Rumor Has It | NCT DREAM

Chapter 28

Renjun took a deep breath, rubbing his hands against his pants before knocking on the door. The sun had set, the sky was dark, revealing the moon and the stars.

Tonight was the night of his date with Areum, and he had an exciting plan prepared. His outfit was something simple, a white knit turtleneck with black pants, a long beige coat overtop. Winter was close and with the temperature dropping, his layers helped keep him warm.

The door opened, revealing Areum. She wore a beige blouse, tucked into a knit skirt with black tights, a chocolate coloured coat overtop. She smiled as she saw Renjun standing in front of her.

"Ready to go?" Renjun asked, a smile on his face. Areum nodded, stepping out as she closed the door behind her. The two of them entered Renjun's car, soon on the road towards their destination.

"Where are we going?" Areum asked him as they drove. She was curious as Renjun had asked her to dress warmly.

"Can you open the compartment in front of you?" Renjun asked. Areum gave him a look before following the instructions he gave her. When she opened the compartment she saw two tickets sitting inside.

"Is this for us?" Areum asked him.

"Yeah, you can take a look at them." Renjun told her. Areum reached out, taking the tickets in her hands. Her mouth hung opened as she realized that they were tickets to an outdoor light art exhibition, one that she had wanted to go to but the tickets had sold out so quickly.

"How did you get these? They were sold out for months!" Areum exclaimed. Renjun returned a small shrug.

"I was bored so I applied to some random art competition and won them a while back. I was going to bring Jaemin, but he cancelled last minute because of... things." Renjun confessed. Areum felt a bit disappointed that she was his second choice, but she was still glad that she got the opportunity to attended the event.

Her disappointment had completely disappeared by the time they arrived, excitement filling her as she saw the lights.

"It's so beautiful." Areum exclaimed as she looked out the window. Renjun gave her a small smile as he parked the car.

"It'll be prettier when we get inside." Renjun said, as he got out of the car. He quickly ran to the other side, opening the door for Areum.

"Thank you." Areum said as Renjun helped her out. She felt Renjun's hand lace with hers as the two of them made their way to the entrance of the exhibition.

...

"Ah I lost again!" Jisung exclaimed, making Chenle smirk. He had won the third game in a row.

"It's getting late, we should get you two home." Mark said from the couch, his arm around Jieun as the two sat there, watching the two boys play.

Mark was visiting home for the weekend, deciding to spend some time with the boys and Jieun while the seniors were busy. Haechan was rehearsing with Soojung, Jeno with Haneul, Renjun was on a date, and Jaemin was avoiding their gatherings. The four remaining decided to spend the evening at their favourite place, their hangout.

"It's only 8!" Chenle whined as he checked the time. The couple chuckled at their behaviour.

"You've been gaming for a while, maybe you should do something else." Jieun suggested. The two boys let out a deep sigh before turning off the gaming system.

"Wait, I have a question. What's going on between Jaemin and my sister?" Mark asked the boys.

"Mina was getting hate notes in her locker and terrible social media posts from Rumor Has It." Chenle told him. He noticed Mark's eyes widen at the mention of the social media page.

"Yeah, Renjun says its also because Mina likes Jaemin but Jaemin always says he doesn't want a relationship so she feels like he's leading her on." Jisung added.

"We tried suggesting confessing his feelings through Rumor Has It since they post everything you send in anyways and Mina won't talk to him but he just got mad and left." Chenle continued but Mark held up his hand, signalling that he heard enough.

"So my sister is being attacked by this social media page?" Mark asked. The two boys nodded. Chenle watched as Mark turned to face Jieun, clearly angry.

"And you didn't tell me about it?" Mark exclaimed, his tone louder than usual. Jieun slid backwards, holding her hands up in defence.

"Don't you still follow it, I thought you could see the posts too!" Jieun said back to him. Mark shook his head. Chenle exchanged looks with Jisung, both knowing that a large fight was about to happen.

"I stopped following it a long time ago! That stupid thing ruined my life!" Mark yelled, standing up. By now, it was evident to Chenle that the two of them were in their own little world, oblivious to the two boys sitting on the floor, watching.

"Don't act like it's not ruining mine too. You know that better than anyone else." Jieun said, standing up to face Mark.

"Mina was being targeted and you didn't do anything. I thought as your boyfriend, you would at least tell me!" Mark yelled once again.

"You know the rules Mark. I can't do anything about it and we both know that!" Jieun yelled back.

Rules? Chenle thought. He looked towards Jisung who wore the same look of confusion.

"Goddammit, I knew I shouldn't have given you the account." Mark said, turning away as he pulled his hair.

"You know that all I can do is post whatever they send me, whether I like it or not." Jieun said, grabbing Mark's arm to turn him back towards her.

"Wait, what account?" Jisung finally said, causing the couple to remember Chenle and Jisung's presence. They both let out loud gasps as they covered their mouths.

Chenle's eyes widened as he finally realized what they were talking about.

"You're Rumor Has It!"

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:)