Monopoly | Norenmin

Homework Help

Renjun rolled over on his stomach, flicking his cousin's shoulder just to be a pain. Chenle whipped around, glaring back at him while Renjun gave him a sunny smile back. In retaliation, Chenle grabbed his textbook and swung it over his head, hitting the top of Renjun's head.
"Ow?" Renjun rubbed his head, narrowing his eyes at him. He barely did anything and this was the shit he got in response. "I just asked for help, damn."
"Maybe get over yourself, huh?" Chenle retorted, sticking his tongue out at him. "You're not even that great."
"Fuck you," Renjun rolled back with a pout, deciding to throw his phone in a sad self game of catch.

Chenle was almost two years younger than him, being born at the end of 2001, so the kid was still stuck in year 11. He was a spoiled brat in Renjun's opinion, but he wasn't half as bad as some of his other family, so he dealt with it.
"The fuck is long division?" Renjun snorted as he heard the younger boy mumble under his breath. He had been living with them for a while after a major miscalculation by his family. He wasn't doing well in China, being ten times worse than what he was normally. So his parents, Renjun's aunt and uncle, decided they'd ship him off to live with his older cousin as a lesson. This, however, completely backfired as Chenle really enjoyed living there, especially after meeting his now best friend Jisung. After a whole lot of begging and pleading and screaming at his parents, with slight assistance from Renjun though he'd never admit it, they agreed. Now, seven years later, Renjun basically had a younger brother he never really needed but definitely loved having around.
"Ge," Chenle threw a pen at Renjun, hitting right in the middle of his forehead, "fucking help me." Yup, he loved having him around, but he was definitely a pain.

"How the fuck would I know how to do long division, huh?" Renjun groaned, throwing the pen back at him. He looked over Chenle's shoulder. He probably could help him, he just couldn't remember shit if he was being honest.
Chenle slouched slightly, looking back at him with dead eyes before dropping his pencil. "Wow, so this really is a waste of time."
Renjun chuckled slightly. "Just do it, I'm sure you'll be fine."
"Yeah, thanks," Chenle huffed before looking back at his page. It was a little hypocritical of Renjun to tell him that despite him also having work to do. But Chenle didn't need to know he had three essays to complete.

Renjun sighed dramatically, spreading his arms out as he drowned his head yet again with his dumb little crush. Okay, maybe not little, but it was so nice to indulge in. If only Jaemin wasn't so horrible maybe he'd have a chance. He wasn't anything to Jeno though. Chenle was right, Renjun wasn't great, he was barely good. How would he ever be anything other than a friend to Jeno when someone like Jaemin existed?

Renjun grumbled to himself, clearing his head of his mini fantasy before he got too lost. He didn't need to mentally stab Jaemin for like the 100,000th time.
Chenle glanced back at him, "oh what now?"
"Nothing, you rat," Renjun snapped, rolling off the couch and landing on the floor with a thud. At least he could feel physical pain instead of emotional for once.
Chenle snapped to the noise with wide eyes, "Damn you scared me." He looked back at his work, looking very lost by the work in front of him, eyes darting around the entire page of scribbles. "What?"
"What happened?" Renjun lifted his head from the ground for a bit to see what his cousin was looking at.
"Well," Chenle scratched his head with the back of his pencil, "I got an answer."
Renjun cocked his head at him, "And?"
"I got Macbeth's wife."
"...I thought you were doing division?"
"So did I."
Renjun snorted loudly as Chenle looked back at him with wide puppy eyes. Maybe that's why he kept him around him. That or maybe Jeno's attachment, who knows.

He continued laughing, letting his face fall back into the carpet as Chenle looked back at his working out. "Maybe take a break and then start that question fresh in a while."
He could hear Chenle tapping the pencil on the book, lifting his head slightly to see the boy shake his head. "Can't. Gotta keep busy."
"Why?" Renjun pushed himself back, rolling upwards as if he were a cat.
Chenle just shook his head again, looking back at his textbook again as he tore out the page. Renjun tilted his head, observing the stress in the younger boy, the lines present on his head being noticeably pulled harsher than normal, as if there were more on his mind. He had seen him moving the pen around the page, getting increasingly more frustrated but the more he watched, the less likely the problem at heart was the math before him. It looked more like fuel. Not to mention that Chenle also never really did his homework at home, Renjun always knew something was off. He just seemed to be a little occupied with his own petty issues.

He slowly reached over, gently pulling the pencil from Chenle's hand causing the boy to look at him. He patted his shoulder a little, furrowing his brows at him. "What happened, Lele?"
Chenle shook his head, attempting to snatch the pencil back but Renjun quickly pulled it back, rolling it away across the floor. The younger boy only stared back, frightened. Usually happened if he felt like the issue was not worth mentioning, Chenle was normally very outspoken if he was in any pain or annoyed. "It's alright," Renjun patted the boy's back, "I probably have pettier issues."
Chenle huffed, "yeah, but still."

Renjun rolled his eyes, simply encouraging the boy to speak his mind. Chenle looked up to him for a moment before just slumping in his spot. "Jisungie got a girlfriend."
"Oh," Renjun blinked before breaking into a small smile. He was kind of proud of his old friend. Look at him go, conquering his life as his own.

That seemed to melt away though as he looked at Chenle's dejected state. Maybe this wasn't as good as he wanted it to be. "He neglecting you now or something?"
Chenle shrugged, gulping a little. "Probably, but that's not the main problem."
Renjun furrowed his brows. "...do you like her?"
Chenle scoffed, shaking his head. "No, Yetak can go eat a dick for all I care."
Renjun sat up a little. What if this kid was making his cousin feel shitty? Maybe he could talk to him or maybe Jeno, he couldn't let that happen to Che-
"Ge, why did I have to like him?" Chenle bit his lip harshly, pushing down on his thighs with great amounts of force. "Why couldn't I just...not...why did I do this to myself?"
Renjun's face fell, immediately pulling the boy into his lap. Chenle simply latched on to him with a frown. "It's not fun is it?"
Chenle shook his head. He gently slapped Renjun's chest. "I really had to be like you, didn't I?"
"I'm sorry, Lele."
"It's fine. We were goners from the start."