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“Sheesh, it’s really coming down out there,” Doyoung says as he peeks through the window to examine the grey skies and heavy rain. “We might as well just lock up for the day. I doubt we’re going to get more customers like this.”
Jeno looks up from where he’s organizing the vases of flower arrangements. “Are you sure, hyung?” he asks. “It might clear up later on.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Doyoung nods. “Besides, I caught the weather forecast earlier and it said that this rainfall’s going to last for the rest of the night.”
“But it’s not even near closing time.”
“Give it up, Jeno.” Doyoung clicked his tongue. “I’m the manager here, aren’t I? Now, let’s go home. I can’t have your parents being worried sick.”
Even though Jeno’s still hesitant to leave, he follows anyway. This place has become somewhat of a sanctuary for him. Three months ago, Jeno was just a bored and unproductive senior high student, but then he followed Donghyuck who set out for a part-time job in order to save up. In the process, Jeno ended up dragging Renjun along with him to work at the flower shop beside the 7/11 that Donghyuck applied to, and the rest is history.
Once, Doyoung had told Jeno about how a small change in your environment can lead to bigger impacts. The presence of flowers has a way of inciting positive emotions, and that’s exactly why he decided to take on this job. After Jeno found himself reading up on plant life in the school library, he realized that he was completely hooked. Whenever he was surrounded by the various colorful blooms, Jeno felt fulfilled, serene.
Jeno takes shelter under Doyoung’s umbrella, just barely shielding the two of them from the rain. A shadow darts past Jeno’s peripheral, and he instinctively turns to follow its direction.
“I’ll only walk you ‘til the bus stop. Is that okay?” Doyoung says.
Jeno blinks, and then the shadow is gone. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
It might just be his imagination, but if he squints, he can make out the silhouette of a person doubled over in pain on the sidewalk.
When Jeno and Donghyuck’s breaks overlap, they pilfer instant noodles from the convenience store and eat together on the flimsy picnic table out back.
“You look tired, Hyuck," Jeno remarks when he notices the dark bags under Donghyuck's eyes. " Is everything okay?”
Donghyuck assures him with a wave of his hand. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Didn’t get much sleep last night, is all. I had to deal with a bit of trouble in front of the store.”
“What happened?”
“These guys were starting a fight outside, and some of them were even from our school! Can you believe that? We’re here working our asses off while those people just go about and cause more problems for us!”
“That’s horrible,” Jeno sighs, reaching out to pinch Donghyuck’s cheek. “But I’m glad you’re fine.”
Donghyuck pouts. “Thanks, Jeno. Just be careful and don’t get involved with them. ‘Cause I know bad news when I see it.”
On slow days, the flower shop usually closes early. Today, Doyoung prepares to lock up and Jeno takes out the trash at 8 P.M. He dusts off his hands on his apron and walks back to the shop. It’s only when Jeno passes by a dark alley that he catches sight of it.
Someone’s passed out on the concrete, wearing a familiar uniform that Jeno recognizes as his school’s own.
Jeno gasps. This boy– he couldn’t be one of the guys Donghyuck was talking about, right? He gets on his knees to inspect his condition, feeling around his neck with shaky fingertips for any sign of a pulse. Thank goodness. His breathing is stable, but he looks badly beaten-up, scratches and bruises all over.
“Are you alright?” Jeno asks, carefully brushing the boy’s fringe away from his eyes. His hair is entirely pink, glowing harshly under a lone streetlight. There’s blood on the side of his brow, too.
“It hurts,” the boy replies, wincing. His eyes slowly flit open, and– oh. His lashes are really long. Jeno’s breath hitches in his throat, but the boy starts speaking once more, so he composes himself. “I’m Na Jaemin… Who are you?”
“I– I’m Lee Jeno,” he answers.
“Jeno,” Jaemin groans, reaching his hand out.
“What is it?” Jeno panics. He takes Jaemin’s hand in between his, worried. “What do you need?”
There’s only a hairsbreadth of distance in between them now. With a ragged breath, Jaemin says, “Wanna go out with me?”
Jeno pulls away. The audacity of this guy. How does he even manage to attempt flirting even as he’s injured, laying on the ground? “Stop joking, this is serious! You’re really hurt, you know!”
“Oh.” Jaemin starts coughing, his expression contorted into one of pain. “You’re worried about me… That’s a rare one.”
What does he mean by that? Jeno shakes his head. “For now, let’s go and treat those wounds. You can’t stay like this.”
