Comfort

(Antipode PART 2)

Characters: Tsundere!Dong Sicheng x Y/N & NCT/WAYV

Genre: NCT College AU | NCT Heirs AU

Warnings: angst, fluff

Summary:

Homesickness made you think irrational things

(Y/N and her platonic relationship with Jaehyun and NCT members)

Y/N never felt this kind of loneliness in her life.

Yes, she loves being on her own but from time to time, she wanted to socialize , talked to people and listen to their stories. She was always like that. Quiet and a listener, and people love her for that. But not in this mansion.

It was spacious and it made her feel small and alone. She was given a room here to stay since Sicheng’s family invited and talked to her family about her, living inside SM’s village. It was for the security purpose and they are trying to protect her to the media when nothing is yet to be published about the first NCT’s soulmate.

His parents offered a house for her family but her parents refused the offer. They said that they are happy and contented on their simple life, much to Y/N’s dismay but she knew that her parents wanted her to live a comfortable life without thinking about her parents and siblings. She was told that she need to live there for 5 years , until she was 25 and Sicheng, 27, for them to get married. It was for them to have time finishing their studies and getting to know each other so the marriage will run smoothly.

She was now under the wing of NCT, living inside the infamous mansion where the 21 heirs are currently living. The mansion was approximately 20 000+ sq.ft. It was like in the middle of the forest for its massive garden. It takes you about 10 minutes to drive from the gate to the main door. The main door have those columns you saw in the pictures of greek architecture. The door was above ten feet in height and it goes beyond it when you entered inside. The ceiling has a transparent circle like a half globe with a golden chandelier. The two grand staircase will bring you to the left and right wing. The handle was made of gold, white and black accents and the steps was made of white gold marbles. You can literally see your reflection from the floor because it was so clear like you are walking on the water. She was guided to her own room by the butler of Sicheng. All the staffs are greeting her but they didn’t made an eye contact like they don’t want any business from her. She think she will never know how many bedrooms and how big this place is that occupies multiple people.

The spacious mansion was just her second concern, but her biggest problem was the people living here. It was like they telling her where she should be. It was like there was an invisible line between them and her that she must never cross.

They gave her cold shoulders.

She tried to talk to the boys, but they gave her short answers and they showed her that they don’t trust her. She can’t blame them, maybe they grew up here and they only have each other, they need to avoid talking to random people to protect themselves so it was hard for them when someone they barely knew was now living with them.

Her room was right next to Sicheng, Lucas, Ten, Hendery, Xiaojun, Yangyang and Kun, in the left wing. Sometimes, when she go out to have a fresh air at night, she saw Kun and he will smile at her, somehow it made her feel welcomed here. But for a month living in this mansion, they never tried to approach her and it made her feel sad.

-

She woke up 2:00am in the morning, with a bad dream. She almost cried, but she don’t want to for that will make her feel more sad. She glance at the huge window she have in her room that faced the whole garden at the entrance of the mansion. The moon was shining and it was quiet and dark. It was like scenery in her own bedroom back home, but without the huge space and the grandeur of everything. She hug her knees that was covered by her cream comforter, she wanted to run away, but to who? No one wanted to engage a conversation with her no matter how much she tried.

Sicheng never glanced at her direction, only when their family had a dinner together, she saw him smiled and talk to her like a gentleman. She almost thought that he will take care of her and he will make her stay here so comfortable and welcoming, but she have learned that it was only a façade played by him to look convincing in front of her family.

She didn’t know what made her stand up, grab her comforter, pillow and go out of her room. She wanted to knock at Sicheng’s bedroom but she know better than waking him up and he will scold her for being so childish. Maybe she was just exhausted emotionally or maybe the lack sleep in these past few days that she walk to nowhere, passing door to door to she don’t know who owned those room, not until she saw the only room that has the lights still on peaking underneath the door.

She stopped in front of it and she didn’t think of knocking not until she realized that she already did and the click sound it made when it was opened by the owner.

