Shall We? | NCT Lee Jeno ff

Chapter 13 - Hyun Nam

Bright and early in the morning. In hopes of meeting Jeno at the bakery, Hyun Nam hurried off to get ready as soon as possible. She ran around her room to pack the textbooks she had left behind to study and do assignments, her bag's weight was indeed a problem; she should definitely try e-books. She half-ran outside of her door, greeting the maids and butlers who passed by. It's been a while since any maid woke her up, she would wake up way earlier than usual. Hyun Nam didn't even care to have breakfast, she just wanted to hurriedly get her tab and leave. Her smiles were uncontrolled and her-

"What are you doing so... bright and early?" Mother asked.

Hyun Nam stopped dead in her tracks like she just heard a ghost making a sound, and that sent shivers up her body.

"I'm going to school," Hyun Nam tugged her bag and tried to stop smiling, she was obviously failing at that.

"You look really happy this morning. A specific reason?" Mother smiled as she led the way to the dining room together with Hyun Nam. Her forehead furrowed, thinking of an answer as the two reached the dining room already.

"I-"

"Don't lie to me. I wake up early every day, you just don't notice me," Mother smirked.

Really. Really. She's doomed.

"Are you seeing someone?" her mother asked, raising a brow.

Hyun Nam let out a laugh but hurriedly shut her mouth with her hand.

"No, not in that way," Hyun Nam said and took the tablet while Mother took hers.

"You know, I've heard from a certain employee that you've been making a lot of visits to my bakery recently, hm? You do know I can bake it for you at home?" Mother interrogated again. Hyun Nam's face fell from her smile.

"And I just so have heard that you've been meeting a guy there," it was now Mother's turn to grow a smile, she was definitely trying to hide it.

"Just a friend," Hyun Nam finally sighed. Her mother paused to observe her face to look for any clues. She must've found some but didn't proceed to talk about that topic anymore, another way of saying to Hyun Nam that Mother was fine with the matter.

"When you get home later, we should talk about yesterday. Tell me all about your friendship with Jeno and Jaemin, I'm excited for you to have new friends," Mother smiled and planted a kiss on Hyun Nam's cheek before she left her to the kitchen, leaving Hyun Nam running to the front door.

As expected, Jeno was there, waving at her with a huge smile on his face. He had ordered both their coffees as he knew her order; having breakfast with each other made them remember each other's usuals.

"Morning," her nose crinkled as she smiled, taking a seat across Jeno.

"Oh yeah, I won't be able to come here for a week. I have early schedules," Jeno's smile curved into a frown. A part of Hyun Nam felt tight. She felt her body turning into a hard rock. Her breaths were heavier and she felt... almost sad for a moment. For a moment.

"That's fine," Hyun Nam finally responded, plastering the best fake smile she could do. She contemplated telling Jeno that her mother knew about them meeting, but that never came up until they left the bakery to get on with their own days.

The day went by slowly for Hyun Nam, which was odd. Classes would usually feel shorter but for some reason that wasn't the case for that day. Was it the fact that her Starfield date- No it's not a date. Her Starfield... meeting? The meeting was in two weeks and time has been moving slowly since Jeno asked her. Or was it because Kang Dae has been talking to her more than usual? She didn't know but she hoped it was the latter.

Although she wasn't counting on it, she was hoping to meet Jeno or the Dream members at SM today where she's attending another meeting on behalf of her father. Around this time, students would already be off to the libraries or the cafe to study, but she was cursed with work and now she was waiting all alone at the lobby for Mr. Jungho.

"Mr. Jungho? Where are you? Is everything okay? Is there traffic?" she was puzzled, speaking to Mr. Jungho through the phone. She heard a sigh before Mr. Jungho replied.

"Didn't your father tell you? I'm sorry I didn't. I was ordered to not pick you up today, someone else is," Mr. Jungho answered, leaving Hyun Nam confused.

"Who?"

"Kang Dae," Mr. Jungho replied and he must've known that Hyun Nam would try to negotiate with him because he immediately hung up. Right when Kang Dae arrived at the lobby.

"I hear I'm taking you to SM today?"

Hyun Nam held in a groan, then proceeded to smile and nod as she walked behind him to his car.

"You can just drop me off. It's fine, you're probably tired after today's lectures," Hyun Nam said with a smile, she didn't want to seem rude.

"I'll drop you off in front of the meeting room. Besides, the classes today weren't that complicated," he replied with a grin and parked his car. As they walked through the doors and into the halls of the building, Hyun Nam felt uneasy. Being with Kang Dae in the SM building together made her feel embarrassed but also scared. What on earth could I be scared of?

She felt like she wanted to distance herself from Kang Dae. She didn't want to be seen with him, but who would care? Was there anybody in particular in the building she wanted to avoid getting seen with Kang Dae? No. Yes. No. Definitely yes. She tried to fight the realization that she was thinking of a person that she would least like to meet walking side by side with Kang Dae.

"Oh, Hyun Nam!" someone called after her. She turned to see Jaemin holding a cup of coffee with a growing smile on his face.

"Hi!" her eyes immediately twinkled and hugged Jaemin.

"This is Kang Dae. You saw him at Aespa's concert a while ago," Hyun Nam said, it felt more like a formality to introduce Kang Dae.

"Hi, nice to meet you," Kang Dae smiled and shook Jaemin's hand who said the same thing.

Hyun Nam was shocked at the difference between their physiques. She saw them together but they were distant, now they were standing face-to-face. Jaemin wasn't as tall as Kang Dae but they both had the same physique as someone who goes to the gym often or plays sports. Kang Dae wasn't towering over Jaemin but he was tall enough for someone to spot the difference by at least 7 centimeters, even though Jaemin was 2 years older than him. Hyun Nam wondered what Jeno would look like next to Kang Dae, but that thought made her remember that if she met Jaemin, there was a big possibility she would be meeting Jeno. The person she least wanted to see with Kang Dae.

"I have to go to a meeting," Hyun Nam hurriedly said to Jaemin, but Jaemin didn't hear her because he was distracted by the burst of laughter coming from the room beside him.

"You should meet the rest, they're practicing," Jaemin said and pulled them both to the door.

"Oh no, it's okay-"

Then someone opened the door from the inside.

"Hyun Nam!" Winter exclaimed.

There was no turning back now. 

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