seven 》nct dream

25

-h.rj-

When one person has a friend, a good one, they tend to notice certain things about them.

Renjun certainly does, anyway.

For weeks he had noticed a particular beanstalk partner of his going through some struggles. He saw the way Jisung watched another club member, distressing with every message from or mention of a girlfriend.

Huang Renjun isn't the type to just sit around and let life happen. He's a thinker, a problem solver. Even with problems that aren't his own.

The answer to his struggle came one day in class, a particularly boring hour. While thinking of plans for upcoming club meetings, Renjun began to notice the sounds around him, the furious tapping of thumbs on a phone screen becoming attention consuming.

The source was a quiet girl beside the Huang, someone he hardly ever noticed. With a glance, he recognized the game she was playing, he had seen Jisung play it plenty of times during Humanities.

The idea hit him at once, taking over his mind.

"Hey." Though they'd barely ever spoken besides asking for a spare pencil or general niceties, Renjun felt both comfortable and prompted to speak now. "Are you busy after school?"

She wasn't, of course. His plan was working perfectly, it was all too good to be true.

That day in the library, a large group was in attendance, the party starting a game requiring partnerships. As leader and occasional meddler, Renjun knew what he had to do.

Approaching a pair against the wall, the Huang smiled, reveling in his intelligence.

"Jisung." He began, tearing the lanky boy's attention away from the mint haired kid beside him. Though the two had been deep in conversation, Renjun didn't care. "I need you to be partners with someone."

Being pulled away by the shorter boy, Jisung just glanced away awkwardly, unsure of Renjun's motives. "Chenle and I were actually going to be partners."

That wouldn't do. Shaking his head, Renjun was determined. "You two are together all the time, give the kid some space."

That comment was loud, drawing a polite smile from the Zhong. Tugging Jisung away, Renjun's voice lowered, only audible to him and the Park. "The first step to giving something up is replacing it with something better."

The two shared a look, Jisung finally catching onto the older's meaning. Though he knew Renjun was right, he still didn't want to give Chenle up. He needed to move on, but he didn't want to.

"Are you sure?" He tried, attempting to move back to his best friend. "Chenle and I are really good at this game. I think-"

"I'll be Chenle's partner, don't worry." Patting the taller boy's arm, Renjun was so pleased with his meddling, knowing everyone would thank him in the end. "Let's just switch things up for once. I'll go introduce you to your partner."

No more hesitation or complaints were heard as he lead Jisung to the patient girl standing by. Renjun informed the two of their shared interests, their similar qualities. Then he left to let the magic happen.

Rejoining Chenle by his side, the two watched as Jisung talked with the girl, slowly warming up until even a smile was shown on his face.

If he was honest, Renjun had some doubts about the whole transferring working out, but so far, everything was perfect.

"Ready to play?" The Huang turned to Chenle, whose eyes were off somewhere else in the room.

Distracted, it took a moment for the kid to respond. "Yeah. Sure."

A game was attempted, but Renjun's attention was on his hopeful match across the room, beaming with pride. It didn't take him long to realize he wasn't the only one watching the pair.

After repeated glances and conversation attempts with Chenle, Renjun finally clued in on the problem, finally followed the line of vision that was keeping his partner captive.

This whole time he had been busy watching Jisung, too focused to notice Chenle's silent attachment as well. The secret glances, the wide smiles, they had all gone unseen.

But now he saw it all too clear. The longing, the jealousy in those sharp eyes. Chenle felt the same way.

Hearing Jisung's familiar and warm laugh from across the library, the two watched as grins and jokes were shared. The sight brought both Renjun and Chenle down in spirits, the complete opposite of their lanky friend's mood.

Huang Renjun had made a mistake. Now he had a different problem to solve, one he had created all on his own.