the other one is truly bubbly– jumping up and down, almost, as he giggles like a boy and adjusts the straps of his backpack. I won’t tell you which one’s which. Figure it out by yourself.

“We have a visitor today?” you ask as the two of them sit down at your usual table in the cafeteria, both of them smiling to themselves like two teenagers in love. The sight is an unusual one, to say the least, and you don’t know what it is about it that makes shivers down your spine. You just know that you kind of despise it.

“Yeah, Jaemin will be sitting with us today, if that’s okay,” Jisung smiles, looking at you with wide eyes full of excitement.

“Great, great,” you mumble, eyeing the boy with suspicion. Is this how he chose to execute your plan? You did tell him to be nice to Na Jaemin– you did even tell him to try to befriend him, if that was what he needed to do to get under his skin– but at the same time, you didn’t think that sitting together at lunch exactly two days after you told him to try to get some information from Jaemin was the right way to go around this.

See, you’d call it intuition. You know something’s wrong, you just don’t know what it is yet.

“So, what’s up, Jaemin?” you ask, poking the food on your table around with your fork, avoiding eye contact. You despise even sitting at the same table with one of Chenle’s friends– you feel like you’re suddenly in his circle, and that makes you gag a little into your mouth. While you need to be better at everything than this young businessman, you also need to stay away from everything that includes him– and yes, that means his friend circle as well. Who knows, Na Jaemin might even be a nice guy. You just don’t care enough to find out.

“Oh, a lot of exciting things are happening! Aren’t they, Jisung?” he smiles, kicking the clueless boy into his shin under the table in excitement, “the charity event, for example! We are preparing a lot of stuff with Chenle, and I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun. What about you two?”

Humming, you try to take the opportunity by its reached-out hands, smiling a little on the inside. “You’re doing a lot of things? What things exactly, may I ask?” you lock eyes with Jaemin, seeing his cunning smile.

“That’s a surprise, dear Y/N,” Jaemin mutters, the combination of his low voice and glimmering eyes making your stomach twist in anger and frustration. Of course he’s not that stupid– he won’t reveal what him and Chenle have planned for the event. He knows who you are. He knows how far you’re willing to go to completely destroy whatever the two of them have planned, just so you could win. And he won’t even dare to give you a single hint on his plans, because he’s intelligent and cunning.

“Is it…” you mutter under your breath, matching his competitive energy.

“Yeah,” he nods, turning to Jisung, “but maybe if you tell me first, I can share. Maybe we can brainstorm together, you know, that would be so much fun. Wouldn’t it, Jisung?” he asks your best friend, smiling sweetly at him.

You know damn well about the effect Na Jaemin has on people. He’s charming and sweet, magically alluring. He pulls everyone towards him, and he does it oh so easily. You’ve heard enough about how this man worked his magic spells on the girls in your grade, getting them on dates and then deciding he’s bored of them a few weeks later.

Now, you didn’t know that your best friend Park Jisung wasn’t immune to this effect. He was, in fact, very much not immune to it– he was just like every other girl in your class, just like all the poor freshmen girls that giggle at his stupid jokes in the cafeteria.

It was a saddening fact and an even more devastating sight to see your best friend fold under the eyes of the local charmer. You should’ve expected it, though– maybe this was the intuition you were supposed to listen to the very moment Na Jaemin showed up at your table in the cafeteria.

“I mean, I think that’s a good idea, maybe we can work together on it as well,” Jisung hums, eyes big never leaving the man as he nods to his manipulation tactics.

“See? Amazing! That’s exactly what I love to hear. So, what are you two planning?”

“Me and Y/N wanted to-”

“Jisung, shut up,” you coldly say, taking a hold of the situation and trying to save the day. Your poor best friend looks at you all lost, the furrow in his brows breaking your heart as you had to be rude to him for no reason at all– well, there is one, he just doesn’t know it yet.

“Why-”

“Why are you shutting your friend down like that? That’s not really nice of you, Y/N,” Jaemin says, locking eyes with you. The look in his orbs is knowing, your wavelength matching as he knows that you finally see right through his plan, that you know exactly what he’s trying to do– because you and Zhong Chenle are more alike than you both think, it seems. At least with your business tactics, after all.

“How about we work on our stuff alone, Na Jaemin? I don’t need Chenle’s help with anything,” you snap back, watching as the boy grins to himself and takes the red tray into his hands as he stands up from his place at your cafeteria table.

“Okay then,” he mutters, “have a nice day, you two.”

With his departure comes a loud whine from Park Jisung himself, earning himself a kick into the shin as you start your scolding session.

“What was that? Why were you so rude to him all of a sudden?”

“Jisung,” you coldly stare at him, making him silence, “I told you to befriend Na Jaemin to get out some information from him. I didn’t tell you to do the exact opposite and get exploited of all our plans instead!” you finish your little rant, breathing heavily as you notice the boy’s face clearing into understatement, smiling to himself a little in shame.

“Oh. I didn’t notice that…”

Park Jisung’s good at Math. Social interaction? Not so much… Maybe you should take things into your own hands and get some information yourself, instead of sending your most gullible friend on a mission that requires interaction with Na Jaemin…

“I still don’t understand what we are doing here. I thought you didn’t like parties!” Jisung mourns as you two step your feet inside of a big mansion (or at least that’s how the house looks in your eyes), the loud music of the event that’s going on inside making your eardrums bubble along with the beat.

“Jisung,  you have so much to learn about this world…” you sigh, smiling at some of the girls you encounter on your way to the big kitchen, aiming straight for one of the red cups waiting for you on the kitchen island, all filled to the brim with various alcohol.

Turning around in your spot, two solo red cups in the palms of your hands, you offer one to your companion and grin at him. “Here, have this,” you smile, “I know you’re not a fan of vodka, but they don’t have anything else… Try not to die while I’m gone,” you note, earning yourself a confused look from the tall boy standing in front of you, listening to your commands.

“And where are you going? What’s going on-”

Sighing, you take the boy by his hand and drag him into the half-empty hall, the dim lightning making the whole encounter feel more secretive than it already was.

“Jisung, this is Zhong Chenle’s party,” you say, the sentence alone enough for the boy to instantly widen his eyes and part his lips agape in understatement, nodding at you. There’s a slight glint in his eyes that’s telling you that he doesn’t like where this is going, but you don’t really care about what he has to say right now. Your mind is set on one thing– winning, and that’s why you’re not afraid to do even the most desperate things of them all.

“Try to enjoy yourself,” you say, “but please don’t talk to Na Jaemin while we’re here, okay?”

“But Jaemin is nice-”

“Okay then, just don’t talk to him about the event, alright? They’ll use it against us if they know anything,” you mumble, downing the entirety of the red cup, scowling at the taste of your most hated alcohol. It’s like Zhong Chenle knew you were gonna appear– it’s like he wants to kill you. You wouldn’t even have to drink the poison that vodka is, but having some liquid courage in you could be useful in the crime you’re about to do right now.

“Try not to die,” Jisung resonates with the same words you’ve said to him just a few minutes prior, making you smile at him with a tense smile, hugging him goodbye before you go. Who knows, if Zhong Chenle catches you, you might not even make it out alive and see Jisung ever again. You might as well embrace your best friend for the last time.

Taking a deep breath in and out, you march up the stairs. The second floor of the house is not as crowded as the first one– the stairs are too steep to walk up if you’ve had too much to drink already, so it’s quite understandable. Looking around like a spy, you try hard to stay as natural as possible, not wanting to make anyone suspect you. Walking casually through the halls, you figure this is the best way to make everyone believe that you’re supposed to be here, that you were invited, and that you’re not just about to do a very, very bad thing.

Opening the first door to one of the rooms, you notice a king’s bed and flowery wallpaper. Closing it again, deciding that this isn’t the room you’re looking for, you continue your search on the second floor– opening the room to one of the bathrooms, and then what you presume is a guest room occupied with someone moaning loudly on the bed, making you shut the door behind you with disturbance.

Finally finding the right one– you assume so by the obnoxious Gucci hoodie sprawled on the chair right opposite of the door– you silently walk inside and close the door after you, making sure you’re alone and not watched by anyone. Trying the hardest to not make any sound, you walk through Zhong Chenle’s room and let your eyes roam across the furniture, looking for the thing you broke into his room for in the first place.

When you don’t find what you’re looking for anywhere at sight, you choose to walk over to his desk and open the first drawer. It’s full of textbooks and other notebooks, making you sigh and close it in disappointment, moving over to the one under it that surprises you with a stash of snacks and a single sock laying on the very top. Disgusted by the state of everything, you result in looking through the last drawer, wanting nothing more than to find the materials you saw Chenle write on the last meeting your charity event group had.

You needed to know what he had planned, so you could plan something bigger, better.

A stash of white paper appears in your eyes, the handwriting of none other than the owner of this house recognizable to you for various reasons (no, you never look at his exam papers over his shoulder just to make sure you did better than him. Never…), the title “charity” in a wobbly, light blue pen making your eyes light up. Bingo.

