Colors || Lee Jeno

Chapter 19

Hyewon smiled as she and Lucas circled each other on the map, the room silent as all the boys watched them. She knew this was just a match, but she also knew this was like a test. Sure, she'd trained with them before, but it was always lighthearted even though they knew she was skilled.

This was a chance to fight someone else. Someone not on NCT who would treat her carefully as not to piss off Jeno. Lucas would hit her hard and he wasn't going to hold back.

This was a test. To prove that she could fight and win. To prove herself to NCT. And she was not one to fail without a fight.

With a huff she ran at Lucas, seeing him tense up before she turned at the last second and approached him from behind. He spun, off balance, and she quickly grabbed his wrist and twisted him to the ground.

He was quick to scrambled back to his feet, but so was she. He quickly went on the offense, swinging at her with forceful lunges.

Her eyes widened as one of his hits finally landed on her, the pain sending a shock through her body as she forgot he didn't fight like the rest of them.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Jeno tense up, Jaemin and Mark quickly grabbing his shoulders and reassuring him.

With a growl, she launched herself at Lucas, sprinting at the larger boy but instead of running into him, she ran past him, grabbing hold of his shoulder on the way and flipping him backwards onto his stomach. His eyes widened in shock, the unexpected move one she had learned from Taeyong.

She slid across the mat back to her friend before he could get up, placing a foot on his back to claim her victory. After an approving nod from Taeyong, she backed off and helped him up.

"Goddamn, I need to train here." Lucas exclaimed, rubbing his sore shoulder. "When did you fucking learn to do that?"

"I've been training here for longer than you probably think." She laughed out. "And Taeyong knows a lot of tricks." She added, high fiving the leader as he passed by her.

"Hey, you alright?" Jeno asked, gently placing his fingers on her chin and turning her face from side to side as he surveyed her. "Not hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine, Jeno." She chuckled, smiling at him as she saw Lucas practically melting at their interaction out of the corner of her vision. "I deal with worse almost every day."

"I know, you're so tough." He sighed as they walked towards the other boys. "But still, I don't want you hurting when I can help it."

"That's sweet." She replied with a grin. "But don't worry, I promise I'm okay."

"You'll team me if you're ever hurt, right?"

"Of course."

"Good." He said, straightening up. "So.... Movie night?"

- - -

"Do you ever think about the future?" Jeno mumbled as the movie came to an end, most of the boys already fast asleep.

"The future?"

"Yeah I mean.... Like where we'll all be in 10 years or something." He sighed, a nervous smile on his face.

They'd been doing well as friends, but he knew his feelings were much stronger. He could still feel her holding back, but he wanted to see if he could push her a bit. Maybe that's what she needed to open up to him and finally stop clinging onto the guilt of her ex.

"Oh... the future...." She trailed off, sitting up straighter. "Not really. Have you?"

"I've been thinking about it more and more." He replied, turning to face her.

He saw her cock an eyebrow at him, an intrigued expression on her face but nervousness in her eyes. He knew she was smart enough to probably guess what he was doing, how he was testing the waters, but he kept going.

"Yeah? Like what?" She asked.

"I've been thinking about you and me." He sighed with a nervous smile. "I can't wait to spend all our time together. Going on missions, having fun in the city, starting a family...."

"That sounds.... That sounds really nice." She said slowly, a smile creeping onto her face.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I'd like that someday. You and I."

"You and I..."

Jeno stared deep into her eyes, the dark orbs drawing him in as always. She stared back up at him, a warmth running through her body. At this point, she would usually feel those butterflies she always did with Xiaojun, that hint of nervous excitement but she felt none of that. She felt calm.

She watched as his eyes flickered down to her lips before the two of them slowly began to lean into one another. Before she could even hesitate, their lips connected in a sweet kiss.

She could feel Jeno smiling through the kiss and after a moment she began to kiss back. The only other person she'd ever kissed was Xiaojun.

Xiaojun.... Xiaojun!

Her eyes widened in realization before she quickly pulled away, a nervous blush on her face. She glanced at Jeno, who was just smiling at her before she quickly cleared her throat.

"I uh... I think it's getting kinda late." She said quickly, standing from her spot and shaking Lucas awake. "We should get going."

"Oh yeah of course." Jeno replied, snapping out of his lovestruck daze. "Wouldn't want you to get in trouble. Want me to walk you out?"

"No no it's fine." She said quickly, a nervous hitch to her voice. "I know the way out, I'll uh, I'll see you soon."

"Bye, Hyewon."

He watched her flash him a quick smile, Lucas dipping his head to the younger boy before the two of them darted out.

Jeno was ecstatic. He'd finally kissed her. Hyewon's reaction was a bit strange but he was too excited to even spend more than a second thinking about it. He let out a deep sigh before flipping back down onto the couch with the other dreamies, a content smile on his face as he drifted off to sleep.