Better Than Gold • Lee Jeno

1 • The Dream

"Okay, I'll give you five seconds to wake up."

"5...4...3...2...1..."

"Oh, he's not waking up." Chenle scoffed, pinching the bridge of his nose in disbelief. He inhaled as much air as he could and bam! "LEE JENO, WAKE UP!!! I SAID GET UP!!!" He shouted at Jeno that the poor guy jolted up from his slumber.

"Damn, Zhong! Did you eat a megaphone for breakfast or something? If my eardrums burst, it's your fault." Jeno mumbled, almost inaudible as he lifted the sheets over his head finding comfort in his bed again.

"Seriously? Jeno, can you please get up. We have a long day ahead of us. We don't want to be late." He shook Jeno that looks like a log lying in bed. "Okay, fine. I'm leaving in 15 minutes. I don't want to be nagged by Renjun for an hour."

Jeno suddenly sat up and walked straight to the bathroom as soon as he heard Renjun's name leaving an awed Chenle still sitting on the bed.

"Well, that worked. Renjun's name card never declines, I guess." Chenle said to himself as he walked out of Jeno's room.

Lee Jeno, a millionaire extraordinaire, born to a high society powerhouse family. A young bachelor that is ready to be clawed by the women of his status alike. But Jeno doesn't see the world like that. He is not your typical rich kid that only cares about money, fame, and hierarchy. He was raised as a fine, well-mannered gentleman by his loving and down-to-earth parents. Grateful that he is also surrounded by friends who value loyalty over riches and enjoys the freedom of life as it is and not take it for granted. As cheesy as it sounds but Jeno is perfection personified.

"And that was 13 minutes. Let's go, Chenle!" Jeno announced as he ran down the stairs to meet his human alarm clock.

"Oh, thank God. I thought we were going to be late. I was about to leave you, actually. I'll drive, I brought my car." Chenle said as he jogged his way to the Lee's garage.

"By the way, have you seen Mark?"

"Yeah, I did. I saw him in the hallway on my way to your room a while ago." Chenle paused, "Jeno, why can't you be like Mark? Your brother is always punctual and-"

"Chenle, why can't you be like Mark?" Jeno cut off Chenle's early morning blabbering. "My brother goes to the office every day and is the responsible CEO that he is."

"Hello? I am literally a silent partner. I am only needed for the capital, not in the office. That's being responsible in my own way." Chenle defended himself.

"Yeah, whatever." Jeno answered in defeat. "Eyes on the road, please."

"Want to grab a coffee?" Chenle asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Sure."

"Ask the guys, too. They might want something from the cafe. Don't call Renjun, he's busy for sure."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Call Jisung. He told me he's in the museum already. How can this kid wake up so early? We were with Hyuck last night. As usual, we went home late."

Jeno just shrugged at the statement.

Jeno got off the car and went straight to the cafe and ordered their preferred beverages. He came back with their morning liquid batteries a few minutes later. The drive was smooth and relatively quick from the cafe.

"We're here." Chenle said as he stopped the car at the museum's entrance and gave the car keys to the valet.

"Fucking finally!" Jisung exhaled as he welcomed the two at the entrance getting the other coffee drinks from Jeno. "What took you so long?"