[ cнapтer тнιrтy-тwo ➛ ѕтarт ]

▬▬▬▬▬▬♢▬▬▬▬▬▬

Chenle was sure to become a fit skinny legend from all the walking he was doing.

Along with his friends, he graduated from high school a month ago and already had his future secured thanks to his family's mass of wealth. In another month, he would roam halls of New York's Julliard School — possibly the best performing arts university ever established — instead of downtown streets. The green-haired would continue learning to sing and dance his heart out, and if he were to perform any less than excellent, he'd be disowned.

It was no surprise his controlling parents had unattainably high expectations. A whole life plan was laid out for their son, so if he were to venture out of a single little detail, he'd face consequences worse than death.

Because Chenle always expressed an inclination towards music, his parents decided that instead of becoming heir to their company, he would be a worldwide, legendary performer, talent and fame that was unbeatable. At some point, in his mid to late twenties, he'd marry a beautiful woman with power, fortune, and status. From then, he'd continue bringing only honor to the Zhong name, carrying glory and dignity so as not to disappoint his lineage.

Perhaps that burden was why Chenle had remarkably notable chronic stress. Behind the mask of shining smiles, loud laughter, and bold behavior, there hid a tiny, fragile, strained boy.

When he met the Dreamies so long ago, he felt his mask slowly start to become his real self. His smiles and laughs were sincere and reckless actions carried out for pure thrill and fun. He finally began to understand what true happiness meant.

However, it seemed his friends were a curse disguised as a blessing. Or more specifically, Jisung was.

Obviously, Chenle's parents were, are, and will forever be homophobic. Due to ancestry so strongly locked in tradition, his family could never accept that he was helplessly in love with his male best friend, never mind that he committed minor crimes on a daily basis. It was a miracle his parents never noticed or taken action upon his troublesome conduct.

Back to the present, it was late July, and Chenle had been feeling particularly stressed. He would most likely have limited freedom in actions once he'd begin attending Julliard, which left slightly less than two months for him to truly live and possibly confess feelings for the only person he believed he'd ever love.

Except he was nervous. Iconic former couple Liza and David had been broken up for a while, which Chenle had taken some time to accept, and Lauren and Alex had recently broken up as well — difficult for the Chinese boy to process, and not helping his confidence on his own love life.

For the entirety of the day, he'd been pontificating over Jisung. School work and classes were always effective distractions from crushes and thoughts of longing. But it was time for Chenle to finally step up, take the most perilous, treacherous risk. Tell Jisung he loved him, that he wanted to repeat their kiss in the storage room.

He wanted Renjun's help because besides having grown up together, the Chinese boys were close as the older was the only one who understood what Chenle was going through. Burdened with such heavy pressure from their parents, they served well as each other's confidants.

Though not as controlling and obsessed with their reputation, seeing as the Huangs weren't nearly as influential and wealthy as the Zhongs, Renjun's parents were also strongly against the LGBTQ+ community. They were laxer now and allowed their son some freedom, yet when he was younger, Renjun was forcibly disciplined. Physical and verbal, crude and harsh, resulting in Renjun having the most polite and well-mannered character in his friend group.

Unfortunately, Renjun had gone to Salami girl's place, leaving Chenle by himself, walking around the city, engrossed into how he'd talk to Jisung.

Butterflies jumped with seizures in his stomach, his heart pumping ferociously in anticipation. Years of admiring and wanting to date Jisung would add up to a fast approaching moment. He'd spill his heart and fuck the repercussions.

The boy remembered he'd also have to explain why he had periodically dated Renjun — to get Jisung jealous — and apologize for the terrible results, as the plan was stupid from the start. Chenle's biggest regret was continuing on with it instead of exposing that his supposed relationship was fake.

But no matter. His current most important task was to figure out how and where he'd word his confession.

Chenle looked up at the sky, taken aback when he saw it was pitch black. Had he really been wandering for so long, just thinking? Yes, because he was the perfect example of whipped culture.

The nice thing about parents in business who valued their reputation above all else was that they were frequently away, either on trips or working long hours at the office. A long time ago, Chenle had stopped caring and keeping track of his parents' schedules, figuring they'd be back early the next morning.

He sighed, head still tilted upwards. His heart still raced, apprehension consuming his nerves. Pursing his lips, he finally took out his phone, hands trembling only a little. His mind wasn't thinking logically, he was just doing. Swiftly, his finger navigated through his phone and he messaged five words. Well, twenty-two, because autocorrect's a hoe, and stan Taylor Swift.

