Archive of Our Own ^beta

There is a stability in his daily routine that Jeno enjoys.

The way his worn out pointe shoes fit so snuggly with use, or the way the coffee he gets from Yuri’s makes his face scrunch up expectedly as he takes his first sip. The way the landlady at the laundromat would greet him a Good morning!, never failing to pinch his cheek about how big he’s grown, or the way Jeno, without fail, would carry that same phantom pain on his warm cheek with him as he unlocks the dance studio.

Jeno could go on and on about it, really, could even describe his day in its every charming detail. Everything is predictable in a comforting way that Jeno likes and honestly, that’s all that matters to him.

The sun is barely up as he pulls at the steel doors. Inside, he turns on the lights and grabs a clean rug to start wiping down the auditorium til it's shiny and ready for dance.

His students trickle in one by one, and Jeno greets them all a good morning and an easy smile.

There is comforting chatter in the room as everyone stretches like they always do before any routine, and Jeno joins them, taking a deep breath as he rests his right ankle against the barre.

Today is the last day of rehearsals before their quarterly summer showcase tomorrow afternoon, and the tension in the air is more apparent than usual.

“Coach, look!”

Jeno looks up to see Yeji and Ryuujin running up to him, Yeji hugging a copy of Dreamlike Magazine against her chest.

“You have to see this! Yves-unnie is on the cover, I just had to get it when they released it.”

Yeji hands over the magazine for Jeno to see and true to their word, Yves is beautifully posing, legs perfectly up in a balloné motion, hands above her head, her hair neatly slicked back into a bun, secured with a long pink ribbon that flies with her in the air.

Jeno snorts, contrary to the girl’s awe at the cover. Knowing Yves, she’ll send him a copy with a cheeky signature just to be funny, and he’ll be checking his pile of mail later to see if she’s already sent it.

Jeno turns to Yeji and flicks her forehead gently, smiling when Yeji pouts. “Someday you’ll be on the same cover, Ji.”

Ryujin rolls her eyes beside him. “Don’t give her so much hope, coach. She can’t even do a pas de ciseaux properly without complaining!”

Yeji glares. “Says the one who has the worst arabesque stance in this group!”

“Hey!”

“Alright, alright,” Jeno laughs, gently pushing Yeji and Ryujin’s butting heads apart. “As much as I like seeing you guys fight, practice is starting soon.”

Jeno moves away before they could rope him into their bickering as they always seem to do, snickering at their glares that he knows are targeting his back.

He starts practice with a routine clap, getting everyone’s attention.

Their performance this weekend is one of the songs Jeno has enjoyed choreographing the most. Hisaishi Joe’s Merry Go Round has been a song he's wanted to dance to since he was young, wide eyed and awed watching Howl and Sophie float across the air over the city. Years later, he’s come to find out there isn't an existing ballet routine for it, and now, to stand by the mirrors, watching everyone dance beautifully to it’s perfect piano and string ensemble is a gift Jeno can't wait to share with the world.

“Are you nervous?” Jeno asks Yeji. He walks behind her, nodding as the song comes to an end, and Yeji sighs as she rests into first position.

“Yeah, a little bit.” She admits. “I heard a bigshot dance academy is gonna watch, I'm kind of scared.”

“They tend to look intimidating, but they’re harmless. Besides, we all know you'll do great regardless of what they say to you.”

Ryujin plops down between them, sitting crossed legged on the floor.

“There are only two types of people you meet in these shows, Ji.” She points at Yeji with the rice krispies bar she’s been chewing on throughout practice.” “It's either you meet the snobby ballet recruiters, or even scarier, you meet your soulmate,” Ryujin wiggles her eyes. “Sweep you off your feet and all.”

Yeji rolls her eyes. “You always say that but it never actually happens in real life.”

“That's not true! It happened to Renjun-oppa, literally. Donghyuck-oppa literally swept him off of his feet!”

That's because he was clumsy and bumped into him on the way out.” Yeji counters.

“But wasn’t that still so romantic?” Ryujin sighs. “How out of all people to help him, it was Renjun?”

“Well, Donghyuck was standing beside him?” Jeno ‘helps’.

Ryujin groans. “Not you too, coach! This is why you guys haven't met yours yet.”

“Hey! You haven’t either!”

“Honestly, I’m fine with it,” Jeno shakes his head, laughing. He gently hits his pointe against Ryujin’s knee. “Come on, let's do one final pass.”

There is some truth in what Ryujin is saying. The showcase tomorrow is a small performance at most, but it drives a decent amount of attention from the right people—people that will be watching solely to scout potential dancers in his small roster of students. That is why Jeno wants to not only create an enjoyable performance for the spectators, but a show that his students will be proud of being a part of.

Once, Jeno was a mere audience member, and he saw his dream up on that once far away stage. Now that he is able to live his dream and tutor dance for a living, there is no greater pleasure than to be able to do that for his kids too.

--

Jeno hears the whistling before he sees him.

“Hello to you too, Donghyuck.” He greets.

Donghyuck shakes his head at him in the dressing room mirror. “You look amazing, as always.”

Jeno looks up, taking a proper look at himself since he plopped into the dressing room half awake. His hair is wet and slicked back neatly, eyelids decorated in gold, edges tapering into an elaborate gold wing. His brown eyes are sharp with black liner, cheeks further cut with contour, contrary to the peach blush is delicate at the tops of his cheeks, to the light sheen of his gloss.

Jeno shrugs. “The compliment only counts if you got your camera ready.” He quips, ears warm as he covers his bare chest with his arms.

His costume for tonight demands him to bare his torso to accentuate the elaborate evening skirt made of raven color feathers he’d be wearing on stage, or at least, that’s what Yeeun always tells him.

Jeno doesn’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse that his soulmark is resting right at the base of his neck and down to the middle of his spine. For one, he can’t see it most of the time, which he doesn’t particularly mind because it doesn’t interest him, but on the other hand, once everyone found out about the daisies growing on his back, they had him perform half naked in every performance they do.

It always has Jeno running cold—from prep until the time to perform, but he can’t cover his body either because they're gonna paint on it too after he gets his makeup done.

“Hey, that was one time! I swear today you’ll be our main focus.” Donghyuck says. “After Yeji, of course.”

Jeno snorts. “Understandable.”

--

In the quiet, dim lit stage, the first note of the piano echoes through the auditorium. As if routine, Jeno’s feet stretch to his tiptoes, limbs swinging up in a big yet graceful landing. He raises his arms to the skies, his fingertips lax yet poised at the same time. He reaches them to the blinding light above him that finally flicks open, illuminating him and the stage.

Jeno stays there, waiting for the rest of ballerinas to enter the stage and surround him, and when he hears the telltale violin, he pull his arms down to stretch sideways into a balancé, stepping to the side with one foot, and then alternating to the other in an airy bouncing motion. As the piece grows more intense, he spreads his black wings, feathers littering the stage almost like magic. When it's time to spin, his floor length evening tutu flows gracefully with him.

The stage light on him disappears, only for it to shine down on the real main star of the show as she enters gracefully from the right side of the stage. Yeji in the most beautiful arabesque, posing enchantingly against the backlight. Her silver hair tied in a sleek braid stopped at the small of her back, dress a nostalgic blue with puffed sleeves. Yeji begins to lead the final minute of the piano piece, bringing the entire auditorium down with her.

At her every elegant movement, the audience lets out a chorus of awed wonder with her, and Jeno barely contains his proud smile.

The show ends in a standing ovation that has everyone bowing lowly, smiles up to their ears, ears rivalling their pink blushes. Jeno holds hands with Yeji and Ryujin and smiles, taking one last big bow as the curtains close.

As they descend down the steps to backstage, a woman in a suit stands in their way, seemingly waiting for them. Jenos eyes widened in recognition.

“Jeno,” Yves flashes a smile, amusement in her eyes at Jeno’s shocked face. “You were wonderful up there. Typical.”

Jeno rolls his eyes fondly, going in for a hug. “Why didnt say tell me you were coming?”

“I wasn't sure if I was going, but my schedule let up and you know I wouldn't want to miss one of these shows. It’s been too long.”

When they pull away, Jeno introduces Yves to his students, or at least was about to. It’s glaringly evident from their awe expressions that introductions we’re needed at all. He laughs as they all scrabble to bow at Yves the moment she turns to them.

Yves waves a hand, embarrassed. “No need, girls. Thank you.”

Jeno watches her approach Yeji, smirking at the way Yeji freezes in place, eyes wide.

“Yeji, right?”

“Um, yes, ma’am.” Yeji squeaks.

“What are your thoughts about moving to Seoul?” Yves winks. “And please, no need for formalities, babe.”

Yeji blinks. “What?”

Yves crosses her arms over her chest. “I see potential in you. Big potential, and you would be a lovely addition to the Seoul Ballet Team back at our campus.”

Yeji is at a loss for words—her eyes wide and mouth open in shock, and everyone in the room could see it. Ryujin is at her side in an instant, grabbing Yeji’s hand and holding it out for Yves to shake.

“She would love to join!” Ryujin answers for her a little too excitedly, and the room bursts out laughing. Yves couldn't help but laugh too as she accepts the handshake, shaking Yeji’s already quite shaky hand. Jeno can only bite back his own smile at the scene unfolding in front of him.

Yves pulls out her card and hands it to Yeji. “Just give me a call and I'll show you around the Seoul Institute, okay?”

“Okay,” Yeji replies meekly.

When they get to the girls’ dressing room, Yeji lunges to the couch and screams against the cushions. Ryujin easily joins her, hugging the excitable girl in his arms in her own excitable state. It earns another roar of laughter from everyone and Jeno makes sure to take photos of this moment for safekeeping.

Jeno heads to his own dressing room once everything’s calmed down. He’s careful to scoop up the long tulle of his skirt, hugging some of it to himself. He’s been cold all afternoon from the show and he can't wait to put some warm clothes back on, jump into his even warmer bed when he gets home.

Jeno twists the door open, about to beeline to the couch, only to stop in his tracks at the sight of someone else in his dressing room.

The stranger turns at the sound of Jeno entering, wide eyes matching Jeno’s. There is a camera resting around his neck, and a noticeably large bouquet of daisies in his arms. He’s unfamiliar to Jeno, perhaps a guest? Though, Jeno doesn’t really remember inviting anyone in particular, so for him to be in his dressing room is odd.

Maybe he’s lost?

The man doesn’t say anything, just stands there and stares at Jeno as if in lost thought. Jeno can only laugh around the awkward tension in the room. He clears his throat.

“Uh, if you're looking for the girls’ dressing room, it’s next door.” Jeno says carefully, pointing his thumb to the next room.

The man merely blinks at him, looks down at his flowers, and then back up at Jeno, this time smiling a little.

“Oh, this is not for them.” Is the first thing he says to Jeno. Jeno’s ears burn at his voice treacherously.

“Oh, then—”

“Jaemin! Did you give it to him yet?”

Donghyuck steps into the room before Jeno could turn to him, and as he watches him stand beside Jaemin and take his camera from him, Jeno is starting to finally understand.

God, not again. He should’ve known Donghyuck was gonna pull something today.

“I was about to,” Jaemin snorts, stepping towards Jeno. He smiles full this time, wide and bright, and Jeno couldn’t help but flick towards his perfect canines as he hands him the bouquet of daisies.

“For you, Jeno-ssi.” Jaemin says. He grins even wider. “From Donghyuck.”

“Ah,” Jeno rolls his eyes. He fights the urge to rival Jaemin’s smile, especially as he takes a peak at Donghyuck’s annoyed expression beside him. “Why, thank you, Donghyuck. You shouldn’t have.”

“Well, that's good enough, I guess.” Donghyuck sighs.

“This is Jaemin by the way. I'm sorry about him. At least he took some nice pictures today.” Donghyuck massages his temples. “Anyway, food! Let's get some barbecue!”

--

Donghyuck (8:02pm)
So...

Jeno (8:03pm)
You’re not as slick as you think you are
I knew it lol
You were trying to set me up :/

Donghyuck (8:03pm)
And?
:)

Jeno (8:03pm)
...
He’s nice

Donghyuck (8:03pm)
Mm
Just nice?

Jeno (8:03pm)
Okay, he’s kinda handsome?

Donghyuck (8:03pm)
And?

Jeno (8:04pm)
…and funny
And nice and sweet, I guess

Donghyuck (8:04pm)
Oh is he now :)

Jeno (8:05pm)
God, please don’t gloat
I literally caught you today
Again

Donghyuck (8:05pm)
Oh my dear little ballerino you dont even know
You’re gonna thank me one day

Jeno (8:05pm)
In your dreams maybe

--

Donghyuck (2:03am)
Thoughts on modeling?

Jeno (2:10am)
Elaborate…?

Jeno (2:45am)
Hello?
Lee Donghyuck?

--

Jeno is a simple man.

Once he’s decided on something, he’s determined to stick with it to the very end.

Studying business wasn’t something Jeno particularly enjoyed, nor even cared for in university. He was mainly trying to breeze through it just so he can bring home a degree to his parents. Born and raised in Busan, he was lucky enough to be able to get into Hanyang in Ansan.

Jeno remembers it vividly—it was an uneventful Friday night, until it wasn’t.

A friend from the neighboring Seoul Institute of the Arts invited him to the performing arts department to watch a performance of Swan Lake by the ballet students. Jeno said yes, solely because he had nothing better to do that day anyway. He wasn’t expecting much, only that he could pass the time faster with the show, but he never would’ve expected that his life would take a turn that day.

That day, he saw Yves for the first time—Yves in all black tulle, fluttering across the stage in both the most enchanting yet terrifying way that had Jeno at the edge of his seat. He had no prior knowledge of ballet before this, hell, he had no prior knowledge of dance and performance in general, and yet he was so absorbed in all of it, that even after the show had ended and the crowds were dispersing, he was stuck in his seat, awestruck and charged.

After the show he just had to great her and tell her she did amazing and that he’d never felt so moved by something so badly like this and he wants to feel the same.

She asked him a simple question, “Do you want to learn how to dance?”

And in turn, he gives his simple answer, “Yes.”

He didn't know why, but Jeno was so sure about this yes, and he’s never been so sure about anything else in his life. This simple yes that spiraled into him spending his nights at the practice room, feeling like an excitable child again, learning dance from scratch. Jeno was initially worried about starting because ballerinas like Yves have trained since they were very young and Jeno is nothing but a tired, burned out college student beginning a new hobby a little too late.

Yves is an angel in disguise even in her black feathered costumes—she was patient with him, inhumanly so, and every night she was there with him until he’s able to stretch into an arabesque like it was nothing.

His first performance wasn't as grand as Yves’, but he was able to perform in front of a couple of his friends from his business major and his fellow dancers that have cheered him along the way, and Jeno remembers feeling the most fulfilled he’s been in a long while.

His parents were not happy about the dancing, however, and honestly it was something Jeno expected. When Jeno brought up the idea of him dropping out, they refused even before Jeno could explain himself. He supposes it’s his deeply rooted desire to please everyone, but he continued on with his business course during the day and at night, danced his heart out to his fullest content.

It wasn’t easy, but Jeno was nothing but determined and obnoxiously caffeinated.

With a degree in hand, not only was Jeno able to get his parents what they wanted, he got to actually use his degree to build up his own studio back in hometown Busan.

The place he found was nothing big, nothing elaborate or fancy, and he wasn’t looking for something like that in the first place anyway. Jeno just wanted a small space where he could dance freely without judgement and without fear, and he did just that. In his little studio he’d lovingly called Clair de Lune, he spent his days practicing not only ballet, but all types of dance he now had the freedom to explore. Now, he also gets to do so in the daylight, not after gruesome hours of lectures like he used to.

At first it was just him and his lonely little speakers, but then the neighborhood kids started dropping by one by one, crowding around the tall windows to watch him dance and pester him to teach them how to spin like he does. The rest was history.

Just as Jeno is passionate about this he wants, he is as disinterested in things he doesn’t really care for. Or at least, he tries to push it at the very back of his mind.

One of these things he doesn’t really care for is the idea of soulmates. It’s relatively a big thing to everyone around him—hell, he wouldn’t even be here today if his parents weren’t looking for each other with a purpose. But as he watches everyone around him scrabble to look for their supposed “other half”, Jeno concludes that he’s just fine not looking for his own.

Everytime he’s asked why he wasn’t actively searching for his soulmate, his answer was simple: He isn’t particularly interested in it.

It’s a ridiculous and dated concept that you're essentially being branded at birth, bonded to a person you have no choice to be with nor even met. He dated people, and not once did he check if they were soul compatible, just got to know them authentically enough to develop romantic feelings for them.

Jeno at least appreciates that the soulmarks are pretty to look at, and with his own decorating the length of his back intricately, he at least gets to use it for performances.

He can't always see his soulmark, and in a way it helps him not be so obsessed in checking if he finds a match with every person marked in daisies he meets. Out of sight, out of mind as they say.

His birth flower is an elaborate lining of daisies resting from the back of his neck, down to the middle of his spine. It's beautiful, Jeno admits, in the small instances Jeno has seen them in the mirror and in photos. He isn't going to lie and say he doesn't like how it looks on him. There is someone out there with the exact same cluster of daisies on some part of their body, but to find that exact someone, it’s at the back of Jeno’s mind.

Although at the dead of the night, he does feel a twinge of envy when he meets someone with their birth flower in full bloom, in it’s true form. Mated soulmarks are even prettier, they’re unlike anything humane, almost magical in the way the flowers appear iridescent, a different color each time it hits the light.

It must feel nice, Jeno would find himself musing in the dark. It's always the last thing on his mind, with dance and performance on the forefront, but when he's alone in his thoughts, he humors himself and entertains the idea a bit.

Now, with the showcase over and they can rest a bit til the next one, Jeno isn't going to be so occupied with his time and the thought is definitely gonna linger in his mind. They always talk about how grand meeting your soulmate is, how you'd feel it at first touch, the electricity the two of you were meant to have. He’s heard it from everyone—from Renjun and how he quite literally fell into Donghyuck’s arms, and even his students, who are very much younger than him, have met their own soulmates at the playground of all places, just outside their school.

Sometimes, Jeno thinks it would be funny if he met his own soulmate in the most mundane way possible, maybe even have them meet right now, as he’s sweeping the front of his dance studio. With fall just around the corner, the foliage is going to slowly start to begin its annoying descent and Jeno is going to be spending more of his mornings sweeping and cleaning in the cooling weather.

Now would be the perfect time for his soulmate to introduce themselves to him and offer him a jacket to stay warm in, Jeno snorts to himself.

“Don't you just love fall?”

Jeno doesn’t even have to look up to know it’s Donghyuck and his tone that is always up to no good.