“There, all done.” Jeno lightly pats a band-aid with daisies printed on it to the side of Jaemin’s temple. He’s finished patching him up, and now they’re the only two people in the shop. After they went inside, Doyoung started endlessly fretting over them. (“Are you sure nothing's broken? Do you need to go to the hospital? Should I call your parents?”) But Jeno insisted that he would handle the situation and make sure to take care of Jaemin.
“Thanks, you really saved me back there,” Jaemin says, thumbing over his newly-bandaged knuckles.
“I just did what I had to do,” Jeno replied. “But what even happened to you? Got in a fight or something?”
Jaemin hums in agreement. “Kinda. We’re in the middle of a turf war right now with those guys from Wei Shen High.”
Jeno narrows his eyes at him. “I’m not gonna lie, that sounds kinda stupid.”
“Hey!” Jaemin simply breaks into a playful grin. “We’re heroes, I tell ya! We’re only defending our school and its territory from the bad guys!”
“Sure,” Jeno hums. “Just don’t get hurt next time, alright?”
Tilting his head to the side, Jaemin asks, “And If I do? Will you look out for me again?” The gaze he has on is intense, piercing.
Jeno looks away. “Maybe.”
Renjun only works during the weekends, but when he does, it’s rowdy and hectic, customers bustling in and out, twice the amount of orders waiting to be finished up. It’s a miracle that Renjun even survives the rush hour considering he’s busy with cram school every other day. He returns from making a few deliveries on his bike, startling Jeno out of his daze while he’s sweeping the floor.
“Do you have a secret boyfriend you’re not telling me about?” Renjun loudly questioned once he burst into the shop.
Jeno narrows his eyes at him. “Where the hell did that come from all of a sudden?”
“There’s someone outside looking for you. Pink hair, has a really nasty bruise on his cheek— I think I’ve seen him before…”
Jeno stops in his tracks. His heart is suddenly racing. There’s only one person he knows who matches that description. “Na Jaemin..?”
“Na Jaemin!” Renjun exclaims. “Isn’t he in the same year as us? I always see him around the halls getting chewed out by the teachers because of his dyed hair.”
“Outta the way,” Jeno says, pushing Renjun aside, ignoring his squawks of protest.
“Yo.” Jaemin greets him once he steps out, dressed in a plain white tee, ripped jeans and a pair of Converse. It’s only a little infuriating how handsome he looks, even with that so-called nasty bruise on his cheek.
“Hi. You, um, look much better now,” Jeno flounders, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants. “How did you know I was here?”
“I found out from the logo on your apron.” Jaemin smiles, pointing out the little white bunny embroidered on the right side of the fabric.
“Anyway, I just wanted to thank you again for the other day,” he continues, softly laughing. “Me and my gang got detention so rest assured that there’ll be no fighting going on for a while.”
Gang? Oh, god. Jeno wrings his hands nervously. His parents always told him to stay away from bad boys, but somehow, he’s absolutely drawn to this one in particular. It’s probably a bit concerning that Jeno wouldn’t mind breaking a few rules for Jaemin. “Well,” he croaks out, “I’m just glad you’re alright.”
Out of the blue, Jaemin reveals something that he’s been holding behind his back the entire time. It’s a Starbucks paper bag, Jeno notes, and Jaemin hands it to him shyly. “Here,” he says. “Take it. I don’t know how long you’ve been on duty but I figured you’d need a pick-me-up.”
Their fingers touch for a fleeting moment when Jeno reaches out, and all he can think about is how soft Jaemin’s hands are. “Thanks.” Jeno tries to fight the internal squealing that is currently going on inside his head. “That’s really nice of you.”
Jaemin hesitates for a bit, and then nods decidedly. “I’m going now, wouldn’t want to get in the way of your work. See you around?”
“Yeah.” Jeno bites his lip, but that doesn’t stop the blush creeping upon his face. “I’ll see you around.”
The butterflies in his stomach still haven’t stopped even as Jaemin leaves, but then Renjun slaps his back, effectively ruining the moment for him.
“Lee Jeno, you dog! Donghyuck is sooo gonna love this juicy gossip.”
A few days have passed since then, and it’s either Renjun didn’t divulge this juicy gossip to Donghyuck after all or he’s occupied with something much more interesting, because everyone knows that Lee Donghyuck is the biggest blabbermouth in this town and wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to pester Jeno about his private life.
As a result, Jeno does what any sane friend would do: spying on Donghyuck’s workplace until he finds out just what the hell he’s been up to.
