Enemies - Zhong Chenle

⁵¹

The siblings stepped into the university, meeting Jae Eun, Jisung and Ningning at the gate so that they could tag along since the three of them were freshmen. The three youngest have orientation to attend in half an hour while Jaemin and Jaerin were involved in the event, both having requested to attend as a representative of their year to greet the new students, along with Mark who was in his last year.

Less attention were paid to them as they walked around the campus, introducing each and every corner to the three. Students in university paid less mind on spreading rumours compared to college, they noted, and they were glad about it even though they were still popular amongst the students all thanks to Taeyong.

"This is much better than college, damn," Jae Eun awed at the interiors of the campus and the atmosphere, feeling energized to start her course.

"I pity Seunghan. He's the only person left after we graduated while we are here in Seoul University. He's going to miss out a lot of jokes and get confused."

"He will survive as the president," Jaerin smiled, proud that the young boy she had chosen to take over her as the vice after Chenle left had managed to be promoted after she signed off.

She had introduced Seunghan to her friends after noticing the boy had trouble joining other students to hang out, offering him to hang around with them instead. The boy was very shy at first, very.

After leaving them at their designated departments to prepare for the orientation, Jaemin and Jaerin headed towards the hall, where Mark was already waiting for them with a few lecturers and the principal. They greeted the adults, leaving them to talk while Mark pulled them aside to chat.

"I don't know if I should be saying this but," Mark started, gaining Jaemin's attention after Jaerin had excused herself to the restroom.

"I think I saw Chenle, he was in between the new students that transferred to this school."

Hearing that, Jaemin's eyes widened, scanning the hall to see if Jaerin was around and heard the older boy's claim. He pulled Mark nearer, hoping that Jaerin wouldn't be back too soon.

"Are you sure it's him?"

Mark nodded, his eyes determined. "I can recognize his voice and his laughter very well, and he didn't change much."

Jaemin pinched his nose bridge, not wanting to imagine what would happen if Chenle was actually here and Jaerin's reaction to it. He didn't want to deal with a drunk Jaerin or a breaking down Jaerin again after yesterday's event.

"Hyung, do you think you can distract her so that she doesn't go around the hall to check on the students later? At least avoid letting her know that he is here until lunch."

"Who's here?"

Jaerin piped up behind them, scaring the two males who immediately shook their heads. She gave them a suspicious look, ignoring them and went to the backstage.

"I swear if she saw him later she's going to lose herself," Jaemin sighed and Mark agreed, watching the girl doing nothing on the stage as she walked around mindlessly. 

Chenle was transferred to Seoul University, having given a full scholarship from them after his excellent performance in his previous university. He was accompanied by Eunseok, who was also given scholarship to enter Seoul University. The two instantly clicked, being the same age and studying the same course.

Both males were chatting alongside each other in the freshmen's department, waiting for their orientation to started for them to head towards the hall, occasionally pulling a joke and laughing. It wasn't until a familiar voice rang through the mic gaining the freshmen's attention, Chenle's head whipped up, gaze fixed at the specific person on the stage after recognising the three on stage.

"Welcome to Seoul University," Mark pronounced into the mic with Jaemin and Jaerin standing beside him.

"I'm Mark Lee, the school's president of this semester. Beside me is Na Jaemin, head representative of junior year and the student council's advisor. This is Jung Jaerin, head representative of sophomore year and...the school's vice president."

I'm doomed.

Chenle shook his head, getting rid of the thought while also gained Eunseok's attention.

"Chenle? Are you alright?"

Eunseok whispered, earning a nodded from the male who stayed silent after requesting to exchange their position so that Eunseok was now standing in front of Chenle, fully blocking him from the sight of the three on stage. He hoped the three and if any possibility of the others in this university didn't see him.

As if luck was on his side, none of the Dreams or Aespa saw him the entire morning, or at least didn't approach him. He stuck to Eunseok, being new to the university and not familiar with the other students yet.

"Let's head to the cafeteria for lunch," Eunseok suggested once the class ended after the professor reminded them to work on their project of the semester in pairs, Chenle automatically pairing with Eunseok.

Chenle obliged, packing his stuff and followed Eunseok out of the classroom. They weren't sure where the cafeteria was located but seeing that the crowd was heading towards the same direction, they followed along.

The two of them lined up to buy their lunches, scanning the tables for empty seats. Chenle spotted the Dreams, his friends he had lost contact with, sitting with Aespa like the old times with the 99 liners, Yangyang, Shotaro, Sungchan, Jungwoo and Jae Eun. He smiled sadly at the sight, not wanting to approach and greet them as he thought it was the best.

He pulled Eunseok to a table at the far corner, out of the sight of the huge group and settled down. Once they sat down, Eunseok dived into his rice, satisfied that it was delicious. Chenle played with his food, his thoughts running but Eunseok didn't mind him, having gotten used to the male spacing out frequently.

"Chenle, I'll have to leave first, my Maths class starts early. Are you okay alone?"

Eunseok asked the male who was still in his own world. Chenle nodded absentmindedly, watching his friend sped off for his class and stared back at his food.

He shoved a few mouthfuls of rice into his mouth, finished his soup and stood up, grabbing the tray to dispose of the rest of his lunch. He had his hood over his head, his hands in his pockets and his bag slung over his shoulder as he walked out of the cafeteria in quick steps.

Okay, maybe I wouldn't be that cruel and I really want my first book to have a happy ending, so...in progress of writing the next few chapters, hehe

Today is the last day I would have the exam for our country certificate, and I can finally focus fully on my college studies. I have been slacking off quite a bit and I need to catch up on my Biology before the test.

Have a great week and I hope I can finish my next chapter and upload it by next week

Bye!