“Good to know you're awake now.” Jeno hums, putting away his broom.

Donghyuck hits his shoulder. “It was 2am!”

“You texted me first, idiot.”

“Whatever, I'm stealing you away today.”

Jeno raises a brow at him. “What?”

“You don't have practice today, right? You're coming with me!”

Jeno has known Donghyuck all his life. He grew up here in Busan with him, broke their first baby teeth together biting into the same apple, and even had their first argument over the same crush in fifth grade. It was only in university where they were actually separate for a good amount of time, but even years of not talking to each other, Donghyuck was first to welcome him back to their little small town with open arms.

Donghyuck works at Dreamlike Magazine, a fashion and lifestyle focused publication founded in Busan. It’s a popular one amongst the kids despite it being in print, and his students are a prime testament of that. They’re also active online, with a fairly large following too, which is another feat in itself as a ten year old company.

Jeno has stepped foot at Dreamlike a couple of times now, mostly by being dragged to Donghyuck’s workstation by Donghyuck himself. Jeno knows he’s working as an editor at the company, so honestly, he doesn’t know how he gets away with just bringing random people like Jeno into the building to the point where the people down at reception recognize him enough to not look for an ID or an appointment.

Renjun, who also works at Dreamlike, has also dragged Jeno there for a surprise birthday party for Donghyuck one time, which he had to admit was so worth sneaking in to, just to see Donghyuck burst into thankful tears.

“Jeno, hey,” Renjun greets them as they enter the office. “I was just finishing this article about the showcase.”

“Really?” Jeno can’t help but grin, peaking over his station.

“It’s going to be up in a minute at the site, but I'll go ahead and print out some of the girls’ photos from last Saturday and bring them to you when they're done.”

“They’ll love that. Thank you, guys.”

Donghyuck turns to him with a wiggle of his brows. “You know how you can really thank us?”

Jeno’s smile drops instantly.

Donghyuck drags Jeno to the elevators before he could get any proper answers from him. The floor they go up to is unfamiliar to Jeno—it’s barren unlike how the offices in the building usually look like, no desks nor people in sight. As Donghyuck flicks a light open, Jeno quints at the white backdrop propped up neatly in the middle of the room, and it’s only then did Jeno realize they were in a photo studio.

“Wait, you were actually serious about the modeling thing?” He asks, wide eyes looking back at the backdrop and the umbrella lights in the room.

Donghyuck gives him a look. “Jeno, when have I ever joked about anything to you?”

Jeno blinks.

“Well—”

“Actually, don't answer that.” Donghyuck glares. He pulls him to step into the white background. “Just stand there and look pretty. Jaemin can take it from here.”

“What? Jaemin’s here?”

Jeno turns to find Donghyuck running out the room before he could call out to him, and as if magic, there Jaemin stood to greet him. No flowers in sight this time, but his canine smile is the same, and Jeno’s cheeks burn the same way they did last weekend.

“Jeno,” Jaemin waves at him from the door. “Hello.”

“Oh, hey?” Jeno greets with a laugh. “It’s nice to see you again.” He’s glad Jaemin is too far away to hear the way his heart annoyingly skipped a beat just now.

Jaemin is a new photographer at Dreamlike, Jeno finds out at dinner with Donghyuck. Donghyuck has been (unfortunately) assigned to supervise him, and in typical Donghyuck fashion, he gets Jaemin used to the company by roping him into his antics. Jeno relates to Jaemin in that way and they quickly bonded over it, stuffing themselves with Korean barbeque that was on Donghyuck’s suspiciously generous tab.

Na Jaemin: Photographer and video editor at Dreamlike Magazine, single, 27 years old, just moved back to Busan to stay with his grandmother, single, is fond of both dogs and cats but would prefer to foster a dog, single, good at baking, cooking, and making drinks, though he isn’t too fond of alcohol himself—the list went on and on that night, and that was merely scratching the surface.

(“Did I mention he was single?” Donghyuck made sure to reiterate around a shot of soju.

“Yes, I heard you the first five times.” Jeno grumbled back before kicking back his own shot.)

Jeno knew it was a set up the moment he put two and two together back in the dressing room.

Donghyuck, knowing his indifference with finding his soulmate, has just been setting him up with random people he thinks he would be interested in.

For the most part, Donghyuck knows his type, that he couldn’t argue, so even if Jeno finds the matchmaking ridiculous at times, he can’t lie and say he doesn’t enjoy looking at Jaemin—watching him flash his perfect smile, sing his charming laugh. He can’t say he didn’t shiver listening to how low his voice gets every time he had to lean in close to tell Jeno something amidst the noisy restaurant.

Jaemin reaches him, stopping at one of the LED lights to adjust its height. “Is Donghyuck troubling you, by any chance?” He asks teasingly.

Jeno sighs. “I’m not sure what he wants. He’s asking me to model for something? Actually, do you mind distracting him when he comes back so I can plan my escape?”

Jaemin crosses his arms over his chest, smiling. Oh, no. Jeno knows that smile, it’s too Donghyuck-influenced for his liking.

“Unfortunately, I’m in on this too, so if you could just stand there for me?”

Jeno groans. “Not you too.”

It’s not like Jeno has never been photographed before, but it’s definitely different getting your picture taken at performances and having to be consciously posing for a camera.

Jeno is clueless for the most part. What should he do with his hands exactly? Should they be at his side? Should he be posting with them, placing them over his face? How should he stand? Should he sit? Lie down? Just thinking about all of it has Jeno’s head spinning. If he were to accept this without prior experience, he of course wants to do well for Donghyuck and Jaemin, regardless if this was supposed to be a serious request or just something for fun.

He’s seated beside Jaemin, flipping through an old edition of Dreamlike magazine Jaemin gave him to use as reference for poses.

“What is this for anyway?” Jeno asks.

“We’re scouting models for the November spread, actually,” Jaemin hums. “It’s a big project to celebrate the magazine’s 10th year, so we’re trying to get as many candidates as possible for it.”

“Well, I’m not exactly a model so I’m not sure why I’m here.” Jeno grumbles.

Jaemin laughs. “Donghyuck can be pretty persuasive, I guess?”

Jeno rolls his eyes. “Less persuasive, more persistent.”

Jaemin sits up straighter in his seat, bumping Jeno’s shoulder. Jeno turns to him then, watching his turn to the next page carefully.

“Actually, I asked him if you would be interested.”

Jeno blinks. “What?”

Jaemin just shrugs, smiling down at their shared magazine. “It was my first time watching one of your showcases last Saturday, and I’m glad I got the chance to go. You looked beautiful up there, Jeno. Really. It was a gorgeous performance. Remind me to drop by your studio sometime, I printed out some photos of you I took. Sorry, I couldn't help myself.”

Jaemin looks up at Jeno. “You don't have to do it if you don't want to, but I would love it if you would give it a try.”

Jeno leans back on his chair and closes his eyes. He supposed it does deserve some more thought than a simple no.

He’s honored really, to be even considered to be part of the publication’s milestone. Jaemin did say he would help him out if it comes down to it. He’s sure Donghyuck isn’t going to leave him hanging too, so all things considered, it probably wouldn’t be too bad. He could already imagine the nagging he’ll get to pose better if Donghyuck was behind the camera. The thought alone has Jeno laughing to himself.

“I’ll think about it.” Jeno finally replies.

“Yeah?” Jaemin’s grin widens.

“Yeah,” Jeno smiles with him, nodding. “Thank you by the way, I’m glad you enjoyed the show.”

“I should be the one thank you for the amazing show, Jeno.”

“It was nothing, really.” Jeno sighs, sinking into his seat. Jeno needs to tell Donghyuck to stop looking for people like Jaemin for him. It’s getting dangerous how hot his cheeks and ears get so quickly around this man. How can he possibly say no to that face?

Donghyuck comes back before Jeno could further melt into the grown, appropriately annoyed that they haven't done anything at all while he was gone. The clothes he brings back are ridiculous to say the least, nothing in the pile would be of use for the actual shoot. He says he ended up at the reject pile, picking up at least the most interesting basket of props from the dump.

Spending the afternoon posing with a mustache and a clown wig was the last thing Jeno thought he’d be doing when he received that ominous text from Donghyuck at two in the morning, but here he was, stomach hurting from the ridiculousness of the entire thing.

--

Yeji (6:30pm)
coach :<
jeno-oppa :<

Jeno (6:32pm)
?
You only call me that when you want something

Yeji (6:32pm)
D:
but this is important this time
can you accompany me to seoul?

Jeno (6:32pm)
I thought Ryujin was taking you?

Yeji (6:33pm)
we’re taking the train and she is has terrible sense of direction
i need you please we’ll just get lost

Jeno (6:34pm)
Lol alright :) How’s Thursday sound?
Should be good since your school break starts then

Yeji (6:34pm)
yep! thank you T_T
what would we do without you honestly

Jeno (6:35pm)
Hm, I didn’t say this was free 🤔

Yeji (6:35pm)
coach ;-;
i’m a broke highschool senior
spare me

Jeno (6:36pm)
I’ve been wanting someone to help me clean the studio for a while now ^^

Yeji (6:36pm)
D:

--

It’s been a long while since Jeno has been to Ansan, and the Seoul Institute of the Arts is still as grand as it’s ever been. With the students on break, the campus is quiet as Yves meets them at the gate with a wave.

“Ready?” Yves asks with a smile.

Jeno could see the excitement radiating from both Yeji and Ryujin as they both nod their yeses, big matching grins on their faces.

Yves leads them up to the performing arts building, up to where the dance students would gather and train together.

Jeno can't help but smile, he remembers this place so clearly—fifth floor, PA Building, walking down the same halls he’s spent dancing after lectures til they were lying down, feet hurting like hell, exhausted yet the happiest he’s felt in the last few years. This was the place he saw Yves’s performance that changed his life to what it is now.

“Oh god.” Jeno covers his face.

They stop by a wall of photos of past student performers, and Ryujin instantly points at a photo of him—boyish, chubby-cheeked, hair ridiculously shorter.

“You were so cute!” Yeji giggles, squeezing his arm.

“Why did they put me up there,” Jeno sighs. “I wasn’t even a student here.”

It’s definitely odd. He knows for a fact that he wasn’t as welcomed into the program as the photos up on the wall made it out to be. The lecturers who were especially traditional didn’t particularly thought highly of him, and Jeno definitely felt the stares from the ballet students every time he would crash the classroom when they were done.

Still, he can’t say he isn't a bit flattered to be pictured with some of the best performers in Seoul.

“It’s because you were good, and they saw that.” Yves shrugs. She knows first hand what he had to go through, hell, she was by his side during most of it. “We all did, some were just too resentful to admit it.”

Yves starts walking again, leading them down the hall. She turns her head back to them and winks. “I’ll send you guys a copy of Jeno’s photos when he’s not looking.”

Both Yeji and Ryujin snicker like he isn’t there. Jeno rolls his eyes.

They continue their tour, walking past the practice rooms. One room is doing a regular ballet class, the other booming with a modern pop song, the next a room full of string instruments.This building has always fascinated Jeno with the talent brimming from its walls, and seeing Yeji excitedly peek through the door, seeing Yves endeared smiles at his student, Jeno knows Yeji belongs here.

They stop by Yves’ classroom after the tour, said she wants to discuss some things regarding Yeji’s admissions. They take a seat right at her desk, a quiet tension going over them for the first time that day, Yeji fidgeting restlessly at her seat in front of Yves. Jeno stands behind her, squeezing her shoulder.

“I can put you into next year’s ballet program under my recommendation. There is a scholarship and student aid program that you can apply for the incoming school year, so you wouldn’t have to worry about tuition costs for the rest of your stay here as long as you maintain a certain grade and quality of performance.”

Yves folds her hands under her chin. “However, the university requires you to provide show money, just as a precaution to the admin to know if you are serious about taking this course.”

“How much exactly?” Jeno asks.

“Around 800,000 won.”

Yeji purses her lips.

“It’s a three year course guaranteed to provide you with the campus’ best facilities and best instructors in the game.” Yves slides a pamphlet of the Institute Ballet program towards Yeji. “So, what do you think?”

Yeji is quiet, unusually so. Jeno can see it in the way she has her head bowed, hands classed together over her lap, her hunched shoulders. He could see the concern in Ryujin’s face too, reaching out to hold onto Yeji’s fist.

“Yeji?” Yves calls out softly.

Yeji lifts her head up slightly. “I think it all sounds amazing, really.”

“But?”

Yeji’s lips stretch into a small smile, almost defeated. “But I don't know, I don't think I really deserve all of this.”

Jeno frowns. “Yeji.”

“It’s okay, coach.” She says. Yeji places a hand on top of the one Jeno has on her shoulder and squeezes. “Besides, my parents would never let me go. They already don't like that I’ve been choosing dance over school this semester break, and I don’t think they would approve of me going to this university, let alone moving to Seoul and the cost of living either.”

Ryuujin suddenly stands.

“I’ll help you convince them!” She exclaims. Her brows are furrowed, hands in determined fists. “No matter what, I will. This is too much of a good opportunity for you to just give up without trying!”

“Ryujin’s right, Yeji.” Jeno agrees. “I can talk to your parents too if I have to. We’ll make this work.”

Jeno has met Yeji’s parents at one of the times they’ve dropped her off at the studio. They aren’t exactly the most approachable kind, or even kind for that matter. Yeji has told him that she’d rather spend her time at the studio than at home at times, says that she feels more free here, when she’s dancing and spinning and flying.

“They’ll never understand,” Yeji had told him. “And I’m tired of making them understand.”

Jeno doesn’t care much for them nor their opinion. With the years Yeji has spent her summers and after school hours at his studio, he’s as much a guardian figure to Yeji as her own parents at this point, and he’s willing to fight for her right to pursue her passions if he so has to.

“If you ever want to start the program anytime, the offer still stands,” Yves assures with a smile. “So don't worry about taking your time.”

There’s a sniffle, and then Yeji’s covering her face in her hand. Jeno’s eyes soften, hand sliding to rub gentle circles at her back.

“Thank you guys, really,” Yeji mumbles, wiping her tears with the length of her sweater. “I’m just afraid, you know? I just don’t want to get my hopes up and later get it taken away from me.”

Ryujin sighs, pulling Yeji into a hug. Yeji clings to her instantly, crying against her shoulder. Ryujin wraps her arms around her tightly, squeezing. “It won’t. I won't let that happen.”

The train ride home is quiet.

Jeno rests his chin against his palm, watching the sky turn orange before him. On the seats opposite him are Yeji and Ryujin—Yeji is leaning against Ryujin’s shoulder, sleeping, while Ryujin is beside her awake, holding on to Yeji’s hand tightly.

“You should get some rest too, Ryujin.” Jeno mumbles. “It’s a long while before we get home.”

“I’m not that tired.” Ryujin wrinkles her nose at him, making Jeno smile before he’s closing his own eyes. It’s been a long day.

They decide to stop by Clair de Lune before heading back home.

Jeno squints. He swears he put the closed sign up that morning, so he isn’t sure why he’s seeing someone standing outside the place in the distance, but as they walk closer and closer to the studio, Jeno is even more surprised to find that it’s Jaemin waiting for them with his bike.

“Jaemin? What are you doing here?” Jeno asks.

“Jeno,” Jaemin smiles. “I didn’t know you guys were closed. My grandmother baked some goods, but I don't think I can finish everything on my own. Donghyuck said you might want some.”

“Of course he would say that,” Jeno snorts.

Jaemin reaches into his tote bag for a tupperware of cookies and hands it to Jeno.

“Thank you,” Jeno says. “Do you mind if I give my students some?”

“Not at all!”

“Thanks.” Ryuujin immediately reaches over and digs in, but Yeji pushes at her arm before she could get a bite.

“What!? He said I could!”

“Have some manners just this once, idiot!”

“I promise they’re nice kids.” Jeno waves a hand over his flushed face.

Jaemin just laughs. “It’s okay, there’s enough for everyone.”

“Were you waiting long?”

“Not really, I was just heading home myself.” Jaemin slings his tote over his shoulder, giving Jeno one last smile before climbing his bike. “I'm glad I could catch you though.”

Jeno nods. “Yeah, it was nice to see you.”

Jeno swears seeing Jaemin everyday is starting to be bad for him, his body has somehow conditioned itself to melt everytime he sees his lips stretch into that canine smile. He bites into a cookie with a sigh, watching Jaemin’s back as he rides his bike into the distance.

Behind him he hears a sudden click of a tongue, making Jeno turn around only to see Yeji and Ryujin’s twin smirks, arms over their chests.

“So when were you gonna tell us you got a new boyfriend, huh coach?” Yeji asks.

Jeno didn’t think he could get possibly even redder than he is.

“No, no, he’s not my boyfriend! You guys got the wrong idea!”

“Oh?” Ryujin raises a brow. “He sure is interested in you though? Who waits for someone like that for no reason? I'm gonna keep an eye on him.”

Jeno glares. “No, you’re not. He’s just a friend and he’s just being nice.”

“Have you seen his soulmark yet?” Yeji asks. “What if you guys match and you just haven’t checked?”

Jeno pinches the bridge of his nose. “Okay, I need to take you two home. This is getting ridiculous.”

He turns to Yeji, ruffling her hair until she whines for him to stop. “Talk to your parents, okay? If you ever need help, I'm right here. Whatever it takes.”

Yeji takes his hand, squeezing it reassuringly with a small smile.

“Thank you, coach. Thank you for coming with me.”

--

Jeno (9:34 pm)
Hey idiot
What’s Jaemin’s number?

Donghyuck (9:34 pm)
Oh?

Jeno (9:34 pm)
Please, this doesn't mean anything
I just want to thank him for the cookies

Donghyuck (9:34 pm)
Oh right
Of course
For the cookies :)
Nothing else :)

Jeno (9:34 pm)
:|

--

Jeno (9:40 pm)
Hi Jaemin, this is Jeno
Thank you for the cookies, they were delicious!
I stopped by my parents and my mom liked them too
Tell your grandma hello for me ^_^

Jaemin (9:40 pm)
Jeno, hey :)
I’m glad you like them!
Is it okay if I save your number btw?

Jeno (9:41 pm)
Sure, go ahead!

Jaemin (9:41 pm)
Awesome *^^*
I’m stopping by tomorrow to give you your photos like I promised!
Thought I’ll let you know

Jeno (9:41 pm)
Oh, cool! then I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow ^-^

Jaemin (9:42 pm)
Yep, see you tomorrow!
Good night, Jeno :)

Jeno (9:43 pm)
Good night!

--

Donghyuck (9:46 pm)
Damn, no good night for me?

Jeno (9:47 pm)
...What?

