Chapter 4 ✦ I'd love to get to know you tho ✦
😀tell😀me😀why😀covid😀induced😀headaches😀hurt😀so😀much😀 ???
I almost didn't post today but I made a promise to myself so I'm fighting this headache and writing this chapter, no matter what.
Also thank you for your messages filled with love, it really really means alot because I feel like people are going to hate what I'm writing since it's not your usual NCT fanfic so your supportive messages really motivate me to keep going 💕
I'm going to try to come up with some sort of header for the future chapters but I want to find good pictures of Hina :(( sadly my girl doesn't post alot and it's been hard to find a picture that does JUSTICE to her.
PLS TELL ME IF YOU WANT TO BE TAGGED IN FUTURE CHAPTERS <3
TAGS: nctxreader fanfic ; jaehyunxoc; idolverse; smnewgg; fluff; angst; friends to lovers to enemies to lovers (lmao).
Warnings: language, drinking.
1st chapter 2nd chapter 3rd chapter
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Jungwoo was a very handsome guy, and the worst part was that he knew it. He was rambling on and on to Y/N about how he did well during his training period and how being well connected with the labelmates helped him debut early and land a spot in the most famous unit of NCT. He winked and clinked drinks with Y/N, telling her that he would keep an eye on her and help her stand out so that the staff wouldn't neglet her like they usually did.
It had been about twenty minutes of this, Jungwoo speaking non stop while flirting from time to time, winking and making cringey remarcs that would Y/N gulp and nervously laugh, trying her best to find an excuse out of that situation. She didn't want to be rude especially to a sunbae like Jungwoo, but she couldn't be less interested in him. When she felt like she was about to burst and say something that could possibly cause a bad impression, a hand landed in her shoulder.
The scent of a floral and expensive perfume filled her lungs, the hand had a tight grip on her and an husky voice interrupted Jungwoo.
" Hey Y/N, I didn't know you were here, it has been so long. How have you been?"
She blinked her eyes a couple of times, holding onto her cup with sweaty hands while trying to get the words stuck in her throat out, but all she could do was stutter. Jeong Jaehyun, the birthday boy himself, stood by her side, looking at her with a glint in his eyes.
Jungwoo cleared his throat, trying to break the silence that had established there and then between the three upon the arrival of his friend.
"Happy birthday!" she suddenly said in a hurried voice, ending the frase almost in a gasp and hugging him by putting her arms around his neck and holding him close to her. Jaehyun felt a shiver in his spine and stood still in the girls embrace.
" Thank you..." he answered in a low voice and looking at Jungwoo. He separated himself from Y/N and scratched his neck while making a face at Jungwoo. " You mind if I steal her for a bit? It's been a while and we need to catch up." he lied with a innocent face. Jungwoo nodded and tried to hug Y/N as well before leaving but she stood out her hand in a hurry, stopping him in his tracks and laughing in embarassment. " Sure sure, meet me later when you're finished, I'll be waiting Y/N" he winked and left, going directly towards the open bar where some guys were having shots.
" No freaking way..." Y/N cursed lowly while following him with her eyes and an annoyed face.
" Y/N hum... how do we know each other exactly?"
Oh right. Jaehyun was next to her, and her dumb self had just thrown herself in his arms not even a minute after they had just met. She felt her cheeks burning with embarassment, Jaehyun's presence behind her was intimidating, and she was hoping that he wasn't such a pain in the ass as Jungwoo was. She had enough cringey interactions for the night, she thought.
Turning in her heel she bit her bottom lip a few times before mustering up the courage to look Jaehyun in the eyes and talking to him.
" We don't. Which makes everything that just happened, ten times more embarassing." Y/N finally said, receiving a laugh from the handsome boy in front of her.
"I'd love to tho." Jaehyun said and Y/N felt his eyes on hers.
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13th February 2022 ( Two Years Later )
The anticipation was killing them. The Elayne members were with their staff and managers in the office room, eyes locked in the large tv screen that had a big digital clock playing the countdown for the release of their debut music video.
