𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 norenmin

12: playing cupid

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HUANG RENJUN.

"I have an idea."

After Chenle had tiptoed back to bed the night before, I hovered in the corner with racing thoughts.

The idea was very unstable, until I saw a young couple enter the shop, very obviously on a first date. They practically refused to look at each other for the entire time, even after a worker thought it would be a genius idea to throw a fake spider at them to draw them closer to one another.

I remembered what that feeling felt like. Being too afraid that if you looked at someone that pretty for too long, you would be giving into something you couldn't back out of.

I also knew what it felt like once you gave in, and that was exactly what Jaemin needed.

I had to make him give in to those feelings again.

Chenle managed to convince Jaemin to sit down at the little table near the front of his cupcake shop, a book in hand, hoping to keep him occupied for a good while.

He randomly remembered how much his best friend loved to read when they were younger and I'm sure my heart skipped a beat as Jaemin's dazzling eyes lit up at the sight of a new book, itching to be read.

Oh how I miss the way he used to look at me with those eyes that looked as if they held the entire universe in them.

You're getting distracted.

Right. I'm supposed to be informing Chenle of the only decent option I managed to think of, after all those hours in that dark little corner.

I guess my mind has turned to mush after the newfound hope that has plagued my emotions over the past twenty four hours.

"So am I supposed to have telepathic abilities, or are you going to let me know what's going on inside that head of yours that's making you look as if you're on a different planet entirely?" Chenle sighs, shaking his head half in amusement and half in exasperation.

Suddenly, I have the urge to burst into tears, as if I can even do that in my current form. To scream at the world for making me suffer further as I willingly hand the love of my life over to someone else.

Yet there was also opportunity to joke that - technically - I was on a different planet entirely.

Breathe, Renjun.

This is the only option for you both to be free. Your chance at happiness with him is over. He still has a whole lifetime ahead of him.

"I know someone," I state, "Someone who might just be interested if we play cupid for a little while."

Chenle deadpans in slight surprise, before answering. "And who exactly did you have in mind?"

So I explain the stranger who brought Jaemin out of his daydream a few days before, describing the way he looked at my lover with such kind, concerned eyes.

If anyone is going to take my place in Jaemin's life, I feel deep within my soul that it has to be him. There must be some reason why the universe caused them to cross paths.

"Wait, wait, wait... Jeno? As in Lee Jeno?!"

"I believe that was his name? Why... do you know him?"

Chenle stares back at me for a second before his whole face scrunches up in pure delight.

"This is perfect! Jeno and I have been friends ever since you left me to go to college alone! He was my roommate for ages! He might have even been on his way to work after passing through my shop when Jaemin met him!" He exclaims excitedly, grinning widely.

The fact that Chenle is this hyped over the boy makes my heart feel all fuzzy, like this is some sort of message I can't quite decipher.

All I know is that there is an overwhelming sense of trust that radiates from that boy, and I want to put that to the test.

"I'm gonna call him right now! I mean, who doesn't want cake after a morning of teaching ten-year-olds how to say "apple" in English?"

An English teacher paired with a boy who is never satisfied when it comes to knowledge, always seeking to know anything and everything? Maybe the universe has the right idea after all...

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