we the cursed, nct dream ✔

part thirty-seven

He doesn't reply to that. "Why are you here?"

Juno snorts. "Well, one night, my mother and father decided to-"

"You know what I mean," Haechan interrupts.

She pauses momentarily. "I don't like thunder," is her eventual simple answer.

"Why?"

Juno lifts a shoulder. "Just because." Then she glares. "Alright, that's enough. Stop talking to me now."

"Aren't you curious about why I'm here?"

"Not really."

"I just couldn't sleep," Haechan tells her anyway. "I haven't been able to for a while."

"Is it because of the..." Juno trails off.

"Murders? Yeah, probably. Hell if I know."

Eventually, she gives up on maintaining the silence that has settled between them. "So here's what I don't understand," she begins, and he lifts a brow. "You. You were friendly when I first got here, normal, and then you did a complete 180 and stopped talking to me entirely, accused me of flirting my way through your friend group, and then you let me kiss you during truth or dare even though you didn't have to. Now you're talking to me again. You're so confusing. What is wrong with you?"

Haechan blinks, evidently not having expected all that. He winces inwardly, her words evoking an uncharacteristic shame in him. "I just didn't trust you at first. Now, I somewhat do. That's all there is to it."

"Right. Okay," she demurs, turning away again.

"And about the kiss." He clears his throat. "You must've figured out by now that it was just a plan set by some of the others to get Jeno to make a move. They used me to try to make him jealous."

"Some plan." Juno barks out a laugh. "Sorry you had to kiss me for nothing."

Haechan doesn't even know why he tries to reassure her. "Don't worry, Jeno's just... careful. I'm sure he'll-"

"He says he just wants to be friends."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." Juno gulps down the last of her water and slams it back down onto the counter, wiping her lips. Then she gets up to refill the cup and settles back into her chair without looking at him, making no attempt to continue the conversation.

"You're sipping that like it's alcohol," Haechan comments.

"I wish," Juno snorts.

A pause. "Well, if you want..."

Her head snaps to him. "No way. Where in the hell did you get it?"

"There's a liquor cabinet in the basement downstairs. It's where we sneak out all the booze for the parties. Sometimes, if I'm feeling particularly crappy..." He takes a bite of his cake. "I help myself to some."

"You know, this just fuels my theory of you being an alcoholic."

"Hey, do you want some or not?"

And Juno knows it's a terrible idea, that drinking her sorrows away will do little to help them. But against her better judgement, she finds herself stealing down the hallway with Haechan, traipsing all the way to the first floor. But they don't stop there; he keeps going until they reach a single door. He swings it open, and she sees a flight of stairs leading down.

"The basement," he confirms.

They step down, leading to a mostly open, unfinished space with various cabinets and boxes and just things scattered everywhere. "Does everyone know about this place?"