cherry bomb › nct

48 | zero mile

PANDORA'S BOX
10:31 PM, FRIDAY

3RD PERSONS VIEW。

"Can't you hide that gun of yours?" Keiko grumbled, placing the glass onto the bar counter with a light thud. Hendery shook his head, "What if you poison me?"

"Idiot-"

"I'm not an idiot!"

"Mhm, whatever you say, Hendery."

"Gosh- why is time so slow... I literally want to go home." sulking as he rests his head down, his face touching the wooden counter as a pout formed his lips.

"Stop complaining," she grunted and passed him the pink-tinted drink. "Mhm, just to make sure," Hendery mutters, eyeing the drink, even inspecting it.

A ding sounded from his phone, making him fish it out, "He's here!"

"Who is?" Keiko raised a brow, glancing at the glass door to find a male she didn't expect to come at all. His hair styled up, his silver hair glinting, loose pieces hovering his forehead.

He wore a white untucked long-sleeved polo, a dark red necktie loosely by the crook of his neck, the black blazer paired with black pants as he entered the bar. Eyes were sharp, his thick eyebrows furrowed.

"Xiaojun?" she mumbled and watched the boy take a seat beside Hendery, an exasperated sigh leaving his lips.

"How was undercover?" Hendery nudged him, noticing how down he seemed.

"Went great– as usual."

"Doesn't sound like it 'went great'," Keiko emphasized, placing a glass in front of the mafioso. Xiaojun rolled his eyes, "I did my mission fine, but there was this girl that kept bugging me."

"Must be the COO of the bar?" Hendery chuckled and took a sip.

"What do you mean bar?" her ears perked up, snapping a look towards them.

Hendery shrugged, "Didn't you know? Dejun was assigned to undercover at a bar that Taehui has been visiting. Maybe the name would ring a bell?"

"What was the name of the bar again..." Hendery pursed his lips.

Xiaojun scoffed, "It's Zero Mile."

Keiko tilts her head, the name did sound familiar to her. She pulled the small basket filled with dozens of business cards, rummaging to find the exact one, seeing the purple-colored card with the name embedded in the middle.

Snickering, she eyed the Zero Mile business card. Keiko remembered someone coming in her bar from Zero Mile a year ago, or so. "You mean this bar?" she quirked a brow up.

Xiaojun nodded his head, "Where'd you get that?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Eh, I don't know, nor care."

Daniel tapped Keiko's shoulder, "Noona, how do you carve an ice ball?" he questions, a pout played on his lips as he gestured towards the undefined ice and knife.

Keiko hummed, grabbing the ice along with the knife before showing him how to carve it correctly, "Always be careful with the knife, Dan."

A loud scoff came from Hendery, "Yeah, how about you be careful with the knife, Keiko?"

Xiaojun remained silent, fingers gripping tightly around the glass, his knuckles turning pearl white. Keiko passed the slightly defined ice to Daniel, "Here, practice makes perfect."

Daniel pinched Keiko's cheeks before walking off, "Thanks, noona! I'll be looking forward to our date on Sunday!"

A thud against the wooden counter made Keiko flinch and look at Xiaojun. "You want me to refill that...or?" she squints her eyes at him.

Xiaojun feigned a smile, "Brat, can't you just finish work fast, and let's go home?"

.         .         .

"So," Keiko started off, "I thought you didn't want me to ride in your car?"

Xiaojun cleared his throat, hands rounding his steering wheel, "Why do you care?" he spat.

"Okay, first of all, I think you are the brat here."

Xiaojun sneered, "Me? How did I become the brat?"

Keiko sighed and leaned back, "Just drive."

The ride was silent, nothing emitted from each of them. Despite it being silent, thoughts blared in their heads, annoying them at the very least.

Xiaojun clenched his jaw, eyes fixated on the darkened road. Something in him was burning—jealousy. What Daniel said and did was on a loop, he couldn't wash away the scene. The more he thought about it, the sicker he felt. Indeed was the boy starting to grow feelings for Keiko.

To him, it felt different. He had been in the mafia for years, the only escape he had was when he did undercover, yet none of the girls from his missions made him feel this way. Actually, Xiaojun never saw someone romantically before. It was a whole new experience that he just wanted to throw away, yet he can't.

Once they've arrived, Keiko left first, being greeted by some of the boys that hung out by the garage. Xiaojun watched as Chenle and Renjun talked to her, sighing he looked down.

"Stop it, Xiaojun. Just stop it," he grumbled, annoyed that he had to deal with these feelings. "Shit, this is gonna fuck me up."

—

cherry bomb at 30k 🥺❤️ I really love y'all

btw- I have an nct dream & wayv summer camp au already published :') titled "androgynous"
go check it out ٩( 'ω' )و

-jibin