Cauchemar | NCT DREAM AU

The Sun Itself

  Everyone's eyes were glued on Haechan, confused after what had just happened.

  "Wait, so it's not him?" Yami asked, still suspecting the boy.

  "Why would someone send that to all of us?" Suah got anxious. "What if it's not just a joke?"

  "Hey, there's no need to panic without a reason Suah, it could be anything and anyone." Jeno back-hugged his younger cousin in an attempt to comfort her.

  "Let's reply to them. Ask them what is it that they want." Renjun suggested thoughtfully.

  "Good idea. Let's do it using my phone." Mark said and turned on his device.

  "But what if they don't reply? What do we do then?" Jisung asked worriedly.

  "One step at a time Jiji, we'll worry about that later." Minyoung ruffled the youngest's hair to cheer him up a bit.

  Everyone gathered around Mark as he tapped on the chatbox, leaving the cursor blinking by itself. Jaemin suggested being polite while Yami wanted to be as straightforward as possible. It wasn't long until they started debating the best approach.

  They were still discussing the matter when Haechan slowly backed away from the circle that was formed by his group of friends, hoping to leave unnoticed. However, his wish wasn't granted and Heejin caught his action. Deciding to follow him, she told Suah that she was going to the bathroom and went after the boy.

  Haechan headed outside, where there were hardly any students present, and where he didn't need to be cautious about getting caught by anyone he knows. The sun was practically burning, resulting in him choosing to sit on a bench under a tree's shadow. Of course, he didn't notice the girl who was standing right behind him and was currently peeking at what he was doing on his phone.

  She already knew what to expect from him so she was anything but surprised to see that he was the sender of the mysterious message they got, and was now probably waiting for the reply his friends were talking about back in the cafeteria.

  "Is the sunshine too bright for you?" She voiced her thoughts, scaring the once focused boy, and sat right next to him.

  "I am the sun itself, nothing's too bright for me." He replied confidently, flashing his infamous smile while swiftly hiding his phone inside his uniform's pockets.

  "Really? Somehow I'm not convinced about it." She chuckled and he pouted cutely.

  Heejin wanted to make him admit he's the culprit of the prank, but she still hadn't found a way to do so and she knew her time was limited. The others would get suspicious if they realised she has been gone for too long and then it'll be easier for them to notice that Haechan wasn't around either.

  I should have came up with a better excuse than the bathroom to have more time, she thought. In the end, she figured she'll let him know she's aware of what he's hiding.

  "You know Hyuck, your little plan was well-thought." She started saying. "It was almost perfect." Haechan was certainly surprised.

  "Huh?" He jerked his head towards her.

  "But unfortunately for you and luckily for me, there is a little detail that you missed. You should have been more careful." She smiled and looked him in the eyes.

  Haechan furrowed his eyebrows, analyzing what she stated. He was still trying to pull the innocent card but was obviously failing.

  "You sent everyone the message..." She started explaining, drawing his attention. "...but you forgot to send it to yourself."

  Realisation hit him after a few seconds, making him mumble something. He groaned annoyed with himself and Heejin giggled at his reaction.

  "Well if someone was to crack the case, I guess my girlfriend would be the one." He said half-jokingly and half-serious.

  Haechan took her hand in his, smiled and pulled her in for a quick peck on the lips.

  "Hyuck, someone might see." Heejin protested calmly, like she always does when they're in public places.

  "No one's here Jinnie, look around. Besides, it only lasted a second." He said.

"Jinnie? Have you finally given up on finding a proper nickname?" She nudged the boy's shoulder playfully.

"Yes, it's too hard." He confessed and pouted like a little kid, making her laugh.

  "Good. Everything you've came up with so far was terrible." She avoided his stare.

  "What?" He raised his brows taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

  Heejin tried to suppress her laughter. "I'm sorry Hyuck but you're really bad at giving nicknames. I bet I could use an online nickname generator and I'd still find better ideas than yours."

"Excuse me?" He exclaimed. "I would like to inform you that I'm in fact great at nicknaming people! It's not my fault you don't like anything!" He continued to mumble childishly.

"Fine, fine." The girl stood up. "My fullsun is always right." She ruffled his hair. "Anyways I gotta go." Heejin started walking away but stopped. "I expect you to confess to everyone about sending the message, you know." The girl reminded him and bid him goodbye as she walked inside the building.

Haechan looked at the place Heejin was sitting barely a minute ago, many different thoughts crossing his mind. He mumbled something to himself, realizing his prank failed this time. So he left the place and went back to the cafeteria, before his next class started.