shot clock || na jaemin (the court series #1)

time-out

"hey, give it back you meanie!"

jeno giggles and sticks his tongue out, running away from a babbling sooyoung. she chases him on chubby legs just starting to lose their baby fat, screaming and giggling as the two of them tried to keep the doll away from each other.

mr. and mrs. lee share a fond smile, mrs. lee's head tucked into the crook of his neck, his arms wrapped around her in a protective embrace as they watched their children enjoy those precious moments of life that they would look back on with nostalgia at weddings in the future.

weddings where mom, dad, and - 

"serena? hey, are you awake?" serena vaguely registers that her brother is in her room, sitting on her bed and shaking her awake. he had done that every single day when they were kids. jeno insisted that his little princess couldn't wake up without her knight. 

he was her knight. he promised that he would keep all the bad things away from her and fight all the evil dragons (neighborhood boys that seemed have a little fancy for her) from taking the princess away.

"yeah, yeah, i'm awake," serena says with a tired smile, shifting up to sit in her bed upright. they pause, sitting there for a moment, before she says, "it was pancreatic cancer, you know." 

jeno looks up in shock. 

"what do you mean it was cancer? but mom was so healthy! all those diets, juices, detoxes," jeno rattles off, unable to understand how someone as healthy as his mother had been hit with cancer. serena sighs, pulling the covers closer.

"yeah. it's mostly because of grandpa; remember how he used to drink every single day? doctors say it was heredity," she says, chewing on her lip before deciding to continue. "she chose not to get treated. said she didn't want to continue her life by half-assing it. we found out it was pretty late in the game and there was pretty much nothing she could've done anyway. her only wish was to make it up to you and dad before she died."

her brother is silent, having heard the tremor in her voice. he doesn't need to look at her to know she's crying, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. jeno only hesitates for a split-second before enveloping his sister in his arms and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

he hated seeing her cry, even when they were just children. he would do anything and everything to keep a smile on her face, one time going as far as to nearly break his neck on the trampoline in attempt to get his baby sister to smile. 

"i just can't say goodbye, jeno. i can't," she sobs into his chest, her slim arms wrapping tight around his waist.

"i know, soo, i know."

none of them go to school for the next two weeks. not jeno, not serena, not jaemin, not even their father. they just sit at home and reminisce on all the good things they had experienced with mrs. park. serena and jeno talked about the good and the bad, but at least in front of their dad, they just spoke about good memories, sharing knowing looks with jaemin whenever he stopped by.