when in time, nct dream

chapter forty-three

"Are you inside already?" Hyuna asked Jiyoung over the phone, grabbing her purse.

Jiyoung confirmed, telling her twin sister that she was at the ice cream stand near the center of the mall.

Hyuna agreed to meet Jiyoung there, hanging up the phone soon afterwards.

Placing a few more things in her purse, she pulled the strap over her other shoulder and locked her car, making her way inside.

"Hey! How are you?"

Hyuna smiled, walking up to Jiyoung to hug her. Breaking apart, Hyuna sat down, taking her ice cream Jiyoung had bought her.

"I'm good. Those errands were a bit tiring but I needed to get out some more anyways. Have you been here for a while?"

Jiyoung shook her head, licking her ice cream before it could melt onto her hands. "Not really, maybe five minutes or so."

Hyuna nodded, enjoying her ice cream for a few seconds before suddenly perking up. "Oh, I nearly forgot! I got this for you," she smiled, pulling out a necklace.

Jiyoung watched Hyuna pull a necklace out of her purse, her smile wavering slightly as she took it and put it on.

Hyuna noticed her look as she clipped it, "you don't like it? It's okay if you don't, really! We can find something else."

Jiyoung sat up, shaking her hand profusely with a worried look, "no, no, it's not that. I just have a bad habit of biting on my necklaces or hoodie strings unconsciously so I try to refrain from wearing them too often."

"Oh, I get it. Do you want to find something else?" Hyuna asked, standing up from her chair. Jiyoung shook her head no.

"We don't have to, really. I mean we can certainly go to the jewelry store but I really like the necklace gift, thank you, Hyuna."

The dark-haired girl nodded, smiling. "Well, would you like to head over there now? I'd really like to find some new rings and bracelets."

Jiyoung agreed, standing up as she and her sister made their way over to a newer shop. They split up once inside, both going to whichever section appealed to them more.

While away from Jiyoung, Hyuna took the chance to examine her discreetly. She was pleased to watch the girl habitually chew on her necklace, trying to hide her smile to keep any suspicious away.

Works like a charm, she thought to herself, remembering what her mother had tipped her about earlier in the day.

After a few minutes, she walked back up to Jiyoung, noticing she hadn't picked up anything to buy. "Hey, Jiyoung, sorry I forgot I invited Donghyuck here the other day. He just texted me saying he's outside. Would you mind if he joined us? I can tell him we're busy if you want."

"No, it's okay, you wanna go get him now? These jewelry pieces are a bit too expensive for my liking," Jiyoung joked.

Hyuna nodded, the two leaving the shop as they made their way back outside. Hyuna somehow managed to contain her smile as Jiyoung followed her into a secluded part of the parking lot.

When they finally got close to where Hyuna was taking them, Jiyoung called out to her to stop. Hyuna, of course, did so.

"Hold on, I feel a bit dizzy... I think I should sit down for a second," Jiyoung tried to say, wobbling slightly as she tried to keep balance.

It was no use as seconds later, her eyes closed and she began falling to the concrete ground. Her head not making an impact thanks to Hyuna catching it.

She reluctantly carried the living girl back to her car, tying a few ropes around the unconscious girl's ankles and wrists before putting some tape over her lips.

"Can't believe she has to be alive," Hyuna muttered, opening her trunk to put Jiyoung in. She was lucky, closing it just in time before another car pulled in a few spots away.

Realizing who it was, she looked down into her bag, quickly soaking the other necklace in the chloroform bottle before pulling it out. She patted it dry as she plastered on a fake smile, walking over towards the familiar car.

Looking inside, she knocked on the window, startling Donghyuck. "Were you waiting out here or something?" He asked, unlocking the door for her.

Hyuna sighed, replacing her prior attitude with a fake tired one. "Yeah, I've been here for nearly two hours. Got kinda tired and was heading to my car."

"Oh," Donghyuck nodded, "do you want to stay in here for a minute? I'm fine with resting for a bit before going inside."

Hyuna nodded, reclining in the familiar chair. A minute passed before she sat back up, glancing at Donghyuck as she pulled out the necklace.

"Hey, I got this inside. Weird question but can you like see if it smells weird to you? I think they soaked it in something and it made it smell bad."

Donghyuck nodded, taking the necklace from her grip as he pulled it close to his face. He nodded, handing it back towards her. "Yeah, probably a cleaner. They should've dried it a bit better though."

Hyuna nodded, placing it back in her bag. She laid back for a few minutes, smiling to herself until she heard Donghyuck's head hit his window- his body still after passing out.

"What a piece of cake," Hyuna smiled.

if my body was on fire, oh
you'd watch me burn down in flames
you said you love me, you're a liar
cause you never, ever, ever did, baby

━ grenade, bruno mars

well...
good morning 😃