Through his years as a K-pop idol, he never wanted to feel when thousands of people ask him to be kicked out of his group. Out of all the days of the year, it had to occur a week before the tour starts. Jeno and his members planned on waking up later than usual since there were now schedules the next day but the members insisted on accompanying Jeno to the company for an emergency meeting. It was just after the members finished looking through some tweets last night that they saw the reason for the sudden hate. Someone had stated that Jeno physically assaulted someone.
The members tried to look for the video concerning his actions but waited for it to be shown the next day at the meeting instead. Even a food truck was already outside the agency, telling Jeno to be charged guilty in court. He didn't know the severity of the case before he actually saw the video at the meeting. In the video was a recording of Jeno beating up a man. It didn't look like it was taken recently and Jeno knew it wasn't either. He remembered the event clearly because it was the only time he beat someone up.
"Is this you, in the video? You have to be honest," Jeno's manager interrogated with a tense look on his face.
"Yes it was me, but not in the context that I just randomly came up to someone to beat the crap out of them, and this was years ago. The video doesn't show the whole situation!" Jeno sighed frustratingly.
"So tell us what the story was," his manager sat down on the chair across the five idols.
Jeno took a deep breath before starting his story.
---
"I wish I've met someone better... like you! Why don't you have a girlfriend?" Minju smiled as they passed the last minimart beside her home before they neared her apartment complex. It was a cold winter night and the roads were empty, the sounds heard were only the two people walking on the sidewalk. Minju was Winter's friend she had asked Jeno to try and get to know. "Minju just went out of a relationship and she's looking for someone to fill that hole in her heart," Winter said to Jeno when they were walking through Seoul's streets the other week.
"You will. And for answering the question, I don't have a girlfriend because... well..." Jeno drifted off.
"Ah! Don't embarrass me here, you already have your eyes set on someone else do you? It's okay," Minju laughed and tucked her hands in her coat's pockets.
"Does it look that noticeable?" Jeno laughed with her.
"Honestly I wasn't looking for a boyfriend when I agreed on this "date" with you, I'm just in a place right now where I want to get to know as many people as possible. So tell me about her! If you're comfortable with it though," she added.
Jeno breathed a sigh, followed by that bright smile of his.
"This might seem cheesy or childish, but it's a childhood crush actually. And the crazy thing is, I've only met her once. Ever," Jeno said as they stopped in front of her apartment complex.
"So you've never date anybody else because of her?" Minju shockingly asked.
"I have, but it never worked out because my thoughts would always come back to her," Jeno smiled softly as he breathed out.
"I want to know more!" Minju exclaimed.
"Well, maybe another time. It's almost 12 am and I have schedules tomorrow. We can meet again to talk," Jeno said which brought Minju to a pout, but she agreed anyway and Jeno waved her off as he got into the cab he called an hour ago.
It wasn't until he was at the first traffic light that he forgot about his wallet at the restaurant they ate at. The taxi driver was nice enough to go turn around to get back to the restaurant. On his way back, he passed Minju's apartment complex and what he saw angered him. The very thing his mother had experienced was now right in front of him.
"Stop the car, sir!" Jeno said and the driver stepped on the breaks. Jeno hurriedly left the cab and came to the two individuals fighting in the shadows deep in the alleyway beside the apartment.
"GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU PERVERT!" Jeno shouted and punched the man right in his face, hard. The quiet, cold night was filled with groans and the sound of hits.
"Okay, stop it, Jeno! Or you're going to kill him!" Minju cried out after buttoning her blouse.
"He doesn't deserve mercy," Jeno scoffed after he finished beating the man up who ran away. Minju was strong, she wasn't crying nor was she shaking. She kept herself composed, but her fear roamed in her eyes as they wandered here and there.
"Thank you, Jeno. Thank you, so much," Minju said, trying to give Jeno a smile that slowly became quivering lips and was the start of her silent tears.
---
"Did the taxi driver do this then?" the manager scrolled through his phone, pointing it towards Jeno. He thought and thought, but it would never make sense if an old man had posted it.
"No, it can't be. He would either sell it to the person who sold it or someone else would have been there to record it," Jeno mumbled to himself.
"Was there anyone there?" Jaemin asked Jeno who was already thinking of it. Minju. The pervert. He couldn't think of anyone else.
"We can defend with witness evidence. I'll ask Winter about Minju. You just have to stay away from the public right now. We'll tell you when we need your words for a statement but we think we'll just have a statement from the agency," the manager said.
After another 15 minutes, the basic logistics of the plan was laid out to Jeno and his manager left the room, leaving only the 5 members. But Jeno was bothered by who recorded the scene.
"Wait, at what angle was the video shot from?" Jeno hurriedly asked his members, Jaemin replaying the video again. Jeno remembered the alleyway on the left side of the apartment complex. If he was in the alleyway and the taxi driver took the video from the car, Jeno's left side would be filmed. But as he watched the shaky video, it was filmed from Jeno's right side.
Someone else was there that night. He remembered that the boy started this madness. He took out his phone and went to the text the boy sent before. The numbers. The damn numbers. He looked through a text Minju sent a few days after the incident. He then opened 'Google Maps'. He was looking for a date or secret message in the set of numbers.
"That son of a bitch," Jeno exasperated and covered his face with his hands, sinking into his chair.
It was the address of the minimart all along. He was there that night.
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Author: If you enjoyed the chapter, don't forget to vote! Leave any comments/DMs for feedback, I would very much appreciate them. Thank you once again <3
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Shall We? | NCT Lee Jeno ff
قصص الهواةA future president and an artist, bound together by the overwhelming challenges of their daily life. Choi K Group's youngest daughter has a bright future ahead of her as the next president of the company, succeeding her father. She has been stuck in...