Donghyuck (9:47 pm)
So Jaemin gets a good night but I never do </3
I see your blatant favoritism

Jeno (9:48 pm)
How did you even
...
Goodnight, Hyuck 🙄

Donghyuck (9:48 pm)
Aww, goodnight 🥰

--

Jeno wakes up with a start.

The moment he hears the loud ringing from his phone, he knows it’s bad news. His stomach churns as he sees Ryujin’s name on the screen, brows in a deep frown as he accepts the call.

“Oppa, can you open the studio for a bit?”

“What happened?”

“It’s Yeji, just—Can you please come here? She needs you.”

That’s all Jeno needed to hear for him to get up and shrug on a hoodie and sneakers and run out into the streets. He’s out of breath when he gets to Clair de Lune, and there Yeji was, sitting outside the studio by the pavement, face buried in her arms. Ryujin is crouching in front of her, making sure she’s okay. She looks up at Jeno with a somber smile.

“What happened?” Jeno asks softly.

Yeji lifts her head up at the sound of his voice, and Jeno’s heart constricts. Her eyes and cheeks are swollen from crying, yet she’s still trying to give him a reassuring smile.

“Come here.” Jeno sighs, pulling Yeji for a hug. Yeji melts against him, hiccuping against his shoulder.

“They said no, oppa.” She whimpers. “I-I don’t know what I expected. I mean, at this point I shouldn't even be surprised, right? But I guess I was still trying to be hopeful that they would give me a chance this time, you know?”

“They don’t know what they’re talking about.” Ryujin scoffs. “You are going to Seoul whether they like it or not!”

“That's what I told them too, and surprisingly, they agreed with me for once. They said fine, I can do that, but they won’t help me with the money nor the accommodation.”

“What the hell is wrong with them?” Ryujin groans. “God, I hate them so fucking much.”

“Ryujin, can you stay with Yeji for a while? I don't think going home would be safe for her right now. Yuri’s cafe is opening in five minutes, you guys can stay there while I open up the studio.”

Jeno pulls away from Yeji, wiping her tear stains with his thumb. “And you, you need some rest.” He brushes her hair out of her face, tucking behind her ear. He smiles softly as she wrinkles her nose, trying not to sniffle in front of him. “I’m sorry about this. We’ll figure this out, okay?”

Yeji shakes her head. “It’s not even your fault at all, my parents are just stubborn.” Yeji leans back in Jeno’s arms, pressing her face against his shirt. “It’s always been you who believed in me, coach. I wouldn't even be here today without you.”

Jeno snorts despite himself. “Are you trying to get me to get you free hot chocolate at Yuri’s?”

Yeji pulls away slightly to take a peak at him, smiling sheepishly. “Is it working?”

Jeno crosses his arms at her, clicking his tongue. “I knew it. I knew the praise was too good to be true.”

“Come on, oppa,” Yeji sniffs. “It’s eight in the morning and I need my coco.”

“Of course you do.” He ruffles her hair, laughing when she starts swatting him away with a whine. He grins, glad to see that she’s smiling now and still trying to be her usually silly self.

“Fine, fine.” Jeno rolls his eyes as he stands up. “You want one too, Ryujin?”

“Hell yeah, I do!”

--

Jeno stretches in the empty practice room.

He’s glad he had some spare clothes lying around in the studio, adrenaline had him rushing out in days old sweatpants. He opened up Clair de Lune and went ahead and took a shower and changed into clean clothes. Jeno thought it would help him clear his mind a bit, but he can still see the frustration in his face as he stares back at the practice mirrors.

He opened this studio from a dream—from his desire to be free, from his desire to dance, and he went back to Busan to share this dream, not wanting to forget his roots. Jeno wanted to be there for the kids who are yet to realize what they're capable of, and help tap into their full potential.

If only it were that easy to sustain dreams.

Jeno knows first hand that dreams aren’t enough to keep your passion alive. There’s always going to be people that don’t think the same as you, and in turn, don’t want to support you. Not to mention, there is always money involved to move up in the world regardless of your passion, and it’s a truth that is always hard to swallow.

Jeno wishes he was bigger. He wishes he was more influential, richer, so that he could help lift up his students’ even bigger dreams. He was merely a stepping stone for them, and to have students like Yeji who lacked the support from her own family, makes Jeno feel all the more responsible. He wants to lift her up even higher because God if she didn’t deserve it. Yeji deserves to expand her wings, explore outside Busan, to live a bigger and fuller life, and it’s frustrating that Jeno can’t do that for her.

He exhales a breath. He needs to release this tension somehow and cleaning up the studio is the next best thing Jeno could think of. It needs a bit of polishing anyway.

He spends the rest of the morning wiping down the practice room floor until he sees his reflection in the wood, until it’s slippery and easy to slide onto.

Jeno cleans, running his rag down the length of the room until he sees the sight of pointed dress shoes, bumping into them in his haste. When he looks up, Jaemin is smiling down at him.

“Hi.”

“Oh, hey.” Jeno flushes. He almost forgot he was visiting today. Jeno stands up, wiping his hands on his joggers haphazardly and tells Jaemin to watch his step as he walks further into the studio.

“I brought the photos.” Jaemin says, handing Jeno a small brown envelope.

“Thank you.” Jeno takes it with a small smile. It’s a small but thick pile, and they go through it together, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

It’s photos from the Merry Go Round performance, and Jeno’s smile grows with each photo he flips to next. His ears warm on their own accord in every close up shot Jaemin took of him, it doesn’t help that Jaemin would give the occasional ‘Pretty’ comment every now and then too. There are a bunch of photos of the girls too—of Yeji and Ryujin and the moments they took center stage. Jeno is sure to give it to his students the next time practice starts again.

All the photos are from Jaemin’s film camera. He brought it with him that day despite already cradling the company DSLR around his next the entire show. Jaemin tells him there's an old dark room in the Dreamlike ninth floor and although nobody uses it much anymore, Jaemin of course took the opportunity to get his film developed himself after work hours.

Somehow having these photos developed and printed the old fashion way has a more personal feel to it that Jeno likes. He often takes photos of things on his phone for memory’s sake but to have them in his hands physically is different. In one of his photos, Jeno is half orange from the light exposure, and Jaemin made sure to tell him it's because Donghyuck barged into the room without knocking first. Still, Jeno is going to treasure it til who knows when.

Though, Jeno does tuck that information aside to tease Donghyuck in the future.

“This one’s my favorite,” Jaemin says. “You look incredible.”

It’s a photo of Jeno posing with his arms up, back against the crowd. The stage lights make it look like Jeno is enveloped in the light. His soulmark is also clearly visible from this angle, beautifully lining the curve of his spine.

Jeno stares intently, swallowing. He admits, although more to himself, that it is indeed a beautiful photo, and to have Jaemin lean in close and tell him it’s his favorite does weird things to his chest.

Jaemin turns to him and grins. “Modeling offer still stands just in case you're interested.”

“Ah, of course.” Jeno snorts, gathering the photos into a neat pile. He taps one side against the floor. “Say, actually, is the pay good?”

“Well, I can definitely pitch a handsome amount if needed.” Jaemin says. “So, are you actually interested?”

“Sort of?” Jeno sighs. He smiles down at a picture of his girls at the top of the pile. “It’s for Yeji. We want to help her get into the ballet program in Seoul but we need some financial help. So I've been thinking about accepting the modeling gig. The money from the shoot would help a whole lot and we need all the help we can get.”

Jeno still isn’t sure about the whole modeling and posing thing, but this was a perfect opportunity to earn some money and slowly built up their fund from there. Besides, he’ll be in good and expert hands with Donghyuck and Jaemin around, so Jeno is at least thankful for that.

“If that’s the case then, I’ll help you.” Jaemin says. “I’ll ask the supervisors if we can get some of the proceedings donated to Yeji. I’ll try my best to convince them.”

Jaemin winks at him. “I also have Donghyuck on the case with me and I'm sure they’re already aware how persistent he can be.”

Jeno couldn’t help but laugh. For the first time that day the weight on his shoulder lightens just a little bit. There is hope—there is hope that they can actually pull this off and get Yeji in her dream program.

“You know, you're actually very persuasive yourself, Jaemin-ssi.”

Jaemin winks again. “You know I only learn from the best, Jeno-ssi.”

“Oh god,” Jeno rolls his eyes. “Hyuck is going to gloat when he hears that.”

--

The next following days has Ryujin turning Clair de Lune into a meeting room to brainstorm ideas for Yeji’s fundraising.

Jeno has given her and Yeji spare keys of the studio in case they wanted to crash there instead of at Yeji’s during their break. He trusts them enough, they’re the oldest in his bunch of students and he knows they’ll take care of the studio even without him there.

It was when Yeji had to go on a trip with her parents out of town when Ryujin started her meetings with the rest of the ballerinas, discussing possible things they could do to raise a quick buck. From dance classes, babysitting, to offering to do other people’s homework when school starts up again—the list is seemingly endless, and Jeno comes into the studio with snacks when the topic of baking comes up.

“We can make some cupcakes and sell them, you know?” Ryujin suggests.

“That’s great and all but do any of you actually know how to bake?” Jeno asks. He settles down on the floor beside Lia and gives her the snacks to pass around the girls. “Where do we even find an oven?”

Yuna raises her hand. “I once took a cooking class two blocks down beside Tzuyu-unnie’s bakery! Maybe we can do it there?”

“That’s perfect!” Ryujin snaps her fingers. “We’re finally getting somewhere here!”

“Were getting what somewhere?”

Jeno turns around to see Yeji by the door, hair now a fiery orange (“I can explain,” Yeji grins sheepishly later.), carrying a bagful of stuff from her holiday. She blinks as everyone looks at her, bottom lip jutting out into a confused pout.

“Are you guys planning things without me now?”

Ryujin snorts as she stands, wiping her hands on her joggers. “Idiot, we’re planning things for you!”

“What?” Yeji frowns. She hits Ryujin’s shoulder when Ryujin finally reaches her to take her bags. “You were serious about raising money?”

“Of course, I am!” Ryujin snorts. “We’re getting you into that school if that's the last thing I'll do!”

Even from where Jeno was sitting, he could catch the shine in Yeji’s eyes, the telltale sniffle that has him smiling softly.

“Really?” Yeji whimpers, before she’s running into Ryujin’s arms, hugging her tight.

“Of course, really.” Ryujin just laughs, wrapping her arms around Yeji. “Are you still drunk from holiday?”

“Kinda,” Yeji sniffs, making everyone in the room giggle. Yeji pulls away slightly to weakly glare at the girls, face flushed red. And then she’s facing Ryujin again, leaning in to kiss her in front of everyone.

The collective gasp in the room is loud, including Jeno’s own shock, and then it quickly turns into a chorus of even louder squealing.

“Finally!” Jeno laughs, only grinning even more ridiculously when Ryujin turns to glare at him this time with a “Coach, stop it!”

Jeno just crosses his arms. “So, since when?”

It’s Ryujin’s turn to flush, looking away. “Last week before her trip. She finally got tired of being stupid.”

Yeji pouts. “Hey, we were both being stubborn, not just me.”

Jeno remembers when Ryujin started at Clair de Lune, ever so assertive and friendly. She asked everyone in the room what their soulmarks were on the very first day she was there, eager to look for her soulmate in the class.

He remembers watching Ryujin approach a rather shy Yeji who refused to show her soulmark to her, and ironically, that started their playfighting that drew them closer together to how they are now.

Jeno remembers how he specifically said that he gave his number out to everyone for emergency purposes only, but then Yeji called him one afternoon saying it was really urgent, only to listen to her rant for a good ten minutes about how Ryujin is her soulmate and she doesn't know what to do about it. Even more ridiculous was when Ryujin called him with the same problem the day after.

The last thing Jeno thought he would be doing as a mentor at Clair de Lune was to play matchmaker, but it's relieving to find them finally take that one step they were so scared to take together.

Ryujin shows everyone the tattoo lining her wrist, the circle of lilies that Jeno always caught a glimpse of through the years. Now, they’re shining a green and purple iridescent. Yeji, who always kept hers hidden, now proudly shows off her own soulmark hugging her ankle prettily.

Jeno is happy for them. Who wouldn’t be? Though, his chest aches a little seeing their matching soulmarks shine so prettily in the light. On one hand, he wonders if deep down he inherently wants to find his own soulmate, on the other, maybe they’re just conditioned to think that way, but he digresses. Jeno might not really take interest in these superstitions about himself, but seeing people happy to find their own soulmates is a contagious happy feeling nonetheless.

Jeno clears his throat. “So Yeji, what about you, do you know how to bake?”

Yeji blinks. “Wait, I have to do this too?” Ryujin pinches her arm. “Of course, you idiot!”

--

Jeno created a group

Jeno added Donghyuck and Jaemin

Jeno renamed the group to ‘Dream Bakery’

Jeno (3:22pm)
Baking class at Tzuyu’s
10am tomorrow, don’t be late :D

Donghyuck (3:23pm)
??
Since when did I agree to this?

Jeno (3:23pm)
Since now ^^
Oh, and bring Renjun with you if he’s free

Jaemin (3:24pm)
Ooh, I love baking!

Jeno (3:24pm)
Perfect :D

Donghyuck (3:24pm)
WAIT

--

Tzuyu’s bakery has always smelt heavenly every time the girls and Jeno wanted to get some snacks right after practice, and ever since she started doing her weekend bake classes just a couple of weeks ago, it’s been the talk in the practice room for a while now.

Jeno is seated beside Donghyuck and Renjun who are confused to be there to say the least.

“Just so you know, I could still be sleeping at this hour.” Renjun grumbles while typing his apron. “So if I fuck up, it’s because I shouldn’t even be awake right now.”

Jeno just snickers. “Don't worry, I don't know how to do this either.”

“I’ll help you.” Says a voice behind him, and Jeno turns to find Jaemin in his apron smiling at him.

“Oh, thanks.” Jeno replies with a scratch of his neck.

Jeno’s glad he was leaning against the table because he swears for a moment his knees lose their bit of strength. It’s Renjun's turn to laugh at Jeno and Jeno elbows him playful at his side.

Tzuyu is teaching them a recipe of carrot cupcakes that is simple to follow for beginners. Yuna and Lia are at the front helping her, having been to the classes a couple times already. So far Jeno’s enjoying it. Jaemin has all the ingredients measured in their own little bowls, so it was easy to chuck everything in their mix in their proper orders. They take turns mixing the batter, laughing all the while. He didn’t know it took some serious forearm strength to do this.

They’re waiting for their turn to put their tray in the oven when Ryujin approaches their table, licking batter off a spatula.

“Oh?” Ryujin grins. “Jeno’s boyfriend is here.”

Jeno gives her a look. “That’s Jaemin, he’s not my boyfriend.”

“Yet.” Ryujin and Donghyuck quip at the same time. They high five each other like excited kids, laughing up a storm like him and Jaemin aren’t there.

Jeno just pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Say, Jaemin-oppa, aren't you a photographer?” Ryujin asks. She rests her arms against the table, tapping her nails against the wood. “How much do you think Jeno’s photos would go?”

“What!?” Jeno exclaims. “Are you guys exploiting me for money now?”

“Yes.” They answer immediately. This time it’s Yeji answering with Ryujin, joining their table with their tray of cupcakes already done. Ryujin tries to take one for herself but Yeji is quick to swat her grabby hands away.

“I’ve been telling you how popular you are online, coach, but you never listen!”

“Because, “Jeno sighs, scratching his warm ears. He doesn’t think they’ll ever not be hot today, even with the place being well air-conditioned. God. “I still think you’re joking about making that update account or whatever you call it.”

Yeji has told Jeno they were all admins on this fan page they made for him on Twitter. He still thinks it all an elaborate joke—all the candids they took of him—from him stretching, eating, to pictures of Jeno just sitting there, spaced out, Yeji said they’ve archived it thoroughly for the past year. He still thinks it’s all a joke even if Yves has also told him she follows it to see what he's up to.

“Anyway, back to important matters.” Ryujin wiggles her brows at Jaemin. “Jaemin?”

To Jeno’s dismay, he watches Jaemin tilting his head up, finger tapping his chin in thought. To his dismay, Jaemin is actually considering this seriously.

“It would depend on which photo.” Jaemin hums.

Ryujin’s leans in.“That entails risque photos aren’t out of the question?”

“Okay, no,” Jeno shakes his head. He starts busying himself with cleaning up their station. “We’re here to bake, not start an Onlyfans.”

Donghyuck bursts out laughing, making everyone in the room look towards their table curiously. Jeno’s skin is positively scorching at this point.

Ryujin’s grin has turned manic. “You’re a fucking genius, coach!”

“Oh my god.”

Jeno didn’t think thirty minutes would feel like eternity, but here he was willing for the clock to speed time up so that they could get their cupcakes baking. Instead, he’s spending his supposed eternity listening to the girls plot how to exploit him for money. Jeno is too embarrassed to lift his head at every ridiculous idea they propose, but the one time he does, Jaemin catches his eye and smiles at him with that stupidly endearing canine smile of his.

Finally, Tzuyu calls them to the oven for their turn and Jeno carries their tray carefully in his arms. Jaemin joins him, an arm circling around Jeno’s waist. The action makes Jeno stand a bit straighter, eyes widening. Of course it doesn’t go unnoticed by Donghyuck, Renjun and the girls, and Jeno can only give them a weak glare as they walk off.

The class ends with them decorating the cupcakes however they want and showing them off in front of the class. For his first time, Jeno thinks they did pretty good. The cupcake is moist and delicious, even when his attempt at decorating faces in the icing is to be desired.

They decided to decorate their own halves of their cupcake try and it’s pretty evident that Jaemin has more experienced control with the icing bag than Jeno does, creating a smiley on one of the cupcakes that Jaemin says is in Jeno’s likeness. Jeno is glad he has the oven to blame for the heat that time.

The class went well for everyone, and it was almost unanimous for the girls that they would make the bake sale a reality. They set the date for next weekend at Clair de Lune, giving them a week’s worth of time to prepare.

With Yeji’s insistence, they tweet out the event of their self-proclaimed official Jeno twitter, complete with Jeno posing for the camera, albeit reluctantly. To Jeno’s surprise, it receives a bit of traction, and Ryujin and Yeji just give him a knowing look.

“We keep telling you!” Yeji sighs as she stretches by the barre.

“We can charge 2000 won for a photo with coach on Saturday.” Ryujin suggests seriously.

Jeno just shakes his head, starting the class with a wave of his hand.

--

Saturday comes around quick, and much to everyone’s amusement, a sizable amount of customers did come to buy treats and take pictures with Jeno as advertised. Jeno is flustered to say the least.

Jeno blinks at the sudden flash of a camera in his face, seeing Jaemin enter the studio with a wave, Donghyuck in tow.

