Hi Hello Annyeong! (by Junguwu)

This is another chapter for my lovely readers!

This time, however, it is a chapter focusing on the side ships of the book! I'm also introducing a new character to the book, but not to us NCTzens!

Anya wais...

Shit goes down...

Vote and Comment!

AKD

P.S.

I told one of you there would be no angst anymore, but that was a lie. There will be a little bit of angst, but not about the main ship!

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One Month Later

Jaemin entered the coffee shop and spotted the familiar white-haired male in the corner table.

He was going on his first date with Lee Jeno, as he had promised.

---- ---- ---- ----

Jeno leans over to Jaemin once everyone else is out of the dressing room, a big contrast to his previously panicked gay self, and whispers something in Jaemin's ear.

"If NEO wins Artist of the Year, will you go on a date with me, sugar?"

As he straightens out Jeno sees that Jaemin is speechless and surprised. All that Jaemin can do is shakily nod as a response to whatever Jeno whispered to him.

Jeno walks backwards towards the dressing room's door, "I'm holding you to that. You've promised, babe."

And Jeno has the audacity to wink as he walks out the door.

---- ---- ---- ----

That is how Jaemin found himself approaching a Jeno who was focused on his phone and did not see Jaemin when he walked closer.

"Is this seat taken?" Jaemin asked.

Jeno slowly raised his head, his serious face disappeared, replaced by a softer one.

"It's reserved for the most beautiful man in the universe," Jeno answered with a smirk.

Jaemin could feel the blush on his cheeks but he wouldn't make it easy for Jeno to fluster him.

"Then why aren't you sitting here?" he asked as he pointed at the empty chair.

The blonde blushed and looked like that single sentence fried his brain. Jeno stood up abruptly and shook the table.

"I wil-" he placed his hands on the table to stop it from shaking "I will go get our coffees. What do you want? You can take a seat."

When Jeno returned with their drinks, silence fell over them and any topic to start a conversation was searched for despite falling flat on succeeding.

Pursuing his lips, Jaemin's cheeks started to flush, "Sorry I, uh, kinda know who you are, I never thought I'd be having coffee with you of all people."

"Eh, just treat me like a normal guy. I don't bite unless you give me a reason to," Jeno warned with a waggle of his eyebrows that made Jaemin snort out a chortle of laughter at how silly the proposition seemed, trying not to tense as Jeno intertwined their fingers, "Guessin' I'm your favorite out of the band, huh?"

"Don't tell your band members, but you'd be correct. You're a pretty relatable person, ya know?"

"I've never been told that, care to explain?"

"Well..." Jaemin starts off, feeling slightly pressured, a sharp tooth nipping down into your bottom lip as h gathered the entire response as neatly as possible, "Firstly, you're a wholesome person. Not that the others aren't, but you're so down to earth even when you're performing and so famous."

"I try my best."

"Naturally, but you always seem to succeed," Jaemin gently gushed out between a swallow of his coffee with eight shots of espresso, "Listen to me, rattling off things you probably already know..."

"Don't sweat it, sugar, listening to you being so passionate about someone is kinda hot, actually."

"Oh, is it now?"

"Not as hot as our drinks, but pretty damn close."

---- ---- ---- ----

Now, while the date progressed, on the other side of the street from where the coffee shop was, was a grocery store where a Kun was doing his weekly grocery shopping.

Kun sighed, pushing his cart away from a throng of people so he can go through his list. He checks off what he has already gotten and looks at what he still needs; bananas? Check. Nutella? Not needed, but he put it into his cart anyway.

He makes his way to the cereal aisle, debating on if he wants to buy cereal for a man his age, containing all that healthy crap they advertise on TV or finally convince himself that Trix are in fact for adult.

Trix it is.

After Kun reaches for his favorite cereal, his fingers barely graze the slightly dented box before it's snatched away. It was the last box!

Kun blinks at the rapidly retreating figure. "Hey. Hey!"

They don't respond, just jog around the corner in a flash of denim and curly hair. Kun runs after them, nearly slipping in what he suspects is spilled juice.

