this is so absurdly long. if dw formatting fucks me RIP.
EDIT: crying and sobbing if you're a rando reading this and you can't tell I'm renjunist please just click off, you're not going to have the reading comprehension to understand it's not real and a joke and very real and not a joke at the same time.
DONGRENwarning: maximum renhyuck delusion ahead.
disclaimer: it’s jokes except it’s serious except it’s jokes. everytime I say renjun is haechan’s girlfriend I do mean renjun is haechan’s girlfriend except it means they’re closer now which means that they’re girlfriend and boyfriend which means they’re just friends. you know. typical RPS disclaimers. it’s 90% probably not real and 10% Really Truly Real.
preface
renhyuck’s always been my no.1 dreamies ships and no.1 overall. I daresay my top kpop ship of all time. it’s that bad. the appeal is that they’re IRL narrative parallels which here means <
anything you can do I can do better >
in every applicable aspect. that’s the gist of it.
this is going to be kind of a…? I don’t know, a mix of a reflective, a timeline, some generous tinhatting — OK a lot of generous tinhatting — and just the journey of being a renjunzen AKA what it’s truly like to be a metafan because renjun is the most successful fan ever, is he not? he is!!! please congratulate huang renjun-sshi!!!
the thing is, you can be like Mhm. Renhyuck Flavour. But can you really appreciate that flavour unless you understand renjun’s FIVE YEAR!!! journey to this point?!?! Turns out one-sided pining uselessly DOES pay off. they'll never break up because theyre marriaging. renjun has this shit on lock. ok no he doesnt BUT haechan might!! renjun is too much like 'hmm...we can never know about the future...so we shouldnt worry about things that we don't know will happen...' or something . Versus TRUE ROMANTIC SECOND LOVE CAN BE MORE POWERFUL THAN FIRST LOVE BELIEVER HAECHAN THOOOO.
also sorry. I have never been and will never be brief.
some notes re: fandom history
- pre-dream: mahae 2pick; down bad markhyuckist like every other fan
- chewing gum: 3pick.. still pretty into markhyuck,,. markhyuck were the most anticipated dreamies and they don't wane in popularity until like much, much later. especially with dreamzens...?
- mfal: renjunhaechan 1pick 2pickism was blurring. teasers helped to neatly slot all of 6dream in fandom digestible ships. thus, Noren. markhyuck are Markhyuck. one of their peaks iirc
- we young: renjun 1pickism Real. markhyuck was waning a little, noren was persisting but nohyuck was on the rise, and obviously, I was like… Renhyuck? Renhyuck. I'd say the first time people caught attention of renhyuck's bickering>
- go: I, renjunzen [my twitter dn at the time]. renmin/norenmin was the thing. mahae made an astounding recovery somehow. renhyuck were friendzoned by fandom at large though people did take note of bickerage.
- we go up: wasn’t around for this. arguably, the best renjun teaser ever released. I think markren and renmin were winning this era.
- we boom: RENJUN FAN!!! renhyuck!!! on the rise for real!!! mostly because of 6dream pair up haptics! but STILL!!! note, renhyuck hit harder with haechan fans this era because renjun was trying very hard to be haechan's manly [read: manlet] boyfriend. NGL I think renjun looked shorter than usual this era. renjunfans were mostly trying to remain staunch renminists.
- ridin: renj as always. bruv I have no idea what happened here. renhyuck pretty much solidified this era, no? esp after all the dream show fanservice and shenanigans.
- hot sauce: um…. Renjun Girlification era. And. Renjun Girlfriendification by Haechan era. also renhyuck Popular now?! crazy.
can’t say that I enjoy the spike of popularity though bc imo popular consensus of renhyuck focuses on how theyre in their honeymoon stage but like ... imo it doesn't take into account the Whole Journey to This Point. and the metaphorical reasons why renhyuck is a good ship. if u think about it, they're kinda a reskin of another ship without those factors. BUT I DIGRESS.
last notes:- renhyuck can always be argued for as 2pickshipping, but the origin was never me mashing my 2pick together. the origin was me going: ...damn, haechan kinda better at everything than renjun… and instead of being like >renjun my poor meow meow…< I was like… Hmmm...now wouldn’t it be funny if they were a thing. canonically, renhyuck have never really had any inferiority/superiority complexes about each other, but the fun of RPF was that I’d get to write it in because the irl basis is there.
- also haech isn't really my 2pick, that's dependent on something we can blame on jaemin. but it's just easier for everyone involved if I say he is.
- to be strictly accurate, it’s dongren. renjun, while historically has not been haechan’s girlfriend, is now haechan’s girlfriend. otherwise, it’s really just that I’m a fan of #Haechan_LEFT.
my dreamzen track record is very spotty, I’ve watched a fair amount of content but for some eras like we go up and ridin’, I really can only go off of moments that are included in yt comps and/or twitter gifs/clips and whatever my friends have said. and if it’s not a 00z vlive I haven’t seen it. though there are actually like 3 00z vlives I haven’t seen but that’s jaemin’s fault. anyway, I don't watch vlives so I guess everything I'm going off is 'curated' content. still, I don't the difference is that big. anyway, if nothing else, I am someone who loves renjun.
another disclaimer for confirmation bias: I’m renjunfan first, but renhyuck is my OTP.
last one: obviously this is not really an ‘objective’ look at things, all interpretations are my own and everything I write is what I’ve made of it… so even though I speak matter of factly, this is a very personal retrospective. also the moments I pick are just the ones I think are cutest and/or pretty notable. not meant to be #PROOF_RENHYUCK_IS_REAL.