Excitement flowing through your veins, you scan over the paper and try to find any clues about the boy’s plan. The handwriting is a little hard to read, though, and so you squint your eyes, slowing down your breathing as you try to focus all of your attention to decoding the content in front of you–

–when the paper is swiftly pulled away from your grasp, making you gasp in shock and surprise. Turning your head around, you see the owner of the handwriting looking at you with a glare, making your body instinctively shoot to your feet and taking a step back.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, although he knows damn well what your previous actions were already.

“I’m- I was- I-” you stutter, your brain not allowing you to form coherent sentences.

He takes one step towards you, which leads in you taking another one back, repeating enough times for you to be pressed against the wall, shivers running down your spine either at the contact of the cold against your shoulders, or the look that Chenle gives you as he towers over you both physically and mentally, scoffing.

“Are you really that low? That desperate?” he spits, making your blood boil. You feel red in your face as the hint of his cologne makes its way up your nose, feeling both embarrassed and flustered by the whole encounter.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you peep, seeing the boy shake his head in disbelief, putting his hand up against the wall, close to where your head is resting.

“So what were you doing with this, then, huh?” he asks, showing you the paper in his other hand, waiting for you to answer, but not stepping away from you.

The truth is, you have no words in you to defend yourself. Suddenly, you’re left unarmed, empty and humiliated– but what’s worse, you’re left with no new information about the charity event, which means you’ve done all of this for absolutely nothing.

Seeing that you’re making no effort in answering the boy, he leans even closer to you, which makes your whole body tingle with what you presume is uncomfort, biting at your lower lip as your eyes lock with his mouth as he speaks to you. “Play fair, Y/N.”

Focusing on his plump, pink lips, you wonder if he uses a lip scrub or a lip balm– because there’s no way his lips are this luscious and beautiful, and so inviting…

“Get out of my room,” he orders, making your body unfreeze, feeling sweat drip down your back as you run out of the place, suddenly not having enough oxygen.

Maybe this wasn’t your best idea.

“Jisung, we gotta do something,” you mourn, head in your hands as you sit at the table in your room, papers scattered all around you and a half-made banner laying on the carpet in the middle of the floor.

“We are doing something right now, Y/N,” Jisung mumbles with the paintbrush in his hand, leaning over the white sheet of paper, trying his hardest to not go over the lines you’ve scribbled onto the banner just a few minutes prior, ordering him to paint in the bubble letters of your banner.

Grunting, you turn around in your office chair, looking at the boy. He doesn’t seem as stressed as you feel right now– it’s only a week until the charity event is supposed to take place and you really, really don’t want to be thinking about how badly it will go if you don’t think of something big at this exact moment. You feel defenseless. You have zero information about what Chenle’s about to do, so you can’t get prepared to do something better. Jisung didn’t manage to get any information out of Jaemin, and while you were able to find Chenle’s plans in his room, he took the paper out of your hands and cornered you against the wall before you even managed to read a single sentence.

You’re selling cupcakes. Jisung said his mum will help and chip in more baked goods, since she’s a good cook, but you doubt that cookies and pastry will help you win the first place. This sounds like something Renjun and Jeno would do– and you hate to put yourself onto their level, because they’re not the greatest when it comes to business. You doubt you’ll beat Hyuck and Yangyang’s condom stand either. There’s a lot of guys at your university that will rather go for a condom than a cupcake.

“No, Jisung, you don’t understand. Cupcakes won’t win. We won’t win. Zhong Chenle and his big head will win, and that will be absolutely fucking infuriating. I won’t let that happen,” you exclaim, huffing.

“But you don’t even know what they’re going to sell! What if it’s really bad? We still have a chance to win,” Jisung smiles at you, trying to encourage you.

Bless him. Even when seeing you so annoyed and having to deal with your snappy attitude every day, since the nerves always get the worst of you, he still tries to be your rock and help you through it all. His words might not help you win and they for sure do not help you calm down, but he’s trying– and that’s the important part.

“Chenle’s the son of the wealthiest business man in this country, Jisung. He has winning in his fucking genes,” you roll your eyes, “and that’s why I need to think of something right now or else I’ll physically combust.”

Jisung just sighs at you, not really knowing how else to help you. He’s trying his hardest– and you appreciate it, despite the fact that your actions suggest otherwise– and this is not even his battle. He’s okay with being mediocre– he’s just cursed with the burden of his friend always trying their hardest to be an overachiever. It’s not healthy, but he doesn’t feel like he can do anything about it, really.

“Maybe I can… Maybe I can tell everyone that if I win, I’ll do a giveaway with the iPad. I’m sure that will lure some people in,” you mumble, fixing your eyes onto the poster of Ross Lynch stuck on your bedroom door, lost in thought.

Jisung looks at you with squinted eyes, trying to decipher what’s going on inside of that brain of yours. The scheming look on your face doesn’t look the nicest, but he won’t tell you that in fear of being beaten up on the ground.

“That’s…”

“An amazing idea? I know, right?” you grin, looking at your friend with euphoria running through your veins.

“Y/N, I don’t think-”

“Bingo!” you yelp, eyes glimmering with joy and excitement, “We are about to give everyone who buys two cupcakes a lottery ticket and then, if we win, we randomly pick someone and give them the iPad! This is a brilliant idea!!”

No amount of effort can make you stop now. Jisung won’t even try anymore.

“I’m going to work on it right now. This is perfect!” you grin.

Jisung sighs.

He kind of wanted that iPad…

Sitting in the library, your laptop open as you try hard to focus on studying after the frantic preparations for the charity event, your eyes are stuck to the screen, starting to hurt a little from how hard you’re concentrating. The world around you is a mere blur, the background noises being no distraction to your brain as you type away on your keyboard from time to time, taking notes.

You like to study alone. You never really got the magic of studying in groups, since every time you tried it with Jisung, you two just grew distracted and didn’t know how to focus on your studies, too busy gossiping and talking about anything and everything. So to go here like this, in the evening, the university library has become your safe haven.

When suddenly, there are footsteps landing into your ear, the noise making you lose your focus for a moment when the owner of them decides to sit in the space next to you, making you swiftly look around and see who dared to pay you a visit when you’re studying.

Met with the gaze of none other than Zhong Chenle himself, you suddenly shrink in size and bashfully look away from the male. You’re not used to the feeling of embarrassment in your veins, not used to how you feel pathetic in his eyes and how you really want to disappear from the face of the earth every time you notice him registering your existence. It’s all your fault anyway, for snooping around in his room and being caught, but you’re not ready to admit that to yourself just yet, even though the reality is slowly catching up on you.

“Hi,” he greets, making you furrow your eyebrows in confusion. A conversation between you and Chenle is a rare sight– you just like to jab at each other and scream curses each other’s way– and starting one with a greeting is even more unusual for the two of you. It’s like both of you lose all sense of formality whenever you’re around each other– only the hatred remains.

“Hello,” you mutter, nervously scratching your forearm. Not daring to meet his eyes, you suddenly feel like he has something above you– the reality of catching you red handed, the very moment at his party. You won’t admit it out loud, but it’s the most defeating thing you’ve ever felt in your whole entire life, and you don’t think you’ll ever be able to recover from it. Never in a thousand years did you expect to be met with the fact that Zhong Chenle is above you in something, but it came down to it, and you don’t know what to do with this information.

Your posture screams hesitance. Not knowing how to act around him, you refrain from acting at all– you don’t think you’re in the position to be rude to him anymore, for it would make you seem even more petty. His presence makes you nervous, the tingling sensation in your whole body and the heat you feel rising to your cheeks making you the most uncomfortable you’ve felt ever since you were cornered up against the wall of Chenle’s room last weekend.

“What’s up?” he asks, the casual tone of his voice confusing you even further. Taking one short look at him, you try to scan his features and somehow find out his true intentions. The boy has an inviting smile on his face– making your heartbeat quicken with a detail you choose not to pay any attention to– and his eyes are soft, opposed to the stone cold look he usually has reserved for you.

“Um… not much, ‘m just studying, I guess…” you mumble, too confused to pay attention to just how lost and puppy-like you must look right in this moment. Kicking your foot up and down under the table, a nervous fixation to ground yourself, you await his next steps.

The boy hums in acknowledgement. If he noticed your state, at least he didn’t mention it– a fact you were grateful for. Cracking your knuckles in the silence of the library, you forget how to keep up a conversation– or you just never learned how to keep up a conversation with Zhong Chenle, of all people. He doesn’t seem to mind, though, when he just takes out his stuff from his backpack and starts working on his homework.

Watching him for a while, you clear your throat and just decide to get it over with. You don’t like the quiet tension in the air, wanting it to disappear, so you just face it with a confident face (well, the most confident you can master up right now). “What are you doing here?”

Your rival looks up at you from his textbook with furrowed brows, shrugging. “Studying.”