“Oh… hi, how can I help you?” she was greeted by a shocked Jaehyun wearing a pair of gray pajamas. Jaehyun’s eyes were tired but the sleepiness was absent from it. He was trying to sleep for like an hour now by watching a movie but it was interrupted by a knock. She didn’t know what to say or why she was even there in the first place. She started to get shy when Jaehyun raised his left eyebrow waiting for her response.

“I-I… It’s—I’m sorry to interrupt you.” She avoided his eyes and tried to get out of there as much as possible but her feet was caught on the comforter she was holding. She stumbled forward when she was about to took her second step away from his doorstep and it was too late for Jaehyun to catch her.

“Are you okay?” Jaehyun immediately asked and he kneeled down to check her up but he was only greeted by her sniffing, crying face.

“I miss home.” It was somehow a relief to her to say it out loud. She was convincing herself in these past few days that she was now at the age when she need to be independent from her family and started to live by herself. It was hard to admit it but feeling homesick was eating her up in one month of staying there and letting it out to someone who she isn’t close with was not her main concern for now.

Jaehyun eyes soften when she cried softly. He did know that she was sad but he didn’t say anything. He noticed her attempts to approach each one of them but they all refused because of one reason.

She was so kind and they don’t trust easily.

They are still calculating her and observing if she was a bad person or not. Jaehyun really do want to talk to her, to know her but he was hesitant. She’s the soulmate of his bestfriend and he need to know her more, but now he regretted his decision. They can observe her behavior but they will never know what was in her heart.

“What’s wrong, why is our baby crying?” He sat in front of her and combs her hair. He never know the feeling of having a sibling. He grew up being an only child. He was not the kind of person to be protective on someone except from his soul brothers (the NCT) and his family, but when she entered to their lives, he couldn’t help but to think what if he have a little sister like her. He heard that she was at the same age like Mark, Lucas, Hendery and Xiaojun, but the boys are yet adjusting to have a female in their household.

“I miss my home. It’s so cold here. Nobody wanted me to be here anyway.” She talked between her sobs.

‘Everybody loves you here, we are glad that you are here.’

Jaehyun wanted to answer her. He wanted to tell her the truth. He was sure that he was not the only one who felt soft on her. Because if not, they will play pranks with her, but they didn’t. It was a sign that they respect her like he do.

But he didn’t know Sicheng, his bestfriend’s heart. They know the real Sicheng and the way he treat the important people in his life. He may be cold and have a sharp tongue but he was far from it when you became important to him. Sicheng may be sly to some people but he never lied to his family and to them, his brother. But the now was different. Nobody know how he would treat his soulmate. Jaehyun thinks that maybe, Sicheng himself didn’t know how to react too.

“You wanna stay with me tonight? We can put a pillow between us if you don’t feel comfortable.” Jaehyun didn’t know how to comfort someone especially a lady. He just sit there and listen to them but he wanted to do something good for someone like her. She was now their sister, the bride to be of his bestfriend, and he was thankful that someone so kind was meant to be for his bestfriend. She was caring and soft, perfect for Sicheng, someone who was having a hard time expressing his emotions.

She look at him hesitantly, like a child calculating her next move and she nodded in agreement. She didn’t think it was the best idea, and she was not the type of person to be this close to someone, given that it was a man and sleeping in one bed with him. But she was hurt and feeling so homesick. She wanted to hug her mother even though they are not the type of affectionate to their family members. She was never an affectionate person physically, but she badly wanted to hug someone and Jaehyun, he was the first person who showed her kindness.

He helped her to stand up and he guided her to his room. It was clean and minimalistic. White, gray and accented with black. A bed, keyboard and vinyl collections. He also have his netflix on in a mini projector he has and it was playing on the white wall as the screen.

“I can sleep on the floor. Thank you for letting me here.” She said with little voice. It only made him shook his head.

