#nct-nari

This is part 9 of the Sasaeng Archives. You don’t have to but I do recommend reading the other parts first. 

Basic Info: 

During NCT 2018 promotions (at the beginning of the year) a Twitter account became quite well known for their photos taken of Nari at times when she didn’t have a schedule. Because of this, the accounts constant praise for Nari, hatred when she had any form of skin ship with her members and even more disturbing messages, the account started to gander attention from fans who quickly reported it to SM Entertainment. Whilst SM Entertainment never did post any official statement, fans noticed that NCT’s security was heightened for their schedules (particularly for SMTOWN 2018) and the account was shortly taken down by Twitter due to the number of fans who reported it. 

Nari has never been a particularly active user of social medias and hence she was never aware of the situation. On top of this she was immensely overworked at the time and was suffering from lack of any proper rest and high levels of stress. At the time NCT’s management and the members agreed to remain discreet and keep the issue from Nari (unless things escalated further) in order to prevent her from suffering any more health issues related to stress. 

Taeil

Taeil only found out when the extra security was hired and he genuinely didn’t know how to react. He was in shock. How could someone act this way towards a person who is so kind and generous, let alone a minor? Taeil is one of the members who has worked with Nari the longest and he still sees her as a little sister even if the two of them are very goofy and act the same age around each other. He appreciates Nari’s respect for him as the oldest member a lot and because of this he felt like he needed to do more to keep Nari safe and look after her. 

Johnny

The thing about Johnny (that I will never get tired of mentioning because he never seems to be able to forget) is that he first met Nari when she was literally a child. He watched her grow up from being the shortest trainee to being one of the tallest female idols ever and despite how mature she’s become he will always hold onto that image of a small scared girl from outside of Seoul who came into the practise room at only 9 years old. So when he saw a so called ‘fan’ who was quite a few years older than himself harassing his little princess he wanted to go and confront that sasaeng himself. Of course this wasn’t an option so once Johnny's anger dispersed (slightly) he decided that instead he would do his best to keep Nari happy and motivated because he felt that this was the most helpful he could be towards the girl whilst everything was sorted. 

Taeyong

This is a man with a lot of emotions and love for Nari but also one of the few members who Nari has opened up to. Because of his leadership position amongst the members and his understanding of Nari he was extremely hurt and angered when told that this was happening to his little princess. Taeyong probably went and discussed the situation with Jaehyun in order to understand his own emotions a bit better but once he had sorted through the shock that came with the situation he became a very protective mother. He was almost definitely the least subtle member when it came to looking out for Nari but luckily Nari was used to him being rather observant and attentive with her health and safety so she didn’t pick up that anything was dramatically different. Taeyong still holds onto this worry even to this day poor bubu (on the bright side he got many opportunities to snuggle with Nari since the two were often placed together with Jaehyun or Johnny during schedules). 

The rest of the members are under the cut

The first of 3 drabbles depicting what happened when Nari got back to the dorms after the events in Too Close for Comfort and the 4th instalment in the Sasaeng Archives series. I encourage you to read the previous parts first.

~

The way Nari was reacting wasn't anything new. Renjun was used to Nari blank gaze. Only answering their questions with nods, gestures or maybe, if they were lucky, a single whispered word. He knew she wasn't purposefully closing herself off from them. She was still processing. Her brain was undoubtedly working in overdrive, trying to comprehend everything that had happened.

Renjun was almost happy that he wasn't the one comforting Nari right now. Knowing that he didn't understand what she was going through made him terrified. How was he was supposed to comfort his best friend?

He doubted Jisung had any idea how to properly comfort Nari either. But sitting with her in the living room just holding her seemed to be helping, even if it was only slightly.

Another yell made its way to the kitchen where Renjun was organising the food that'd been delivered to their apartment. As soon as he was finished with this he knew he'd have to go help Chenle in his attempts to calm down Jeno and Jaemin. 

