𝓦𝓱𝓸 𝓐𝓻𝓮 𝓨𝓸𝓾? - 𝓡𝓮𝓷𝓱𝔂𝓾𝓬𝓴

十 (Ten)

That afternoon, Jeno and Jaemin knocked on the door.

"I wasn't expecting you." chuckled Haechan, as he opened the door, Renjun right behind him.

"Well, you should. It's a Nomin thing." said Jaemin. "Hey, Renjun. You probably don't remember us."

Renjun shook his head sadly. "I can't remember anything. It's so annoying."

Jeno nodded sympathetically. "I'm Jeno, and this is my boyfriend, Jaemin. We used to be classmates before... you know."

"You can mention it. I'll be fine." said Renjun. "Why are you here, anyway? Do you normally show up at Haechan's house randomly like this?"

"Eh, not really. But we were bored." shrugged Jaemin. "And we miss our friends, obviously."

"You consider me a friend?" asked Renjun, surprised.

"Of course- we were really close before the crash, the four of us." said Jeno. "Mark-hyung told us you were here- that's the maid's son- and we figured we'd pay a visit, you know, check up on you."

"Well, come in, then." said Haechan. "You can stay the night if you want. I honestly don't care, and I'm sure Renjunnie won't either."

Renjun nodded in agreement. "I don't mind."

"I'll text my mom." said Jaemin. "Your siblings home yet?"

"Not yet. They'll be here in about ten minutes." said Haechan. "Do you want to eat something?"

"No thanks." said Jeno. "Jisung's sister made cookies, and he brought them to us."

"Who's Jisung?" asked Renjun, feeling a bit stupid.

"Oh, he's the maknae of our friend group. He's two years below us, and we all know he has a massive crush on Chenle." chuckled Haechan. "We've been trying to get him to confess for years, but he's too shy, poor thing."

"So you really can't remember anything?" asked Jaemin.

Renjun shook his head. "I remember my identity, and the crash. That's it."

"That must suck." said Jaemin empathetically. Renjun nodded in agreement.

"It does. And I can hardly do anything."

Jaemin hesitated. "Is it too much to ask if you want to come to Jeno's birthday party? 23rd of April, 8:00pm to midnight?"

"Oh yeah." said Haechan. "I forgot about that. Renjunnie, my family organized the party and rented out the club, so... there'll be a lot of people everywhere."

"But I can't not go." whispered Renjun. "I'll feel horrible."

"I'll do my best to protect you." said Haechan. "It'll be a fun opportunity, as long as you're kept safe."

"Alright." sighed Renjun. If he was being completely honest, the thought of people scared him.

"We just wanted to ask since we haven't had a party together, the four of us, in about seven years." said Jeno. "You really don't have to come if you don't want to."

"No, it's alright." said Renjun. "I might be able to get to know you better. And I'll be with Haechannie, what could go wrong?"

Jeno and Jaemin shot each other a knowing look, remembering Haechan's odd dream. Haechan gave them a warning glance in return.

"I won't let anything happen to him." said Haechan. "And that reminds me, we should have a sort of party for you too, Renjunnie. You've been unconscious for your past seven birthdays. It's only fair that you're acknowledged too."

"I don't need a huge party. You said my birthday was the day I woke up, right? I'll be fine with just birthday wishes." said Renjun. "Besides, my birthday passed."

"We'll do whatever you're comfortable with, Renjun." said Jeno. "Maybe we could invite Mark-hyung, Chenle, and Jisung over, and just have a little celebration on our own. Not a lot of people, minimal chaos, and plenty of gifts."

Renjun's face turned red. "You really shouldn't... just because I've missed a lot of my birthdays doesn't mean you have to go all out for me."

"Nonsense. This is what friends do." said Jaemin, waving his hand dismissively. "Haechan easily has the biggest house, so we could stay overnight, all seven of us, if you don't mind."

"I'm sure we could use this house." agreed Haechan. "But only if Renjunnie doesn't mind."

"I guess." sighed Renjun. "You guys do what you want. I don't need any of this."

They ended up settling for the seven of them at Haechan's house that Saturday, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Renjun stayed nearly silent the whole time, only speaking when Haechan asked his opinion.

He had to admit, he was lucky to have friends like them. He really didn't deserve all this. But he was secretly happy that someone seemed to care about him - and that someone, specifically, was Haechan.

Whenever Jeno or Jaemin pitched an idea, Haechan turned to Renjun instantly. He didn't agree to anything before Renjun did. And he always seemed to notice if Renjun seemed uncomfortable with an idea. It almost felt like someone valued him.

He hoped he wasn't overthinking it. What if it was all an act? From what Renjun had heard, Haechan was really sweet. What if everything he had done for Renjun was out of the kindness of his heart, and not an actual act of care?

But at the same time, he thought about the lengths Haechan had gone to, just to keep him safe. Haechan had slept with him, seen him naked, and even stripped himself, too. That didn't seem like something someone would do for no reason...

To be honest, they were starting to sound like a couple.

"...njunnie? Can you hear me?"

Renjun snapped back to reality. "Sorry, what?"

"I wanted to introduce you to my siblings." said Haechan patiently. "You've met them, but you haven't met them... oh, forget it. This is Haeyoung, Haemin, and Haejun."

The siblings waved, the middle of the trio (apparently Haemin) speaking up. "Hyung, you're blushing."

Renjun felt his face. "Am I?"

"Terribly." added Haeyoung. "Daydreaming about your crush?"

"I-I don't have a crush." said Renjun, flustered.

Haechan noticed his awkwardness and spoke up. "He's clearly uncomfortable, so stop talking about it. There should be some ramen left in the cupboard if you're hungry."

As the siblings hurried to the kitchen, Renjun stared into space again. The internal conflict in his mind only kept getting worse. If he didn't have a crush, why did he get butterflies every time a certain someone's name was mentioned? And why did his cheeks get red, his breathing stop, and his heart turn allegro whenever he was around that certain someone?

It was all getting too confusing for him. In his mind, he was meeting this person for the first time, so why did he feel so... odd about him?

And why did he only have questions? Where were the answers?

He hated the feeling of not knowing anything. He just wanted to know. He wanted to remember. And mostly, he wanted him to let him know what kind of relationship they had.