Chapter Text
It was a cold day when Jeno started his first day of private school. He had grown up attending public school his entire life and was perfectly fine with it. His parents, on the other hand, wanted much more for him. So when they needed to move after his mother, a doctor, was transferred to a different hospital, his parents jumped at the opportunity at enrolling their precious son in the private high school that was a few streets away.
Jeno and his family ended up moving outside of Seoul, where he was raised. Now, they were living in a smaller, much cozier town. His parents had found a house that was just big enough for the family of three and Jeno was even able to have a bigger room.
Unfortunately for the teenager, enrolling in a new school meant that he would have to make new friends. He was sad about having to leave his old friends behind, but he figured he could last one year without them.
"Jeno! Come down here and get your uniform! Your mother just finished ironing them." Jeno rolled off of his bed, letting out a groan as he landed on his back. He quickly stood up and left his room, racing down the stairs, nearly colliding with his father at the bottom of the stairs.
"Sorry dad." Jeno smiled sheepishly at his father before running off to find his mother. He saw her in the living room of their new house and his uniform was hanging, free of wrinkles. To thank his mother, Jeno quickly kissed her cheek, causing a smile to grow on her face.
"Are you excited for school tomorrow?" Jeno's mother asked, the smile still on her face.
"Not really excited... I'm kind of nervous." Jeno replied, following his mother as she walked into the kitchen. He saw down at the small table in the kitchen and his father soon joined him.
"There are only a few months left in the school year, right?" Jeno's father said, staring at his son.
"The graduation is in May, so I have five months in this school." Jeno said softly, staring at his uniform. It was a boring uniform that consisted of black pants and a white button-down shirt. To keep warm, Jeno had a thick black cardigan to wear over his shirt.
"Five months is a long time, Jeno. I'm sure you'll make plenty of new friends." Jeno's mother smiled and Jeno let out a sigh, letting his head fall onto the table softly.
Hopefully he would be able to make some new friends.
-
The next morning, Jeno woke up early enough to say goodbye to his mother before she went to work. It was also her first day at the new hospital, so she was just as nervous as Jeno.
Jeno quickly got ready after his mother left the house. Wearing a uniform was a hassle, but it was comfortable enough for the senior to wear. Jeno wore the cardigan as well because it was freezing outside, in the middle of January. His father had left him a 'good luck' note with a poorly drawn smiley face. The effort was cute, in Jeno's opinion.
After getting ready, Jeno made sure to grab a scarf before heading out for the day.
The great thing about living so close to his school was that Jeno could get away with sleeping in until the last minute, because it would only take about ten minutes to walk to school. The unfortunate thing about living so close to his school was that he would have to walk through the weather, even if it was raining cats and dogs.
This was one of those days. It was early January and snow was steadily falling from the sky, falling onto Jeno's head. He didn't have a hat or hood to use to cover his head, so he wrapped his scarf around his neck a couple times to make up for the lack of warmth.
Jeno stared at the ground as he made his way to his new school. The snow was already about two inches high, so the high schooler was leaving footprints with every step he made. He let out a sigh, wishing he had worn boots instead of just sneakers. His mother was going to kill him for coming back home with soaked shoes.
It only took Jeno a few minutes to reach the school. The school was fairly large, considering it was located outside of Seoul. After hours of research, Jeno was able to learn that the school was actually divided into four parts. Each building of the school was equal in size, but the only difference was going to be which grade level would be in each part. Jeno would be placed in the senior building, which was located at the very back of the campus.
There were many students walking on the campus of the school, making Jeno feel out of place. They all seemed to know where they were going and Jeno was the only person standing still at the entrance.
"Are you lost?" A soft voice called from behind Jeno, causing him to turn around. Jeno quickly turned, spotting another young man standing in the snow. He had golden hair, much lighter than Jeno's jet black hair. His cheeks were flushed red, probably due to the cold and he was wearing a pair of earmuffs over his ears, giving him the appearance of a child. Jeno couldn't help but notice how the young man was wearing a jacket that definitely had sleeves that were too long for him, creating sweater paws.
'Cute.' Jeno thought, still staring at the boy.
"Is that a yes?" The boy continued on, tilting his head when Jeno said nothing in reply.
Jeno blushed, feeling embarrassed at his own actions, "Yes, I guess. It's my first day here."
"That's kind of obvious. What year are you in? I can bring you to the administration of the school, if you want." The other boy said, taking a few steps closer to Jeno.
"I'm a senior. My name is Lee Jeno, it's nice to meet you." Jeno bowed his head as he introduced himself.
"Oh, I'm a senior too! I'm Huang Renjun. I can take you to the senior building, if you want?" Renjun smiled and started to walk next to Jeno to lead him to the senior building. While walking together, Jeno couldn't help but notice how small the other boy was compared to him. Jeno knew he was a bit tall for his age, but there was something about Renjun that made him seem incredibly fragile. It was like one touch from Jeno could break him.
