we the cursed, nct dream ✔

part eleven

⇉ the one with embarrassment.

part eleven

The first thing Juno wonders is How does Livi know that I was the one who found Jihyi?

And then she snaps back to the terrible present. Mr. Liu looks incredibly disappointed, and he exhales heavily. His face is grave when he turns to Jeno. "Escort Miss Baek to the infirmary, please."

Everyone is staring; some with slight expressions of pity, others with open derision. Juno has never felt so embarrassed in her life.

Not only did she just get completely decimated by this girl who seems to have it out for her, but Livi seems to think that Juno might have a hand in the unexpected death of her best friend. Her threat from earlier rings in Juno's ears, and she shivers involuntarily.

"Come on." A light hand on her arm breaks into her thoughts. She knows it's Jeno, but she refuses to look up for fear of seeing the pitying expression no doubt on his face. She feels pathetic enough. Silently, with everyone's eyes still on them, he leads her out of the room. She is grateful for the way his body almost shields her own, making her feel less exposed.

They walk in silence, their footsteps the only audible sound. Finally, she feels him side-eye her. "You okay?"

"You can say it," she tells him with more mirth than she feels, still keeping her eyes resolutely fixed on her shoes. "I'm a loser, I know. God, that was so embarrassing." It is only now that Juno is able to register the cuts and bruises from the spar all over her body. All at once, the pain kicks in, and she feels almost faint.

It cannot be legal to make two teenagers fight against each other until they are severely injured, regardless of these dumb abilities they're claimed to possess.

"You should be less hard on yourself," he says softly. "You only just got here. It's your first time ever really using your flair, and you've been put in classes with people who've had almost three years to hone theirs. Give yourself a break."

"It doesn't matter how old I am, they should've just put me with the sophomores," she snorts. "Maybe I'll do better there."

Suddenly, he reaches over and grabs her hand, giving it a light squeeze. It's comforting, and yet she swears that her heart skips a beat. Get it together, bitch, she berates herself. This isn't the time for stupid feelings, damn it. "No one gets strong overnight, you know," he tells her, that smile on his lips. "If you want, I can practice with you."

"Really?" She can hardly keep the hopefulness from her voice as she turns to him. "You'll help me?"

"I'd like to think I'm pretty competent," he smiles, shrugging. From what she saw earlier, she knows that's a severe understatement, and Juno wonders just how high he is on the Flair Strength List. From the respect that everyone around here seems to have for him and his friends, she figures they must all be at the top. "I can help to train you," he says, visibly warming up to the idea.

"Yes, please. We both know I could use any help right now." Juno stops. "Livi really seems to hate me, though. I wanna be ready in case she attacks me again."

His brows furrow. "What do you mean?" Juno proceeds to explain everything to him - from why she was called in for the investigation this morning, to what Livi had said to her after their spar. Jeno's jaw clenches imperceptibly. "They really think you killed Jihyi?"

"Apparently," she replies, and then they enter the infirmary, which means the conversation ends there. The nurse rises, giving Juno a simultaneously curious and exasperated glance when he sees all her injuries as they walk in. She smiles sheepishly. "Hi, can you please give me something for these?"