Mid Summer

ten,

"You have Donghyuck's phone number!" Jaemin shrieks, glaring accusingly, and way too harshly, at Jeno. "Did this just happen to slip your mind? There are hearts beside his name!"

Jeno thinks all blood has left his body, he feels like he's going to die, because Jaemin is looking at him with so much venom and Jeno wishes they could go back to when he was thirteen and he only had to worry about making sure his voice didn't crack.

"I didn't know how to tell you!"

Jeno uses that excuse a lot lately.

Jaemin glares at him.

"Honestly. You tell me honestly." Jaemin seethes, throwing Jeno's phone back at him. "It's not that hard— it's not that hard if you love me."

"Jaemin..." Jeno gasps softly, not expecting Jaemin to use their relationship against him.

But Jaemin can't handle it anymore, he can't deal with Jeno being so secretive with him, hiding things and 'not knowing how' to tell him.

Jaemin thinks Jeno should trust him.

"I do love you," Jeno insists, cupping both of the younger's cheeks. "I love you so much."

"Then act like it," Jaemin snaps, harshly turning his head out of Jeno's grasp. "Because I love you too."

Jeno nods, understandingly, and Jaemin hopes that he finally understands.

"Mark told me to take it," Jeno says, shrugging his shoulders. "He also named Donghyuck in my contacts, I swear I didn't know there were hearts."

"You have a conversation," Jaemin notices, cocking his head towards the powered off phone. "What was it about?"

Jeno knows Jaemin won't like where this is going, but he can't keep it a secret for any longer. Jaemin won't let him. 

"When I left the convenience store we met in, I told them I had someone at home," Jeno admits, refusing to look up at Jaemin, afraid of his reaction. "Donghyuck texted me and asked who that someone was, and I told them I have a boyfriend. I didn't say your name though."

Jaemin doesn't know how to feel about this, doesn't know if he should be mad at Donghyuck for texting Jeno, or mad at Jeno for not telling him.

He's a bit mad at the both of them, the both of them have the audacity to do this behind his back.

He's mad at Donghyuck but he doesn't even know the other.

Jaemin sighs.

Ever since Jeno's birthday, everything's been a shit show.

"That's all?" Jaemin mumbles, smiling weakly at Jeno, and as much as the latter doesn't want to say it, Jaemin has a look similar to defeat plastered on his face.

Jeno thinks his heart breaks a bit when he takes in the other's facial expression. But he shakes his head.

"Donghyuck wants to meet you. Donghyuck and Mark want to meet you."

Jaemin shakes his head softly, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his cheek against them.

Jaemin doesn't want to meet them.

Jaemin doesn't want to meet the people who messed up his picture perfect relationship.

"I don't want to," he whispers, feeling guilt pool in his stomach.

Maybe Jeno wanted to meet them again.

Maybe Jeno wanted Jaemin to meet them.

But instead, Jeno says,

"You don't have to."

Back in the warmth and familiarity of Jeju, Donghyuck and Mark felt like something was missing.

It was disturbing how they both knew what it was.

"You already got your acceptance letter, right?" Mark asks once day, after noticing his acceptance letter, which was under a pile of papers on his desk.

He hears Donghyuck hum from across the room, running his sock clad foot across the wall from where he's laying on Mark's bed.

"Got it two weeks ago," he mumbles, feeling a bit drowsy as he speaks. "Why?"

"Which university is it again?" The elder asks stupidly, since he knows which university and he knows Donghyuck knows which university.

"Seoul... Seoul Academy..." Donghyuck stutters, his face faltering and feet falling when he realizes what school has left his lips. He sighs. "Why?"

"Seoul," Mark whistles, turning around in his swivel chair and staring at Donghyuck with a small smile. "Seoul Donghyuck."

At first, when Mark and Donghyuck talked about Seoul, it just meant new beginnings, and new experiences since they'd be living far away from their parents. Away from parents, and living alone.

Now when Mark and Donghyuck talk about Seoul, it has a completely different meaning.

Seoul means Jeno and Jeno's boyfriend.

"Seoul," Donghyuck nods, muttering the name of the city as he looks at Mark upside down."Lee Jeno..."

Mark nods, staring at some really interesting stain on his ceiling.

"Jeno Lee..."

Curiosity ate away at Mark and Donghyuck ever since they found out about Jeno's boyfriend, someone who remained unnamed.

Their whole journey back home to Jeju, they two of them couldn't stop talking about Jeno and his boyfriend. The two of them were dying to know who the mystery boy was, and how close he was to Jeno. Since all three boys were interlaced with their tattoos, they both wondered if Jeno's boyfriend posed as an issue.

"Who the fuck is Na Jaemin then?" Donghyuck mumbles to himself, feeling Mark's gaze switch to him. "I mean," the younger starts, abruptly sitting up and facing his boyfriend. "What are the odds that Jeno's boyfriend is Jaemin? Na Jaemin?"

Indeed, the odds are low, it would be ridiculous if Na Jaemin was Jeno's boyfriend. Then everything would just be a big web of soulmate tattoos and big hearts.

"When there are three tattoos on my body, I don't think Jaemin being Jeno's boyfriend seems ridiculous." Mark scoffs.

"It's a bit odd though,"  Donghyuck starts, biting his lips while looking at Mark, who has to will himself to not take Donghyuck biting his lip out of context. "Jeno's tattoo is my name. So is he even fated for his boyfriend?"

It's a good question, and it leaves Mark and Donghyuck confused.

The two of them want (or maybe it's just Mark) to get together with all their potential soulmates... But if Jeno was in a relationship with someone who he wasn't fated with... The two boys don't know if they'd want to come between that.