CHEWING GUM > MY FIRST AND LAST > WE YOUNG
tl;dr — renjun is always looking at haechan. haechan is never looking back.
the long and short of it...
one of the near constant appeals of renhyuck since The Beginning, is that renjun has always looked at haech. even as early as nct school dream mate? or so. anyway, ‘looking at haechan’ is the whole thing where renjun will say something, or make a joke, or some else will say something, or nothing at all in particular will be happening, and renjun is tilted towards haech, gauging his reaction. or you know, any time haechan says anything, or does anything, renjun is always the first one [if not the only one] to look his way. on renjun it’s incredibly noticeable because he’s not the greatest listener, but if it’s haechan… when it comes to haechan… the thing is about haechan though… it’s not really that hard to explain, but it was particularly deadly in the early days of dream noticing just how badly renjun wanted recognition from haech. though, a little ironically, he was better at snapping himself out of it during their earlier eras. definitely hid it better than he does later on [ahem, Ridin. Ridin. just Ridin'].
obviously in the earlier dreamies day, all of them did this quite a lot because haechan was just the best at talking and keeping things entertaining — so always, and even now, he was the member that directs things [variety wise] ... but as the rest of the dreamies start catching up on the ways of variety/step into being idols, they don't pay him as much attention ... this gets clearer post-go/wgu when jaemin is settled in for real. though also, this could just be fully blamed on jaemin being jaemin. regardless, what matters is that renjun's haechanisms remain.
don’t quote me on this, but among dreamies the only other member that does this as avidly is jeno. but that’s because it’s jeno and jeno is wildly misunderstood. you could make a case for jisung but the counterarguments are (a) jisung does it to Everybody, (b) Maknae Psychology 101.
we young, being the era with far more content than CG & MFAL, it's really easy to see how much haech poked at renjun — and that it wasn’t particularly affectionate either. obviously, it was friendly teasing — on haech's part, it's probably him trying to close the gap — but they didn’t have as strong of a base friendship to keep it away from the line. it’s a lot of renjun being kind-of embarrassed and haech being annoying.in these eras ... he’s a bad mix of not knowing how to react but wanting to react so there’s a lot of him trying to argue back, but falling back too early or his response falling too flat. again, he didn't mind — and like everyone else, bar mark — enjoyed haechan's attention, but ... the combination of trying to keep it, and being Renjun [blunt, edging onto too honest, entirely too direct] ... there's a fair amount of pretty awkward landings here and there. tangent: the best targets were mark and jeno obviously.
the thing about maehae summer fight was that it pushed haech closer to jeno than renjun. like obviously haechan was still in love with mark at this point, but the other killing factor was that jeno was clearly more his friend than renjun was. and also, though this wasn’t as noticeable because jeno is perfect angel, best member of dream, the most underrated champ of world, he was closer to haech than he was to renjun. though there's a lot of noren Hanging out in this era which I'm going to pin to them only having each other. honestly, I think renjun still constituted as ‘new’ and he hadn’t completely found his footing yettt.relationship status
they weren't exactly... friends. as groupmates — and particularly the dreamies tend to be — they were friendly even if they weren't close, and got along well enough. honestly, compared to later eras, it's so obvious that they came such a far way in terms of getting to know each other and becoming Real True Friends, as well as being better at playing along with each other. one of the biggest hindrances between these eras is just how badly renjun took haechan's teasing. everyone's really, but no one teased as much as haechan did. so it's haechan's. which isn't to say he got upset at it, he just mangled the joke most of the time.
still, we young served as a pretty good turning point where haechan seemed to realize that he and renjun could/did get along really well... v. renjun who's always wanted to be close to haechan so it was never a matter of 'recognizing' that for him. with this knowledge, please congratulate renjun!!!
as my last point, I think these were the eras where the disparity in [talent] was the most obvious and affected renjun the most, either in that he was really aware of it in these eras OR that in subsequent eras, it bothers him less. in their cb vlive? was the first time he mentions how much he practiced his vocals/etc. something along those lines — later eras, he comes back to the same 'tip' of always going into a recording with a lot of water.moments
there is so little content from CG and MFAL... there's obviously the gag that goes on for the next two years where renjun's voice cracks during their first win and For The Next Three Years Haechan Will Never Not Bring It Up. also I hate to be like this, but I'll be real I remember more nomark MFAL moments than I do renhyuck. very fake fan of me.
- in this series of lives, if not this live in particular, there was one where they split into two groups of three [first instance of big head line iirc] that are particularly funny and a little pathetic because it’s nohyuckren, and renjun is in the middle and the whole time he’s pivoted towards haech rather than jeno, which of course jeno takes like a champ but the painful part is that haech does not care. in fact haech probably overcompensates for it by focusing on jeno. though the funniest part of it all is when they group back together as six and haechan is sooooo over mark… awh.
- there's also these which are very cute: haechan manual / renjun manual — great example of renj's sincerity versus haech's mischeviousness.
- https://fullsunhaechan.tumblr.com/post/164486825391/00-line-disturbing-each-other... this ancient ass example ... but also a very cute one... among one of the first times it started to be established that the True Dreamie dynamic was throwing hands. v. classic renjun imitating while jeno just follows along for the sake of it.
- there’s not a whole lot to go off of in terms of on-camera interax, but one of the most notable haechan lines are a fanacc post-it where he lists dreamies? as what they are to him and jeno is best friend while renjun gets ‘soulmate’.
- there's also classic ... JOY era shenanigans. I think it's a really good example of how renjun was bad at responding to haechan ... where in his video cut, haechan messes with him in a fun and annoying way but in the vlive renjun like, overcompensates for it A Little Too Much and is more aggressive than he needs to be... renjun's always been pretty easy to read, so you could interpret it as #Real_Tension since there was a little too much feeling... but, I'd just argue that renjun really isn't like that. though maybe it's something he grew out of.
tl;dr — renjun looks at haechan. haechan sometimes catches his eye.
the long and short of it
IMO the break between we young and go was a good one for 5dream, jaemin’s return and subsequent friendship with renjun also helped group synergy a lot imo. not that it really changed anything about renhyuck, but 00z finally being a thing helped all of them be better friends and meld renjun into the fold a lot more. Personally, I think go was just a really good era for everyone involved. the existence of renmin kinda... I think it affected fan perception of dreamie dynamics more than anything [because. on a dream to dream level. renmin did not last]… anyway a couple of really good renhyuck moments because this is where they really start to play off each other rather than hyuck’s slightly futile one-sided poking … renjun now knows how to poke back, and they’re at this really comfortable spot!!! mh is ofc still kind of a thing, but haech does realize that other people exist now...also, truly leaning into dream’s moodmaker/epicentre/etc. again, the vibes were just so good in this era. renjun kind of gets on his hot girl shit. Kind Of.
