nebula || jungjaehyun

⇢ luck ⇠

10

luck

"When'd you switch face care products?" Haechan gestures to the green cucumber-scented packaging as he jumps onto the hotel bed behind him. 

His smile is restricted because of the cleansing mask. "I needed a change of pace." 

Haechan laughs, cradling a pillow to his body. He peers at Jaehyun from over it, eyebrow arched. "Yeah, perfect Jaehyun needs a change from all the perfection." 

He ruffles Haechan's hair. "Perfection is boring, Full Sun." 

"Disorder is anxiety-producing." 

"Have you experienced perfectionism?" Jaehyun casts him a pointed look before sitting on the opposite bed. "Besides, perfection is a myth, Donghyuck." 

He kicks Jaehyun playfully. "Tell that to your skin." 

They laugh. For a while, they sit in the quiet, music playing from the Bluetooth speakers. 

Jaehyun stares at a picture on his screen. Kim Ahn Na covers her face with her hands, and the photo is blurry. But he can hear her laugh amidst half-hearted protests. So he smiles like an imbecile at his handphone. 

His brain tingles and his fingernails itch. He hasn't smoked in a week, and the only things keeping his irritation at a simmer are the patches and gum. And Kim Ahn Na. 

He's known her for eight days. And yet, she feels like the antidote to a poison that's been in his veins for so long, he forgot it was even there. Eight days, and he knows her favorite color is blue and she's allergic to seafood and at one point, she wanted to be a singer but realized very quickly that she's a horrible singer and a worse dancer. 

He feels like he's reconnecting with an old friend. He entertains the idea that maybe they had met in a previous life. Or maybe the universe just gifted him with an extra dose of luck, and Kim Ahn Na is another example of that luck. 

He peers at Haechan. The members always tease Jaehyun about his perfection. Whether out of jealousy or jest, the members would say Jaehyun got the best things by virtue of mere existence: the best skin, the best visuals, the best nicknames, the best gifts. They even claimed he could get the best girls. 

While Jaehyun has never denied his luck, he knows the price: it's a metaphorical itch in his parietal lobe, a literal itch because of unhealthy habits, and near-nihilistic contemplations of the solar system that are, honestly, a waste of time. 

His phone dings -- a text from Eunjung. When she asks if he wants to get together after NCT's stint in LA, his stomach churns. Instead of replying, he stares at the picture of Kim Ahn Na.

"Hey, Jaehyun?" 

"Hmm?" 

"What do you do on our free days?" 

Eight days ago, he used to smoke and hideaway with Eunjung in an upscale hotel room to ignore the price of his luck. But his answer's changed. 

"I go shopping." 

"Really?" 

"Really. I buy face masks." 

Haechan laughs. "Of course. Gotta maintain your perfection." 

Jaehyun stares at Kim Ahn Na once again, thinking of his luck and maybe, just this one time, it doesn't come with a heavy price.