“Hey. Are you documenting the event?” Jeno asks.

“Oh, I’m taking pics of you,” Jaemin replies with a grin. “Ryujin’s orders.”

Jeno makes a face. “Oh god, are you guys really gonna sell them?”

Jaemin laughs, shaking his head. “Don’t worry, she said she’ll just give it to the biggest spenders. I think that’s a cute idea.”

“That’s less weird, at least.” Jeno sighs. He leans in as Jaemin shows him the photos he’s already taken outside and Jeno wrinkles his nose at this one candid where he looks a little funny.

He pulls the photo out from the pile. “Please don't give then this one, I look dumb.”

“Oh, this isn't included,” Jaemin says. He plucks it from Jeno’s hands and puts it in his apron pocket and pats it with a smile.

“It’s mine.”

Jeno blinks.

“Oh.”

“Okay, enough flirting,” Donghyuck rolls his eyes, and it’s only when he slaps a cold hand at the back of Jeno’s neck did he realize his skin was burning again.

“You got a meet and greet to address, Jeno. Come on.”

The bakesale is a success.

They really weren’t expecting much, but they were able to sell out everything by late afternoon. Ryujin, as expected, is very persuasive in getting people to buy the cupcakes, and with Donghyuck beside her, egging her on, they’re a duo no one could refuse. Lia and Yuna made a little booth for Jeno to apparently sit and look pretty at for his little meet and greet, and Jeno had to admit, it’s actually kind of cute. Jaemin also brought some cookies made by his grandmother to share while they accommodate customers.

There are highschoolers who for some reason want Jeno’s autograph, little kids who just came from soccer practice and were looking for something to eat and happened to pass by. Jeno also found himself meeting aspiring dancers who want to take classes at Clair de Lune someday.

It’s the last thing Jeno expected—to feel pride in what he does and want to continue doing so while selling cupcakes on a Saturday afternoon. It’s definitely something out of his routine, but it’s a nice change of pace.

The success has Jeno excited to try other things they could do for Yeji’s fundraising.

He's been thinking of maybe opening up the studio to take in the casual lessons here and there; something fun for kids to do after school like an extracurricular. Maybe negotiating with the school nearby would help too. Ryujin has been wanting the studio to have a hiphop dance program for a long time, and Jeno is somehow considering that too.

Since some of the senior girls in Clair de Lune are moving up and graduating soon anyway, he’s going to have to take in a few more new students to fill his class up.

The thought has Jeno feeling both happy and sad. On one hand, he’s gonna miss his girls, and all the summers he’s spent teaching them how to twirl and fly. On the other, he’s very proud of them, and wants nothing but to let them go and soar even higher.

Jeno is clearing out the empty boxes outside the studio when Ryujin and Yeji approach him. The sun has already set, turning the sky into a stunning orange that Jeno thinks is even prettier than the falling leaves.

“Hey, you guys heading home soon?” Jeno asks.

“Yeah, in a while.” Yeji replies. “Thank you for letting us do the bakesale today, by the way. And for being a really good sport.”

Jeno snorts. “I guess I can admit it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

“We told you so!” Ryujin exclaims.

“Yeah, yeah, you did, and I never listen.”

Yeji adjusts her bag over her shoulder. “Coach, I’ve been meaning to ask. For the upcoming winter showcase, do you have anything planned out yet?”

Jeno sets down his boxes to the side. “Hm, i’ve been debating on a few things, but nothing’s final yet. Why? You have a piece in mind?”

“We do, actually.” Ryujin says seriously.

She turns to Yeji then, grasping her hand tight. Yeji purses her lips in return, nodding, and when she locks eyes with Jeno, he has never seen them look as serious as they are now.

“We want to do Swan Lake.”

--

To perform Swan Lake means a lot of things to a lot of different people.

To most it’s a staple that has transcended decades, centuries even, and has been well loved by fellow dancers and audience members alike. To some, it’s the greatest expression of love, a dance of confession to a loved one, especially performed in front of a soulmate. To others, it’s just a dance, a test, just something for the soles of their feet to learn and merely perform.

To Jeno, it’s a symbol of beginnings. It’s love and it’s passion, it’s the start of his hopes and dreams. And even to this day, he has been learning the dance ever since he saw Yves perform it years ago. Unlike most, he's never actually performed it, let alone dedicate it to his soulmate as tradition dictates, and he isn’t even sure if he wants to abide by that either, even ever, but he digresses.

Swan Lake is still a highly acclaimed ballet tradition, and just imagining Yeji and Ryujin up on that stage, burning stage lights illuminating their posed figures, it already has Jeno’s lips curving into a proud smile. It’s the perfect time and perfect piece to headline their winter showcase, and for a good cause too, and Jeno takes it upon himself to take to the studio and practice Swan Lake so that he could properly teach his class the routine.

Jeno dims the light and turns on his speakers, letting the ominous Tchaikovsky piece fill the room. He shrugs off his shirt as he stretches his leg by the barre.

On stage, Jeno is used to baring it all for costume’s sake, but even on his own, he finds that he likes to watch himself dance without a shirt on as well. He can see every line and curve his body creates in the mirror, every slight twist and movement, and it helps him to be more aware of how to angle and pose himself for the stage.

So Jeno dances, filling the room with his long limbs and spins. He dances until the afternoon sun sets to an autumn orange, bright and brilliant. Jeno dances until the last of his sweat hits the wooden floors.

Once the music settles for the last time, Jeno lifts his head up only to see Jaemin staring back at him in the mirror.

“Jesus,” Jeno jumps, hand over his panting heart. He laughs. “You scared me, Jaemin.”

“Sorry, I didn't want to disturb you so I just let myself in.” Jaemin smiles at him gingerly. “Were you practicing for something?”

“I was,” Jeno plops down on the floor, resting for the first time that afternoon. “Yeji and Ryujin want me to teach them Swan Lake and I’m just trying to recall the routine.”

He stretches his arms up and turns to Jaemin. “Have you ever watched a Swan Lake performance, Jaemin?”

Jaemin walks to where he was sitting, standing just a little ways behind him. “I haven’t, but I’ve heard interesting things about it for sure.”

“Interesting? You could say that,” Jeno smiles. “It’s kind of like a rite of passage for most ballerinas. It’s a confession dance supposed for your soulmate, or so they say, but the significance of the dance can be what you want it to be. For Yeji and Ryujin, they want to dance it to celebrate their getting together.”

Jeno shrugs. “Regardless of their intent, I'm here to help them.”

“Soulmate dance, huh.” Jaemin whistles. His hands are in his pants pocket, eyeing Jeno in the mirror. “What about you? Have you danced it for anyone?”

Jeno watches his gaze shift along the span of his back. He shivers at the attention, suddenly inclined to cover his front with his arms helplessly, only now remembering he’s partially nude. His shirt is on the other side of the room, thrown haphazardly across it from unnecessary flare.

“I haven’t.” Jeno mumbles, neck flushing.

“Besides, it's not like I'm looking for my soulmate anyway.” He adds, more to himself than to anyone.

Jaemin catches his shy eyes, frowning. “You don't believe in soulmates?”

Jeno only gives him a sheepish smile. “Not really?”

He’s explained this so many times, about how ridiculous the idea of soulmates is to him. Jeno usually knows what to say, knows his whole spiel about it, but for some reason he’s nervous to speak about this topic around Jaemin, and he doesn’t exactly know why.

“I just—” Jeno shakes his head. “I just think it’s stupid, you know? It’s stupid that you’re meant to be with this one sole person just because you have matching tattoos. Didn't they say it's bad luck to even get matching tattoos?”

Jaemin is quiet as he blinks at him, taking in what he just said, and when he does answer moments later, his eyes crinkle as he laughs, and it’s something Jeno focuses on to distract himself from his own embarrassment.

“I mean, you’re not wrong.” Jaemin chuckles. “They do say it’s bad luck, yes.”

“My dance class talks about soulmates a lot, about how beautiful it is.” Jeno scratches his ear. He knows they're red again without checking the mirror. “And of course, they have every right to indulge in it, you know? It’s supposed to be thought about, romanticized over even, and god if it’s a perfect thing to pour dance into.”

Jeno thinks of Yeji and Ryujin and their unruly yet perfect dynamic: They bicker as much as they love and lift each other up, they dance in their own distinctive styles yet communicate perfection in sync on stage like two swans—and that’s who they were together, what their friendship entailed even before knowing and confirming their soulmateship, and to have that important connection with someone is something special.

Jeno smirks despite himself.

“What’s funny is the people they like do end up being their soulmate so it's not even a problem for them. So, I guess that’s the power of fate or whatever this whole thing is about. What I’m trying to say is they have a point, and I’m just being stubborn by not wanting to do anything with it.” Jeno ends with a laugh.

“I mean, you're right, it is an outdated concept isn't it?” Jaemin hums. “To be paired up with someone out there in the world even before you could talk or speak at all is really strange when you think about it.”

Jeno watches Jaemin walk until he’s stopping in front of him, blocking his view of the floor mirrors. He watches Jaemin shrug his long brown coat, watches him crouch down to his eye level, stare intent and gleaming orange in the sunset.

“I don’t think it should matter if we’re destined or not, you know? If I like you, I like you. I like you, and I like knowing it’s because it’s what I feel and not because I'm inclined to.”

Jeno stills as Jaemin gently drapes his coat over his bare back, unblinking as Jaemin adjusts it over his shoulders, smiling softly at him as dusts off the lapels.

“And if on the off chance we are soulmates, then that’s just a neat bonus, no?”

Jaemin’s long coat is big, warm, and perfect to walk around in in the cooling fall weather, but Jeno doesn’t think it’s the reason why his entire body is lighting up like a furnace.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jeno exhales after a beat. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”

With a clear of his throat, he grasps onto the front of the coat, wrapping it around himself more comfortably.

He’s finally properly slipping his arms into the coat sleeves at the same time Jaemin rolls his dress shirt up to his elbows. Jeno stops to stare for a bit, eyebrows furrowing at the sight of an unmistakable bandage wrapped around his forearm.

“What happened?” Jeno asks. “Are you hurt?”

Jaemin looks up at him and lets out a sheepish laugh. “Oh, yeah. I kind of burned my arm while cooking this morning.” Jaemin says, grimacing down at his arm. “It’s not a pretty sight right now, trust me.”

“I have a first aid kit here and some ointment,” Jeno offers.

Jaemin seems to hesitate at Jeno’s prospect, a careful hand curling over bandaged skin, but slowly, he’s nodding, smiling a tiny grimace. “It does kind of sting a little bit.”

Jeno’s fingers are nimble as he unravels Jaemin’s bandages. As he peels off layer by layer slowly, he can see the reddened skin from his burn, but that isn’t what makes Jeno’s eyes widen.

“You have daisies too,” Jeno whispers.

He knows those thin petals anywhere, even in the small patch of skin he’s uncovered of Jaemin. His heart skips treacherously, and the thought of Jaemin possibly being his soulmate suddenly occupies the forefront of his mind.

When Jeno dares to look up, Jaemin’s chuckling softly, albeit a more subdued reaction from Jeno’s own, and what Jeno was expecting.

“Not as grandiose as yours I bet.” Jaemin hums, calm as he’s always been. Huh.

Somehow, it has Jeno deflating slightly, bringing him back down to earth. It has him remembering the many encounters he’s had with the same daisy marks etched on their skin, and not once have they been a 100% match, and yet here he was with his heart almost leaping out of his chest for Jaemin.

Jeno never thought he’d ever be excited at the thought of a soulmate, but here he was, at the verge of swallowing his own words.

“Stupid.” Jeno shakes his head. If that was addressed to Jaemin or to himself, he isn’t even sure anymore.

He shifts his focus back to the task at hand. The burn across Jaemin’s arm is still quite fresh and glaring red, and it’s clear in the way Jaemin winces as he lathers on the burn ointment that it still stung. Lifting Jaemin’s sleeve just a bit more reveals more marks on his arm, but this time they’re not just of daisies anymore, they’re actual tattoos, and a whole variety of them. They range from words delicately etched across his skin, to dates, doodles, and a collection of different flowers you could think of.

This discovery should make Jeno sigh in relief really, and yet he’s slumping ever so slightly more in his seat. So maybe these daisies across his arm isn’t his soulmark after all.

“Pay more attention when you're cooking next time, okay?” Jeno mumbles as he puts everything back into his first aid kit.

Jaemin gives him a hum, carefully covering up his arm.

“I’ll try.” He says. And then adds, “Actually, I think it would be better if you were there to make sure I do.”

Jeno’s cheeks fail him again, blushing even under the heat of Jaemin’s coat even as he points a glare at Jaemin.

The sunset had completely set, much to Jeno’s surprise. He didn’t think it was that late in the day. It’s only when he made to stand and felt just how sore his thighs were from today’s practice did he come to agree that god, did he need to go home and finally lie down for the day.

They walk out the studio to where Jaemin parked his bike. Jeno shivers the moment they step out, the wind has been especially cold at night these days. Still, he attempts to shrug off Jaemin’s coat and give it back to him, or at least, that is if Jaemin actually lets him. He has a hand grabbing gently at his arm and a shake of his head.

“Keep it,” Jaemin says. “It suits you better anyway.”

“Stop it.” Jeno glares at him again, and yet he wraps Jaemin’s coat around himself tighter. “You can stop doing whatever Donghyuck says, you know.”

“Oh?”

Jaemin was about to mount his bike, but Jeno watches him still in place, and then he’s laughing. Jaemin turns back to Jeno and raises an amused brow at him. “And what exactly is he making me do?”

Jeno hides his puffs of breath with the collar of his coat.

“You know what they are—the visits and the flirting,” He mumbles, eyes itching to look anywhere but at Jaemin. “Your coat.”

Jeno has dealt with Donghyuck’s matchmaking throughout the years, and it was always fun to humor him and entertain all the people he’s introduced to Jeno. Jaemin is just another person to add to that list, or at least he was supposed to.

Spending time with Jaemin in the late hours after work like this, baking, sharing pleasantries with photos and snacks between them, it all has Jeno in a spiral. Hell, just now, he was even excited at the prospect of Jaemin being his soulmate which is a thought that he’s never ever entertained before in the slightest.

There is something in the way Jaemin indulges him that has Jeno wanting to lean a bit closer, wishing time could be just a bit slower, and if Jaemin really is just humoring Donghyuck’s little matchmaking, Jeno doesn’t exactly know how to feel about that.

“It was silly at first, yes.” Jaemin admits with a small grin. “When Donghyuck first told me about meeting you, I agreed without much thought. I was new to this part of the town anyway, and the thought of meeting new people interested me. When I met you, and you reacted the way Donghyuck knew you would, I don’t know, the ridiculousness of the situation just made me want to tease you just a bit more, more than what Donghyuck had planned initially.

“And if that isn’t an understatement, huh?” Jaemin snorts. “Sometimes, I find myself wanting to see you, you know? Sometimes I think about what you're doing during the day, if you would like my grandmother's cooking, or if you’d like to spend lunch with me at work. And trust me when I say that none of those have anything to do with Donghyuck.”

Jaemin finally mounts his bike, giving Jeno a teasing chime of his bell that matches his ever teasing crinkle in his eyes.

“So expect more visits from me, yeah? I promise to knock next time.”

“Oh.” Is all Jeno can respond after everything Jaemin’s said.

Jaemin grins at him, echoes, “Oh?”

“Right. Okay. Bye.” Jeno adds helplessly, covering his mouth with his hand right after. His brain is particularly mush. He already has to stand here in the cold with his sore muscles, he didn’t need Jaemin to turn him into complete jelly right now too.

It at least gets one last chuckle from Jaemin before he’s waving and heading off.

Jeno watches Jaemin leave, until he’s rounding the corner and out of sight. The breeze blows past him, cold as ever. It makes Jeno cling to Jaemin’s coat, making him take in Jaemin’s now familiar clean citrus scent, and Jeno tries his best to convince himself it’s the wind making him wrap his coat clad arms around himself even more.

--

Donghyuck (2:45am)
So a little birdy told me something :)

Jeno (2:45am)
Tell your little birdy to go to bed it’s 2am

Donghyuck (2:45am)
Why would u say that when u know how I feel

Jeno (2:45am)
?

Donghyuck (2:46am)
I told u to stop saying goodnight to him again before me
It makes me upset T_T

Jeno (2:46am)
Oh my god

--

True to Jaemin’s words, his visits do become more frequent.

They’re frequent enough that the girls at the dance studio have come to anticipate him coming over to join Jeno and them for lunch, even staying just a little bit longer after practice with their bags already slung over their shoulders to watch Jaemin come back again to walk Jeno home.

That’s another thing that’s become a frequent thing—walks home. Jaemin usually travels by bike, but on their little walks home, Jaemin would have him bike with him, but he’d be walking with Jeno, enjoying the sound of the orange autumn foliage they’d occasionally step on, chattering about their day amongst other things.

Jeno enjoys the walks. They’re quiet, only the sound of Jaemin’s soothing low voice sharing details about his day and the orange sun that’s setting in front of them.

In a short amount of time, it’s found a spot in Jeno’s everyday routine, and it would come to the surprise of no one that it’s become Jeno’s favorite part of the day. His mother, who often visits, can attest to that, especially with how long he and Jaemin dilly dally by their front door, too obvious in the way they prolong having to say their goodbyes as long as they can.

Even when Jeno is inside his house, bashfully greeting his amused mother as he climbs up to his room, Jaemin is still with him—whether it be by his text messages asking if he’s in bed, or his sleepy calls as they quietly talk about anything under the sun.

Even in Jeno’s dreams Jaemin plagues him. Jeno dreams about Jaemin and the daisies decorating his forearm, glowing in iridescent colors and how it matches the same pair glowing on Jeno’s back.

He’d call it a nightmare if the thought just didn’t make him sink further into his sheets with a pleased sigh. If anything, it’s the fact that Jaemin being his soulmate doesn’t even sound so bad, and that’s the most terrifying part of all of this to Jeno.

--

Jaemin (10:06am)
Hey, Jeno! Good news!
Boss agreed we’d get a portion of the November issue proceedings to you and Yeji’s fund ^_^

Jeno (10:16am)
Really? ;_;
Thank you Jaemin, you're seriously being a big help rn

Jaemin (10:17am)
Come down to the studio on Monday and we can discuss the campaign we're doing.
Also bring Yeji and Ryujin along, boss wants to include them in the shoot ^^
The shoot is scheduled on Thursday morning, 8am!
Pencil it on your calendar if you can.

Jeno (10:17am)
Whoa, that's awesome! I’ll tell them for sure.
Btw, is there any particular theme so we can get ready for if ever?