"meet me @ the pork".

"pwark*".

"park*".

"fuck me".

"jk hahahahhahahahhahahahaha gotta stay pure for jisoos and choke on that holy d".

Only a few minute walking distance from Jisung's house was a park where the two would come if they just wanted to talk. Vent about their problems, rant about things that didn't make sense, and just enjoy each other's company. A fountain, a chipped gray stone structure that spewed pleasing arches of water slivers stood in the middle of a field dotted with aspen trees and benches. Lights to illuminate the concrete at night hung up over paths that wound around in random, ultimately ending up as a circle around the fountain.

Chenle sprinted there and sat on the edge of the fountain, tapping his foot and fiddling with his phone as he waited. Heartbeat accelerating further, thoughts spinning into overdrive as fast as the wheels of a racecar, nerves rushing through him.

He felt like he'd combust in no time until he spotted a figure. The moon was shrouded by clouds, so Chenle had to rely on orange glows cast down from the lights. Still some ways away, hood covering their head, a tall silhouette walked steadily towards the fountain.

Jisung stopped in front of the older, and Chenle could only just make out his hair falling over his eyes and his teeth nibbling on his bottom lip.

"Ayo whaddup Krease."

"Ayo wassup," Chenle greeted back softly, standing to be face-to-face with the younger, his anxiety lifting along with the corners of his mouth. Jisung had a way of making him feel instantly better, stronger and happier, able to achieve and accomplish anything with a blissful victory. "You know why I dated Renjun?"

Jisung took his hood off so rays could shine on and further emphasize the orange of his hair. He raised his eyebrows and replied, "Make someone jealous. Obama, right?"

Snorting, Chenle sighed, "I wish, but his heart only goes on for Biden. Before I tell you who, though, just know that it was stupid. I shouldn't have continued it for so long much less do it in the first place — it was a mistake, and I deeply regret it."

"Fancy words," Jisung noted, smirking. "Iggy Azalea would be proud."

"I don't need her, I'm a motherfucking queen like Beyonce." Chenle winked, the other rolling his eyes but nodding anyway.

"Actually, the real queen is Hyuna," Jisung stated truthfully and Chenle almost screamed.

"And Cube has the audacity kick their only source of money and E'dawn out," he began, "but then not and confuse our dumbasses and just be fucking worse than SM or YG!!"

"Exactly!" Jisung screeched. "Most assholes just take in dick like the bottoms they are, but Cube deadass farted and nutted out all its dignity and revenue and 'success', they're so fucking dependent on Hyuna, even more than Jaeno-- sorry, Markhyuck, I forgot our gay boys haven't realized how gay they are."

"Yeah, Jaeno should fuck already. Anyway-- Cube's asshole is so tight if you shove coal in it, a diamond sometimes pops out, aka 4minute or Hyuna or Pentagon or Triple H or CLC or (G)I-dle. But 4-minute? Smothered in shit. Hyuna, the real God is a Woman and Queen of Kpop and only reason Cube wasn't dropping lower than my grades and will to live? Done with Cube's shit. Pentagon? Got — 7 — a valued member drowning in shit. Triple H, better known as God-tier couple + God-tier third-wheel? Two are leaving Cube's shit while the third, who's know just a first-wheel, is stuck in shit. CLC? Overshadowed by shit. And (G)I-dle? Will crash in shit 'cause Cube is trash--"

"Hyuna deadass better skrrt skrrt yehetty titty ohorat back to JYP or become her own company with E'dawn," Jisung sighed. "They'll be successful no matter what, the succ never disappoints, and just imagine being that fucking powerful as a babe when you are just 26."

"I'm 6 and I am that powerful, Pwark."

They stayed there for a moment, mouths locked in silence, a rarity. Despite their enlightening talk about Cube Entertainment, their minds were focused on other matters. A single string of thought, labeled 'Fucking Confess You Whore', stretched through their minds, affecting heart rates and nerves alike. Tighter and tighter the thought was pulled on.

"That was therapuetic," the Chinese boy took a breath to gather his thoughts. He decided on just blurting out everything. "So the dude I was tryna make jealous-- I like him. Obviously. I like him a lot."

And then our shishter snapped.

▬▬▬▬▬▬♢▬▬▬▬▬▬

[ cнapтer тнιrтy-тwo ➛ end ]

[a/n]: i promise this chensung is necessary to the plotline

you'll get jaeno soon enough, the book ends in just 15 more chaps

and tysm for 60k+ babes:'''') <33 should i even be surprised at how amazing y'all are?