dnyl club [ nct dream ]

[ twenty three ]

“You’re crying,” Jeno said, looking at Jaemin’s face, his face coming ever so closely to his.

“What?” he said, backing up slightly before a tear streaked it’s way down his cheek, his hand flying up quickly as he wiped away the liquid from his skin. It was as if Jaemin hadn’t seen a tear before, which he’s seen far too many of for a teenage boy, but he had no reason to be crying.

“Oh, it’s uh,” he paused, his step faltering slightly, “it’s nothing really. I’m happy, truly,” he finished, looking at the two other boys with a smile.

They continued to walk, reentering the school premises, and making their way to the stairs.

They watched as Jisung and Chenle bickered lightly at each other, smiling at the younger two as they talked as well.

Sooner than they thought, they made it to the designated room they were to be at. It wasn’t one that any of them had seen before, slightly hidden on the top floor next to the roof exit.

Chenle and Jisung had waited for them, both looking a little nervous

There wasn’t any indication that it was the room, but judging on the small sticker on the door for the DNYL club, that it had to be it.

So as they all made it to the door, they all looked at each other in hesitance before Chenle spoke up. 

“Renjun, you should go first,” he said, a sly smile on his face.

“What? Why?” Renjun asked, his voice held slight betrayal in it.

“You’re the oldest here,” Chenle answered, his voice rising higher slightly.

“Are you really?” Jeno asked, looking at Renjun.

“Well, March 23rd,” he answered, looking at Jeno’s reaction. Jeno hissed slightly, rubbing his neck.

“Guess you are then,” Jaemin answered, ending with a slight laugh at Jeno’s behavior as he looked at the slightly sulking boy.

“But that doesn’t mean that I have to open it,” Renjun defended, taking a step back from the semi-formed circle the boys had created.

“Well, that’s the responsibility of the oldest, you have to take care of younger ones,” Chenle answered, sticking his tongue out at Renjun, who only laughed at the younger’s antics.

“How about this,” Jaemin said, gaining everyone’s attention, “how about we all open the door?”

“That way we all have a chance for death!” Renjun said, laughing at his own dark joke until he didn’t get the response he wanted.

“Oh, c’mon, that was funny,” Renjun pouted slightly at all the four unimpressed faces the others were wearing.

“O.K., whatever, I’ll just open it,” he continued through the silence, walking closer to the door.

The metal was cold, but he held it firmly, and although the child in him was terrified, he just hoped this was the right door to be opening. And that the door was something much more meaningful than a mere club that he was getting into.

It was a new door for his future, and hopefully the future held the four boys that were by his side at this moment.

A door that would help him get over his past, and maybe, just maybe, when the door closed, he would be able to leave the scars on his heart, and be open to new people in his life.

The door knob clicked as he turned it, opening the door slightly, before seeing a small light on in the room.

Furrowing his brow, he opened it more, showing the room to the other boys.

It was similar to an auditorium, but on a much smaller scale. It seemed to be an old drama class, the small stage residing in the back of the classroom with a small set of stage lighting above it.

The lighting was the only thing illuminating the room, a small stool that sat under the heating lights, the grain light, the lacquer smooth.

Renjun looked to his right, only to be met with Jeno’s side profile, his jaw sharp and features more prominent due to their close proximity. Slowly, as if time was slowing down, Jeno returned Renjun’s gaze, their faces mere inches from each other.

As soon as he made eye contact with Jeno, his breath hitched, and he quickly returned his gaze to the dimly lit room.

He didn’t see Jeno’s reaction to what had happened, but he wasn’t too sure if he wanted to see it at all.

Ignoring the sudden rush of butterflies in his stomach, he took a slow step into the room, approaching the wooden stool that lay in the dark confines.

As soon as he did, a message was projected onto the wall behind the stool as the others entered behind Renjun.

It felt like a scene from a horror film, but there were no jump scares, besides Chenle grabbing Renjun's shoulder quickly, making him jump, but otherwise, no jump scares. 

"Welcome to DNYL club. For your orientation, please grab one slip of paper from the bucket. You will find your missions there. Best of luck!"

They silently approached the stool, and noticed the small cup that was partially filled with folded colorful papers. 

They each looked at each other collectively, wondering if this was what they were planning on doing. 

Renjun was the first to grab a paper out of the cup, until he saw a small note right in front of it. 

"One per group."

"How'd they know we'd be in a group?" Jisung asked, looking at Renjun. 

Renjun shrugged, "maybe because that's how teenagers are nowadays. They are always in groups."

"That's not entirely true," Jaemin said, "we might be in these so-called "groups" but that doesn't mean that we want to be."

Renjun and the others nodded along, each thinking about what they would be doing if they weren't with the people they were with now. 

Renjun smiled, grateful that he was with them before he felt a light nudge to his shoulder. He looked behind him, seeing Jaemin's impatient face looking at him before moving his gaze to the still folded paper in the older's hands. 

Renjun scoffed softly in slight laughter, before looking at his hands once more. 

It's do or die at this point. 

. . .

A/N :

So, I failed.

But, in my sincere apologies, I will be putting up another chapter today just for you all.

I hope you like this chapter, it's a bit of a build up for the next chapter, some plot points happening.

But I hope you look forward to it :)))

Thank you so much for reading!

I hope you enjoyed!

And, as always, until next time!!

started : 2020.3.30
finished : 2020.4.4