Nodus Tollens || Jung Jaehyun

Chapter 15: Moving Forward

The next couple of months have been busy for both NCT and Shim Jiwoo.

While all the 127 boys were still very much doing activities for their group, the Dream unit were now promoting Chewing Gum. Before this came to be, Jiwoo did all she could to help the younger idols debut. Whether she was critiquing singing on the song prior to recording or pinpointing some troubles they might have had on their hoverboard dance, she made sure to do it carefully but with a stern mindset. They may be young, but they needed to be serious about their debut just like the next person, the criticism was a must.

Other than that, Jiwoo posed to be Dream's own personal cheerleader. Whenever late night dance practices turned out successful, she would be there to shower each member with endless compliments. There were also times when some members would have internal troubles, quoting they're not good enough or what if their debut turns out to be a failure. Jiwoo was always there to comfort them, urging them to hold on to their hopes and work even harder so to not have any regrets.

During this period, it was also found out that Jiwoo wasn't the best cook around.

It was odd, since now that everyone knew her family runs a fantastic noodle restaurant. The boys just figured she must've been a cook within herself. However, Jiwoo failed to inherit the amazing cooking ability from her parents.

She wanted to do something even more for the babies, so she went out of her way to make gimbap for them to snack on in between practices. Within hours, the handmade gimbap had taken a toll on the boys and lead them to unbearable stomach aches and a full next day of rest. If it weren't for the Dream's reassurance that it was only a mistake and Seokju and Minah's appearance to comfort Jiwoo, she would've cried and felt guilty about the situation for a whole week.

"I guess I should've warned you boys that you should never accept food made by Jiwoo," Seokju had said to Dream once they were better and back to practicing.

Besides that small fiasco, everything else had fallen into place, and NCT Dream had their successful debut. Chewing Gum proved to be an extremely addictive song, surprising those who would usually stray away from cute, boppy songs. Plus, the hoverboard choreography amazed the audience of music shows, noting how impressive it was.

Despite the increase of work, Jiwoo made sure to make some time for herself. Songs naturally came to her, and she would quickly jot down the possible notes and melodies into her trusty composer's journal to create for later. It was very much pleasurable when this happened, more exciting and more of a thrill whenever a new idea pops up. Before she knew it, she had created 10 songs to give to NCT for the future.

And of course, she spared time for her friends. Her and Minah would occasionally have their days out, shopping and catching lunch together when they could. Hanging out with the 127 boys proved to be a harder task but they had their moments when they had the free time. They even one lucky time when they were able to have a movie day at the boys' dorm. This was where she was able to meet a couple more boys, such as Doyoung and Ten, and surprisingly they were able to interact with each other well. And that hang out ended with a mess of popcorn and candy sprawled on their floors... but it was a good day nonetheless.

Could she also admit a small shift in her and Jaehyun's friendship... if she could even call it that.

Their greetings of each other (when they're not rushing to place to place) evolved to welcoming hugs, lingering a little longer than normal. The smiling, the eye contact? It was evident and obvious when the two of them were together. And from this, Minah was quick to tease the young composer about it.

However, she minded it less. The only thing that was bothering her about it was where they stood. Sure, they were sweeter with each other after the day Jaehyun had given her the necklace (in which she wears constantly), but nothing much happened farther than that. Did he like her or not? Maybe it was due to the fact that there was the dating ban for groups less than four years old, and they can't risk anything more. They knew this rule very well and knew that wasn't a boundary to cross, more so as one of the Big Three companies.