BUILD-A-BEAR .. nct（✓）

four.

march, 2018

it was practically four in the morning when taeyong finished practice and recording at the studio. nct 127 was about to have a comeback, and the leader wanted to do his best to please both the fans and himself.

taeyong yawned and rubbed his eyes as the tired boy walked down the empty sidewalk. no one was out this late-early, but he still wore his mask. it was when he almost ran into a sign when he decided to get something to drink.

the half-asleep boy practically dragged himself to the closest coffee shop that was open 24 hours. when he looked at the bright neon sign, his sleep-deprived brain only saw scribbles. he pushed the door, not surprised that there was no one inside, and took a seat at a little table pushed against one of the walls. taeyong blinked numerous times to keep himself away, his posture getting worse and worse and sleep attacked his limbs. maybe if he just rested his eyes...

"sir?"

the sudden voice slapped taeyong in the face and he straightened instantly, eyes wide. looking up, he spotted the owner of the voice and froze.

he was handsome-too handsome for taeyong's liking. his hair was dyed white and fluffier than any hair taeyong had ever seen. it looked messy, but not in a bad way. so fluffy... almost like a cloud.

"can i get you something to drink?"

the startled boy blinked again as he processed the man's words. he kept getting distracted by the battle between deepness and gentleness of the man's voice. taeyong stuttered over his words as he hurriedly looked over the menu.

"u-uh, do you just have hot chocolate?" the man nodded and smiled, flashing his pearly whites. taeyong looked away as he felt heat rise to his cheeks.

"one hot chocolate. will that be all?" still unable to meet the strangers sparkling eyes, taeyong nodded quickly. the shadow cast by the man vanished when he did, and the tired boy closed his eyes in embarrassment.

the rest of the trip was a blur. taeyong paid for his drink and decided to drink it on the way him. before he had the chance to leave, the deep voice filled his ears and froze his limbs. "get home safe and sleep. you look like you need it."

taeyong hung his head when he felt the blush return. he glanced over his shoulder and nodded at the man, hoping that he'd think his face only looked pink because of his red hair. then he left.

•

taeyong woke up with a groan as he stretched. he didn't remember getting home-he barely remembered leaving the studio. he told himself he wouldn't stay up that late again, but he knew it was a lie.

he sat up and patted his bed hair down, glancing around the room with his barely open eyes. when they landed on the coffee cup placed perfectly on the bedside table, they snapped open.

memories of the night before flashed back into his brain and the boy flung his legs off the bed in a panic. tossing the comforter off, the boy's face turned beet red when he noticed he jeans were gone.

what the hell? where are my pants?!

he looked around the room frantically for any sort of clue that would lead to how he ended up pantless in bed. he ran both hands through his freshly dyed blood-red hair as he tried to remember anything else.

the pearly white smile.

oh god, taeyong thought as fear flooded his veins. his eyes landed on the coffee cup and he slowly lowered his arms. the boy snatched the cheap cup off the table and scanned it quickly, searching for any sign he was drugged. instead, he found a note written in gold ink that resembled one of his paint pens. sure enough, when he glanced up he saw his gold paint pen on the table as well.