As soon as they’d entered the dorms Jeno had silently stormed towards his room. The bang as his door slammed shut echoed through to the living room where Jisung, still clinging onto Nari, had now seated the both of them on the sofa. Jaemin had instantly followed while Renjun dragged Chenle to the kitchen in an attempt to figure out what was going through the younger boys head.

As Renjun spoke with Chenle, Jeno and Jaemin didn’t emerge. Even as the food arrived, as Renjun went with Chenle to take the food back to the kitchen, as he prepared to plate the food, neither of them made an appearance. The only visible change was the bright television screen that neither Nari nor Jisung seemed to be paying any mind to. 

It wasn’t until they’d placed the last of the food and snacks on the counter that a crash was heard coming from the direction of their bedrooms. One yell from Jaemin was all it took for Chenle to dash towards his hyungs. The following yells causing Renjun to press his hands to his forehead as he tried to withhold his own emotions. 

“This is all my fault” 

Jisung could barely make out the words that Nari muttered as he sat clung to her. 

“What? ... Nari-noona, what are you .... I don’t understand?” his words came out disjointed as he tried to find the right thing to say. He was struggling to process that Nari somehow felt guilty in a situation where Jisung couldn’t see how anything could possibly be her fault. 

“They’re fighting and it’s my fault.” 

The muffled cry that Nari let out as her body became overcome by sobs shocked Jisung more than he could have thought possible. His arms wrapped around her as he tried to calm himself enough to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. He needed to help her and to do that he needed to think. To speak. To say something that would comfort her. 

“It’s my fault. If I ... if I .... if I just hadn’t been there today. I shouldn’t have been there today. I shouldn’t be in the group. If I hadn’t been in the group nothing would have .... It’s my fault. I’m so selfish. I’m so ...” 

There was no use in trying to stop the tears now. All Jisung could do was repeat “no” over and over between his sobs. He held on tighter to the girl he would always look up to, as if he feared she would disappear if he let go.

This is part 10 of the Sasaeng Archives. You don’t have to but I do recommend reading the other parts first. NCT 127 and NCT DREAM's Reactions

There are two types of reactions for each member, the first one is the reaction they had after initially hearing about the sasaeng grabbing Nari at NCT DREAM's fan sign. The second reaction is the reaction they had once they found out that the sasaeng who assaulted Nari at the fan sign was the same one who had stalked her in 2018.

Kun

Initial reaction:

Kun hadn't been able to see Nari much this year due to his schedules with WayV. However he did remember to keep up to date with his members activities whenever possible. As Kun kept up with Nari's activities throughout the year he was overwhelmingly happy that she'd finally been given a few breaks and opportunities to relax since she'd practically been working nonstop from the end of 2015 till her solo comeback in the beginning of this year (2019). He was finally starting to see Nari's health improve and see her taking her own health a bit more seriously. So when he was walking through the SM building and overheard a bunch of NCT's managers stressing over paperwork to do with Nari and a sasaeng all this relief that had been building up throughout the year was suddenly torn down. Kun's first instinct was to go over to the Dream dorms so he could see Nari with his own eyes instead of believing the staff who were telling him that she was safe at home. He instantly thought back to the sasaeng in 2018 which allowed him a bit of peace since they'd managed to deal with that situation extremely well back then, even if he hadn't thought so at the time. So instead of rushing to the Dream dorms, (also because he did not want to overwhelm Nari) Kun stayed in the studio producing music for longer than he normally would. He was constantly checking his phone for updates about Nari and how the situation was being handled.

Reaction after being informed about the police investigation:

So all of Kun's initial attempts to comfort himself by thinking about how SM handled the situation in 2018 got thrown out the window in less than a second. Boy was this man mad. After hearing that the same person was responsible for both the incident at the fan sign and the posts in 2018 he would start catastrophising about all the possible things that could have gone under their radar over the last two years. He couldn't help all of the terrifying thoughts that were filling his head and with his emotions so high he'd end up getting mad at almost everyone, including himself for not looking out for Nari enough. Of course Kun is also a reasonable and rational person so whilst he was in a very emotional state he still made sure to find other ways of dealing with this anger instead of yelling at the staff for not listening to him back in 2018 (despite how much he wished he could do so).