“You are sleeping in my bed.” He firmly told her peeling his comforter to make a space for her. She climbed at his king size bed and tugged her comforter and pillow. He arranged his pillows and he put a pillow between them before sitting at his side and put his comforter above his legs. His back was at the headboard and he look at her after continuing the movie he was watching.

“Try to get some sleep okay? I will just finish this and try to catch some sleep too.” His voice was soft and low. It reminds her of his father’s voice when he was singing a lullaby for her when she was hospitalized and couldn’t sleep. It was the first and last time he do that to her and she was still wishing for it to be happened again.

“Thank you, Jaehyun.” She whispered, hugging her pillow before she fell asleep. His soothing hand on her hair lulls her and Jaehyun smiled in return.

-

Jaehyun opened the fridge to look for something to eat but he found them bland for his tastebuds. It was Saturday morning and he didn’t have classes for today. He slept for 12 hours and was hungry but he saw none of the foods inside their six-door-fridge will satisfy his cravings.

“Umm, Good morning.” He turned his back to look at the small voice who greeted him. Y/N was holding a basket of apples and she put it down at the centre of the table. She was shyly smiling at him and he can feel that she was nervous of talking to him from the way she glanced at his face and down to the basket.

“They bought some groceries and I told them to get some apples because we ran out of it.” She tried to make a conversation but Jaehyun didn’t know how to react. They made an agreement that they need to observe her first for a month before deciding if she was someone to be trusted. He saw her picked an apple from the basket and she gave it to him. Her eyes was looking at him with pure innocence and it made him soft inside.

“You like apples right? I always saw you eating these every morning.” She hesitantly said. She waited for his response but he didn’t get the apples in her hand and just look at it like some kind of a strange object. Much to her dismay and felt rejected again, she was about to retreat her hand when he take the apple.

“Thanks.” He answered and she smiled a little. She rearranged the apples in the basket and get back to the kitchen to help the cooks for preparing their breakfast. It was enough for today, she said to herself. At least he didn’t snob her like the other times she tried to approach him.

Jaehyun was left there, standing like a fool with his pajamas and bead-head with an apple in his hand.

-

NCT mansion was woken up by a Taeyong shouting at the hallway early in the morning.

“WHERE IS THE PRINCESS OF THIS HOUSEHOLD?!” the members gathered around the dining table, still half awake and pouting when the leader called an emergency meeting.

“Maybe she’s just up early and walked in the garden.” Haechan told the older scratching his head for the interrupted sleep. He was clinging on Taeil who was clearly maintaining his sitting composure but deep inside, he was still in the dreamland.

“She always sleep and woke up same time and I knew that because I checked her before I sleep,for a month.” Taeyong nags like a mother whom you should not question when it comes to taking care of his daughter.

“What are you? A creep? Why are you doing that? “ Yuta said while buttering his croissant. He was always up earliest of them all and have his breakfast. He could say that to Taeyong because none of them knew that he secretly arranged fruits in a plate and orders the maid to give it to y/n for her daily dose of natural vitamins.

“She’s now living here and now she’s my responsibility. “ Taeyong pointed at himself and now pointing at the ground of the house. Taeyong never felt so cared for in his life. He was always seen as the leader, someone strong and protective so he hide his weaknesses, but Y/N saw it and she didn’t look at him as someone who was scary. She didn’t think twice and took care of him when he needed to. So Taeyong promised to himself that he will be the best brother for her. His protective instinct was always activated when it comes to her.

“What’s with the early bickering?” Jaehyun entered the dining hall and picked up one of the apples at the centre of the table. He was wearing his pajamas and clearly he just woke up from a deep sleep.

“Y/N was not in her bed. She’s missing.” Taeyong told him and he massage the bridge of his nose, the early migraine. Taeyong was thinking about her running away because of their cold treatment. He was sorry that they are bunch of people who could not express their emotions easily.

“Oh, her? She’s still sleeping in my bed.” Jaehyun answered in a matter of fact tone while taking a bite and munching his apple.

