BUILD-A-BEAR .. nct（✓）

three.

august, 2017

winwin had been asked to join some of the other members for nct life in osaka. he had been excited and had fun spending time with the members for something other than work. he wasn't familiar with japan, so exploring was somewhat exhilarating.

and that's when he met her.

the members and staff were walking around a rather bland cherry blossom forest when he spotted her.

she was sitting by a cherry blossom tree when they came across her. since they were filming, the members didn't pay her much attention. expect for winwin.

while they were explaining the rules of the game, which was basically who could take the best selfie, winwin's eyes kept drifting to the girl. she had her knees pulled up to her chest, a sketchbook resting peacefully on her thighs as she sketched something.

sicheng's fascination peaked when she glanced in his direction for a split second.

his cheeks turned the shade of the cherry blossom tree above them. he noticed jaehyun glancing at him and sicheng quickly acted as if he'd been paying attention all along. the older boy raised a brow but didn't say anything. it was obvious that the younger boy was staring at the lone girl drawing under the tree. jaehyun lowered his head as he continued listening to the rules of the game.

when everyone understood what they were supposed to do, the members split up to search for the perfect place to take their pictures. unfortunately, there weren't many pink trees in the areas that the members were asked to stay. the biggest, fullest tree was occupied as the other members tried to get good pictures. winwin attempted to get a good angle, but he couldn't get a shot without a member of the staff in the frame.

huffing in slight annoyance, winwin dropped his arm and glanced around the park for another tree to take a picture in. that's when his eyes found the mystery girl again.

building his confidence, sicheng jumped elegantly from the tree branch he had been sitting on and made his way over to the girl.

•

winwin frowned deeply, his oversized mustard hoodie pulled over his head and he leaned back in his chair. he didn't move as he stared at the phone in his lap. he'd been wishing-hoping that it'd flash with her name, but it didn't.

it never did.

sicheng gently rubbed his eyes and forehead to get the tired ache to go away. it didn't.

the boy sighed, sinking further into his chair. his eyes were screaming at him to let them close, but he kept them open.

the door suddenly opened and winwin lifted his head to see who it was. a little smile met his lips when he saw his fellow 97 liner, jaehyun. the older boy smiled softly and walked into the room. there was something in his hand but winwin couldn't see from his position in the chair. jaehyun took a seat on the armrest of the couch across from the boy.

"still hasn't texted back?" winwin's gaze rose to meet his hyung's, but jaehyun's face remained sympathetic. sicheng hesitated for a second before he shook his head, some of his dark red locks falling in front of his eyes.

"uh, y-you help me?" sicheng tried to ask in his broken japanese. the girl looked up from her sketchbook with wide eyes, but a smile soon occupied her face. she decided to nod instead of responding with words. after trying and failing to ask her to help him find an attractive selfie angle in japanese, winwin let out a frustrated sigh.

"do you speak korean?"

the girl tilted her head to the side innocently as she thought of how to respond. winwin waved a hand to brush off the question and pointed to his chest. "dong sicheng." as if something clicked in the girl's head, her eyes widened.