when in time, nct dream

chapter twenty-two

"I've always liked the swings."

Hyuna hummed, looking over at Donghyuck as he licked his ice cream, staring off into nothingness.

"I remember back in elementary school when recess would begin. There were only three sets of swings for hundreds of kids and it was a competition to get to the swings."

"Did you ever make it to them?" Hyuna asked, finishing up her own ice cream.

Donghyuck shook his head, his lips forming a natural pour as he reminisced the past. "Recess was right after lunch and my class never got in a straight line fast enough so we were always last to make it to the playground."

"What about the others? Were you guys close at that age?"

Donghyuck shrugged, "pretty basic friendship. At the time it was only Jeno, Jaemin, and Jisung who I was really close with but since Jisung is younger, we never played together. And even then, Jeno and Jaemin always made it to the field first although Jaemin never went to the swings, instead opting out to go hang out with Nayeon."

Hyuna perked up at the last sentence. "Nayeon and Jaemin? They close or something?"

Donghyuck nodded, "they'll probably always be the close. Nayeon had quite a few friends while Jaemin was kinda introverted so he just found himself around her all time. It even happens nowadays. When Jiyoung and Jeno are busy with something, Jaemin can usually be found at Nayeon's house playing video games with her and her brother."

Hyuna nodded, turning away from Donghyuck as she slightly smirked, new ideas coming to her head about how to further her plan.

"Jiyoung is probably the most responsible when it comes to Mark, Jaemin, and I so she gets the most workload. And Jeno has special training for the military because he's a master earth bender. But besides that, Jaemin and Jiyoung can be found together while Jeno and Nayeon can be found together."

Hyuna nodded, "are Nayeon and Jiyoung close?"

"Yep. Nayeon is the reason we became associated with Jiyoung in the first place. Their first encounter was running into each other and then ever since that day they've been the closest of friends."

Silence passed between the two, only the soft sound of birds chirping and the wind blowing sounded around them. It was calming.

"You know," Donghyuck suddenly spoke, "I'm really glad you came around when you did. I don't know if you've noticed but it's like everyone in the group has a pair. Mark and Yiren. Renjun and Sooyoung. Jeno and Nayeon. Jaemin and Jiyoung. And then just Chenle and Jisung off doing their own things. I thought that I'd be alone while they all go through this relationship stuff but with you, I think else-wise."

Hyuna softly smiled at the boy, "of course. It's been really fun hanging out with you. The others are really nice too but with you, it's kinda like I don't have to worry about accidentally overstepping any boundaries."

Donghyuck laughed, nodding his head. "Of course. I even find it hard to see boundaries which have been kinda tough in the past."

Hyuna tilted her head, balancing herself as she turned sideways on the swing seat, "how so?"

Donghyuck shrugged, "I guess most of the time I either understep or overstep when it comes to others. Back when Jiyoung was newer, I sorta, you know, liked her or whatever but I didn't know if she wanted to be in a relationship seeing as she was still new. But then the next thing I know, she's going out with Jaemin. And trust me, I love them and their bond but at the time it stung a bit."

Hyuna slightly frowned, "I'm sorry, Hyuck. That sounds like it sucked."

Hyuck looked back at the girl, nodding with a small smile. "It's okay, I'm a lot better now since I've gotten over it. At the time, I didn't know if I wanted to distance myself or not but I'm glad I didn't. Without Jaemin and Jiyoung, I don't know where I'd be. They're both really amazing friends."

Hyuna nodded, amazing friends.

i just wanna be somebody to someone, oh
i never had no body
and no road home
i wanna be somebody to someone

━ someone to you, banners

😳