Ten

Initial reaction:

At the time of the fan sign Ten was doing some recording for SuperM alongside Lucas and after finishing his recording he was seated in the studio waiting for Lucas to finish before they would both head back to their dorms. As he waited he decided to browse through social media. He almost immediately came across the numerous trending topics to do with NCT and Nari in particular. Upon seeing this Ten asked the manager who was with him at the time if he had any idea what they were about. His manager was quick to explain that he was still contacting NCT's other managers and so he didn't know everything but he told Ten what he did know at that moment. More than anything Ten was concerned for Nari and he immediately attempted to text and call the girl. When neither of these options worked he instead tried to call Jeno but was once again met without a response. The failure to contact any of the DREAM members would only increase Ten's concern and irritability in that moment. He wouldn't be able to think about anything else. He'd be constantly checking his phone and refreshing it as he waited to hear back from one of the members.

Reaction after being informed about the police investigation:

Finding out that the sasaeng fan was the exact same man who had caused Ten so much stress back in 2018 was not something he wanted to hear. Of all the members in WayV Ten would be the most obviously annoyed, at least initially. He wouldn't stop hounding their manager for information until he had a full blown police report about the incident. He was especially worried that he wouldn't be able to do anything to help with the situation as he would be heading off on tour with SuperM. He hated the thought of leaving the country if there was even a small chance of Nari being hurt.

The rest of the members are under the cut

This is part 10 of the Sasaeng Archives. You don’t have to but I do recommend reading the other parts first. Link to WayV and NCT DREAM's Reactions. Mark and Haechan's reactions are with DREAM. (I also recommend rereading Comfort Zone before reading these reactions, but once again this isn't necessary for the reactions to make sense).

There are two types of reactions for each member, the first one is the reaction they had after initially hearing about the sasaeng grabbing Nari at NCT DREAM's fan sign. The second reaction is the reaction they had once they found out that the sasaeng who assaulted Nari at the fan sign was the same one who had stalked her in 2018.

Taeil

Initial Reaction:

When Taeil heard Mark lose control over his emotions during their Vlive his mood instantly changed from playful to concerned and on edge. He couldn't recall a moment from their career when Mark, or any of the members, had sounded so distraught on a live. After all, they'd all been trained by SM, they knew how to act, what to say, what to avoid saying and they only ever made conscious decisions to ignore their training (cough* Chenle *cough). Hearing Jaemin's dismal tone as he struggled to speak over the phone only brought his mood further. When he heard from Jaemin what had happened to Nari it was like his heart had sunk into his gut. As he sat in the car, Taeil's jaw would unknowingly begin to clench as he listened to their manager explain the discussion that was currently happening between NCT's staff. Taeil wouldn't have a clue what to say or think in that moment. He was overwhelmed by crushing shock that was quickly mixing with anger and disdain directed towards the sasaeng.

Reaction after being informed about the police investigation:

Hearing from his manager that the man at the fan sign and the man who'd forced SM to get extra security for Nari back when she was still a minor was the same person made Taeil angrier than he thought reasonable. His anger was initially entirely directed towards the sasaeng, but the more time he was given to think about everything, the more his anger drifted to be focused on their managers. He knew that their managers felt guilty for having mismanaged the situation back in 2018, just like the current staff felt guilty for the fan sign, but he still held anger towards them. The longer he spent thinking about it the more he realised that no one could have predicted these specific things to happen and so instead he eventually turned his anger back towards the so called fan.

