NU'EST Imagines - 2017

Gay Rumors - Ren

     Korea and its society standards. You loved the country, you truly did, you would have never moved in Seoul if you didn't. But you didn't like how its society was ruled by stupid norms. People here were constantly judged. Their beauty, their style, the people they hanged out with, everything was looked at and criticized if considered abnormal. You were a stranger, so you didn't really have to worry about it, foreigners had it differently. You could clearly see how it was affecting your friends, though, especially since one of them was an idol. And people loved to comment every little detail of an idol's life.

     Moving in Korea had been a great decision for your mental health, you followed your passions and you were in a country that inspired you and turned your life into an adventure. Five days a week you were working as commercial consultant for the Korean branch of an international company. Your job was to deal with social media response, commercial deals and keep an eye on competitive brands. You had been hired because the company wanted to hire both foreigners and Korean to have a team that could constantly help and bring different opinions to each other as well as be able to mix the company's style with the Korean culture. It wasn't the most fun job, but it was pleasant, and your colleagues were very nice. Two of them instantly became close friends and you started to hang out almost every day after work. That's how you got to meet and get closer to Ren from NU'EST. Your colleague Soojin was his childhood friend. She brought him along with your colleagues from time to time and after a period of time, he officially became your friend too. 

     Rare were the occasions where you got to spend time with him without Soojin. Either he was busy with Nu'Est W or you just simply went out with the whole group of friends. However, you knew you could count on him if you needed to talk, just because he was the most open-minded person you had ever met. Ren didn't care about looks, status or anything else. He was friends with everyone who was friendly, without judging anything about them; and that was something you really admired. You might have a little crush on him, because of his huge kindness, tolerance, optimism, and also because of his good looks. He was handsome, especially since his company was letting him have a masculine look, opposed to the many comebacks where he had to be feminine. (You had nothing against feminine men, but you found him more attractive with short hair and manly-tailored clothes.) But your feelings weren't too strong. You believed to only feel attracted to him because he was a kpop idol from a band you loved, not because your feelings were truly real. There was always something a little off or awkward when you spent time alone with each other for some reason.

     "Hey, (_____)." Your friend Soojin walked to your desk while you were finishing your last task of the day. She was looked ready to leave the workplace. "You know I have to visit my family in Busan for the next week and my train is leaving tonight. I completely forgot to give this back to Minki and I really don't have time to stop by his flat. Can you do it?" She asked you with a weird look in her eyes, handing you a book that probably belonged to Ren. 

     You looked at the book then at your friend, raising a suspicious eyebrow. "Why me? Why today? I don't think he'll need this book immediately you know." You didn't want to be rude but you had other plans for tonight. A boy you had met a few weeks ago had asked you on a date and you agreed to go, thinking it would be fun, and hoping it would prove yourself you didn't have real feelings for Ren. Visiting him tonight would interfere with that goal.

     "He's been begging me about it for days, and I found it while packing, it'll make him happy." Her eyes were insistent, I could see she wanted me to check on Ren no matter the real reason.

      "Is it really that urgent?" You asked her. "I finally agreed to have dinner with Youngmin tonight." You knew going to the Nu'Est dorm would make you lose significant time, and you didn't want to arrive to your date late or unprepared. But there was nothing you could do. Soojin insisted, letting you assume that something might be going on with Ren. You couldn't resist her pout, and you didn't want to let a friend you liked down if he wasn't feeling great. "You'll owe me." You finally said with a sigh as you grabbed the book and put it in your bag. She bowed to thank you, gave you a relieved smile and left.