Everybody was now wide awake and looking at him in horror.

“SHE WHAT?” Taeyong, Doyoung and Kun shouted at the same time that made Jaehyun taken a back.

“Hyung, you can’t do that. “ Mark said and he also heard Lucas said ‘oh man, you didn’t’. Jaehyun look at them like he was out of his mind.

“Did you just thought that I did something to her? Really? She’s my bestfriend’s soulmate! You are all dirty minded!” Jaehyun defended himself and disgust was evident to his face.

“Why is she at your bed then? Jaehyun, we are bunch of wolves and Yuta is our leader. We can flirt and get what we want from anyone with two legs.” Johnny raised his eyebrow.

“Hyung, she’s Y/N. Do you really think I could hurt her?” Jaehyun was so frustrated at the older one. It was a relief that Sicheng was out of sight because he was a heavy sleeper and he didn’t know what could go wrong if he knew that they were talking about his soulmate.

“She was crying in the middle of the night when she knocked at my door. It seems like she doesn’t know what she was doing. Maybe because she was sad. So I offered my bed to her. We even slept with a pillow between us. And that’s all!” Jaehyun explained and it feels like he committed the most hideous crime of all time. He was being watched by 19 pairs of eyes with their arm crossed on their chest.

“You know, maybe we did took it too far. She was sad. She told me she miss her home and nobody wanted her to be here…” Jaehyun added with his sad tone. They are quiet for a minute. They all think that she’s wrong. They want her here. They understand her homesickness. When they reached by the age of 16, they started to live here, part of the training to be the heir of a huge empire. They all missed their home, the comfort of the four walls they grew up with, their normal life. And when she started to live with them, she made them remember that feeling of being home again.

When she got out and bought Haechan his favorite strawberry milk, Hendery’s banana milk and Chenle’s favorite ramen. She gave them that with a smile and told them she remember it when she heard them one night, bickering to each other who will buy those in the middle of the night.

When she saw Renjun painting at the garden of roses, she told him that it’s pretty and she was looking forward to his paintings in the future. When Taeyong hurted himself (which was a frequent event) she treat his wounds and told him to be careful next time. When she took care of Doyoung when he was sick, helping Jisung to his assignments, secretly accompanying Kun to his every night jogging (which Kun was aware of) and knowing Johnny’s coffee taste, they started to have a soft spot for someone so understanding and caring like here. She felt like home. She made them feel like home.

“Is there something wrong?” Their attention drifted from Jaehyun and now at the person on the entrance of the dining hall. She was still wearing her pajamas yesterday with her bed head and a concerned look in her face.

“I heard shouting upstairs, are you fighting?” She asked again and she look at Taeyong for answer.

“N-no. We are not. We’re just… discussing.” Taeyong defended and she walked towards them.

“Why are you all up so early? Didn’t some of you have classes today?” She said and almost half of them was startled and now running to their room to prepare for their class.

“Are you all fighting? Don’t fight…” she ask again with a soft voice and she sat down besides Yuta.

“No, we are not. Eat this, okay? I will take you out today.” Yuta gave the food he prepared to her and messed her hair giving her a tiny smile. She smiled at him and took the plate of fruits he offered. It was an odd feeling that she have now the attention of everyone.

“Sorry, we are not the most affectionate people you have met. We will try out best starting today, okay?” Taeyong softly told her. She look at her lap. She way flustered at their caring approach, far from how they act at the first time she live there.

“I thought you all don’t want me here.” She said with a sad smile. She was playing with the hem of her pajama top, refusing to look at the older’s eyes.

“No, we love you here. It was far from what you are thinking. We are just having a hard time expressing it.” Doyoung answered she returned his smile.

“Thank you.”

Somehow, knowing what they truly feel, it made her feel close at home.

-

( I will try to write what will happen to her and to Sicheng. You can request if you wanted a moment of Y/N with another member.)