"Out of the many people
You shined the most
Everyone stared at you..."
Shim Jiwoo was currently with the NCT Dream boys, excluding Mark as he was gone at Thailand along with Doyoung, Taeyong, Ten, and (unfortunately) Jaehyun. Her visit wasn't really for anything, she just genuinely wanted to see what the kids were up to. Eventually, her appearance turned into one like a dance shop. Besides of dancing to their songs My First and Last and Dunk Shot, they began dancing to all songs they really liked. It was a lighthearted, silly time, nothing too serious, not until Haechan brought up the topic that Jiwoo was an ex-trainee.
The subject change lead to the boys wondering how great of a trainee the current composer was. Jiwoo boasted, telling them right off the bat that she would've been a decent idol. This then turned to the boys wanting the older girl to dance for them seriously with whatever song she wanted.
None that were SHINee, Jeno had told her, since, in a way, that would be too easy for her.
However, Jiwoo wasn't too worried. She proceeded to dancing to her fellow company's other artists, like Red Velvet's Dumb Dumb, EXO's Monster, and lastly with NCT 127's Limitless.
"Noona, I got to admit that you're scary good at these dances."
"You shouldn't have doubted me then." Jiwoo slid onto the floor of the room, sweaty and tired from dancing to all three extensive songs. "However, I think I won't be able to dance for the rest of the week. I'm seriously out of shape."
Jisung was quick to bring her a water bottle to drink from, she bared a grin in appreciation at the maknae. She glanced at each of the boys who joined her on the floor in a circle, really enjoying the time she had with the five.
For a while, they all chatted about whatever came in mind, some was for their future activities, some was how much they missed Jaemin's sunshine presence. It made her really miss the complete Dream group, but she knew that his health came first. After all, from the times she visited him, he seemed to be doing well. Soon enough, he'd be out to sing and dance with everyone again.
Their conversation then shifted until something unrelated... more specifically, her relationship with Jaehyun. Hearing them go off on a tangent and actually get very involved in the subject was every bit of overwhelming to Jiwoo. The lone girl slammed her hand to the wooden floor to gain the Dreamies' attention. Once getting them, she quickly reprimanded them, "Excuse me, why are you so invested into my love life? Why are you all out to get me?"
Jiwoo was appalled as they all rounded in how it was fun to tease her sometimes, despite being the babies that should respect their elders. It only got her cheeks burning hotter, and that itself didn't help when she was still flushed from the dancing. She stumbled onto her feet, getting their attention. "I'm going to go to the SM cafeteria to buy a drink, I can't bare to listen to this anymore."
"Omo, what kind of drink?" Chenle mused with a sudden glimmer to his eyes. "Maybe some snacks too?"
"Can you buy us some, noona?" Jisung added, unknowingly doing natural aegyo as he asked.
First they don't believe in her idol abilities, second they go off on her love life, and now they're asking her to buy for them? They must be delusional...
"Wow, you guys sure know how to really surprise a girl, huh?" Jiwoo uttered with a click of her tongue. However, her stonewalls dissolved in the presence of the younger boys. Lowkey, she hates whenever her motherly side comes out for them (and the occasional WinWin) all the time. She let out a sigh in defeat. "Fine, fine. I'll get you drinks, but I demand that you stop talking about my love life."
"Of course, noona," Renjun assured her, a cheeky smile to his lips.
"We tease because we love you," Haechan snickered.
Jiwoo bid a quick goodbye to the Dream kids once getting their orders and left to go to the cafeteria at the second floor of the building.
Her trip had been quick and easy, with her greeting some of her coworkers along the way. However, just as she reached the somewhat lengthy line of the cafeteria, she heard a voice call out to her from behind. One she knew too well but haven't heard directly in too long.
The composer blinked in bewilderment as the man she considered her ultimate bias approached her. She thumped her chest to calm her racing heart. "Jinki-oppa, hello," she greeted the older idol in a jumbled rush. She cursed herself internally for not acting so normal.
The SHINee vocal's smile tugged wide and it emitted an aura of pure delight at their chance meeting. She guessed that even after all that happened, a bias would still have such an effect on her. "Wow, Jiwoo," he chimed, a tint of surprise heard in his voice. "It has been so long since I really talked to you, hasn't it?"
Yeah, years.
"Yeah, it has," Jiwoo answered with a grin in return.
"You look red, did something happen?" He suddenly asked her.
The question caught her by surprise, that she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Oh ah, I was just dancing a while ago, so I'm kind of tired. I haven't really worked out in a while."
"Ah, the prodigy is tired, huh? I never would've thought," He joked, earning a chuckle from the girl. "But, I knew I've seen you around. Mistake me if I'm wrong, but you're working with NCT now, right?"