“Yeah,” you blink, “but… why are you studying next to me?”

“Is this spot not free?” he asks, obviously teasing you with how the very well-known shiteating grin slowly starts to appear on his face.

“I- I mean it- it’s free, but-”

“Then I don’t see a reason why I shouldn’t study here,” he shrugs, momentarily pointing his look back to his textbook, driving you absolutely insane. Did he lose his mind? Was he having a fever?

“Chenle-”

“Look,” he says, looking up from the textbook again, turning to you with his full body– while also bumping into your knee with his for a second, making you jolt in a weird sense of electricity, “I know we’re not really on the best terms, but I think I’m done with being petty and acting like a child. Seeing that we’re kind of similar, in a way, I think we could even make good friends, so that’s what I’m trying to do here,” he says, smiling at you with that friendly expression he only reserves for his closest friends, making you feel light-headed. Are you having a fever?

“I- I don’t think I understand,” you mutter out, your expression lost. What was going on? Why did your rival suddenly want to be friends with you? After you searched through his room at one of his parties? You felt like you were having a weird dream.

“Let’s just… focus on our own projects for the charity event and forget about the rivalry. What do you say?” he asks, the glint in his eyes taking you off-guard.

What does one even say to that? You’ve spent your whole university years hating this boy, all for being too good at things you always wanted to be exceptional at. The rivalry made you so crazy you didn’t even recognise yourself anymore in the actions you were taking, and while it all felt worth it at the time, to see Chenle himself not even taking it that seriously made you feel even more embarrassed. Was this all just a one-sided battle?

Blinking a few times, you notice the boy out-stretching his hand for you to grip, the handshake a silent seal of the war between the two of you ending. “Friends?”

Gasping for air, you hesitantly reach for his hand, too lost in your own brain and thought spirals to even register what was going on around you. The contact of his skin on your burned, but you shook it nonetheless. “I- I wouldn’t say friends, exactly…”

“Acquaintances on good terms, then, got it,” he grins, seeing your empty eyes and the mess in your brain at the very moment. Suddenly, you feel a hand ruffle your hair, making you jump up in shock. “I’m sure you’ll do great, Y/N,” he grins, making you turn back to your homework and– although to no use– try to focus on the assignment again.

Feeling heat rising to your cheeks and your hands shake with nerves, the rest of the afternoon comes by like a blur.

Mixing the batter in one of the big bowls Jisung’s mum provided you with in their spacious kitchen, you are too lost in thought to even sing along to your favorite baking playlist your best friend put on to make the atmosphere lighter, despite the tension of the upcoming charity event rising. This doesn’t go unnoticed by the boy, when he cautiously approaches the matter.

“What’s gotten you so weird?” he asks, opening the oven and taking out the cupcake tray that’s been sitting in there, prepared for your baking session, since yesterday evening.

“I’m not weird,” you mumble, but don’t even meet his eyes. That’s an instant hint.

“Y/N, you’re not even singing along to One Direction right now, of course something’s up,” he says to prove his point, seeing you sigh and look up to the ceiling for a moment, seemingly debating on finally talking about what’s bugging you the most these days.

“Chenle approached me the other day… to make amends? I guess?” you mumble, shrugging.

Your best friend takes the information in, analyzing what you just uttered out of your lips. Are you sure you weren't dreaming? He wants to ask you if you’re sure it wasn’t all an image of your imagination, but he choses against it as he steps closer to you, scanning your face for any signs of mania.

“He did that after catching you looking through his stuff?” he clarifies, seeing you nod.

“That’s strange.”

“Isn’t it?” you ask, still not believing what you saw at the library the other day.

Jisung hums, furrowing his eyebrows to get his brain cells to work better, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “Well, maybe he was sincere, however strange it might sound… He realized the little war you two have is childish and wanted both of you to have fun,” he shrugs, mirroring the exact words Chenle said at the library. Is this really so easy? Is this the final conclusion? The end of everything? You couldn’t just believe that.

“I don’t know…” you hum, moving to drape the cupcake batter into the tray, ready to bake it for tomorrow's event. Jisung helps you with the cleaning-up process, not wanting the burnt batter stuck on the tray to make the whole house smell like forest fire, wiping the excess away with tissues. After you’re done, he plops the tray into the oven and sets a timer for 15 minutes, resting his tall figure against the kitchen counter.

“Maybe you can… quit with the iPad giveaway thing? I mean, now that you don’t have to win, you can forget about that part. I think it’s kind of against the rules as well, since it’s a hint of false advertising? You’re supposed to win by selling the goods, and not by bribing them with an iPad, so I don’t think professor Lee will like that,” he mutters hesitantly, seeing your mouth open agape, shaking your head in disapproval.

“Absolutely not. Just because Zhong Chenle hit his head or something, I won’t back away from this fight,” you sternly say.

“Y/N, I promise you it’s not a good idea. You’re just going to get in trouble-”

“I’m not! It’s totally legal, and if I really win, I’m ready to give the iPad away, if that’s what I’m gonna have to do, Jisung.”

A heavy sigh escapes his lips at this, shaking his head. Yeah, maybe he is petty– maybe he just wants the iPad for himself, but at the same time, what he said was right. This wasn’t a fair game and he doesn’t think it will get approved by your business professor, no matter how hard you try to back it up.

“Life would be so much easier if you constantly didn’t try to impress Zhong Chenle,” Jisung mutters, making blood boil in you, anger felt at the tips of your fingertips.

“Take that back. I am not trying to impress him,” you coldly say, snapping.

“Yeah, sure,” Jisung rolls his eyes, “every single time, it’s all I have to be better than Chenle, I have to win against Chenle, I have to beat him in this and this and that… to me, it just seems like you want him to be impressed with your abilities, because you like him.”

Gasping, you catch the edge of the kitchen counter to steady yourself. “I do not like him. I absolutely despise him, that is,” you grit your teeth, trying to convince your best friend…. and maybe yourself as well.

Jisung just hums, mocking you. The look on your face is enough of a confirmation to him, he doesn’t have to fight you anymore. Besides, the looks you give the boy are surely not you trying to get his business strategy. Not in the gym class, when your rival is a little sweaty and overly-enthusiastic about basketball, at least.

“I still think you should stop with the iPad thing, though,” he says, crouching down to the oven to check up on the cupcakes.

Angrily stomping, you reach towards your backpack on the ground, taking out your papers for the charity event so you can quickly calculate how many batches of the batter you’re going to have to make to fill your goal. Looking through the stack of papers, seeing worksheets from English class and old exam papers that you should’ve thrown out long ago, you disagree with your partner. “Absolutely not, I think-” you stop in your tracks, looking through the papers, still not finding the ones you’re looking for.

Leaning back towards your bag, you stumble through it, still not finding your charity event plans and documents. Stress rising inside of you, knowing too well that you always have the papers with you and there’s no way you left it at home, the reality dawns on you, making you scream in despair. Of course Zhong Chenle’s sudden amends were a little weird.

“That motherfucker stole my charity event plans while I was too busy freaking out over his charming smile!” you yelp out.

Jisung snickers at the state of you. He called it.

When you’re 6 years old, you go to school for the first time. You manage to make every single teacher in your elementary school gasp in amazement as you tell them that you already know how to read and that you don’t need help with signing your textbooks– you know how to write your name as well. As you grow, you only get more intellectual; being put into special level classes, being told you were the best pupil out of the whole school, being constantly praised and made to believe that you are, simply put, much better than everyone else your age.

When you’re 19 years old, you get to university. The gifted child in you starts slowly dying out with the pressure of assignments and the realization that maybe, your whole life, you’ve been lied to and you’re not as extraordinary as everyone told you you were. At 19, you meet Zhong Chenle– the model student, the social butterfly, the teacher’s pet– and suddenly, he’s your enemy. You promise yourself to always be better than him. That itself was your only goal.

When you’re almost 20, standing in the enormous gym of your university, looking over at Zhong Chenle’s stand with fast food and the giveaway tickets for a brand new iPad being given with every purchase above 5 dollars, the flood of people gladly giving money to the man dressed in a neat black suit, looking like the businessman he, at heart, truly is, you finally admit that you’re losing.

The cupcakes stay abandoned at the trays, no one paying attention to all the effort you and Jisung gave into the charity event. If you really think about it, it’s kind of unfair– you did play fair, despite your previous antics, and you did everything in your power to raise as much money as you could. Looking at the lonely pastries, you feel defeated.

“Want one?” you ask Jisung, pointing towards the ones covered with pink icing– the exact ones he wanted to eat yesterday evening instead of dinner, after several hours of baking– seeing the boy furrow his brows in confusion.

“I thought I wasn’t allowed to eat them until the event ends,” he says, watching over your dull look.

“Yeah, well,” you shrug, “it’s over for us anyways, so I don’t really care anymore,” you proclaim as you take a bite of the cupcake, not even paying attention to the icing smearing all over your face.

