❝Uhmm, what the fuck is that?❞
❝Oh my God, that is our baby!❞
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One fake baby. Two new-adults. And a rollercoaster journey to Project Parenthood. How hard that can be?
A HUANG RENJUN FANFICTION
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The Greenwood neighborhood just outside the north gate of NCU wasn't nearly as posh as the Pinegrove neighborhood or as pompous as Gatsby Avenue housing the Vice Chancellor and his lackeys. But it attracted a wide mix of residents, especially students with rich daddies and celebrity mommies who had no qualms about relying on their family's laurels to tackle hurdles.
Real money and connections also came with the power of authority which put stupid new adults on pedestals of admiration among the common masses. These students glittered the houses with frat parties throughout the week. A fair share of NCU's drug busts happened here.
From the other side of the road, Sieun watched the roving cruiser lights dance upon the area, alternating blotches of red and blue, ambulances wailing, and men in uniform handcuffing the perpetrators. It wasn't a drug bust, but a slew of dumb students who had deemed filling the pool with fuel and setting it on fire to be a good way to entertain the guests.
Sieun gagged when she inhaled the stench of lingering petrol and smoke, feeling the bile in her stomach crawling up her throat. The flaring cruiser lights made her vision waver. Yet, she didn't move, oddly invested in the drama unfolding before her.
Or perhaps, she was shilly-shallying, doing everything to dawdle their arrival at Renjun's place because her brain had started second-guessing her decision the moment she stepped out of the campus gates. Who knows?
Renjun, utterly exhausted from the day's happenings, snatched a handful of Sieun's hoodie and yanked her into motion, urging them both into a steady walk. He was more interested in the bed that awaited his arrival at his home instead of a bunch of stupid students. Besides, he didn't want to get swept up with the crowd and get asked difficult questions like why they were strolling around with a fake baby and what was inside the duffle bag he was holding.
Silence engulfed the two as they distanced themselves from the crime scene. They didn't know how long they walked, the blocks passing in a haze of uniform fronts until Renjun discerned the familiar-looking apartment with stark lines, wide windows, and stucco walls. He led her up the stairs, clasping the banister with sweaty hands, and arrived on the second floor.
The keys rattled when he unlocked unit '2C'.
"Welcome," he said, holding the door open for her to enter first. Tonight was the first night he had invited a woman to his little abode. "It's a little messy inside. I left for your place in a hurry. I hope you don't mind."
"It's alright⸺" Sieun couldn't finish the words after taking in the state of the place.
The entryway she was standing in opened up to the living room, giving her a clear view of the half-open packs of diapers and ripped tags scattered all across the floor; It had a smell, an intense baby formula mix she could taste in the back of her mouth even with the front door still open. It clung to every corner, every inch of space, dripping from the ceiling to the curtains, directing her gaze to the kitchen diner adjacent to the living quarters where she guessed it originated.
