we the cursed, nct dream ✔

part nineteen

⇉ the one where things seem a little better (ish).

part nineteen

"Just open it."

Renjun's small smile is amused as Juno shuts her eyes tightly and slides the stapled sheets over in his direction. "I can't, I'm too nervous. You do it."

"Fine," he deadpans, reaching for the papers, and her eyes fly open.

"No, don't! I wasn't serious."

"Make up your mind, will you?" He sighs, noticing her sincerely anxious expression. "Fine, how about I look at it..." He reaches forward again, and she doesn't stop him. "If the grade is bad, then I'll close it back up and we'll just have to work harder."

"Okay," Juno agrees, inexplicably nervous.

He takes the sheets and opens up to the front page, where the mark is written. They'd walked into class this morning with their graded tests laid atop their desks, and Juno has been too afraid to check hers even as the students around them chatter lowly as they look over the assessments. Renjun hasn't closed her test back up yet, and Juno hardly realizes that she's holding her breath. "I can't take this anymore! Tell me."

"Congrats." A smile lurks at the corners of his mouth. "Eighty-eight percent."

"You're kidding." Juno snatches the test from his fingers, eyes finding the grade almost immediately to see that he was telling the truth. "Oh my god. Yes!" They're both caught off guard when she leans forward to tackle him into a hug. But she refuses to allow herself become embarrassed, and his arms reflexively wrap around her waist to steady her.

"What was that for?" he asks, but his wide grin matches hers. Renjun thinks it's ridiculous, the amount of smiling he does around her. He has an image to keep up, you know?

"You're a damn good teacher," she starts, pulling away. "It's all thanks to you that-"

"Hey, guys." Mark's voice cuts her off as he approaches them, having just arrived. His eyes bounce back and forth between the two, tongue poking into the inside of his cheek. "What's the occassion?"

"I got an eighty-eight on my test," Juno tells him proudly.

"Good job!" They high-five enthusiastically, exchanging a smile. Renjun clears his throat, about to say something, but the bell rings. Juno's much higher grade than she's used to in this subject buoys her mood significantly, and she's riding high even when she's called in once again for the investigation taking place.

She knows what Ms. Yang is about to say even before the woman actually speaks the words. "We received word from another student that you were yet again the first one on the scene when Yoon Jaesu died."

Juno cocks a brow, surprised it took them this long to bring her in. Thanks to Livi, she's been expecting it. But something tells her that for all the sternness and organization with which these "questionings" have been taking place, the school doesn't really care all that much about the murders. Juno doesn't trust it not to be a façade; it doesn't seem like that much energy is being expended to find the culprit. Even just judging from the impression she got from the teachers back when Jihyi died, it seemed like the killings were almost... expected?

Maybe she's just overthinking.

Yet, she can't help but wonder, how many other students have been killed in this place before the ones she knows of? Were their parents lied to also? Why does nobody outside seem to suspect the school for being anything other than what it claims to be?

"You've been quite busy, haven't you?" Ms. Yang raises a perfect brow. "However, I will have you know that here at Tangiso, we do not tolerate troublemakers. Not only have you been getting yourself into numerous scrapes, you seem to have a penchant for being around corpses." The woman pauses. "I will have you know right now that everything will be uncovered in due time. So if you have anything else worth mentioning, I'd recommend you do so."