The convenience store is practically empty, except for Donghyuck who’s manning the cashier and another boy leaning against the counter whose face Jeno can’t properly see because of the hoodie he’s wearing. But there’s a look in Donghyuck’s eyes that one can only classify as ‘whipped.’
Jeno laughs to himself. So this is why he’s suddenly putting in more overtime hours? Seems like Jeno’s not the only one with a ‘secret boyfriend’ around here.
Ha, take that, Huang Renjun.
“I’m just saying, Hyuck. It’s the truth, your taste in movies is abysmal.”
“Listen here, you demon child, if you don’t take that back—”
“Blah, blah, blah. I’m not listening. Twilight was a shitty movie and so was The Kissing Booth.”
“Oh, now you’re really gonna get it.”
It’s lunchtime. Jeno listlessly chews on the straw of his milk box while Donghyuck and Renjun are having another one of their regular petty bickerings. He’s supposed to be reviewing for the quiz scheduled next period but Jeno just can’t seem to focus on his notes laid out in front of him, and it’s not because of his two best friends’ noise pollution either.
"Hey, Jeno. So this is where you were."
Someone calls out for him through the classroom’s open door, and Jeno snaps his head up immediately.
"Jaemin! What's up?"
Jaemin saunters into the room with another boy in tow. Jeno thinks the boy just winked at Donghyuck for a second, but he isn’t too sure. "Nothing much,” Jaemin replies. “Mark and I were just heading to the cafeteria. I just swung by because I wanted to see you."
Renjun snorts, but Donghyuck turns oddly quiet, sitting up straighter in his chair and fixing his messy bangs.
“Save it,” Jeno teased. “Those kinds of pick-up lines may work on the others, but not on me.”
Jaemin hums. “I really meant it, though?”
Jeno hides his smile behind a hand. “You should hurry up, or the special curry bibimbap’s going to sell out.”
“Crap,” Jaemin says. “C’mon, Mark. I need to get my paws on that thing.”
The two boys run out of the room, but not before waving goodbye. Mark shouts, “Later, Hyuck!” and Jeno swears that Donghyuck turns to goo right then and there. But just when Jeno thought that Donghyuck was beginning to be more agreeable due to his newfound object of affection, he goes and spews more nonsense out of his mouth.
"Oh my god, Jeno, are you seriously friends with Na Jaemin? I told you he's a total delinquent, right?"
"Jaemin's not a bad guy," Jeno appealed.
Renjun adds, "Besides, weren't you hanging out with Mark Lee after school the other day?"
Donghyuck rolled his eyes. "Shut it, Huang." When Renjun said nothing and just raised an eyebrow at him, he yelled, “What?! Don’t look at me like that!”
“Hypocrite!” Renjun points at him.
Donghyuck’s about to retort with a comeback of his own, but then he notices Jeno staring off at his desk with a dazed look on his face. “Hello, Earth to Jeno? Do you copy?”
Renjun mimicked a walkie-talkie sound effect with his mouth. “I’m afraid we lost him, Captain. Over.”
Jeno sighed dreamily, doodling tiny love hearts on the pages of his notebook.
After Jaemin found out what time Jeno’s shifts were, he started coming over to the shop more and more frequently. It’s almost as if he’s one with the flowers there, rosy pastel hair blending in with the assortment of buds and blossoms on display. Jeno doesn’t mind the company either, it is a bit draining having to deal with the clients and a whole bunch of workload on top of it all.
He doesn’t mind, but… There are moments when Jeno wonders if he’s simply a fool that can’t read the signs correctly.
Yet another lazy day with nothing much to do. Jeno is watering the flowers by the window, and Jaemin watches him like a fascinated child, crouched beside him while examining the plants interestedly.
“And this one?” he asks, lightly touching a bright yellow flower by its leaf.
“Daffodils,” Jeno answers. “A symbol for new beginnings.”
“So, do all flowers have different meanings for each one of them?”
“More or less. The meanings can also change depending on the colors.”
“Then, what about those ones that you’re holding?”
Jeno smiles. “Purple lilacs. It means ‘first love.’”
Jaemin smiles too. Their knees bump against each other when he draws nearer.
“Wh– what?” Jeno stammered. “Is there something on my face? You’re too close!”
Jaemin’s voice is soft when he speaks. “Jeno… You’ve got really pretty eyes.”
Jeno wants to fall to his feet, to tell him, no, you’re the pretty one, but he says nothing instead and waits for what will unfold next. Jaemin’s gaze flitted from his eyes, then down to his lips. He leaned in, and Jeno squeezed his eyes shut.
