Work Text
[shanghai, china]
Renjun panted slightly and looked behind him to see slithers of light from torches following him in the darkness. He swiftly turned the corner to get away from them only to face a dead end. “Fuck” Renjun muttered angrily as he scanned the area for a way to escape, only to find his luck running out. “Hands up! You’re under arrest.” Renjun knew he had no choice but to comply with the officer’s orders. There was no use trying to escape when he’s already trapped into a corner. The boy winced as he turned around with his arms raised, the bright light of the torches shining into his eyes. “Huang Renjun am I right?” the officer in the middle smirked at the boy who only glared back at him fiercely. “you’re going back to the station with us.” Two of the officers pushed Renjun into the back seat of the car and he sighed, finding himself relax slightly into the seat. after so much running, Renjun found himself tired and breathless- even for a boy with excellent stamina, a chase for that long was surely going to make even the best feel weak afterward. However, as they approached the station, Renjun tensed up at the sight of a familiar figure outside. Sicheng was waiting outside the station, a cigarette in his pretty lips and an impatient glare on his face. Renjun gulped, this wasn’t good news. Sicheng’s eyes narrowed as he observed the officers pull the boy out of the car. Renjun knew that Sicheng was annoyed at the officers and he certainly knew of how pissed the older man was at Renjun himself. “Officers,” Sicheng walked down the step towards the small group, “I can take it from here.” He went to grab Renjun only to be stopped by a hand roughly gripping onto the other boy’s wrist, preventing him from touching the younger boy. “What do you think you’re doing?” Renjun’s lips tightened as he saw how tight the hands were wrapped around Sicheng’s wrist and the grimace that was on his face- Sicheng didn’t like to be touched often, certainly not by strangers. Both boys were starting to lose their patience. “Look here,” Sicheng huffed, wrist still locked in place, “I was sent by Kun, okay? I’m sure you heard of him.” They both smirked as the three officer’s eye’s widened in surprise and realisation. The hand gripping Sicheng’s wrist fell loose and the older boy pulled out of his grip, the two officers by Renjun also loosened their hold. Without saying a word, the three officers quickly bowed to Sicheng and rushed into the station. Sicheng sighed as he reached for another cigarette, his pale wrist slightly darkened with bruises from the officer’s hold. “Kun ge isn’t going to be happy when he sees those bruises.” Sicheng knew how his boyfriend would react to the bruises blossoming onto his skin and sighed again at the words that left Renjun’s mouth. “Kun ge isn’t happy with you.” Sicheng looked around before spotting his car. “We have to go, you already failed that mission anyway.” Renjun groaned as they walked towards the car, he knew his brother wasn’t exactly pleased with him and the fact that he got caught by the police made the situation even worse. “Whatever” Renjun huffed as he slammed the car door, “I’ll take the punishment.” “You’ve got no choice but to anyways.” Sicheng let out a small laugh at the younger boy who wouldn’t stop glaring at him. “Just shut up and drive ge”
[seoul, south korea]
“Thank you for the meal” Jaemin smiled at the older boy, Kyungjae, who bowed back respectfully. “Of course, Jaemin-ah” he gave a bright smile, “I had a fun time, hopefully, we can do this again?” “Uh, yeah, I’ll think about it,” Jaemin shuffled and looked around before spotting a black car, “My hyung is here now, I’ve got to go.” Jaemin turned to give the other a final bow before rushing towards his brother’s car, Kyungjae briefly telling him to text him beforehand. He knew Mark was watching them intensely and his thoughts were confirmed once he entered the car, the older boy still glaring at Kyungjae who was standing across the road. “Hey hyung” Jaemin muttered softly as he put on his seatbelt. Mark turned to face Jaemin, all thoughts of Jaemin’s date leaving his head as his cold demeanor melted at the sight of his younger brother. “Hi Nana, how was the date?” “It was good, we went to the cinema and ate some food.” Mark hummed in acknowledgment, thinking of what to say next. “So, do you think you’ll go on a second date?” his eyes shifted to look at Jaemin before turning back to the road. “Probably not” Jaemin fiddled with the sleeves of his jacket, “He was nice, but I think we’re too different anyway.” “Good” Mark visibly loosened as the tension left his body, “I had a suspicious feeling about him when I dropped you off.” Jaemin rolled his eyes at the typical words that left his brother’s mouth. “You say that about every person I go on a date with, hyung.” “You don’t understand Nana, he just gave me weird vibes and I’m not just saying this because I’m your brother.” Jaemin sighed. Mark’s words weren’t exactly a lie, Jaemin himself couldn’t help but notice strange oddities about his date but never questioned them fully. “Stop worrying so much hyung. You’re getting old and this much stress isn’t good for your body.” Jaemin snickered at Mark’s futile attempts of punching Jaemin while also trying to focus on the road. Jaemin was very aware of the protective nature of both Mark and Taeyong. Although Jaemin was their half-brother, they were still loving and caring to the younger no matter how hurt they (or Taeyong) were for their father to sleep with a woman only months after their own mother died, Jaemin was born a year after Mark was. “How’s Taeyong hyung anyways? Is he still…?” “He’s still finishing on some business, but he called for everyone to come to the meeting room- he said it’s important.” “Do I have to go?” Jaemin shuffled in his seat at the news. “I know you don’t like to be directly involved with this stuff Jaemin, Taeyong hyung and I understand that but you’re still our brother and everyone sees you as a part of this in some way.” Jaemin knew Mark was right and sighed as they got out of the car, walking towards the entrance of their house. “This better be important.” [shangai, china] Renjun walked into the living room of their house- the only sources of light were from the lamps scattered around the room. There were six people sitting on the large sofas and