𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗦𝗞𝗜𝗡 .. nct

fifty-six

jiae rose a hesitant hand to the door before ringing the bell. she'd never been to haechan's apartment, only dropping food off at his work.

according to jaemin, the members of 127 hadn't lived together in a while. still, jiae had never met any of the 127, besides haechan and mark, and looking down at her grey sweats and the haechan t-shirt her boyfriend bought for her, she was not dressed to start.

jiae was so distracted by her own thoughts on how she'd react to meeting one of the 127 members that she completely forgot she rang the bell, and jumped in surprise when the door opened. she wasn't exactly sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't an older woman with tan skin and slightly greying roots. jiae had to admit that she was very pretty, and strangely familiar.

the woman seemed just as surprised to see jiae, her eyes widening then narrowing in suspicion. "who are you?" she asked sharply, and jiae realized how this probably looked. a random girl in a fan-made nct haechan t-shirt standing out of nct haechan's house.

jiae swallowed hard, her palms already sweating. "i, um, i-i'm a friend..."

the woman raised a brow. "a friend?"

the girl wasn't sure how to claim she wasn't a sasaeng. she was getting flashbacks to when minsu nearly bullied her off sm's property and would have laughed if not for the woman staring her down. she didn't know who this woman was to hyuck, and jiae didn't want to expose their relationship.

"who is it, mom?" a tired voice called from inside the apartment, followed by a yawn. jiae recognized it instantly, and her eyes turned as wide as saucers as she faced the woman again. "you're hyuck's mom?"

"hyuck?" she asked, confused as to why someone would be using her son's real name. "what did you say your name was, again?"

jiae released the shirt fabric she'd been nervously balling in her hand. "i'm rhee jiae—"

"jiae—!" there was a thump from inside the apartment, and a moment later, haechan's mom was pulled behind the door and he appeared instead with a small wince. he quickly covered it with a smile and pressed his cheek against the inner corner of the door to smile at the girl in the hallway. "hi."

the girl wanted to show how concerned she was, but seeing his cheek squished against the door, all she could do was smile. "hi, hyuck."

she watched as a slow blush crept up the boy's neck and settled in the tips of his ears. she realized then that she'd never called him that, not in person, at least.

"h-how are you?" she asked, surprised to see him standing. "shouldn't you be resting?"

"i—"

"yes he should!" his mom called as she pinched his ear and practically dragging him back to bed. jiae watched from the hallway as they disappeared behind a wall, where she guessed his room was. after a moment or so, haechan's mom peeked her head into view and waved jiae forward. "don't just stand out there, girlie! please, come in!"