He was going to get kissed. Na Jaemin was going to kiss him—
“Oh. There’s a rose petal on your hair. How did it even get there?”
Jeno blinked. Well, this is embarrassing.
In between Jaemin’s thumb and forefinger was a single petal from a peach rose. Jeno remembers that Renjun is there on the other side of the shop trimming off flower stems. He makes his presence known when he yells out. “Doyoung-hyung! Jeno’s slacking off!”
That little— Why are they even friends?
Doyoung pokes his head out from the storage room. “Yah, Lee Jeno. Are you doing your job properly or are you just busy flirting with the customers?”
Jeno whined. “I am not flirting with the customers!”
“He’s right, Mr. Manager,” Jaemin says. “He only does that to me.”
Doyoung simply walks away while muttering under his breath, “Kids these days…”
An unexpected customer comes in on a Tuesday.
“How much for a bouquet of sunflowers?” he asks.
Jeno’s still calculating the sales from last week. He doesn’t look up from the record book he’s holding. “The price starts from 20,000 and ends at 150,000 won, sir.”
A perplexed noise served as his reply. “Hey, wait a minute. You’re that florist kid Jaemin has been crushing on.”
Did he just hear that right? Jeno slowly lifts his head. “You’re Mark Lee, Jaemin’s friend?”
“Hell yeah, I am.” Mark squints at his nametag, reading the letters printed on it. “Lee Jeno. Don’t tell Jaemin, but I’m trying to ask out this cute cashier from the 7/11 next door.”
Jeno’s eyes widen. “You mean Donghyuck?”
Mark flusters, slamming his credit card down on the counter. “Stop asking so many questions. Just let me buy the damn bouquet, man.”
Oh-ho. What an interesting turn of events. Jeno grins playfully. “I’m sure Hyuck would appreciate it if you got the most expensive one. Maybe you should put a big, red ribbon on it too. That’s his favorite color, after all.”
“Fine,” Mark grumbled, “I’ll get the 150,000 won one.”
“No take backs!” Jeno is all too happy to punch his order into the cash register. “This is kinda nice of you, y’know.” He sighs. “I always secretly wanted someone to do something romantic like this for me.”
“Well, don’t worry about it too much,” Mark said. “That guy’s gonna make his move soon and it’ll be the most over-the-top shit you’ve ever seen in your life.”
Jeno tries (and fails miserably) not to fall head over heels.
“Come oooon, Injoonie. Let me stay over for a while. I promise I’ll be good!” Donghyuck whines, practically attaching himself to Renjun’s back like a pet monkey.
“Screw you, Hyuck.” Renjun tries to push him away, but Donghyuck doesn’t budge. “You’re only using me for my computer.”
“Dammit. Just wait ‘til I save up enough money for a new laptop.”
“It’s not my fault you accidentally kicked it to the floor. How did you even manage to pull that off?”
Thursday. Jeno is off work every Thursday, which means hanging out with Donghyuck and Renjun after class. Usually, they go straight to the ramen place behind the school, then it’s off to wasting time away at the arcade until it’s dark out. Things don’t go as planned, because as Jeno rounds the corner with his friends, Na Jaemin is standing there by the lockers.
Renjun elbows Jeno on his side. “Ooh, looks like you’ve got a date.”
“Looks like it’ll just be us two,” Donghyuck sighed dramatically, putting Renjun in a headlock.
Jeno’s cheeks burn up. “I— I could still go with you. Maybe it’s not me he’s waiting for?”
“Are you an idiot?!” Renjun shoves him forward using all the strength he can muster, which isn’t really a lot. “He’s looking right this way!”
As if on cue, Jaemin casually walks over to them with his hands pocketed and says, “Hey… Do you maybe wanna go home together?”
Like a couple of rabid fangirls, Renjun and Donghyuck squeal in unison behind them, and Jeno sends them a telepathic message to shut up. It doesn’t work.
“Sure! I just gotta— um, put away my stuff real quick,” he replies, awkwardly gesturing to his locker.
Jaemin nodded, his mouth stretching into a big grin. “Okay. I’ll wait for you at the gates.”
Jeno watched him walk away absentmindedly before Donghyuck swatted his arm, snapping him out of it.
“Ah, I’m so envious!” he cried out.
Renjun snickered at him, “Mark Lee doesn’t pick you up after school?”
“Shut it.”
At this point, Jeno can’t even bring himself to pay attention to their conversation. He felt so jittery inside— he was never like this under normal circumstances, but only when he was in Jaemin’s presence.
Jeno finished storing his things and looked back at his friends. “Well,” he took a deep breath. “Here goes nothing. Wish me luck, boys.”
