Eight Shots of Espresso | Na Jaemin

Chapter 15

The seven boys were hanging out at Chenle's house one night before everything started.

They just finished eating grilled meat, ramen, fried eggs, and kimchi jiggae that Jaemin, Jeno, and Haechan made. It was fun to say the least and they had been sharing jokes and teasing each other nonstop.

"Who will wash the dishes?" Mark asked when everyone was about to pass out because of their fullness. The question woke their senses but pretended to act deaf.

"We should play rock, paper, and scissors," Jisung suggested. They had been using rock, paper, and scissors frequently whenever they had to make a decision. And they play as if their lives depended on it.

To make the story short, Mark was screaming the entire time and Haechan lost so he had to do dishes. He dragged Jisung with him and the latter had no choice since he was the youngest. The others stayed at the living room to rest.

Jaemin closed his eyes and leaned on the leather couch to relax after a heavy meal. The temporary peace was broken when Jeno saw a notification on his phone by the school page. When he opened it, he was beyond shocked. He shook Jaemin's shoulder aggressively, his eyes not leaving the screen.

"What the hell do you want now?" Jaemin asked. His question was answered when Jeno almost shoved the phone on his face. He squinted his eyes to adjust his vision.

His blood ran cold and there were ringing sounds in his ears.

He saw his and your elementary pictures. He looked exactly the same except for the bright eyes and gentle smile.

It didn't take long for the others to see the post and soon bombarded him with questions.

"Is it true that you and (Name) were schoolmates? How come you didn't tell us?" Chenle asked as he casually sat beside Mark who was unaware of Jaemin's internal fear.

I fucked up, he thought to himself. This is what I'm fearing the most.

"She didn't tell us as well. You're keeping secrets now," Renjun joked but he was taken aback when he saw Jaemin's expression.

He was unexpectedly calm but his eyes had a dangerous glint on them, his fists were balled into tight fists and his knuckles were almost white, he was breathing heavily, trying to think straight but the ringing in his ears were too loud. His shoulders started shaking uncontrollably.

"Jaemin? What's wrong?" Mark asked.

He didn't answer. All eyes were on him but he didn't care. He hated to admit it, but he was afraid. Afraid that his family in South Korea, especially his grandfather, would know about this. He practically begged his father to let him leave South Korea as long as he wouldn't do anything related to his past, but now it was broken.

Jeno sensed the same danger so he tried to cover it up. "I have never seen this picture of Jaemin before. We've been friends for nine years. I would've seen this if it's him."

Jaemin didn't say anything but instead, he stood up and left Chenle's house without a word. He didn't know where he was going. Nothing made sense right now. He was too shocked, too afraid, to even think what his next move would be. All he knew was that his feet were automatically moving to his car with one destination in mind.

Your dorm.

He was strapping his seatbelt on when he received a phone call from the person he was dreading the most. His father. With shaky hands, he tapped the screen to answer the call.

"Dad?"

"I thought I made it clear to you that you should not do any funny business while you're away? What will your grandfather think?"