Jeno felt a bit awkward, walking next to a stranger. Renjun was preoccupied with staring at his phone in his hands and when Jeno glanced over, he could see that Renjun was texting someone. Jeno didn't want to pry into his business, so he looked away.
As they were walking to the senior building, Jeno couldn't help but notice the stares that Renjun was getting. There were many people staring at him as he walked by.
"Renjun! Are you alone today?"
At the entrance of the senior building, there was a young man standing there as if he was waiting for someone. If there was one word to describe this person, Jeno would definitely say that is was sun-kissed. This student had dark brown hair and a small smile on his face as Renjun and Jeno walked closer to the entrance.
"Yes, Jaemin's not feeling too well today. I don't know when he'll be back in school." Renjun replied, smiling a little at the other student.
"Knowing him, he'll probably be back next week. So does that mean you're sitting with us for lunch?" The other boy said softly. Renjun nodded his head and the small smile on the stranger's face grew wider.
"By the way, this is Lee Jeno. He's a new senior here. Jeno, this is Donghyuck. He's a friend of mine that's also a senior." Renjun said, introducing the two seniors to each other.
Donghyuck let out a bitter laugh, "You mean back-up friend, Renjun. Jaemin won't let you have actual friends."
"Don’t talk about Jaemin like that!" Renjun snapped, glaring at Donghyuck with fierce eyes. Donghyuck immediately frowned and just shrugged his shoulders before patting Jeno on the shoulder.
"Welcome to school, Jeno. You're going to meet a lot of interesting people here." Donghyuck said, but the new student couldn't quite tell if Donghyuck was being sarcastic or not. He turned to Renjun with the intention of asking what Donghyuck meant, but the other boy was still glaring at Donghyuck.
"Let's head inside and go to the administers office. They'll have your schedule ready for you there." Renjun said softly, leading Jeno into the building.
Donghyuck had walked away at some point and Jeno could see him further down the hall of the entrance, talking to a group of other people that Jeno assumed were also seniors. Renjun led Jeno to an office that was located close to the entrance and told Jeno to take a seat inside.
"I need to head to class now, but just ask for your schedule and hopefully they remember to give you a map. I'll see you around, Jeno." Before Jeno got the chance to thank Renjun for helping him, the other senior left the office without saying another word.
Jeno let out a sigh, unraveling the scarf from around his neck. He was back to square one again, meaning he was alone and a bit confused on what to do at this new school. He hoped he shared a few classes with Renjun, or even Donghyuck, because then he wouldn't have to go through any awkward introductions again.
One thing that was for sure was that Jeno was definitely looking forward to seeing Renjun again.
-
After three classes at his new school, Jeno was officially exhausted. He had thought that getting to his classes would be easy, considering that they were all located in the same building. However, he was definitely wrong. The senior building had four floors and only one elevator, which was only to be used by those that truly need it.
In other words, Jeno was stuck running down flights of stairs to get from one classroom to another. He didn't want to make a bad impression on his new teachers, so he tried his best to be extremely early to each class. He knew that by the end of the semester, he was probably going to be walking in late anyway.
When lunch time finally came around, Jeno was stuck facing another dilemma. He had no where to sit.
He had been told by the secretary in the administration office that students were free to roam the campus during their lunches, especially if they had friends in different grades, but it was still only January, meaning it was freezing and most students opted to just stay in their own buildings.
The cafeteria in the senior building was quite spacious. It was on the ground level of the building and while one side was just a normal wall, the other side had glass windows that went from the ceiling all the way to the floor. It made the cafeteria seem bigger while also providing the nice scenery of the trees surrounding the building.
Jeno really wanted to sit by a window, so that he could stare outside, but all of the tables by the windows were taken and Jeno didn't want to make a fool of himself and sit where he wasn't really wanted.
"Hey! You're the new kid that Renjun was with earlier." A familiar voice said, snapping Jeno out of his thoughts. Jeno blinked and spotted Donghyuck standing in front of him with another student.
"Renjun was with someone else besides Jaemin? Wow, what a surprise." The other student said, causing Donghyuck to elbow him in his stomach.
"Shut up, Mark. Your name was Jeno, right? Did you want to sit with me and my friends?" Donghyuck said, grinning up at Jeno. Mark, the other student, was busy rubbing his now sore stomach, but he nodded his head as well.
"Is it okay if I sit with you guys?" Jeno said and both Donghyuck and Mark nodded.
That was how Jeno found himself sitting at a table with two seniors and two juniors. Donghyuck introduced Jeno to Mark Lee, a Canadian foreign exchange student and a senior. Then, he was introduced to the juniors Park Jisung and Zhong Chenle. They were sitting at a table right next to the glass windows of the cafeteria, so Jeno was a bit distracted by watching the snow fall to the ground outside.