The boy next to you only pouts at your argument, not used to seeing you so discouraged. He can’t say you’re not right– hell, he does have eyes and common sense, he can see the row of people waiting for Zhong Chenle’s fries from McDonald’s and pizza from Papa John’s– but still, he expected more determination from your ambitious persona.

“Y/N,” he whines, “it’s okay. Maybe we can still win,” he lies through his teeth, trying to cheer you up.

“Jisung, look at Chenle’s stand.”

“I am looking.”

“Do you still think we can win?”

“No,” he says, “but I thought my white lies could make you feel better.”

“Well, they can’t.”

“Okay, just eat your cupcake, will you?” he mutters, sighing at the state of you. Some freshmen girls come by to buy a cute little cupcake, but the few dollars in your basket right now won’t make any difference to the money moves your moral enemy is making.

“I tried so hard, Jisung,” you mourn with a full mouth, letting your emotions run free, “I tried so hard, and I still got nothing. This is so embarrassing, you can’t even imagine. I was supposed to be the winner, I was supposed to have the masterplan,” you complain, seeing Jisung sympathetically, although a little absent-mindedly, nod at all your points and arguments.

“It’s okay, Y/N, you can’t win all the time. It’s not embarrassing,” he encourages you, slyly taking a cupcake off the tray and biting into it, still acting cautious in case you decide to change your mind and revoke your approval to eat your goods.

“It is! You can’t imagine how defeating this feels.”

“I can see it on your face, sweetheart. Maybe if you stop frowning…?” Jisung mumbles, making you glare at him momentarily, his insides loosening up a little from the image of taking your mind off the issue at hand for just a few seconds.

“We have the last few minutes until the charity event is over!” you hear the voice of professor Lee through a megaphone she borrowed from the drama club, making you grunt. “Everyone, the sale is over at 2pm! Count your money after and bring it to me.”

Sighing, you don’t even try to sell any last-minute cupcakes anymore, opting to gather the money you’ve raised today. Quickly counting it and finding a scrap of paper to scribble down the amount (which is a sad, poor 20 dollars, if any of you were interested), you put the money into a zip-lock back and walk over to your professor, handing it in.

“Why did you rush it? Maybe someone would want-”

“Jisung, just… leave it. I’m over this already,” you say, sitting back next to your best friend, seeing him pout– mirroring your saddened expression– suddenly making you feel bad for impacting the mood of your business partner so much. “But hey, we had fun, didn’t we?”

Jisung looks at you in disbelief, breaking out into a grin at your poor attempt at easing the mood. “I guess we did, yeah,” he notes, “I know I did, although my stomach kind of still hurts from eating all the left-over icing from yesterday.”

“I told you there were raw eggs in that, what if you get salmonella, for fuck’s sake?” you sigh, shaking your head at him.

“It’s not salmonella! I just don’t handle sugar well-”

Your conversation is ended soon with a noise of a gong, signaling that the charity fundraiser was now over and every single stand should stop selling their goods. Looking around, you see the gym slowly empty out, leaving behind only the business majors that participated in the event, all counting up their raised money.

“Dude, I think we got around 150,” you hear Yangyang gasp from the stand next to yours, making you sigh with the information that even the condom stand raised more money than your cupcakes that were baked with care and love (and maybe a little bit of spite for Zhong Chenle. You can’t see it on them, though, so you guess it’s fine).

The next events come by in a whim– everyone hands in the money they raised at the fundraiser, one by one, gossipping about how much they’ve earned and how good they’re doing. Throughout the whole process, your eyes are glued to one person in particular– the one you were competing with in the first place.

Zhong Chenle moves through the place like he owns it, like it’s his own prestigious branch of his successful business, dressed formally, now shrugging off the suit jacket, leaving him only in a stylish white button-down and black pants, leaving you gasping for air. Grinning to his companion, Na Jaemin– although dressed similarly, but not leaving the same impact– you can only imagine how much he’s shit talking you right now, laughing maniacally at the fact that he stole your plan and won with it, taking all the credit and being the best yet again. It makes your stomach turn and twist in angry knots, feeling stupid each time your eyes flash down to his toned forearms when he moves away the things from the little stand, cleaning it up; for if you would’ve paid less attention to the man with the name Zhong Chenle, you wouldn’t feel half as defeated as you do right now.

“Stop ogling him,” Jisung teases, making you grunt.

“I’m trying to kill him with my glare.”

“I think you confused it with heart-eyes, sweetie-”

“If you don’t shut the fuck up right now, I’ll choke you with your favorite pink cupcakes,” you smile at him innocently, making the boy shut up instantly, fearing for his own life.

Professor Lee triumphally stands in the middle of the gym, looking around at everyone. The proud smile on her face tells you that the other stands most likely made more money than yours did, earning the charity a solid amount of money that your university doesn’t have to be ashamed of. The only thing is that you are ashamed– of yourself, though. You thought you’d do better than you did, but you guess you have to come to terms with the fact that you can’t always be the winner.

“Everyone,” the professor starts her speech, “I am really grateful for every single one of you standing here right now. I want to thank you all for your effort, and I also will be grading everyone with an A for this event, because I can see that all of you truly worked your hardest. Now, though, is the time to announce the team that earned the most money, and therefore, won the little competition I made to motivate you.”

Looking around at everyone, you suddenly feel like you’re watching Eurovision, waiting for the points to be added up until 2am, slowly losing your motivation to keep watching further. Professor Lee smiles before she turns to the stand expected to win, making everyone’s suspicions correct.

“The team that made the most money, ladies and gentlemen, is Zhong Chenle and Na Jaemin,” she proclaims, making the boys scream in joy, jumping up and down in their places as they rush into a hug. They look like their hard work has paid off after 20 years of effort, however, the only work they did was steal your plan and buy some fast food… pathetic, really. Seeing the wide grin on Chenle’s face, you find yourself rolling your eyes, especially when your make eye contact with him and quickly force yourself to look away. “However,” the professor continues, making the boy’s faces fall.

“I was met with the information that you two violated the rules,” she says, making Chenle furrow his brows in confusion.

“H-how-”

“You worked with false advertisement, which, as I already said, was against the rules of the whole event.”

“How was this false advertisement?” he asks, getting all defensive. Something inside of you lights up at the sight of him all frustrated, but you wouldn’t say it out loud, for you think Jisung would accuse you of being a sadist.

“What you were supposed to be selling was the food, although I don’t agree with it being store-bought either, but I’m willing to ignore that fact,” she explains, “but what you did instead was sell tickets to your iPad giveaway, which was not in the business plan you’ve given me a few days ago.”

“But professor Lee, it’s not like that-”

“Therefore, you will not get the iPad, and the price goes to the second place, which is Lee Yangyang and Lee Donghyuck. Congratulations, boys.”

The duo on your right fist bumps and screams at the top of their lungs, making everyone in the university gym scowl with the sharp pain in their ears. Now, this wasn’t exactly the outcome you were expecting… you can’t say you hate it, though. Turning to Jisung, ignoring the yells of despair uttered out of the mouth of Zhong Chenle, complaining that condoms weren’t technically allowed as the product for sale, you hug your best friend with stars in your eyes, tugging him closer. He was right with his previous arguments, after all. Not that you'd admit it to him, since you're still super petty, but you're glad you didn't proceed with your innitial plan nonetheless.

“Woah, there,” Jisung gasps as he hugs you back, “we didn’t win, Y/N, though…”

“I know,” you hum into his chest, satisfied.

“So…”

“I’m just happy Zhong Chenle isn’t the winner,” you grin, pulling away from the boy, ready to celebrate the win of the two dumbasses in your business class. You never thought you’d see the day when Chenle is beaten by a duo that rarely attends the class, but you’re more happy than ever to let them indulge in the joy right now.

Hearing someone clear their throat behind you, you turn around. Surprised to see Chenle there, your smile freezes at your face, making you look like you’ve just been paralysed, earning yourself a kick into your shin from Park Jisung sitting at the chair next to you before he excuses himself and leaves for a bathroom break.

“Hi,” you greet as you see Chenle sheepishly look at you, his hands in the pockets of his pants.

“You got me there, Y/N,” he says, shaking his head in disbelief, “I didn’t take you for such a mastermind,” he adds, making you confused.

“What?”

“The plan in your bag… you had it there because you knew I’d take it, didn’t you? You were trying to make me lose all along,” Chenle adds, finally bringing clarity into your brain. He’s not right– you were just too stupid to realise the consequences of your future actions in that moment, but now you’re glad the universe worked in your favor and you were too gullible to trust your moral enemy in the moment. You may have been weak back then, but now, you’re the winner out of the two of you– and you can’t say it doesn’t make your ego rise to enormous heights.

“Y-yeah…” you hum, not realizing your expression gives it away almost immediately, bringing Chenle the last hint of confidence he needs before he takes his next step towards you. The knowledge that you didn’t plan to sabotage him, and that this was self-sabotage all along, makes the boy content– you may hate him, but not as much.  The fact that you were so out of your mind to let him take your plans right under your nose must be a hint of something.

