Cherry Disco
NCT/Perfume crossover.
(Light-hearted story)
“Taeyong, Yuta’s got a text he wants to show you!”, Haechan exclaimed as he burst into the room.
Still tired after the latest dance practice, Taeyong replied “if it’s from WinWin saying how much he misses him or going on about his abs, I’ll read it later...”.
“No, it’s —“
At that moment, Yuta, followed by Johnny and Jungwoo entered the room where the rest of NCT 127 were talking. Sensing some urgency, Taeyong slowly got up and read the text that his bandmate was pointing animatedly at.
“No.”
“B-but Taeyong, it’s about our honour.”
Whilst Yuta kept rereading the text in front of his other bandmates and friends, Taeyong stroked his brow and sighed. Naturally, most of the members were intrigued, and when Mark asked who had sent the text, Yuta paused for dramatic effect.
“And the academy award goes to...”, said Taeil.
“Come on, Yuta. Tell us!”, Mark demanded.
When the word came out, the men were agog. A dance challenge. Not from one of their fellow k-pop acts, but from another group. A group that Yuta had idolised for years. Well, they were all agog apart from their leader who was still nursing a pensive look. The text message read:
“Hi, Yuta! It’s Nocchi from Perfume! My friends in Perfume and I were so impressed by your recent tour and collab with Jason Derulo (so jealous). Let’s have a dance off next time you’re in Japan, we’d love to teach you a thing or two... 😉💕”
Within a matter of seconds, Yuta was leading Haechan, Doyoung, Jungwoo, and Mark in a rendition of Perfume’s Chocolate Disco. Furthermore, much to the chagrin of Taeyong, they were already trying to copy the dance moves.
Taeil and Mark sat either side of their leader and attempted to find out why he was so dispassionate about completing with the j-pop trio.
“It’s because... I’ve always had a soft spot... for Nocchi.” He replied, blushing at the admission.
“What? The Italian food?” Mark asked in all seriousness, while Taeil had a look on his face as though he’d just heard the worst joke of all time.
“No, Nocchi the idol, not gnocchi the food”, Taeyong answered with a slight smile.
“Oh, my bad.” Mark said as he drowned in the laughter of the other members.
“We could always ask NCT Dream to take our place?” Taeil offered.
After a brief minute of soul searching, Taeyong agreed to the dance off. After all, it was NCT 127 who’d been asked. Plus, Chenle and Jisung would never stop talking about it if they were to go up against the trio. He’d met Perfume once before, and ended up completely tongue tied when Nocchi had spoken to him.
Jaehyun, beaming from side to side, gathered everyone in a circle and hyped them up. Elated, the k-pop group began to offer suggestions on how to reply to the text. With every word suggested, two were rejected. Yuta’s thumbs frantically tapped the screen of his mobile, occasionally scrolling to choose the right emoji. The line, “PS — Taeyong loves you”, was quickly deleted by their leader before Yuta finally sent the text:
“Hey Nocchi! We all loved your latest concerts too. As for the dance off? Bring it on!!! Name the date. NCT 127 💃🏻🤩”
—————
“Nocchi, your phone keeps beeping.” Kashiyuka shouted to her friend in the kitchen.
Kashiyuka and A-chan returned to staring out of the window of Nocchi’s living room in her apartment. A purple fabric curtain swished in the breeze whilst gently shielding the ladies from the intensity of the afternoon sun.
A comforting aroma wafted into the room from the kitchen, the sort of scent that takes you back to childhood meals and wintertime feasts. Nocchi entered the room with three bowls of beef ramen and sat down at the table with her friends, they thanked her and began to eat.
A-chan, reluctantly taking her attention away from her food for a moment, imitated the text alert from Nocchi’s phone. Kashiyuka giggled to herself and carried on eating. It was only when the youngest member imitated the hook from their song “Pick Me Up”, that Nocchi gave in, put her cutlery down, and picked up her phone.
“Oh, it’s from Yuta. You know, NCT Yuta? They’ve said yes to the dance off.”
“Really? That’s amazing. We’ll have to be ready for them.” A-chan declared.
Kashiyuka carried on eating and gazed out of the window to observe the cityscape. Aeroplanes glided in the sky as people young and old strolled along the bustling streets. It was as though she’d taken none of the news in; as though it was just part of the background.
“Yuka, didn’t you hear us? Are you worried?” A-chan tapped on the side of her bowl to bring her friend back into the room.
“Oh yes, I heard.” She replied, wistfully.
“And?” Nocchi enquired.
Leaning towards her friends, and beckoning them to lean in too, Kashiyuka put her hands to her mouth, smiled, and whispered:
“They won’t know what’s hit them!”
At once, the three ladies laughed and began to talk between eating. Everything from what dance routines to practice, to what to wear, to when the dance off would take place came up in the conversation. Should they broadcast it for the fans? Should they go easy on NCT 127?
“So their leader is Yuta?” Kashiyuka asked.
“No, it’s Taeyong... I think.” A-chan said as she tried to remember all of the members.
“Taeyong...” Nocchi trailed off.
As Kashiyuka cleared the table and carried the crockery through to the kitchen, A-chan checked her own phone and noticed that her friend had a look on her face as though she was remembering an old amusing anecdote. When she asked Nocchi to explain, she simply said:
“I’m looking forward to seeing them again. Not least because I think Mr Lee Taeyong has a slight crush on me.”
“No way! How do you know?” A-chan asked in a high and inquisitive voice.
“All I’ll say is: I’ll try not to tease him too much!”
Kashiyuka walked back into the room to laughter and sat down at her place at the table. Her eyes darted between her friends, who were still chuckling to themselves. Clearly out of loop, she asked:
“What did I miss?”
