Rumor Has It | NCT DREAM

Chapter 8

Chenle smiled as he read the new article on his phone.

The Truth is Never Simple: Zhong Chenle

Rumor Has It is a popular social media page, followed by many students. Recently, they have released various posts, which may not necessarily contain the truth. This new segment of our school's newspaper, has interviewed parties involved and its sole purpose is to bring light to what may not been on the surface.

Today, we are focusing the post made in regards to Zhong Chenle, a junior and his dear friend Jisung.

...

"Noona, I think a lot of people read your article." Jisung whispered to Mina, a small smile spreading across her face as she watched the pile of snacks on Chenle's tray grow by the minute. Students came by, apologizing for spreading the rumor about him without knowing the truth. Chenle simply smiled, accepting their apologies and snacks.

"Thanks for sharing." Renjun said, grabbing a bag of chips from the pile. Chenle snatched it from his hand.

"Hey, you have so many!" Renjun exclaimed, a pout slowly forming. Chenle shook his head.

"I want to give a snack to noona first." Chenle said, passing the bag to Mina. Mina smiled taking the bag in her hands.

"I didn't do much, I just told the truth." Mina said, with a smile. Chenle smiled back at her before passing another bag to Renjun.

"Let's hope this positivity continues." Jeno said to the group, taking a juice box himself.

...

"More love letters?" Jaemin asked as his eyes followed the red papers on the ground by Haechan's feet. Haechan reached down, picking the papers up and reading it.

"Nope." Haechan said, passing one of them to his friend.

Why do you pretend to like girls when it's so obvious?

Jaemin crumpled the paper up, grabbing the rest from Haechan's hands before throwing them all into the trash bin.

"Let's go." Jaemin said, pulling his car keys from his pocket.

...

Jeno slammed his phone down, tired of the constant messages he was receiving. His friends' eyes followed down to his phone while Jeno focused on the game he was playing.

"Is she texting you again?" Renjun asked, looking up from his sketchbook. Jeno stayed silent so Renjun grabbed his phone that was still buzzing from all the messages.

Haerim
Don't you care about me?

Haerim
All the times you said you loved me

Haerim
Was it all false?

Haerim
We're you just playing with my feelings?

Haerim
Wow, you're really the same as Jaemin, aren't you?

This girl had the audacity to bring up Jaemin's rumor, Renjun thought to himself before angrily typing a back a response.

Jeno
Hi, this is Renjun. Jeno is currently studying with me so if you continue messaging, I'm going to have to block you.

Renjun placed the phone beside Jeno, satisfied with his actions, before returning his attention to his sketchbook. He looked at his drawings, but it was clear that he no longer was inspired. He sighed as he got up, walking towards the dinning room where Mina was furiously typing on her laptop.

"What are you doing?" Renjun asked, taking a seat between Mina and Jieun.

"Listing ten million reasons why Jisung is like any other student." Mina replied, eyes glued to her laptop.

"I'm glad these articles are working. I heard Jeno's been getting less hate too, after you explained what happened between him and the other captain." Jieun said. It was true, Jeno's locker had filled with apology notes after Mina had released an article explaining Jeno's rumor. On the other hand, Kim Haerim, Jeno's ex-girlfriend, had been texting Jeno non-stop asking him to date her again.

"Haerim won't stop texting Jeno." Renjun told the two girls. Mina stopped typing and Jieun looked up from her homework.

"She's texting him?" Jieun asked. Renjun nodded.

"Non-stop." Renjun added.

"What happened between the two?" Mina asked, closing her laptop. Renjun and Jieun exchanged looks, forgetting that the girl had recently joined the group.

"She's toxic." They looked up as Jeno and Jaemin entered the room, their game finished. They took a seat at the table.

"Haerim was obsessive and controlling. She didn't like the boys either, especially not Jaemin, since we spent so much time together. She even made me sit with her in all our classes, and made me take fashion as my free period with her." Jeno shuddered at the thought.

"This is why I don't want a relationship." Jaemin added, making the others laugh.

"Are you gossiping about me?" Haechan asked, pulling up a chair. Chenle and Jisung followed him.

"If your name is Kim Haerim." Renjun said, making Haechan fake gag.

"God, I hate that girl. She once messed up our chemistry experiment because she was mad that she was partnered with me instead of Jeno." Haechan told the group.

"Isn't she with that captain that we played against?" Chenle said, grabbing a chip from the bowl in the middle. Jaemin shook his head.

"No, apparently that guy wasn't attractive enough for her." Jaemin said, pulling the bowl closer to him.

"Is that why he was so happy he won?" Jieun suggested. The rest tilted their heads, thinking about the situation.

Suddenly, the phones on the table all buzzed. Renjun picked his phone up, looking at the new social media post.

Rumor has it that Lee Jeno isn't over Kim Haerim and Huang Renjun keeps interfering. Renjun probably likes her and is jealous.

~ Anonymous

"You have got to be kidding me."

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