we the cursed, nct dream ✔

the end pt. 2

Haechan obliges, and after the couple helps him choose something to wear, they're both gone. He's presuming everyone's been told to be there before him. About ten minutes to, he hops into his car and starts driving to the venue he's been texted. The party isn't a surprise; he knows it's happening, but the details of how it's going to be were not disclosed to him.

Haechan unbuckles his seatbelt with a little sigh and gets out to stride inside the bar, shoving the hands into his trouser pockets as he tentatively pushes the door open with a shoulder.

His eyes pop wide open.

"Happy birthday!" a crowd of over at least a hundred people cheers.

And, despite himself, Haechan smiles.

He takes in his surroundings in awe. His friends have gone all out for tonight. The bar is beautifully decorated, unrecognizable. And, evidently as some kind of practical joke, selfies of his have been blown up and hung up near the front of the hall. Not to mention that everybody who means something to him is here, from his closest friends to his classmates.

Well, nearly everybody.

He allows his mood to lift as he ventures further into the bar, the slightest bit uneasy with all the eyes staring at him. Jaemin comes forward to blow a party horn in Haechan's face and snaps a party hat onto his head.

"Well?" Chenle demands once everything is set, ever-impatient. "What do you think?"

"I love it," Haechan replies sincerely, and they all cheer again.

The next hour or so is a whirlwind. Everyone sings Haechan happy birthday, which he pretends not to feel awkward at, and then his closest friends come up to say a few words and actually give their speeches as if he was dead, which is simultaneously endearing and mortifying. And then the bartender starts tending and the dance floor opens up and the party rages.

Haechan socializes for as long as he can before finally growing tired and retreating to one of the private rooms in the back that isn't currently utilized by some handsy couple - really, they couldn't wait? - and relaxes onto one of the couches. It's been a long day.

And this is an almost perfect end to it.

He flutters his eyes closed, a wave of tiredness suddenly washing over him. Then he remembers that he needs to call Juno. He checks the clock. Past one am. New York is thirteen hours behind, so she should be up. He starts to open up her contact when he hears footsteps outside the curtain that closes off the room.

Haechan rolls his eyes. It doesn't matter how many times he explains that he has a girlfriend; people keep asking him to dance. They see nothing wrong with it, but he'd rather not, so he's only been on the floor with his friend group tonight.

He hears the curtain swish aside. "I'm not dancing," he deadpans, keeping his attention trained on his phone screen.

"Not even with me?"

The voice stops his heart.

Haechan lifts his gaze slightly, almost afraid to look before him. Because there's absolutely no way. Maybe he's started hearing things.

"No, your hearing is perfectly fine," Juno says, even though Haechan didn't say anything.

Finally, finally, he glances up. And there she is, in the flesh. Right there. In a silk midnight black gown and her magenta hair pulled up into a twist with chandelier earrings glinting at her lobes, and her lips stretched into a bright smile that dims with every passing second that he doesn't reply.

He'd forgotten just how beautiful she was. Or maybe this ethereal image is actually just an illusion or hologram or something.

"Donghyuck." Juno cocks her head. "Aren't you gonna talk-"