𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 | nct taeyong

-

"I'm sorry, Tinie. I have to go, tell Doyoung that I left early today."

As quick as she can, Denny ran back home and went straight to her room. She locked the door and hid her face on the pillow, screaming her lungs out.

No, this isn't how it's supposed to turn out. This is the worst news I've ever heard in my entire life. This shouldn't be happening, this should be a dream.

Her loud sobbing brought attention to her family, each one of them grew worried for their only princess. She heard a knock on the door, followed by the worried voices of her family.

"DD, what's wrong?"
"Dear, talk to us."
"Noona, please open the door."

Just by hearing the voices of her loved ones made her melt and give in. She hesitated to move at first not wanting them to see her in that state, but she knew that she could never turn them down, so she opened the door for them.

She was quickly engulfed in a big warm hug by the three of them which made her cry even more. Her father pulled her to sit back down on her bed while her mother sushed her to calm her down. Hongjoong gave her a glass of water and tissues to wipe her tears.

When she calmed down a bit, her mother rubbed her back in comfort. "Mind sharing to us about what happened? What's wrong, DD?"

Denny honestly didn't want to share about the news she recently found out at school, she was so scared to tell her family about it. It ate her up just to get the courage to spill the truth.

As a child, she tried her best to make her parents proud of her. She wanted them to know that what they made was worth it and all their sacrifices weren't a waste of their time and effort. All her parents wanted was for her to do her best all the time and be happy with herself. That's exactly what she did and to prove that to them, she became top1 on her classes for her whole school life.

Whenever she gets a mistake or her grades decrease by a few points, she would be scared to tell her parents about it because she thought that they would scold her and be disappointed of her. However, her parents were never disappointed even when they knew about the decreasing of her grades. They were still happy and loved her the same way, no hate at all.

Because of her trying hard all the time and getting the highest grade in her class, that attitude of hers became a part of her. It became a goal for herself and not for her parents anymore. She tried her best for her own satisfaction and that's what slowly suffocated her. Getting the satisfaction from being the best of the best became her strength. The news from a while ago was her end point and now, she felt pointless.

"Mom, dad, Hongjoong, I'm so sorry." More tears came out, which her mother wiped away.

"I'm sorry, I failed to be the top1 and I'm only going to graduate as the top2. I didn't try hard enough, I'm such a disappointment."

Denny became very anxious because after she said those, all she heard was her cries and the rest of the room was silent. Her head was down, so she didn't know what was happening around her. When she looked up, she saw her family smiling at her pitifully.

"Y-you guys are not angry?" She asked completely confused.

Her parents just giggled at her question and hugged her. "My dear, seeing you like this is very surprising because we can see how determined you are to succeed. When were we ever angry at you? Never." Her mother replied in her motherly tone.

"DD, you're worrying too much. It's just a rank, at least you're one of the top students. What matters most is that you are growing up healthily, all we ask from you is for you to find your happiness." Her father added, his words comforting her.

Of course, Hongjoong also had something to say to her. "Noona, I really hate seeing you like this. Please, don't cry anymore. I love you so much, you know that."

I'm so blessed to have this family. Denny pulled them all into a tight hug and they stayed like that for a few more minutes. "Thank you guys, I love you all so much."

-

8:47 p.m. Denny had been staring at the ceiling for a good two hours, like what she usually does after school.

My parents aren't angry at me and my family is still very supportive. I'm safe now but, why does it feel like my life still lack something? I think I still lack that fun, spice and plot twist in my life. How am I supposed to find that then? I have to know, I want to enjoy life.

She dialed her best friend to ask for suggestions, "Hey, Tinie."

"Hey, you okay now?"

"Yeah, I feel better. Did you tell Doyoung?"

"Oh, I did. You called because...?"

"I need suggestions and knowing you, you have a lot in mind."

"Okay, hahaha. About what?"

"Places to find fun, spice and plot twists, I want to know."

Those three things were all she ever thought about for the whole week and she needed to know where and how to find them. She knew that Christine was a fun and outgoing person, living her life to the fullest type. At first, Christine was confused on what she meant but an idea popped in her mind.

"I have one in mind, the club."