Jaemin (10:20am)
Oh, about that. We’ve discussed it earlier as well.
The November feature is about soulmates ^^;;

Jeno (10:22am)
Oh...

Jaemin (10:23am)
Yeah… ^^

--

“Soulmates, huh?” Jeno murmurs into his empty glass. “But I'm not even mated.”

“I know,” Donghyuck sighs, a little too drunk and dramatic. Jeno manages a weak glare.

They’re at Donghyuck and Renjun’s apartment, nursing their second bottle of soju in their hands, Donghyuck almost on his third. It’s Friday, and Donghyuck wanted to welcome the weekend belly warm with food and alcohol, not forgetting to rope Jeno with him too.

“We’ll do some editing or something, you won’t even notice.” Donghyuck waves a hand. “I told you so many times how much I want to get you on film but you keep refusing. You have the prettiest soulmark I've ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of ‘em. Even the placement is pretty. He sighs. “There are only a handful of people who have them down their back like you do.”

Donghyuck slips from the couch he was leaning on to lay his back on the cool wood floor instead. He tugs Jeno with him, fumbling down beside him without much resistance. Jeno watches him hold his hands up to the ceiling, frames the ceiling fan with his index and thumb.

“I can already see it on the front page,” He clicks his tongue, pleased. “God, it’s gonna look so good.”

Jeno just squints, covering his eyes from the bright light. “You're forgetting that I can't pose. I'm not an actual model like you guys are used to handling.”

“Eh. We’ll figure it out along the way. Jaemin works his magic well.”

Jeno groans. He’s already accepted that he’ll never get out of this unconventional modeling contract he found himself in, but it was worth another shot. “Well, at least Yeji and Ryujin can actually fulfill the soulmate part of the shoot.”

Donghyuck sighs again, leaning his head against Jeno’s shoulder. “It must be nice to meet your soulmate so young, even sharing the same hobbies as you.”

Jeno looks down at him, deadpans. “That’s you and Renjun.”

“Yeah, but they’re ballerinas and we just sit at our desk, editing. You can probably guess which sounds cooler.”

“Idiot,” Jeno snorts. “You guys should join the shoot too.”

Donghyuck and Renjun are your classic office romance pair—the rivalry that was found to be one-sided, the teasing done so that you could grab the other’s attention, and of course, to add to the cliches, they had to be soulmates too. Jeno finds it all amusing how the stars (and their soulmarks) align like that, and he’s honestly envious of what they have.

It’s a minute thing, but to be the only one in the soulmate shoot that isn’t only not mated but also doesn’t even like the idea of soulmateship, it’s not only going to be awkward at the Dreamlike studio for Jeno, but Jeno’s going to find himself moping, longing for something he doesn’t have, something that he doesn’t even want to have.

Or so he’s been telling himself.

“That's cute but Renjun is just gonna yell at you about the deadlines he needs to catch.” Donghyuck rubs at his eye, yawning. “I should check on him.”

Jeno smiles softly. Renjun was too tired to drink with them, had left them for the bedroom to get some much deserved sleep. Jeno had to watch them share a loving kiss before they started drinking, and it has his stomach flipping with want, and he hasn’t even taken a sip of alcohol yet.

“Cheers,” Donghyuck drawls, clinking his bottle against Jeno’s. They’ve foregone the shot glasses, much easier to drink straight from the bottle with them lying down now, or so Donghyuck tries to sell. Jeno stares down at a coughing Donghyuck, sighing out an ‘I told you so’ before he sits up slightly to take his final swig.

“Has Jaemin met his soulmate?” Jeno asks as he lies back down. His belly is warm and heavy, mind getting increasingly cloudy, and he knows Donghyuck is going to have a kick out of this come morning, but he’s too buzzed to care right now.

“Ha! That man is as ridiculous as you,” Donghyuck snorts.

“Huh?”

“He has this weird principle of only showing his mark to his soulmate or whatever the fuck. Well, good luck with that, buddy. He’s gonna need it.”

Jeno stares. He starts at the ceiling fan that seems to be endlessly spinning.

He swears he just felt the soju burn his throat but he feels oddly sober all of a sudden.

That day hasn’t left Jeno’s mind ever since, and it’s so vivid too—him sitting there, with Jaemin so close, bearing his arm to him for him to attend to. It’s been occupying a corner of Jeno’s mind lately, of Jaemin and the marks across his arm, of the possibility of Jaemin being his soulmate. Jeno wishes he took a picture of it so he could at least have some to compare to his own mark.

Then again, Jeno is also reminded of the many marks surrounding the daisies, marks that bleed along the rest of his arm. Jaemin has a dozen other flower patterns across his skin and his soulmark could be any of those, hidden in the flower fields he’s created, and Jeno will never know which one it really is.

“He has a lot of tattoos,” Jeno sighs out. It’s a tame statement, an observation. It’s not outright declaring he saw his mark, but it’s curious enough that he anticipates a reaction from Donghyuck.

Hyuck gives him a lazy smirk. “You saw those too, huh?”

“Just a little glimpse.” Jeno shrugs.

“I swear I wasn't trying to peep, but his shirt rode down just a little too low this one time and god, was he littered with tattoos. I didn't think he’d be that guy, but not gonna lie, it's kind of hot.”

“Wait.” Jeno blinks. “He has them all over his body?”

That’s…

He thought the arm tattoos were it, and there were already a lot of tattoos as it is, but this just complicates things even more. Jeno already has little hope that Jaemin could be his soulmate, but now it’s completely squashed into nothing.

“I mean it when I say everywhere,” Donghyuck whistles. He stretches, leaning his head against his arm. “That's why I never know with him. Who knows what his soulmark is at this point.”

Jeno slumps against him, drunk, heavy and defeated. “Yeah, who knows.” He sighs.

Jeno closes his eyes. He really shouldn't dwell about this too much as he already has, it’s getting ridiculous. It’s ridiculous that he was hoping for the impossible in the first place.

--

Thursday comes by quicker that Jeno anticipated.

It’s eight in the morning and he’s at the Dreamlike building, already getting ushered into a dressing room. Donghyuck has warned him the entire day is going to be spent for the photoshoot, and he might have to sit in quite a while because they’ll be working with more or less a dozen models for the day. Jeno didn’t mind so much, he can at least have time to observe the professionals do their thing before his time to shoot.

It’s Dreamlike’s twentieth anniversary—twenty years of curating trendy fashion and lifestyle right in the heart of this small little town in Busan, and they want to go all out for this special November issue. The theme for the shoot is soulmateship. They’ve gathered a variety of models for today, most, if not all, mated and with their partners in tow.

Jeno is in awe of everyone that has stepped into the set, their distinct flower patterns decorating their bodies in the most delicate of places. He couldn’t sit still, his eyes would wander across the room in every direction, across every matching set of tattoos his gaze could catch, and his brown eyes were wide in wonder watching them seem to come alive in color.

All of the fanfare is exciting to Jeno, but at the same time, it has him sinking in his seat, more aware of his aloness. He’s starting to feel a little self-conscious, slumping into himself, hiding his back and frame from view the coat Jaemin seemed to refuse to take back.

As for Jaemin himself, he doesn’t seem to be here yet. Donghyuck says Jaemin is running late because of some personal errands, but made sure to also tell Jeno not to worry, he’ll be here to handle his shoot, which he annoyingly assures with a wink. Admittedly, Jeno has been looking around for Jaemin since he got here, and to no luck.

From where Jeno is sitting, he watches Yeji and Ryujin gingerly enter the room, polite greetings and bows and all, grinning at them reassuringly when they glance at him for help.

They’ve been nervous the whole weekend the moment Jeno broke the news to them. They even went as far as to storm into his house, forcing him out to get them pancakes so that they could stuff their faces as he consoled them. It’s the second time Jeno has gone out in town with some lack luster sweatpants and a hoodie on in a span of a few weeks but pancakes did sound nice especially with his mild hangover from Donghyuck’s place.

Jeno sits by the monitors watching Yeji and Ryujin pose for Donghyuck’s camera. They’re naturals in front of the camera, Jeno can’t help but smile hearing Donghyuck praise his girls with every flash. Yeji and Ryujin have a special spread for themselves in the November special and Jeno is particularly excited to see that too.

It’s a long wait until Jeno’s turn. He’s been waking in and out of a nap every time he hears the doors open, and in the late afternoon light, he wakes up a final time to the sound of frantic running. Jeno rubs at his eyes, watching Jaemin as he laughs at a pouting Donghyuck, catching his breath with a hand on his knee.

“Hey, sorry I’m late.” Jaemin grins.

”It’s fine,” Jeno mumbles in reply, stretching his limbs out in his seat.

“Fine?” Donghyuck scoffs. “You made me do all the work!”

“I got coffee though?” Jaemin says, lifting up a paper bag from Starbucks for added effect. He got everyone drinks, all on him too, and it does its job of pacifying Donghyuck immediately.

“Don’t worry, I’ll edit everything if I have to.” Jaemin adds with a laugh.

Donghyuck fishes a brownie out of Jaemin’s bag, stuffing it into his mouth in one go. “Fine by me, Jeno you’re up.”

Jeno stills, catching Donghyuck’s filled cheeks and even cheekier glint in his eyes.

He licks at his dry lips. “Right. Yeah.”

Oh boy.

Jeno finds himself standing in front of the white backdrop he didn’t think he’d see again. The smile on his face is sheepish, movements shy as he greets the staff and Jaemin.

“Don’t worry, I got you.” Jaemin assures with a smile.

And then, “Take off your jacket for me?”

Jeno is glad for the foundation caked on his face because his cheeks are definitely hot and he would like to keep that fact to himself if he can. Underneath his jacket is a flowy, long sleeved white shirt, ruffles lining the neckline and the end of his sleeves. Jeno shivers at the cool air hitting his chest, the strings at the front of his low hanging shirt are undone, and purposefully so.

“For the first set of photos I need you to dance for me. We’ll play some music and you can do whatever, and I’ll take photos of your movement.”

Jaemin motions for Donghyuck to take his phone and connect it to the speakers, tells him to pick any song for Jeno to dance to. Jeno takes one look at Donghyuck’s smile and already knows it’s trouble.

The familiar tune of Swan Lake’s first act blasts into the studio and Jeno gives Donghyuck a look.

“Oh, isn’t this the one you were rehearsing that one time?” Jaemin asks, looping the strap of his camera around his neck.

Donghyuck raises a brow at Jeno, crossing his arms over his chest. “Oh? You’ve performed this in front of him before? Interesting.”

Jeno doesn’t give him the reaction he wants, biting back a retort as he turns around to face the backdrop as he gets into position.

“Don’t worry about posing,” Jaemin says. “You don’t even have to look at me, just dance. Got it?”

“Got it.”

So Jeno does just that—he dances.

Jeno forgets about everything, everyone in the room, and just lets his toes lift off the ground and takes him to wherever he may land. He lifts his arms, arms poised and bent in familiar angles, and he turns, letting his shirt rise and fall from his every movement.

The shoot carries on until later into the afternoon. Every after a while, Jeno would be ushered to the side to get a change of outfit on him and then the cycle begins again, of him dancing, gliding across the room the way he knows how, with Jaemin following his every small gesture, every big leap with a click of his shutter. It’s only when the songs end did Jeno return back down to earth, back to the onlooking staff that would clap for him and he would find himself bowing at them bashfully in thanks, not sure what to do with himself.

The last shoot for the day has Jeno stripping bare, down to only a nude pair of biker shorts. His hair is purposefully tousled, kept in place with hairspray as they pin daisies in his hair, in every spot they could. This particular look is to feature on the front cover of the special Dreamlike anniversary issue, and Jeno has never felt as anxious as he is right now.

There are too many butterflies in his stomach to even have him walking straight, and when he finds himself back at the shooting area, Jaemin is there waiting for him, tinkering with his camera. He’s gotten rid of his own jacket and now he’s got nothing but a loose white tank top, his tattoos on display for Jeno to see.

Donghyuck wasn’t kidding, they’re everywhere—both his arms, even a couple littered on his chest, down the low cut vee of his tank that Jeno is frankly too scared to know what else is down there. Still, the one thing his worried eyes fixates on is the bandage where Jaemin’s burn is. It must haven’t completely healed yet.

“Ready?” Jaemin asks, not looking up from his camera.

“I guess.” Jeno gives him a shrug Jaemin can’t see, exhaling out a shaky breath. Focus.

When Jaemin finally looks up, he does so only to do a double take when his eyes briefly lock with Jeno’s. Jeno burns. He burns as he crosses the room, looking away from Jaemin’s wide eyes—wide eyes that wouldn’t leave him as he settles on the chair he’ll be warming throughout the rest of the shoot.

“Hurry, you idiot, it’s cold.” Jeno grumbles, looking elsewhere but Jaemin. He rubs at his arms, shivering slightly, but he knows it’s not because of the cold.

“Right.” Jaemin stands from where he was leaning and clears his throat. He walks towards Jeno, closing their distance until he’s standing right in front of him, towering over him.

“Keep your chin up for me,” He says, close—close enough that he doesn’t even have to speak above a whisper. There’s a gentle touch of fingers against Jeno’s jaw, tilting his face up slightly, up until he’s back to locking with familiar brown eyes.

“Just like that,” Jaemin smiles, so close. “Pretty.”

Jaemin’s directions are gentle, soft as he takes photos of Jeno. The flash is bright but Jeno doesn’t flinch, mind too occupied in wanting to do well. With every direction from Jaemin comes a satisfied hum, a whisper of pretty words that do a number to Jeno’s stomach, and he fights the urge to fluster, especially with the lights and cameras on him.

He’s glad Donghyuck isn’t here anymore. He had to go up to his station and do some work, begrudgingly so. It’s for the better really, Jeno wouldn’t have lasted the shoot if he was down here teasing him the entire time.

“Okay, now I need you to turn around for me, we’re taking a picture of your mark now.”

The entire day had Jeno watching soulmates show off their soulmarks.

It’s pretty much evident in the way they pose together, the way they bask in each other that they were happy, they were in love, and they were meant to be together. And as much as he has his own opposing beliefs, no one could deny how beautiful mated soulmarks actually are. They’re a different quality in their shine that makes them appear so unreal, and comparing them to Jeno’s tattoo is futile—soulless, plain, lonely even.

“What’s wrong?” Jaemin asks.

The hesitation must’ve been written all over Jeno’s face because when he looks up at Jaemin his brows are furrowed in worry. Jeno fists his hands on his lap.

“Just a bit worried.” He admits with a sigh. “Donghyuck said he was going to take care of it during editing but, I can’t help but compare my own mark from the rest. It’s just—Just… Plain? It looks really plain compared to everyone else’s.”

Jaemin turns off his camera with a click, letting it rest against his straps as he suddenly kneels in front of Jeno, taking Jeno by surprise. Jaemin grabs his hand, squeezing gently.

They’ve been doing that lately—the whole hand holding thing. It’s still a mystery to Jeno how he managed to initially initiate it with the guise of wanting to share hot packs. Jaemin immediately saw right through him but didn’t say anything but a wide grin, and the rest was history.

Jeno likes Jaemin’s hands. He likes holding them whenever Jaemin is close, he likes swinging their joint hands between themselves during their walks home. Jaemin’s hands are big as they are reassuring, long fingers always intertwining with his securely.

“You don’t have to be mated to be beautiful, Jeno. You already are.” Jaemin says.

“You’re just biased.” Jeno whines softly, just for Jaemin to hear. He tries his hardest to fight back a stupid smile the same time he feels his heart pick up.

Jaemin grins expectedly. “I am, but that doesn’t mean I’m not right.”

“Idiot.”

“Come on, Jeno,” Jaemin laughs. “Let’s finish this last one so we can go home.”

Jaemin pats Jeno’s knee before he makes a stand. Jeno reaches his arms up before he gets too far, ears burning when Jaemin gives him a knowing look and pulls him in for a hug.

It’s another thing they’ve been doing lately. They would share a hug at Jeno’s door, just before Jeno has to get inside his house.

Jaemin is a furnace, warm against his cool bare skin, and Jeno always melts against him and his broad frame, sighing as he feels Jaemin’s arms circle around his waist. They would stay like that, until Jeno’s mother is knocking at the window cheekily, making them both jump out of their skin. And if it weren’t for the time constraint today, Jeno wouldn’t want to let go ever either.

They start the shoot again. Jeno turns around, baring his back to the bright lights and Jaemin’s camera.

He jumps, shivering when he feels Jaemin’s cold fingers run along the length of his neck down to his spine.

“Relax your shoulders for me, darling.” Jamin says.

They say that when you and your soulmate’s marks touch for the first time, it’s like an electric current that courses through you. It’s sharp, instantaneous and something that you will recognize from the first touch. It’s a myth that’s been told ever before Jeno was born and frankly, he’s never believed in it. Still, Jeno couldn’t brush off the tinge of disappointment he feels when Jaemin’s bandaged arm is completely resting against the length of his back, just where his daisy mark is, and doesn’t feel any spark or shock or anything.

Against his very word, Jeno has been thinking about Jaemin’s own cluster of daisy littering his arm more times than he promised he would, and to feel that same forearm rest on him and finding out nothing really happens has his chest tightening uncomfortably.

When Jaemin pulls away, Jeno chances a peak over his shoulder. Jaemin’s looking down at his hands, staring intently, eyebrows furrowed.

For a moment, Jeno wonders if he’s thinking the same thing he is, but then Jaemin’s shaking his head, picking his camera back up and urges for him to pose.

Jeno sighs. At least the disappointment does make his shoulders loose, even if in defeat, and the rest of the shoot is done in silence.

Jeno immediately shrugs a robe on as soon as the photoshoot was over. He sniffs, bowing at the coffee offered to him by the staff and pads his way to where Jaemin is frowning down at his camera, reviewing the photos he took today.

It’s almost eight in the evening when Jeno checks his phone. He winces at the sore feeling of his back as he stretches and tries to keep his back straight as he walks. It’s always a bad habit of his to slouch but it hurts more than usual, most likely because he didn’t do any warm ups today before he started dancing either.

“Everything okay?” He asks when he gets to Jaemin.

“Oh yeah, I just—”

Jaemin suddenly stops midway. To Jeno’s horror he watches Jaemin make a pained face, hands visibly shaking.

Jeno’s brows furrow in concern. “Jaemin?”

He tries to reach out but Jaemin flinches away, letting his camera hang as he circles a hand over his bandages. Jeno frowns.

“Is your burn still hurting?”

“Yeah,” Jaemin hisses, closing one eye. “It stings a bit today for some reason. Maybe I should probably get that checked.”

“Maybe we should go right now?”

Jaemin shakes his head. ”No need, It’s bearable at least. It’s late and I know you’ve been dying to put some proper clothes on, I shouldn’t keep you.”

