opposites repel | lee tae-yong x male reader

one

dialogues in italics will be in korean
underlined dialogues will be in chinese
normal dialogues will be in english
bold dialogues will be in japanese
(this will apply to the whole story)

3rd person pov

"1..2..3! re . rE . RE! hello we are RE-!"

the newly formed boy group introduced themselves with a sing-song vibe on the interview after their mnet comeback performance with the song, AGAIN.

the two hosts, being tae-yong, leader of nct 127 and yeji, leader of itzy, clapped and cheered sounds of "woos" for the group's introduction. taeyong then asked the group to do a quick introduction of themselves, starting off with the leader.

after the self-introduction, yeji, close friend of leader of RE-'s leader, gao han since middle school (they had the same vocal teacher), started off the interview by asking her close friend a question, which was answered quickly and calmly by han, who had diligently memorised the answer script prepared by the staff.

(after interview things-)

after a couple of questions directed at the rookie idols, most of which were directed at han, the interview ended, with it lasting only a short 7 minutes.

the rookies bowed at their sunbaes*, while shaking their hands and shyly walking out of the frame. han was the last one to walk out the frame, and while doing so he bowed and thanked taeyong, also while asking him to take care of the him and the new subunit/group, which was responded with a smile and a small pat on the back. han then turned to his close friend and talked more informally and casually towards yeji, not knowing they were still in frame.

this slightly annoyed taeyong.

said male then pulled gao han aside, reminding him that he shouldn't be so close to a female idol, to avoid malicious rumors that could jeopardise the rookie's career along with the new group.

"but hyung, yeji is my friend," gao han murmured, head tilting slightly. "guys and girls should be able to be friends."

"not in this industry. at least not infront of cameras?! have you not thought of how this could start rumors? you should be more mindful in future."

"then we can cross the bridge when we get to it..."

after gao han said that, not understanding why such acts are considered 'forbidden' in this industry especially to newbies, he swiftly left to join up with his group to head back to the dorms to rest. it was their last schedule of the day, after all.

(few weeks later)

RE-'s comeback did not become a success, just like their other comebacks, and it was starting to demoralise the group since this comeback was their most anticipated.

gao han, especially, felt the burden and pressure he had to carry as the leader, feeling as if he had failed the group.

"maybe i should have gone for more promotion interview." "did i not sing well enough?" "am i not making the song good enough?" "how can i make RE- better? the only songs we got the most recognition from is when we were part of nct u's comeback." "am i not doing enough?"

thoughts such as these began to plague his mind. the demon in his head won over the angel, and his sleep soon began to dissipate into nothingness as his mind was fogged with the devil's malicious words; he was his own's devil.

"hyung am i not doing enough for the team? why are we not getting recognition? do you know anyone who can help us?" he asked the manager.

by then, his eyes had developed an ominous black hole under his eyes, almost swallowing his own eyes whole.

"i do know someone.... but you have to keep it to yourself, not even the company, since i'm not allowed to help you with your promotion myself since everything must be approved by the company."

-

* sunbaes – seniors