FRIENDS! - nct

episode four

— THE ONE WHERE CHENLE IS BROKE

The group of four men sat sprawled out on a couch in their local cafe, as Mark and Hwa Young sat on singular chairs.

"Mari, please cooperate with daddy." Mark cried as he tried to feed the child milk, yet she was refusing the bottle stubbornly. Hearing his desperate pleas, Renjun snickered to the side along with the other three men at his side.

"I didn't know Mark could say such a thing outside the bedroom." The Chinese teased, bringing his cup of coffee to his lips, sipping the bitter substance loudly.

Hwa Young tsked from where she sat, watching the pathetic attempts of her friend. Soon, she grew tired of his baby voice and stood up, hurrying to pick up the little girl and the bottle. She swayed side to side, humming a small lullaby as she held the nip to the child's lips.

With a few small urges, Mari eventually gave in to her aunt and began to drink the warm liquid, causing a sigh of relief to fall from Mark's mouth.

"Now we know who's helping this dumb shit." Donghyuck mocked, sticking his tongue out at the older.

"That reminds me. Jaemin and Hwa stop exploiting my baby for your Instagram feed." Mark grumbled, rubbing his temples with the pads of his fingers.

The two scoffed, simultaneously shaking their heads together. "No."

"What do you mean no?" The boy deadpanned.

"No. She's cute. So, no. Do you want to hear it in Canadian? No."

Before the dark haired boy could retaliate, Chenle came rushing into the coffee shop, adorned in a lush black tux. Beads of sweat glistened on his hairline as he heaved for air.

"Uh what the fuck, Chenle? Don't you have a wedding?" Jeno furrowed his brows down, trying to piece together why his friend was here and not at a church.

"Um about that, I kinda ran away."

Hwa Young's jaw fell, hearing the younger's words.

"Wait is that a baby?"

"Who the fuck cares. Why did you run away? Boy, you could've been having rich person sex during your first class flight or something. Dude, 365 days type shit."

Dismissing the girl's rant, Renjun spoke over her. "Wasn't this arranged by your parents? Aren't they gonna be mad?" He asked, narrowing his eyes, watching as the boy scoffed aloud.

"What are they gonna do? Cancel my credit cards? They're not that petty. I'll pay for your bill, and watch it's gonna work." The boy pulled out his wallet, taking out his card as he trailed over to the register. The cashier rang up the group's items then took the boy's card sliding it. A low noise erupted from the machine.

"Sorry, sir. Your card declined."

"Chenle's broke!" Donghyuck hollered happily, standing up whilst clapping dramatically slow. "Heir no more."

The rest began to tease the young boy, as Hwa young stayed quiet, deep in thought, still feeding the child in her arms. "Wait wait. Shut up for a second." She pressed her index finger to her lips, signaling the boys to quiet down. Confused from her weird behavior, they closed their mouths, sitting in silence. "Do you guys here that?"

"Hear what?"

"Zhong Chenle has less money than us." Wide grins and smug smirks appeared on their faces, continuing their endless banter about the boy's issue.

"You can't talk, Hwa! You don't have a job right now!" Chenle fired back, a triumphant laugh slipping from his lips, as he rested his hands at the curve of his hips. Standing sassily.

Determined to prove a point, the woman passed the child to her father, and confidently strutted to the cashier. A stoic expression hung onto her features as she stood in front of the register. She pulled her wallet out from her jean pocket, grabbing her credit card.

Whilst keep eye contact with the Zhong, she one handedly passed her card to the worker. Chenle glared back into her eyes, arms now firmly crossed against his chest.

The machine chimed brightly, making the boy's confidence falter.

"At least I can pay for a few drinks, rat."

"Square up, Lele."