Golden ◂ NCT Jaemin

14 ◂ Caller

I watched that video but I didn't realize how adorable Haechan and Sungchan were, I'm heartbroken

◂ 14 ▸

With a cup of coffee in his hand, Jaemin sat down on the sofa. He didn't say anything but it was easy to see that he was in a bad mood. 

The room was filled with a lot of noise. Chatter, music, clicking and shuffling. It wasn't as loud as it could have been but it still filled the space generously. 

At the other end of the room, on the floor in front of the TV, sat Renjun, Haechan and Sungchan. The older two were competing in a game, controllers in their hands, whilst the youngest was watching excitedly. 

Amidst that, Jeno's gaze got stuck on Jaemin who was taking slow sips of the hot beverage as he stared into the air emptily. 

He seemed worried. 

Jeno nudged the younger one's shoulder with his own before he asked, 
"What's on your mind?" 

Jaemin took another sip of his coffee before answering. 

"Lawyer Go," he said. "I feel like it's not going to work out." 

Jeno smiled sympathetically. "You're overthinking it. You planned it well and you even got Jie to help us. There is no reason to be worried." 

Jaemin nodded, even though he didn't fully agree. He wasn't quite sure. Somehow it felt like it couldn't be that easy. 

Chenle and Jisung stepped into the room at that exact moment. The older of the two looked at his friend in confusion. 

"Jie's gonna work with us?" he questioned, Jaemin nodded. "Since when did she...?"

"We talked to Taeyong today," Jaemin explained when he suddenly thought of something. He glimpsed to the front of the room. "Sungchan?" 

It took him a second to rip his eyes off the screen and look back at Jaemin. "Hm?" 

"I forgot to ask Taeyong the other day," he began, "but I was curious what exactly you, Shotaro and Jie are doing." 

"Oh," Sungchan pushed out flatly, surprised that he didn't know. He turned around. "Did you hear about what happened to Hongjoong?" His question was met with a hesitant nod only. 

Jaemin remembered that there was something... but what was it again?

Chenle filled in the gap. "Weren't they working on something regarding money laundering?" he thought out loud. 

Sungchan nodded. "Right. And doing that, they discovered that someone high up is open for bribery. They were close to finding out who, when Hongjoong got into an 'accident'. He got injured pretty badly, so they stopped looking into it." 

"Is he okay now?" Jeno asked quickly. 

"He is fine," Sungchan reassured him. "But he was worried that they would keep targeting his group, so after talking to Taeyong, he decided to pretend to disband until things are cleared up." 

Jisung seemed a little lost but intrigued nonetheless. "Sounds risky." 

Which Sungchan agreed to but also noted that, "We are working hard. If we can just get the right person's attention, it's as good as done. It's just hard to say how long it will take." 

Jeno smiled. "Good to hear that you are so confident though." 

The others wordlessly agreed with him. Within their group, even though they often worked in smaller teams, everyone was rooting and looking out for one another. It was like a big family. 

Like home. 

So Sungchan was happy too. "I'm also glad that you guys are working together again," he mentioned, leaving it unsaid that he was talking about Jie. "She said it was cool last time. She praised Chenle's acting in particular." 

Surprised but more than satisfied, Chenle showed the others a smug smirk and gave himself a mental pat on the back. 

"She is comfortable with you," he added and gave them one last brief, approving smile before he turned back around and so did Renjun and Haechan, now focusing on the TV screen again as their game resumed. 

Jisung gazed at the back of Sungchan's head. "How do you know that?" 

"I asked her," he replied without looking back. 

More than pleased, Chenle leaned back and interlocked his fingers behind his head. 
"We are amazing," he stated proudly. 

"We must be," Jisung mumbled under his breath. 

Renjun, Haechan and Sungchan were no longer listening at this point, and Jaemin and Jeno merely watched the youngest two with a mixture of amusement and confusion. 

Interrupting the scene, Jaemin's phone suddenly rang. Its noise bounced through the room, the screen was shining brightly. 

Jaemin frowned at the name of the caller but quickly picked up the phone. 

"Hey Xiaojun," he greeted. Jeno side-eyed the younger boy. 

"Jaemin, do you have time right now?" he asked. There was a lot of noise in the background, making it obvious that he wasn't at home. 

"Yeah, what do you need?" he replied without hesitation. 

But since it was Jaemin, he probably should have hesitated. 

◂ Caller ▸

Hey! Sorry for the wait, but welcome back~

I hope you are doing well. Take good care of yourselves 💚