"Mark, you forgot to wait for me after English!" Jeno looked away from the window and saw Renjun standing at the table and there was a frown on his face, showing his obvious anger. Mark blinked at the sight of the other senior.
"I didn’t know I had to wait for you today. Where’s Jaemin?" Mark scoot himself over to make room for Renjun at the table, right across from Jeno. Renjun smiled politely at Jeno before turning back to Mark.
"He’s not feeling good. He might be back next week if he recovers quickly."
"I'm surprised he doesn’t force himself to come to school even when he’s sick. You know how he doesn’t like when you hang out with us." Donghyuck said, giving Renjun a pointed look. Renjun sighed, acknowledging what Donghyuck was saying.
"Stop talking bad about Jaemin when he's not here." Renjun said softly, taking a small bag out of his backpack. Jeno watched as the other senior took out an apple and banana.
"Is that all you're going to eat?" Chenle asks, also staring at Renjun.
"Forgot to make a lunch." Renjun said simply before taking a bite of his apple.
Jeno stares down at his own lunch, which was packed by his father. His father had made him a simple sandwich with meat, cheese, and lettuce inside. He wasn't feeling that hungry and was probably only going to eat half of the sandwich anyway, so he carefully took the other half of his sandwich and offered it to Renjun, "Here. You can have the other half of my sandwich."
"Aren't you going to be hungry?" Renjun replied, taking the sandwich nonetheless. He stared at the sandwich for a moment before taking a small bite.
"It's fine." Jeno said, turning his attention back to staring outside.
"So Jeno, can we ask you why you moved to this small town? I heard that you came from Seoul." Donghyuck said, stuffing his mouth with chips. Mark cringed at how messy Donghyuck was eating.
"My mom got a job at the hospital in town. I was born and raised in Seoul." Jeno said.
"What class do you have after lunch?" Mark asked as he handed Renjun a bottle of water. Jeno blinked, not even sure where the bottle of water had come from.
Jeno took his schedule out of his pocket where he had been keeping it and he read down his list of classes, "I have Art History after lunch. Then after that I have P.E. and Physics."
"You have the same schedule as Renjun after lunch!" Donghyuck exclaimed, nearly jumping out of his seat. Jisung pulled on his sleeve, forcing him to sit back down.
"Oh, and I guess we're in P.E. together too." Mark said, a small smile on his face.
"Since Jaemin's not here, I can walk with you to class." Renjun said as he finished eating the sandwich he was given. He stared at Jeno, taking a bite from the apple he had previously started eating.
"You guys keep mentioning someone named Jaemin... Who is he?" Jeno knew that is was a bit rude to be asking about someone he had never met, but he was curious about who exactly this person was. He had heard his name multiple times today and it seemed like Jaemin was important to Renjun.
"He's Renjun's bodyguard." Chenle replied, smiling at Jeno. Renjun let out a noise of protest, shaking his head at Chenle's response.
"Jaemin is actually Renjun's best friend. He and Renjun normally don't hang out with us... You'll see why when Jaemin comes back." Mark said, gently reaching a hand over to pat Renjun's head. Jeno stared at Renjun for a moment, wondering what kind of relationship he had with Jaemin. He sounded much more than just a best friend.
The teenagers then diverted the topic of their conversation, opting to discuss their plans for the following weekend. Renjun was strangely quiet during the conversation, making Jeno think about whether or not he was joining them. Donghyuck was nice enough to invite Jeno to hang out with the group that was planning on going to hang out together at the arcade that had opened a few months ago. Jeno had no idea where the arcade was, so Mark had promised to meet him by his house.
Ironically enough, Jeno learned that both Jisung and Mark lived on the same street he did, so they decided to walk together in the mornings and afternoon. Jeno didn't share any classes in the morning with his new group of friends, but Renjun was in all three of his afternoon classes and then Donghyuck was in their Physics class as well.
Jeno was glad he made a few friends on his first day of school. One of his biggest worries was being alone all throughout his last year of high school, but the friends he was making seemed to be ones that he could trust.
Renjun was still a bit mysterious to Jeno, but he believed that all it took was a few more days to get to know each other until the other boy was comfortable.
Maybe the two of them would become good friends.
-
"How was school?"
"Did you like the school?"
"Did you make any friends?"
Jeno didn't even have one foot in his house before he was bombarded by questions from his parents. His mother, still dressed in her scrubs, was sitting at the kitchen table with his father, who was also still dressed for work. He smiled at his parents before shrugging his coat off.
"The school is bigger than I thought, but I made a few friends today. They even asked me about hanging out this weekend at an arcade. A couple of them live on this street too." Jeno replied as he walked passed his parents to the staircase that lead to the upper floor of the new house. His parents seemed to be pleased by the answer, so they let him go up to his room without any more questions.
