CELEBRITY SKIN .. nct dream

sixty-five

jiae had said no when donghyuck asked if she wanted to ditch jaemin's surprise party. at least, she did at first. but there wasn't much reason to stay after he blew out the candles, since jaemin spent the majority of the party admiring his girlfriend. jiae doubted he'd notice if she and hyuck left, so when the others started an intense game of jenga, jiae let her boyfriend take her hand as they snuck out of the house.

it was cool for an august night, causing jiae to tug on her sleeves as she and haechan made their way to his cousin's store. when he noticed her tense shoulders, hyuck smiled to himself and released jiae's right hand in order to wrap his arm around her and pull her chose. once she was tucked neatly under his arm, he slyly intertwined his fingers with her left hand.

"you're so cheeky," jiae mumbled with a small smile on her lips, shyly cuddling into his side. his presence filled her with relief, and his touch melted her insides. jiae hadn't felt such emotions for anyone before, and she never wanted that carefree, lovesick feeling to go away.

his chuckle sent a gently rumble up her arm, causing jiae's smile to grow into a laugh. "cheeky," he said. "that's a new one."

jiae looked up at his face, admiring the way the streetlights glimmered in his dark eyes. he was smiling, the expression mirroring hers, and it made jiae want to flop onto the ground and ask whatever higher being there was how she got so lucky.

when he smile shifted, his eyes darting to something past jiae's head, her immediate instinct was to follow his gaze. before she had the chance to turn, donghyuck released her hand and quickly cupped the side of her head, covering her face and preventing her from looking behind her.

"what is it?" she ask, unable to keep the slight tremble out of her voice.

without explaining, haechan pulled her closer to his chest, where his jacket acted as a shield. "i thought i saw something. come on, we're almost to the convenience store."

jiae followed his pace, her eyes glued to the ground as donghyuck kept a firm grip on her. he didn't let go until after jiae heard the familiar jingle of the bell in his cousin's store, pulling her back to where they were surrounded by aisles.

looking up, jiae found her boyfriend leaning against an aisle full of assorted ramens, her back almost touching the snacks in the stands across. her eyes darted across his figure, from his closed eyes to his rising and falling chest to his shoes.

"are you alright?" she asked, taking a step forward and placing her palm flat against his chest. "are you in any pain?"

though his eyes were closed, hyuck smiled at her words. he slowly reached up to cover her hand in his, taking a moment before opening his eyes and focusing on her worried face.

"you must like me a lot," he suddenly teased. "to touch my boob in public like this."

jiae's eyes widened and she quickly pulled her hand away. "i-i'm not—that's not..." she tried to stammer out, but her burning cheeks and ears weren't helping her focus on her words. "you are very annoying."