Haechan finished his first stage for Istj. He was sweaty and tired. He sat on a couch in the lounging area with a cold bottle of water in his hand while his phone was in his other one.
He texted Umji before setting down his phone. He knew she wouldn't be able to answer him right now, because of her classes.
He could wait. He was patient. Or at least patient enough.
He took a nice, long, sip of the cold water before placing that bottle down. He took a few minutes to rest, not engaging in a conversation with any of his members or staff.
His body was way too tired for that.
Haechan didn't even realize he took a small nap until he was woken up by Mark shaking his body. When he opened his eyes, he saw Mark with worried eyes and furrowed brows.
Now that made him worried.
Picking his body up and rubbing his eyes, his deep and raspy voice asked a question. "Is everything alright?"
Mark looked back at the other members who looked equally worried. Maybe even sad too... Mark shoved his phone into Haechan's face making the idol raise a brow.
Slowly taking the phone, Haechan read what was on the screen.
unknown103 tweeted :
NCT's HAECHAN's girlfriend UMJI being a SLUT in her past relationship.
As he kept reading his face detorted into confused, angry, sad, and then angry and disgust. What made him even more angrier and disgusted was his own girlfriends nudes.
He wasn't disgusted by her, he was disgusted by whoever got them and shared them. That was overstepping so many boundaries, and digging into someones private life like that.
He was surprised and angry about the information that he just found out about Umji and her ex-boyfriend.. but that wasn't important. What was important was seeing if Umji was okay.
He immediately texted her, being left on delivered.
He texted her again. And again. And again. He noticed that she wasn't reading them and most likely saw the tweet of her. She was probably in more shock then him.
He was starting to get frustrated that he didn't know what was going on with her. Is she okay? Is she still in uni? Where are her where-abouts?
Haechan got up with the quickness, making all eyes go onto him. He saw the sadness in his members eyes, immediately understanding that they also saw the tweet.
Taking a deep breath, he spoke calmly, trying not to let out his anger. "I need you guys to find out who made that tweet. And make sure it gets taken down.. everywhere from social media. And make sure to find whoever posted that." He says before walking towards the exit.
"Where are you going?" Mark asked, making Haechan stop but not turn around. "I'm going to see if my girlfriend is okay." And with that, he left the building.
Jaemin was about to go after him until one of the female staff stopped him. "Don't. He needs to talk to her."
Haechan got an uber and quickly made it to Umji's dorm safely. She still wasn't answering any of his calls or texts.
Running towards her dorm, he finally makes and starts to bang on the door. He was waiting for her or even her roommate to answer until he remembers that Umji once told him that she moved out to stay with her boyfriend.
Haechan looked everywhere untik he found a hidden key in her flower pot. Of course she'd have one here. Quickly unlocking the door, he shut it behind him and locked it before making his way towards her room.
He knocked on her door quietly, "Umji?" He muttered out.
Silence.
After not hearing a response, he was going to open the door until he realized it was locked. Not wanting to disturb her privacy, he walked into her kitchen to make her some food.
He realized he was too busy about seeing if Umji was okay that he didn't even notice that he had his shoes on the whole time. He took them off and set them near the front door before going back into her kitchen to cook.
The food wasn't much; just some ramen with an egg. But she loved his ramen, and he never had a problem with making her some.
After he finished making the ramen, he wrapped it up and put it in the fridge so it could warmed up for whenever Umji comes out. He walked out of the kitchen and walked into the living room, sitting on the couch while his foot tapped the ground impatiently.
He was so worried about Umji. He didn't know how she was or what has been happening after the posts dropped. But he knew it wasn't a good reaction.
He just hoped she came out of her sooner so he could give her a big bear hug.
As he was stuck in his thoughts, he heard a door open up quietly. The said girl walked out of her room and saw Haechan. His eyes widen into a fraction of shock before he got up and slowly walked over to her.
The thoughts in her head were screaming that he was disgusted, disappointed, and weirded out about her. But before she could say or do anything, two warm arms wrapped around her waist. Well- one was covering the back of her head in a protective-like manner.
The idol didn't say anything until she heard a sigh come out if his throat. "I know you might think I'm disgusted or angry—which I am—but not at you. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, he's a sick human being. And the person who posted that is too. I love you,"
His words were like a warm blanket that wrapped around her tightly in the snowy storm. She felt safe and comfortable in his arms. Her grip on his sweater slowly tightened, refusing to let go. He only tightened his grip even more.
Haechan pulled away from the hug and looked into the dark brown eyes he always loved. A soft reassuring smile painted his lips, before he kissed the girls forehead and and then a peck on her lips.
"We don't have to talk about it if you aren't comfortable. Whenever you are and want to, you always can. I'll never stop you. But for now, let's get you fed. I made you some ramen." He said, gently grabbing her hand and holding it whike pulling her into the kitchen.
He then opened up the fridge and took out the wrapped up ramen. Unwrapping it, he quickly put it into the microwave and pressed 1 minute and 30 seconds. Once it beeped, he took it out and placed it on the counter where she was sitting.
"Bon apetité," the boy grinned, making a small smile break through Umji's lips. She let out a small 'thank you' before digging into the food made by her boyfriend.
