Beautiful // Nomin

~62~

Time skip: 2 years

~~~~

Jeno was promptly walking down the hallway from his visual analytics class, on his way to pick up his lovely girlfriend from the center for visual arts to go eat lunch with her.

His brow was furrowed as he thought constantly about how he could improve the model project he was working on. Software engineering was definitely taking a toll on him, but Jeno was determined to be successful in his studies, as always.

He greeted a few people as he walked out the building, popular as he ever was despite his quiet nature. Lee Jeno had built his old reputation back up, and he was more shining, more charming than he ever could have been.

He half-walked, half-jogged to the building where Kiara was waiting for him. She looked up from her phone when she heard her boyfriend call her name and waved with a pretty smile on her face.

Man was she beautiful, Jeno thought as he took her hand in his and they began to walk toward the dining hall. "How was class?" he asked considerately, to which she answered and explained a few things in her department that Jeno didn't quite understand but nodded anyways.

"You don't get it, do you," she laughed, to which Jeno laughed in admittance as well.

They were happy, completely happy. No university student would ever think that the last months of their high school relationship were a total disaster.

As they made their way to lunch, a certain student walked past, unnoticed. But he noticed them and stopped, turning around to double take. "Lee Jeno??" he said allowed, causing the couple to both turn their heads and look behind them.

Jeno turned to see the petite figure, wearing a lavender sweater on top of white T-shirt tucked into his khaki pants, flat-soled sneakers. A canvas bag that said "Creativity Takes Courage. ~Henry Matisse" was over his shoulder. Art department for sure.

Jeno blinked twice as it came to his mind who this young man was. "Huang...Renjun?" he said hesitantly, in case he got it wrong.

"Yes!" Renjun exclaimed, excited that Jeno had gotten his name right. Afterall, they'd never been incredibly close and had only met a couple of times.

"Who's that," Kiara mouthed to Jeno, who answered quickly, "Old friend." She didn't have to know the details.

"Never thought I'd see you here," Renjun said, friendly.

"Me neither," Jeno replied. He quickly turned to his girl. "Kiara, this is Renjun; Renjun, this is my girlfriend Kiara."

"Nice to meet you!" Renjun greeted her warmly. "How long have you two been together?"

"For quite a few years. We're childhood friends and we've been dating since like, the beginning of high school," Jeno answered. Clearly Renjun had not been informed about anything.

"Ohh I see. So you guys were already together when I met you at my house? For Jaemin's birthday, remember?" Renjun asked Jeno innocently.

Jeno failed to hide the alarm in his eyes at the mention of the forbidden name, and Kiara looked up at him, concerned. "Y-yeah, we were," he answered hastily, nodding. His girlfriend felt his hand noticeably grip hers tighter.

Truth was, the very name of "Na Jaemin" or any form of the name shook Jeno's whole being. Jeno wanted to say he hated it, hated it so much for having broken the relationships with friends and family that he'd had at the end of high school.

It'd taken a long while for Jeno to stop thinking about that name, that person. But now, on the rare occasions that "Na Jaemin" was brought up, he'd feel helpless, as if that being of the past still controlled him and had power over his life.

"Speaking of Jaemin," Renjun continued, not getting the memo, "have you talked to him in a while? I occasionally send him a text or something after I came here, but he's always so busy now."

"No," Jeno said immediately and a little too emphatically, probably giving Renjun some idea that the two didn't have that good of relations anymore.

"Oh-," Renjun nodded quickly, trying to shake away any sudden tensions. "Well, I'll—"

"Is he still working at that restaurant?"

The question unintentionally slipped out of Jeno's mouth and he regretted the moment he spoke it. Only an idiot would show any sign of interest or ask about his ex, especially in front of his girlfriend.

His face burned with the realization and he could feel Kiara looking at him. He didn't feel like returning the eye contact, his eyes fixed stiff on Renjun. 

"Yes," Renjun smiled gently, "yes, he's still working there. And he said he's gotten pretty close-knit with the community and stuff, so on local event days, he helps them take photos with his camera."

"Is Jisung with him now? Are they happy?" 

Oh my All Might, Jeno, can't you stop asking? 

Jeno felt his face getting flushed, his hands getting sweaty. He didn't want to ask that. It had just come out, again. 

"Yeah!" Renjun replied enthusiastically. "Jisung's been out for almost a year or so now, and the two of them still live at that pretty apartment place, you know. Jisung's part of a dance crew though, so he sometimes travels out of town and stuff." He sighed. "Jaemin always talks like he's so happy with his life even if he's not...he's always been like that. So I really don't know the truth-truth, if you know what I mean. But based on what he tells me, it'd be safe to say that their lives are going pretty smoothly." 

"Th-that's good," Jeno nodded, somewhat assured, as his words came out half-audibly, his voice almost cracking. 

As a few ending words were exchanged and the couple finally turned away to leave, Jeno looked at the ground as he walked. 

He hadn't realised that his hands had started shaking, his breathing had become heavier, or that his eyes had become glittery through emotion.

He hadn't realised that he'd missed a certain someone so, so much. 

"Jeno, bae?" 

The poor girl gently reminded her boyfriend that she was still next to him. 

          

          "Bae? Who's 'bae'?" the voice came over the line blatantly, unashamed.

          Jeno's eyes widened as he panicked, hanging up hastily. He'd forgotten about the little rabbit that was still in his phone. 

"DAMMIT!" Jeno hissed angrily as he tried to once again bury the memories back in the dirt like he did two years ago. 

"Jeno, are you okay?" Kiara tried to calm him down. She patted his hair softly with one hand. 

She knew what was going on, knew that Jeno was thinking about his ex, who he evidently still cared about to some extent. She'd been quiet through Jeno's conversation with Renjun, even through all the questions he asked, showing interest. 

Truthfully, she'd been very patient with Jeno for so long. 

"Baby, do you still think about him a lot?" she asked quietly, wanting to know where her boyfriend stood in his current unstable state.

It took him a moment to find his answer, but finally: 

"No, precious, I only love you," Jeno confirmed in a low voice, giving her a light kiss on the top of her head. "I promise..."

"...I'm not letting anyone get between us again..."