Donghyuck only cackled loudly at him as Renjun huffed, “What a maiden.”
“Ugh. I’m leaving, bye!” Jeno yelled back and quickly made his way outside the school where Jaemin was waiting. He was leaning against the wall, the sun shining directly at him like it was attracted to him, like a spotlight made purely for him. Part of Jeno wanted to stay right there and just stare at him, but another part urged him to hurry up so he can be with Jaemin.
“Sorry I took so long,” he said, breathless. “Got a little caught up talking to those guys.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jaemin assured him.
They start walking with each other, footsteps slow and dragged-out as if they want to make this moment last longer than it really is. Somehow, it felt a bit nervous, unlike the other times they’ve been together. Jaemin cleared his throat.
“So… Is it okay if I walk you home?”
Jeno startled. “What?!”
Jaemin laughed at his dumbfounded reaction. “Sorry, was that too sudden? There’s nothing to do at my place so I’m used to inviting myself over to other people’s houses.”
Now, Jeno realizes that there’s a lot he still doesn’t know about Jaemin. The thought of it makes him feel regretful, but he guesses it's never too late, so he asks, “Why? Are you home alone most of the time?”
Jaemin nods. “Yeah, I don’t have any siblings and my parents are always at work. Mark and I normally just stay over with our other friends. Chenle’s house is really big, you see. And there’s a basketball court near Jisung’s house. That’s how our daily routine is, I guess.”
Jeno sighed. “You mean when you’re not going around fighting with guys from other schools.”
“Hey, we’ve been keeping the peace for almost a month now!” Jaemin proudly exclaimed.
Jeno took his wrist and led him to the right direction when he was about to walk on the opposite road. They were reaching closer to his home now, and Jeno didn't really see any reason to refuse Jaemin from coming over. In a way, this felt like an opportunity to get to know him better, and that's all he really wanted.
On average, the walk to Jeno's house took about five minutes, but the moment he spent with Jaemin seemed so painfully short. Only when they've reached his house does he realize that Jaemin has intertwined their fingers and they've been holding hands the whole time.
“Can you let go now?” Jeno held up their connected hands, and Jaemin gave him a pouty look.
“Do I have to?”
“I can’t let us in if you don’t.”
The comfortable warmth in between their palms disappear when Jaemin releases him, and Jeno inwardly sighs at the loss. He unlocks the front door with his key and nudges Jaemin to enter.
“I brought a friend!” Jeno calls out. The only person in the living room is his older sister, who simply waves as Jaemin bows politely. She’s talking on the phone again, probably with her boyfriend. For the most part, she and Jeno get along really well, but he wishes he could be swallowed up by the ground when she points at Jaemin and makes a heart with her fingers.
“Your sister seems cool,” Jaemin laughs, and Jeno hastily tugs him away from his source of embarrassment. “Ignore her!” he yelps, the tips of his ears turning red.
They head to his bedroom for some semblance of privacy but once Jeno opens the door, three cats follow after him, trailing in a fluffy little line.
“Hey, where did you guys come from?” Jeno kneels down to coo at their collective cuteness. Jaemin has already made himself feel at home, settling on the carpet and petting the cats’ fur.
“That’s adorable,” Jaemin gushes excitedly. “What are their names?”
“Bongsik here is the tabby, the calico is Seol, and that black and white one is Nal.”
Instinctively leaning in closer to Jaemin, Jeno points them out one by one, their shoulders touching like it’s always been natural for them. It felt all too familiar, that scent and warmth overlapping with his own. The undisturbed comfort surrounding them, so delicate and calm.
For a moment, they’re silent, then Jaemin sighs contemplatively. “You know, I really like being with you. It feels so peaceful, somehow. I can’t explain it well, but I just really feel at ease when you’re around.”
“Jaemin,” Jeno said, voice soft. “You’ve gone through a lot, haven’t you?”
A tiny laugh escapes Jaemin’s lips. “It’s okay. Because I have you now. For the first time, everything seems much more simple. Secure.”
Jeno carefully searched his eyes for a sign— anything. He only had a vague idea of what being in love was, but what if maybe, just maybe, it was like this? There was no one that he ever felt so deeply about, and just the sheer thought of that makes Jeno want to know more, to figure out the gravity of this situation.
So he takes a chance, hooking his pinky around Jaemin’s and proclaiming, "As long as you're with me, I won't let any troubles go your way."
Jaemin hummed as he linked the rest of their fingers together. “Does this mean you’re my personal lucky charm now?”
