alters » nct dream

24

"can't you tell me the secrets already?"

confused, with his head tilted he replied, "what secrets?"

"when i just transferred to nct, you told me that the school has a lot of secrets that i would find out someday. it's been a while, but i can't seem to uncover them on my own." she replied as her tone changed to a sorrowful one.

"ah that-" jeno stopped when a ringtone started playing.

eunha quickly fished her phone from her bag, staring at her screen with the contact "yunhee" displayed.

"oh it's my friend. sorry, jeno. i'll be right back." she said, taking her phone with her as she stands up.

"no worries, take your time." he replied, taking out his own phone as well to distract himself.

as eunha walks to a quiet corner in the cafe, she answers the phone call.

"hey, yunhee." eunha greeted.

"hello bestfriend. it's been a while. how are you doing there?" she replied from the other end.

"it's been alright, i guess? how's things over there?"

"hmm your 'i guess' sounds fishy. things have been hectic here with the interschool competition coming real soon. are you doing okay with your team?"

"of course! i have really good teammates with me. their help makes things much more bearable." eunha said with a smile curved on her face, though yunhee are unable to see her sincere smile.

"good to hear that, eunha." yunhee replied.

"you're joining the competition too, right? how are things going for you? don't get too stressed out, okay." eunha said.

yunhee hummed through the phone as she then replied, "don't worry. i've been prioritizing myself more these days. hope you're doing that, too."

"well, i'm slowly getting there, i guess."

their conversation continued through the phone call with more topics as they caught up with each other.

jaemin's pov

"alright then, jaemin. i'll set your appointment at the same time as today's for next week, is that okay with you?" asked my therapist as he ended our therapy session.

"yes, that's fine with me." i replied, checking the clock as it strikes at exactly half an hour past 4 o'clock.

"alright. don't forget to take your medicines and practice your meditation, okay? see you next week." he said with a smile.

i muttered a small "goodbye" before leaving the room.

as per usual, i drop by the cafe next door before i head home. a drink for myself would usually be the only thing i wanted to get, but today i wanted to buy a drink for mom as well, seeing how well she's changing.

"welcome!" greeted a co-worker - a habit of every worker in the cafe whenever they hear the bell ring, she then flashed a smile as she recognized me.

"how did it go, jaem?" asked another co-worker.

"it went well. sorry i had to change my shift for the next couple of weeks." i replied.

"no worries. you're a student, we understand. iced americano for you?" he said, getting ready behind the cashier.

i smiled as he knew my go-to-drink, before adding on, "and an orange juice, please."

after paying i walked away, aiming for the table of two i usually use when hanging out with eunha. but i was surprised with the sight of jeno sitting on them, staring through his phone's screen with his thumb occasionally swiping.

"jeno?" i called, grabbing his attention right away.

"jaemin!" he replied, standing up as he greeted me with a handshake, pulling me into a hug after, "is it your day off, today?"

i hummed as a response before a figure caught my eye. she was standing at the corner of the cafe, a wide smile curved on her face as she talks on her phone.

"jeno, are you here alone?" i asked, though the answer was obvious to me.

"nope, i came with eunha." he replied, before continuing, "are your off days for your therapy?"

i nodded as a response. just then, i noticed her presence behind jeno as she greeted, "jaemin? when did you arrive?"

"i came just recently. i should get going." i said, quickly flashing a smile to both of them before turning back to the counter.

a hand gripped my wrist and i turned around as jeno said, "yah you just came. come hang with us for a bit. we're not talking about anything serious."

honestly, i want to stay. but some part of me didn't want to disturb whatever they're in the middle of.

"no, it's okay. i neee to leave for practice, too." i said before once again bidding goodbye, "see you two around."

end of pov

"jaemin is attending therapy?" asked eunha as soon as jaemin left the cafe.

"it seems to be that way." jeno replied.

silence grew between the two as jeno finds a topic to break the silent air.

"you're not drinking much. is it not good?" he asked, pointing at eunha's iced chocolate drink with his index.

eunha scoffed, "i don't really like iced chocolate, actually."

"ahh, so who likes it?" he asked.

the way he casually asked her didn't make her feel nervous as she usually would.

she curved a smile, before saying, "i forgot how well you figured me out on your own. you probably know about me and my disorder more than i know them."

jeno was in silence. he wasn't sure if she meant it in a good way, or the other way.

but maybe she was right. she never told him of her diagnosis, but he knew it the moment she told him of the scars on her wrist.

"it's alright." he said simply, grabbing her attention in a second.

"what?"

"it's alright. it's not your fault for having that disorder. in fact, you're strong for having it, you know?" he paused, "you'll get through it. no matter how slow, progress is still progress. and you'll get to the point where you know and accept yourself fully. just don't give up on it, yet."