Rumor Has It | NCT DREAM

Chapter 29

"Yes, you're right. I am in charge of Rumor Has It." Jieun said with a deep sigh as she settled back onto the couch beside Mark.

"How did that happen?" Jisung asked, curious as to how one of their closest friends could be in charge of an account that had hurt their friend group so much.

"It was started a long time ago, long before each of us got here." Mark started. "Each year, it gets passed down to a new senior. Last year, I got it from one of the seniors."

"What?" Chenle exclaimed, surprised. Mark slowly nodded, acknowledging it.

"Yup, it's kind of ironic isn't it? How I told all of you to ignore the rumors while I was posting them all." Mark said. Chenle and Jisung bobbled their heads, agreeing with his statement.

"Originally, I didn't want it. I pushed the piece of paper holding the password into the senior's hands when he gave me the account. I told him them that I didn't want to create lies." Mark confessed.

"So how did you end up running it anyways?" Jisung asked, still confused.

"There's actually a set of rules you have to follow, a small list. One of them is ensure that no one finds out your identity, which we're breaking right now. The next one is that you have to post whatever people send in, no matter how terrible it might be." Jieun explained.

"That's right, so I found out from the senior that I wouldn't be creating the rumors. But I still felt uneasy, especially since I brought all of us together by conquering the rumors. What convinced me though, was when he told me why he chose me." Mark continued.

"Who was it anyways?" Chenle asked, eager to know who the owner was before.

"Ah, I'm not sure if you remember but it was Jungwoo hyung, you know the tall quiet one. There's actually a long list. Before Jungwoo was Jaehyun and then Doyoung. Apparently there was a guy named Taeyong too, but that was before I came to the school." Mark told them.

"So why did he chose you again?" Jisung asked, bringing them back to the original topic.

"Ah yes. Rumor Has It was first created to let students let go of any grudges they held or confessions, but got corrupted along the way. Jungwoo said he chose me because he was watching us Dream members and saw how we never let the rumors bother us. He wanted us to keep that attitude, despite what was posted, and hopefully turn it back to what it was before." Mark said, before sighing deeply.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't bring it back to what it was before." Mark told them as Jieun softly patted his shoulder.

"I can understand how you feel, but to be honest, when you can see who the people that send in the rumors are, you feel bad for them. You know that they're all suffering deeply inside, their only outlet, possibly the only person that they can talk to is you." Jieun said to them.

"Do people ever ask to just talk?" Chenle asked. Mark and Jieun nodded.

"Sometimes, the rumors that come in are terrible, when you can't help but ask if the student is okay. Eventually, you end up talking to them, and one day, you become their only friend even though they don't even know what you look like." Mark admitted.

"That's why we decided to keep it running, despite all the bad things it brings." Jieun said, a small smile on her face.

"I can kind of understand that." Jisung said. Chenle nodded in agreement.

"That's good, I hope that you two keep it between us." Mark said, patting their heads.

"On one condition." Chenle said, a mischievous grin on his face as he exchanged looks with Jisung.

"Sure, what is it?" Mark asked, eyes wide.

...

Renjun smiled as he watched Areum admire each of the displays, a large grin on her face. The two of them took pictures plenty of pictures, savouring their moments together.

Eventually it was time to leave and they made their way to Renjun's car, hand in hand.

"You know," Renjun started, looking at the girl beside him. "I'm glad Jaemin couldn't come."

Areum chuckled at his words. "Why?"

"Because I got to come here with you instead." Renjun said, smiling as he avoided her eyes shyly. Areum couldn't help but smile to herself at his sweet words.

When they arrived at his car, they sat there for a moment, waiting for the car to warm up. That's when Areum felt like she had been holding in her feelings for too long. She took a deep breath as she squeezed her hands, mustering as much strength as possible.

"Renjun, I like you." Areum said, exhaling deeply. She turned to look at the boy beside her for his reaction but Renjun's face was blank, staring into his lap.

Crap, was it too soon? Does he not feel the same way? The thoughts ran through her head, making Areum feel dizzy. She felt tears begin to form in her eyes, blinking them away as fast as possible. She clenched her jaw as nausea filled her stomach, feeling sick to the core.

"You know what, forget i-" Areum was cut off but Renjun's voice.

"I like you too." Renjun said softly. He turned to look at her.

"I'm sorry if I took too long to say that, I just... no words could come to me. When you confessed, I just felt like I couldn't breath for a second." Renjun told her. Areum didn't know how to feel.

"Ah that didn't come out right either." Renjun said, ruffling his own hair. Areum couldn't help but giggle at how distressed her confession made him. Renjun finally looked up.

"What I meant to say is that I like you too, and I felt so happy when you told me you liked me that I just didn't know what to say." Renjun said with a small nod, finally satisfied with what came out of his mouth.

"Will you be my boyfriend then?" Areum asked, a glint of hope in her eyes.

"Gladly." Renjun said, reaching out to give Areum's hand a soft squeeze before starting the car.

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:)