He noticed that?
"That's right. I kind of make music for them."
"Seriously?" He patted her shoulder, out of his own joy and pride. "Jiwoo, that's fantastic! I knew that no matter what you do, you'd still be very much be with music. You always had a good ear for that." Jiwoo shyly nodded her head, an uncontrollable grin to her lips at the random praise. "It really does make me happy to see you still working here."
"Same, oppa," she beamed.
"Also, correct me again, but did you happen to go to one of our music shows when we promoted with 1 Of 1? It's a weird question, I know, but the guys and I saw this girl standing more towards the back and she looked a lot like you."
Jiwoo's mouth hung agape. "Oh my god, you saw me?"
"It was you? The one who was talking to the camerawoman for-- ah, which show was it?..."
"Music Bank!"
Onew let out a gasp. "It was you then! Wow, you're still a fan of us after so long?"
"Of course!" the girl chimed with a wave of her hand. "I'm still a big fan, I just have been pretty quiet with it for a while. I'm still very much part of the SHINee fan club!" This earned a pleased laugh from the older idol. This didn't fail to give Jiwoo warmth to bring such a grin to his face.
But she will note that this was such a different feeling now. As happy as she was to be chatting with her favorite idol, it definitely doesn't compare to the feeling of making Jaehyun smile. She could feel her heart swell at the thought of his handsome face. So, this must really be what true love was."
"Oh, right, have you seen Songyi-unnie recently?"
The vocal's bright expression slightly faltered. "It's been awhile since I've seen her too."
The sudden change was eye-opening. As someone who admires the singer, Jiwoo can pick up on his usual body movements and facial expression changes. She could tell that he may have been thinking about Songyi this whole time but had his reasons why he couldn't (or wouldn't) visit her. And somewhere deep within him, he may still have feelings for her.
And Jiwoo may have noticed on the times she had her gig at the cafe, Songyi was always smiling, baring it all with a optimistic attitude... but there was a subtle sadness to it. She never really asked, since she didn't want to seem rude about it. But could it be possibly about Onew?
Maybe Songyi had told her that they were on fine terms on the fateful day they talked, just to assure her. But there's clearly something unspoken going on.
Perhaps Songyi still felt guilty for having feelings for her ultimate bias and dating behind her back?
She wants to help them not regret anything, not for her sake.
"Well, you know she works at Queen Kona's, right?" Jiwoo continued on, hoping that she'd get something interesting out of the older man. He merely nodded, his eyes darting away at the particular topic. "You haven't visited her recently? You must be very busy, oppa, but I think it'd be good to see her sometime."
"You two must be on good terms now," Onew stated out of the blue, catching Jiwoo by surprise.
However, she nodded in reply. "Yeah, we fixed everything... so if you and unnie left on weird terms too, I think you should go talk to her." The idol let out a sigh, really showing how much of an impact the idea was. "Do you have any free time in your schedule? It should be good to see her soon or else you'll put it off a lot."
The man pursed his lips, his face contorted into one of thought. He was truly debating it, and Jiwoo inwardly prayed that he would accept. "I'm kind of nervous about it."
"You got nothing to be nervous about, oppa," she told him. "Songyi-unnie would be happy to see you."
"You think so?"
"I know so!"
He looked suddenly shy. "I don't know, would you mind tagging along? For like, moral support?"
"Of course, oppa. As your number one fan, I'll happily assist you."
"Thank you, Jiwoo," he beamed, giving the composer an appreciative pat on her shoulder. "Oh ah, sorry, I must've disturbed you from getting food."
Jiwoo didn't even realize how much time had passed since she had first arrived to the cafeteria. At least by now, the line was significantly shorter than moments ago. However, she thought if the Dreamies were wondering what was taking her so long. It was probably best not to keep them waiting any longer.
"Don't apologize, oppa, I kind of monetarily forgot why I came here in the first place," she reassured her bias. "I was actually supposed to be getting snacks and drinks for NCT Dream."
"Oh really? Then, um, let me pay for it all!" Onew began ushering Jiwoo into the lines as he plucked out his wallet from his jacket pocket. She tried to slow him down, peering up at him as if to say he was out of his mind.
"You don't have to!"
"I want to. For one of my favorite dongsaengs, alright? Plus, you're helping me already for later, so I'm going to make up for it right now."
"If you put it that way..."
"Get all the snacks you want, I got you."
"...Sure, oppa."
Fifteen minutes later, Jiwoo arrived back to the Dream's practice room with bags full of snack for the boys. All five bounded towards her, already tearing away at the food she brought. "Noona, we were just wondering what was taking you so long," Jisung chimed as he picked out a particular potato snack from the plastic bag.
