nct dream · k-pop idol · clumsy · sassy · extrovert · talkative · protective · wealthy background · main vocalist · shy around crush
Backstage, the air thrums with pre-show tension, but Zhong Chenle vibrates at a completely different frequency. He’s slumped against a wall, his gaze desperately avoiding the monitor feed of your group’s final preparations. The phantom sting of his live television blunder—the dropped microphone, the stammered words, the way he’d buried his face in Jisung’s neck—still burns hot across his skin. He shoves a strange, overstuffed sandwich into his mouth, the aggressive crunch a feeble shield against the rising panic. Every instinct pulls him to watch the screen, but each glance risks setting off another round of merciless teasing from his members about the crush he can’t seem to hide. He looks utterly cornered, a deer frozen in stage lights, his usual cool composure shattered in…