Chapter Text
A groggy grunt escaped from Jeno’s mouth as he was abruptly woken by the sound of someone knocking on his door. "Wake up, stupid! You’re going to be late!" Krystal called out, pounding on the door again before walking away with an exaggerated roll of her eyes.
Jeno blinked sleepily, his eyes half-lidded as he fought the pull of sleep dragging him back under. Just as his head sank into the pillow, another loud knock echoed through the room, more impatient this time.
"Yes, yes! I’m up!" he groaned, throwing the covers off with a frustrated sigh, his limbs heavy with the weight of his exhaustion.
Downstairs, their mother’s voice floated through the air as she called to the kids. "Well, Mommy and Daddy have a lot of work. We won’t be home early, but don’t worry, everything will be taken care of—your food and..."
"Wasn’t worried, but okay," Krystal cut her mom off mid-sentence with a dismissive wave, as if she’d heard this a hundred times before.
Her mother sighed, clearly used to the routine. "Alright then, we’ll get going. Take care of your brother, Krystal. Jaehyun," she added, giving each of them a kiss on the forehead before grabbing her bag and heading out the door.
The three siblings ate breakfast together, the usual hustle of morning chaos filling the air.
"Hurry up, Jeno, you’ll be late for school," Krystal urged, glancing at him while she slipped on her heels.
"I’m not going with Gus today?" he asked, turning his head to look at her with a puzzled frown.
"No, he’s not available to send you. Now, hurry up."
"Mm, okay," Jeno muttered, rushing to the shoe rack and slipping on his shoes in a hurry, already knowing he was pushing it.
"Jaehyun?" Krystal called out, raising an eyebrow in question, signaling if he needed a ride too.
"Oh, nah. I’m good—Doyoung’s picking me up."
"Mkay."
"That was hard as hell," Dejun groaned, walking alongside Jaemin, Yeri, and Dejun toward the cafeteria.
"Yeah, I agree. But calculus was never easy," Jaemin replied, rubbing the back of his neck.
Yeri and Mark nodded, each reflecting the same exhausted expression.
Dejun sighed dramatically. "Well, if you're the smartest kid in class and even you say it’s hard, then I’m doomed, bruh."
"With enough practice, you’ll survive… I guess," Jaemin said, offering a half-hearted shrug.
As they reached the cafeteria, Heeseung, Yeonjun, and Jake waved from a nearby table, signaling them to join.
They greeted each other with a few casual exchanges.
The other group in the cafeteria,
"Have any of you heard of a student named Na Jaemin?" Yuna asked out of curiosity.
"Huh?" Sunwoo blinked, clearly confused.
"Sounds familiar," Eric murmured, furrowing his brows.
"Right?" Giselle asked, her eyes flicking around for confirmation.
"What’s up with him?" Giselle asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Sir Minho assigned the three of us to a group project," Yuna explained.
"Us three? Who’s the third person?" Giselle asked again, raising an eyebrow.
Yuna pointed at Jeno.
"Me?" Jeno blinked, then shrugged. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Never really heard of him either… well, maybe once or twice, but I dunno."
Just then, Karina strolled up to the table, her usual bright smile lighting up her face. "Hey, guys!" she greeted before tugging on Giselle’s hand. "I need you for a sec."
"Wait!" Yuna called out. "Have you heard of a student named Na Jaemin?"
Karina paused, giving the question a thoughtful look. "Yeah, he’s always with Mark, Yeonjun, and Dejun. Sometimes Heeseung and Yeri too. Well, maybe there's more but, why?"
"Just wondering," Yuna said with a casual shrug.
"Cool. Anyway, we’ve gotta go! Byeee!" Karina grinned, waving as she pulled Giselle away from the table.
Spotted: J strolling down the hall with his fifth girl in two weeks. Is this what they call a heartbreaker—or just another playboy in disguise? Watch out, ladies. Xoxo, Whisper.
The students pulled out their phones as the notification buzzed through.
"What the heck? when was this," Yuna asked, eyeing the screen.
''Hah, this must've been the girl i was talking to just now. God, this school wont let me catch a break.'' Jeno said clearly tired with the school gossip.
"This school’s like a reality show—non-stop drama, and honestly, it’s kind of wild," Donghyuck added, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yeah, but let’s be real, I’m kind of here for all the chaos," Eric chimed in with a playful grin.
"Of course, 'cause none of it’s ever about you, skunk," Sunwoo teased, giving Eric a nudge.
''Haha, skunk,'' Wonbin giggled.
"Sit, students," Sir Minho’s voice carried a sense of finality as he scanned the room. "You’ve all been informed about your project groups. Move to your assigned seats so you can begin working together more effectively."
A collective shuffle followed as chairs scraped against the floor. Groups formed quickly, a mix of enthusiasm and dread written across the students’ faces.
Yuna slid into the seat beside Jaemin, with Jeno quietly settling in next to her. Not a word was exchanged, the silence between them sharp and charged.
Jaemin broke the silence first, offering a polite but cautious, “Hi.”
Yuna barely spared him a glance. “Hello.”
He nodded, unsure of what else to say.
Jeno observed quietly, leaning back in his chair, his eyes drifting toward the board where Sir Minho’s notes sprawled across it.
“Miss Yuna, please head to the office and grab the materials I mentioned,” Sir Minho instructed.
Yuna stood, her chair scraping loudly against the floor. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”
Both boys nodded as she walked out, her figure vanishing through the door.
A brief silence followed before Jaemin turned to Jeno, a small, tentative smile tugging at his lips. “Hey. Jeno, right?”
Jeno glanced sideways. “Yeah.” He reached out to shake Jaemin’s hand. “You know me?”
“Not exactly,” Jaemin admitted with a shrug. “But I might’ve heard your name on Gossip Girl… once or twice.”
Jeno chuckled softly. “Yeah, what’s this school without gossip?”
“Right,” Jaemin said, a quiet laugh escaping him.
He shifted in his seat, running through the words in his head before speaking again. “Hey,” he started, his voice a little hesitant, “do you want to go to a café or something? We could work on the project together.”
Jeno raised an eyebrow, then nodded easily. “Sure. Why not? Text me the address, and I’ll be there.”
“Ah… um, yeah, of course… but—”
“Mhm?” Jeno tilted his head, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
“I don’t have your number,” Jaemin confessed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Jeno chuckled. “Right. Forgot about that. Hand me your phone.”
Jaemin fumbled with his phone before passing it over. Jeno took it, swiftly entering his contact information before returning it.
“There. Now you’re set,” Jeno said with a small grin.
“Cool. Thanks.” Jaemin’s smile lingered as he glanced down at the new contact on his screen.
“Should we tell her?” Jaemin asked, lowering his voice.
“Yuna? Nah.” Jeno smirked. “I’ll text her to come over. She’ll show up.”
“Ah, okay then,” Jaemin chuckled, leaning back.
The conversation lapsed into a comfortable silence as they both turned their attention back to class.