In the summer of her 18th year when she left her sleepy old town to go to college, two things were changing in their neighbourhood: her moving out and the Lee family's divorce. The Lee family had lived around the corner for many years already, but she still remembered the day they moved in vividly. 

She'd been 11, and so excited to know that finally another family with children was moving in. Unfortunately, their oldest child was a boy almost four years her junior, Jeno. And though he was cute and she enjoyed playing tag and many other childish games with him -- often after school with him calling "Noona, wanna play?" -- , she had a deep-rooted longing for female friends. More so, when she entered Middle School and hit puberty and everyone stopped doing what children did -- mostly playing. 

So it was that when three years later the Huangs, who had a daughter around her age, moved in, that she almost forgot about Jeno in all her girly activities with the Huang girl: reading magazines and shoujo mangas, talking about boys from her school, their first bras and their period. From time to time she'd still play with Jeno and some inner child still enjoyed running around like a wild thing. But in time she, as well, felt too old for such games. (Though in the beginning it was mostly from embarrassment that she stopped playing the games she liked, if she was being honest with herself.) 

That she told Jeno, and once she entered High School, she rarely saw him. Occasionally, they'd bump into each other around the corner, but now there was this gap between a physically almost fully grown woman and a boy of 12 who still had childhood in his eyes and cheeks. 

At first there'd been a slight taken-aback-ness from him after the summer break when they met with her in her new high school uniform for the first time. He looked like he didn't know what to say. It would've been awkward. But she felt motherly about him, seeing that he was so small still, and helped overcome the awkwardness by simply asking if he liked middle school. 

From then on, when they bumped into each other, she'd ask sisterly questions because she was sincery interested in his well-being. She'd known him since he was 8, a real baby! But as school became more stressful and she more occupied with homework and cram school, it'd sometimes be weeks till they talked. And during her third year, when she got her first boyfriend, she had so much to do, she barely noticed that she hadn't talked to Jeno in 2 months. Only after her entrance exams were finished did she realize that the Lees were preparing to move out. And according to her parents because they were divorcing.

That day she actually went out of her way to find Jeno, to say goodbye, and also to see if he was okay. And when she found him that day, he looked like a confused puppy to her. At 14, he was still growing into his form, and though his cheeks lost their cute chubbiness, his eyes were still childlike. That he was now the same height as her, she didn't really realize. Much more important was his going away with his mother and his parents' divorce.

Awkwardly, she stood there, not knowing how to approach the topic. Then she decided to first tell him she was moving away for university, and then in the same breath she said: "You too, right? I hope things will work out for you. But I know you'll do well, you always did." 

And she squeezed his shoulder in compassion and well-meaning wishes. "But I'm gonna miss you round here when I come back for the holidays. I've seen you for 7 years. I've seen you grow up."

And as he thanked her, she noticed he was a little stiff and awkward. Though he looked at her, there was an uncomfortableness about him that she attributed to his parents' situation. In her sisterly way of seeing him, she did not even notice his slightly reddened cheeks, or the way his eyes shyly darted here and there.

 Attempting to help him get his mind off it, she playfully scolded "Come on, don't be like this. It'll be at least a year till we see each other. Give your noona a goodbye hug at least." And she tackled him in a bear hug, which he returned shyly, as any 14-year-old would.
 

And that was the last time she saw him for the next 4 years. The Lees never returned to this house, even sold it a year after their divorce. Supposedly, Jeno and his mother had visited once, but she had been off to Uni already.

But when she finished her degree and started her teacher training in a city she was randomly allocated to, it seemed the heavens wanted her to see him again.

Walking through the corridors to get to her class, she noticed some students in front of the door. They were boys -- or almost men. Tall and broad-shouldered, their back facing her, she thought "Geez, kids look so mature these days." Just as one of them, the tallest, turned around. And for a second she just stared.

Familiar eyes were looking at her in something like joyous wonder, and though childhood naivete was no longer in them, their shape was as familiar as their old street in her hometown to her. And in a way, his face was the same and yet different. He looked manly with his prominent nose and sharp jawline and high cheekbones. But his eyes, his mouth and other parts she couldn't name were the same. And when his lips spread into a smile, she was in another time, another place, staring at an 8-year-old Jeno asking "Noona, wanna play?"

Only she wasn't. And he wasn't a head shorter, looking up at her, but it was her looking up at him because he was almost a head taller.

"Jeno? Is that you?"

"Yeah, Noona." When he broke into a grin, she felt a rush of old affection for him, mixed with some odd feeling of surprise at how manly he'd become. He'd always been a pretty boy, but stick-thin and cute. But now he had the body of a fully grown man and his face, too, was handsome, not pretty anymore.

And when this handsome face gently smiled at her, she almost teared up at seeing him all grown up and changed and yet so unchanged. But all she did was smile back with all the fondness she had.

“It's been a while.”
 

--

A/N:

Just a note that this is not going into an actual teacher-student romance, as I am quite critical about the imbalance of great s and especially about different stages in life. As this will most-likely remain a draft, I think I can tell you where my mind is going with this, if you're interested I can see her just silently feeling sisterly affection for him as she sees him in school and how he interacts with his friends, mixed with some (fangirly) noona feels (haha) for how much he's grown up, but there'd never be real romance. I kind of wanted this fic to represent the noona feels I have for NCT Dream in general. I'd never think of them as romantic interest but just feel so affectionate towards them. Although sometimes I do find myself fangirling about how cool they are now!

Hope you enjoyed this ;)

(As for romance: In my mind, only if there's another time skip of them not seeing each other for, let's say, many years, and he's 25 and she's 28/29, then I would allow a real romance, haha).
 

NCT is powerful haha!