He reaches the end of the aisle, catching another glimpse of denim and curls before it disappears around yet another shelving unit. They play this game of cat and mouse all through the grocery store, Kun growing more exasperated with each subsequent appearance and disappearance.

Kun gives up somewhere between the candy-isle and the exit, opting to just go home. As he's heading for the exit with his cart, however, he sees the stranger come over to him.

The guy looks sheepish as he hands un the last box of cereal, "I'm sorry. I clearly saw you reaching for the last box, but took it anyway. It's just that it's my favourite... but after seeing you looking so tired and dejected I felt really guilty, so please I'm offering the box as a plea for forgiveness."

Kun was surprised! Not only was the guy who had purposefully avoided him and ran away from him, returned to him to give him his cereal back, but the guy was also ridiculously good looking.

The guy looked younger than Kun himself, with a strong jawline and thick, defined eyebrows. The man was also tall and thin and carried himself with an aura of confidence. There was something else about him, but Kun just couldn't put his finger on it.

Kun reached out and accepted the box from the male, "Apology accepted"

The handsome male visibly relaxed and gave Kun a blinding smile, "Oh thank goodness! I'm Xiaojun, and although our meeting wasn't quite the best, it's nice to meet you!"

At this Kun let out a little chuckle, "Hello, Xiaojun, I'm Kun. It's nice to meet you, too!"

Seeing Kun smile, Xiaojun blushed. He hadn't expected that the person he'd steal from would be this good looking. Wow! Great way to make a first impression!

"Um, well, I don't really have any cereal that I eat besides the one I just returned to you, so do you have any recommendations?" Xiaojun asked in hopes of being able to continue a conversation with the older.

Kun thought about it for a second, "While, this one is my favorite and I do eat it most of the time, there are a few other ones that are pretty good. Here, follow me and I'll show you."

---- ---- ---- ----

While Kun and Xiaojun continue to get to know each other and even exchange phone numbers, in the parking lot outside the grocery store sits a purple-haired male waiting for his friend and colleague to finish picking up his things.

The purple-haired male made a habit of it not to turning on the radio in his car much. It wasn't hard, avoiding it, anyway.

He was more of a Bluetooth or aux type of guy, closely curating his playlists carefully and expertly for the mood or just what he liked, and had a whole bunch of them that he could turn on at any time.

He had his own, more alternative music taste that didn't normally come on the radio, so it wasn't like he was missing out on much, either.

What was harder to avoid was the radio in other places like the one that always seemed to be playing from one of his co-worker's desks or when he was in someone else's car.

Not to mention the playlists, which were even worse to think about when they came over the speakers of a store or in an uber driver's car. The playlists were worse; that meant someone had specifically picked out that voice to put into the mix, and that someone was choosing to listen to it and subject everyone else to it as well.

He knew that most people didn't have a problem with songs like "Without You" or "Angel" or even his least favorite in both the name and content, "Highway to Heaven," but he still couldn't stand hearing them played.

The purple-haired couldn't stand going through his day and hearing the beats drift through the air innocently until the lyrics begin and he's yet again tossed back into the cold.

He couldn't stand hearing a voice so familiar and far away whenever he walked into a public space, couldn't stand the implications of what any of those words sang so sweetly could mean.

Before Jaehyun, music had been his way to escape from life. After Jaehyun, music was what he needed to escape from.

Everyone he could have asked that didn't know him personally would say that they loved Jung Jaehyun, without a doubt. They weren't asking who he was or disliking him in any way, automatically connecting him to a deep voice full of emotion and poetic but catchy lyrics.

They had no memories with the guy, nothing holding them to their opinions. They could go either way about him, forget him if they wanted to. The bunny-teethed couldn't consider himself that lucky.

Today, however, the male had decided he would turn on the radio. He was hoping for some soothing music to help him pass the time while he waited for his friend. What he got was something unexpected.

"...and today we have NEO's Jung Jaehyun in the studio!" The radio show host was speaking in a hyper tone as to excite her listeners.

"Hey everyone!" Came the calm introduction from the singer.

"Soooo, Jaehyun, you released a single a week ago that is already topping international charts. How do you feel about it?"

