𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘 | 𝗡𝗖𝗧 𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠

Heartache | Chenle Imagine #7

Title: heartache

Genre: angst, slightly fluffy

Warnings: the reader and chenle have a fight, descriptions of kissing, mentions of reader being a little insecure too

Word count: ~2k

Summary: Chenle was the last person you expected to love, but now you can't imagine your life without him. When a familiar heartache tests the thin line between your two worlds, you have to decide if being opposites is what draws you together—or what will finally pull you apart.

Author's Note: I deeply apologize for how unfairly long it has taken for another Chenle story to come out here T.T

➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴

"I can't believe they're having you bleach it again," you mumbled, your fingers threading through the soft, dark silk of Chenle's hair.

You were well aware that the frequent hair color change was part of his career. But you couldn't help but think about his poor scalp, especially when he complained about the thinning enough times that you'd started researching hair serums online.

Chenle glanced up from his phone, his eyes meeting yours with a knowing glint. "As long as I get another scalp massage again after, I'll survive, baby."

Baby. The pet name sent a traitorous spark through you, an involuntary smile tugging on your lips.

If someone told you a year ago that you'd be dating Zhong Chenle, you would've laughed in their face. To you, he was just a good friend of Jisung— the guy who was always a little too loud, aggressively competitive, and exuded a confidence that was like a foreign language in your quiet, guarded world.

Yet, here you were sitting with him under the dim lighting of an SM practice room, feeling the weight of his head on your lap as he watched basketball highlights on his phone. A reality that you once wrote off as impossible.

"Hm, what would you do without me?" You teased, though your hand lingered in his hair a second too long.

You reached your phone to check the time, a small sigh escaping. "I should probably get going, Lele."

Although you started to shift in your position, he stayed heavy against your thighs. The smug look on his face began to fade away.

"But you just got here," he countered, his voice dropping into that stubborn, unyielding tone that always tried to stall your plans.

Just like the other times, you refused to let that happen. You proceeded to reach for your bag on the floor, as he reluctantly let his head lift from your lap.

"I told you I couldn't stay for long," you replied, looking just as crestfallen as he did. "My company dinner starts at six, and I still need to get ready."

Chenle let out a disgruntled noise, the hair-dye talk and basketball game now forgotten."But you hate those dinners. And I know that one guy is going to be there— the one who doesn't know how to take a hint."

"He's my team leader, and I've already told you that it's mandatory," you said, pushing yourself up from the couch.

Despite the rehearsed steadiness in your tone, you could feel the air in the room shift. You could sense that Chenle wasn't anywhere near ready for this conversation to be over.

He proved you right by rising up from the cushions, standing at full height. "Yeah, a mandatory dinner where you'll be seated right next to him so conveniently, right?"