“But—”

Jaemin places a hand over Jeno’s, and it’s then did Jeno realize he’s becoming frantic himself, fidgeting restlessly. “Jeno, it’s okay. Me and Donghyuck still have some work to do anyway, so.”

Jeno is still frowning, concerned, especially when he feels the way Jaemin’s hand is shaking terribly right now. Jeno grabs his hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

“Just make sure to go straight home afterwards, okay? I’ll be calling to make sure.”

Jaemin smiles at him. “Aye, aye. I will. Now go, I know you’ve been cold all day.”

--

Jeno (9:30pm)
Are you home now?

Jaemin (9:31pm)
Yes, sir!
[IMG_4935.jpg]
Just got into bed like I said I would
Applied the ointment you gave me too! It feels so much better now

Jeno (9:31pm)
Good! Sorry for nagging, I was just worried…
Also, you look cute with the cat headband on ^-^

Jaemin (9:32pm)
Ah dammit, i forgot it was still on my head
I feel better now but I’m still pretty cold @_@
Would be better if someone was cuddling with me rn

Jaemin (9:35pm)
Jeno…?

Jeno (9:36pm)
Goodnight, Jaemin

Jaemin (9:36pm)
Hey
Did you not read what I said? T__T

Jeno (9:36pm)
I did and it’s time to go to bed

Jaemin (9:37pm)
D:

Jeno (9:36pm)
[IMG_3052.jpg]

Jeno (9:36pm)
Goodnight, Jaemin ^^

Jaemin (9:37pm)
;__;
Now you’re just teasing me
You look so cozy
Goodnight ♡

--

Jeno doesn’t hear much from Donghyuck and Jaemin for a while after the photoshoot.

He could wiggle in the occasional ‘Hello, don’t forget to eat!’ at them from time to time, but they’re swamped with working on the magazine most of the day, even night.

Jeno understands. He has seen Donghyuck in this state of stress countless times—the editor would stay up at the office at ungodly hours just to get samples done and get them approved as soon as possible, and even that process alone would take revision after revision until they’re right.

Jeno spends his days busy preparing for the winter showcase. He’s been teaching everyone the Swan Lake routine, even having Yeji and Ryuujin stay after practice hours to polish more of their act. They’re the centers of the show and would refuse to go home until they get their stances and landings perfectly.

Jeno appreciates their earnestness to perform, and he’s happy to be of service, no matter how late it gets. He does make sure to buy them food and walk them home afterwards, especially when they finish particularly later than usual.

“Are you gonna invite your parents to the showcase?” Jeno asks.

They stopped by a 7-Eleven before continuing their walk to Ryujin’s house. She was whining about how hungry she was and they decided to take a break to get some hotdogs.

Yeji wrinkles her nose. “What? No way! They never attend my performances, what makes you think they'll come to this one?”

Jeno squeezes out a wad of ketchup onto his napkin, giving Ryujin a look when she dips her fries into it before he does. “I mean, it’s your last one before you graduate. If there was one performance to convince them of anything, it's this one.”

“I kind of agree with coach,” Ryujin grumbles between a mouthful of hotdog. Jeno slides his soda can at her and he watches her take a big generous swig. “Trust me, I don’t like them either but this one is important to you, you know?”

“They don’t care enough to do that.” Yeji sighs. She grabs her banana milk, punching her straw through the hole before taking a small sip. “All my performances are important to me, it’s just that they don’t feel the same way I do. You can ask them if you want. I'm not going to.”

Jeno’s eyes soften, and he nudges at her to point at the poster in front of their table.

“You guys want ice cream? It’s half off at this hour.”

Ryujin whistles. “You know I can’t say no to that.”

Yeji moves her chair closer to Jeno until their knees knock, leaning her head against his shoulder and hums.

“You always know the right things to say, this is why you’re my favorite coach.”

Jeno raises an amused brow at her. “Oh? You have other coaches besides me?”

Yeji slaps his knee. “Ugh, you know what I mean!”

--

Jeno can’t place the unease he feels today.

The day starts as usual—his same cup of coffee on the way to the studio, the same beige coat from Jaemin on his back. Practice goes smoothly, they go over the usual Swan Lake routine, now polishing act two of the piece. They ordered jajangmyeon for lunch, his favorite, so Jeno isn’t so sure about this anxiousness that’s been hanging over him the entire day.

Jeno is sitting by his desk, taking a swig of water when Yeji comes bursting through the studio door with purpose.

She and Ryujin were outside, getting everyone some snacks from the bakery, begrudgingly too, if Jeno may add. But with the shit-eating grin on her face and Ryujin behind her struggling to catch up with boxes of sweets in her arms, it seems that her mood had turned a complete 180. Coincidentally, the pit of Jeno’s stomach churns even more.

There’s a particular sparkle in Yeji’s eyes as she reaches Jeno, and then she’s suddenly thrusting her phone right in front of his face.

“Coach, look!” She giggles excitedly. “They posted your cover page for the magazine just now! You look amazing!”

Oh? Jeno blinks. “So soon?”

He takes Yeji’s phone out of her hands, eyes catching the familiar pose immediately. There he was, staring right in front of a photo of himself, a Jeno so foreign to him. His bare back takes up most of the page, head turning to the left in an artistic shot he’s only even seen in editorials like this. And there, at the centerpiece of the cover is his soulmark—his cluster of daisies that delicately run along the line of his spine, but they’re different here. They’re glowing a green and gold that Jeno has never imagined himself to ever have, and Jeno can’t stop staring at it.

“So that's what that looks like, huh?” He smirks despite himself. “Donghyuck wasn’t kidding when he said he’ll handle it in the editing.”

“Wait, it’s not real?” Lia asks. He didn’t realize a crowd had formed before him, his students leaning against the table trying to take a peak of the photo. Jeno turns the phone to their direction, giving Lia a funny look.

“Of course it isn't real, I’d have to meet my soulmate first, you know?”

Ryujin clicks her tongue. “Well, you can’t blame us, someone’s been romancing you lately, coach.” She walks towards him, immediately pulling at Jeno’s arm for him to stand. “Okay, now I have to check to be sure!”

Jeno laughs, but still lets her drag him up from his seat anyway. He takes this opportunity to stretch his arms out, groaning at the kinks in his neck. “Go ahead, but you’re going to be disappointed.”

In the practice mirrors, Jeno watches Ryujin lift the back of his white tee up. She frowns expectedly, and yet Jeno finds his heart picking up nervously anyway.

“See? There's nothing there.” Jeno says. He was expecting to see Ryujin wrinkle her nose in a pout, give her usual teasing mention of Jaemin like she does all the time, but Ryujin is quiet, staring intently at his back.

“Ryujin?”

When Ryujin finally looks up, her eyes are serious. “I think you should check for yourself, coach.”

Teasing is the last thing Ryujin has in her voice and it’s enough for the entire air to shift completely, enough for Jeno to worry. He walks closer to the mirror, turning around so his back is facing it, and then lifts up his shirt.

At first glance, no one would notice it right away. Anyone who takes a quick glance would think Jeno’s soulmark was untampered—the lines are still a solid black and very much clean, at least from a distance. But up close, the end tails of Jeno’s tattoo that dance at the small of his back aren’t as black as they appear. It’s even more unmistakable in the light, the iridescently sheen that is so similar to his front cover photo. Except this time it’s different—the soulmark in front of his eyes isn’t edited, it’s on his skin, on his person, and that just makes it even more terrifying.

“That’s impossible.” Jeno lets out a laugh, shaky, quiet, yet so loud in the silent room.

He turns to face the mirror, staring back at his wide and confused eyes. This whole thing makes no sense. On the day of the photoshoot, Jeno made sure to check for himself. He got to the bathroom to change back into his clothes and made sure to check his soulmark.

Nothing. There was nothing there. When he got home, he checked again. Again, nothing. He was so sure there was nothing there. So frankly, he doesn’t really understand what’s going on right now. That’s not how that works.

“That’s not how that works,” Jeno muses, this time aloud.

He feels Yeji’s warm hand in his before he can look up at her, and when he does, Yeji is smiling softly, squeezing his hand reassuringly. It’s then did Jeno realize his hands were cold and they were shaking.

“This is great news, oppa,” She says. “This means you found your soulmate and your marks touched!”

Jeno still has his brows furrowed in a deep frown. “But I thought it happened instantaneously?”

Yeji shakes her head. “It’s just a myth. When Ryujin and I did it too, we thought it happened right away. We even had a little argument, thinking we weren’t soulmates because nothing happened immediately after.

“But then a few days later, our tattoos started changing colors.” Ryujin shrugs. “Like magic.”

“Exactly like magic!” Yeji grins.

Jeno sinks to the floor with a sigh, covering his face with his hand. “Magic, huh?” He mutters, still a little bit in disbelief, still a lot for words.

”Sorry, ” Jeno finds himself cracking a mile despite his still frantic heart. “I got a little too overwhelmed just now. This is all new to me.”

“It really is like magic, coach.” Yeji says, sitting beside him. “And it isn’t a bad thing at all. I’m sure whoever this person is was close enough to you that you got your marks to touch, so.”

Ryujin sits beside Yeji, hands behind her head. “But do you really know the last person who touched you like that? Do we have to beat them up?”

Yeji slaps Ryujin’s shoulder.

“Don’t say it like that!” She hisses.

“I’m just asking! Maybe coach needs our help!”

Oh, Jeno knows.

He knows who his culprit is, and god did he want to laugh.

The thought of that man and citrus scent and his canine smile sends Jeno’s mind in a tailspin, ears and neck burning against his will. Jeno is always going to have his reservations about the idea of soulmates, and yet here he is, experiencing what was something he was strongly disinterested in, and finding himself both terrified yet oddly excited, both ready and unprepared to explore whatever this thing he has with Jaemin.

Yes, Jaemin.

Na Jaemin is his soulmate.

Jeno has already admitted it to himself anyway, albeit sometimes in his drunkest state, that if he were to have to share the burden of fate with someone, he wouldn’t mind it being with Jaemin.

“I know who they are,” Jeno laughs. “God, I know who he is.”

He rubs his temples at the ridiculousness of it all, and the small smile on his lips did not go unnoticed by his girls, Ryujin especially. The expected grin he’s been anticipating all day finally stretches across her face.

“That means we know who he is!” Ryujin reaches his side with purpose, grabbing at his arm. She raises her eyebrows at him suggestively. “That means he is who we think he is, right?”

“You’re free to think what you want, Ryujin.” Jeno shrugs her off with a laugh. “I will not confirm nor deny it.”

Ryujin rolls her eyes. “Eh, that’s good enough for me. Lia, you owe me lunch for a whole week like you promised!”

Lia raises her hands in surrender. “You won this round.”

“Oh my god, you guys were running a bet on me?”

“Of course we did!”

Jeno has no energy to debate Ryujin of all people, too tired from practice today, too tired from this slap of reality he just had about himself. He can only roll his eyes fondly when Ryujin celebrates with a high five with Yeji, the rest of the class all giggling with them. It’s not like he can dispute their claims anyway when it’s the truth.

The only thing left to do now is to talk to Jaemin about this, and the thought of that just makes Jeno even more tired.

--

Donghyuck (8:45pm)
[IMG_9001.jpg]
[IMG_9002.jpg]
[IMG_9003.jpg]
[IMG_9004.jpg]

Donghyuck (8:46pm)
Sorry I couldn’t send you these sooner
I was stuck in a meeting for HOURS and my phone was dead ==

Donghyuck (8:46pm)
Anyway you’ve probably seen the photos by now but sir
You look incredible, holy fuck

Donghyuck (8:47pm)
I mean I shouldn't be surprised at this point
You should really be thanking me for immortalizing this look on paper lol like
This photo of you should be framed tbh

Jeno (8:47pm)
Hyuck
Did you edit my photos?

Donghyuck (8:49pm)
No lol Jaemin wanted you all for himself
What can I say though, he did a really good job on this one

Donghyuck (8:49pm)
Man, your daisies look so pretty like this lol
You should really find your mate asap you're missing out 😏

Jeno (8:49pm)
Very funny 🙄

Jeno is lying down on his bed, staring back at his phone, watching the cursor blink idly.

He has to ask it, now or never. Or at least hint at it. Donghyuck has known him since as long as he remembers, he’ll know right away.

Jeno (8:55pm)
Actually…
Have you ever seen Jaemin’s soulmark?

Donghyuck (8:55pm)
???
No lol

Donghyuck (8:56pm)
There is a chance I’ve seen it
but he has too many tattoos to really know
I already told you that

Donghyuck (8:56pm)
Lol did you forget?
Were you too drunk to listen to me again 😔

Jeno (8:56pm)
I didn’t forget

Jeno (8:56pm)
I just wanted to make sure of something

Donghyuck (8:56pm)
Make sure of what…
What are you planning?

Jeno (8:57pm)
Last question

Donghyuck (8:57pm)
???

Jeno (8:57pm)
What’s Jaemin’s coffee order?

Donghyuck (9:57pm)
What? Why?

Donghyuck (9:58pm)
Wait

Donghyuck (9:58pm)
Jeno.

Donghyuck (9:58pm)
Oh my god

Donghyuck (9:59pm)
Lee Jeno answer your phone

Donghyuck (9:59pm)
Did he show you????

Donghyuck (9:59pm)
JENO

--

Jeno is a man of routine and everyone around him knows that, so when he visits Yuri’s coffee shop at ten in the evening, he couldn’t help but laugh when he sees the shock in the sweet old barista’s face. His smile just widens even more ridiculously when he dictates his order of three iced coffees and a concerning four shot espresso.

The Dreamlike office is still very much awake at this hour, and the front desk lets in Jeno with a familiar nod. When Jeno gets to the ninth floor, he’s greeted with an immediate hug from Donghyuck.

“Thank god, you're okay,” Donghyuck sighs, wrapping his arms tightly around Jeno. Jeno’s eyes soften, snaking a careful arm around Donghyuck too.

“I’m fine, Hyuck. I‘m sorry for worrying you.” He says. “I got coffee for you and Renjun.”

Renjun peeks from his desk. “Did someone say coffee?”

“I did!” Jeno nods. Jeno got some muffins and coffee to share and Renjun graciously accepts the food with awaiting arms.

“Can I see?” Donghyuck asks quietly, pulling Jeno away from his and Renjun’s desks. He didn’t even touch his coffee, anxious hands too busy holding on to Jeno.

Jeno sighs. “Sure, but not here.”

They head to the restroom, and Jeno stands by the sink, lifting his shirt up for Donghyuck. It’s dejavu watching Donghyuck make the same face Ryujin did in the mirror.

“It’s real, huh?” Donghyuck says. There’s a mixture of awe and disbelief in his voice that doesn't go amiss.

“It is.” Jeno snorts. “And it’s your fault.”

Donghyuck is quiet.

Jeno has known Donghyuck since they were old enough to tease each other at the school playground. He knows immediately when he’s happy, or excited. Hell, Jeno even knows the face he pulls when he’s clearly up to no good. And Jeno knows Donghyuck well enough to tell if something’s wrong.

Donghyuck’s brows are furrowed, hands curling into fists the moment he lets go of the hem of Jeno’s shirt, and when Donghyuck looks up, the sullen look in his eye has Jeno frowning.

“What’s wrong?” Jeno asks, turning around to face Donghyuck properly.

Donghyuck sighs, a hand at the back of his neck. “You’re right, Jeno. This is all my fault, and I’m sorry if you’ve ever felt pressured into these stupid, stupid things I roped you into.”

Jeno clicks his tongue. “Hyuck, you wouldn’t have known about all of this in the first place. It was a shock to me as it was to you.” Jeno grabs Donghyuck’s hand. “Besides, I know you only have the best intentions for me. You know how stubborn I am.

“Oddly enough, I actually should be thanking you instead,” Jeno snorts. “Unfortunately, I like that idiot.”

Donghyuck lets out a small laugh, finally, as he turns to Jeno. He intertwines their fingers together, making Jeno smile.

“He can be a rascal sometimes, yeah.” Donghyuck agrees. “I’ve always told you that I know your type. You like them a little devilish.”

Okay, well, Jeno has to hit him for that, and he does so with a bump on the shoulder.

“Speaking of the devil,” Jeno rolls his eyes. “Where is Jaemin, anyway?”

“He’s in the dark room developing film. I can talk to him first if you want.”

Jeno shakes his head. “Thank you Hyuck, but this is something I wanna deal with myself.”

Jeno is careful as he knocks on the door. Donghyuck said Jaemin was developing their boss’ old film and the entire office was advised to knock before entering the dark room.

It takes a moment for it to open, until Jeno hears the telltale sound of a hinge unlocking, and he’s then greeted by Jaemin’s head peeking out, surprised to see him. “Jeno, hey.”

Jeno lifts his bag of takeout from the cafe. “I brought you coffee.”

“Oh.” Jaemin blinks. “Sure, careful inside though.”

He takes Jeno’s hand and carefully leads him inside. Jeno is immediately squinting at the red light above them, following Jaemin to the center of the room, right where his work desk is.

“How do you even know where everything is?” Jeno wrinkles his nose. The room is oddly cold, smells weird too, adding to the already ominous feel of the room with its dark red light.

“You get used to it after a while.” Jaemin laughs. “Thank you for the coffee though, I needed it. Feel free to stay or leave whenever.”

“No, it’s fine.” Jeno waves. “I have nothing to do anyway.”

Jeno watches Jaemin fish out a photo out of the pool of solution and lays it on the tray next to him. He leans in closer to inspect them, intrigued.

“I didn’t know it was so vivid even on film.” Jeno mutters. It’s something anyone would stop to stare at. Mated soulmarks are already beautiful on their own, but as Jeno finds out now, they’re also magical to witness on film. They’re still so vibrant and iridescent, like a film of holo glitter on top of paper, yet when you swipe your finger over the photo, it doesn’t transfer onto your fingers like you thought it would.

“It’s something I’ve found out recently as well when they made me develop the film.” Jaemin says. “Mated marks are surreal when photographed, it’s as if they’re alive on their own accord. It honestly scared me for a bit.” He turns to Jeno and winks. “Of course I tried my best to replicate it on your cover.”

Jeno’s heart spikes.

“Right.” He nods, feeling his heartbeat as far as in his throat. “I saw the cover today.”

The room isn’t dark enough for Jeno not to see the way Jaemin stills in place.

“Oh. I didn’t know they released it today.” Jaemin laughs. He grabs his cup of coffee with shaking hands. “How was it?”

“Jaemin.” Jeno calls out. His firm voice echoes in the small room.

Jaemin is silent. He takes a long sip of his drink, cringing, and yet doesn’t say a single word, nor even chance a glance at Jeno. Instead, he keeps his head down, fidgeting with his cup. He’s wearing a cardigan today, a loose one, and his bandages peek under his sleeve as he rests his arms on the table.