"And ah, was bringing everything too much?" Renjun popped in next with a worried look. "Were you able to get drinks?"
"I did, don't you worry, my children!" Jiwoo replied with a smile. From behind, she made a waving gesture, and before any of the boys knew it, Onew emerged into the room with all their desired drinks. In a fluster, the five quickly greeted their well-established sunbae with respect. "Kind of ran into an old friend and we lost track of time. You all should say thank you to Onew-oppa because he offered to pay for everything."
They were all flabbergasted, but didn't hesitate to do just that, with plenty of bowing to make up for it.
"You're welcome," Onew responded back. He gave Jiwoo one last pat on the shoulder, a smile reciprocating hers. "I'll see you around 9, alright?"
"I'll see you later, oppa."
The SHINee leader left right after.
"Noona, we need an explanation!" Jeno interjected, leading Jiwoo back into the circle they had created before. With a laugh, she settled down with the juice she wanted in hand.
"Yeah what was that?" Haechan uttered out. "Since when were you so close to Onew-sunbae?!"
"Who else did you know?" Chenle butted in next, taking the spot right besides Jiwoo. He linked an arm with hers. "We know you were close to Johnny-hyung--"
"And Sehun-hyung," Haechan added.
"Wait, and Sehun-hyung?!" Jisung's voice cracked.
"Noona, you're holding out on us," Renjun pouted before taking a sip of the juice he had wanted.
"Fine, fine. How about we listen to Shim Jiwoo's days as a trainee? Would that satisfy you all?" All the boys rounded with a solid yes. "Alright, after a while, you guys got to get back to practicing, okay? Don't mention how much time took from you when your manager asks."
"Deal!"
. . .
"Your scent that comes over with the wind
Your cheek that I touch is so cold
I can't believe it
I'm seeing you again
It's a beautiful Beautiful Life
Oh oh It's a beautiful..."
. . .
"Oppa, please just go through the doors. We're going to freeze outside if we don't."
Just as planned, Jiwoo managed to meet up with Onew so to go to Queen Kona's together. They made sure to be very careful with how they arrived to the establishment, and they did that just fine. But, if they stayed around outside the cafe much longer, their discreet outing wouldn't be discreet anymore.
Jiwoo had a hand on the idol's back, edging him closer to the automatic doors, but alas, he barely budged an inch. "Oppa, we're already here, you can't turn back now, I won't allow you. What would your members do?"
"They'd shove me inside."
"Which is something I'm about to do in five seconds if you don't move yourself." Onew gave Jiwoo a cautious glance. She could only shrug at her somewhat harsh statement. "Sorry, but this is for you and Songyi-unnie's own good."
"Alright, alright. Let's--" The man abruptly stopped, his eyes trained through the glass windows. Jiwoo followed his gaze and noticed Songyi had paused to meet his eyes as well. "It's too late to turn back now." Onew placed back the mask he had on over his nose and lips and the two of them finally entered.
They quickly walked through the cafe so to keep the idol's identity hidden, right until they reached Songyi herself. Jiwoo made sure to greet her unnie appropriately before the two could (hopefully) have their heartfelt talk. "I-um... hello," Songyi stammered out, her gaze stuck on the man in front of her. "Should I lead you both to the back room?"
"You two should go right ahead," Jiwoo answered, pushing Onew a step forward towards Songyi. "I'm sure you have a lot to talk about."
"But my cafe--"
Jiwoo waved her hand dismissively at the cafe manager. "Unnie, you have very capable workers here. I'm sure they'll be able to take care of everything while you're busy." She then gestured the two to go right ahead. "I'll be waiting out here for when your both done, okay?"
"Sure, Jiwoo. Thank you," Onew replied.
With the man offering to push Songyi's wheelchair, the two then disappeared towards the back. Pleased at her good deed, Jiwoo decided to buy a coffee for herself and settle herself in the corner of the cafe to wait. Judging by the time, she thought it would be safe to attempt facetiming Jaehyun.
Luckily, it didn't take too long for him to answer the call.
On the screen, however, he wasn't alone. "Jiwoo, hello!" His current roommates, Ten and Doyoung, greeted her all to cheerily.
She waved back at them with a smile. The trio looked to be in the bedroom they shared, ready to go to bed. "Hello, how was today?" She asked the three before taking a sip of her coffee.
It was mostly Doyoung and Ten that had jumped in to explain their day. They were extremely animated, besides the Jaehyun who had to hold the phone for his hyungs with the lack of talk with his girlfriend. Jiwoo couldn't help but internally laugh at the situation, besides, it's always a delight to chat with her fellow 96-liners.
