war of love, jeno

chapter thirty-one

"So how was your first day attending class?"

Jeno groaned, crossing his arms on top of the front of his motorcycle as he leaned down on top of them. "My partner wasn't there and it was boring."

Mark sat up, a bit surprised to hear about the absence of the partner, "really?"

Jeno nodded, "yep. I should probably message her though. We need to work on our project still."

The thought of messaging Eunjin made Jeno's stomach flip. He knew why she wasn't there and he had been stabbed enough times to know that moving can be extremely painful.

He wondered if she was still up for meeting him the following day or if she'd have to call it off. He didn't mind either but due to the project, they had to be together at some point.

Maybe if they explained to the teacher what happened to Eunjin and how it's hard for them to communicate at the moment, she'd let them off the hook.

Jeno wasn't too sure he wanted off the hook, though. This was his chance to finally get close to Eunjin once again without the others knowing about it.

He wondered if it was selfish to think in such a way but the thought urged in his mind. It had been so many years yet every time he caught a glimpse of the girl his heart sped up and his throat felt dry.

It was embarrassing to think about. All these years yet he still had feelings for a childhood crush. He hadn't dated anyone yet had his fair shares of hookups and such for a regular twenty-one-year-old guy.

He wondered if she still had the ring necklace he gifted her years ago. He still had his but it now fit his finger well enough to be worn.

"Jeno?"

The blond-haired boy sat up immediately, squinting against the sunlight as he tried to come back to reality, "yeah, yeah. I'm up."

Mark chuckled, turning the keys as his motorcycle roared. The people around them immediately moved away, none of them wanting to be near the two boys.

"Renjun said he'd meet us over at the cafe around the block," Mark informed him, putting on his helmet. Jeno followed his movements, pulling on his helmet and starting his bike.

Their blood pumped heavily as they took off, the air pushing vastly through the jackets as they road to the nearby cafe.

One of the things about NCT that Jeno loved immensely was the fact that they rode motorcycles. Riding it gave him life and let the wind flow past him at such a high rate that it felt like he was falling out of reality.

A smile crossed his face as he saw people speeding away upon seeing him and Mark park. Although he didn't appreciate the rumors about how bad they were, he did like the way people strayed away from them.

All of the members appreciated it. Most of them were rather introverted than extroverted and the lack of interaction they had to have with non-gang members was nice in their opinions.

"Do you know what you're gonna order?" Mark asked him, holding the door open as Jeno walked inside.

The younger boy shook his head, "it's my first time here. I don't even know what they sell yet," he pointed out.

Mark nodded, letting the door close as the two of them walked towards the front of the line. Their faces became cold as they read the menu, making the girl at the register timidly back away slightly.

Neither of them cared, only reading over the small print. A minute passed before the door opened once again and a hand was placed on both of the boy's shoulders.

"You guys always take so long to pick," Renjun joked, splitting them up to walk between them. He approached the register, only taking a minute to place his order.

By the time he had finished Mark and Jeno had already decided what they wanted. The two of them stood closely behind Renjun, letting him order for them.

"Since when did we have security cameras and why was I never informed?"

Jihan guiltily rubbed her knees realizing her mistake. "The house came with them and I just put the app on my phone. I didn't ask you because I didn't think you cared. I know, the wrong move, I'm sorry."

Eunjin shook her head, "it's fine but the only person I had over was my partner to get our baby. But he left before you guys even got back. And he came through the front, not the back."

Jisoo placed her fork down, her appetite suddenly going away. "Then... who was just at your back door?"

Jihan's face showed her uncomfortableness as she pulled open the security app once again. Her breath hitched as she stared at her screen.

"What is it?" Chaeyoung asked.

Jihan didn't say anything as she stood up quickly, her heart beginning to beat even quicker as she made her way to the back door.

Her fingers became slick as they wrapped around the door handle, her stance becoming defensive in case someone was standing there.

Her arm pulled harshly towards her body as the back door swung open- catching all of the other confused girls off guard.

"Jihan, what are you doing?" Chaeyoung tried to ask. Jihan didn't reply in any way as she stepped out cautiously, looking around the backyard.

"Are we supposed to be looking for something?" Eunjin whispered to Yuna. The younger girl could only shrug, not understanding what was happening either.

"Jihan, you gonna tell us what exactly you're looking for?" Jisoo asked, stepping outside.

The older girl pulled out her phone, going to the last video on the security app.

The other girls stared speechless as the video showed someone in a mask and large hoodie walked towards the security camera. Their hands went above the camera for a second before the screen went black.

"Someone broke our camera," Jihan pointed out, looking up at the now shattered piece of equipment.

so what are we thinking???
who could it be 👀

sorry for the lat update again, someone is gonna have to start reminding me 🤧