“If that’s what you want,” Jeno huffed. Na Jaemin was so unfair.
And yet, he still made Jeno’s heart thunder with the force of a thousand storms.
Maybe Jeno spoke too soon, because he doesn’t see Jaemin at all the next day. Renjun and Donghyuck try to relieve him of his worries all throughout, but Jeno can’t help but to concern himself with the possibility that Jaemin might be caught in a bigger predicament.
The three of them immediately head to their part-time jobs after class, however, the nagging apprehension doesn’t leave Jeno’s mind even as he works around the clock.
Only are his fears confirmed when Donghyuck rushes into the store later that afternoon with a panicked look on his face.
“Hyuck?” Renjun snaps his head up at the sound of wind chimes as the door opens. “What’s wrong?”
“What do I do?” Donghyuck muttered frightfully. “I think— I think Mark-hyung is in trouble. He was supposed to drop by hours ago but he texted me instead, saying something had come up. He hasn’t been in a fight since last month but— I heard the kids at school talking about one happening near Wei Shen High. And, Jeno… Jaemin might be with him too.”
“Donghyuck,” Jeno said, despite feeling his own heart about to combust at the news. “Relax, okay? I’ll call Jaemin up to see what’s happening. Let’s just calm down and sort this out.”
Donghyuck was on the verge of tears but he nodded, trying to collect himself. It was rare to see that the always loud and cheerful Donghyuck had been overwhelmed by all these negative emotions, and that made Jeno even more nervous as he took his phone out and dialed Jaemin’s number.
Several rings echoed around the room, and when a minute had passed, it became apparent that Jaemin wasn’t going to pick up in any case.
“This is getting us nowhere,” Jeno sighed. “I need to find him. You said it was near Wei Shen High, right?”
“Y-yeah,” Donghyuck replied. “I don’t know exactly where but— if you’re planning to go then it could be dangerous!”
Jeno shook his head. A myriad of theories crossed his mind in all directions. “If I don’t go, then something worse might happen. You would do the same thing too, right, Hyuck?”
“I want to,” Donghyuck said, rubbing at his eyes. “And I hate that I can’t because I’m so fucking hopeless and afraid right now.”
Jeno put a hand on his trembling shoulder. “You’re not. You’ve already done a lot, I’m only doing my part. And, hey, it’s only normal to feel that way for someone you care about.”
“Go,” Renjun told him. “Leave it to me for now. I’ll take care of Donghyuck and the shop.”
“Be careful, Jeno,” Donghyuck added.
“I’ll be back,” Jeno promised, then bolted out of the shop, his insides a jumbled mess of anxiety and impatience.
The distance from Wei Shen High and the shopping district wasn’t that far off, but Jeno finds himself running across the streets desperately, trying to spot a head full of pink hair amidst every person he passes by. As the seconds go, Jeno’s distress only gets worse. There are endless places where Jaemin could be, but he can’t afford to make any blind guesses right now. Time is against him, and the only thing he can do is to keep his feet moving.
Just as Jeno reaches one of the main roads, he sees it; a boy, tall and lanky in his casual clothes and hair with the unmistakable color of cotton candy.
Jeno’s heart stops. He chases after him like his life depends on it, and he seizes the boy by his jacket’s sleeve when he’s close enough.
“Jaemin!”
Just as expected, Jaemin turns, face pale and eyes wide. “Jeno... Why are you here?”
Though he’s out of breath, Jeno doesn’t waste a moment and starts speaking immediately. “I know what you’re about to do. And I’m here to stop you. Because— I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Hesitantly, Jaemin took Jeno’s hand which was holding on to his sleeve. “Listen,” he said. “My friends are all there. We always win our fights. You don’t have to worry about me or get yourself into this mess.”
Jeno laughed incredulously. “Did you already forget what we talked about to each other yesterday?”
A crease formed in between Jaemin’s eyebrows and Jeno almost regrets saying that. “I didn’t. Would you believe me if I promised that this would be the last time I’ll fight?”
Jeno didn’t say anything. He couldn’t. He just wanted to break down and cry and keep Jaemin all to himself where he’ll be out of harm’s way.
Seeing through him easily, Jaemin squeezed his hand tightly and spoke again. “You’re a good person, Jeno. You saved me, you didn’t treat me badly even though I don’t exactly have the best track record. Because of that, you changed me. I swear on it, I’ll become better for you. I just have to finish what I started first.”
Still, Jeno argued. He knew it was selfish of him, he knew he was being stubborn. “But—”
Jaemin moved closer to him, his stare adamant and determined. “Do you trust me, Jeno?”