I have no idea what happened in wgu. I Think it was a renmin/markren era. but that’s like. based off secondhand takes from my mutuals who are jaemren/markren fans you know. going purely off
boom... in general is probably my favourite ever era... the combination of Everything... strictly in terms of renhyuck tho.... renjun working very hard to be hyuck's manly boyfriend while haechan was in one of his more femme eras. you can see why this hit off with the fandom. there's also.... the touching shifts from being more aggressive to more casual. god there's an argument somewhere about renjun using chokeholds as a way to initiate touch without it seemingly coming out of nowhere... cuz again, while they were on their way to being friends/actually Friends now... they weren't that close, especially compared to the point they are at now. honestly. it's a little deeply stupid but it's also. there's so much renjun threatening bodily violence @ hyuck in this era that just phased out Noticeably past boom. though the more reasonable argument is renjun maturing, #RenjunCharacterArc. but. it could be Both.
anyway Boom is the most notable era out of these due to turning pointisms LOL.relationship status
they get more touchy through these eras. renjun has his jaemin and then mark phase? again word of mouth. definitely finally friends at this point. all of zeroline are basically on equal footing with each other... nomin being nomin but they're also not gay so it's fine. jaemin being obnoxious means nothing because it's jaemin. that's his defining character trait. go and wgu are pretty standard by 'rarepair' ship content. you know, like people who don't really do anything but shippers will be shipping cuz they're, they're shippers.
boom, thanks to company mandated pairing, causes them to move from people who get along/could be friends to friends. notably the era where they started to have more in-jokes. i.e the aegyo bit. which I think is so fucking funny because renjun hates doing aegyo so bad but um once again his Would Do Anything For Haechan Diseases strike. again, the 37.5% v. 0.0% viewer rating joke shows up a lottt … and it’s just sooo… haechan’s 37.5% thing started in a 127 era? I think. and I don’t know if anyone in 127 caught on and did a 0.0% rating, but going into a dream comeback and renjun listening to that and immediately starting his 0.0% viewer rating renjun cam...AND STICKING TO IT!!! Idk it’s really clear, with the absence of mark, and pairing together that they broke through the final gap and got to hang out and actually get close.
boom era is notably when a lot of people started paying attention to renhyuck more and there’s a lot more on-camera interactions to go off. and haech definitely clings to renjun more often than with previous eras. both a product of their closeness and the way dream has to pair off.
renjun catches up a lot in terms of [talent] but this is helped by the fact that jaemin sucks. dream having a clear disparity in vocal ability really helps renj and haech look similar in terms of talent levels. or like, it makes stage ability/presence look less important because it's split towards the dancers. but also he gets a chance at the high notes.moments
boom is by far one of my favourite eras. you can tell why.
- haechan birthday vlive!!! which had one of the best comedic genius renjun moments in the world and it payed off even more because it was just such a good play on how haech would've done the same thing in his place. but also renjun who's bad at being corny unless he thinks the mood is right.
- wgu: 'he kisses my neck too much' / 'renjun fits right into my arms' moment.
- go/wgu being the era is when haech started patting renj's head when doing we young hehe
- I know that they were like 8 fanaccs out everyday about the latest renhyuck shenanigan during x boom fansign or whatever. I just can't remember any off the top of my head ._. BUT I KNOW THEY EXIST!!!
- there was this popular compilation tweet that was like 4 pics of haech looking like he wanted to kiss renjun and 4/4 were from boom/fireflies. this was the era that ummm you know... Well you get it. if you were there.
- if you weren't: renjun constantly pulling haechan out of frame to beat him up. renjun lifting his chair at haechan during mafia. renjun having renjun-like reactions to any and all teasing which just encourages haech more to continue on because he has the best reactions by far compared to other members, because everyone else is just used to it now and doesn't rise to the bait
- renhyuck derailment begins ... and truly begins to establish itself as A Common Occurrence with boom ... this was kind of? previously mahae derailment... but umm. well you know #6dream. but also. because haech mark and renj are the most 'active' [reactive?] members of dream, when mahae did it, renj would cut in like >the rest of us are still here< because renjun actually cared. because. you know. renjun's dream picks are mahae. but now that it's just renhyuck, everyone else just falls into a lull waiting for them to finish. godddddddddd
— renjun looks at haechan. haechan looks back. more than 50% of the time too!!
usually I wouldn't count a non comeback era (i.e dreamshow) but Not Gonna Lie I feel like a lot happened here.
the long and short of it
renhyuck are a little obsessed with each other. they're like the kids in class that both have crushes on each other but are middle schoolers so they're dealing with it in the most middle school way possible. though like. You think the way they force everyone to bear witness to their bullshit here is bad? Two words for you: Hot Sauce. Hot Sauce. Hot Sauce.
still watching them here is like. constantly begging for renjun to shut the fuck up without him saying anything because he doesn't NEED TOO.... it's just... gestures if you watch any video from this era you just know!
they play so well with each other. that's a lot of it. it's clear that they have fun messing with each other. which is to say, haechan has a lot of fun messing with renjun because renjun responds in clever ways, and renjun just really fucking likes it when haechan pays attention to him [like any and everyone reasonable person would]. is still easily bruised when haech doesn't give him the attention he wants though. I think a fair way of describing them at this point is a lot of renj reaching for haech's attention and haech holding it over him, sometimes letting him grab at it, sometimes moving it out of reach. usually jeno is resident puppy, but sometimes renjun resembles it here.
