seven 》nct dream

28

-z.cl-

"I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry."

Eyes wide with disbelief and waterworks, the girl stared forward. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Awkward hands clasped behind his back, Chenle looked to the floor. While this was necessary and the only thing he wanted, it was still hard to look the girl in the eyes. "If you're thinking I'm breaking up with you, then yes."

While Chenle should have been feeling sorrow and pity, he felt nothing of the sort. Instead he was filled with, relief?

Staring into his now ex-girlfriend's eyes, the Zhong felt a weight off his shoulders, his world opening up with new possibilities, one in particular.

"What is it? Did you get bored? Am I not good enough for you?" Crossing her arms, her voice was raising.

Chenle was just glad he had waited till no one else was in the hallways when he broke the news, or they would've had an uncomfortable audience.

He guessed he could have waited till after school, but the words just came out then, he barely had any control over them.

"It's nothing like that, I just-" Recollecting his thoughts, the boy decided to be honest. "I've got some other priorities now, and it's not fair to drag you along."

Seeing through the smoke screen of words, the dejected and rejected girl watched carefully, analyzing Chenle. "It's him, isn't it?"

Was it really that obvious? Was Chenle that easy to read? He considered lying, masking his true interest, but he knew neither of them would believe him. "Yeah. It's him."

Shaking her head, the past girlfriend's eyes were daggers. "He doesn't even like you like that anymore, you know that? You took too long, he's moved on now."

The statement was confusing to Chenle, who had misread his friend's intentions without realizing it. "What are you talking about? Jisung doesn't feel that way about me."

"You're more blind than I thought." Fixing the straps of her bag with aggressive pulls, the girl was fed up. Having to explain all this to the Zhong only made it hurt worse. "He did. He was all starry-eyed towards you, following you to the ends of the earth. You really didn't notice?"

Chenle felt his eyes open wide, literally and figuratively. The information processed through his brain, the idea that Jisung could feel the same way never before occurring to him.

"Jisung..." He whispered, gaze moving to the girl for confirmation. "Likes me?"

"He did. Once." Brushing off the question, the girl was ready to be out of there. "I don't see it anymore, he's always with that girl."

The Park's attention was on his evil clone of a woman lately, Chenle had missed him. It all made sense. The idea of being so close, but too late made his breath catch, troubling his thoughts.

"It's funny." A laugh from the rejected girl, her eyes full of scorn. "I can't have who I love and neither can you. We're both pathetic."

Chenle didn't merit this with a response, only rolling her words around his mind, realizing their truth.

Seeing that both their conversation and relationship were over, the girl shook her head, taking a final step back. "Goodbye, Chenle."

Then she was gone. For good. Though Chenle felt sad, it wasn't because of a lack of girls in life. He just kept thinking back to her words, the accusations and assumptions about his best friend.

They couldn't be true, right? There's no way that some jealous girl would notice more about Jisung than the Zhong Chenle.

Walking through the halls, Chenle tried to convice himself, but there was a thread of doubt, pulling and unraveling his case. Maybe it was just his own hopes that kept tugging at his thoughts. The wish that Jisung wasn't just an unfeeling friend kept his brain buzzing.

The Zhong was so in his mind that he didn't even notice the person walking down the other side of the hall.

"Chenle?" A familiar tone.

Chenle recognized it immediately. He was always intrigued by how the president could sound so authoritative, yet relaxed. His tone fun, but demanding attention. Glancing up, Chenle stopped his descent down the hall, giving the boy a smile. "Hey Mark."

Joining the Zhong at his side, Mark could see the handprints of distress that had touched Chenle, leaving a trace on his face. Walking beside the kid, the Canadian eventually led the two to a bench, gesturing for the other boy to take a seat.

Genuine concern in his heart, Mark kept his eyes on Chenle. "What's wrong?"

Chenle was always honest, upfront, something that Mark appreciated.

"I broke up with my girlfriend." The kid sighed, slumped in his seat. "I don't regret it, of course. But I think while I was focused on one thing, an even better thing passed me by."

Though Mark was only a few years older than Chenle, those years had been filled with different experiences and opportunities, and the Canadian had his fair share of love and loss.

"I mean, I thought I was happy, but now I think about everything that I could have had and I want that instead." Chenle's hands moved as he spoke, illustrating his frustration. "I just wish I could go back in time and tell myself to pay attention, you know?"

The feeling of regret and losing someone because of your actions? Mark knew that all too well.

"Let's say someone approached you with the same problem." Mark stated, voice quiet with thought. This exercise was purely to help Chenle, but he couldn't help but wonder about his own life in the process. "What would you tell them? To give up and sulk? That it's too late?"

"Well no." Chenle's brows furrowed. He thought of Jisung, how the kid's attention and thoughts were always on this new friend of his. "But I think it might be too late for me. There's no way this person still has feelings for me."

Mark Lee spoke from the heart as he always did. Arms crossed, his mind was clear. "I believe that when you love someone once, and it's the right person, a piece of you will always love them."

The statement sounded so perfect, so simple coming from the older boy's lips. Glancing over, Chenle's mind was slightly eased. "Do you really think so?"

Mind on a person and relationship from the past, Mark nodded. "I hope so."

The sentiment was clear to Chenle, now he could only hope. Hope that it was true, and hope that he really was right for Jisung all along.