“I do,” Jeno whispered, feeling so utterly defeated.
Jaemin presses their lips together in a chaste kiss, and Jeno wishes it didn’t end so soon.
“For good luck,” Jaemin says.
This time, Jeno felt like he was really going to cry. “I don’t want you to become better for me or anything,” he murmured. “I just want you to be safe, you idiot.”
“I’ll be fine, really,” Jaemin chuckled before he pulled away. “I’ve got you on my side, don’t I?”
It takes every fiber of Jeno’s being to not chase after Jaemin, but in the end, his intuition wins against his rationality and before he knows it, he’s following after him secretly to an old, empty playground. He tells himself he’s doing it just in case a disaster breaks out. The only problem was that he didn’t expect that disaster to occur so soon.
Jaemin and Mark are there with two of their friends, standing opposite from them are the guys from Wei Shen High. At first glance, they don’t look too intimidating. They’re all roughly similar in age and height— except for who seems to be their leader, a boy above six-feet tall that has Jeno wondering if he’s even a high school student at all.
The whole time, Jeno has been hiding behind the trunk of an old oak tree, silently watching, waiting for all of this to end. He can’t hear what they’re saying too well, but he sees the exact moment Mark steps in to grab the tall boy by his scruff, and Jeno knows that it’s going to get violent from then on.
He catches everything happening in front of his own eyes, kicks and blows exchanged one after the other, accompanied by taunts and insults adding more fuel into the fire. Jaemin and his friends appear to be worse for wear with every hit they take. Every now and then, Jaemin winces, grasping his left leg and dodging rather than taking the offensive. The tall boy sees an opening to strike, throwing him down onto the ground where Jaemin groans in pain.
And that's when Jeno snaps. He can't stand by idly and just watch anymore.
Rushing in head-first, he goes straight for the boy who threw Jaemin and collides a heavy fist against his sharp jaw.
For a while, every one of them is too stunned to even speak, and Jeno has this fleeting thought that Jaemin would get angry and disappointed at him for meddling, but none of that happens.
Instead, Jaemin laughs disbelievingly, taken aback by Jeno's sudden appearance. “You know how to pack a punch, huh?” he says as he slowly rises to his feet. “But so do I.”
The tall boy is still in shock, cradling his jaw, which is why he doesn't see it coming when Jaemin lands a final blow on him, leaving a cut on his bottom lip.
"Getting brave all of a sudden, are we?" he mocks. "And who's this knight in shining armor of yours?"
"Shut up," Mark shushes him and looks off to the distance. "Are you hearing that?"
Police sirens are blaring nearby, and the students from Wei Shen High exchange panicked looks with each other.
“Shit, the cops found us! Let’s scram!”
"You won this round, Nana," the giant sneers as he limps away with his three cronies. "But we'll get you next time. Remember that."
"There is no next time, Yukhei," Jaemin bites back. "This turf is ours."
Mark turns to their friends and shouts, “Jisung, Chenle, get out of here now!”
“We can’t just leave you, hyung!” Jisung yells back.
“Just go! It’ll be bad if you get caught here!" Mark ordered with a snarl, and the two ran off reluctantly as the sirens drew closer.
"Dammit," Mark muttered as he slung Jaemin's arm over his shoulder. Facing Jeno, he said, "Take his other side, will ya? This idiot sprained his leg during the fight."
“Don’t overreact, Mark,” Jaemin laughed. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
"Jaemin," Jeno mumbled, supporting Jaemin by holding onto his arm. “I’m sorry. This shouldn’t have happened. I was just so—”
“You saved me, Jeno,” Jaemin interrupted him before he could say anything else. Even in this situation, he still carries on with that easy-going attitude of his, and Jeno feels the tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. It’s deja-vu. Like a perfect replica of their first-ever meeting.
“What are you talking about,” Jeno said with a sniffle. “I only made things worse…”
“No, you saved me,” Jaemin said. “And I think I just fell in love all over again.”
At an absolute loss for words, Jeno merely stares at him, dumbstruck at the confession.
Mark huffs out a laugh beside them, and says, “That’s great and all, but I think you need to get to the hospital first.”
Thinking about it now, the events from last week seemed too surreal for Jeno to comprehend. He got involved in a fight, was almost caught, got confessed to, and went to the hospital in a span of only a few hours. For that matter, Jeno didn’t have the opportunity to answer Jaemin properly. His injury got treated without delay and Jeno was left in the waiting area with Mark, still taking in what they’ve just gone through.