Jaehyun's tone was relieved when he answered, "I was honestly very scared and nervous when I first released the song because it was my first time doing anything like this without my group participating. All I can say is that I am more than happy with the reaction to my song and very thankful to those who listened to it."

The purple-haired was surprised by the news. He did not know that Jaehyun had released a song by himself. What was it about?

The interviewer continued, "Well, you guys definitely have dedicated fans no matter if as a group or individually. Anyways, based on the fact that this is your first single, I was wondering how long this song was in the works?"

"This song, if you also include the thoughts of writing the song, has been in the making for nearly a year and a half. This song is very personal and the message or purpose behind it was very hard to put into words and put music to them. What was even harder was to find the courage to release the song; I had to find my courage to do so...and well, I guess I did cause I released the song."

The interviewer sounded tentative as she said, "Jaehyun, this might be too soon, but would you be willing to share the meaning or purpose of the is song for you?"

There was a pause. Longer than what it should have been whileeJaehyun thought about what he should say. The silence continued for a few seconds before Jaehyun inhaled.

"I have a very traditional family, as do many other people here in Korea. Luckily, however, the world is slowly changing and people are now allowed to be who they want to be, believe what they want to, and ... love who they want to. For a long time, I've had to hide who I was....from my family, friends, and my lovely fans. "

There was another pause. The bunny-teethed listener held his breath as he waited for Jaehyun to continue.

"About five years ago, after the first year of being in NEO, I started dating someone; we were together for 3 years before separating. We separated because I was scared of what everyone would think of me if I was...if I... if I was pansexual. And was in love....in love with a....a....g-guy."

Although barely audible there was a tiny gasp from the interviewer. The purple-haired sitting in his car, however, had gone completely still, eyes wide.

Meanwhile, Jaehyun had continued to talk. "After seeing Mark, my band member, and Donghyuck fall deeper and deeper in love no matter the hate they were getting or scandals they went through, made me realize that I had missed out on a life worth living. I realized the utter cowardice I was exuding."

There was another pause as the guy in the car clenched the steering wheel so hard his finger s turned white.

"I no longer wanted to run away from who I was and no longer wanted to be embarrassed for who I loved and love. Even I am deserving of some happiness, even though the entire world might be against me. As a result, this song...is...this song is me confessing to that person that I dated...that I...that I-I still love them and wished we never broke up."

The purple-haired was unbelieving of his ears. Jaehyun had not only come out to the entire world but also admitted that he had dated a guy...and that Jaehyun still loved...him.

"I just want to apologize to my fans that I kept this part of me a secret from them. I just hope that you can learn to love this part of me and continue to support NEO in the future."

"Jaehyun," the interviewer started, her tone soft, " no, thank you for sharing this private part of yourself. We, your fans and I, can only imagine how hard it was to do what you just did. I also wish you the best in winning back your mystery guy."

Jaehyun sounded as if he was close to tears as he answered, "Thank you."

"To wrap up the session, would you be able to sing us the most meaningful part of the song for your fans?"

"Of course," Jaehyun answered as he cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

Soon a deep smooth molasses voice poured from the bunny-teethed's car's speakers.

"I know I hurt you, but

Could you love me again?~

Without knowing,

I'm in love with you again.

So could u love me again?~

I didn't know love back then.

Baby, love me again.~

Baby, please, please, please

I need you to love me again.~

Oh, baby, just please please please,

Could u love me again?~

Love me again, again?

Oh, baby, I need you to.~

Love me, baby,

Love me again~"

"Hyung, are you okay?"

The door to the car had just been opened by the purple-haired's friend and model coworker, who had while walking towards the car noticed his Hyung's distraught expression and after opening the door, heard the last of the radio session.

The purple-haired didn't hesitate in answering, wiping away a stray tear that had slipped out of his eyes without him noticing. "Xiaojun, what the fuck. What the fuck was that?"

"That, you dumbass," interjected Xiaojun, "Was a love song. Written for millions of people to hear. By the guy, you're in love with and loves you back. About you."

Not Edited

Sunday, January 5, 2019

Opinions? Theories? Interesting facts? Random thoughts? Furry bathtubs? Questions?

Shawty, imma party till the sun goes down!

Song Recommendation:

"fOoL fOr YoU" by Zayn Malik