“So…” he mumbles, scratching the back of his neck, “what I said back then in the library still stands, though,” he says, chuckling. “I know I kind of lied back then, but now I mean it. I don’t… I don’t really want us to fight anymore, and I actually think the two of us would make a great pair- I mean, friends, so…”

Blinking at him a few times, feeling heat rising to your cheeks, you feel like you’re having another fever dream. There’s no competition right now, no business strategies, no exams to be taken. So… the intentions behind his words must be truthful, right?

“Um, I…” you start, but end up gasping like fish on sand, at a loss for words. Flickering your eyes from his to your feet and back to his shy smile, you feel like your brain is overheating. Curse hormones, really… it can’t be anything other than that. There’s no other reason why your brain keeps contemplating if this is him asking you out, and no reason why you so desperately want that accusation to be true.

“We can hang out after this, if you want,” Chenle suggests, rocking a little in his place, “with- with Jaemin and Jisung as well, since they seemed to get along…” he adds, the hint of blush creeping onto his cheeks making you want to scream into your pillow with overwhelmingness.

“That would be great,” you say, seeing the boy nod at your words, relief visibly flashing behind his eyes.

“Okay, great,” he smiles, “I’ll just get my things and I’ll find you later?”

“Sounds good,” you nod, your brain turning into a foggy mess.

Watching him turn on his heels and walk towards Jaemin standing on the other side of the gym, grinning at his friend with a suggestive wiggle to his eyebrows, you zone out. Is this your reality? Did you shift into another universe where the two of you don’t want to kill each other? How did you even move on from those emotions?

“You okay?” Jisung suddenly emerges from behind you, feeling shocked at the sight of you completely unfocused and still in your movements.

“Mhmm,” you peep, taking deep breaths.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” you nod, turning to your friend. “Do you wanna hang out with Jaemin later?”

You meet Zhong Chenle at 19, hating everything about him with burning passion, despising the way he always made you feel challenged and on your toes. He shakes with your word, turning you into a competitive mess, always trying your best to be better than him at everything, just so you could see the defeated look on his face and get acknowledgement.

When you’re almost 20, you realize that a hint of what you always wanted was acknowledgement from Zhong Chenle.

It might not solve all your problems, but maybe turning less competitive is a start.

[sxcret-garden]

Chenle ღ Greedy [M]

ღ NCT Dream Chenle x fem!reader ღ words: ~3k ღ genre: smut (hard dom!Chenle, sub!reader, reader is handcuffed to the bed, spanking, finger sucking, fingering, nipple play, he’s a tease, begging, degradation/degrading nicknames for reader, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, dacryphilia, unprotected sex, some aftercare) ღ warnings: heavy dom-sub dynamic

Desc.: You’re feeling greedy today and your boyfriend is absolutely here for it.

Author's note: So I wasn't planning on posting this today but I know it'll take me an eternity to do it if I don't do it right away so.... here you go aksdjföklsdf do with it what you want asjdkfjdlösakfa bYE jdkfjlas

He sits down on the bed next to you, supporting himself on one arm as he leans in, coming just a bit closer so as to get a good look at your face. The deep mischief reflecting in his eyes and the amused smile that just won’t fade tell you he’s ready to play with you, tease you until you can’t take it anymore, like he has done so many times before.

“What do you want, my pretty girl?” Chenle asks, the soft tone in his voice almost making you think he’ll be nice for a change. Your lips part, but you’re unsure what to say, so after a while they close again and you swallow thickly, causing him to let out a soft laugh. Even something so small will amuse your boyfriend when you’re spread out for him on his bed, stripped of all clothes, the thick leader band of the cuffs used to tie you to the bed fitting perfectly around your wrists. He picked them out just for you, made you come along to the shop where he bought them to have you try them on, despite your initial embarrassment about it, but ever since then he’s proven to you more than once that it paid off.

It’s about to pay off again, you know that. The only question is - how much will you have to endure in the process?

“Sweet little kitten, doesn’t know what to say,” he mutters as he pouts at you, reaching out to run the back of his hand against your cheek. “Don’t pretend you’re all innocent now.”

“I-...” you say, but you find yourself hesitating all over again. Hot blood rushes through your veins when his voice drops, barely noticeable, and yet the tension in the air around you rises.

“What?” He withdraws his hand. “Don’t want me to do anything? We can do that too. You just lie there and I watch.” He gets up, and you immediately refute,

“No, I-!”

“You what?” He turns on his heels to look at you, cocking his head to the side just a bit. A smile appears on his lips, one that you know not to trust, and then he crawls onto the bed, hovering above you. His hand grabbing your chin, he makes it so you’re unable to look away when he continues, “Say it, or we’re not getting anywhere.”

“T-touch me…”

“Louder.” 

“Want you to touch me.” You furrow your eyebrows as you speak the request out loud, but it wouldn’t be your boyfriend if he didn’t use this as an opportunity to tease.

“But I am touching you,” he says, his fingers still holding your chin in place.

“I mean-... more…elsewhere,” you stammer, being vague in your follow-up, because you crave his touch everywhere. But he isn’t satisfied with that, so he gets up on his knees.

“Elsewhere?” he asks, mockingly. “Sweetheart, don’t you wanna get more specific?” The cocky look on his face and the way it’s clear as day who’s in charge here makes heat rush to your core and you gulp.

“Everywhere…” you say, earning yourself a smirk from him. He kneels between your legs, your knees up, and you feel him rubbing his palm against the underside of one of your thighs. Watching each other closely, you suck in a sharp breath as if you knew what was coming, and when you feel the impact against your soft flesh, you mewl from the pain turning into pleasure.

“I give you the option to choose and you immediately become greedy…” Chenle comments. “See? This is why you’re tied up.” He rubs a few soothing circles onto the spot where he spanked you, before lifting his hand up and doing it again. This time as well, a moan falls from your lips, and you roll your eyes back. “But you’re even enjoying it when I put you in your place, hm?” he mutters darkly, and as you glance at him you can see the bulge forming in his pants. 

“Y-yes…” you admit, to his delight.

“Even saying yes… you really want me to know what a little perv you are, huh?” You furrow your eyebrows at his words, an involuntary pout gracing your lips. “Well…” Chenle crawls on top of you again, placing a kiss onto your sternum. “Where should I start then… with touching you everywhere?”

“K-kiss… want a kiss…” you mewl, and you quickly add clarification, “On the mouth.”

“A kiss?” he repeats, before he lets one hand wander to the back of your neck. “I can give you that.” He leans in, lips brushing against yours, and the chaste touch only leaves you wanting more, both frustration and heat bubbling up deep inside you.

“M-more…” you slur as he’s parting from you.

“More? Like that?” He leans in again, this time kissing you properly and you moan into the kiss when he parts your lips with his tongue to slip it inside. He kisses you feverishly, teeth nibbling on your lower lip before deepening the kiss further, and when he suddenly rolls his hips against yours once, his clothed length grazing your folds, you gasp, resulting in you breaking the kiss. “Liked that?” he asks, provocatively. As if the answer wasn’t clear.

“Y-yeah…”

“Perv,” he says, before pulling away. “Open up,” he adds, thumb brushing against your lips and you do. Opening your mouth for him, you watch as he puts a finger inside, and you immediately swirl the tip of your tongue around it. “How many do you want?” he keeps going, adding one more. “Two? Three?” He puts inside another one, lustful sparks flaring up in his eyes as he watches your lips closing around them. You begin to suck on them, and again he merely smirks.

“Three? Is that it?” You nod, and your pussy clenches around nothing at the thought of having them inside you elsewhere soon. Coating them in your own spit, you make sure to run your tongue along his digits thoroughly, and when he pulls out there’s a string of your saliva connecting them to your lips, which snaps apart eventually. He smears the liquid across your chest as he draws an imaginary line from your throat through the valley of your breasts and down to your stomach.

“But can you take them?” he questions. “All at once?” When he runs his fingertips through your folds, you gasp in surprise, and you whine when he prods at your entrance, unable to shove all three of them inside you just yet. “Gotta start small… you’re too greedy for your own good.” His words sound almost endearing now, and you bite your lower lip when he slips a single finger inside you. He pumps it in and out of you slowly, his gaze fixated on your face the entire time, and the exact moment he can see you starting to lose patience, he grins at you, and before you can ask for more, he says, “Patience, baby.” Your words get stuck in your throat, and when he takes his finger out only to drag it all the way back up to your belly button, it’s hard to suppress the curse wanting to escape you. He leans in as he removes his hand, licking up a clean stripe where he spread your juices that he had gathered on his digit, and he hums at your taste. For a split second you dare to hope he would let you feel his tongue against your cunt, but when he instead kisses his way up, you immediately let go of that thought. Instead, he wraps his lips around one of your nipples, making you whine as he begins to gently suck on it, only to reach for the other with his hand in order to not so gently squeeze it between his fingers. You moan unexpectedly, the sensation of him tending to your nipples making you become dizzy.

