23 Days of NCT

Holiday Pictures - Renjun

"Okay, okay, I'm going," you felt Haechan push you gently. "What's this all about anyway? And can I take the blindfold off?"

"No," Haechan spoke up.

"You're going to like it a lot, though, (Y/N), Ren— mmph!" Chenle is suddenly cut off when someone, supposedly, clasped their hand over his mouth.

"I mean, he did get all of us in on it so..." Jeno's voice was next.

What could've possibly landed you in this situation, you may ask? You were simply just visiting your boyfriend of two years Renjun at the dorms, when, as soon as you knocked, Haechan opened it and dragged you in. In a whirlwind of events, including you voluntarily putting a blindfold on, being ushered out of the dorms, into a car with a rather bumpy ride and who you could've sworn was Yangyang shouting but you couldn't tell because of the blindfold, you were now gently being coerced through what you assumed was a garden based off of the sweet aroma of flowers.

"Okay, we're here!" Jaemin exclaims. You took the blindfold off and, sure enough, your assumption was correct. You looked around the garden, the walkway lit with candles and quaint paper lanterns lined the trees. "Just follow the wooden path, yeah? See you, (Y/N)," and the Dreamies were gone as fast as they transported you here, meaning fast.

"O...kay?" You chuckled awkwardly and walked along the wooden path, you felt somewhat out of place, walking along a beautiful pathway in nothing but sneakers and a casual outfit, then something hanging off one of the tree branches caught your eye. It was your class picture from years ago. You took it off of its clip and looker at it closer, laughing a little at how small Renjun was before continuing on, holding the picture in your hand. You found another one a few steps later, this time it was a class trip to the orchestra, it was a picture of your class group and, again, Renjun was in it. You were starting to see a pattern here, so you took the picture and continue on, knowing what to expect next.

Needless to say your prediction was wrong, you thought the next picture would've been your first date but no, it was a picture of an old study session you both happened to go to. Then it was a picture of when he went over to your house to deliver mooncakes his parents had made, and then when you went to his for a similar reason, then it was another class trip to an amusement park, and after so many more that you were surprised he kept, it was finally your first date in a small cafe when you were in high school. Then more sweet memories until, finally, it was a picture of you and Renjun on the day before he left on his train to Korea, the day you broke up, you had no idea that that was going to be your last day together. You stared at it, the rush of feelings from that day coming back to you. You put it at the bottom of the stack and continued on, looking at the pictures from the day you got back together and every date after that, some pictures were the both of you and some were just of you. Then, you came to the last picture, which you recalled was just yesterday actually. It was you fast asleep in the practice room, waiting for Renjun to be finished.

You unclipped that last picture. This was your first year you were together for Christmas, wasn't it? The sound of a camera shutter confirmed it for you.

"Just a test film," Renjun waved the polaroid in the air before putting it in his pocket. "Hey, (Y/N)," he looks at the photos in your hand.

"Hi, Junnie," you smiled. You walked up to him and handed him the pictures. "I can't believe you kept all of these," you were in slight awe.

"Ah, most of them were from my mom. She texted them to me last week and told me we looked so cute," Renjun laughed.

"Sounds like something she'd do," you answered while Renjun looked through the pictures.

"Shall we add to the collection then?" Renjun stepped next to you and held the polaroid in front of the both of you. He takes the picture quickly and as soon as the polaroid comes out he flipped it over and handed it to you.

You never really realized how long you and Renjun knew each other until now. It was a bit strange to say, but sometimes you truly believed in fate. It was pure coincidence that you and Renjun ran into each other again after that day, you could barely believe it yourself, to be honest. You both happened to be at the right place at the right time, you'd say. You had only entered the company building with a friend of yours who was, surprisingly, a big EXO-L and right as you were exiting he was coming in and the rest was history from there, although you could never really forget the initial shock that was learning that you've broken up with your boyfriend from a letter that he left on top of your laptop of all things, and that he had cut off all communication when you found out he changed his number.

Renjun was thinking the same, looking at the printed screenshot of the instagram post of when you and your friend walked into the company building. Maybe he believed in fate too, because if you both never ran into each other that day he would've never regained the courage to reconnect and, in the long run, get back together. This was your first Christmas together, even including when you were together for a short time in China, even in the first year when he had commitments to the company and you understood that he wasn't allowed a break. And he was determined to make this one count, you deserved it more than he did after he broke up with you and was inevitably the one to come back despite the circumstances, the guilt had always eaten away at him especially when he realized that he didn't know what he lost until it was gone. He'd always be grateful for the second chance you gave him. He already knew it, but this Christmas was going to be a little more special.