I think the renhyuck dream v dream is a really good show of what their relationship was like. renhyuck dream v dream works really well because among the members of dream they’re the best at playing off each other, with renjun is very willing to play off hyuck/very receptive to haech in general. there’s obviously the 37.5% viewer rating cam v. 0.0% viewer rating cam [one of the most perfect bits between them], but also the amount of times they answer something, trail off, and then go ‘...Was Not What I was going to say…’ there’s a bunch of instances where they mirror each other really well — AND THE WAY THEY BOTH END UP ASKING THE SAME QUESTION — [haechan’s scrawl on a post-it note] Soulmate<3. but importantly, I think what ends up being the best testament to how well they get along is how shallow their list of recallable interactions are. like both of them struggle to think of times where they’ve actually hung out [part of why they end up with the same question] … and it’s like Damn For People Who Don’t Really Know Each Other… I think for how well they play off each other the lack of backing is crazy. but it's also proving the middle schoolers with crushes that don't know what to do about them comparison. cuz it really is. when you're in middle school and you like your crush and you're 90% sure your crush likes you back. what do you even do? nothing.
the amount the make dream play second fiddle to them here is... Guys, let me ask you. Why do you think jaemin is the way he is? in renhyuck dream v dream, they mention getting pork belly ... and then like a year later, in nahyuck dream v dream, we, the audience, find out that Jaemin was Also Present. gier;jldnfgvjln it's kind of killing me how in renhyuck's ver, they make No Mention of jaemin being there. while jaemin was there and forced to bear witness to The Whole Of It. just thinking about it is making me want to krill myself. I don't think it happened like while renhyuck were at their worst, but like. the combo of jaemrenhyuck... well... that's.... you know unless jaemin was feeling particularly socialable... and this was pre-renjun girlification, so he couldn't even be a girl about it. in saying this though ... jaemin legit my favourite third for renhyuck.
anyway this era is when renhyuck derailment becomes a Solid Thing.relationship status
this is post...boom AND 6dream have been established for a while so you know.. it's a little... there's a lot of... I feel like it's here where renjun truly becomes haech's favourite target. that makes me sound insane but it's like. um. theres... how do I explain this. I'll try my best.
there's haechan bothering everyone or like, shifting the attention to x, x, x members and renjun just being one of the members he teases.
then, there's haechan bothering every other member for the end goal of fucking with renjun.
dreamies, who are generally very nice, go along with it. but, it's also pretty obvious they know what's happening. the thing is haech teases a lot of members by purposefully skipping them, but um. holy shit. rewatching some vids of this era. it's just constantly ignore renjun hours. like I feel... 50% confident about there being a Fixation of sorts here. [*sora's impression of hc's voice* I like it when girls get mad at me.]
I’ll be honest with you. everyone in dream has grown out of their obsessed with haechan phase. some members even, like chenle, have never even had that phase. renjun, who has been certifiably, cataclysmically Down Bad since 2016 at the earliest, 2017 if we’re less generous. is kind of stupid about it still. I'm just reiterating this because 100% renjun's haechanism takes turns towards Dire levels in ridin'. like before, you could pretty much brush it off. however due to the positive feedback loop of Having Haechan's Attention... any RIPs?
I don’t know anything else about ridin. though, I think after? or during? or a little before, is when haech started to hang out a lot more with dreamies and therefore renjun, outside of cbs. which I think is a really big thing and at the point where their final gap closed and it really shows in hot sauce. 'final gap' I mean they stopped being middle schoolers. and/or haech finally got serious about him. or took him more seriously? IDK it starts being so much more mutual. as in. haech shows him as much affection as he teases him.
I don't want to be like this is the era haech truly zones in one rj and 1picks him as his favourite bullying target but like I mean. I mean. the shift from mark as the favourite target to renjun is truly so palpable and contains so much feeling.
dare I say... ridin' is the era where haechan truly catches onto How much renjun wants/likes his attention and then realizes how much he Likes it. WHAT BEING FREE FROM THE SHACKLES OF MARK CAN DO TO SOMEONE. AND SOCIETY.moments
- this moment where there is something obviously deeply wrong with renjun, and chenle, as he does with everything, just doesn't give a shit and says what he feels about it. which, unless it's about jisung, is usually 10000% on the mark.
- midsummer day's dream... is generally pretty painful to watch. both parts. especially the bit where haech tells one of the worst spooky stories ever. like five minutes of switching from haechan's narration to renjun's fully captivated stare. like even jisung wasn't paying that much attention and he was the only other member listening. the argument here is that renjun likes supernatural stories but that's just a super bad one because he likes the Real Ones and everyone in this room knows haechan's story is full of shit. also haech telling it to renjun. even though, jisung was on the other side and was the only other member listening. 100% this is renjun riding off the high of haechan's attention from the previous games they played. though, I have to defend renjun here because his haechanism is chronic and terminal. on the other hand, haech had No Excuse to be such an enabler. this was 100% on him.
- renjun knowing that haechan's favourite movie is monster's inc. is it??? bonus points for haech not knowing renjun's favourite movie. also doyoung thinking of renjun as haechan's friend rather than jeno's. for I guess a collection of reasons but 'As expected... Haechan's friends are different.' pretty much says the brunt of it. tangent: renjun's obsession with avatar infecting the rest of dream later on.
- weekly idol — picking e/o for: who you want more love from / who you think has been doing so well ... the >who do you want more love from< in particular.... [you: he picked jisung also! ... but did you consider that jisung is maknae!!!] I don't know it was so... telling from renjun's part, in particular because I'm unsure if any other dreamies would've picked haechan [for non-obvious reasons] ... also this following markly asking them on vlive who they thought did best and renjun honestly picking haech v. haech saying he was joking. to be honest, I don't think haech joking matters here, since the point is less about haechan not loving renjun well or enough, but that renjun genuinely admires him and it's an obvious thing to want someone you admire to look back at you.
- 30:38 ...prime example of haechan purposefully ignoring renj and renj being so into it. these freaks are disgusting [im both of them at once]. there's no fixing whatever the fuck renjun is doing.
- obsessed with this [7:12] classic renhyuck sidebar. sora keeps mentioning how they were both dealing with their relationship by fucking jeno during ridin which I will not comment on. but like when I say renhyuck were unbearable during ridin this is what I mean. this is supposed to be a nohyuck moment?! I will also absolutely blame this on jeno. HELLO? JUST SAY WHETHER YOU LIKE JJANGMYEON OR JJAMGPONG? ... in general this whole video is really something else. for the nth time, how can one subject their groupmates to this shit. even markhyuck at it's worse was never this bad.