“So fucking cute,” he whispers, licking the sensitive bud once, before sinking his teeth into your flesh right next to it. You whimper at the impact, and the urge to run your fingers through his hair makes you tear at the handcuffs. “Relax, baby,” Chenle mutters in between nibbling and biting until the skin begins to bruise. “We have all night.” And he’s right, you could keep going for however long he pleases - and you know he would never finish a session leaving you unsatisfied. And so his words alleviate the impatience for a little while, as he finishes placing his mark on you, next to the ones he’s left the days before, which are already starting to fade. He brushes his thumb against each one of them, as if marvelling at his artwork, and when he’s satisfied with looking, he continues kissing his way up, this time halting once he’s reached your neck. He licks up a stripe until just below your earlobe, making you shiver underneath him, and then you can hear him whisper,

“Three fingers, huh…” You suck in a sharp breath when you feel him returning his hand to your core, running his digits up and down your folds before burying a finger inside you again. “Beg for it, my pretty girl.” And you do, a string of pleas falling from your lips as you find yourself tearing at the handcuffs some more.

“P-please… gimme your fingers… want them to fill me up… wanna be s-stuffed,” you hickup in desperation, and he doesn’t miss the chance to mock you for it.

“Stuffed with my fingers? Like the little cumslut you are?”

“P-please…!” You cry out, and he brings some distance between your faces in order to take in your pained expression. And then he finally gives you at least a second finger, and the glee behind his gaze is obvious when you let out a broken moan and you clench around his digits. “F-feels good… but… not enough…”

“No, of course it’s not enough for my greedy girl,” he mutters, curling them inside you and pressing his thumb against your clit, drawing slow circles onto it. You know if he keeps this up you won’t last long, so you beg some more.

“M-more… please… w-wanna be stuffed…”

“I know… can’t get enough of them, hm? My fingers in your cute little cunt.”

“N-no…” you mewl weakly, feeling your high building up in the pits of your stomach. And yet you keep begging, you keep asking for more, because maybe he is right - maybe you are a little greedy after all, but so be it. You can’t get enough of all the ways in which your boyfriend pleases you, inflicts pain on you, only to please you even more at the end of it all.

“Fuck you’re so cute,” he praises as he watches, not even thinking about giving you what you’re begging for so prettily. 

“P-please… please… before I cum…”

“Gonna cum on just two?” he asks and you nod, eyes shut tightly now as you’re trying - but ultimately failing - to suppress your orgasm that’s about to wash over you. “You want three but are gonna cum on just two… such a greedy whore.” The second you hear his last word, something snaps inside of you and you cry out. Your walls convulse around him, and as your body is shaken, you can only moan incoherently. But to your surprise he doesn’t stop as you’re coming down from your high. Because now he adds a third finger, making the overstimulation even harder to bear as he isn’t even thinking about giving you a break. And you’re squirming underneath him, whining and whimpering and unable to articulate yourself as he keeps working his fingers inside your twitching cunt.

“F-fuck… shit…” you sputter. “T-too much… too much…!” Tears well up in your eyes as the pleasure burns itself into your bones, and yet you’re not even thinking about calling the safe word. No, you want him to ruin you, want him to see you like this, see what effect only he has on you and no other, want him to get off on your pain.

But he doesn’t touch himself, he’s focused on you and only you, even the strain on his pants must be beyond uncomfortable by now.

“Fuck, you’re so pretty like this,” he hisses through gritted teeth as he keeps going, and you’re about to lose your mind. And then another high takes you by surprise, pain shoots through your wrists and into your arms as you tear at the handcuffs while your whole body shakes under the waves of intense pleasure, and this time when you’re coming down from it, he at least stops his movements to let you rest. “You okay?” he asks, his tone serious and different from how he’s spoken to you ever since tying you up.

“Yes…” you respond weakly, trying to catch your breath. And then you add, “...more.” Chenle huffs at you, the state you’re in, and how you’re asking for him to ruin you further. But you know it’s a request he wouldn’t deny.

“More what? You’re still not satisfied?” 

“F-fingers… want… more… be filled up… completely…” you babble, the blissful afterglow of the orgasm combined with the power he has over you making it hard to speak. He lets out a laugh now.

“A fourth one? You think we can fit four into your tight little cunt?”

“T-try… please…”

“You just can’t get enough, huh?” He leans in, almost whispering in your ear now, “What are you? Are you my greedy little cumslut?”

“Y-yes… am your… greedy cumslut…” you merely repeat his words, as forming any clear thoughts becomes harder. And just as you finish speaking, he adds a fourth finger into your hole, just like you wanted. And it slips in a lot more easily than you had imagined, and that makes him chuckle too.

“You’re taking them so well,” he says as he begins curling them against your walls once again. “Too well, almost.” You squirm a bit as he starts pleasuring you again, but this time the overstimulation is bearable, and is sure to make way for pure bliss soon enough.

“Ch-chenle…!” you cry out his name. “‘M gonna… cum again…”

“Again? This fast?” he mocks you, and you feel yourself clenching around him at the degradation. “Didn’t think you’d be that horny.” And as much as you want to answer, tell him how good he makes you feel, prove to him that you really deserve having him pleasing you like this, all that comes out when your lips part are broken moans and curses. And while he keeps telling you how cute you are, and how dirty you are too, your next high is already approaching at light speed, until…

He pulls out. The deprivation of his touch is sudden, and it makes you gasp at how empty it leaves you feeling. You look at him, only to see him fondling with the zip of his pants, and you hold your breath as him taking them off along with the rest of his clothing feels like an eternity to you.

“Get on your knees,” he says, helping you turn around, and when your rear is facing him, your front pressed against the sheets, you perk up your ass for him a little higher. “Such a good girl,” you earn yourself a praise accompanied by his hand flying to your behind, and the impact makes you cry out, eyes watering. And this time the tears fall, right when he pushes up into you, and he doesn’t hesitate to go hard. “Fuck…” Pounding into you from behind, strings of curses make their way past his lips, and you keep whining at every single time he pulls almost all the way out, only to slam back inside a second later. Your head is spinning as you cry and you whine and you dig your fingernails into your palms, and you clench around your boyfriend’s twitching cock, wishing for nothing but to cum just as he fills you up. 

“Cum for me…” he hisses, nearing his own high. “That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? Cum on my cock, greedy little whore…” His words sting, and they make you dizzy, and as you’re trying to say something that comes out as nothing but incoherent sounds, another orgasm washes over you. Even your moans are slurred now, as he keeps thrusting into you throughout your high, and then finally, he releases inside you, and you almost choke on your spit when his cum fills you up.

He comes to a halt, allowing for you both to rest for just a tiny bit in this position, before he pulls out of you and immediately makes sure to turn you back around, guiding your tired body into a comfortable position. He reaches for the bottle of water he had prepared beforehand, making you take a few sips, and then he cleans you both up with a tissue, careful not to accidentally overstimulate you again with his touches. 

“How was that?” he asks, bringing his hand up to your face to brush his thumb against your cheek.

“...good…” you mumble, unable to muster the strength to say anything else, and it makes him chuckle.

“Good? Is that all I get?” he asks in pretended offense, and you give him a weak smile before he leans in to place a kiss onto your forehead. “Want me to undo them for you?” he then asks, pointing at the handcuffs with his chin. You nod, but he hesitates in order to offer you a second option. “Are you sure? Not greedy anymore?” The expression on his face changes as he poses that question, and despite the exhaustion tugging at your limbs, the implication that he’s willing to give you even more tempts you.

“Am always greedy…” you manage to say, and your boyfriend presses a kiss to your mouth, before crawling back on top of you, his lips travelling down your throat and to your chest.

“I figured you’d say that…” he mutters. “Then let’s see if I feel like giving you another treat or not.”

[thatsatricky1]

𝐀𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 || Prologue

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: Abandoned. After going through hell and back together, she was left there to fend for herself. Y/n felt as though they’d left her in the dust at the facility. A facility that had taken young gifted children raising them in secret. The eight of them had been taken as children and grown up together at the facility and just when it they had the chance of escaping they made one crucial mistake, leaving her behind in the dust. One big mistake they hadn’t forgiven themselves for, and she would make sure they’d never forget it.

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Nct Dream ot7 x Reader.

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Angst, Cursing, Fluff, Mystery, Psychological, Supernatural, Thriller, Trauma, Weird Humor.

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Slight gore, mentions of blood, mentions of being wounded, angst, abandonment.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1,4k+

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫: This does not depict an accurate picture of Nct Dream and this is strictly fantasy/fiction for entertainment purposes.

“Run Donghyuck!”

