nct oneshots [2020-2023]

f i r s t l o v e

chensung
2022. 04. 29
playing: just friend, nanon korapat

chenle often thinks about his first love, maybe even a little too much. he thinks about him so much that everything seems to remind him of his first love. park jaewook was chenles dream guy. he was tall, had dark hair and a nice smile but was also respectful, sweet and humble. he wasn't just chenles first love but a lot of other people's crush as well. he had all the traits chenle looks for in a partner but it was too bad it wasn't the right time. jaewook meant a lot to chenle but to jaewook chenle was just a junior in his club. chenle never had the chance to confess neither did he ever want to. although he enjoyed watching jaewook play basketball with his friends or sing at the local bar chenle never felt the need to let jaewook know of his feelings.

12 years later chenle still thinks about park jaewook occasionally. now working as a full time scriptwriter chenle has always dreamed of writing a script based on his first own love but his romantic ideas were always seen as either too dramatic and unrealistic or not pleasing enough for the audience and although many of chenles ideas have ended up on his tv screen none of them were fully developed by him and a lot of changes had to be made. he was, of course, aware of  these changes even before starting to write but one major change was always made. since a bl project never ever got accepted by the higher ups and he never understood why. he thought that it could be due to sponsorship issues and that not many companies would want to sponsor a bl show but chenle always thought that the genre was an important part of the show and a major change but he was just an average employee with no power or connections therefore he never got the opportunity until now.

"i'm giving you the ladder why don't you have the courage to just climb it? i think highly of you and i'm aware of your work's quality and for this reason i don't want to give someone else your ladder" these words stuck with chenle but he was confused. he finally got the opportunity to write a romance series with no restrictions so why was he hesitating now? after jaewook and chenle both graduated chenle never felt any sort of love towards anyone else and til this day he has never fallen in love with anyone but jaewook. he cherished that innocent love though, it began with just pure adoration.  chenle always seemed to notice whenever jaewook would be playing basketball or just hanging out with his friends and those simple acts always managed to bring a smile on chenle's face but he could never find the answer as to why and how that adoration became such strong love that lasted practically a life time.

"I haven't written a romance that got accepted before so I'm just a little nervous" chenle explains to his boss who gives him a nod back. "I'm sure you'll do a wonderful job darling. you got this" she says before giving chenle a pat on the shoulder. as chenle's boss takes her leave chenle looks outside the window. he sees beautiful cherry blossoms starting to grow as the sunlight shines subtlety. spring was jaewook's favourite season, he thought. "focus" chenle whispers to himself.

soon the shooting startes and after a few days the director asks chenle "how are their feelings growing if they only admire each other" and that makes chenle wonder. did they have potential? could they have been close if chenle confessed? all these thoughts start to wander around chenle's head.
being the scriptwriter chenle didn't have a strict schedule he had to follow and because of that he decided to take a couple of days off both to clear his head but also to find answer to the director's question.
after his request got approved chenle found himself in busan far away from his small apartment in incheon. far away from his loud colleagues and most importantly far away from anything that can remind him of jaewook. as chenle takes small steps off the stairs he looks around the train station and smiles. he's alone once again but with time that loneliness became a form of comfort. he loves being alone and being alone doesn't necessarily mean you're lonely. some people just enjoy not having anyone else's presence and chenle just happens to be one of those people. before even properly planning the trip chenle decided he has to go to a club or a bar for the first time.

and here he was. standing in front of a club without any confidence. he takes a deep breath before pulling his id out while walking towards the entrance. he hands the guard his id and watches as he gets scanned from head to toe. a few seconds later the guard nods at him and moves to create space. chenle nods back while grabbing his id. as chenle walks through the narrow hallway he sees people making out and a few smoking. and when he finally gets inside the club he can't help but want to go back out immediately but he knows if not now then when. chenle wonders if he should sit by the bar or not for now and he ends up acting upon the tought. he walks over and sits on one of the few empty spots. "surprise me with anything light" he says towards the bartender who smiles at him. chenle turns around and sees all the sweaty bodies moving against each other. while admiring others chenle fails to see that the bartender drugged his drink with an unknown powder. when chenle gets a tap on the shoulder he turns around and smiles at the bartender as he hands him his drink.

chenle notices how fast he's getting drunk despite not being a lightweight but he decides to not think about it much. as chenle takes shaky steps towards the middle he feels a pair of arms around his waist. he turns and tries to make out a face but with his vision being practically blurry it was impossible. chenle groans trying to get the person's arms off but they don't budge. while chenle continues to struggle he only feels the person get closer and closer to the point where his body was completely squished by the other person and vice versa. after continuing to struggle for a few more minutes chenle notices a few people looking their way but no one bothered to help. "stop" chenle continued saying while trying to get the other person off himself. "he told you to stop" chenle suddenly hears. he looks up and sees another tall figure who brings his arm up and signals something and a few seconds later all music was turned off. chenle feels his wrist get snatched and he feels himself getting squished on another body. he looks up and squints as he sees a good looking guy probably in his early 20s unlike chenle himself. more than the young looking features chenle couldn't see much due to the dim lighting and blurry vision. "i don't allow such acts in my club" he says before, once again, signalling something to someone and only a few seconds later chenle could see the previous tall figure get dragged by two buff men. chenle looks up at the handsome man once again but doesn't move his body away from his.
"I'm sure you were surprised. I apologize" the young man says as he sits chenle down and hands him a bottle of water. "it's okay no need for YOU to apologize" chenle answers. as he starts to sober up he can't help but stare at the other guy's face. "It's my club so my responsibility. I would like to apologize once again" he answers as he bows his head down. instead of replying chenle just continues to stare at the guy. "I'm park jisung btw, hasn't anyone told you it's rude to stare?" the taller man says once he brought his head up. "oh sorry I didn't mean to" chenle says as he quickly looks down at his lap. he hears the other chuckle before kneeling down to chenle's height. "I've never met anyone like you. you're cute" he says as he puts one of his hands on chenles hair while the other is under his tilted head. chenle looks up with wide eyes at the man and only then realizes how close they actually were. he feels as if time stops. will he learn how to love again?