- 5:42 — [with Feeling] 'I'll never let Renjunnie guess a single one!' - thematically bangs. metaphorically bangs.
tl;dr — haechan gfzones renjun
Thiis is the whole reason I even started writing this post. can you believe we are in 7dream era and haechan actually pays more attention to renjun than mark? That’s crazy. That’s insane. There’s no way this can be real. BUT IT IS!!! he's his girlfriend.
um. there’s just no words. whateverrrrr... okay.
I also think. usually, if I call renjun stupid ... which I just wouldn't. because he's a little cheesey and a little cringe but he's not stupid — which I'd pin down to him being pretty self-aware. however. in this era. he is so stupid. he is the stupidest little boy who is a girl you will ever see. you will ever witness. you will ever be Beholden to. he is just that incredibly stupid. there's No Words.
the long and short of it
my summary is that renjun is haechan's girlfriend. period. beat drop. music cue. what else is there to say about it!!!
what else... renjun being more obsessed than ever.... yk, like sometimes he’s a little more subtle about it. currently. No He’s Not. like... um you thought ridin was bad. turns out ridin was not actually bad. well that's wrong. it's that. somehow it's possible for this to be Even More painful. I don't even know what else to say. I'm sure that like anyone reading this has seen any hot sauce era video and is aware of how renjun laughs at every single thing haechan does now. like he's funny but he's not that funny. please. PLEASE. please be normal.
I'm crazy insane stupid RPS fan I'm delusional I'm a freak I'm a degenerate that'll never amount of anything. I'm the scum of society. etc. etc. now listen. I feel as though the first explanation for what's up with renhyuck is that they're Dating For Real. and the second is that they're better friends than ever.
IIIIIII... have nothing else to say for myself. I've really gotten better over the years about not seeing some random inconsequential moment and being like OH MY GOD THEYRE FUCKING THEYRE DATING THEYRE IN LOVE. or I thought I did. it's just ... they're girlfriend and boyfriend you know, and just because of how society is heteronormative or whatever, it's easier to tell when a boy and a girl are dating than when a boy and a boy are dating.
fuck this summarizes and explains absolutely nothing forgive me.
I have to also note, that I wrote this over a span of a few days... and within those few days... Renjun did get a haircut. so he is no longer a girl. but because I can't bear to let go of him yet....I'm just going to continue on as though he still is a girl. you know sometimes being a girl is not about being a girl it's about being socially designated as a girl. and also outside of his hair, there are other things that make him a woman. like his purse. his delicate sensibilities. his numerous female traits. the fact that he's haechan's girlfriend.relationship status
overview of everything I'm getting from this era IG.
I kinda wanna make a point that like... renjun's always been very lukewarm about fanservice. it's the same with his 'pure boy renjun' introduction ... where there's a very deliberate point to acknowledge it as something He's Told To Do, rather than something he wants. it's not that he doesn't do fanservice it, but there's definitely a difference in fanservice that has genuine affection behind it — like the way he takes care of jisung, or compliments to jaemin during go era and so — there's a point to some of the action being said/done for the sake of the camera, but also it's things he'd mean regardless.
this is not to say that renhyuck is real and none of it is fanservice. just that it's hard to near impossible to make renjun do something he doesn't want to do [similar to jaemin, but jaemin is so much more obnoxious about it and much less agreeable] so even when it's for fun and jokes, it's a joke that renjun's willing to go along with, and it's something that he has fun doing. but also literally hilarious that two of renjun's most legit[?] ships is with the top2 fanservice aficionados of the group. I swear to god there's like 2 or 3 jaemren fics that touch upon this theme of renjun's earnestness v what's for the camera and what's for Realz.
yoon got this cc asking about renhyuck love languages — and before I read it, I was like ‘what would be renjun’s love language?’ and I figured, uhh doesn’t he like it when people pay attention to him? [sorry, had to flex my renjun knowledge] … which is whyyyyy I feel like he’s genuinely gotten something out of all years of this endeavour...haechan pays attention to him now!!! haechan looks at him!! looks back when renjun looks at him!!! asks for his attention!!! that’s so crazy. everyone please congratulate renjun.
I think it was a half-baked joke but in the recent huya? live haechan goes ‘it’s so hard to get a compliment from renjun’ and it’s true… renjun is genuinely quite stingy when it comes to praise and anything that’s not like a good job as obligatory response to winning a game or finishing a recording. but, it’s the same when it comes to receiving praise or realizing that someone knows things about him he didn’t expect, it’s a pretty lukewarm reaction as he just doesn’t know what to do with it. which is why a lot of renhyuckism comes off as haechan saying things like soulmate/renjun is so cute/etc… but renjun’s just weirdly reserved about everything [GUY WHO WON’T EVEN TELL PEOPLE HIS MBTI...ok Loser]. historically, he’s always been more into haechan. so don't let the recent series of events fool u!!!
[warning: Renhyuck Delusion.] I guess what I'm trying to say is that... renjun shows his affection in a way very different from haech [most notably, Paying Attention] so like... diehard renjunist or otherwise, him being so openly affectionate truly feels like a completely undiscovered side of him... something like... it's obviously something we've gotten peeks at before through moments where he'd take care of other members or so [notably jisung, sometimes mark, jaemin at one very specific point] ... but, now it's like something that's just Constantly there and so clearly directed to haechan. like OK I'll Die?
also man. dreamies are so nice. they're such nice kids. they're so nice. I can't imagine having to go to work with the knowledge that the worst couple in the world will be there doing all their bullshit once again.
also of note. mark who really badly wants members to kiss is not saying anything about renhyuck kissing. why not mark? why not!! [answer: it's because renjun is a girl so it's not gay].
the last last thing, which is increasingly clear in 7illin ... is um ... I tried to explain this to sora but I sounded crazed and insane, which to be fair, that's what 7illin can do to a person. but like mahae healing<3 because haechan has a girlfriend now so mark no longer has to feel weird about how haechan used to like him. ibygrpJNSK;DVLX see just like how markhyuck fight lead to eventual #HaechanXRenjun4Ever, renhyuck lead to #MarkAndHyuckBestFriendsForever. Balance. Karma. Peace. Love. Etc. Sexy.moments
- 7illin which I will never recover from. there's no words.
