Intoxicating-- NCT/Aespa Idol AU

4

"Hello again! Now, actually, we will begin. The first activity we will do is called ask or tell. You will tell each other a fun fact about yourself, or ask each other a question. But there's a catch-" For the first time today the manager smiled, "you will all be blindfolded." 

At this point, the manager could tell them they were going to Mars and she'd believe it. 

"We have the blindfolds ready; please pick one up." The older members of NCT seemed to be slightly pissed but the youngers were clearly trying to hold in their amusement. 

"Ok! You have them all on. Now...roam until you find someone." 

Jieun decided to stop asking questions and to start walking. She gingerly moved until she hit a massive body. "Oh! Sorry, hi. I'm Jieun."

The broader man deeply chuckled. "I'm Johnny. Nice to meet you I guess?"

Nervousness crept in her chest. "Ok, I'll go first, and I'll...do tell. I was born in America."

She could hear Johnny gasp, "Hey, me too! I'm from Chicago," Jieun actually knew this--it's why she said what she did. She wasn't gonna tell him that though. 

Johnny effortlessly switched to English, "Your English still proficient?"  

Jieun could feel a smile escape from her lips. "I moved when I was 11 so I hope I can still speak English." 

Johnny laughed, and it was infectious. "Good to know! Now a fun fact about me...I guess that I joined the company in '07." Now Jieun was the one who gasped. She, however, did not know that. "Yeah, long time right? So trust me when I say I've seen some things."

Jieun couldn't see him, but if she could, he probably would have winked. 

She and Johnny parted ways, but she couldn't get over his fun fact. Jieun joined in 2017, and NCT was already established by then. People like Johnny and the other NCT members always felt so distant from her, even they worked under the same company. If she joined Aespa, then that gap would have to seem smaller...right? 

Jieun was lost in her thoughts when a body crashed into her from behind. 

"Oh, you must one of the girls. I'm Jeno." 

"Hi Jeno, nice to meet you! Jieun here. Do you wanna do ask or tell?" 

Jeno thought for a moment. "Hmm let's do ask. I'll go first," Jeno noticed he was still holding on to her and immediately let go. "Oh-er...um...what year were you born?"

Jieun was pleased to hear this question. She knew they were born in the same year, but Jeno obviously didn't know this. It was an interesting dynamic that she knew some basic things about them--but they literally knew nothing about her. 

"I'm an '00 baby! What about you?" 

"Hey, me too! We should be chingus then." 

Jeno's statement relaxed Jieun, and she dropped the formal language. "Ok Jeno-ah," She knew it was a risky question, but she really wanted to know. "This is a more personal question, so I apologized if it's too much."

She already regretted this but it was too late to hold back now. "Is being an idol worth it? Like, is it worth all the negative parts?" 

She couldn't see him, but she could tell he was taken aback by her question. "Well...for me, it's definitely worth it. I mean, the lack of privacy sucks, but I can't imagine my life doing anything else. Plus, the Dream members mean everything to me," Jeno laughed softly, almost like it was to himself. "Hey, good question! Last person I bumped into was Doyoung and he asked if I had eaten–not very interesting." 

Jieun laughed and said goodbye to Jeno. She was now chingus with him...what a strange world she lived in. She kept walking but couldn't find anyone for a while. There was a lot of laughing, and it was likely coming from the NCT members. The chances of running into one of their own are pretty high, and an icebreaker was basically useless as they've known each other for years. 

She was ready to give up when she touched bodies with another person. Jieun felt embarrassed as both of her hands were directly on his chest. She retracted them quickly. "Hi...I'm Jieun." 

The male chuckled, and he had a confident tone in his voice. "Haechan. I'm gonna decide for the both of us and we'll both ask," Jieun would be lying to say she wasn't aback by his smooth words. 

"So...why are you here? Last time I checked you're not in Aespa." 

Jieun couldn't help but blush. She wasn't sure if she could tell the NCT members, but she wasn't about to risk it. "Um..." She stifled a laugh at how ridiculous this situation was. "it's confidential info. I can ask a question now so you can think of a new one."

Where did that just come from? Only after she realized what she said. Jieun awkwardly laughed. "Uh.. so have you eaten?" Jieun could have sworn she felt Haechan smirk. 

Of all the things she could have asked...

"I have." He took a pause. "You gave me a bare minimum amount of info so I thought I'd do the same." 

His quick sense infuriated her. She knew he was amazing at variety and known for being quick on his feet, but she wouldn't know if it would translate to real life.  Apparently, it does. 

"Wait! Ok. How about we'll tell each other a fun fact." Jieun, this is not part of the plan...

Heat rose to her cheeks. "I'll go first"