On the table in front of them were some cakes gifted by company labelmates wishing them the best and a successful debut. Lami was having a mini mukbang, tasting a bit of every cake since it was a special day and she could have a break from her diet. The other girls were so nervous that the smell of the sweets only made them pace around, rubbing their stomachs and drinking water.
Their phones rang with notifications from friends and relatives, but talking felt like a impossible thing to do in the moment.
"LESS THAN ONE MINUTE!" one of the staff members let out a scream making everyone sit on the chairs, eyes glued to the screen ahead, anxious to see the final result of the music video that everyone had put so much effort and hard work on.
Koeun made the girls hold hands, Lami chewing a mouthful of cake.
" Are you seriously eating right now?" Herin asked her while her hands trembled.
" I'm stress eating." Lami claimed while having another bite.
"OK OK, 10 SECONDS EVERYONE, 10 SECONDS! 9, 8, 7..."
Y/N and Hina held tight to the armrest of their chairs and Herin began to mutter "oh my gods" while closing her eyes. Koeun rubbed her sweaty palms against each other and tapped her feet nervously.
This was it. The moment they had been waiting for, they had invested their everything, they had quit and started new lives too but life had led them here, and the thought of coming such a long way and fail had them all terrified and sick to their stomach. The music video began to play, the first beat kicking in, showing the girls all dolled up and making everyone in the office scream from excitment.
"WE LOOK SO GOOD AAAA" Herin screamed while jumping up and down on her seat.
After Aespa's rocky debut in 2020, SM had a hard time promoting the group. When the company finished dealing with a controversy another one popped up. The fans were unhappy with the songs and concept, they pointed fingers and accused the girls of having fake personas. Having debuted during a pandemic made things worse, and when the time to perform live came, the critics began again accusing them of lack of stage presence and lip syncing. Then Giselle's scandal wrapped everything up, and the chairman decided that they needed something to cover up the disaster that had been the debut of Aespa.
The staff started creating a new girl group and coming up with the concept, as well as the line-up. Problem was, most of the trainees suitable for debut and with talent had left after being neglected for such a long time, and most of the trainees weren't ready or deserving of a debut so early on.
With the companies staff on the verge of a breakdown, a miracle happened. One of the NCT staff that were in charge of curating the new girl group project entered one of the recording rooms to meet Taeyong and help him with the production of some new tracks. When he got inside he found Taeyong messing around in the mix table and three girls inside the recording room singing a tune.
The staff rushed inside, letting the door close with a loud bang and make Taeyong jump in his seat.
" Hyung.. you scared me." the producer stopped close to Taeyong and resting his hands on the table, supporting his body weight in them and listening the girls sing with his eyes double the size. He looked at Taeyong, who stared with him with a pen in his hand, a beanie covering his freshly dyed hair and a confusing look in his face.
"Is that... is that Koeun and Herin?" he asked while looking at the three girls inside singing.
" Yeah yeah I got this idea for an ad-lib and they offered to help. They'll be out in a se-"
"DON'T." The staff said in a hurry and grabbing his phone. " Don't. let. them. out. I need to make a call." he began to walk towards the door, tripping on his way out and closing the door. As he dialed a number on his phone he realised he didn't know the other girl.
" Taeyong, who's the curly haired girl?" he asked through the slit of the door.
" Ha...m that's Y/N. She's a trainee hyung..."
The person on the other line picked up.
" Meet me in the recording room 3!!! And hurry, bring Jinwoo and KyungHee too, it's our lucky day!" the staff held his phone out inside of the recording room and captured the girls harmony.
"WHO THE HELL IS THAT?" the caller on the phone asked.
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" I can't believe that we got so many views on our music video on the first day. And the comments are so nice too." Lami kept scrolling through the comment section under their debut video while her hair was being styled for the SMTOWN concert.
Koeun came out of the dressing rom adjusting the dress she was wearing and turning around a few times while the stylist looked to check if it was fitting well. Their debut concept was dark royal inspired and their outfits and make up were quite detailed since this was the first time they would be performing.