- every hug from this era... there are so many hugs!!! favourite being haechan radio hug [27:39] ... they do a really similar hug during the ridin' haech radio... [30:38 for the Whole Experience] ... which makes me want to say the squeezing is a thing between them. but like um. the 7DREAM RETURN ep one is seriously an Experience. like that's his girlfriend bro. maybe IM the terminally diseased one. also renj smiling with teeth... AAAAAAGGGGH.
- haech radio pulling down his whole mac screen so renjun could see him. UM. DIE. WHY ARE YOU GAY? WHY?
- this [9:16] is just the funniest thing ever to me. Jisung will never be renjun's boyfriend. renjun is literally standing RIGHT BESIDE JISUNG. JISUNG WON THE GAME FOR THEM. 480369t842-0wtu ... listen It's clear and Obvious and Painfully so that jisung's crush would never work out. but god. be nicer to him!!! girls who have boyfriends.... ugh.
- the elbow kiss. what even was that? what. renjun is so so so stupid. he's so stupid. when I say he's a stupid girl stupidly in love I seriously mean it. the stupidification of renjun via Being Haechan's Girlfriend. also on this note... sometimes renjun is so earnest that he does things that are a little stupid. I think this falls under that category. sorry I had to say it.
- https://twitter.com/renjunache/status/1391781847130992647/photo/2 ... 'your natural enemy' YOU LOOOOVEEEE TO SEE IT!!!!!
- haechan midzy confirmed vlive [13:59] - (doyoung) It's been a really long time since I saw Jaemin, Jeno, Jisung and Chenle. I saw Renjun from time to time. Why did I see him so many times? ...rbghidf;kxgc lvhkdfbjxn gcvubprjkesdfl this one is just so funny. tell any nct fan ever that the dreamie the 127s see most often is RENJUN.
I, Renjunzenrenjun girl arc #thoughts.
I genuinely think it’s hilarious because many past iterations of renjun would’ve never wanted to be girlfriendzoned… but the renjun who stands before you today. Is a Woman. And more notably, Haechan’s Girlfriend.
listen of anyone in nct to get a girl arc NO ONE COULDVE PREPARED ME FOR RENJUN. There’s no words. I’m just over the moon. Genuinely was worried he was going to go for the gym arc but instead he just embraced the girl thing. impeccable character development imo. I’ve never been more happy in my life that someone hates the gym.
honestly, him going from being too sensitive about being called sensitive to like fully leaning into his whole thing. I THINK RENJUN IS SO PERFECT AND FUN AS A PERSON!!! also he has a girl's room. imo. it's one of his many female traits. having a tea corner? caring that much about lighting? being really into candles? idk the mix of 'soft' with how sharp-witted he can be, plus the overall honesty and directness..... There Is A Reason Jisung Has A Crush On Him OK!!! other than haech who's ... haechan... thus I hesitate to say he gets it — Jisung actually gets it!! [Renjun's Charm Points]
I feel like someone might read this and be like… ummm stop heterofying two dudes … how is it my fault they're straight? How. they’re not boyfriend and boyfriend but boyfriend and girlfriend. That’s their fault. this also if youre going to get mad idk effeminate men aren’t women or whatever renjun’s not effeminate he’s a Girl. also he's never actually been effeminate that was haechan but for some reason haechan got over that. I feel like that was when mark stopped top-posturing but I can't say. ANYWAY. renjun girl. I also never expected this I also thought he’d be sensitive and a little too male about it forever. but nooooo. both a mix of renjun internal and external [now externality is gone until his hair grows out again] development.
why are they girlfriend and boyfriend and not boyfriend and boyfriend? or even, girlfriend and girlfriend?
Have you seen the way haechan dresses. NEXT QUESTION.
the reason why renhyuck is *special* is a combination of minirookies, chenji, and 7dream, and of course, zeroline. I think I have to explain how each group iteration is divided and then explain why it has to be Renhyuck.
not sure how to go about this so I'll just list off the iterations.
7Dream [in Theory]
this only counts for debut since jaemin has to take a break and doesn't return until a year later, but it's pretty easy to trace everything back to these pairs
7dream starts off as: markhyuck — nomin — chenji ... and renjun
there's an argument that it's minirookies and chinaline but since renjun is 00z, the much more natural distinction is to split chenle into maknaeline instead, and have the rest be hyungline. and more importantly... chenji fated pair isms. the problem with hyungline is because mahae already debuted, and are bffs, and are Markhyuck, is that it's impossible to leave mark out. again nomin was preset, so renjun's just having to vibe on his own. this matters but not in the way it could have. zeroline should've been a thing but MaHae.6Dream
because jaemin's gone, instead of having to awkwardly fit renjun in somewhere, he kind of gets shuffled around to whoever the group dynamic calls for. for some reason, both in we young and MFAL instead of splitting into two groups [giving us ZEROLINE] [which I guess they didn't do because establishing zeroline without jaemin is an asshole move], they split off into three. for MFAL it worked, because jeno was missing a partner and renjun could neatly take up jaemin's spot ... except in we young. mahae have a fight... haechan goes for jeno. renjun just shuffles between mark/jeno/haech depending on the day. worth mentioning that chenji are never switched around both from a company level and their personal loyalties to each other level. this and that you could say.7Dream
JAEMIN COMES BACK. which is good and it's like Maybe He's the Odd One Out Now since he's been gone for so long, but his insta-fave status [jaemin's popularity is so fucking insane] and also NEWLY MINTED RENJUN FRIENDSHIP changes the expected meta [noren v nomin] into [jaemren v nomin] ... which just throws noren to the dogs, yk. though people also settled for norenmin regardless of the lack of actual trio interactions. the reason why no/ren/min never really settled well [imo] was:- renjun actually got paired with MARKHYUCK for go teasers. which was .... $)&590q3853q why did they do that to him and also to markhyuck fans.
