heartbreaker | nct dream

03

it was finally the best part of school, recess time. mark and i made our way through the crowded hallway, heading to the cafeteria.

when we arrived, we noticed the four new boys on our seat eating. it's not like we owned that table to ourselves, but we always sat there during recess or lunch.

"can we sit here?" mark asked them.

"sure! you can sit anywhere you like~" the black hair male smiled with his eyes.

while mark sat with them, i went to buy food for the both of us as i was starving and bad at making friends.

NO POV

"hello, i'm mark lee, i'm from canada," mark introduced himself and laughed awkwardly as he didn't get any response, rubbing his nape as haeyoung wasn't there to save him from the awkward tension.

before jeno introduced himself, he paused as he noticed mark shifting in his seat uncomfortably, looking for someone who was most likely haeyoung. luckily, she came back just in time to hear their introductions for the second time that day.

"hi! i'm lee jeno! let's be friends~" jeno waved.

"also known as no-jam. anyway, i'm lee donghyuck, but you can call me haechan!" haechan did a peace sign after teasing his friend who was now sulking.

"hehe i'm the one who brightens the world, huang renjun!" renjun, the boy whom haeyoung bumped into this morning smiled brightly.

"na jaemin, nana, same thing. call me whatever you like." jaemin flashed his dashing smile.

"what about you?" haechan asked haeyoung who was eating in silence and not saying anything.

"me? oh yeah, i'm cha haeyoung. nice to meet all of you," she giggled and continued eating.

"pig," mark muttered to himself. but to his dismay, haeyoung heard him and pinched him.

"ow oW! okay, i'm sorry! let's get to know each other, shall we?" mark suggested, changing the topic.

they nodded their heads and started exchanging information as if they wouldn't live to see another day.

"wait, aren't you that girl i bumped into this morning?" renjun pointed at haeyoung.

haeyoung gave a shy smile and nodded her head. "sorry for being rude this morning, it was my first time late," she muttered lowly, but loud enough for the table to hear.

___

after recess, they all made their way back into class. they already had such a close bond, some would've mistaken them as best friends despite them meeting only a few hours ago.

not long after, their history teacher walked into class with his usual sullen face which he wore almost 24/7.

"there will be a mock history project coming up soon. like the name suggests, it's basically a mock practice for the upcoming project that will take up to 10% of your results, and we want you to do well so please work well with your partner and contribute, even though this is just a mock-"

"sir, are we allowed to pick our own partners?" a student interrupted.

"i would've said yes if you didn't interrupt me. so instead, i'll be picking your partners. i'll put up the list of who you'll be partnering on the noticeboard before class ends, so please take a look at it before heading home. the deadline of this project will be next week, so please find some time to do it before the deadline."

the class erupted into jeers. some tried negotiating but of course, they failed miserably.

___

HAEYOUNG POV

after all lessons were over, i made my up to the noticeboard and groaned in frustration after finding out i wasn't paired up with any of the five boys. mark was basically my only friend in class until the four new students joined.

"hey, when do you want to start on the project?" a voice behind me asked.

i turned around and saw my partner, gayoung.

"tomorrow after school at my place?" i suggested.

"sure! but which historical site do you want to research on?" she asked.

"we can plan that tomorrow. i've got to go now, i'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"yeah, sure."

i scurried out of the classroom, trying to find mark who left me behind.

"i'm here," he suddenly appeared in front of me, causing me to bump into him.

"ouch. where were you?" i rubbed my forehead.

"i was talking to yangyang. how many times are you going to hurt yourself in a day? come on, let's go before it starts raining." with that, we made our way out of the school premises.

"it's not my fault i'm careless," i shrugged.

i looked up and noticed dark clouds gathering, it looked like the sky could cry anytime soon.

"do you have an umbrella?" i asked mark.

he shook his head. "that's why i said we should leave before it starts pouri-"

"let's run, hurry!" i quickened my steps and pulled mark along with me. we made our way to the nearest convenience store we could find, sky getting darker and darker by the second. and before we knew it, it started pouring.

we ran inside the convenience store, hoping that they still had umbrellas in stock.

"do you perhaps have anymore umbrellas in stock? the racks are empty..." mark asked the cashier, placing down the cup noodles for payment.

"no, sorry. it sold out awhile ago." she apologised sincerely.

"ah i see. thanks," he took out his wallet and paid for the cup noodles.

such luck we have.

sighing for the nth time that day, i looked out the window, silently watching the rain droplets race down the glass pane. now, all we could do is hope for the rain to stop soon so we can change out of our soaking wet uniform and make it home in time.

my phone is dead and i won't make it home in time for my curfew. my cousin is going to kill me.

"here," mark snapped me out of my daze and passed me my noodle.

i muttered a small 'thanks' before eating.

"you know, you can tell me whatever you're thinking. you don't have to bottle anything up. something is bothering you, isn't it?" mark asked which caused me to stop eating.

i was shocked by how he could read me like an open book. "well..." i played with my food, deciphering whether i should tell him or keep it to myself.

"what is it?"

"it may sound dumb, but it's about an app."