Mid Summer

fifteen,

"Hi! My name's Mark!" Said boy greets himself enthusiastically, sticking a hand out in front of the unknown boy, the one sitting next to Jeno.

Mark can see Jeno's boyfriend hesitantly take his hand in his own and shake. He can also feel Donghyuck slap his thigh from underneath the table, but he won't think about that now.

"My name's Jaemin..." The now known and named boy trails off, and Mark can feel Donghyuck tense beside him. But once again, he won't think about that for now.

"Na Jaemin?" Donghyuck asks, a bit too harshly if Mark was being honest.

"Yeah," Jaemin replies, and Jeno swore he saw him give Donghyuck a light glare.

"Order what you want," Jeno decides on saying in order to break the ice. "It's on me."

"Don't worry about it," Donghyuck mutters. "Lilac is my hyung's place."

Jeno doesn't comment on that, doesn't know how to, and decides to just scan the menu while the other three follow his actions not too long after.

After reciting their orders to Taeil, who Donghyuck and Mark introduce the other boys to, Mark abruptly starts to speak.

"Ah! Happy birthday Jaemin!"

Jaemin seems bashful at that, seeming to forget that Jeno said he informed the other two of his birthday.

"Yeah," Donghyuck adds lamely, ignoring how Mark lightly steps on his foot. He's not doing anything wrong anyways.

"Thanks," Jaemin mumbles, not seeing the way Jeno smiles lightly at him.

It's obvious Jaemin is making an effort, even though he didn't want them to be here. Jeno appreciates it a lot, he truly does. So he puts a hand on Jaemin's thigh under the table, keeps it there as reassurance for the younger, so that Jaemin knows he's there.

Mark notices, having done the exact same thing to Donghyuck so many times before.

It makes him smile the tiniest bit, his mind making the impulsive conclusion that Jaemin and Jeno were just as in love as he and Donghyuck were. He wasn't wrong though.

It's awkward, while the four of them wait for their food, it consists mainly of Jeno and Mark making small conversation, the two of them immediately deciding that they get along and mesh well together.

Meanwhile, Jaemin was attentively listening to their conversation while Donghyuck was blatantly staring at him. Jaemin pretends to ignore it, when in reality, he can feel Donghyuck's gaze burn through his skull.

"So, you guys are from Seoul, right?" Mark asks, nudging Donghyuck under the table with his leg, urging the younger to be apart of the conversation.

Jeno hums while Jaemin opens his mouth to speak.

"We live in the city, near Seoul university," he briefly explains, eyes fleeting between the two boys from Jeju. "You guys are in your senior year too, right?"

Donghyuck nods.

"Mark took a fifth year of high school so he could take uni courses, but he's starting university this year." Said boy nods, as if to confirm what Donghyuck had said.

Donghyuck mentally prepares himself for what he's going to say next.

"We're going to Seoul university."

Jeno's eyebrows skyrocket up while he makes a surprised sound, but Jaemin's mind is still registering what Donghyuck had said.

"Same," Jeno happily smiles. "We'll see where that goes."