Jeno takes a breath.

“How’s your wrist been healing?” He asks. “Can I take a look?”

Jaemin actually smiles this time, tugging at his cardigan. “So you really did see it, huh?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jeno sighs. “Were you even planning to tell me about this?”

He looks down at the photos in front of him, not wanting to look at Jaemin, and yet he bumps Jaemin's shoulder, inching just a bit closer to any source of warmth in the chilling room.

“I didn’t know how to even begin telling you about this,” Jaemin admits. “I didn’t even know about it until recently, actually. I haven’t been really prioritizing taking care of myself lately. We’ve been working in and out to finish this magazine and when I did get the chance to take a break like you’ve been reminding me, I took off my bandages and saw it glowing.

“I freaked out.” Jaemin gulps. “That was the last thing I was expecting in an already hectic week.”

“I should have visited sooner,” Jeno frowns. “Should’ve bought something for you to eat too.”

Jaemin shakes his head. “You’ve already done so much for me, Jeno. Thank you.”

There’s a rustle and then Jeno feels Jaemin’s arm circle his waist gently. His hold is loose, enough for Jeno to move away if he wanted to. Jeno doesn’t move away, he leans back against it instead, melting, familiar and warm. Jaemin squeezes his hip.

“You know, I wasn’t sure in the beginning if you were my soulmate. The first time I saw you was in the photos Donghyuck would show me. And I thought hey, the flowers on his back are pretty. He’s also pretty, very pretty in fact.”

“Stop it,” Jeno turns to him this time, glaring under the dim light. He’s glad the flush on his face isn’t so visible in the dark room, but he knows it can compete against the red light any day.

He watches Jaemin’s lips stretch into his canine smile.

“I didn’t even think that they were a perfect match to mine until I was handling your photos myself. I was stunned to say the least, and when I got to talk to you more, I got to know you enough to know that you didn’t like the idea of soulmates.

“I was torn. I liked you so much, and god if I didn’t want to ruin that. And yet still, I wanted to show you my soulmark, in hopes that you would find it familiar too. It wasn’t planned at all, I promise. I got burned making breakfast due to my own carelessness and it’s a silver lining that somehow gave me the opportunity to show it to you anyway, even if it was terrifying.

“At the magazine shoot you were so close, baring yourself in front of me, and I took another chance, an even stupider one, and let my arm graze your spine. It wasn’t even an accidental graze, no. I really wanted to touch you and that was so stupid and selfish of me. And I had the gall to be frustrated when nothing happened the moment I did that.”

“Nothing,” Jaemin shakes his head. “Not even after a minute, five minutes, thirty minutes. I don’t know if you knew what I was doing at the moment, but my heart sank the moment you looked back at me and I was wondering if you were having the same expectations as I did. But I digress.

“When I found my wrist glowing in the next few days, it scared me. It scared me because as the days went on, I started to realize what was happening and it scared me how much I liked it. How much I liked seeing the way my soulmark bled in color slowly, and the thought that miles away, you were experiencing the same thing, reflecting a part of me that I have never seen in anyone else.”

Jaemin turns Jeno in his hold, cushioning Jeno’s back with a hand as it hits the counter. Jeno raises a brow at him, amused at the way Jaemin cages him there suddenly. “And if you were to ask me, I didn’t want to go through all of this if it wasn’t with you.”

“I was going to tell you about this, maybe when the mark was fully complete in state. Truthfully, I just needed some time to work out how to explain all of this to you, and as you can see now, I’m all over the place.” Jaemin laughs.

“What I’m trying to say is, I like you. I really, really like you. I’ve adored you the moment I saw you on that stage, even more so now that you’re here in front of me. I just so happen to also be your soulmate, for better or for worse. And I want you to know that if you want nothing to do with me because of that, I would understand completely.

“If you want us to take you off of the front cover, that’s fine too.” Jaemin shrugs. “I’m going to get killed, but the last thing I want you to feel is taken advantage of.”

“You’re an idiot if you think I’ll just pull out from the magazine like that.” Jeno counter. “That’s unfair to you guys.”

Jaemin shakes his head. “It just won’t sit right with us if you’re uncomfortable with it. We’re using your photos to represent us after all.”

“Its okay, really. You guys worked hard on it.” Jeno reaches out, caressing gentle fingers under Jaemin’s eye. He hasn’t been sleeping much and it’s clear in his tired and heavy eyes.

“Besides,” Jeno sighs, tucking an unruly strand of Jaemin hair behind his ear. “I don’t look too bad so, it would be a waste to take me off the cover.”

Jeno feels the way Jaemin’s cheeks rise against his hand as he smiles.

“Yeah?” Jaemin hums. He grabs Jeno’s hand in his, running a thumb over Jeno’s knuckles. “You do look beautiful, you always do.”

”Can I see your wrist, please?” Jeno tries again.

This time, Jaemin nods with a sigh, Letting go of Jeno for a second to roll up his sleeve and undo his bandages. Jeno is already missing the warmth of Jaemin’s hands.

Even in the dim light Jeno can see Jaemin’s soulmark clearly, iridescent as it is beautiful. Just like his own tattoo, the tail ends are the only part of it glowing as of now, but the daisies still look as gorgeous as ever.

Jeno runs his fingers over the illuminated lines, feeling Jaemin’s pulse underneath his fingertips.

”Does it still hurt?” Jeno asks. He lifts Jaemin’s hand up to his lips and presses a kiss right where his soulmark is. Jeno does so while keeping Jaemin’s gaze on him, and not once did Jaemin look or flinch away.

“Not anymore.” Jaemin whispers.

Jeno wrinkles his nose. “Cheesy.”

Jaemin brings their joint fingers closer to him, resting his cheek against Jeno’s fingers.

“So are you okay with this?” Jaemin asks. “With us?”

“We’ve already talked about this before, haven’t we?” Jeno smiles. “And lately, it’s all that’s been occupying my mind too. I’ve had my suspicions as did you, and yet I’d like to believe I liked you even before I knew you were my soulmate. So,” Jeno shrugs. “I guess you’re not too bad.”

“You don’t sound too sure there.” Jaemin tuts. He moves in closer, wrapping his arms around Jeno’s waist. “Should I convince you? I can be very persuasive when I want to be, Jeno-ssi.”

“So I’ve heard,” Jeno rolls his eyes, fond, resting his hands on Jaemin’s shoulders, keeping Jaemin at a teasing distance. He could already see the way Jaemin is eying his lips, intent still visible in the dark room. Jeno’s lips stretch to smirk, finding delight in the way Jaemin’s eyes follow.

“Try me then, Jaemin-ssi.”

Jaemin, Jeno finds out, didn’t need to be told twice.

Their first kiss isn’t so chaste, not what Jeno was expecting, but not that he’s complaining either. Jeno wonders if it had anything to do with the dim light filling the room a moody red, or the amount of times they’ve been tethering to kiss outside Jeno’s front door.

Jaemin has Jeno caged against the table until Jeno’s bowing his back against the edge, resting his elbows back so he could steady himself. Jaemin swipes his tongue along Jeno’s bottom lip eagerly. Jeno, dizzy, parts his lips a little too willingly.

He doesn’t know how he ended up perched up on the table with Jaemin between his legs, licking into his mouth, but Jeno is brought back to earth immediately, startling at a loud knocking on the door and Donghyuck’s booming voice.

“Jeno, are you okay in there? If Jaemin’s being an ass, just tell me and i’ll punch some sense in him!”

Jaemin snorts, pulling away from Jeno’s bitten lips, much to Jeno’s dismay. “He’s fine! Don’t go barging in here and ruin the photos again. Boss is going to be pissed!”

“That was one time!”

“One time too many!”

“Fine, hurry up in there!”

Jeno scoots back down to the ground, tugging at his wrinkled shirt.

“Do I look presentable?” Jeno mumbles, cringing at how hoarse his voice sounds. He clears his throat.

Jaemin hums at him, fixing his hair with his fingers and dusting off his shoulders. He then shrugs off his cardigan and gives it to Jeno to wear. “Go wrap yourself up in this for the meantime. I’m just about done here anyway. I’ll join you guys outside in a bit.”

Jeno puts the cream cardigan on with an amused look. “Just how many coats and jackets do you own exactly?”

Jaemin chuckles, arranging the photos on the table into a neat pile. “I think I have enough for you to steal.”

“Hey!”

Jeno shuffles out of the dark room to Donghyuck with his arms crossed over his chest, shaking his head at the poorly concealed hickey on Jeno’s neck. The rest of Jeno’s stay at the office has Donghyuck bugging him to tell him everything that happened in the dark room, including every gross detail that led to the hickey in question.

Donghyuck stretches in his seat, laughing like a villain. “This is exactly all according to my plan.”

Jeno raises a brow at him. “You didn’t even know what his soulmark looked like until today.”

Donghyuck shrugs. “But it all worked out in the end and that’s what matters. God, I’m a genius.”

Jeno was going to argue more about Donghyuck’s genius claims but then Donghyuck offered to order them food again and who in their right mind would pass off a free meal like that at this hour?

It’s a little over midnight when they finally leave the office.

That night, Jaemin and Jeno finally got to walk back home again. Jeno feels full and warm despite the chilling breeze, holding Jaemin’s hand inside his pocket as they share a hotpack and their first goodnight kiss by Jeno’s door.

--

Jeno stares at the kraft folder Ryujin had suddenly chucked onto his desk.

“What's this for?” He asks.

Ryujin sits herself at the end of the table, shrugging. “It’s a secret. Just sign it.”

Jeno raises an eyebrow. “You can't keep it a secret from me if you’re going to make me sign it.”

This time, Ryujin flushes, gingerly tucking a hair behind her ear. “Just open the folder, coach.”

So he does just that. When Jeno flips the folder open, the familiar Seoul Institute of the Arts crest greets him.

“It’s a recommendation letter for the dance program.” Ryujin mumbles. “Modern dance and hiphop specifically.” It’s in a bashful tone that has Jeno looking up at his student in awe.

“But you said you had no plans after highschool.” Jeno says.

“Oh yeah, about that,” Ryujin laughs. “Initially I didn’t, but the thought of stopping dance to take over the family business was just—” She shakes her head. “I couldn’t do it. My dad gave me a chance to look for a program or job I’d be interested in, and I had that school brochure Yves-unnie gave us from months ago and decided why the hell not? So I applied just for fun and got in.

“There’s a volunteer program too so that my tuition isn’t so costly, that is if you sign this paper. My parents trust you. I trust you. So if they see that it has your approval they’ll be even more convinced to let me go.”

Jeno looks back down at the letter and smiles. “You guys are really growing up.”

This is another reminder for Jeno that his kids aren’t so much kids anymore.

They’re moving up and out of this small town, chasing their dreams elsewhere. It’s always going to be a bittersweet feeling for him, having seen them grow up physically and mentally, and now it’s about time to reach even higher stars. And although he knows he won’t always be there with them in person, Jeno is always going to be cheering them on no matter where they end up going.

“Oh my god? Coach, are you crying?”

“No,” Jeno straightens immediately with an obvious sniff. ”I’m just internalizing my emotions so I can write a convincing letter to the superintendent.”

“You’re so dumb,” Ryujin shakes her head. She hops down from the table and circles it until she can wrap an arm around Jeno’s shoulder. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

Jeno turns to her with a smile, patting her hand. “Hey, we still have the entire winter break together.”

“Yeah, but that isn’t a lot of time in the grand scheme of things.” Ryujin whines. “You’re gonna visit us at campus right?”

“We’ll see.” Jeno nods. “I’ll try my best.”

“You should convince Jaemin into getting you guys a car, so I can use it too when I get my license!”

Jeno gives her an amused look. “Since when did you drive?”

“Since never, but I will learn if you get a car!”

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.” Jeno snorts, going back to his paper. “Now you’re making me rethink signing your recommendation letter.”

“Coach!”

Of course, Jeno signs it in the end and he makes sure to put in a good word.

In the years he’s had Ryujin under his wing, he’s seen how much of a talent she is not just in ballet, but in every kind of dance you could think of. She’s a chameleon that way, an artist that can transform into something grand whatever kind of music is playing. And if anything, Jeno wants the university to harness her prowess even more.

“Thanks coach.” Ryujin grins once Jeno hands the folder back to her. “Oh, by the way, don’t tell Yeji about this. I want to surprise her.”

Jeno crosses his arms over his chest. “How romantic.”

Ryujin shrugs, winking at him. “Yeah well, I need to step up my game. Jaemin-oppa is beating me to it.”

Jeno can only shake his head.

--

True to his word, Jaemin gives Jeno most, if not all, of his jackets.

Jeno wonders how he has so many in the first place, but with the leaves all but fallen off and the wind colder each day, he does admit they’re cozier than his own coat will ever be. He likes them, especially with the way they smell exactly like Jaemin. Jeno does however wash them and sneak them back over to Jaemin’s whenever he visits.

Jeno doesn’t feel like anything’s changed since that night in the dark room. Everyday since then has been his same old routine with Jaemin—walking home together, sharing packed lunch together in the office canteen or at the studio after practice. If there was any change to their routine it’s the kissing, hugging, and hand holding that Jaemin has managed to snake into the mix like it was normal.

And as much as Jeno would be embarrassed at the way his students coo at them or the way Donghyuck wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to tease them when they’re together, Jeno doesn’t mind this change at all.

The special Dreamlike November Issue is out before they know it and Donghyuck was proud to report over the company dinner he’d invited Jeno and the girls to that it is the most magazines they’ve sold in a long time. Donghyuck personally gave Jeno his own copy to take home and he goes through it with his students the next day. He still can’t help but feel a bit bashful having photos of himself on the cover and scattered through the magazine, but he can’t deny that the photos turned out really great. Plus, it was for a good cause, and Jeno will never have regrets in that regard.

He smiles at Yeji and Ryujin’s Swan Lake spread beautifully photographed in the middle of the magazine. There is a small write up of their upcoming winter showcase happening just in time for Christmas and even an adorable interview about their journey as soulmates. Jeno did that interview too, although he had to come back and revise a few of his once snide remarks after meeting his own soulmate in the middle of the magazine’s production, much to the delight of Donghyuck.

After the magazine’s release, Jeno suddenly gets some unexpected attention around town. People stop to say hi to him on the streets, and he even had to sign a few magazines whenever they catch him out on an errand. Donghyuck and Jaemin get a kick out of all of it, even his students. He especially gets an earful from Ryujin telling him they should’ve used his popularity from the very start.

But if there was something Jeno was glad about amidst the fanfare, it was that people have been calling in and visiting the dance studio about classes and donations. Everyone he met was telling him how excited they were for the showcase and have been asking him how they could further help with Yeji’s fundraiser.

It warms Jeno’s heart to have these people reach out and help, and it just makes him and girls even more determined to put on the best show there is come Christmas.

--

“Will you be working during the showcase tomorrow?” Jeno asks, stirring his coffee.

They’re at Tzuyu’s bakery, enjoying the warmth of coffee and baked goods before they head home. They just had their last practice run of Swan Lake today and Jeno dismissed everyone early so that they can rest in preparation for the showcase.

“I’ll be able to watch it this time,” Jaemin nods. “Donghyuck is going to be the one taking photos.”

“You better be watching, it’s Swan Lake after all. It’s an important show for Yeji and Ryujin.”

Jeno blows at his drink, peaking at Jaemin from beneath his lashes. He watches the way Jaemin’s eyes crinkle at him by the second.

“It’s important to me too.” Jeno mumbles against his cup. “I need you to be there.”

It will not be as grand as what Yeji and Ryujin have been preparing for the showcase, but Jeno has something to show off on stage that night too. He wants Jaemin to watch him dance Swan Lake for the first time in its original context of a dance of confession. He knows he isn’t much of an aficionado with words, but his body can spell out his feelings for him, clearly and elegantly, and he wants to show Jaemin exactly how he feels.

“I know, and you’ll see me in the crowd, front and center.” Jaemin smiles. He takes Jeno’s hand in his and rests his warm cheek against it. “And I know you’ll do amazing up there.”

Jeno grins back at him. “I know I’m amazing.”

The bakery is surprisingly empty at this hour, and they take advantage of the fact, moving to the take out area to pick out as much goods to take home. Jaemin says his grandmother has been craving for some banana bread and luckily they’re on sale today.

Tzuyu is bagging their items when Jeno feels his phone buzz in his pocket.

Mrs. Hwang Yumi (6:25pm)
Hi Coach Lee. Are you busy right now?
We’re just wondering if you’re free today to discuss something with us
It won’t take very long

Huh. This is definitely odd.

It’s very rare that Yeji’s parents contact him at all, so this must be something very serious. The way Jeno’s stomach turns immediately isn’t helping either.

Jeno sighs. Just as they were about to walk back home too.

Lee Jeno (6:26pm)
Hello Mrs. Hwang, Not at all.
I will be able to drop by in about 15 minutes?

Mrs. Hwang Yumi (6:28pm)
Thank you, Jeno
Have a safe trip

“Jaemin, are you up for a quick detour?”

Jaemin opens the door for Jeno as they wave their goodbyes at Tzuyu. Jeno carries his paper bag against his chest, humming at how warm their bread is.

“Where are we going?” Jaemin asks. “Should I be concerned?”

“Sort of?”

They start walking to Jaemin’s bicycle and places his brown bag neatly into his basket. “Yeji’s parents want to meet me about something and I need moral support. It isn’t far from here actually.”

“Hm, I guess we have some time.” Jaemin says. He kicks the stand of his bike and hopes into the seat. He grins at Jeno. “If this doesn’t go well we’ll go get some ice cream after.”

Jeno hops into the seat behind him, amused. “And if in the off chance it does work out?”

Jaemin shrugs. “We'll still get you that ice cream. You’ve been whining.”

“Hey.” Jeno glares. “I changed my mind, I’m going to walk there myself.”

Jeno attempts to get out of his seat, only to be caught by a laughing Jaemin by the tail of his (Jaemin’s) coat before he could get very far.

“Come on, let’s get this over with before my grandmother starts whining about her cold bread too.”

--

Jeno (9:57pm)
Yeji? Are you awake?

Jeno (9:57pm)
I know this is really late in the night but I just wanna say
I'm really proud of you and what you’ve achieved so far
And I'm thankful to be part of your journey as a dancer T__T

Yeji (10:00pm)
coach?
what’s all this for? :o

Jeno (10:01pm)
Nothingggg
Jaeminnie promised me some ice cream depending on some… circumstances
we got some vodka with it too on the way home so maybe I’m a little drunk? hehe

Yeji (10:02pm)
what??
you shouldn’t be drinking so late, oppa ==
and the showcase is tomorrow!!