Johnny

Initial Reaction:

Unlike Taeil, Johnny heard about the fan sign from their manager. It was a pretty relaxed ride home for the members in the second car until their manager asked Haechan if he would be okay to stay over at the DREAM dorms for the night. Of course Haechan agreed but he also questioned their manager for asking this. Like Haechan, Johnny was curious and paid attention as their manager replied "The DREAM members have asked if you and Mark would be okay to come over because there was an incident at their fan sign today and their manager says that they aren't in the best state right now." Of course this reply concerned Johnny a lot but after listening to their manager describe what he'd heard about the fan sign Johnny would be torn with rage. Whilst still in the car Johnny found himself gripping onto his seat to stop himself from lashing out since he really wanted to punch something, anything in that moment. When their manager dropped them off at the dorms, telling the members that he'd head to the SM building to help deal with the situation (after dropping Haechan and Mark off at the DREAM dorms), Johnny came very close to losing his composure. He knew there was nothing he could do but he just wished there was nothing to sort out in the first place.

Reaction after being informed about the police investigation:

When Johnny was told by NCT's managers that the police suspected the same person responsible for threatening Nari's safety and causing his members so much stress back in 2018 was also responsible for physically assaulting Nari at the recent fan sign, Johnny remaind surprisingly calm. He was able to hold himself together enough to comfort his members and listen as they aired out their frustrations. He'd spend a while genuinely believing he was okay until his emotions built up enough that he ended up calling his mom and telling her everything that had happened. He wouldn't be able to stop talking as he explained how much he hated this part of his job and how much he respected Nari for dealing with it so well. How much he wanted to protect her from these things since she'd already been given the short straw in almost every way possible in her career. Thanks to his long call with his mom Johnny would end up feeling a lot better and he was even more encouraged than before to cheer Nari on in all she did.

The rest of the members are under the cut

The second of 3 drabbles depicting what happened when Nari got back to the dorms after the events in Too Close for Comfort and the 5th instalment in the Sasaeng Archives series. I encourage you to read the previous parts first.

~

To Chenle it was as if the world had shut down. 

Nothing seemed to be working in his head. He couldn’t figure out anything. Was he upset? Angry? Sad? Surely he should be but he honestly couldn’t tell what emotions were going through him at that moment. 

He couldn’t smile. Couldn’t laugh. He wasn’t able to crack a joke or make fun of any of the members in a situation like this. It almost made him feel like he had somehow become a different person. 

“Chenle-ah, what’s going through your head?” 

Chenle had listened and followed his hyung as he brought him to the kitchen. But even after hearing the concern is Renjun’s voice Chenle still couldn’t find an answer to how he was feeling. 

“It’s okay to be upset. But I want to help and I can’t if I don’t know what you’re thinking.” Renjun leant himself against the counter as he stared at Chenle. Chenle could see the remnants of tears on Renjun's face. Somehow it wasn’t the clear sign of his hyungs distraught emotions that caused Chenle to react for seemingly the first time since he left the fan sign. 

“Why? Nothing happened to me though?” Chenle asked. 

Renjun let out a sigh before looking down towards the ground. He knew that despite the nonchalant tone of voice Chenle had questioned him in, the boy was genuinely confused, and this made Renjun even sadder than he already was if that was possible. 

“Chenle-ah. We witnessed our friend getting harassed and then watched as the perpetrator got dragged out. Even just what he was saying was enough to make me angry.” Renjun stared at Chenle, who was quick to shift his own gaze away from his hyungs. 

Renjun watched on intently as Chenle’s eyebrows furrowed before slowly releasing into what he could only describe as one of the most dejected expressions he’d ever seen on his members face. He was sure Chenle was finally coming to grasps with the taxing situation that had passed today. 

“It’s okay. You can talk about it later. Just make sure that you don’t keep it to yourself okay?” Renjun said in an attempt to comfort Chenle as best he could. 

The subtle nod and struggle to smile that lasted less than a second prompted Renjun to pull Chenle into a hug. Chenle’s tendency to believe that he was overreacting to situations was quite similar to Nari’s own flawed perceptions. Renjun only hoped he could show both of them that their reactions to what had happened today were completely normal, and nothing they should be ashamed of. 

~

Chenle could feel his emotions beginning to de clutter as he helped Renjun unpack the food that had just been delivered. He’d need to thank Renjun later for everything he’d done to help him understand what was going on in his own head. 