Once Jeno got to his room, he threw his bag onto his bed before taking a look at his phone. He had exchanged numbers with everyone at the table during lunch and Mark had even added him to the group chat that they were all in. Strangely enough, Renjun wasn't in the group chat. Jeno never had the chance to ask why.
The group chat had more than ten unread messages.
[SENIORS + the kids]
Mark: okay KIDS who's up for a sleepover after hanging out at the arcade??
Donghyuck: no one, old man
Mark: so that's a yes from hyuck... anyone else?
Chenle: jisung said sure
Chenle: so i'm coming too
Donghyuck: is jeno reading the messages
Mark: maybe we scared him off
Donghyuck: hey should we add renjun back to this group chat?
Chenle: won't jaemin make him leave again?
Mark: probably, but let's just add him back anyway
[Mark added Renjun to the chat]
Renjun: uh
Renjun: you guys know what's going to happen if i'm in this chat
Donghyuck: well jaemin can SUCK IT because i missed you
Mark: be nice, hyuck
Donghyuck: ANYWAYS where is jeno
Jeno: i'm here. i was talking to my parents about school.
Mark: no worries! do you think you can sleepover this weekend?
Jeno: probably!
Renjun: ...i'll try to come too
Donghyuck: perfect!
Jeno stared at his phone, smiling a bit at the messages. His new group of friends was full of interesting characters. Donghyuck definitely was not fond of whoever Jaemin was. He was a bit nervous about having a sleepover with his new friends since they had only met today, but he was sure that everything would be fine.
Renjun, once again, seemed a bit off in the chat, but at least he was going to be at the sleepover as well. The weekend was a few days away, so Jeno still had some time to prepare himself for hanging out with the mysterious boy.
"Jeno! Come down for dinner. We're having pizza!" Jeno's mother called and the teenager quickly put his phone back into his pocket before going downstairs once more.
Dinner with his family had always been very important to Jeno. This was the only time he was able to see his parents and actually talk with them.
"So, tell us about the friends you made today?" Jeno's mother said, smiling at him as they started to eat.
"I met some other seniors when I was walking into the school and they're the same ones I sat with for lunch. There were a couple juniors sitting with us too." Jeno explained, trying to recall the events of the day.
Then his mother went on to talk about her first day at the new hospital. Jeno was glad to heard that she had made a few friends of her own as well. Apparently, the hospital that she was working at now was one of the oldest in the country, but it was still well-known for its amazing work. His father talked about how bad traffic was driving into the city.
After dinner, Jeno went back upstairs to do some homework before getting ready for bed.
Tomorrow would be another day.
-
Walking with Mark and Jisung to school was definitely a lot more exciting compared to walking alone. The junior was busy making snowballs, throwing them at Mark's back nonchalantly. Mark didn't seem to mind at all.
Mark and Jeno busied themselves with talking about their P.E. class. Since it was still winter and cold outside, their teacher was making them run laps inside the gym. Jeno was a decent runner, so he didn't really mind. Neither did Mark, but he felt bored just running around.
When the trio reached the school, Jisung quickly said his goodbye before making his way over to the junior building. Mark and Jeno continued walking to the back of the campus, immediately spotting Donghyuck, who was holding Renjun in what looked like a chokehold.
"What are you doing to Renjun?" Mark said as the two walked closer to the senior building. Renjun looked like he was having a hard time with Donghyuck's arm wrapped around his neck.
"Showing him how much I love him." Donghyuck said simply as he let Renjun go. The other young man let out a sigh, rubbing his neck.
"Good morning Mark, good morning Jeno." Renjun smiled at Jeno, causing something in Jeno's chest to swell up. Renjun was wearing a pair of round framed glasses today, along with a fluffy scarf that covered up nearly half of his face. Again, his sleeves were too long for his arms, giving him sweater paws.
"Good morning Renjun." Jeno replied, smiling back at the other boy.
"How is Jaemin doing, Renjun?" Mark said as the four seniors walked into the building. Renjun started to unravel the scarf around his neck once the warmth of the building reached his skin.
"Still as sick as ever. He doesn't like taking his medicine." Renjun frowned and stopped at his locker in the hallway. Mark's locker was next to his, but Donghyuck and Jeno's were still further down the hallway.
Once Renjun and Mark were done getting their books from their lockers, Donghyuck and Jeno did the same at their lockers. They all had different classes in the mornings, so they all promised to meet up at lunch before going their separate ways.
Jeno watched Renjun walk down a different hallway, a small frown on his face. A part of him wished he could talk to Renjun a bit more, to learn more about him. That didn't seem possible at the moment, especially because of how skittish Renjun appeared to be.
Just like the day before, Jeno found himself running up and down stairs to get to his classrooms in time. His first three classes, which were Chemistry, Statistics, and Biology were relatively boring and full of long lectures.
