❝ when i'm with you
danger seems like a good thing ❞
¤━━━¤
"the attendance report, it was on my phone!" she paced around the room, her hair stressfully combing through her fingers
"you tell that to me, now?!" winwin groaned at the lack of common sense she possessed "it's report day hyejin!"
"i know!" she exclaimed, voice fraught with tension "that's why i'm stressing!"
"where'd you leave it?" winwin calmed himself down, placing his hand against the table to steady himself
"if i knew i would've found it by now" she harshly banged her head against the already weak wall
"how many attendances have you missed?" winwin flipped through her clipboard
"4" she almost felt shameful as she said that
"4!?" winwin exhaled with a shaky breath "this is your last strike then"
if hyejin were to leave Stone, one, he'd be dead worried, two, he'd have to do this workload all by himself.
the two has grown extremely close in the past 3 years, sharing secrets and their thoughts with each other, comforting each other and buying each other snacks. it was a healthy friendship...a deserving one after everything that had happened to get them here.
"my phone is was at the place i met chenle yesterday" she snapped her finger, pointing it towards winwin.
"what? there's no way you're going to go meet him, not under these circumstances" winwin shook his head, not willing to take a risk that could cause both him and hyejin to go under the bus
"it's either that or i'm kicked out of Stone. i have to go" hyejin had already gone to grab her bag from the compromised hook against the wall
"report is in a few hours, you're going to get yourself kicked!" winwin exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air
"i'd rather take the bargain than watch my death"
¤━━━¤
her airy jacket hoodie over her cap, she ducked her head low, her hands showed deep inside her pockets. her hair was let out, but because of the length, it became inconvenient when she was trying to see.
the police went easy on girls, so her wavy hair was her only identification
she interlaced through the crowd, her feet taking her in strides where she found herself waddling over to the area with the lack of space. finally arriving at the designated area, she slipped behind the shadow and let her eyes become her own torch. she was good at seeing in the dark, she wasn't sure why, it was just something that came with her when she was born.
the metal device was nowhere across the concrete, and physics didn't say that the wind could move a heavy metal object. her phone was old yes, but that didn't mean it was light.
furrowing her brow, she traced the premise again, letting her hand glide over the rocks and pebbles littered across the concrete. this was known place for criminals and rebels, so she didn't really think anyone would call out on her for looking suspicious
straightening back up again, she dusted her hands off but before she could react, a surprisingly gentle grip tore her away from the sight, her body crashing into a fire escape.
her back hit the wall abruptly, the flood of light blinding her eyes. the hood of her hoodie fell over her hair, her chin pointed downwards to avoid any eye contact with who this stranger was
although she already knew
the cap was lifted off her head, the hood falling off along with it. gulping, she rose her eyes to meet with a distantly intimidate pair of eyes. she knew those eyes like second nature, but she refuses to believe that.
her heart strung onto the overbearing weight of the nostalgia, the absence of a plateau gaze made everything a million times worse
they were forbidden lovers, but lovers nonetheless. ancient, but still thriving
hyejin dipped her head down once again, pushing herself forwards to run away from her problems again, but the same touch pulled her back against the wall
"hyejin" his voice use to ring like melodies, now it sounded like alarms constantly telling her that some boundaries shouldn't be broke
and this was one of them
"please" it shook, and that's what hurt the most "don't run away"
chenle's had many pillow soaked nights, yet he was claimed to be someone who had never cried. dysthymia has a way of getting to his emotions, both willingly and unwillingly. it was a debate over his morals and his emotions, the latter winning the battle
hyejin stood still, her eyes fixed on the polished wall behind chenle. she couldn't face him after everything; getting back with winwin, leaving without notice, ditching him for her survival and throwing his feelings aside. she was at fault, but without those faults, she may never be able to see chenle instead, all she'd see would be a pair of angel wings as she ascends into the cloudy heaven.