" And I can't believe that we have to perform live today... while we share the stage with these people."
A group of loud screams was heard on the corridor outside their dressing room, the door opened sudenly and Y/N entered the room gasping and closing the door behind her blocking it with her back.
" What?" Lami mouthed quietly looking at her groupmate.
" Super Creepior..." Y/N mouthed putting her finger in front of her lips and hushing. She glued her ear to the door trying to hear if the ruckus had diminished. " I swear to god if one of those old creeps comes after me again I'll kick them in the nu-"
Koeun cleared her throat and gave Y/N a look, signaling to the room full of staff. They had to be careful with what they said, because one small mistake, could be recorded, shared online and make their career end as soon as it started.
Someone started to bang on the door on repeat and Y/N got startled.
Herin and Hina came inside the room, fully dressed and with some snacks on their hands, Hina sat in the chair to get her make up started and handed Lami a sandwich. Meanwhile Herin opened her bag of dried fruit and began to eat it while pacing around the room, munching out loud.
" You're stressing me. And I'm stressed enough." Y/N said holding her friend by the shoulders and stopping her.
" Sorry. We had an ... encounter." Y/N and Herin exchanged a suspicious look and Y/N understood that whatever that had happened was something to be shared in private because it must have involved other labelmates.
" Y/N time to get dressed" one of the stylists announced holding out a black dress for Y/N.
" Thanks, I'll put it in and come back in a second. Herin help me with these strings?"
" I can help you it's my job." the stylist followed Y/N to the small dressing room space with curtains.
"Oh but, you know, I'm still a little uncomfortable changing in front of you..."
The stylist gave Y/N an understanding smile and gave the dress to Herin. The two hurried inside and closed the curtains.
"What happened?" Y/N started to take off her sweat suit while Herin got the dress ready.
" Hina and I met Jaehyun and Mark on the bar... I don't think I can control myself tonight, I want to punch that sucker so much. He's obnoxious Y/N."
"What'd Mark say?" she whispered while she tried to figure out how to put the dress on. " Did you guys fight?"
" Of course we did. I can't stand the sight of his face and he can't stand mine." Y/N made a face and huffed in annoyance
" How the hell does this thing work?" Herin snatched it of her hands and put the dress over Y/N's head and started to tie the back " Thanks..."
" Are you seriously not going to ask about Jaehyun?" Y/N looked at her feet and some of her hair fell and covered her face. Herin sighed " He asked about you... He broke mine and Marks little fight apart and congratulated us on the debut. Said he was proud and that we were doing well." Y/N nodded her head while Herin talked " He said you looked happy. And beautiful." Y/N turned around, finally dressed and looked her friend in the eyes, with one hand she opened the curtains and prepared to get out of the dressing room.
" Cool. Because I am, happy. So he better stay away and let me be."
Y/N went to the stylist and Herin leaned on the wall of the dressing room with a defeated look in her face. Looking to see if Y/N would come back, she took her phone out and send a text message before joining the girls.
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Jaehyuns phone rang, the notification indicating that he had gotten a message. His heart started to race a little, and he hoped it would be from the person he wanted to hear from. Him and Mark had just joined the other members on the stage, the group was having a rehearsal before the big night. Mark leaned and looked at his phone.
" Who you texting?" Mark looked at the contact and made a disgusted face, hitting Jaehyun on the shoulder while the other boy smirked. " Dude, don't you find it a bit rude to text my ... my.."
" Me nemesis. That's what she is. God put her on Earth to test my patience is what it is. AND, you don't see me going around and being friendly and texting with your ex do you?"
Gulping down a water bottle Johnny joined the conversation, flicking Marks hat off his head in a playful manner.
" So you admit it. Herin's your ex" he added.
" Ineversaidthat" Mark answered flustered.
Johnny and Jaehyun high fived, having pleasure on teasing the younger boy.
" Whatever makes you sleep at night buddy."
Jaehyun finally opened the text message from Herin and he felt his good spirits die a little when he read its content.
hey Jae, just talked to Y/N. I don't think that she's ready to talk to you yet sorry...