He was actually looking forward to having lunch with his new friends, along with his afternoon classes with both Renjun and Mark. He had sat next to Renjun in Art History and Physics, only because Jaemin wasn't in class. The previous day, during P.E., Jeno and Mark had run laps while Renjun opted to walk the laps instead. He was the only student that was allowed to walk those laps. When Jeno had asked why that was the case, Mark simply brushed off the subject without giving him an answer.
"Are you okay, Jeno?"
Before he knew it, Jeno was already standing in front of the cafeteria. He turned to his left and saw Donghyuck staring at him. Jisung and Chenle were with him as well.
"Sorry, I was spacing out." Jeno smiled, hoping they didn't think he was strange. He really did have a habit of spacing out too much.
"Mark and Renjun already saved us a table." Donghyuck said, patting Jeno on the shoulder as he walked passed him. Jisung and Chenle grinned at the senior before linking their arms together.
"Jeno, can we call you hyung?" Chenle said, staring at the senior with wide eyes. Jisung did the same.
"Of course you can. We're friends now, aren't we?" Jeno replied. The two juniors grinned even more before they took Jeno's wrists, dragging him over to the table that Mark and Renjun were seated at. This time, Renjun had more than enough food packed for lunch. He had one container of rice and several side dishes packed as well.
"Does he think we'll let you starve?" Jeno heard Mark mumble once everyone was seated.
Donghyuck stared at Renjun's lunch, "Jaemin really outdid himself this time. Look at all those side dishes."
"Jaemin packed your lunch?" Jeno found himself asking, even though he and Renjun weren't that close yet. He really had no reason to question Renjun like that.
"He found out what happened yesterday and packed my lunch this morning..." Renjun replied, his cheeks blushing slightly. Jeno's expression remained blank for a moment as he also started staring at Renjun's lunch.
"You guys can eat some, if you want. You know I can't finish all this." Renjun continued on, placing the side dishes in the center of the table. The juniors immediately helped themselves to the food, but it looked like Mark and Donghyuck weren't interested at all.
"Mark hyung, did you want us to bring anything to the sleepover?" Chenle asked, looking over at the senior.
"Bring your toothbrush. Remember what happened last time?" Mark said, letting out a laugh. Jeno looked back and forth between Chenle and Mark, feeling a bit left out.
Renjun was nice enough to fill him in, "The last time we had a sleepover Chenle forgot his toothbrush and somehow ended up using Mark's toothbrush."
Jeno grimaced at the thought of sharing his toothbrush with another person. Chenle was smiling, seemingly unbothered by the memory.
"Did you do the Physics homework, Jeno?" Renjun asked as he finished as much food as he could. Jeno noticed he only ate half of the rice Jaemin had packed for him.
"There was homework?" Jeno quickly reached into his backpack that was under the table and took out the binder that was meant for his Physics class. He thought he finished all of his assignments, but he had no idea something was assigned during Physics.
"Do you want to copy my worksheet? I don’t mind." Renjun also reached into his bag and he took out the worksheet to hang to Jeno. The worksheet looked vaguely familiar to Jeno and the new student realized that he had placed the worksheet in the back of his binder, hence why he forgot about it.
Renjun's handwriting was extremely neat and even though Jeno had only known Renjun for one day, he could tell that his handwriting matched his personality. Everything on the worksheet was neat and easy to read.
It was only his second day but Jeno was already copying homework. His mother would be extremely disappointed.
“Wow, Renjun is actually letting someone copy his homework?” Donghyuck said, pouting a little at the other senior. Renjun stuck his tongue out at him.
"It's only Jeno's second day here, I'm just being nice." Renjun said and Donghyuck just let out a sigh. Jeno wasn't sure what exactly that sigh even meant.
Lunch went on without any problems. It was nice having a group of friends to talk to about school and other things. Even though Jeno had only met everyone the day before, they were all friendly and fun to be around.
He would only be with them for about five months, until they graduated. Jeno was sure the next five months were going to be exciting.
-
After lunch, Renjun and Jeno both had Art History so they walked together to their classroom. Art History was relatively boring for Jeno, who was probably the least artistic person in the world, but he could tell that Renjun enjoyed it. He participated a lot in class and the teacher seemed to be fond of him.
From his seat on Renjun's left, Jeno could see the little doodles that were in the margins of his notes. There were various smiley faces and flowers drawn neatly on the paper. Renjun even took the time to shade his doodles.
It was impressive, how Renjun could participate in class and still have the time to doodle like that.
During this class, Jeno took the time to take in Renjun's appearance. The other boy had a small face, but a cute button nose that fit his face. His light brown hair covered his forehead and the glasses he was wearing today somehow made his eyes look darker than they really were. Again, if Jeno were to choose a word to describe Renjun, it was going to be fragile. His arms were completely covered by his sleeves, making the new student believe that Renjun probably didn't have any clothes that properly fitted him.