Kun was in the middle. All eyes turned to face the two boys as they entered the room. “Renjun!” Chenle jumped up from his seat to go hug the older boy who was clearly exhausted. Renjun wrapped his arms around the blond and took a deep breath in. He was frustrated and tired and most of all wasn’t looking forward to what Kun had to say. Sicheng walked past the two boys, ruffling Chenle’s hair and greeting the other members. He placed himself on the seat next to Kun and put his head onto the other’s shoulder. Kun smiled softly at his boyfriend while Renjun and the others fake gagged at the sight of the couple. “Fuck off” Sicheng muttered from where he was resting, getting comfortable and cuddling closer to the older male. “Renjun,” all eyes turned back to Renjun who just placed himself on to the seat next to Hendery. “You failed your mission today.” Renjun rolled his eyes and stared back at his brother. “Thanks for pointing out the obvious.” Kun ignored the sly comment. “I won’t be giving you a punishment for it though.” Renjun sat up in his seat and raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t getting a punishment? Kun was his brother, yes, and so he was naturally kind towards Renjun however he was stern when it came to him making sure the members knew what they did wrong- Renjun was no exception. He turned to face the others, all as equally shocked (apart from Sicheng, who seemed to have fallen asleep). It was only when he took in Ten and Yukhei’s sweaty appearances that he realised they must’ve taken over from where he left off and ran away. “Ten and Yukhei finished it off?” Kun nodded and Renjun thanked the two older males- knowing he didn’t leave them with an easy situation. “The fucker was bleeding when we got there but the whole building was surrounded” Ten muttered, stretching his arms and leaning against Yukhei, “We managed to get what was needed though and ran.” “That’s not why we’re here though.” Kun said with a stern voice, “Renjun you’re going to South Korea for a bit and staying with NCT.” “What?” Renjun exclaimed and jumped up from his seat, waking up Sicheng who looked around in confusion. “What do you mean South Korea?” Xiaojun raised an eyebrow and questioned the silver-haired man. “I mean that Renjun is going to join NCT in South Korea.” “I think we understood that part Gege,” Renjun snorted, “I just mean, why am I going? Is this a part of my punishment or what?” “Boss at SM said he needed someone from WayV to join NCT for a while, something about them needing help.” NCT and WayV were both parts of the same organisation under SM. Both groups had different members and rarely interacted unless it was an emergency. Renjun himself was quite familiar with the Korean subunit as he and Kun went there for a short while before they came back to China to form the Chinese unit with Kun as the leader. Renjun scoffed and crossed his arms still not fully convinced. “And you decided to ship me off?” “Oh no,” Kun cracked a smile, his dimples showing, “You’re taking Lele with you as well!”
[seoul, south korea]
Mark took the lead into the meeting room and opened the large doors for Jaemin and himself, the younger boy muttering quick thanks before entering. “Nana” Taeyong said with a soft voice, all the members had their attention on the brown-haired boy who only smiled sheepishly. Jaemin shuffled closer towards his eldest brother, Mark following him closely. “How was your date Jaem?” Jaehyun was sitting next to Taeyong, his dimples on display as he smiled softly at the younger boy. “It was alright I suppose.” Jaemin tried to avoid Taeyong’s eyes, only to be met by the sight of Donghyuck and Jeno wiggling their eyebrows in a suggestive manner, with Jisung paying no mind to anyone in the room. “Nothing suspicious happened?” Johnny spoke up from where he was sat opposite Jaemin, noticing the hesitation that came from the younger boy. “I swear it was just a normal date, okay? I just don’t think things would’ve worked out anyways.” Jaemin replied, growing anxious at the number of questions being thrown his way. “Hyung, why did you call all of us here?” Taeyong was gazing intensely at his youngest brother, deep in thoughts before returning his focus to the rest of the group. “To put things short,” Taeyong started, staring sternly at his group members, “We have some new people coming to join us from WayV.” “The Chinese unit?” Yuta raised a brow at the news. Jaemin didn’t even know they had a group out in China. “Well yeah, Boss recommended for us to recruit some of the Chinese members for a bit and join the dreamies” Taeyong glared in the direction of that group, “He seemed to be noticing the pace of their missions being completed slowing down a bit.” “Frankly, I blame Jeno for it” Donghyuck muttered and let out a whine when Jeno jabbed his side sharply. “Stop injuring me with your elbows Lee Jeno, no wonder why no one wants to date you” “Hey that’s enough of that” Doyoung intervened the bickering teenagers and rolled his eyes at their childishness. “They’re not staying here for long anyway,” Taeyong scanned the room and saw nods coming from everyone. His eyes shifted to Jaemin who sat next to him nervously, making eye contact with Mark who stood behind Jaemin’s chair. “You alright with that Nana?” Taeyong asked softly, his stern face dropping completely. Almost everyone knew how much anxiety Jaemin holds in him when it comes to new recruits. The boy had some trust issues, and although he’s still warm and loving towards anyone, Jaemin knew that the people who come into the house didn’t always have the best lives and had their own problems. Jaemin knew this and yet his heart still opened to their last recruit. He knew the members weren’t bad people, hell he found life long friends and brothers among the existing members yet there’s still a newfound weariness in his chest. “Of course,” Jaemin whispered, smiling softly at his eldest brother who was hesitant but nodded as he got the last confirmation needed. “They’ll be arriving this Wednesday.” Taeyong dismissed the members and Jaemin rushed to his room, locking the door behind him before he fell into a deep slumber; praying in his dreams that his thoughts and worries were all wrong, were all just assumptions made from past mistakes and a heartbreak that could have been prevented. Jaemin hoped and prayed as he fell asleep.