" She still hates your guts hun?" Mark said while he watched Taeyong order the members around the stage. " I mean, makes sense. After everything that went down, you can't blame her."
"Thank you friend. Just what I needed to hear." Jaehyun put his phone away in his pocket frustrated, his tone full of sarcasm.
" You need to respect her space. If she wants she'll talk to you." Johnny added and gave Jaehyun a friendly smack in the shoulder. "Accept that you messed up, big time."
" I know I messed up! I'm reminded of that everyday, that's why I want to apologize. I - I- regret everyday that I did what I did." Johnny and Mark listened with their arms crossed to Jaehyuns frustration. It was hard enough for Mark to be in the same stage as Herin but he knew that the both of them hated each other. He coulnd't imagine what it was like for Jaehyun to have to perform in front of thousands while the girl he loved and hurt was just a few meters away from him.
"How am I supposed to stay here and pretend like I don't want to run to her? Hold her and beg her to take me bag? To say for the nth time that I will regret to the day I die what I did to her? How can I pretend like I don't love her with my whole heart and soul when she's standing there, with the most beautiful smile on her face, tempting me to go and kiss her?" An arm found its way around Jaehyuns neck and pulled him close. It was Taeyong, that had listened to the whole thing.
" Jae, I know its hard. But you need to get your act together. She deserves to have a peaceful night. And so does Herin..." he pointed to Mark with a cockep up eyebrow " And Hina..." he grabbed Jaemin that was passing by and ruffled his hair in a fatherly way.
" Aren't you forgetting anyone?" Jaemin teased while trying to get out of Taeyong's chokehold
Taeyong cursed him and ruffled his hair even more.
" I'm not a child like some of you."
" Let.me.go.old.maaaan". Jaemin begged making a fit.
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After many hours of preparations everything was finally ready for the concert to start. The girls were prepared and they watched the first performances from their dressing room. More than nervous they were excited, they couldn't wait to finally perform.
At exactly 9pm the staff began to guide them backstage so that they could start their performance at 9:10pm sharp. There was a crowd of people backstage, from staff to the idols that had just finished performing or were about to start, running around taking off clothes and putting new ones on, stylists and make up artists all crammed around one person in a suffocating way. Y/N held tight to Hina's hand while they made their way in single line to the stage entrance. As she was walking a foreign hand grabbed hers and pulled her, making her stop in her tracks and let go of Hina's hand too.
When she saw who it was she let out a sigh of relief and hugged the person in front of her.
" I was hoping we'd meet, go out and kill it tonight. I'll meet you again up there." Irene said giving her a big smile and wink before being grabbed by a staff and running away.
Hina called out Y/N and she saw that the girls were a few meters away already getting their microphones ready. She made her way through the sea of people but bumped into someone, making the person spill some water on the floor.
" Watch were you're going!" the annoyed girl said.
Y/N and the girl locked eyes. She was about to apologize but seeing that she had bumped in none other than Giselle, Y/N gave her a stinky look and bumped into her again and walked away.
" Get out of my way then." she said while walking.
When she arrived by Hina's side the girl gave her a smirk and goofy smile.
" This is why you're my bestie." she mouthed while a staff member adjusted the mic transmitter in her outfit.
Y/N winked at her and looked in Giselle's direction, only to notice that the Aespa members had gathered and were also stealing some looks at the Elayne members, with the nastiest face in the planet.
Y/N gulped and turned her face away. She wouldn't let her hot temper ruin the most important night of her life.
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Adrenaline. Was all that she could feel in her soul. The bright lights from the stage almost blinded her but she couldn't care less. The fans chantted their song, and the girls had to keep up without breaking down from how emotional they were. It had been just a few hours since their debut, they couldn't believe how much the crowd liked them.
Performing was fun, but when the audience makes you feel welcome it's not only a fun experience. It's transcendent.
Their performance couldn't have gone better. When it ended, they ran backstage, the staff members hurrying them to go get changed for the final stage where all the idols sang and interected together.
