behind walls | nomin

3 | cold rooms

"you may only enter for 10 minutes. maximum."

"im her son, do you realize how ridiculous it sounds?" jeno scowls at the nurses. he had lost his patience.
"i sincerely apologize sir, but it is strictly against the rules for you to stay longer, im afraid. your mother needs rest from her blood transfusion." one of the nurses state. jeno shakes his head, once again near tears. he missed his mother. all he wanted was a warm hug from her in all coldness and distance.
"fuck rules... okay, 10 minutes, may i get let in now?" he returns to his cold tone.
the nurses exchange a look and nod their heads, opening the door leading in his mothers room.
jeno holds his breathe as he steps in. seeing his beloved mother in such critical situation completely crushes and shatters his heart. tears begin rolling down his cheeks uncontrollably. 
"mother... i love you..."

his face is wet and his body is freezing cold. his eyes are buried i the depths of his palms, supporting his head. the surrounding sounds are muffled, far away. the sharp fragments of his broken, hurt heart overwhelms his senses, his ability to breathe, to think.

"jeno...?"

"hm-" jeno freezes. his eyesight is blurred by his tears, but he can clearly picture whom just called his name.
"are you..." jaemin sits himself down next to the crying male, still avoiding the sight of the broken other.
"what are you doing h-h-here." jeno struggles to sound frightening, instead just barely manages to blubber.
"its complicated." jaemin hesitates before questioning him. "how... about you?"
"please... just dont tell anyone you saw me like this, dont even tell anyone that i was here." he squeezes jaemin sleeves tightly, still crying heavily. desperation was taking over him.
"calm down. i wont." it felt rather abnormal seeing jeno in such a state, being used to his cold, careless, bold self. jaemin almost felt pity, despite his hidden anger towards him. 

"i guess i should go now." jaemin finally says after jenos sniffs diminish into silence.
"thank you..." jeno shortly mumbles, his face remaining hidden. jaemin gets up and saunters away.

the same night, jeno receives a call from mark.

"ye." he picks up the phone.
"yo bro. howd it go beating that mistake up?"
"i had to rush home, didnt get the time to do it." 
"oh right. heard that from winty. what was so important?"
"nun big really. my mom just needed me."
"oh aight. well karinas friends hosting a party tonight, yeji, i think her name was. either way shes forcing me to go."
"nah i know you lee. youre just so desperate for female attention."
"wh- no? im just going for karinas sake."
"whatever. have fun i guess."
"nah bro youre coming as well."
"im too tired."
"come on, have some fun for once."
"lee. im tired. cant your small brain even comprehend 2 words."
"youre so boring man. suit yourself." with that, mark hangs up the phone. jeno sighs and shuts down his phone, tossing it to the side. he throws himself on his bed, thoughts encompassing him.

"jaemin." "jaemin." "jaemin."

jeno fails to acquire sleep that night in spite of being completely exhausted. he completes his unfinished assignments as well as tidying up his room, relieving slight stress. however, his thoughts surrounding jaemin refuses to fade away. as morning blooms and the sun rises, jeno remains awake yet worn out. he turns on his phone to see 73 missed calls and over 200 additional notifications. he clicks through the majority of them, only replying to those requisite. 

mark
last chance for a ride if youve changed ur mind
ignoring me again??
cmon srs jeno take some time to have some fun in ur life
taking off now:/

karina
srs canceling again?? boo on u fr
u fake ash</3

mark
ur missing out in life frr
stop ignoring us wsp??

winter
where u at
o nvm

karina
helloooooooooooooo??
nono whas going on

UNKNOWN NUMBER
heyyy!<3 minjeong gave me ur number:)

winter
jus gave an admirer of urs ur number lmao

jeno glances at his wristwatch, showing 07:56 - 14 minutes before his first class begins. just as he enters the front doors of the school, a hazel-haired female approaches him, clenching a folded piece of paper. without saying a word, she shyly hands it over to jeno and strolls off. jeno finds her recognizable, but his fatigue confuses himself and dims his mind. without reading, he stuffs the paper in his pocket and continues his walk to his locker, hoping he wont have an awkward encounter with mark.

"nono! there you are! where were you last night?" karinas voice is heard clearly from the distance. jeno lets out an internal sigh, yet surprised her toxic side wasnt displayed.
"my bad bro. i was way to tired."
"awh, it happens to the best of us. as long as youre there for my birthday." she cheerfully laughs, oddly.
"whats up with you...?" jeno questions with an as friendly tone possible.
"its quite easy figuring out youre not at your best state right now." karina simply states, retaining her smile. jeno mustve visibly expressed confusion, as karina hands him her handheld mirror.
jeno nearly screams as he sees his reflection appear. his face lay hanging and his eyes and all below dark.
"need a treat after school?" karina suggests sympathetically.
"im all fine. i just uhm stayed up all night doing homework and assignments."
"stop lying to me jen. thats not you. i wont tell anyone if thats whats concerning you. if you want i can help you conceal those eye-bags of yours as well. they are standing out pretty much."

karina herself was fully aware of how abnormally she was behaving, but it all plays a part to her plan. a plan to which she knows she must push boundaries to reach, even her own.

"jeno. somethings off about you." mark reaches for his drink. the canteens loud noises echo against the concrete walls. "didnt you sleep last night?"
"i did." jeno harshly replies. 
"well... whats wrong then?"
"gosh mark. nothings wrong. im not suddenly suicidal because i didnt attend a party that had nothing to do with me." jeno takes a sip of his miso soup and instantly spits it out. "fucking hell."
"look, theres jaemin."