Jeno wondered if he was hiding anything under those sleeves.
Before he had a chance to dwell more on those thoughts, Jeno heard the bell ring, signaling that class was now over. He started to pack his things into his bag, watching as Renjun did the same.
"Mark's just going to meet us at the gym, right?" Renjun asked as they stepped out of their classroom. The gym was actually a separate building, which meant that they would have to walk through the cold to get there.
"Yeah, he mentioned that earlier." Jeno said, making a quick stop at his locker to grab his gym clothes. He waited for Renjun, who did the same at his own locker which was down the hall from his.
They left the senior building and quickly walked over to the gym. Renjun nearly tripped over nothing, but luckily Jeno was there to stop his fall. Renjun thanked him with a quiet nod.
Once the two reached the gym, they saw Mark waiting at the door. He was already dressed in his gym clothes, "We're running laps again. Renjun, you're allowed to walk."
"Like always." Renjun mumbled, making his way to the locker room the change. Jeno hesitated for a moment, wanting to ask Mark about Renjun's special exception, but Mark had already walked towards the track before he had the chance.
Jeno sighed and decided that it would be better to ask during another time, so he went to go change into his gym clothes as well.
P.E. was boring and tiring. Jeno and Mark jogged around the track of the gym and they both had lost count of how many times they lapped Renjun, who wanted to jog with them. Mark never let him.
"So, is there any reason in particular why Renjun's allowed to walk these laps when the rest of the class is running?" Jeno finally asked Mark, making sure Renjun wasn't around to hear.
"I don't know if you noticed, but Renjun's pretty frail and that's why Donghyuck and I tend to be a bit protective him. Renjun gets sick easily and you'll see what I mean when Jaemin gets back." Mark said softly, looking straight ahead of him as he picked up the pace of his running. It was easy for Jeno to keep up from him.
"What does Jaemin have to do with how sick Renjun gets?" Jeno said, almost feeling frustrated about how this Jaemin person seemed to be a part of everything involving Renjun.
"It's kind of complicated, but you'll understand when Jaemin comes back to school. You'll see the difference." Mark replied, making it clear that he no longer wanted to talk about it.
For the rest of their P.E. class, Mark and Jeno remained quiet. They lapped Renjun a few more times and Mark made sure to check on the other senior each time. Renjun just waved him off, indicating he was fine.
After class, the seniors changed back into their normal uniforms and Mark headed to his last class of the day without Jeno and Renjun. The two had Physics for their last class, which meant another class period of a boring lecture. In their physics class, Jeno was seated two rows behind Renjun, so he wasn't able to talk to him at all throughout the class. He tried his best to pay attention in class, but the sight of the other boy two rows ahead of him was slightly distracting. Jeno could see whenever Renjun would duck his head down to stare at his notes and he could tell whenever he could start daydreaming, because he would look out of the window, as if he was in a daze.
Something about Renjun kept drawing Jeno in... and there was nothing he could do about it.
-
Friday came sooner than Jeno thought and before he knew it, he was in Mark's home, sitting on the floor of the senior's room watching as the others played video games. He, as an only child, was fairly good at video games because that was his only form of entertainment growing up. Mark and Donghyuck were currently playing Mario Kart and the older one was winning.
Renjun was seated next to Jeno on the floor, their knees brushing gently every time Renjun moved or Jeno laughed. Renjun didn't seem to notice. Jeno obviously did.
Jisung and Chenle were sitting together on a few pillows nearby Jeno. They were actively cheering on Donghyuck during the race.
"Winner gets to call Jaemin and tell him Renjun's sleeping over." Mark suddenly said, focusing on the television in front of him. He was one lap ahead of Donghyuck and there were only 3 laps left.
"That's not fair! I would have tried harder if you said this when we started!" Donghyuck cried out, now standing to focus on the race as well.
Renjun brought a hand over to pinch Mark's leg, "Stop being mean to Jaemin!"
Mark scoffed, saying nothing in reply when Renjun pinched his leg. Jeno glanced back up at Donghyuck who was concentrating on the race as well. There was a fire in his eyes and a newfound determination in them as well. It seemed like both Mark and Donghyuck wanted to win.
"Renjun ge, does Jaemin even know that you're here?" Chenle asked loudly.
"I didn't want him to get mad, so I just didn't tell him." Renjun replied softly, looking away for a moment.
"He doesn't have the right to get mad at you for something like this. You guys aren't dating or anything." Mark said seriously, eyes still on the television. Donghyuck made a noise of agreement, gently nudging Renjun with his foot.
"Yeah, I know, but I owe him a lot." Renjun sighed, leaning back against the bed.
Jeno stayed silent, feeling like an outsider with his new friends. There was obviously something going on that he didn't know about and it didn't seem like anyone was going to inform him about anything. He was going to have to figure out things on his own.
