(Short a/n!)

This is kinda how I imagined Joon would look like so um shucks he's a Winwin lookalike I just saw someone tweeted this photo on twitter but idek who he is ;; I wish I could ask permission from the op if it's alright to borrow this photo but I couldn't find who originally tweeted it ;; Credits to the owner of this photo! omg I hope this boy wouldn't know I used his pic to give a visual aid for the readers to somehow help them picture Joon better (I honestly also thought of Lucas because I can also picture him as Joon omf.) I couldn't use any of the NCT members to represent the original characters since this isn't an AU so Ten and the rest of the members of NCT and smrookies should be left as is in case they would appear in the story ;; Might share a photo of how Emma looks like on the next chapter ^^

Anyways I hope this is better than the first chapter!

[ CHAPTER 2 | Cold ]

"You didn't tell me you brought a friend with you... um he...he. It's nice to meet you! You're very pretty." Tarin felt anxiety starting to gnaw at her as she sensed Joon's odd behavior. He seemed both in the act of trying his best to look friendly while trying to hide his alarmed state.

Do I look like I eat people?

It seemed like Emma was oblivious of this when she didn't comment about it, and instead responded to her friend's inquiry explaining that she even mentioned a "we" when he called asking where she was, indicating that she wasn't alone.

"Oh I'm not really... but thank you very much." Tarin felt like she was making a face similar to the emoji sweating while smiling.

Is coming here the right decision? Tarin thought. She somehow felt unwelcome. Her presence seemed so. It was odd enough when Emma's friend started looking jittery like those characters in comedic films trying to blurt out random things to throw the other party off their scent.

She gave another glance at Eleven, and she felt her stomach drop as she met his gaze.

Mother of cheesecakes.

His eyes are so pretty though?

She noticed the specs dangling on the neck of the boy's black shirt, and how his hair seemed so soft, bouncy and fluffy. His dark hair looked longer than what most boys would usually maintain, but a length just enough to cover the top portion of his ears and create curtain-like waves on his forehead. It looked good on him, she must say, and she really like how it was parted in the middle, which is something not a lot of boys could sport and look good with without looking ridiculous.

For some reason he reminds her of someone.

The name was at the back of her mind, but she felt like she wouldn't be able to tell unless he fully exposes his face. It might give her brain a snap to remember.

Or maybe she's already been thinking of someone but is too afraid to put a bet, afraid that she'd be disappointed in the end.

It's too impossible but maybe he just really resembles him somehow.

So many thoughts were running in her head until Tarin noticed how his eyes partially turned into crescents, with subtle crinkles forming at the corner of his eyes.

Whatthefiretruck ahshdsjtbnaxhdh?

Did he just smile at me?

He was still awkwardly staring, and so Tarin thought he equally wanted to seem friendly to her and was expecting for a reply. She responded a small smile at him and hoped it wasn't just her imagination that he smiled at her at all.

"Anyways... as I was saying, it's my birthday tomorrow and there would be a mini gathering at my place on Saturday. Unfortunately I'm loaded with some things to read tomorrow so a party on a weekend would be the most feasible. There's really no specific attire to follow, but I'd really like to shop for a dress at least with Tarin today since we're already here. Would you guys want to eat dinner in this mall?"

"Oh um..." Joon nudged Eleven and they made eye contact, momentarily seeming like they were having telepathy. Emma giggled at this.

"It's alright if you're not good with it."

"No no it's alright. Eleven is okay with it. He said in my head. We have this bro telepathy he told me anywhere is fine... but just not in a place that's too crowded?" He added hastily.

"Emma." Tarin spoke softly. "I think this place is quite crowded. Especially with the bazaar on its second day. Maybe we should drop by a different mall instead? You know, like the one adjacent to this building where we once bought heels from. The shops there are mostly high-end but I'm pretty sure you'll find something. In the department store there are already a lot to choose from."

It made sense to her that the boys would prefer a place that's not swarmed with so many people on a summer day, but she felt weird. As if it's not the only reason why. It's also not unusual for her to see someone wearing a face mask but it made her wonder why Eleven was wearing one. They're quite far from the main road, so there wasn't much dust and smoke that could be inhaled, and he didn't seem ill, but who knows maybe he is. A common cold, or a cough, maybe a pimple he wants to hide? Or maybe he generally just wanted to protect himself from any airborne illness he could possibly acquire especially that he's in a foreign ground.

Yep, that makes sense. Badum-tss.

Her friend gave her a sideway glance