jiae rose a hesitant hand to the door before ringing the bell. she'd never been to haechan's apartment, only dropping food off at his work.

according to jaemin, the members of 127 hadn't lived together in a while. still, jiae had never met any of the 127, besides haechan and mark, and looking down at her grey sweats and the haechan t-shirt her boyfriend bought for her, she was not dressed to start.

jiae was so distracted by her own thoughts on how she'd react to meeting one of the 127 members that she completely forgot she rang the bell, and jumped in surprise when the door opened. she wasn't exactly sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't an older woman with tan skin and slightly greying roots. jiae had to admit that she was very pretty, and strangely familiar.

the woman seemed just as surprised to see jiae, her eyes widening then narrowing in suspicion. "who are you?" she asked sharply, and jiae realized how this probably looked. a random girl in a fan-made nct haechan t-shirt standing out of nct haechan's house.

jiae swallowed hard, her palms already sweating. "i, um, i-i'm a friend..."

the woman raised a brow. "a friend?"

the girl wasn't sure how to claim she wasn't a sasaeng. she was getting flashbacks to when minsu nearly bullied her off sm's property and would have laughed if not for the woman staring her down. she didn't know who this woman was to hyuck, and jiae didn't want to expose their relationship.

"who is it, mom?" a tired voice called from inside the apartment, followed by a yawn. jiae recognized it instantly, and her eyes turned as wide as saucers as she faced the woman again. "you're hyuck's mom?"

"hyuck?" she asked, confused as to why someone would be using her son's real name. "what did you say your name was, again?"

jiae released the shirt fabric she'd been nervously balling in her hand. "i'm rhee jiae—"

"jiae—!" there was a thump from inside the apartment, and a moment later, haechan's mom was pulled behind the door and he appeared instead with a small wince. he quickly covered it with a smile and pressed his cheek against the inner corner of the door to smile at the girl in the hallway. "hi."

the girl wanted to show how concerned she was, but seeing his cheek squished against the door, all she could do was smile. "hi, hyuck."

she watched as a slow blush crept up the boy's neck and settled in the tips of his ears. she realized then that she'd never called him that, not in person, at least.

"h-how are you?" she asked, surprised to see him standing. "shouldn't you be resting?"

"i—"

"yes he should!" his mom called as she pinched his ear and practically dragging him back to bed. jiae watched from the hallway as they disappeared behind a wall, where she guessed his room was. after a moment or so, haechan's mom peeked her head into view and waved jiae forward. "don't just stand out there, girlie! please, come in!"

jiae took a hurried step inside, closing the door behind her as she blinked. wow. did haechan's mom just call me girlie?

turning around, she realized that, once again, the woman vanished. jiae let her sigh slip through her nose as she carefully took her shoes off and placed them in an empty corner beside the door. part of her wanted to explore the apartment, but she didn't want to move anywhere without permission. this definitely wasn't going as planned.

cautiously taking a step forward, jiae decided to follow the sound of the lee's voices.

"what have i told you about overworking yourself?"

"i'm fine, mom. i promise."

"fine? you were admitted to the hospital, donghyuck! do you know how worried i was?"

"i'm sorry..."

there was a moment of silence before jiae heard haechan's mom sigh. "i trust you... so. that pretty girl outside... that's the one you've been telling me about?"

"mom!"

feeling bad for eavesdropping, jiae decided to knock gently on the wall beside the open door. she didn't move until the woman said, "come in!"

peeking inside, jiae was taken aback by how bare the room was. there was a bed, and then a desk with the most remarkable gaming setup jiae had ever seen.

she was too busy taking in the room to notice the way haechan was looking at her, but someone else did. jiae glanced towards the mother and son when the woman suddenly rose to her feet. "i just remembered i have to help sunghyun go through my closet from the 90s. jiae, do you mind staying with him?"

jiae could feel her face heating up as she tried not to look at the boy who was staring intensely at her. "you don't have to," he started to say, but jiae nodded at his mom. "of course i don't mind. that's what i came here for, actually."

nodding between the two, haechan's mom picked her purse up off a chair and tossed it over her shoulder. "alright, then! it's settled. i'll be back in a few hours, so if you're going to be all over each othe—"

"mom!"

"right, sorry!" she laughed, quickly pinching jiae's bright pink cheeks before making her way to the exit. "i'd love to grab a coffee with you sometime, jiae. hyuckie can give you my number." with that, she was gone.

it was quiet as the couple both stared at the spot in haechan's doorway, where his mother had just been standing. after a few seconds, jiae sucked in a breath and turned to face her... hyuck.

"how are you? really?" she asked softly as she approached the side of his bed. she took a seat on the floor, his face hovering only a few inches away from hers.

he was so pretty as he stared at her. usually, jiae was a bit nervous when she got close to him. he always smelled so good, like the earth after a rainstorm. his tan skin has a gentle sheen of sweat, probably from the energy he used to rush to the door.

she looked away when haechan's observant eyes on her face got to be too much. she'd just rolled out of bed after reading jaemin's text and didn't feel her best. still, she didn't like the idea of haechan being on his own when he was in pain.

"you were in the hospital?" jiae asked, her voice small. she turned as she spoke, and it was haechan's turn to look away.

"yeah..." he began. "the company will announce my hiatus later. how'd you know to come here?"

embarrassed, jiae told him about her conversation with jaemin. she apologized for interrupting the mother-son moment, which made the idol chuckle a bit. "she can be a bit overbearing at times," he smiled. "but i don't know what i'd do without her."

jiae felt her nose begin to burn. hearing haechan talk to fondly of his mother made her miss hers dearly, and when she noticed the look of concern that spread across the boy's face, she decided to change the topic.

"so, you talk about me, huh?"

she laughed when the idol hid his burning face beneath his white comforter. "i'm teasing!" jiae managed through her chuckles as she pulled the blanket away, finding haechan using his hands to cover his face instead.

still laughing, jiae used her hands to pry his away. her smile remained as she stared down at him, admiring how shy he got. she was so focused on close they were that she completely forgot his hands were still encased in hers.

pulling away, jiae settled back to her spot beside the bed, keeping one of his hands clasped in hers. she silently played with his fingers, her head propped against her free palm with her elbow against his mattress as she looked at him.

"don't tell haechan, but i was really worried about him. how much he pushes himself, and all."

she was being serious, but kept her words light as she joked around with the boy who showed a small smile. "oh, i won't. he would probably die if he found out that the rhee jiae was worried about him."

jiae gave his hand a squeeze. there was nothing romantic about it, only comforting. she cared, and he knew that. he knew that despite how much they liked to play, she wasn't going anywhere.

•
might stop writing about haechan hiatus cause every time i write about a previous hiatus, he goes on a new one 😭 bro needs REST 💔