“So,” Mark coughed awkwardly. “You’re in love with my friend?”
Jeno gave him an odd look. “You’re in love with my friend too.”
“Fair enough.” Mark nodded. “Tell ya what, Jaemin is the nicest guy I’ve ever met. All I’m really asking is for you to keep an eye on him, ‘cause he gives a lot more than he takes.”
“I know. He doesn’t realize it himself, but he’s amazing,” Jeno sighed. “And… I don’t have to tell you this, but you know what will happen if you don’t treat Donghyuck well, right?”
Mark snorted at that. “Right. I never knew until now that you could deliver such a wicked uppercut.”
It’s been eight whole days since then, and Jeno hasn’t seen Jaemin since. He’s been absent from classes to focus on recovering from his injury, but he can’t deny the truth that he longed to meet him again more than anything else.
Today is a Saturday, and so Jeno heads off to work by himself, wondering if the course of things would turn out differently this time. Donghyuck had been smothering him with affection lately to show his gratitude for preventing Mark from ‘being caught in the evil claws of danger.’ (His exact words.)
In Jeno’s opinion, he really didn’t do much. If he was being honest, he did it more to appease his own selfish whims, but he’s glad that it turned out alright in the end.
It has been quite a while since Jeno paid Donghyuck a surprise visit at his workplace. This had been their usual arrangement ever since, and as much as Jeno’s embarrassed to state it out loud, he kind of missed just hanging out with Donghyuck by those cheap, worn-out plastic chairs at the back of the convenience store. He has Donghyuck’s working hours and breaks memorized down to the second, and he knows that around this time of day, he’d most probably be milling about outside.
Well, his guess is only ninety percent right, because Donghyuck is pinned against the store’s backdoor, hands caught in a mess of tangled brown hair and locked to a pair of lips that could only belong to none other than—
Mark Fucking Lee.
Okay. Alrighty, then.
Jeno must have made some sort of scandalized noise at that point, because both of them turn their heads to him at breakneck speed, looking like a pair of deer in headlights.
“Jeno!” Donghyuck gasps. “This is—”
Mark has a similar reaction, his mouth alternating between closed and open, similar to a fish out of water. “Uh, um, we…”
Being the good friend that he is, Jeno graciously covers his eyes and backs up.
“I didn’t see anything!” he blurts out.
That was definitely enough of a surprise for one day alone, but Jeno didn’t think that there would be another one waiting for him as he approached the flower shop.
Compared to the earlier one, though, he decides that he likes this one much, much better.
Dozens of purple lilacs are lined across the length of the storefront. Potted ones are placed around the entrance to form a large heart, and a path of petals are scattered on the ground, leading the way for him. And at the end of it, there’s Jaemin, in all his stunning glory.
Jeno’s own words resound within him. An excerpt he had once read out from The Language of Flowers.
Purple lilacs. It means ‘first love.’
Jeno holds his breath unknowingly as he walks towards Jaemin. He smiles that usual wide, irresistible grin of his, and Jeno wants to trace it with his own lips, hear him laugh like he always does, dive into his arms and just stay there. Forever, forever, forever.
Whether he feels like crying or laughing, Jeno can’t seem to seek out the answer to that.
There is just absolutely no way that he can find the right words right now. “Did Renjun put you up to this?” he asks, standing right in front of Jaemin because he’s finally here once more, so sweet and dazzling and in his reach.
“Oh, your friend was a big help,” Jaemin said with a slight chuckle. Then, more seriously, he added. “Did you miss me?”
“How could I not miss you,” Jeno had to laugh at the extremely obvious question. Of course, he did. And he didn’t only miss Jaemin, but he longed for him, yearned because he couldn’t deal with waiting any longer to reciprocate his feelings.
“In that case, I’ll ask again,” Jaemin went on. He took whatever half an inch of distance that was left in between them and made it nonexistent.
“Lee Jeno, wanna go out with me?”
“You already know the answer to that.”
The air is fragrant with candied nectar, but Jeno knows for a fact that it isn’t the flowers’ doing when he leans in and kisses Jaemin right on his lips, pure and longingly at the same time. Jaemin was like ambrosia, and he breathed life into Jeno’s very being.
They pull away for oxygen, foreheads still touching, not wanting to be apart for even the blink of an eye.
“I love you,” Jaemin whispered.
“That’s my line, stupid,” Jeno whispered back against Jaemin’s smile, and the world around them blossomed like Eden in spring.
(If Jeno listens closely, he can hear the triumphant cheering of the one and only Huang Renjun.)