The packet of chips Chenle held in his hand suddenly feel to the floor.

What was that? What had happened? Were his members okay? 

“YAH! JENO-AH!” 

Chenle instantly recognised Jaemin’s voice as he yelled out following the sudden crash that had shocked him. He could hear Renjun call out his name but his feet were already sprinting in the familiar direction of Jeno’s room. 

*someone who hides their pain behind a smile. 

The third of 3 drabbles depicting what happened when Nari got back to the dorms after the events in Too Close for Comfort and the 4th instalment in the Sasaeng Archives series. I encourage you to read the previous parts first.

Warnings: swearing

~

This is all my fault. This is all my fault dammit.

Jaemin, Renjun, their manager … they'd all tried to talk to him on the ride home and as the group made their way up to their dorms. Yet Jeno's lips had remained tight shut, his jaw clenched as he refused to speak. He didn't want to cause a scene. His members didn't deserve to be placed at the receiving end of his anger. He refused to cause them any more stress.

These thoughts were the only things making their way through Jeno's head as he ignored everyone and beelined for his room the second they were home. He needed to let out his anger somehow and he couldn't bear the thought of Nari and Jisung reacting in the same way they had the last time he'd exploded.

The sound of his door slamming closed escaped his conscious as he sat on his bed, his hands running through his hair, gripping to the fragile strands as he stared at the ground in front of him.

How dare they. How dare they scare Nari like that. Nari, who was always so supportive and kind. Nari who already went through so much hate. Nari who'd been through so much. She didn't deserve to have this happen to her by people who dared call themselves her fans.

"Jeno."

Jeno's head snapped to the side when he heard Jaemin's voice intruding on his chain of thoughts. He didn’t notice Jaemin entering the room. Nor had he noticed him close the door. Just like he hadn't noticed how uncomfortable Nari had become at the fan sign. He should have been paying attention. He should have been watching and looking after her.

"What I wouldn't give to …. wow he was a piece of shit."

Jaemin's voice now came from beside him on his bed. Jeno could hear the underlying anger that persisted through Jaemin's tone.

Jeno let out a disgusted laugh that held absolutely no humour in it. "Understatement of the century. How can someone end up like that? That piece of shit. He calls himself a fan and then he assaults Nari in the middle of a fan sign. He doesn't even count as a human. He just …. "

Jeno let out a sigh of frustration as his hand moved to run over his face before joining his other hand, still clenched, in his lap. He couldn't deal with this. He couldn't deal with the idea that Nari had been hurt. Right in front of him.

"Still … it's happened. There's nothing we can do about it now."

Jaemin hung his head, his words accompanied by a sigh. He wished so much that he could do something more. Something that would stop this from ever happening to Nari, to his members or to anyone ever again. Hell, he wished he could go back in time and stop it from happening in the first place. But Jaemin knew thinking this would just cause him to become even more emotional. There was no point in dwelling on these things. It was better to just let it out so they could all move forward. After all, this certainly wasn't the first time they'd had intense interactions with sasaengs and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. Right now all he wanted to do was help Jeno get through his own emotions because Jaemin absolutely hated it when any of his members were anything other than happy.

"Nothing we can do about it?"

Jeno's voice came out muffled as his gaze remained on the ground, his arms dangling between his legs. But despite the almost inaudible response Jaemin could clearly hear the disgust within his friends voice.

"Are you SM now? Nothing we can do about it …. Do you even hear yourself? We can file a lawsuit and … and we can make sure that piece of shit gets locked up … that he never sees the light of day ever again. We can …. We can … ahh!"

Jaemin found himself in a state of shock as Jeno abruptly stood up from his spot on the bed, knocking over the drink bottle that lay beside his bed, creating a loud crash as he did so. But Jeno didn't seem to care and Jaemin's emotions were quickly mixing together as his concern grew.

"YAH JENO-AH" Jaemin let out as Jeno kicked the drink bottle across his room.