“What do you think I’m doing, strolling through the garden?” Donghyuck replied sharply out of breath as he ran as fast as he could, adrenaline filling his body making him unaware of the stinging feeling in his feet. Jaemin a few paces ahead of him.

Donghyuck skidded to a stop once he finally saw everyone in front of him. Breathing heavily as his eyes scanned over the familiar faces, relief dripping from him but his breath that he finally was catching back was stolen again, eyes widening in realisation.

“Where’s Y/n?!” He barely managed to get the question out from how he was trying to catch his breath back.

“She is coming, don't worry we have one more minute before they start looking for us.” Mark replied, grabbing Donghyuck’s hand, tugging him over to the rest of the group waiting at the mahogany wooden door.

“No this isn’t right, she should have gotten here first.” Donghyuck gasped out in between sucking air greedily back into his body that was desperate for oxygen.

“The security around her hall was timed differently than usual, they changed the rotation early.” Jaemin replied, also heaving in breaths. The whole group needed to gain their breath back.

Renjun winced while checking his pocket watch again, thirty seconds had past, eyes looking down the dark corridor, hearing the blood pulsing behind his ears like a drum.

”Thirty more seconds.” Renjun barely managed to get out.

They’d said from the start that no one would be left behind. The eight of them against the world if they had too. But it had taken months to plan this escape and it looked like one random security route change up would ruin that.

The boys share a glance with each other before Jeno steps to the front deciding something that would change their future.

“We need to leave now.”

“What no. Fuck no. We wait.” Jaemin disturbed as he shook head, eyes widening at Jeno’s words.

“Ten seconds.” Renjun spoke only focusing on his pocket watch hand gripping it tight.

“Our time is limited Jaemin, we can’t wait anymore. She would want us to escape even if she doesn’t get out.” Jeno stressed out grabbing his hair with both hands tugging on it.

Jeno didn’t want to leave her behind but what other option did they have. Stay and continue suffering? They had all been waiting years to get away from the hell hole they were trapped in.

“Jeno is right, there’s no time left.” Mark managed to say even if every fiber of his being didn’t want to admit it.

“Are you out of your mind?” Donghyuck says moving to tug at Mark’s vest slightly red in the face whether from the running or anger no one could tell, most likely both.

“Five seconds.”

“We get it!” Donghyuck spat at Renjun who was still insistently calling out the time left before they really had to go unless they wanted to be stuck there.

“Donghyuck we need to go, she’ll understand.” Mark cut his yelling off lest they get any unwanted attention grabbing his friend's face, cupping his jaw in his hands to face him. Mark noticed the tears welling in his friend's eyes.

”Promise. Promise me that she’ll understand.” Donghyuck all but begged.

“I… I promise.” Mark managed to grit out through clenched teeth.

Mark letting go of Donghyucks face when he finally nodded back.

“Will she be okay?” Jisung finally spoke up, unlike the others who held back tears, his were free flowing.

“Y/n is tough, she’ll be okay Jisung.” Jeno reassured with a tight lipped smile, not sure if he was trying to convince Jisung or himself.

“She will be okay.” Chenle spoke up with a determined look. Out of all of them, Y/n was always the one to keep it together.

“Waiting period is over.” Renjun stated putting away his pocket watch, lip quivering as he watched the hallway in front of them. Silence, with no familiar footsteps coming towards them anytime soon.

Flashes of red neon hued lights flashing on and off. A blaring alarm ringing through the air signally something was wrong in the facility. An attempted escape.

Y/n didn’t know what to focus on. The burning feeling all over her body, muscles aching and screaming for a break, throat dry and swollen from air being swallowed down greedily and being exhaled too fast, blood thumping and rushing. Not to mention the gushing wound on her side.

The stomping of boots fading in the background as she made pace. Always having been the fastest, something the facility took pride in but not at this moment.

For the first time in what felt like days, weeks even she smiled. A smile of relief. Her freedom, her boys freedom so close she could touch it. Somehow the hope in her stomach pushed her faster as she bounded down the second last hallway. Hand still pushing pressure into the side of her torso.

“I’m coming! Boys I’m nearly there!” Y/n let the scream ripple out her dry cracked lips, not needing to be quiet as she was already being chased down. By the ones who’d taken her in the first place.

Taking a sharp right, managing to keep her footing as she raced across the sterile white tiles bare feet staining the floor red in her wake. Seeing the dark mahogany door now.

Her smile dropped into a frown of confusion as she raced down it, not seeing a person in sight. Not the seven figures she’d been expecting to be there. Skidding to a stop a few steps away from the door, that had been left ajar.

Her breathing haggered as she stood wobbling, balance unstable as her eyes trained on the door. Trying to wrap her head around the sight before her. Though it was plain and simple to connect the dots, her mind could and would not accept the sight.

Hand leaving her side slipping away from her gushing wound, slow droplets of blood rolling down her paling hand, falling down onto the once clean white tiles below her.

”No.” Her whisper lost between the loud blaring alarm.

Her figure disappears into the darkness only to reappear every few seconds in the floodlights of red coming from the lights. Swaying slightly now yet her eyes stayed trained on the door, the one that led to her escape.

Her body tried to take a steady deep inhale through her nose but a sudden blinding pain caught her off guard spreading through her head, time seemingly slowing down as her sight seemed to be going sideways.

Y/n not even noticing it wasn’t just her sight going sideways but her body that collapses down onto the ground. A figure behind her being revealed not much older than herself as he stood there eyes wide gazing down at her, his grip on the metal pipe in his hand tighter if possible.

Her body thumped onto the ground in a heap, a mess. Eye glazed over with unshed tears, pain radiating through her. Not just physically but from deep within her.

“Good job Jeongin, very well done my boy.” An older man’s voice cut through the loud alarms.

Y/n not being able to hear it, everything sounding drowned, like she was underwater. She laid there unfocused eyes still staring at that mahogany door from where she was on the floor.

“I told you not to harm my girl, only to detain her!” The older man's voice sounded angry now yelling at people in the distance finally having caught up a bit too late to her.

“Get her to the medical ward, don’t harm her any further or you’ll all be missing a hand as punishment. We’ve already lost seven of my boys, my girl isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”

Y/n barely felt the touches against her body, not even the hand that pressed tightly against her wounded side. Her body being dragged up, held against someone as they started walking away from the door.

Her hand just barely managed to lift weakly up in the direction of the wooden door that was slowly getting further away.

‘They left me.’ Was all that ran through her head, hand falling limp, her eyes finally failing her as her eyelids felt too heavy to keep open, the pressure of her eyes closing finally letting a tear slip past rolling down her cheek.

They left me.

Prologue || Chapter 1 || Chapter 2

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭:

(Comment, message or inbox me to be put on my Nct Dream taglist)

𝐀𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭:

⤻ Click here.

𝐊𝐩𝐨𝐩 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭:

⤻ Click here.

[justalildumpling]

⇢ the waiting game

synopsis: chenle had always described his life as a game with multiple chapters and characters, with you being a discontinued part of the franchise that he had always hoped would be renewed. but who knew that one drunken phone call would be the story arc that brought you back?

pairing: chenle x reader genre: ex best friends to ???, angst, fluff word count: 1.4k warnings: mentions of alcohol/drunkenness, the word “ass” was used once note: wrote this ages ago to fuel my angsty writing mood after listening taylor swift too much but wanted to finish writing it to upload it for chenle’s bday🥳🥳(also the way this was meant to be <200 words…)

After sharing a dorm with six chaotic grown men, Chenle had thought to have experienced many weird situations in his life, ranging from witnessing Hyuck running out of the apartment building in nothing but his underwear at 2am due to a faulty fire alarm to Jisung dropping all 4 dozen eggs on the carpet right before the landlord came to inspect their housing situation.

But never did he expect to get a call from his ex best friend from middle school, 2am on a Saturday night.

He hesitated at first, his fingers hovering over the green button on his phone. His heart slowly picked up speed as he eventually decided to answer.

He didn't exactly know why his hands started to get clammy as he held his phone to his ear waiting for you to speak. Despite the title of "ex best friend", the two of you never ended your friendship on bad terms, nor did you exclusively end the friendship at all.

The two of you initially became friends in fifth grade when your teacher had sat you together at the back of the classroom for talking too much, though they soon realised their mistake as you passed each other very artistic doodles of each other and failed to contain your laughter.

Your friendship continued all throughout middle school however as you ended up in different classes, lunchtimes that were once spent together playing tag grew into him playing basketball and you settled down on the school's courtyard with the friends that you had made during class.

The occasional waves and hellos in the corridors during high school turned into awkward glances and eventually disinterest in one another.

Though it wouldn't exactly be a lie if Chenle said that he didn't miss your lively presence at times, maybe when he came across your doodles as he cleared his desk out for the first time since primary school or when he accidentally came across your contact page instead of someone else.

He could hear blaring music from the other end of the line, almost a little too loud for his liking as he held his phone further from his ear than usual. Though there was only the sound of the cheering crowd and a lack of your voice.