Chenle was the one to break the awkward silence, "Can we eat some snacks?"
"We just ate pizza!"
"Well I'm hungry again!"
Laughing, Renjun stood up from his seat on the floor an announced he was going downstairs into Mark's kitchen to get some chips and popcorn. Before anyone else had the chance, Jeno stood up as well and said he was going to accompany the other boy downstairs.
Mark's parents were already asleep and the staircase leading downstairs was pitch black, making it impossible to see the steps. Renjun walked down the stairs, not missing a step at all. Jeno followed, holding onto the railing just in case he were to fall.
"How many bags of popcorn should we make?" Renjun asked, already ripping open one bag of popcorn. He went over and placed it in the microwave, pressing a button to start it.
"Maybe two? Chenle and Jisung can probably finish one bag together. The other bag can be for the rest of us." Jeno replied, knowing that the youngest two had huge appetites. He'd given them snacks at school for the last two days during lunch.
Jeno smiled at the sight of Renjun staring at the microwave, waiting for the popcorn to pop. They were all wearing their pajamas already and Renjun's pajamas were particularly adorable. Renjun was a huge fan of Moomin and his pants had a cute design of Moomin all over them. He was wearing a dark purple hoodie and this hoodie had extra long sleeves, like all of Renjun's other clothes.
"How are you liking our small little town so far? It must be pretty boring compared to Seoul." Renjun said, still staring into the microwave.
"It's actually really cozy here. Seoul could be hectic at times, so this change of pace is nice. Have you lived here all your life, Renjun?" Jeno replied, walking over to the fridge to grab some drinks for everyone. He grabbed enough cans of soda for everyone that was upstairs.
"Yeah, my ancestors migrated here from China like... two hundred years ago, I think. That's what my parents told me. I don't know much about my family history though." Renjun said, his voice becoming soft. Jeno took that as a signal to stop talking about Renjun's family.
"Is there anything fun to do in this town? Besides going to the arcade and stuff like that. You must know this town like the back of your hand." Jeno asked, carrying the cans of soda in his arms.
Renjun hummed softly, thinking as the first bag of popcorn finished popping. He placed the second bag in the microwave, pressing the same button to start it, "Well, there's this forest that I used to explore as a kid. That's about as exciting as it gets here."
Jeno nodded his head, remembering the forest that Renjun was talking about. He had seen it the day he moved to this small town because his parents wanted to drive around to go sightseeing.
"Will you take me there one day?" Jeno asked, as the second bag of popcorn finished popping. The two started to make their way back upstairs, already hearing Chenle's whining for food on the staircase.
"Maybe one day, Jeno." Was Renjun's quiet reply. Once they reached Mark's room, Chenle was already sitting up with his arms out. Renjun tossed a bag of popcorn over to him, which he luckily caught.
"Mark won the race and he texted Jaemin." Chenle announced, his mouth full of popcorn. Jeno handed both him and Jisung a can of soda before handing a can over to Donghyuck and Mark.
"I told you guys to leave him alone... Now's he's going to keep texting me." Renjun sighed, grabbing his phone from where it was charging on Mark's dresser. He let out another sigh, showing everyone his screen.
There were thirteen texts from Jaemin. Jeno didn't stare long enough to read them.
"He's coming back to school next week, right?" Donghyuck said, looking over at Renjun.
"He's feeling a lot better, so he should be back next week. Thanks for keeping me company while he was sick." Renjun smiled at his friends and once again, Jeno felt butterflies in his stomach. Renjun had a really pretty smile.
"He was only sick for a week this time. That's a pretty fast recovery." Mark said, carefully opening his can of soda. He took a sip of it, careful not to spill anything.
"He actually took all of his medicine this time, that's why. He hates getting those shots, but I made sure he got them all." Renjun replied, taking his seat once more on the floor. Jeno sat down next to him.
"What should we play next?" Jisung asked, looking around at his older friends.
Donghyuck rolled around from his spot on Mark's bed, "You guys want to sneak out and go exploring?"
"Are you serious?"
"Let's go!"
"It's already after midnight!"
Jeno let out a laugh at Renjun's protests of exploring. Chenle, on the other hand, was all for the idea and was already standing up to put his jacket on. Jisung followed his actions, also standing up.
"Come on Renjun! Who knows when we'll be able to hang out with out again, so can we please go out? Pretty please?" Donghyuck pouted his lips towards Renjun and the other boy's demeanor immediately faltered. Mark was standing up as well, already putting his jacket on.
Were they really about to go out in their pajamas? After midnight?
"Let's go play baseball at the park." Mark said as he went over to his closet. He opened it and inside Jeno saw a variety of baseball equipment inside. Mark must have been a player.
"Fine. But only because Mark is bringing his baseball bat with him." Renjun replied, getting off of the floor. He offered his hand to Jeno to help him up.