"WHAT!? It's true! We never do anything when these things happen and it just keeps getting worse! What were the security even doing today?! NOTHING! They didn't do anything! They didn't even notice until I'd helped her and then …. And I didn't even notice. What was I doing?! I should have been paying attention! I should have done something. If I'd been paying attention… If I'd noticed sooner then she wouldn't have had to go through that. Why is it always Nari? Why does she always go through the worst of everything. I should have done something!"

The more Jeno let out his frustration the more Jaemin felt his heart breaking at his friends words. He understood exactly what Jeno was thinking. Of course he did. He put blame on himself as well. But he knew that logically, neither of them were at fault. No one except the sasaeng was.

"Jeno-ah," Jaemin's voice came out softer and more defeated than it had been before "There is nothing we could have done."

Looking over at his friend, Jeno could feel how broken they both were.

Their sudden silence that somehow felt even more suffocating than the earlier anger was interrupted by Chenle as the younger member burst through the door.

"What is going …"

Chenle's voice trailed off into nothing as he looked towards the pair of friends who had been screaming less than a second ago. Was that the expression he'd held a moment ago? He certainly felt as drained and defeated as they both looked.

"Hyung..."

Was Chenle talking to him or to Jaemin, Jeno couldn't tell. But the desperation in his voice was clear as day. It was undoubtedly the most crushed tone he'd ever heard from Chenle in all his years of knowing him.

"I'm sorry."

Jeno's cry came out muffled and broken, yet it seemed as though it were being projected through a speaker. It encompassed the room and Jaemin couldn't even remember walking over to his friend. He quickly sensed Chenle walk over and place a hand on Jeno's back as Jaemin desperately hugged his friend.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for yelling."

~

I may (emphasis on may) add an extra drabble about Mark and Haechan coming over but idk because I kinda really like the finality in this ending. We’ll see.

Saesang Disrupts NCT Dream Fan Sign and NCT 127 Vlive

NCT’s Nari has recently made headlines in Korean forums and on Twitter due to a sasaeng assaulting her at NCT Dream’s recent fan sign. 

On September 27th NCT Dream held a fan sign in Incheon to celebrate their recently released  mini album ‘We Boom’. Whilst member Haechan was unable to attend due to clashing schedules with the groups subunit NCT 127, members Renjun, Jeno, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisung were all present when a sasaeng managed to get through security and assault Nari. 

Fans who attended the event report that an hour into the fan sign a male sasaeng fan managed to grab a hold of Nari’s wrist in an attempt to pull her towards him whilst getting his album signed. Security quickly proceeded to take the man away, however, fans wrote on twitter that the man continued to scream as he was being dragged out of the room. 

After the incident occurred fans wrote to say that staff helped comfort and look after the audience of fans whilst the managers and NCT’s Renjun helped Nari backstage before she came back a while later to continue the fan sign event. Many posts from attendees report that Nari continued to smile and thank fans for their support during the rest of the fan sign. 

Less than half an hour after the conclusion of NCT Dream’s fan signing event members of NCT 127 held a Vlive that was abruptly cut short after member Mark let out a distressed cry when talking on the phone with NCT Dream member Jaemin. 

This caused much concern for Nari amongst fans who are currently gathering over various social media platforms to spread words of encouragement to Nari and call for an official statement and action from SM. Whilst SM is yet to release an official statement they have been quick to take down the few videos and images taken from the fan sign. 

Published September 27th 2019 9:00 p.m. KST

Masterlist

IToo Close For Comfort | Comfort Zone | Articles: Saesang Disrupts NCT Dream Fan Sign and NCT 127 Vlive | Home / Conflicted / Eccedentsiast | Articles: SM Statement and Instagram update | How Can I Love The Heartbreak? | NCT's Reactions to Nari's Sasaeng Fan (2018) | NCT’s Reactions to Nari’s Sasaeng fan (2019) | Finally...💚 | I'll be your Home

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complete timeline under cut