across - NCT NA JAEMIN FF

seven

KIM YUN

I arrive in front of Chenle's apartment and ring the doorbell politely. He yells from me to come inside and I punch in the passcode.

His apartment is probably the most intricately-designed among the rest of ours. There are a few Chinese antiques and paintings that decorate the whole area and their furniture is the kind you'd feel guilty to sit on.

The smell of cooking reaches my nose and my mouth instantly waters. I see Chenle moving around the kitchen, focused on his task.

I walk toward his room to my left. "I'll borrow your clothes! Thanks!" I shut the door while he's saying something I don't catch. I drop my bag next to the door and sigh at the bright screens that have been left on. "Just because you can afford it, doesn't mean you shouldn't turn off your gadgets when you're not using them!" I shout as I go to turn off his 24" TV showing a finished game and 2 desktop computers, one displaying homework and the other YouTube videos.

All of a sudden, the bathroom door opens and I jump up with a small yelp. The boy who walks out waves a tired hand at me and walks past to the couch in front of the television.

"You look tired," I comment as I move to look for some clothes in Chenle's closet. I pick out a tshirt and some old joggers that probably don't fit him anymore.

"We had PE today," Jisung says with his eyes closed. "Football."

I move into the bathroom to change. I am dying for a shower, I need one. I suppose it can wait till after dinner. "So instead of going home to rest, you came here to play video games?" I ask disapprovingly.

"It's relaxing. And I did rest. After one game, Chenle played alone because I fell asleep," he says defensively.

The door of the room opens and Chenle sticks his head in to call us for dinner. I hastily wrap up my school uniform in a bundle and throw it next to my bag on my way out.

My jaw drops as soon as I enter the kitchen and see the food Chenle had prepared. There's glazed pork, drizzled with some interesting sauce, roasted vegetables, and the classic ramen but it's topped with different garnishes. He sees my facial expression and smirks proudly. Jisung comes in too and brings a hand to his mouth.

"I was thinking it might be too much. How about we call–"

Jisung and I act in sync as we pull out our chairs and start eating. "No. We can finish this," he says, determined with food already stuffed in his mouth.

Chenle laughs at our reactions before joining us to devour the meal.

"It's so good!!!" I tell him when I take a piece of the mystery pork. The glaze seems to melt in mouth and the pork is soft and chewy.

Jisung eats quietly but in huge amounts. Chenle eats as well, but spends more time watching us enjoy his food.

Toward the end of the meal, when things are slowing down and only the vegetables aren't finished yet, conversation begins. It's like this a lot for us three. We stuff ourselves with food without talking and then before the meal ends that's when we do. And when we do start, we can go on for hours.

"How was your hangout?" Chenle asks me after slurping the last of his ramen's soup. I suppose Jeno told him.

"Not as bad as I expected," I say honestly, remembering the fun I had and my conversation with Taehyun. "His friend is pretty cool. He's actually got the same birthday as you," I tell Jisung.

He raises his eyebrows. "Oh? What's his name?"

"Kang Taehyun. I actually thought he was from abroad. His eyes, nose, and lips all stand out. He's pretty attractive," I admit.