criminals°nct dream [slow updates]

thirteen: "lethally hot"

Students are bustling and busy everywhere as the time for the school's charity festival approaches.

Every class is busy with preparing all the props needed for their chosen theme or idea.

Some choose to open up cafes, some decide to do costume rents and etcetera.

And Aera's class? Makeup and face painting.

"Hey, it's your turn next to get painted. People are coming soon so you need to be ready to promote our activity," her classmate, Yiren, tells when she meets her in the bathroom and Aera nods.

She returns to her classroom, not exactly the most enthusiastic but doesn't hate the idea either.

Nara greets her at the door. "Oh, great! You should sit down before somone cuts the queue!"

"Where's the painter?" Aera asks at why they're being so late.

"He's on his way."

"Shouldn't he be in his own classroom waiting by now? Did he miss homeroom or what?"

Nara's brows pull together in confusion. "He's not in this class."

"What?" Aera sounds, puzzled when silence takes over the room and both she and Nara turn to the figure entering.

The first gapes in shock when Renjun takes the chair in front of her, the seat assigned for her class' makeup artist and she whips her head to Nara.

"He's our makeup artist?" Aera asks with pure disbelief. "He's not even in our class!"

Nara rubs her nape guiltily since she's one of the people in charge of ideas. "We couldn't think of anything else to do that won't be the same as others but, our class don't have talented enough artists in it so..."

The other girl rises from her seat with irritation. "Find yourself another model then."

She's just about to walk away when Renjun grasps her arm and she instantly scowls.
"Let go."

"Oh, come on. You've wasted enough of my time complaining like a brat. I'm doing your class a favour, you know?" He tries to guilt trip her and Aera's fingers curl to a fist.

Nara then, leans in to her ear. "Please, Aera. It was hard enough convincing him to do this for us."

The said girl looks at her before at the cockily grinning Renjun whose brow is raised up like he's already won.

"Fine," Aera sighs and reluctantly sits.

A scoff emits from the lad in front and he gets the equipment ready to paint her face.

"If it makes you feel better, I'm not that bad of an artist," Renjun strikes up a conversation.

"I don't care," she snaps.

"Are you just going to keep hurting me like this?" He grunts in pain dramatically as he draws black shadows around her eyes to make a sleepless look- going for a more olden style vampire image.

She scoffs. "Not if you keep your mouth shut."

Renjun doesn't bother trying after as he becomes more focused on doing her makeup.

Feeling bored as time passes, Aera finds herself observing him- how his brows knit and relax according to his satisfaction level towards his drawings, how he chews on his bottom lip slightly, how his movements are so gentle that at times it's like a feather brushing against her skin.

Looking at him now, he looks completely harmless.

"Part your lips a bit. I have to make the centre a bit darker than the rest," he says and she obliges- letting him paint her inner lips in an almost black crimson tone.

He then, spreads the tint using his finger- wiping his thumb on her painted lips to make the colour stray to the side as if she wiped the blood of her victim after devouring them.

"All done," he says and Aera stands.

She checks her reflection in the small mirror and her brows raise in amazement at his work.

She actually looks... amazing. Renjun wasn't at all lying about his skills.

"Wow, Aera! You look hot! Lethally hot!" Nara praises and purrs flirtatiously- only making the subject give her a disgusted look.

Aera then, turns to Renjun. "Thanks. You're right about not being bad at this."

Renjun nods with a sheepish grin and skillfully twirls the brush in his fingers before putting it on his ear. "I'm only one call away if you need meㅡ"

"Busy!" She shouts and she rushes out the class.

The boy shakes his head in disbelief yet, once again, amused and is just about to clean his hands when he remembers his thumb that touched her lips.

Its pad is still wet with the red tint and he wipes it down the side of his throat before looking at it from the small mirror.

A corner of his lips hook up. "Is there a bigger mirror that I can use?"