Maybe you had buttdialled him by accident? It was something that he did a bit more frequently than he should or maybe your voice was overwhelmed by whatever was happening at the club.

"Hello?" He had spoken up cautiously, turning off his computer game.

There was no response for a few seconds, almost proving his butt dialling theory. Almost.

"I want my best friend back." Your voice suddenly spoke, the silence lingering between the phone lines once again. The words which were stubbornly stuck at the tip of your tongue, graciously falling like a rapid stream.

"I miss talking to you everyday about the stupidest thing, I hate how this was how our friendship became. I hate how I used to tell you everything but I felt like I can't even say hello anymore. I miss everything about us."

Chenle sat silently on the edge of his bed, taking in your abrupt confession. There was a feeling of relief in his chest, as butterflies fluttered around his stomach.

You also felt the same way.

"Y/n, are you drunk?"

"No of course not!" You slurred before muttering, "Maybe…"

Chenle rolled his eyes, "Y/n where are you?"

"Not gonna lie to you, I have no clue." You replied, a laughter bubbling up in your throat, "I think we're at the new JYP club? Why? Are you going to pick me up?"

"How are you going to get home otherwise?"

An infectious laughter escaped his lips as your voice disappeared from the other end once again, he could imagine the pout you had always held with him. Your eyebrows slightly narrowed, your cute little nose scrunched up and your bottom lip partly jutted out.

It was a facial expression that he was used to seeing, most definitely due to his hobby of teasing you every other second. But how could he not? Not when everything you did seemed so loveable in his eyes.

Not that he ever admitted it or ever planned to admit that to your face.

The feelings he harboured for you oftentimes felt like a game, the one with the never ending story arcs, new characters appearing in every version and eventually discontinued, leaving all the players in desperation for any news for a renewal or an update at the least.

But who knew that the game he had been waiting for since middle school would be randomly updated on a Saturday night with the starting dialogue of:

"Chenle, I really want McDonald's. Can I please get a happy meal?"

Yeah. Not him, that's for sure.

l♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎l

Chenle didn't exactly know what he was doing, nor did his roommates when he told them he was heading out in the middle of the night without any explanations.

"I'll explain later," He sighed, grabbing the car keys and his bucket hat from the coffee table avoiding the suspicious glances from Jaemin.

He should've figured that the resident night owl would be up at this time of night, and definitely should've expected his motherly instincts to kick in, causing him to wake up the rest of his roommates to bombard his phone with concerned messages.

He drove down the empty streets of the city, the old Lauv songs playing on the aux with the occasional text notifications from his friends. He really considered putting his phone on silent or better yet, blocking their asses for interrupting his playlist every few seconds. But he resisted, taking a deep breath in.

Focus. The faster you get there, the faster you'll know she's safe.

Much to his relief, you stood outside of the club's entrance in one piece, tentatively glancing between your phone and the incoming cars pulling up in front.

You had gotten prettier since the last time he had met you, losing most of your baby fat on your cheeks and the long hair that was once tied back into a ponytail was let loose to sway against your back. Though, your smile remained the same from high school, the type of warmth which reached the eyes. It was always one of his favourite features about you.

It was pretty, as it always was.

But who was he kidding, you were always breathtaking in his eyes. Never failing to make his heart trip and tumble around the inside of his chest whenever you giggled at his stupid antics.

So when he met your twinkling eyes as he got out of his car, it felt like his middle school days all over again. You running up to greet him with that captivating smile of yours that he grew to love, with his damn heart threatening to spill out of his chest.

Pulling him into a tight hug, you buried your face into the nape of his neck, "You actually came."

"I did."

As the two of you stood in the middle of the road entangled in each other's arms, it felt as if time had paused for you. The booming music from inside the club was muffled, the street lights paving through the darkness and illuminating your figures.

It was like everything had fallen back into place, just like before. When it was only you and him, Y/N and Chenle. The main characters of this nameless series of this prolonged game. The game where the male protagonist was pathetically in love with his best friend with no hopes left of her ever reciprocating it back.

But perhaps it was the fact that he was running on four hours of sleep the night before or perhaps it was the nervousness of reuniting with you again that was kicking in but as your body clung onto his, he swore that he could feel a faint quickening heartbeat that rivalled his own.

And maybe, just maybe, the waiting game wasn't so bad after all.

taglist: @xxxx-23nct @maeumiluv @produmads @polarisjisung @wooyoung-a @w3bqrl

[scarletwinterxx]

my heart is so jet lagged - chenle imagine

hello! It’s been a while since I wrote a chenle scenario, so this is a bit long overdue😅😊 i hope you like it!!

For my other works you can check them out here, and for my other story series’ you can check them out here.

All works are copyrighted ©scarletwinterxx 2022 . Do not repost, re-write without the permission of author.

(gif not mine, credits to owner)

“Can you atleast promise you’ll behave? I don’t really want another phonecall from you from the hospital”

“It was an accident, I was playing too much. I learned my lesson, I’m sorry”

“Lele, I’m serious. You just got better” you mumbled, a small frown forming on your lips as you watch your boyfriend pack his stuff for his overseas trip. It’s the first time he’ll be dancing again since his injury and it so happens it will be held in another country. Somewhere you can’t watch over him 24/7 to make sure he’s not pushing himself too far. 

Sensing the worry in your voice, Chenle didn’t make any jokes this time. Instead turning to look at you to squish your cheeks in his hands. “Aigoo, look at my cute girlfriend. Don’t be sad, I promise I’ll be careful. I’ll be back in no time”

“No more injuries” you say

“No more injuries” he repeats, nodding along the words. Giving your cheeks one last squeeze before letting go. 

“Remember to pack a toothbrush and toothpaste”

“Toothbrush I’ll bring, toothpaste I’m sure someone brought some already” Chenle says, closing his suitcase. “Sit on it, I’ll zip it” you let out a chuckle before sitting on his suitcase while he zips it up. “What if that’s what the others thought? One day none of you will bring toothpaste”

“I can just buy some”

“Okay, checklist time. Passport?” “Check” “Clothes?” “Check” “Socks?” “Oh wait I think wait no yea I packed some”

Sending him a deadpanned look, waiting for the confirmation if he indeed pack some socks unlike the last trip.

“Yea yea I did pack socks, okay next”

“Charger, portable charger, airpods and the 3 others in your bag?” you jokingly ask, “yes yes and yes”

“That’s all I guess” you tell him, getting up from the floor where you were sitting. “Let’s take Daegal out for a walk before you go” you suggest, holding your hand out for him. 

“Okay, but I think you’re forgetting something” he says, taking hold of your hand to help him stand up

“What?”

“My hug, I need it” he answers, opening his arms out for you. “You’re a dork” you mumble while walking closer towards his embrace. Tucking your head under his chin, your head against his chest, “Don’t miss me too much, I’ll be gone for like three days” he tells you. 

Even though he’s the one telling you not to miss him too much, Chenle’s sure he’s the one who will miss you more. Tightening the hold he has on you, pulling you as close to him as possible. 

The next day, before his early flight Chenle decided to take a quick detour by your house to say goodbye. It’s still early so he knows you’re asleep, he promised to call when he lands which is enough time for you to wake up and start your day. But he wanted to start his day with you, he’ll be gone for a few days so he wanted to make the most of the last seconds with you. 

Your mom let him in the house, quietly stepping in your room. He can just barely make out your figure from under the blanket. The only part of you visible is the top of your head, the rest hidden. He smiles at the sight in front of him, taking quiet steps until he was standing beside your bed. 

Pulling down the blanket until he can see your face, peaceful and adorably squished against your pillow. Again, Chenle beams at the sight before him he just needed to take a picture. Another addition to his ever growing collection of your photographs. 

Gently, he caresses your cheek. Your brows crunching, you’ve always been a light sleeper which is why he never really disturbs you when he knows you’re resting. But just this time, he wanted to say goodbye before he goes. 

“Mhm?” you grumbled, still half asleep “Hi baby, I just wanted to say goodmorning before I go” Chenle whispers, a sleepy smile forming your lips as you hear your boyfriend’s voice

“Aren’t you going to be late?” you ask, “Won’t take long, just wanted to see you before I go. Go back to sleep, I’ll call later okay” he leans down to kiss you on the cheeks a few times. One last kiss on your head before he tucks the blanket on you again

“Mhm, have fun. I love you” you mumble, already slipping back to slumber

“I love you, too” he replies with a smile, kissing you one last time before going. It’s only for a few days, he’s not even on the plane yet but he already misses you. Thinking the words ‘home is where the heart is’ is so true, because he knows just where he left his heart and just how he can’t wait to go back home to you. 

[minjithekang]

NCT DREAM

THEY DEALING WITH YOU ON YOUR PERIOD

MARK

RENJUN

JENO

HAECHAN

JAEMIN

CHENLE

JISUNG

Thanks for reading, lovelies♡

[fly-forever-young]

•~𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐞

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