"listen, my phone" she flickered her eyes up to his "i need it"
"let me do one thing, just one" chenle pleaded, her wrist warm under his grasp. chenle's once roughened hands softened, leaving a fuzzy feeling in hyejin's heart to erupt. he'd changed so much, because of her. she did miss badass chenle, but she couldn't depict whether he still broke against all rules now.
she didn't know him now, and she refused to know him later
he was a stranger, nothing more, nothing less. acquaintance at most.
fishing into his pocket, he placed a paper envelope into her hands, the burden of going against NCT catching up to him now
"what is..." she undid the rope, the seal lifted off carefully
"the money" he exhaled through his nose "from three years ago"
at this moment, she didn't want it anymore. she didn't want the memories, the pain. she didn't want the reason that she met chenle to resurface again. if she hadn't met chenle, things would have been easier
but she did, and the expected regret was nowhere to be found
"chenle, those are just the past. take it back" she shoved the bag into his chest
"no" his voice came out scarily than expected "the money was yours in the first place"
"we're in the present. whatever happened three years ago doesn't matter now. we're nothing chenle, we live in two seperate worlds. we don't belong together and even faith had spoken up. the gods don't like us together, destiny doesn't like us together, the sun doesn't like us together. we don't belong together" hyejin rambled, the money in her hand weighing as heavy as bricks
"what we had wasn't a coincidence. deny it or not, but i knew that we did have something. i thought my whole life was wasted when your blood was on the floor, it felt horrible" chenle argued straight back at her
"what you don't understand is that i cant keep living back in that horrid history. we're done for, and you know that. we shouldn't have been together in the first place and that was a dumb decision. sorry, but i made a mistake. put our relationship behind us and move on in our seperate lives. our paths are different, and sometimes, breaking the rules only leads to chaos" she blurted, sticking a finger to his chest.
"what have you become hyejin?" chenle scoffed, watching as the past hyejin left before his eyes
"i'm the same person, just a person who's realised that i need to fix a mistake that i have made. i'm not suppose to be here with you, i cant and i'll get myself killed if i do. you and i clearly cant stay together, it'll only ruin everything i've worked hard for" she was breathless by the end of it.
"so you're just going to give up. i thought you weren't afraid of anything" chenle knew he wasn't talking to the hyejin he once had fallen for.
it didn't seem like her, this couldn't be her
"i'm afraid of a lot of things lele" that nickname didn't sound as sweet anymore "one being getting closer to you. i've learnt the consequences the hard way and i won't let it happen again."
"is it...that hard to you to start over? i've searched for you for 3 years, 3 whole years and...i've found a stranger in return" he voice cracked, not in the brink of tears but in the brink of lashing out. he didn't want to hurt her, but she was pushing the limits
"nothings going to change. the cycle with continue and both of us will be hurt in the end" she took a second, letting a shaken breath fall out of her lips "you're vulnerable chenle, and both you and i know that"
"your heart...is it not beating for mine anymore?" his eyes shook between her shaking lips and her wavering eyes, her breaths coming out drier and drier.
"you're not getting my-" and a pair of lips were on hers, the bosom touch grazing over her skin. she didn't move her arms, she just steadied herself against the wall, her hands frozen in place.
she had missed this: the feeling of his gentle yet rough contact, the adrenaline that rushes into her heart and sends shivers down her spine. he was such a dangerous entity to her, and somehow, she fell into it every time
she let her eyes flutter shut just to let free of restrictions for a second, her eyelashes balancing a single marble tear drop. she could feel his hand press against the wall behind her, his finger curling slightly as she felt his eyebrows furrow.
with one last sorrowful press to the lips, he broke away, his forehead pressed against her, disheveled breaths fanning onto her lips that were now taken in by her top teeth
"nothing?" he breathed, the distance between them mere 0.
everything
her mouth spoke otherwise
"nothing"
that was the biggest lie she's ever uttered since rekindling with chenle, and she regretted it as soon as it left her mouth.
he didn't give up. raising two finger to press it against her pulse in her neck, hyejin was quick to rip it off his skin "i said nothing
there wasn't any turning back in hyejin's book
"ok" he blinked, pushing himself away from her "thanks" he left with the phone shoved into her hand.
"chenle" she didn't know what she was meant to say after calling him back. chenle seemed to stop on his own accord.
turning around ever so slowly, he smiled small to her "let's not meet again, ok?"