𝓒𝓱𝓸𝓲 𝓑𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓮 | NCT's 24th Member ☆

♔ | unexpected

NCT 127 were preparing for their 2nd 'comeback' let's say. They were bringing out an album repackage called 'Punch' and Mabel was really excited. As they carried on doing a dance live for the fans as a warm up, she couldn't help but think about how they'll react when the album came out.

Soon the live ended and the group carried on to practise. They did one more old choreography which just so happened to be Fire Truck and then got into their new routine. Halfway through, Belle's legs started to give up slightly so she took a very small break. 2 bites of a granola bar and half a bottle water later, she was back on her feet dancing.

Around 2 hours passed and Taeyoung decided they should stop there because they had a long day of practising tomorrow. Everybody happily agreed and started collecting their belongings. However, Belle didn't want to go home early that day: she had an idea. Whilst everyone was walking out, she grabbed Jungwoo's hand and pulled him along with her.

"Where are you going?" Mark asked them from the other end of the hallway.
"I need to show him something, we'll meet you guys back at the dorm."
"Don't be too long! You need to sleep too Mimi." Jaehyun replies to her and the rest of the group walked away.

"Where are we going?" Jungwoo asked her.
"You'll see." Mabel dragged him into the elevator as she pressed the 7th floor. After they arrived, she took his hand again and led him down a hallway. Jungwoo didn't recognise where they were and he had been in the company for years, thinking he knew it inside out and back to front.

A small door was ahead of them and Mabel stopped just before it.
"Now, I found this during my trainee years by accident. But, nobody else knows about it I'm guessing, so you can't tell anyone." She gently pushed the door open and went in, the boy not far behind her.

The room was small and cosy. It had a mirror on 1 wall, covering the entire thing. The floor was an unpolished wood. There was a wall of windows like other practise rooms. Except it had thin, purple, silk curtains to pull across. There was a double hanging chair coming from the curling which looked slightly battered and like nobody had sat on it years. A mini bookshelf sat next to the right side of the door, while a large plant sat on the left. And in the corner of a room sat a huge, shiny black grand piano, the top open with a thin covering of dust. It looked like if somebody took care of it, it would be a nice little getaway during breaks in practise or when there's free time in general.

"Wow, this is weird. I didn't even know this was a thing." Jungwoo awed at the small living room-like space as Mabel chuckled to herself.
"Neither did I until I ran away from Johnny because he scared me once."

Jungwoo went and sat at the piano, carefully placing his fingers on the keys and attempting to play something. Key word: attempted.

Mabel laughed and walked over to him, signalling for him to scooch over. She sat closely next to him and placed her hands over the keys, pressing down and playing the music from the Balcony Scene of Romeo and Juliet. She concentrated on playing the right notes and got so absorbed in the music, she didn't even notice the boy next to her. Staring. Admiring. Treasuring.

Jungwoo took in every little detail of her face. Her little nose, those faint freckles that ever so slightly danced upon her cheeks. Her intense but soft gaze on the piano in front of her. He noticed how she stuck her tongue out a tiny bit whilst concentrating and how her pink
lips curved into a smile when she played a certain part.

At the end of the music, she smiled to herself and looked at Jungwoo to find him already looking at her. As she gazed into his eyes, she didn't even notice herself slowly leaning in. Quickly, she came to her senses and turned away, a deep blush appearing on her cheeks. Mabel stood up and went to the side of the piano.

"You know, earlier, I was pretending not to play. I know maybe 1 song." Jungwoo said, as he looked down and started to play something. Belle recognised it as All Of Me by John Legend and grinned. She started to sing along to Jungwoo's playing. Halfway through the song, she jumped up onto the piano and sat on the top of it, careful not to knock her member in front of her. The boy peered up with loving eyes and watched Mabel sing.

When the song finished, he smiled and stood up; "That was beautiful Peaches."
"I'm sure it wasn't, but thank you." Mabel replied with a slight blush again, looking down towards her lap.
"Really," He pushed on again as he lifted up her chin with his 2 fingers, "It was gorgeous."

They gazed into each other's eyes for what felt like forever. Mabel noticed Jungwoo's eyes flicker down to her lips and she did the same. Slowly, they started leaning in and their lips touched. The kiss was slow but passionate. One of Jungwoo's arms wrapped around Belle's waist, the other lightly cupping her face. Her arms were supporting her up but slowly they snaked their way around Jungwoo's neck.

After a minute, they both pulled away to breathe, but kept each other close. A smile graced Mabel's lips as she looked at Jungwoo with eyes full of adoration. A few moments passed of them just looking at each other again, zero words uttered.

"We should probably start heading back now." Jungwoo spoke up.
"Yeah, we should."

As the two made their way out of the room, Belle grabbed Jungwoo's hand again and clasped it tightly. He smiled down at her and they asked the receptionist if a manager was available to take them home. Soon, their own manager was outside waiting for them in the car, looking rather disgruntled that he has to go back to pick them 2 up.

Nonetheless, he took them home. The two in the back had to not hold hands when they got in, as they knew their manager would question them about it (even though it was fairly usual for Belle to hold another member's hand).

Arriving back at the dorm, they waited until their manager drove away to look at each other and intertwine their hands again. When they got into the dorm, all of the members were sat in the living room waiting for them. Their smiles slightly dropped when they noticed Taeyong's glare at their hands.

"What took you two so long?"