Jeno (10:01pm)
I’m fine, I'm fine! I just feel a little fuzzy @@
I just want to tell u how amazing you are u know
And I know you’ll be the best version of yourself up on stage tomorrow!!

Yeji (10:02pm)
lol okay you are adorable when ur drunk
i’m going to bribe jaemin-oppa for pics later ^__^

Yeji (10:02pm)
no but thank you coach ;_; i really appreciate that so much
you should go to sleep, old man
i love youuuu <3

Jeno (10:03pm)
I love you too, bub
Good n

Jeno (10:03pm)
Oh wait

Yeji (10:03pm)
eh?

--

Jeno (10:04pm)
Lee Donghyuckie
Good night ^^

Donghyuck (10:04pm)
:O
TO WHAT DO I OWE THE PLEASURE
GOODNIGHT MY LOVE

Donghyuck (10:04pm)
Wait
Are you drunk?

Jeno (10:04pm)
Hehe
Maybeeee

Donghyuck (10:04pm)
…
Then that doesn’t count 😔

Jeno (10:04pm)
Eh
That’s good enough for me

Donghyuck (10:04pm)
NO IT ISN’T
COME BACK

--

Jeno (10:05pm)
Goodnight, Yeji ^^

Yeji (10:05pm)
goodnight, coach! *^^*
sweet dreams ♡

--

Jeno wakes up the next morning warm. Very, very warm. Whatever pillow he’s resting on is furnace warm, and as Jeno grumbles awake in his groggy state, his pillow chuckles with him.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” It says in a voice that very much sounds like Jaemin. Jeno would have comically fallen out of bed if he was capable of moving at all right now.

“Jaemin?” Jeno squeaks. He rubs the sleep off of his eyes and is met with an amused Jaemin, puffy and soft from sleep.

“What time is it? Did you stay the night?” Jeno mumbles. “Did we ever get to give the banana bread to your grandma?”

Jaemin chuckles, burying his face in Jeno’s neck. Jeno shivers. Even his breath is hot.

“We are home. Well, in my home. The banana bread was delivered, but I was scolded because we took too long at the convenience store and it got cold. Oh, and it’s six in the morning.”

“Oh god,” Jeno sighs. “I should ask Tzuyu to teach me how to make banana bread.”

Jaemin presses a smiling kiss against Jeno’s shoulder. “Maybe some other time. Go back to sleep, you still have a lot of time before the showcase.”

“Okay,” Jeno yawns. He stretches, snaking his arms around Jaemin’s waist, laughing at how Jaemin jumps from his cold hands.

“Are you going to make breakfast?”

“Mm, later. When you let go of me.”

“Good. I’m not going to by the way.”

Jaemin snorts, pulling Jeno closer to him. “I figured.”

So Jeno falls back to sleep against Jaemin’s chest, warm and comfortable.

Jaemin lets him sleep in until eleven, waking him up with a homemade concoction for his mild hangover. It didn’t taste very good but it does it’s job of waking Jeno up, enough for him to get dragged by Jaemin into the bathroom to freshen up. Jeno also needed to get to the theatre by one, so they took the chance to have a hearty brunch with Jaemin’s grandmother.

Jeno has been to Jaemin's house countless times. Some of which were direct requests from Jaemin’s grandmother to see him and play board games with her. Jaemin has been whining about favoritism in his own household and can only sigh when these whines go unnoticed because his grandmother is too busy making sure Jeno’s plate is filled to the brim.

Jeno is bashful at the attention he gets from her, the pampering and the bento boxes. Though, he especially likes how annoyed Jaemin gets whenever she steals Jeno’s attention from him, stabbing at his food like a child. It’s the same now as they sit to eat, Jeno sitting right between the two competitive Na’s who are very clearly competing for his attention.

Jeno is still a bit dizzy from last night but this is certainly lifting his mood up tenfold. Plus, grandmother’s cooking is always delicious and he’ll never get enough of it.

“These dumplings are so good!” Jeno says, earning a pleased smile from grandmother’s lips.

“Such a good boy,” She chuckles, patting his knee. “Here, get some more. Eat up for your performance later.”

“Oh, thank you.” Jeno laughs. “I’ll record it so you can watch next time we visit.”

“Thank you, cutie.” She turns to Jaemin and frowns. “Make sure to take good pictures of him, you understand?”

Jaemin pouts as he munches on his food. “Donghyuck is going to be the one taking the photos for me, mama. I’m going to sit back and watch the show properly this time.”

He turns to Jeno, eyes crinkling, contagious canine smile on lips. “I’m going to watch Jeno dance.”

Jeno couldn’t help but smile with him.

--

Jeno leaves first, borrowing Jaemin’s bike to get to the theatre. He still has some preparations for the showcase to do, so he couldn’t exactly come with Jaemin around just yet.

He beelines straight to the dressing rooms only to find Yeeun already waiting for him there, with her arms crossed. Jeno grins sheepishly.

“I’m not that late, it’s only ten minutes!”

“It’s already ten minutes too late!” Yeeun sighs, adjusting the tie of her apron. She taps the barber’s chair for Jeno to sit. “Come on, you idiot, let’s get this over with.”

Tonight, Jeno is finally going to dance Swan Lake on a stage for the first time, but that’s not the only surprise up his sleeve. He watches Yeeun squeeze out a paste into the bowl and mixes it with a brush.

“Last chance to back out on this. You’re going to be in this chair for hours today.” Yeeun singsongs.

She secures the cape around Jeno’s neck, letting it cover Jeno’s entire frame. Then Yeeun is covering Jeno’s ears with protective caps for the bleach that’s about to touch Jeno’s dark brown hair.

“You said it yourself, we already lost ten minutes.” Jeno shrugs. “We better get started then.”

Yeeun snorts, cracking her fingers as she stretches behind him.

“Okay, let’s make you blond.”

--

Clair de Lune Studio’s rendition of Swan Lake is a special one.

It starts the way it always does, with a ball. Jeno, who is playing Prince Siegfried tonight begins the first act. The lights shine on him in the middle of the stage, as bright as his newly styled blond hair, and he fights back the smirk on his face when hears the gasps in the crowd.

The auditorium is packed tonight, and right there in the front row is a Jaemin who has his eyes wide, lips parted in awe. Jeno locks eyes with him easily as he starts his dance.

The ball is ceremonial. It’s a way for his mother, the Queen, to summon a bride for him, someone who could dance with him in the middle of the ballroom like this, but that was the last thing in Jeno’s mind.

In the forest just a week prior, he met a princess named Odette. Yeji starts fluttering into center stage, graceful as a swan, and as she turns, her long intricate braid follows her every movement. Despite his mother’s wishes, Jeno didn’t have plans to romance this princess. Instead, he wanted to help her find her own romance. He invites her to his ball with a promise to meet the love of her life with a dance by the lake.

In the midst of his duet with Yeji, Jeno notices the auditorium doors opening from the corner of his eyes. Yeji’s parents enter the theatre and they immediately catch his gaze. He gives them a bow, albeit masked into his routine.

Yeji does end up meeting the love of her life that night of the ball. She finds love in the shape of darkness, in Ryujin who is playing the Black Swan called Odile, daughter of the wicked Von Rothbart.

Ryujin takes Yeji’s hand with a charming smirk and begins the third act’s pas de deux. Jeno is standing by the side of the stage as the both of them execute the choreography they’ve been perfecting for the past month. It’s breathtaking as it is haunting, as they fill the entire stage with their love. It’s just them, Yeji is her elegant, bedazzled white tutu that perfectly mirrors Ryujin’s black ensemble.

In the last minute of the piece, Yeji and Ryujin circle each other in the center of the stage, gazes intense. They end their dance with a kiss, holding each other as the symphony ends.

There is a silence as the lights dim, only for a loud applause to follow, with everyone standing up from their seats with gusto. The lights flash again with the entire case standing in a neat line, and Jeno can finally grin from ear to ear as they all hold hands to bow proudly. The crowd only gets rowdier, throwing flowers onto the stage, and when Jeno catches a glimpse at the front row, he’s amused to see Jaemin and Donghyuck arguing about throwing the bouquet of daisies in Jaemin’s arms.

Jeno makes it easy for them, pulling away from his students to run to the edge of the stage and calls their attention.

“Just throw it!” He laughs, startling the both of them.

Jaemin let’s go of Donghyuck’s hand on him, leaving him a glare before he walks towards where Jeno is seated, legs dangling.

“Hi.” Jeno grins.

Jaemin shakes his head, chuckling. He hands the bouquet of daisies safely into Jeno’s hands. “It would be a waste to throw them.”

“And they say chivalry is dead.” Jeno whistles.

“Yeah, well.” Jaemin shrugs. “Excuse me while I break it.”

Much to Jeno’s shock, Jaemin climbs up the stage right there in front of him, and with a secure arm around Jeno’s little waist, Jaemin kisses him there, right in front of everyone.

There’s another round of cheers that would’ve been deafening, but Jeno couldn’t hear the noise with his heart thumping so loud against his chest.

The fanfare eventually dies down. The crowd eventually dissipates, everyone making their way out of the auditorium slowly. Jeno himself would’ve beelined back to the dressing room to get changed, but he had one last promise to fulfil. In the crowd, still in their seats are Yeji’s parents, who seem a bit anxious as they once again meet Jeno’s gaze. He gives them a firm nod.

It isn’t hard to find Yeji and Ryujin, they're still there on stage, seemingly in a heated discussion, and when Jeno reaches them, it was clear that he wasn’t the only one who knew her parents were there watching her dance tonight.

“Coach, did you know about this?” Ryujin clicks her tongue, pointing at Yeji’s parents. “About them?”

Jeno turns to look at Jaemin beside him and they share a smile. “I invited them to come here.” He admits.

“What!? Why would you do that?” Yeji exclaims. There’s a clear display of distress in her features that Jeno itches to soothe, and he does so with a gentle squeeze of her shoulder.

“It’s okay. I wanted to show them just how amazing of a dancer you are, so I invited them.” Jeno says. “I’ll admit, there was a part of me that still wasn’t sure if they would come or not, but here they are.”

When Jeno got that text from Yeji’s mother, it got Jeno worried. It got him thinking of the worst possible scenario there is that it needed him to be there at their home in the first place. With Jaemin, they enter the Hwang residence expecting the worst, only to be pleasantly surprised.

Yeji’s mom tells him about them discovering the Dreamlike November issue one day as they went grocery shopping, and having Jeno on the cover intrigued them enough to purchase it. They saw the Yeji and Ryujin spread and their interview about the fundraiser and were shocked about what they read.

There are tears in her eyes as she tells Jeno everything, and Jeno couldn’t help but smile softly at her, asking Yeji’s father if they could grab tissues for her to use.

“Yeji has always been sincere and passionate about dance,” Jeno starts. “I’ve known it since she stepped into my dance studio all those years ago. It would be unfair to cut her dreams short so soon when she’s only about to begin her journey into higher ground. So, if you would like, I want to invite you to our winter showcase tomorrow evening. You will see first hand just how wonderful and talented your daughter is, and I promise you that you won’t regret it for a second.”

“We’ll think about it,” Yeji’s mother replies, and although there was an air of uncertainty about it, it was enough for Jeno.

Jeno takes Yeji’s hand in his, intertwining their fingers together. “Shall we go to them?”

Yeji has her head bowed, hesitant, and yet she squeezes his hand tight.

“Okay.” She nods meekly, and Jeno takes her with him down the stage.

“Mama, papa,” Yeji still bows at her parents as they reach them, well mannered even in her distress. “You should’ve told me you were coming.” She mumbles, picking at the hem of her tutu.

“We wanted it to be a surprise.” Yeji’s father replies.

“Just cut to the chase,” Ryujin rolls her eyes, earning a pointed look from Jeno.

Yeji’s mother sighs. “Well, it doesn’t look like you’re gonna stop dancing anytime soon, correct?”

“Corect.” Yeji answers firmly. “And I'll keep dancing even if you hate me for it.”

“Good.” Yeji’s father gives her a tired smile. “Keep dancing because you were amazing up there.”

“W-What?”

“I guess it's our fault for not coming and watching you perform even once, we just didn't understand.” Yeji’s mom shakes her head. “No, we didn’t even try to begin understanding what was so great about dancing anyway, and we regret every single bit of it.”

“You should,” Yeji hiccups. “You should’ve regretted it from the first time I invited you guys.”

Her father comes closer, wiping Yeji’s cheeks with his thumb. He smiles. “We do, and I know it’s too late to undo the unfair things we’ve done to you, but I promise you, we’ll get you into that school okay, baby? We’re sorry we ever doubted you.”

Yeji covers her face with a hand, and Jeno’s eyes soften as her dad pulls her in for a hug. Beside him, Ryujin is fighting back her own tears, and Jaemin reaches out to hold her hand.

“Thank you,” Yeji sniffs, burying her face against his shoulder. Her mother joins them in a group hug, soothing Yeji with a kiss on her temple.

Jeno gives them the space they deserve, saying his goodbyes with a squeeze on Yeji and Ryujin’s shoulders.

Now left to their own devices, Jaemin drags Jeno down the hall and into a vacant dressing room, the same dressing room Jeno found him all those months ago.

“I finally have you all to myself,” Jaemin says, caging Jeno against the door. He brushes Jeno’s blond hair out of his eyes, humming. “So this was your big surprise, huh?”

Jeno grins at him, hands running along the lapels of Jaemin’s coat. “You like it?”

Jaemin tells him how much he likes it with a feverish kiss. Jeno hits the back of his head against the door slightly, but he doesn’t care. He wraps his arms around Jaemin’s neck, pulling him closer, while Jaemin’s fingers dance at the band of his spandex, dipping inside teasingly.

“Hey, at least let us get pictures of Jeno first before you ravish him!” Donghyuck suddenly shouts from the other side of the door.

Jeno startles immediately, pulling away just to cover his face with his hands.

“Jesus, you scared me, Hyuck!”

“Better now than when you guys are too far gone! Hurry up!”

“Give me five minutes!” Jaemin shouts back.

“No way in hell, you horndog!” Donghyuck shouts back.

Jeno peeks from behind his fingers, seeing the clear irritation in Jaemin’s furrowed brows and he makes work of soothing them with his thumb. Jaemin turns to him, mood immediately shifting to something softer.

“Well, he’s right.” Jeno sighs, pulling away from Jaemin to get to the mirror and adjust his hair. Jaemin joins him, standing behind him with an arm around Jeno’s waist. They lock eyes in the mirror.

“That's a good idea actually,” Jaemin mumbles. “I want to take some pictures of you like this, but for my eyes only.”

He places a wet kiss against Jeno’s jaw intently, chuckling, only for Jeno to roll his eyes and run a makeup sponge over that area to clean it up.

“You can do that later when I don’t have to look presentable with other people.”

Jaemin raises his arms up in surrender. “Aye, aye.”

--

Winter passes by like a blur, and they welcome spring with the promise of new adventures in a completely different city.

This time, they take Yeji’s family car to get to Ansan, and much to Ryujin’s delight, Jaemin actually does know how to drive a car. She makes sure to wiggle her eyebrows at Jeno from the back seat, even texts him if he remembers her proposal from last time.

Oh, Jeno remembers.

How can he possibly forget when he’s sitting shotgun right there, watching Jaemin drive with one hand on the wheel? The other is shifting through radio stations they can listen to, and when Jaemin’s settled on one, his hand is suddenly sitting atop Jeno’s leg, squeezing. Jeno tries not to melt in his seat.

It’s the week before Yeji’s official first day at the Seoul Institute of the Arts and the car is filled with nervousness and her things from home. Her parents are already there at her dormitory, fixing up the place since yesterday, and now they’re driving there with the last of Yeji’s luggage.

“Are you excited?” Jeno asks as they unload her things from the trunk.

They walk up the steps to Yeji’s dorm, thankful that it isn’t quite far from the reception.

“Of course, I am,” Yeji sighs, adjusting her tote bag on her shoulder.

Ryujin frowns. “You don’t look too excited though.”

“Because,” Yeji turns to Ryujin and takes her hand. “I’m gonna miss you, you know?”

“Miss me?” Ryujin snorts. “Why? I’m going to this school too, idiot.”

“Wha—”

“In fact—”

Ryujin pulls away from Yeji to fish out a key from her pants pocket, eerily similar to hers and flashes a grin. “I’m going to be your roommate.”

Ryujin inserts her key into Yej’s door and successfully unlocks it with a wink.

“What!?” Yeji screeches, eyes shifting from Ryujin, to a sheepish Jeno, and then back to Ryujin. “And when were you even planning to tell me about this?!”

“I feel like we go through this everyday. That’s what you call a surprise, babe.” Ryujin laughs.

She pulls a very stunned Yeji with her, leading her into their new dorm room. “Now, let's go. We have some unpacking to do! Bye coach, Jaemin-oppa!”

The door closes shut in front of Jeno and he lets out a sigh.

“They grow up so fast, huh?”

Jeno isn’t sad per say, but he does feel a little melancholic seeing his students go on without him.

It’s a fact that Jeno has known since he started his studio, but with Yeji and Ryujin being two of the few kids he’s had the pleasure of mentoring for the first time ever, it’s a little hard to let them go so easily. They’ve grown attached like family—they see each other often after school, even spend the entire summer together. They even hangout outside of dance class, sharing a meal together on the weekends.

They have a bond outside of just mentor and student and that’s something Jeno cherishes a lot.

They begin their descent back downstairs, quieter and slower this time. Jaemin wraps an arm around Jeno’s waist. “You raised them well. I mean they're practically your kids.”

Jeno wrinkles his nose. “That makes me sound so old. Big brother is better.”

“Okay, Jeno-oppa.” Jaemin grins.

Jeno glares at Jaemin as they climb back into the car, ignoring the way his ears seem to heat up instantly.

“What I’m trying to say is that you’re family, and it’s just going to get bigger and bigger as your studio grows, you know?” Jaemin says.

Jeno groans.“Yeah, don’t remind me.”

Summer is just around the corner and the studio is going to start accepting new recruits with the seniors having graduated early that year. It’s going to be a new year of teaching dance from the start, from its basic five positions, but Jeno digresses.

Starting a new skill or a new hobby is always going to be difficult, and that’s why Jeno built up Clair de Lune in the first place, to give back to the kids with similar dreams as his, and he’ll never get tired of helping them jumpstart them.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll help you.” Jaemin says as he buckles his seatbelt. “I’ll print out some flyers and make Donghyuck pass them around town.”

“That’s evil, and I love it.” Jeno laughs. “You’re hired, Jaemin-ssi. Still persuasive as ever.”

Jaemin grins. “Always.”