Haunting; Noren NCT

♱•Thirteen•♱

Renjun leaves his classroom and makes his way towards the cafeteria where he knew Yangyang and his friends would be.
At this point, Renjun knew his way around this new school, or at least he knew his way to his classes and the cafeteria. That was all that mattered.

The hallways weren't very busy, most students had already rushed off to be the first in the lunch line. Renjun decided it was better not to get caught up in the crowds, besides he wasn't very hungry. He wasn't quite sure where his appetite had gone the past few days. Since coming to Korea he had only nibbled and picked at certain foods, struggling to stomach a full meal. He had deemed it a symptom of home sickness and was sure it would pass by soon.

Eventually he reaches the cafeteria and notices Jaemin waving him over to their table. A faint smile comes to his face as he starts to walk towards the table but something catches his eye which stops him.

At a table towards the back of the cafeteria was a boy sat alone. He kept his head down and his lunch sat in front of him, pushed away and untouched. He looked familiar and it took a moment for Renjun to recognise him as the Park's son. Jisung was it?

Renjun looks towards Jaemin and holds up a finger as if to say 'I'll be there in a moment'. He makes his way over to the table and takes a seat opposite the boy.

Jisung visibly stiffens when he notices someone had sat at the table and he slowly raises his head to look at Renjun. The brunette offers him a kind smile "Hey, Jisung right?" He asks only earning a weak nod in response "we met last week, our parents are pretty good friends"

Jisung only nods once again "y-yeah I remember" his voice was quiet and a little shaky. It was obvious that he felt uncomfortable but Renjun couldn't just leave him sat alone. If he were in the same position, a simple act of kindness would mean a lot.

"Why are you sat all alone? Are you waiting for your friends?" Renjun asks, looking around just to make sure no one was making their way over to the table.

The younger boy only shakes his head, looking back down at the table, not wanting to make eye contact with Renjun. "N-no, I don't really have any f-friends" he forces a smile, briefly looking up at Renjun before quickly adverting his gaze once again.

"Oh" Renjun breathes, a sudden wave of sadness hitting him. He can't help but think that this would be the position he would be in if the headmistress hadn't made Yangyang be his guide. After all he was only hanging out with Yangyang's friends anyway. "You shouldn't sit alone, wanna come sit with me? My friends are really nice".

Jisung instantly shakes his head, laughing nervously "I don't think that's a good idea, I-I'm not very good with new people. It's kind of you but I-I'll be okay on my own" he insists but Renjun wouldn't take no for an answer.

He presses his lips into a thin line as he looks at the younger boy sat in front of him. He couldn't help but think of Jeno, the fact that he hadn't had any friends, was never given the opportunity to make friends. He was giving Jisung that opportunity. "Look, I'm not very good with new people either, when I first moved here I was pretty sure I wouldn't make any friends and I would be completely alone for the rest of my school life, but turns out I was wrong" he says but Jisung keeps his gaze down "those boys over there are really friendly and I'm sure they wouldn't want you sat alone either. You can sit with us and if at any point you ever feel uncomfortable you can take a moment to calm down" he was trying to make it sound as appealing as he could but Jisung seemed to have none of it.

Maybe it was too big a step for Jisung. Sitting at a table with four people when he was usually use to no one probably sounded pretty nerve wracking.

"I-I'm okay here, honestly" he offers another quick smile and Renjun rests his head on the palm of his hand.

"Well...would I be able to sit with you? Or would you like me to leave?" He asks which seems to make Jisung pause for a moment.

"I-I mean I guess one person is okay" he shrugs "my mum didn't tell you to do this did she?" He asks and Renjun was quick to shake his head.

"No, your mum hasn't said anything about you to me, usually she's asking my opinion on what colour to paint the living room" he laughs which makes Jisung laugh a little too, he visibly relaxes a little. Maybe it was the knowledge that Renjun genuinely wanted to sit with him.

"My parents have been telling me to make more friends, I didn't know if my mum had said anything to you" he says, his voice was still quiet but the stuttering had stopped and his words were clearer.

"My parents are always telling me to make more friends too, I know how annoying it is" he says, thinking back to the night at the restaurant when his parents had bugged him so much that he had to lie to get them to stop. "I don't think they understand how difficult it actually is to make friends these days, some people are hella judgemental".

Jisung nods in agreement, a genuine smile forming on his face. "Thank you" he says "For not wanting me to be on my own that is" he quickly adds but Renjun only waves him off.

"I've been in your position before, and I know what it's like to watch people around you make friends. We can be friends right? If you want to that is. I don't want to force you into it" Renjun asssures, not wanting to put pressure on Jisung if he genuinely wanted to be alone.

The younger boy shakes his head , a small smile still on his lips "I'd like to be friends, thank you"

This causes Renjun to smile wide, a sudden feeling of achievement filling him up. "No problem"