Mr. No || NCT || Completed

15 - Where no one eats the fruits

Jaemin and Chaewon stared at Renjun for a good while.

"You are going to do what now?" Jaemin's voice was monotonous and his big eyes were filled with questions. He was holding onto his coffee cup so tightly that his knuckles were turning white and the cup looked like it might break any second.

Renjun stood up. His heart was beating in a restless tempo. "I will speak with you and others after work", he promised. Then he turned to glare at Chaewon who was still staring at him with wide eyes. "Was this dramatic enough to entertain you?"

The scathing bite of his words startled her and she dropped her gaze to her drink. "I... I didn't - "

It was the first time he heard such uncertainty in her voice but Renjun didn't have the patience for it. "I have to get back to work."

His half-finished sandwich was left on the table.

***

When the apartment door closed and let out a happy little melody to tell Renjun that it was securely locked, he was met with an anticipatory silence. The apartment was usually never quiet if people were home so clearly Jaemin had told everyone what he had heard in the café and they were waiting for him to explain himself.

"We're in the living room", Jeno's voice informed him through the wall when he got to the kitchen. "Can we talk?"

Renjun exhaled and counted to five. He didn't want to talk about it at all but there was no other option, so he dragged himself to the living room, trying to mentally prepare for whatever would be ahead.

It was almost like an intervention. All of the members living in the apartment were waiting for him and Mark was there too. Someone had made tea and cut fruits but no one was eating or drinking. Jisung and Chenle were seated on the armchairs, Yujin sat on the floor, and Mark, Haechan, Jeno and Jaemin had spread out on one of the couches. The living room of the apartment was big enough to fit the entire pack of over 20 people but at that moment it felt cramped.

Mark was the one to speak up first. While he lived with the older pack members, someone - most likely Jeno or Jaemin - had invited him over since he was still their unofficial leader. "Jaemin told us something a bit surprising after visiting the café today."

Renjun sat on the empty couch. There would've been space on the other couch as well but he needed space. "You don't need to beat around the bush", he looked at the carpet underneath his new black-and-blue slippers, "I'm getting married."

"He was being serious?" Jeno mumbled to Jaemin.

Chenle swore silently in Mandarin.

"Since when?" Mark was trying to keep things professional. "Where is this coming from?"

A fresh cup of tea was handed to Renjun, and when he looked up, he saw Jisung's worried eyes. He accepted the tea despite not being thirsty. At least its warmth gave him something to focus on other than the carpet and his slippers.

This was the reason why he hadn't wanted to speak to the pack about the entire thing. He didn't want anyone to think that he blamed them. It had been his plan to do his all to avoid walking down the aisle, and then just never mention it to the pack but Chaewon's stupid suggestions had pushed him into a corner unexpectedly.

Renjun took a sip from the cup. "Ever since I needed to ask my father use his diplomatic connections and special privileges to get Yujin and Jisung out of country last spring."

Last spring had been hectic, to say the least. While Renjun had been poisoned by poachers, making him lose his doubler abilities, Yujin and Jisung had fled to Norway with Chenle because the poachers had known too much about them. They had been forced to leave on a short notice, and to top it all off, Yujin had been living on a false ID and Jisung hadn't had a valid ID at all.