NCT Oneshots {ot23} | open

Cruel: XJ + KN + CL + RJ

▹prompt: some people can be so cruel
▹word count: 1769
▹genre: angst with comfort
▹warnings: n/a

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹❀◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Xiaojun pressed the doorbell and smiled at the voices from the other side of the door. After a few seconds, it opened to reveal a disgruntled Jeno, who yawned, then grinned at the sight of the Chinese member, stepping aside to let him in.

"Hey, hyung." Jeno said sleepily. Xiaojun tutted.

"I've already told you not to use honorifics with me." Xiaojun reiterated, receiving a shy apology from Jeno. The younger rubbed at his eyes to chase away the last of his nap.

As Xiaojun stepped into the living room, he didn't fail to notice how eerily quiet the Dream dorm was. He shook the thought out of his head, assuming it must be due to the early hour in the morning. They had a free day, so bed replaced the practice room. But Jisung stumbled in. He stopped still at the sight of Xiaojun, his own face mirroring the surprise on the Chinese's lips. Maybe he should have warned them he was coming. The maknae flushed to match the deep red of his crumpled hoodie.

"Xiaojun-hyung, good morning." Jisung greeted. Xiaojun returned the pleasantry, smiling to himself because on some days Jisung could be so polite, whilst on others all formalities flew straight the window. "Why are you here?"

"Just passing by. I don't have any schedules until later and I wanted to escape the chaos of our dorm. I woke up to the stupid smoke detector this morning." Xiaojun rolled his eyes and took a seat on the sofa. "Again. Yangyang was making eggy bread." Silence sucked life out of the air around them. Xiaojun frowned, biting his lip.

"Is everything okay? You all seem rather quiet." He noted. The dorm was usually full of at least the clicking of keyboard keys as the members challenged each other the latest video games. Jeno and Jisung shared a short glance between themselves, before the youngest quickly reassured the Chinese that all was fine.

"We're good, hyung. Just tired." Xiaojun was not convinced. He adjusted his glasses and narrowed his eyes.

"If anything's wrong, you can tell me." He insisted. Jeno opened his mouth to speak again when Renjun stormed in, passing through to the kitchen without sparing any of them so much as a nod of a head. Four angry thuds resonated, Jeno and Jisung shared a second glance, and Xiaojun got the impression that things were not fine, and that they both knew what was wrong. Drawers thumped open and closed, followed by an attack of profanities and Renjun returned, this time with a cheese sausage in his hand. He paced around the room for a few seconds before Jeno took a gentle hold on his wrist to encourage him to sit.

"What?" Renjun growled through an aggressive bite of food.

"Just calm down, alright? He'll be okay." Jeno rubbed his hand across Renjun's back. At first, The Chinese prickled, scowl hardening and eyes screwing shut, but he eventually leaned into the touch.

"He completely ignored me. Then told me to leave." Renjun muttered. "I'm just worried."

Jisung fiddled with his fingers as he studied Renjun's expressions. Renjun glared at the TV, his eyes just as dark as the blank screen.

"Everything's not okay, is it?" Xiaojun spoke up. His worry softened the blunt tone of his voice. Renjun took another bite of cheese, sighing. "Should I leave? I'm sorry for intruding."

"Chenle..." Jisung mumbled. Jeno looked at the maknae apologetically, who sunk further into the armchair. The action managed to shrink his tall frame. Jeno observed Xiaojun's confusion and swallowed before explaining the situation.