- renmin was way too shortlived. what the fuck was that!! once again, I blame jaemin.
- markren?? markren??? I know there was some really random markren pandering in wgu that added to the layers of confusion and nonsense
- norenmin was zeroline without hyuck. thus couldn't be allowed for the same reason why nohyuckren wasn't allowed. just a fucking Asshole Move.
I point all of this out to show that renjun never got a fandom assigned line or generally accepted pairing ... again his positioning within dream has been pretty tumultuous ... very subject to change. obviously with this era, zeroline got to finally start being a thing but that fixed very few things until...6Dream [markless]
the problem with mark leaving is that ... haechan is left partnerless. Unless. IS HE? the difference between renjun being slotted in as haech's partner here versus in previous cbs is that they actually stuck with it. and also, just genuinely that they had a lot of good chemistry. I feel like with markhyuck gone, there might be a feeling of cuz markhyuck are very compelling and very entertaining, but renhyuck had enough ability to rival that... in a way that with renmin v nomin, renmin falls a little short, and noren v anything, noren will always fall short — renhyuck doesn't really fall short. anyone and everyone will be like damn these two are entertaining AF regardless of who they actually ship. suuuper digestible combo.
also another reason why renhyuck persisted, I'd argue, is not because other zeroline pairs weren't viable but that jaemin is literally not interested in anyone outside of jisung and jeno. like nahyuck are hilarious together but it'll never happen. honestly, there are so many things you can blame on jaemin and Should blame on jaemin.7Dream [presently]
mahae fight did so much for 7dream I won't even lie. would we ever be at this point if markhyuck did not learn to appreciate their bonds with other people? haechan would be pathetically single forever — not because renjun would not date him, but because he would've never realized renjun was an option for him to date. anyway. I digress.
anyway. at this point, dream is so well-established that there's no need to rely on specific groupings both on a company level and in a more personal, group dynamic level. they can all play very well with each other so there's not much to say here. everyone is friends with everyone. I'll withhold comments about jaemin.
um...on a different note, mark being the odd one out [not that he really is] isn't the same as renjun being the odd one out because... it's Mark. even if we ignore the fact that all the dreamies adore him beyond reasonable means, just on the technical level he's by far the most successful member of NCT as a whole. renjun really only has dream, and even in dream his position isn't unique. etc etc. you can fill out the rest of these blanks. also... even if zeroline was strictly a thing, chenle likes mark so much that it doesn't matter and jisung likes chenle so much that he'd go along with mark integration into their whole thing.also my personal ranking is like: 7dream [2021], 6dream [boom>ridin], 7dream[go>dreamshow], 6dream, 5dream[Bad. no haechan when haechan should be there]
ORDERED LIST OF SEXIEST THINGS ABOUT RENHYUCK
finally. last section. at this point I'm running on fumes. BUT I MUST CONTINUE ON. because this is a labour of love. I actually don't think anyone, even lin, sorry if you're actually reading this lin, will read this far in. ANYWAY.
(3) Narrative Parallage. Foilage.
obviously, being Narrative Parallels is the Most Romantic Thing On Earth. and while I understand on a technical level parallels and foils aren't the same, the thing is, they're the same to me. because either way it's a comparison of how you live up to the other person or have fallen short of them. where one succeeded and the other did not. that ish.
everything I say from this point on is really truly me being objective. I'm renjunfan. I, RENJUNZEN. the amount of shit I've referenced and said in this post and shit I haven't said...all of it points to me being downbad, crazy RENJUNIST. im RENJUNFAN!!! in saying all this,
haechan is the better version of renjun.
— which is WHY renhyuck is so sexy and so good and will never ever ever cease to slap. okay I had to say it. you could literally refer to renjun as 'lesser haechan' and you wouldn't be incorrect. dare I say, people would know which dreamie you meant. atp, it's just Known that they're really similar and that's what the base of their epic chemistry is. it's obvious that haech and renj are the ones that share the most roles and function the same within dream. though I guess, Disclaimer for Present versus Past Lenses, this statement is truer for the first few cbs, where dreamies are now - renj's definitely grown into his own role and haech is no longer as prominent of a comparison point as he was. growth or whatever LOOOL.
anyway. back to the point. remember like, 8000 words ago [motherfuckerrrrr] ... I was like... Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better? anything Renjun can do Haechan can do better. I know this is when I input examples and explain it all very clearly. BUT IF YOU JUST HAVE EYES AND LET YOURSELF BE A LITTLE MEAN TO RENJUN. anyway I guess I can list a couple things:
- haechan is undoubtedly the more charming performer — this is a bit of a toss up of the last 30% effort that renjun either doesn't dedicate himself to onstage, or lacks the ability to put in. he always drops the — performance face? — a little too early, like before the camera is fully off him and he tends to just focus on dancing when it's not his line. not bad things, but stacking against him in this metaphorical competition I'm making up solely for shipping purposes.
- renjun isn't a bad speaker by any means, again it's this lack of effort/care where haechan wants to be entertaining and he wants to make it fun and good and renjun just would prefer to stick to the script and get on with it. renjun has the ability to be as clever and witty and quick as haechan, it's either just not always or he prefers not to.
- lin mentioned that she thought without haechan around, renjun was by far the most entertaining dreamie. I disagree. renjun is second to haechan when it comes to interacting with hosts on variety shows or otherwise. it's because he's snappy and blunt. like the number of times he's fucked with doni and coni on his own... LMFAO. rather, I'd argue that renjun and his best shine the most when haechan is around. no offense but something about haechan seriously deeply sets renjun off. he's the most reactive around haechan and it's like. Okay. Okay baby. everyday comeback I'm on this mortal coil to suffer
- do we even have to talk about line distribution. well it's here as a bullet point for prosperity. related, but remember when 5dream performed go and renjun covered haech's high note. renjun bending all the way back and front to hit the same note haechan did standing up straight. WHICH IS NOT THE MOST POLITE WAY TO SAY THIS but like Lmfao it did happen like that.