Jeno hesitated before taking his hand. He stood up slowly and immediately let go once he was standing up.
Renjun's hand was incredibly soft.
"Won't your parents notice that we're gone, Mark?" Jeno asked when they all started to leave his room. Chenle and Jisung were the most excited to be sneaking out and Donghyuck had to elbow them to keep them quiet.
"Probably not. We'll be fine jeno, don't worry!" Mark cheered, swinging his baseball bat around. Donghyuck was carrying the bag of baseballs and gloves.
As soon as they stepped outside, Jeno felt the cold winter air hit his face. It was still January, after all, so it was freezing. It hadn't snowed in a few days, so luckily the sidewalks were clear and safe to walk on. They couldn't all fit on the sidewalk if they were standing next to each other, so they walked in pairs instead. Chenle and Jisung lead the group with obvious excitement and Mark and Donghyuck were right behind them, talking about baseball.
That left Jeno with Renjun, which was beginning to happen a bit too often for Jeno's liking.
Renjun was busy staring at the night sky as they walked to the park. Jeno followed the direction of his gaze and realized that Renjun was staring right at the moon. It was a full moon and it was so bright, it felt like the moon was much closer than it really was. Jeno could see how the moon was shining in Renjun's eyes.
It was beautiful.
"Do you ever think about how amazing the moon is? People have only been on the moon a couple of times but they think they know all about it..." Renjun spoke quietly, still staring up at the moon.
Jeno said nothing, but simply allowed Renjun to keep talking, "Plus, we always see the same side of the moon. Who knows what's on the other side?"
Before Jeno had the chance to reply, they had all arrived at the park. Jeno hadn't had the chance to visit this park yet, but he knew this was the park that he passed when he walked to school. It was right next to an elementary school and it had a fairly large baseball field next to it.
"Who wants to pitch?"
"Me! Me!" Chenle cheered, taking the bag of baseballs and gloves from Donghyuck. He grabbed a glove and put it on before grabbing a few baseballs as well.
"Renjun hyung, are you going to play this time?" Jisung said, smiling at the senior. Renjun glared at Jisung, a small frown growing on his face.
"Not after how you guys made fun of me last time! It's not my fault I'm bad at baseball!" Renjun huffed, stomping on the ground a bit. Mark laughed and pat Renjun's head, cooing at him. Donghyuck joined in as well, giving Renjun a hug.
"Renjun ge is really bad at baseball. I mean really really really bad." Chenle told Jeno, letting him know why exactly Renjun was getting teased.
"Okay, so Chenle is pitching and I guess we can all just take turns hitting the ball like last time. If you hit it hard you have to go get your own ball in the field." Mark instructed, swinging his bat a bit. Jeno stood off to the side, next to Donghyuck, over by what seemed to be the home plate.
Chenle skipped over to the pitcher's mound, showing obvious excitement for the small baseball game they were about to play. Jisung was standing behind home plate, acting as the catcher.
"It's too cold to be out here." Renjun mumbled from his spot next to Jeno.
Jeno glanced over, noticing that Renjun was shivering, "Do you want to wear my jacket?"
Without looking up at Jeno, Renjun nodded his head. Jeno quickly took off his padded jacket and handed it over to Renjun. He instantly regretted taking off his jacket when he felt the cold winter air around him, but Renjun looked like he needed the jacket more than he did. He was wearing a thick enough hoodie to keep him warm for the rest of the night.
"How cute." Donghyuck grinned, nudging Jeno gently with his finger. Donghyuck ran off to get in line to hit before Jeno was able to tell him that what he did meant nothing. Jeno frowned and kept his mouth shut, not wanting to make anything awkward with his new friends.
Mark had apparently hit the ball while Jeno was busy giving his jacket to Renjun. It had flown pretty far and the senior was running off into the field to retrieve the ball he hit. Donghyuck was already at home plate with the baseball bat in his hands, ready to try to hit a baseball.
"Donghyuck and Mark used to play baseball together in elementary school. They can get really competitive with each other when we play like this." Renjun smiled, zipping up Jeno's jacket around his body. It was definitely a size too big for Renjun and it looked as if the jacket could swallow him whole. Once again, Jeno realized how small Renjun really was.
"Are you going to hit too?" Jeno asked, curious about how bad Renjun really was at baseball.
"No, I'll just watch. Chenle wasn't lying when he said I was bad at baseball. I like watching everyone play though." Renjun smiled at Jeno, as if to reassure him that he was going to be fine by himself.
"Jeno hyung! Come hit the ball next!"
Jeno glanced back at Renjun as he started to walk over to home plate where Jisung was holding the bat out for him, but the other boy was too busy staring up at the moon with a glazed look in his eyes.
It was a captivating sight for Jeno.
It was also the moment Jeno realized he was developing feelings for Renjun.