They were so high on their spirits, that it felt like they were on top of the world and nothing could bring them down. Y/N had been smiling so much that her cheeks hurt, her eyes were filled with tears, threatening to fall and ruin her make up, but her staff kept on yelling at her, not to even dream of crying in that moment.
She felt like the happiest person in the world. Her mind was in a daze, and when she went up on stage again, her legs trembled.
The stage was filled with singers from the other groups, coming in one by one. The girls stood in a stop, holding hands and looking at the giant sea of pink lightsticks ahead of them. They were wearing the merch of the concert now, having changed from their performance outfits and felt a lot more comfortable.
All of a sudden, someone came running in Herin's direction and the two hugged, jumping up and down while giggling. It was Yeri, emotional to have her best friend by her side on stage finally.
" I'm so happy for you guys! You did amazing! Mind if I steal her for a bit?" with this being said Herin and Yeri disappeared in the sea of people on stage.
A voice was heard on Koeun's ear piece and she turned to the remaining girls, telling them that she was told that they should walk around, and wave to the fans.
" Let's split! You and Lami go that way and I'm going this way with Y/N"
Koeun nodded and told Hina to meet at the center of the stage after.
Hina started to walk but it took a second for Y/N to notice and wake up from her adrenaline induced transe. Hina laughed and told her to hurry. Y/N ran a little to keep up with Hina and the two began to walk around, waving to the fans and greeting the other idols.
" Excuse me Hina" someone spoke in japanese making Hina and Y/N turn their heads, looking at them with a big smile was Yuta. He was holding a camera in his hands. " I'm one of the photographers for the night, would you mind?"
Hina grabbed Y/N and smilled, Yuta took a few pictures and then checked them, his big smile still plastered in his face. " Beautiful, as always." he held the camera out to Hina and she took it, a bit confused. He stood by Y/N's side and gave her a small wink. " I'm a fan, can I take a picture with you?" he asked in english.
Y/N tried to react quickly, knowing that they were being watched by a lot of people and nodded quickly. Hina smirked and picked up the camera, getting ready to press the button.
She clicked once, Yuta raised his arm and hugged Y/N from the side, Hina took another picture.
Suddenly, another arm found itself around Y/N's shoulder, and she felt herself being squiched between two bodies. She turned her head with a confused look in her face to see who it was. Only for her eyes to land on Jaehyuns face. He wasn't looking at her though, he had his cold eyes glued to Yuta's and he was clenching his jaw.
" What's the problem Hina? I can't take a photo with Y/N?" he said with a tone of annoyance in his voice, his grip on Y/N's shoulder getting stronger.
" I'm only going to say this once. Fuck off." Y/N said through gritted teeth while faking a smile.
Hina pretended to take the picture, gave the camera back to Yuta and grabbed Y/N by the hand, bowing quickly to the two boys before the two turned their backs and walked in a fast pace away from them.
" What the fuck just happened?" Hina questioned while strocking her friends hand in a comforting manner. " Has he lost it? Absolutly lost it?"
" Leave it to Jaehyun to ruin things..." Y/N sighed and tried her best to hide her true emotions.
But it was killing her inside. All the joy that she felt earlier was completly replaced with sadness and disappointment once again. What was going through his mind? Pull a thing like this in front of so many people and risk them get caught in a controversy. Right after her debut as well... she was starting to get furious. Jaehyun had no respect for her whatsoever, each day that passed by she convinced herself of that even more. First he made her fall for him, and broke her heart, now this?
Lost in her own thoughts and furious spiral, Y/N found herself actually lost in the middle of the stage. No sight of Hina anywhere, nor her other group members.
She turned on her heel a few times, and squinted hard due to her poor eyesight, looking everywhere to find a familiar face. Now she was embarassed, she cursed under her breath. She hoped nobody was paying attention to her, because she felt ridiculous.
Her name was called, a soft and husky voice coming from the left.
At the sight of one of her mentors from trainee days she let out a relieved sigh and extended her hand out for him to shake it.
