Gone Now: Before You Go Series 2 (NCT Dream)

0.3 Angry and Overlooked

He walked the halls alone, he was tired, exhausted from the endless nights of crying, and eventually just sitting in his room numb to his emotions, just staring at anything else, but the frames and cork board where more memories laid.

He wasn't ready to face his peers, his friends, Lucas' friends, he just didn't want anyone to pity him, anymore. He got too much of that from Hendery, and his mom already, while their dad just busied himself with more and more work that he never realized that he wasn't even going home.

"Renjun. How've you been doing?," His best friend of 18 years, Jaemin asked as he timidly walked up to the older male, who he had seen just staring at his locker.

"Yeah I'm fine." He said as he kept staring at his locker, which had a picture of Lucas and him at the first ever high school soccer game he attended when he was a first year student.

He remembers that Lucas was so happy to have finally put the team beyond local games, and onto regional competitions. It was enough to make everyone around him, including himself, happy. He just had that energy, that was probably why he was bombarded by everyone, everywhere he went, until one day, he found the love of his life. Jungwoo. The only man who Lucas had ever loved.

"Are you sure?" Haechan, his other best friend of a little shorter than 18 years asked, "Isn't there anything that we can do for you-"

"I told you fine. I just can't talk about it anymore." He sighed and walked to his locker, the two friends not following him knowing that he needed the space and turning to walk.

Others clearly didn't see the picture.

"Hey Renjun we heard what happened,"

"We're so sorry for your loss."

"It's hard to lose a brother."

"You'll move on."

"You'll be fine."

"How would want you to be happy-"

He felt the pinch in his heart as he was hearing what his peers were saying. Lucas was popular, a real ladies man, a sunshine socializer that everyone adored. Of course these condolences were fake, they never cared for Lucas or Renjun. They only cared for the feeling of not feeling guilty as they said these speeches that they thought would help the younger, but only infuriated him.

The fictitious words being said angered his little soul as he thought 'How dumb can these people be?' How can they act as if they knew the male when they in fact ignored his existence, and glorified his brother only to benefit themselves or the reputation of the school.

He turned and looked at the last male before throwing his right arm out, in a quick but skilled manner, as the male drew back and clutched his nose.

"He would? He wants me to be happy, is that it?" He asked menacingly as he stepped closer to the male.

"Renjun I-"

"You don't know shit!" He yelled out, while pointing at the male then proceeding to do the same to the others, "None of you would! How could you? You only ever liked him when he played soccer and won at his own expense! But the second he needs you all by his side, what do you do? Leave! Leave him alone and question his worth!" He exclaimed walking away towards his class in a huff,

"Renjun-" He was pulled aside to sit on a bench, in the corner of the empty hallway,

"I don't want to talk-"

"But you need to listen." The two older males stood in front of the boy they once knew. He looked so tired. So empty as one should be, when they lose someone they dearly care for. They pushed him lightly to fully sit as they sat next to him, facing the same wall that they all saw.

"Lucas was a great player." Sungchan, a fellow player, a bit younger than Lucas, said as he stared into space.

"We loved to praise him because we believed that he would achieve greater things than we did." Yuta, an alumni soccer team player, said as he patted Renjun on the knee.

"He talked highly of you both," the younger male mumbled as he too stared out towards the wall in front of him. Remembering all of the conversations that they had where he had praised his assistant coach, and fellow player.

"Right after his x-ray he came to me to tell us the results," Yuta started as he could already feel everything come together as they did that one fateful day.

He remembered it like it happened yesterday.

It was a chilly day in Seoul as fall was approaching, the leaves were falling and the weather was decreasing. Yuta was left to clean up the remaining balls on the court as the rest of the team began running laps to cool down before going home.

Sungchan was next to him as they were close friends, he let him off the hook from laps. "Yuta," he asked suddenly.

"What?" He asked as he put the leftover soccer balls into the net.

"Where was Lucas today? I didn't see him get ready, he never misses a practice," Sungchan asked as he took a swig from his water bottle.

"His mom told me he was getting a check up," Yuta said as he shrugged it off, as if it was usual, which it wasn't, but there was no point in questioning as practice was five minutes from ending.

"From his injury in the last game?" Sungchan asked as he remembered that nasty fall that the elder had endured during the last game.

"He still was walking funny, so she told me it's best that he gets it checked out before it was too late," he shrugged looking around the vicinity before seeing a large man running from a distance,

"Is that-" Sungchan asked as soon he was shortly interrupted by,

"YUTAAA. SUUUNGCHANNN," he yelled out running, more like hobbling near the end looking at them both.

"Lucas I told you already, no yelling across the field. It scares the janitors," Yuta sighed as he ran a hand through his brunette hair.

"Sorry I just- had to tell you this." He huffed as he breathed out.

"What is it?" Sungchan curiously asked as he put the leftover balls into the bag, to help the elder who had seemed to not have any intentions of picking up his chore.

He looked sadly at the two marks before pulling them into side hugs, "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

Both males pulled away as they looked at the male in front of them, seeing the tears pour out of his eyes, seeing the physical pain he felt finally emanate out of his head into the eyes of others.

His strong facade was now broken. He was indeed broken beyond repair.

"He told us how he broke his leg, the doctors said that with therapy there would only be a 10-25% chance that he would heal enough to play." Yuta sighed as he looked around aimlessly.

"By the time that that would've happened the season would be over and he would lose his scholarship," Sungchan mumbled quietly to the male who had tears in his eyes.

Neither knew that Lucas also told Renjun. Though the story was different.