we the cursed, nct dream ✔

part seven

⇉ the one where the aftermath is weird.

part seven

The next day, Juno doesn't go to breakfast.

Firstly, she doesn't wake up on time. Physicals the previous day had ended up being more brutal than she could've ever imagined. All the other students seemed to have a much better hold on their abilities than she did, causing feelings of inadequacy to creep into her mind. That, coupled with the soreness of her aching muscles, did little to motivate her to get out of bed.

She goes through her morning classes like a zombie, barely making eye contact with anyone, much less speaking with them. Some of the boys she met earlier are in her classes, but she manages to avoid them. It is one of those days where she just feels like shit; in no shape to socialize.

Not like anyone is doing much of that today, anyway. The shift in atmosphere from yesterday to now is almost palpable. Most students still seem to be in shock over what happened, and others, those who were closer to the dead girl, are easily characterized by their swollen eyes and blotchy faces. Even the sky is crying; it rains heavily in the morning, making everything even gloomier.

As part of the investigation, the school has been calling in various students for questioning as the day progresses. Juno doubts that she'll be brought in, but there's a constant stream of students going out in all her classes. It makes for a distracting and disconcerting morning, and Juno barely learns anything. But from what she's been able to gather so far, there's no police on the premises. Students speculate: how can the school conduct an investigation with no detectives or police officers?

It doesn't make sense, and Juno's head is full, but she's much too tired to really think.

Lunchtime rolls around quickly. Feeling suffocated inside the building, Juno ventures outside for the first time. The rain has stopped, and the sun is now out. And despite the delicious fresh air she inhales appreciatively and the gorgeous scenery of the especially green fields, a dark cloud hangs over her. She cannot help but remember what she was told on the very first day: no one goes in or comes out without the school's permission. The gates are heavily guarded. Escape attempts have been made, and have proved unsuccessful each time.

A gilded cage. That's what this place is.

The West side of the school overlooks the basketball and tennis courts. She settles down into a bench, and all of a sudden, she gets a series of quick flashbacks: long, grueling rallies between her and Hyunjin (but she always won), laying on the floor with him afterwards to talk about everything and nothing; passing snacks around with her friends as they watched the guys play basketball; sneaking out to the playground in the middle of the night to look up at the sky... Juno has never felt so homesick. She swallows, trying to banish the memories from her mind.

"What's wrong?" A voice cuts into her thoughts, and she glances up to see the same seven boys that she's been managing to avoid all morning. Until now. Jeno takes a seat beside her, and she becomes acutely aware of their touching arms. "You look miserable."

"I am," she confesses quietly. "I hate this place."

"Don't we all," Chenle says, settling into her other side.

"Noona." Jisung pouts as he looks around to see that all the spots beside her are taken, and sits cross-legged on the floor in front of her instead with a sigh. "You didn't come to breakfast, so it was boring."

"Aw, did you miss me?" she laughs, and he lets her ruffle his hair. As surprised as she is to see that they still want to continue this friendship, she isn't complaining. Being alone in a place like this would make it even more hellish.