- haechan is just almost more graceful than renjun in every single aspect. renjun wins at being an epic bilingual kingshit tho. SORRY FOR NOT SPECIFYING ANYTHING IT'S JUST. LITERALLY JUST THERE. JUST PAY ATTENTION AND YOU'LL GET IT. in landing jokes, in receiving jokes, in catching attention, in maintaining attention, in keeping sparking a converstaion, in keeping it moving. I suppose you could argue that the rest of the dreamies don't really compare to haech in these ways either [even though some do], but it's also that out of the rest of the dreamies, renjun is the one who operates most similar to how haechan does. the biggest gap is just where renjun likes to be sensitive and artsy, haechan is like Let Me Play Overwatch For 5 Hours. Every Straight Tiktok Couple Ever.
- this is more to the narrative Foilage aspect but: insert obligatory point about contrasting visuals. which isn't really a great point but as noses are my favourite feature: haech's perfect button nose v. the perfect straight slope of renj's nose... and also renjun's microbladed brows in 7illin v haech's half-bald ones. do I even have to talk about their clothes in 7illin. If You Have Eyes.
I feel like this whole list makes me sound like a hater but it's truly something we all pretend not to see out of respect to renjun IMO. not only does renjun have my love and respect and dedicated stannage for almost 5 years now but he has always had this level of scrutiny from me also. also I did start off as a haechan 1pick so I was scouting out renjun at the very start to make sure he would never ever threaten haechan's place as no.1 zero and then I became renjun 1pick and had to live with the fact that renjun would never ever take haechan's place as no.1 zero. Life is a series of curveballs truly.
this is a little more general, but renjun watching minirookies and then later DEBUTING with them...haechan main character for sure, but renjun also has his moments no?(2) This Pic
as no.1 haech_LEFT main. and also person who thinks haechan should be the hot and sexy half of every ship. it truly is something when haechan is the bigger one. IMO. yeah shut the fuck up about how every other dreamie and nct member outsizes haech in this it's not about them. it's about HAECHAN. and how renjun fits into his arms. OK it's not that. I literally um don't give a shit about renjun being the smaller prettier one. I like that he's narrow and that's about it. I promise. I genuinely cannot bring myself to have perverted fantasies about renjun I'm kind of past that stage in my stannism.
also this picture is just so fucking hilarious WHY IS RENJUN SO SMALL. DOESN'T HE FEEL EMBARRASSED? you're twenty years old and you're getting outsized by fellow shrimpy member haechan? not to undo all of renjun's personal development in growing out of his size complex [haha] ... which I actually think the shoulder gangster bit really helped with. see? real couples, fated pairs, soulmates, toxic tiktok heterosexuals, etc help each other grow and improve.(1) WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER
sorry I have this written on a shirt. A PUBG SHIRT. you know who plays pubg? Haechan. do you know what this means? haechan literally renjun's sloppy gamer boyfriend. no matter how you look at it, it's a loss for renjun.
I'm kind of realizing that this is pretty much the same point as 3 but more expanded on but whatever. what matters is that renjun always loses when it comes to renjhaech. haechrenj. whatever you prefer. I don't know how it's not clear to u after him being the one who has pathetically pined for the past 5 years. or something.
hang on I have to pause while writing this. it keeps occuring to me that renjun is haechan's girlfriend now. guys they're dating. Bro, they're actually dating now. that's fucking CRAZY. THAT'S CRAZY AS SHIT. my dumb idiot dreamzen brain that's stuck in go era can't comprehend it. WE'VE COME SO FAR? seeing them grow closer through out the eras. Everyone, Please please congratulate Renjun. tho. chokes sobs and dies. imagine telling renjun he never even got boyfriendzoned, he's fucking girlfriendzoned. some past version of renjun is rolling in his grave rn. again. no matter what he loses.
sora pointed out that out of all the eras for them to get together in, it's when haechan is going through his Just A Dude, Sucks At A Video Game He Plays For 8 Hours A Day Masc Gamer Phase ... and it really is funny because Renjun has been done up so beautifully and neatly and has been so attentive in carefully tucking his hair back behind his ear, etc etc... like CLASSIC DOUBLE STANDARDS AT PLAY HERE!!! renjun has to look like the most beautiful alt goth loner girl at school while haech gets to be um, the guy who's not the popular guy but kind of a loser but will get the girl anyway because it's a #LoveStory. or something
anyway. haech has always had the upperhand against renjun and it's proven by Point (3) but we can also look at how, in the actual practice, renjun loses nearly ever game ever while haech wins nearly every game ever. rock paper scissors which is an exercise in luck doesn't really count. there's also line distribution and popularity. LOL.
if it were any other group but dreamies, I'd make an arguement about in-group popularity but the dreamies are all FRIENDS. also, neither of them are actually high rankers within the dreamies... which is another thing we can blame on NA JAEMIN. *not saying jaemin is the high ranker. nahyuckren are pretty much the bottom 3. ANYWAY, what actually matters is that renhyuck are kinda each other's 1picks now. tho also if you also look at nct as a whole every member that likes renjun, likes haechan better ... minus like some of chinaline? which isn't even a good example because there are so little on-camera interactions.
not really an objective point but. renjun at his worst looks worse than haechan at his worst.
last. a really noticeable thing about renjun is that unless it's something he wants, he'll stick to the script. which is also why renhyuck is good. if haechan is involved, renjun wants it. I'm like typing all this shit out and realizing It Really Is Like That as I'm writing. catwhoatethepillthattastesoflemon.jpg. Free Me. #FREENIZ. in terms that relate to this point: renjun doesn't care about being a loser unless haechan is involved.if you read all the way here. really. thank you. um again. everything with a massive grain of salt and the knowledge that for everything I said there's a counterexample and an explanation that shows it really is just [Massive Renhyuck Delusion]. but also, for the last time, Please congratulate Huang Renjun! either way, it's an incredible thing when the person you've looked towards for so long looks right back, all with the same intensity.
I keep saying this but watching renhyuck's friendship blossom throughout the years has truly been so fucking crazy. IMAGINE TELLING ME THIS IN 2017? IMAGINE TELLING ANYONE THIS IN 2017? anything is possible in kpop and love guys.
lmk if there's any formatting/etc issues.
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