Star-Crossed Lovers

Chapter VIII - Whenever I Miss You

Jaemin woke up later than he usually did, with puffy eyes and red nose. His granny almost dropped the bowl she was holding when she saw him coming down for breakfast.

That day, he planned to go to the church earlier than he usually did and spend the whole day together with Jeno as it was his birthday. Even after all the things that he learned on the previous night, the thoughts of spending the day with Jeno had filled his mind completely and caused his heart to bloom with joy.

Jaemin plucked some red tulips from his granny's greenhouse and tied them in a pretty bunch with a white ribbon as a present for Jeno. He was also planning to put the flowers on Jeno's grave later after showing them to him.

When he came back to his room to grab his backpack, Jaemin saw the necklace on the nightshade beside his bed. He was hesitant for awhile, but then he put on the necklace and hid the locket under his shirt.

When he arrived at the church, it was empty, as always. Well, who come to church on a weekday morning? The place was unlocked, so anyone can come and go as they please.

He was greeted by a joyful Jeno until the ghost saw his face. The crescent eye-smile turned into a frown in a second. He was dead worried.

"What happened to you? Had you been crying the whole night? Why are you crying? Did someone hurt you. Tell me Jaem, who should I fight for hurting you like this?"

Jeno shot him with unending questions. His voice was full of concern. He reached out his hand to touch Jaemin's cheek.

Jaemin shivered at the cold wind that brushed against his skin and leaned a little as if he was feeling Jeno's touch. Jaemin let out a little laugh and shook his head.

"There's no one for you to fight, Jeno. I was just watching and crying over some stupid movies last night and fell asleep afterwards. It's nothing to be concerned about."

Jeno just nodded at his replies, eyes still worried. Jaemin then brought forward the bunch of tulips he had hidden behind his back and held them in front of Jeno's face.

"Look, I brought you some tulips. Happy birthday, Jeno! You told me not to get a cake, so this is all I can think of. At least you can look at it."

Jaemin looked straight into Jeno's eyes to look for any trace of emotion. He smiled in delight when he saw the dark, shadowy orbs beamed with joy and happiness. His eyes stayed on flowers for some time until he looked up to thank Jaemin.

"Jaemin, I love them very much. They're really beautiful. I never thought I could get a gift again after all these years. I can never thank you enough, Jaem. Thank you so much for thinking about me."

Jeno smiled endlessly and the smile reached his eyes, forming the beautiful crescent that Jaemin could never get his mind off from.

Jeno tried to touch the flowers in Jaemin's hand but his fingers only went through them. His smile dropped for a split seconds but he managed to quickly pulled it back on his face and looked at Jaemin. But this time, the smiles did not reach his eyes like they did earlier.

Jaemin could never forget at how sad and disappointed Jeno looked when he could not even touch the flowers. It was crushing Jaemin's heart, as if it had not already broken, because of Jeno. He decided to instantly change the topic.

"I thought about putting them on your grave later, if you're okay with the idea."

"No, please don't. I never go there anyway. If you don't mind, could you put them in the vase on the desk by the window? Then, I can always look at them whenever I miss you."

At the end of those sentences, Jeno sounded like he was whispering, but Jaemin caught his words anyway, crystal clear. He stopped in between his steps to the desk to turn and look at Jeno behind him.

Jaemin could not help himself from smiling when he saw the floating male was trying so hard to avoid his eyes, flustered by his own words. He was wandering his gaze everywhere aimlessly in the church, and when their eyes met, he faked a cough.

"Hurry up, will you? The movies won't play by itself and the sun won't stay in the sky forever, you know!"

Jeno snapped awkwardly at his company, voice still flustered. Jaemin just laughed his way to the desk and grab the empty vase on it, before heading to the bathroom.

"Wait for a minute, will you? I need some water for the tulips to stay fresh longer. So you can have more time to look at them later when you miss me."

Jaemin's teasing had caused Jeno to dive through the air aimlessly in the church before he disappeared behind the door to the storage room. The two decades old ghost was unbelievably shy and easily flustered, and Jaemin just loved to push his buttons.

When Jaemin got back from the bathroom, Jeno was nowhere to be seen. He walked to the storage room and peeked inside after opened the door slightly.

"Jeno, I thought you wanted to watch some movies? What are you doing down there?"

Jaemin laughed at the cute Jeno in front of him, crouching under the table, hiding his face in hands, embarrassed. Jaemin wondered at the back of his mind at how red a flushed Jeno would look like at the moment, if he was alive.

"Stop flirting with me!"

Jeno floated his way out of the room and followed Jaemin to where he left his backpack.

"Sweetheart, that wasn't even a flirt. And FYI, you started it."

Jaemin saw Jeno froze for a moment at the pet name and laughed his heart out. After recovering back his senses, Jeno rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue at the other male.

Jaemin set up his laptop on the floor at the back of the church and started a movie. He sat down and leaned his back on the wall. Jeno came afterwards and snuggled himself against Jaemin's side, eyes on the screen.