Golden ◂ NCT Jaemin

62 ◂ Ridiculous

just another day of na jaemin raising my standard for men oops

◂ 62 ▸

"You look like shit."

"Fuck off." 

Amused, Jeonghan chuckled under his breath ere he stepped into the room. He ran his eyes up and down the girl carefully as he reached to grab the door. Glimpsing over his shoulder to make sure there was no one there, he closed it eventually. 

Once the door fell in its lock, he let the corners of his lips drop, letting go of his smirk and swapping it with a surprising amount of concern. 

Concern for a girl that seemed like she herself didn't care much. Being there, locked in that room, far from home - but still, as per usual, she seemingly didn't mind. Once again, her indifference was what calmed Jeonghan down. 

And that although he noticed it. He noticed that, this time, she was just pretending. She hated being here. She hated the people. She hated being so vulnerable. 

But feeling like she came back to where she started as if she never even left in the first place - that's what she despised the most. 

Knowing all that, he walked up to the girl and crouched down in front of her. Though she kept her eyes on him, she didn't move. With her legs stretched out and hands in her lap, she just quietly watched Jeonghan. 

"Don't pretend to be so tough now." As he said that, he brought a hand up to her face and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear only to reveal a bloody bruise on her temple. "You don't know how long you will be here. Relax a little while I am with you," he said, making it sound more like a plea than an offer. 

Jie, however, didn't react much to this. His concern came as a surprise, but her mind was occupied with other things. 

"Don't risk blowing your cover just to visit me," she warned. 

He pretty much ignored her as he replied only with a breathy, "You're welcome." He placed his water bottle in her lap. "Drink something."

Jie frowned, looked at the bottle doubtfully. He sighed, annoyed by how sparingly she offered him her trust. 

"I bought that for you. It's open, I pretended to drink from it so it wouldn't look so suspicious," he explained quickly. "At least try to trust me." 

She hesitated but he seemed to be sincere. "Thanks." 

And as she took the bottle and drank a few sips, Jeonghan pulled something out of the back pocket of his pants that was covered by his sweatshirt.

It was a small spray bottle of which he took the cap off, then covered Jie's eyes with his hand and sprayed the liquid onto the bruise without another word or an attempt to explain. And Jie didn't flinch but she questioned,

"What's that?" 

"Disinfectant," he mumbled absent-mindedly as he took a tissue and gently tabbed over the bruise. "I can't clean or dress your wounds because he would notice. But I thought I could at least do this." Jie stayed quiet until Jeonghan eventually added, "I don't know, I don't usually care for people." 

"I can tell," Jie replied with an amused smile.  

Throwing a glare at her, Jeonghan then ignored her and checked the rest of her body for any obvious injuries. Using that moment to inspect the older one, Jie had to wonder, 

"Why are you doing this? You don't have to, it's not part of the deal," she reminded him. "And you don't like me enough to just do this as a friendly gesture." 

He couldn't argue with that. He couldn't deny that. But this had nothing to do with liking. This was all about principle to Jeonghan. 

"Because I know you would do the same for me," he said. He smirked, tilted his head as he looked at her and noted, "You may kill people without hesitation but you are actually a big softie."

Jie rolled her eyes. "Says the one that brought disinfectant to the girl he kidnapped."

Which caused him to gasp. "I didn't--" he whispered eagerly ere he stopped himself. "I explained already. I didn't have time."

"I know," she said. "I was just teasing you." 

"Look what state you are in and yet you are teasing me?" He sighed, ran his eyes over the visible bruises here and there, spread generously across her body. "Does it hurt a lot?"

Jie wasn't quite sure what to say. There was no clear answer for her. All she had in mind was,
"It could be worse."

"He really took his anger out on you," Jeonghan said. "I told you this was a stupid plan."

"It's the best plan to make sure no one gets hurt."

"You are hurt," he deadpanned.

"I don't care about me as long as the others are fine."

"That little boyfriend of yours would be disappointed to hear that." Jeonghan sighed as he let himself fall onto the floor, now no longer crouching. "God, he shouted at me the second he got the chance to."  

"He is just worried." 

Fair enough. 

Especially since Jeonghan understood that. As much as it calmed him down to know that she could be - or rather pretend to be - this unbothered despite the situation, Jeonghan was still a little unsettled. 

Which was ridiculous. 

It's not like she was growing on him. 

It's not like he actually cared. 

So when he asked her, 

"Can you hold on a while longer?" 

it was purely out of curiosity. Because, after all, he promised to look out for her and he wasn't particularly keen on breaking that promise. 

Jie waited a moment. She wanted to sound confident but her lack of trust in her own plan was obvious. Still, in the end, she managed to offer him an optimistic, 

"I said I would." She smiled at him. "I don't like to lie, you know?" 

"Yeah, I already noticed your painful honesty." He pushed himself up, brushed his hands off on his trousers and put the small bottle back into his pocket. "Try your best not to provoke Li Huang while you are here, will you?" 

She hummed. "I can try." 

He scoffed. "You don't feel the severity of the situation, do you?" 

She shrugged. "It's easier if I don't care. It's not like getting anxious is going to save me now." 

Jeonghan agreed. "Right." He sighed as he took his water bottle back. "Then sit tight while I make sure that you get rescued before Li Huang loses his temper with you." 

She nodded curtly. "Sounds like a plan." 

"A stupid plan," he mumbled as he walked over to the door. 

"But you agreed to it," she argued. 

"I regret it," he said jokingly just a second before he left the room and locked the door again, leaving the girl on her own. 

◂ Ridiculous ▸

ngl I had so much fun these last couple of chapters with everyone hating on Jeonghan when, actually, he wasn't that bad all along

short chapter, sorry! but it's still Christmas here so take it as a small present~ 💚