Take A Chance ; JaeNo/NoMin [ COMPLETED ]

CHAPTER 19

"Jaemin!"

Jeno was almost out of breath, his chest rose and fell as he took several desperate pants to regain his oxygen intake whilst running all over the place for a few minutes. Jaemin was a fast runner since he did sports and wouldn't stop no matter how much Jeno told him to but Jeno still tried his hardest not to lag behind. The pained expression on Jaemin's face, when their eyes met briefly earlier as he was with Lami, was still engraved his memory. Why did he look hurt? What happened? Jeno increased his pace— did not care if he ran out of steam or not— and inched forward until he grabbed the other by the wrist. They needed to talk.

"Stop." Finally, he had gotten a hold of Jaemin. Though it was difficult, he pulled Jaemin until they were behind a nearby building, away from prying eyes, so that they could talk freely and wouldn't cause a scene. It was already late in the afternoon so there weren't a lot of high students left in the area.

"Let go of me!" Jaemin shouted, pulled his hand back but it was in vain. Jeno's grip was strong.

"Not until you tell me what was that all about," Jeno argued and reeled him in.

But Jaemin was stubborn. "I said, let go of me!"

Jeno would have understood if it was in another circumstance— he would have— but no matter hard he tried analyzing the situation over and over again in his head, he just couldn't comprehend. Jaemin was behaving like a child, impulsive and irrational, squirming out of Jeno's touch, shouting, and it irked Jeno to the point that he realized that he had enough. "Jaemin! Stop it!"

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"Jaemin! Stop it!

Jaemin was stunned at the sudden raise of tone; he flinched evidently at the sound. Jeno never does that. Jeno's movement came to stop, both of them did. Jeno had managed to back him up into an unfamiliar building's wall, Jaemin's clothed back pressed against the concrete while Jeno stood before him with a menacing face, something Jaemin had never seen before. The grip Jeno had on his wrist was also too tight— it was bound to bruise. Jeno's eyes flickered in a strange manner and it darkened gradually. Jeno looked mad— really mad. What have I done?

A few seconds fleetingly passed by but neither boys had said something. It was so suffocating, how quiet they were. Jaemin was scared, really frightened, and Jeno might have noticed how Jaemin stiffened after his sudden outburst. Jaemin had his head downcast, afraid to stare at the older. Jeno was guilty. So with a heavy feeling of regret, Jeno retrieved his hand; Jaemin suddenly missed the warmth it emitted when the palm left his regardless of how hard the grasp was. "I'm sorry for shouting," Jeno apologized in a gentle voice. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

Why is he sorry? Jeno did nothing wrong! The words echoed in Jaemin's head repeatedly like a broken record and it was sickening the more it lingered in his consciousness. Jaemin was trembling somehow, resentful and embarrassed. He found himself leaning down and was carefully trapped inside Jeno's arms. Jeno had hugged him. "Calm down, okay?" Jeno whispered in his ear, trying to sooth the younger's nerves away, caressed soft circles on his back. His breath was hot and Jaemin was shaken.

It took a while before Jaemin finally managed to calm down but Jeno hadn't let him go before he did. There they stood, awkwardly enclosed the other in a protective embrace. But it was comfortable. When Jaemin's breathing turned even, Jeno pulled him back by his shoulders, offered a small smile then said, "Now, tell me what's wrong?"