Eventually, possibly due to overhearing them, Johnny and Taeyong appeared as well.
"I heard you fell for the prank hard," Jiwoo snickered at the two oldest boys. With a few more jeers at the poor duo, she added, "By the way, happy birthday again, oppa. We do these things out of love."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Johnny uttered while glaring at the younger three. "I feel the love. Jiwoo, you better not be planning anything mischievous when we get back home." The girl merely shrugged in response. "Don't. My heart was about to drop out of my chest because of today!"
"Hey, I heard you're all going to be seeing elephants tomorrow though, so I think that should make up for it."
"I guess."
Upon catching Jaehyun's still slightly unamused expression, Jiwoo piped up again over the boys' constant chattering. "I don't mean anything against all of you, but can I get the chance to talk to my boyfriend?"
"Wow, Jiwoo. I thought you were better than that," Doyoung muttered teasingly with a shake of his head.
"C'mon boys, let's leave the lovebirds alone," Taeyong chimed in, as he pulled on Johnny for him to follow. The 95 boys bared one last goodbye to Jiwoo before leaving the bedroom.
After small discussion, the three decided it would be best that Jaehyun leave the room and go somewhere more private so they could freely talk. So, with much thought, Jaehyun decided to go outside to the sheltered rest area so to chat with Jiwoo. He even rotated his phone around, so to show Jiwoo the prettiness of the place they stayed at.
"I'm so jealous. It looks so nice over there," Jiwoo sighed with a small pout. "And you get to eat delicious food and see animals."
"Well, maybe next time we go to Thailand, you'd be able to come too," Jaehyun answered. "Beg Seokju-sshi when you can."
A laugh left Jiwoo's lips. "It's just more that I got Dream duties. I'll definitely won't miss next time."
"By the way, are you in Songyi-sshi's cafe?"
"I am. I'm here to do a good deed."
"Good deed?"
"So, I may have run into Onew-oppa today. And I may have influenced him to talking to Songyi-unnie today. They're together right now in the back room. I hope they figure out their feelings for each other."
"That's great, jagi."
"Right?" Jiwoo then rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly as a thought came to mind. "Also, seeing oppa today made me realize how much different the feeling of being around him and around you is." From the small screen, she could see Jaehyun's brow raise at the statement. Clearly, he needed further explanation on this. Jiwoo knew how it was inside of her, but could she even find the words to say aloud to him? "Like my love for Onew-oppa and my love for you is just very different."
The moment Jiwoo received a moment of silence from her boyfriend, she realized she had done something wrong. It wasn't even long ago when she admitted to herself how much she loved this boy. Did she really just confess that in a mindless ramble? Her cheeks were flushed as she backtracked on her own words.
My love for you.
My love for you.
Dear goodness, she wanted to wait until a better time to say that to him. Couldn't she have, at least, let it slip when she was in face to face with him?
She bit down on her tongue to stop herself from muttering much more nonsense.
"Jagi... I think this is something we should talk about once I get back." Glancing back at the screen, she saw those prominent, famous dimples on his face. Dimples only so deep when he's smiling so much. "I'll make the moment perfect when I come see you."
What.
This wasn't good for her health, Jaehyun really should stop making her heart pound so fast in mere seconds.
"Jiwoo!" At the call of her name, Jiwoo turned her head to the direction of the voice. She saw Songyi and Onew come out from the back, the idol already wearing his subtle disguise. In the twenty minutes they have been talking, they both do look emotionally better. The initial uneasiness they both had once first seeing each other after a long time had disappeared. Now they look to be on good terms.
And to Jiwoo's hopes, in terms much better than that.
"I guess I'll have to go now," Jiwoo muttered to the phone. "Call me tomorrow when you can."
"Of course... wait for me, okay? For now..." He held a smile. "I'm just going to say I like you a lot."
The cheesiness of the line got Jiwoo smiling back. He seriously was too much for her. "I like you a lot too, Jae."
"Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Life
Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Life..."
A/n: Song used below~
So, Jiwoo and Onew had their small reunion, and so did Onew with Songyi~ I think it can be up to your imagination if you want Onew and Songyi to be together or not. But at least they don't have anything against them anymore~
I'm planning on maybe working on one or two more bonus chapters for this story before ultimately focusing on my other awaiting ones.
One bonus chapter will focus on a new-ish OC that doesn't have her own story about her (but her own love interest). She's just a supporting character to one of my stories, so maybe you can guess who she'll be. With her being introduced in here, the story will also on one of the NCT members, since he'll be paired with her.
Anyways, that's all for this. I hope everyone had a nice read and that you all have a wonderful day <3