delayed | nct yuwin ☾

04

Only a few days had passed since Sicheng returned to Korea, but in that time, all Hell broke loose. He had reluctantly informed his other friends of the switch, causing him to be teased for a good while. To his surprise, Ten called him up one day and told him to meet him at the park. He typically only hung out with Johnny, so it was admittedly suspicious behavior.

Sicheng wore the sweater Johnny got him for Christmas and set out. It was bitterly cold, but he pulled through. After walking a few blocks in the 29-degree weather, he, indeed, spotted Ten sitting on a park bench.

"Why did you want me to meet you here? It's so cold!" Sicheng exclaimed, shivering.

"Listen, I know Yuta." He froze as if he hadn't already, letting Ten continue. "I met him a few months ago...I'll explain later. Just run back home and bring the suitcase to the coffee shop on the corner. Remember to be there at 11."

"Will you be there?"

Ten chuckled. "Maybe for a little while but I have to be at work soon. I'll probably be there for a good five minutes."

With that, Sicheng huffed and ran back home.

This time, he told himself, he'll take a jacket. He had only around ten minutes to get ready, and he oddly felt the need to impress. He put on a bit of setting makeup and took off his glasses, instead putting in colored prescription contacts which changed his usually dark irises to a bright blue.

He threw on a heavy jacket over his sweater, making sure to grab the gold ring laying on the dresser before he left. The ring wasn't meant to impress anyone, despite what one may think. It was a beautiful ring that he was given as a Christmas gift from his mother. It was thin and had little golden music notes around it. On his long, slender fingers, it looked so delicate, similar to the bearer.

Sicheng walked quickly to the coffee shop, which was luckily just around the corner from his apartment. The purple suitcase trailed behind him, making an unnoticeable ruckus on the loud streets of Seoul. Upon arriving at the shop, he peered in through the glass surrounding the door, checking for Yuta. He didn't see him yet. He did, however, see Ten sitting at a small table alone with a styrofoam cup of coffee in front of him.

He walked in, the bell chiming with the opening of the door. Ten turned his head, smiling and waving at him. Sicheng stepped over and sat down across from him, looking around anxiously.

"Oh gosh, you don't like like him, do you?"

He snapped his head towards the older male, realizing what he had been doing. He scratched the back of his neck on instinct and just rested his chin in his palm.

A few minutes later, Sicheng sprung upward upon hearing the bell chime and seeing the tall, foreign boy walk toward them. Yuta greeted Sicheng, who stood up and shook his hand, bowing constantly.

Yuta laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Hey hey, calm down. Remember, I told you that you don't need to bow."

Ten stood up and flung an arm around his shoulder, causing him to let go of the younger. "Don't worry, he's just uptight."

Yuta nodded in understanding.

When he noticed that Sicheng was still standing and gesturing for him to sit in his seat, Yuta chuckled. "Sit down. I'll just pull up another chair."

While he was gone venturing to other tables, Ten leaned in to Sicheng. "You're so obvious. Be chill." He whispered.

Sicheng aggressively whispered back, "I don't like him!"

"We'll see about that."

Yuta returned with a chair, sitting at their table. He had turned to Sicheng specifically and squinted his eyes before exclaiming, "You're not wearing your glasses! What a shame, you looked so cute with them on."

"Didn't he?" Ten nudged his side.

"Mm."

Sicheng was madly flustered, so much that he couldn't look either of them in the eye. Instead, he stared down at his hands in his lap and fidgeted with his ring.

"Listen, you guys will have to work this out. Switch suitcases, talk, do whatever, but I gotta get to work. I'll see you later!" Ten sat up and began rushing out of the coffee shop, leaving the two alone.

Yuta lifted Sicheng's head up by his chin. Their eyes met, the Chinese boy's darting elsewhere. Panicking, he swiftly moved his head and brought his arms from in his lap onto the table in front of him. Yuta was a little startled.

The next few moments were filled with silence between them, before Yuta broke it by leaning down and examining his fingers. "That's a nice ring. It has notes on it...do you like music?"

Sicheng nodded and smiled slightly. "Yeah I uh...I play piano..."

"Naturally. You have the hands of a pianist, you know."

"So I'm told."

After a while, their tension had settled down. They ordered their coffee and conversated for another five or so minutes before Sicheng had decided it was time for him to leave. He stood up, taking his coffee in his hand and grabbing his own suitcase this time. He bid farewell to Yuta sadly as he was too shy to do anything else.

Walking out of the shop, he felt a firm grip on his arm. Turning around, he saw Yuta towering down at him.

"Can we meet again sometime?"

Sicheng hesitated. It's not as though he didn't want to see Yuta again, but he was often very awkward alone. So there he was, staring down once again, cursing at Ten under his breath for leaving him. "Oh...uh, sure."

Yuta lips curved into a smooth smile as he pulled his phone from his pocket, giving it to him. Sicheng did the same and made his effort to quickly type his number into the contacts without making it obvious that he was shaking.

Once finished, he handed the phone back to him, taking his own from Yuta's hand and slipping it into his pocket. Sicheng bowed out of habit before leaving, only to get playfully scolded as he left.

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so uh

I don't know about all of you, but I really love characters like Sicheng in this book that are portrayed as soft and fragile. Idk they're so cute ☺️

What did you think of this chapter? Let me know!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Merry Christmas Eve!🎄🎄🎄