"Kyungsoo, thank god. I was about to loose it." Kyungsoo shook her hand and gave her a small hug, keeping his hand in her back.
" I lost my girls..." she said with an embarassing face. Kyungsoo chuckled and told her to walk with him while they looked for the other girls.
" Congratulations once again. You did well, I'm very proud of you. How are you feeling?"
" Bittersweet." Kyungsoo looked ahead and noticed that a particular boy was staring at him and Y/N.
" Don't let dumbasses ruin good things. They're not worth it..." Y/N looked at him and gave him a small smile, in gratitude for his words. Kyungsoo was one of the best people she had met at the company and she was thankful for everything he had done for her and still did. " Just know that you came a long way and you need to be proud. Enjoy and celebrate the little things, this is a big achievment. Tell you this, how about you guys come to our house this weekend for dinner?"
" You sure? We don't want to bother..."
" I insist, and Irene has been talking about having you guys over non stop. So..." Y/N smilled. Being an idol had a lot of pros and cons, as time passed by she began to learn about what went down behind the scenes, and some of those things were hilarious, such has Kyungsoo and Irene dating and living together. When she first learned about it she was shocked to say the least, of all people in the world she would never think of them two together, but after getting to know them better she couldn't help but think that they were the most perfect couple she had met.
" We will be there, thank you."
" Speaking of the devil, I think I found your groupmates." Kyungsoo pointed towards the left side of the stage and Y/N saw Lami and Joy waving at her, while Yeri screamed for her to join them. Kyungsoo accompanied her to Red Velvet and Elayne. He gave Irene a playful look and greeted the girls before waving and leaving.
" Did he invite you for dinner?" Irene immediatly asked Y/N while she hugged her in a motherly way. Y/N nodded and let out a laugh" I've been nagging him for weeks now that we need to buy you guys a meal. He's been trying to postpone it of course. He know's that he's going to be the one cooking and having all the work." Irene smirked and laughed with Y/N.
The final music of the concert started to play and the girls got in their positions to sing the parts that had been assigned to them.
As they did that, they gathered at the end of the stage and prepared to hold hands and bow to the fans, ending the concert.
Jaehyun was walking up the stage, when he saw her. Their eyes met, she had this look in her face, he felt like he was punched in the stomach only by the way she was looking at him. He wanted to go and stand next to her, hold her hand. It was the perfect opportunity. If she tried to ignore him people would find it weird. It had been so long since he held her hand... but he remembered Taeyongs words.
His little bicker with Yuta replayed in his mind, and he bit his tongue, annoyed with himself and how he had made her feel. Their eyes were still locked with each other. A few more steps and he would be face to face with her.
He decided not to, and turned right, getting in the middle of Johnny and Taeil. His feelings got even more hurt when he noticed how relieved she looked when she saw him turn away from her.
He tried his best to hide it, but he couldn't be more broken.
The ending chorus was sung, and everyone held hands and bowed. Jaehyun bit his lips and fought back the frustation he felt. But when he got up and turned around he wished he didn't. Holding Y/N in a tight embrace was Yuta, she was laughing and he was patting her head.
He looked at them with lasers shooting out from his eyes, he knew he had to fake like nothing was going on but his body was acting by impulse and when he started to walk towards them, Johnny grabbed him by the arm, put him in a chokehold and began to walk in the opposite direction. " Don't do anything stupid. Again."
They got backstage and Jaehyun kicked the first thing that he landed his eyes on, a chair. He stood there, hands on his hips while he shook his head and tried to calm down his breathing.
He recalled Yuta's words, on the day they found out what Jaehyun had done.
" She was always too good for you. And she deserves someone better. I can be that someone, and I'm going to try. Because I know how she deserves to be loved, and respected. I'm not afraid of losing you as a friend... If you're the type of person that does this to someone they...love... then maybe I don't want you as a friend."
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YES I DID THAT. And I'm going to make more controversial couples because I can, and that's on KyungRene. 😎😎😎😎😎😎
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