Shall We? | NCT Lee Jeno ff

Chapter 24 - Jeno

"You!" Jeno fumed. He had never imagined he would meet the only witness of that night right there in that car. For months, he was so close to him. The driver dropped off Hyun Nam whenever she goes somewhere with Jeno. He couldn't believe he was so close. Indeed, Mr. Jungho was the man who both ruined and saved Jeno's life.

"You were the reason I'm going through this right now. It's because of you! If you hadn't killed him, his brother wouldn't call me almost every day to threaten me. And now, I believe he can kill me," Jeno snarled, gritting his teeth. His anger for Mr. Jungho had never ceased since the first time they met that night. He was the reason Jeno had sleepless nights and all those thoughts circling around his head during a performance. He lost so much energy thinking of the incident.

"I'm sorry I had to put you through that, but it was partially your fault. If you had been a nice boy and didn't vandalize your town's properties, you didn't have to watch what happened and Kim Hyunshik's brother wouldn't bother you! You weren't supposed to be there that night." Mr. Jungho grumbled and continued driving as the red light turned green.

Jeno winced at the sound of his best friend's name. The night he died went through his head like a movie scene. His head spun and he couldn't think anymore. That night was coming back to him. It all came alive as he met one of the three people at the incident.

Hyunshik...

---

"JENO!" a boy shouted behind him, someone he knew from the way the boy said his name. Jeno didn't bother to look back and ran with his back of spray cans.

"JENO! STOP!" the boy screamed from behind him. Jeno had always been athletic, he was on the track team but had just recently healed from a leg injury. He twisted his ankle and fell to the ground. He still continued to crawl even though the boy who was running after him had caught up.

"I know what you have been doing, Jeno. Just stop, okay?" Kim Hyunshik groaned, holding Jeno on the ground who was trying to get out from his friend's grip. He didn't speak nor did he looked his friend in the eye.

"I'm your best friend and I know you're a trainee at SM Entertainment. Don't ruin this opportunity, I know how much this means to you! I'm not planning on giving up on you," he said forcing his best friend to look at him. Jeno's eyes were filled with tears that didn't dare to fall. He held them in. His eyes told Hyunshik what his best friend was feeling. He felt scared, angry, and sad. His lips quivered, his brows puckered.

"Why are you doing this? Tell me. I'm not going to judge you. I don't hate you for doing this, I just want what's best for you," Hyunshik said. Jeno looked away. He couldn't say it.

"I'm calling for help, you need to go to the hospital. But before that," Hyunshik took the spray cans from Jeno's bag and saw a trash can across the street.

"Wait here okay? If they find you with these cans, the police will get suspicious and you're going to ruin your chances in debuting as an idol," Hyunshik said and hurried off to cross the street.

Both of them didn't expect that car to come. Nobody would've if they were there. Jeno remembered shouting, the tears he saved started touching the ground slowly. He remembered seeing the pool of crimson slowly reaching him. He remembered Hyunshik's face as he looked to his right, where the car was headed from. His eyes had widened but he hadn't had the time to look over to Jeno for the last time. The only person he could trust besides his parents was taken away from him right before his eyes. He remembered asking any god who was up there, any force of the universe, why his innocent best friend has to go through such an unfair death. Hyunshik deserved a quiet and painless death. He deserved to be taken away with a relieved smile on his face, not fear in his eyes. Jeno remembered seeing the warmth in his face still present. It's okay.

---

"I just want to ask why," Jeno interrogated the man driving. Mr. Jungho looked at him from the rearview mirror. He let out a sigh.

"I can't tell you that. That's something I'll have to talk about later on," Mr. Jungho said as the car stopped. Jeno looked out the window where his dorms were. Time had passed faster than he thought, he found himself wanting to meet Mr. Jungho as soon as possible.

"Though I despise you, I need to know what's happening. And if you do help me, that would make up for killing my best friend," Jeno glared at Mr. Jungho who turned around to meet his eyes.

"When you know the whole story and where he is now, you won't hate me anymore," Mr. Jungho replied and unlocked the car doors.

---

"It's literally 2 in the morning, Jeno. We have to wake up at 5 later. You're even wet, did you walk in the rain?" Jaemin sighed annoyingly. He was annoyed because Jeno wasn't being responsible like what they talked about before, Jeno staying up late was a problem and Jaemin has been trying to stop him from doing that ever again.

"So many things happened tonight, I want to tell you in detail but I'm too tired," Jeno plopped himself on the sofa where he laid both of his arms on his sides, his legs extended. Though Jeno was tired, his face was still stern because of Mr. Jungho, and Jaemin could see that.

"Tell me now. Seeing your face, I think the story's not a nice one and I won't be able to sleep without knowing what it is."

"I think you won't be able to sleep when you hear what I'm going to tell you."

"Just tell me," Jaemin sat down beside Jeno. He didn't know where to start. From when he met Hyun Nam or should he just tell Jaemin about Mr. Jungho first.

"I'll talk about what happened to Hyun Nam tomorrow. But I want to tell you something related to Hyunshik," Jeno stared into Jaemin's curious eyes.
"Your best friend that was...?" Jaemin asked and Jeno nodded silently.

Jeno covered his mouth with his hand, knowing how crazy and absurd the whole thing was when he thought about it again. He finally met the person he despised and was searching for. It took him years but it was worth the wait.

"I found him."

"Who? Hyunshik?"

"No. The guy who killed him."

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