whenever it rains | nct

eighteen

she was hunched over, her hand holding what seemed to be a cotton ball soaked in blood. on the table beside her was a bottle of disinfectant alcohol and bandaids.

his eyes fell to her knee, and he was surprised to see it scraped up. she must have fell, he thought, surveying the line of blood dripping down her leg.

"are you alright?" he asked, clearing his throat, unsure of whether or not he should approach her.

"yeah! just tripped on air on my way home," she chuckled, wincing as she dabbed at her knee with a clean cotton ball.

almost immediately, taeyong rose from his seat and walked over to her. kneeling before her, he reached to take the ball from her. "disinfectant, please?"

she grabbed the small bottle off the table and handed it to him, her fingers gently brushing against his.

taeyong opened the bottle, dabbing the cotton against the open top and dampening it. "this might sting a bit," he said apologetically.

"go ahead," eun breathed and taeyong gently wiped at her knee.

thankfully, she hadn't hurt it too bad. they were mostly surface cuts, like the ones yuta used to get when he went skateboarding.

after taeyong had cleaned up the blood, he reached for the box of bandaids that was also sitting on the table. she'd probably purchased this all in the convenience store before sitting out here.

pressing several plasters onto her skin, he rose from the ground, dusting his pant leg off with his hands.

"thank you," eun smiled, and taeyong tried to ignore the strange feeling growing in his stomach.

"it's no problem, really." he stood near the table awkwardly, unsure of whether or not he should go back to his food.

"ah, your ramen must be cold. let me buy you another one," she began to get up, hefting herself up using her arms.

without thinking, taeyong lifted a hand to her shoulder, guiding her back to her seat. "oh no, you don't have to! it was practically finished anyway," he lied.

eun nodded and her eyes slowly shifted to look at where he was touching her. taeyong quickly retracted his hand, shoving it into his pocket.

"are you hungry?" he asked suddenly and eun blinked at him.

"kind of," she admitted, sheepishly looking to the ground.

"here," taeyong grabbed the two triangle kimbaps from the table and handed one to her before taking the seat before her.

"thank you," eun said, opening it and stuffing it into her mouth almost immediately.

taeyong chuckled at her eagerness, amused by how fast she ate. "i'm guessing the student council didn't give you guys breaks?"

eun swallowed her mouthful of kimbap before tilting her head at him. "how'd you know i was a server?" she asked curiously and taeyong faltered.

"uh, the uniform? i just assumed." he lied again.

"oh!" eun looked down at her clothing before giggling, "i didn't even think of that. but yeah, they pretty much starved us."

taeyong nearly sighed in relief, embarassed to have almost been caught.

they fell into a comfortable silence as they finished their snacks. eun finished before him, and taeyong was hyper aware of how she watched him eat, resting her face in her hands.

"you know," she suddenly spoke, and taeyong looked up to meet her eyes, "we met before in high school, i don't know if you remember."

taeyong felt his mouth go dry, aware of where this story was headed.

"you gave me your umbrella one night, right outside this exact convenience store. what a coincidence, right?"

this has been the only 'coincidence' that was actually a coincidence, taeyong thought, looking around at their surroundings.

"i really, really liked you after that," eun said, and taeyong felt a sudden, unexpected pang in his chest. "i think you were my first love. which is funny considering we never spoke."

taeyong stared at her, mouth slightly ajar as he processed her words. he was taken aback by her forwardness.

as someone who rarely shared their true feelings, taeyong admired anyone who spoke their mind, which is why he was so smitten when first becoming friends with outspoken nakamoto yuta.

eun must have misinterpreted his expression and silence because she waved her hands awkwardly. "but don't worry! i don't like you anymore," she added with a laugh.

taeyong produced a weak smile and she reciprocated. another comfortable silence fell upon them and they sat together, eyes surveying the starry sky. taeyong was about to open his mouth to offer to walk her home when the girl spoke again.

"strangely enough," she began, tone suddenly serious as she looked at him, "to this day i still think of you whenever it rains."

as soon as the last word had left her mouth, taeyong had a sudden epiphany.

he had feelings for cho eunjung.