She ate in silence, the boy making himself something to drink while she ate. She was glad he didn't watch her eat, or pressure her into telling him her whole backstory about her fucked up ex.
After finishing the ramen quickly, she made eye contact with those lovely brown eyes. She almost got lost in them. She cleared her throat, not making eye contact with the boy anymore.
"I need to tell you sooner or later. And sooners better." Haechan gave her the 'are you sure' look while she gave him a small nod.
"I met him when I was a junior in high school, so when I was sixteen. We didn't really know eachother, nor care that much for eachother. We had to do a project together and we would stay at eachothers places working on it. That's when we really started to click. Or at least that's what I thought. We started talking more and more, slowly becoming more close and comfortable around eachother,"
"We got so comfy that we started to even hold hands or show affection towards one another. Blah, blah, blah, we started to date. It went smoothly like for the first month or two, but everything went to shit after that. He started to show his true colors. He would bodyshame me, gave me an ED, compliement other girls and then degrade me, manipulate me, verbally and sometimes even physically abuse me."
"I stayed because his 'love' and affection were the only things I really ever had. I've never been in a serious relationship like this before. He rarely complimented me, and when he did, it was usually on my body. "Babe you look really good. Did you lose some weight?" he would usually say. That's when I developed an ED. Well of course—with the help of his bodyshaming. I could barely look at myself in pictures, videos, or even any mirrors. Even seeing my own body in first person was disgusting."
"The one mistake that changed and ruined my life was the nudes. Me sending nudes to him. I didn't want to do it but the pressure and overthinking got to me. All I thought was about making him happy. And that was at a time where I felt most proud of my ED. When I sent them, I waited for a praise, a smile, or even a thumbs up. But all I got was being left on seen."
"The next day almost everyone knew about it. Girls were calling me sluts and avoiding me, guys cat calling me or openly slut shaming me. I was the 'whore' of the school. After high school I quickly moved to a different city, trying to start new. That's when I met Soojun and Dami. The only one's, besides my family, that know about my ex. It still haunts me. I feel physically sick."
Umji finished up the backstory with a shakey sigh, sinking deeper into her already oversized hoodie. Haechan blinked a few times, trying to stuff his brain with the new information. His knuckles were turning white from everything that was just said to him.
He had to let out a few angered breaths before looking his girlfriend in the eye. "I'm so sorry that happened to you. He's a jackass and a fucking weirdo. Everyone who avoided you and treated you like that is. The posts are getting taken down—if not already down so don't worry. I'm so proud of you for being strong— even if it was a fake front," he walked around the counter and pulled the girl into a hug.
Umji inhaled his scent, and before she knew it, tears were running out her eyes. Haechan just stood there, rubbing circles on her back and whispering sweet nothings.
After a few minutes of crying, Umji pulled away and wiped the her tear-stained face. "Gosh, I probably look like a mess right now." She laughed.
"I think you look beautiful." Haechan said. Umji slowly looked into his eyes, his gorgeous sun-kissed skin adored with moles were shining from the light. His brown eyes that felt like a warm fire place in the middle of December. And those pink plump lips.
A smile then appeared on the girls face, her bunny teeth peeking out. That made Haechan's heart race. He always loved her smile, her bunny teeth made her even more extremely adorable then she already was.
He leaned in for a kiss, a short but passionate one. It showed all the love, care, and adoration that he held for her. He pulled away and looked into her eyes, both of his hands on her thighs rubbing soft circles. The gaze made her feel so loved. She felt the love she thought she would never be able to feel again.
True love.
Before she could musterthe courage to speak, Haechan quickly picked her up, making her squeak, and walked over to the couch.
He placed her down and turned on the TV. He went to Netflix and put on one of their favorite shows, Murder Mystery.
She introduced that to him and he immediately fell in love with it.
Realizing what he put on, a smile bloomed her face. They both got comfortable- his back laying on the couch while she laid on top of him.
They watched the movie until Haechan realized she fell asleep. He turned off the TV and picked her up, carrying her to her room.
They enter and he gently places her on her bed sheets. He tucks her in and then got into the bed with her. He felt her cling onto him like a koala. It made him happy. She felt safe around him.
Before he got even more comfortable, he took out his phone and looked on all of his social media. He saw that the tweets and posts about Umji were gone.
Thank God. Haechan sighed in relief. He never felt better. He knows that it'll take some time for everything to go back to normal, but he was going to stay and be there for Umji the whole way. And he will also make sure to know who's behind the posts and tweets about her.
She could properly heal now. And he was determined to help her.
Haechan turned off his phone and placed it onto the nightstand next to him. He then flipped his body and cuddled Umji so that he was the big spoon now.
A/n: next chapter is ljke the second to last chapter of this book imsobbing whatthefuck
• ALSO if ANY of you suffer from an ed, body dysmorphia, anorexia, or is just insecure abt your looks/body; trust me, i've been through all of these. i know it was tough or still is, but you all are so strong for pushing through even if you wanted to give it all up. i can't promise you the next day will be any better, but if you really try to make a singular positive change in your day/life, big or small, it could really turn a shitty day into a good one. also as someone who has suffered and currently is now resuffering an ed, i promise it'll get better. i know you want it to be over soon, but let time do it's thing. get the help that is offered. my dm's are always open if you want to talk :)) ily all so so much muahhh