rent me || nomin au

7

Jaemin squeezed into the backseat of his mom's car, clutching the plushies he had bought. He rubbed the Apeach head, which was still slightly warm from being in Jenos arms.

"How was your time at the mall, sweetie?" Jaemin's mom asked, initiating conversation on the way home. "Did you have fun with your friends?"

Jaemin forgot he had told his mom he was originally hanging out with Chenle and Jisung. "Oh yeah, actually they didn't come. They ditched at the last minute to cuddle with each other-"

"So you were alone?" Her voice was laced with worry. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have come and gotten you, poor thing. You must have been bored out of your mind for hours."

Jaemin waved his hands, even though his mom wasn't watching and was more focused on driving. "Don't worry about it! I didn't want to call you back after you just dropped me off so I decided to explore, and there was a Kakao Friends store that I went to," Jaemin said excitedly. "I brought a lot of money so I got my favourite Ryan plushies and an Apeach for Taeyong hyung and Frodo and Muzi for Jisung and Chenle."

"That's great! Did you spend the whole time there?" Jaemin's mom looked at him through the rearview mirror, smiling at how happy he got whenever he talked about his interests.

"No, after that I met this guy named Jeno," Jaemin decided to leave out the part where he rented him, Looking back, the concept of renting a stranger as a boyfriend was really weird, and he didn't want his mom clowning him for his spontaneous decisions.

Jaemin saw his mom raise an eyebrow, a small grin spreading across her face. "A boy? Are you two..."

He laughed, his family always asked whenever he mentioned boys. He was forever grateful for how supportive his family was of his sexuality but perhaps they were almost too supportive. "We literally just met, it's too soon for that! Well anyway, we basically just talked and got drinks. Yes, he's pretty cute. Yes, I did get his number," Jaemin answered with a smile when his mom widened both eyes in question.

"Ooh, my son's getting a boyfriend!" She practically squealed. "They grow up so fast," she wiped away a fake tear.

"Oh my god mom! Focus on the road!" Jaemin's mom's laugh boomed throughout the car and he buried his face in his Ryan plushie, mildly embarrassed.

~~~~~

"Taeyong hyung! Open the door, I have something for you," Jaemin called from outside Taeyong's room, his newly bought Ryan and Apeach plushies in hand.

Jaemin was thinking perhaps his brother wasn't home when suddenly the door swung open and Taeyong enveloped Jaemin in a massive hug. "Welcome back my favourite brother, how was your time at the mall?" Jaemin could hardly breathe from Taeyong's crushing hug and had to pry his arms off before answering.

"It was pretty fun, I bought a lot of plushies from the new Kakao shop. And here's the Apeach I got you."

Taeyong's face lit up, taking the plushie and hugging it. "You? Getting me a present? What's the occasion? Has the simulation broke? I thought you were kidding when you texted me about it."

Taeyong giggled mischievously as Jaemin tackled him onto his bed. Jaemin feigned annoyance, gritting his teeth. "Yes I did, I spent my hard earned money on you, so be grateful you unappreciative ass. I'm not always this generous."

"Wow, thank you, I'm honoured," Taeyong replied sarcastically before softening up again and crushing Jaemin into another hug. "I meant, thank you so much, you're the best! I owe you," Jaemin smiled at his brother's loving response. He was lucky to have an older brother as caring as Taeyong. Most siblings hated each other but they managed to get along really well, despite the difference in age.

"So what else did you do?" Taeyong sat up cross-legged on the bed, holding Apeach in his lap. Jaemin did the same, getting his own Ryan plushie that had rolled to the edge of the bed.

"Chenle and Jisung cancelled on me, so after getting the plushies the store didn't have bags and I saw a nearby Rent-A-Boyfriend station so I rented a boy named Jeno to help hold all my things."

Taeyong's face froze almost comically in confusion for a good 10 seconds until he spoke again. "Wait what? Why did Chensung ditch you? A what station? Rent a boyfriend? What year is it? Why are we renting people now? What happened to normal dates? But is he cute? Also couldn't you just get a bag from a different store? Isn't that cheaper and less of a hassle?" The questions kept coming and Jaemin had to stop Taeyong to answer them all.

"They decided to cuddle with each other and I didn't want to be a third wheel. Yeah, the mall had this place where you could 'rent' people to act as a boyfriend technically. He's decent I guess. I know, I realized when Jisung said the same thing when I texted him and Chenle. And definitely, because I'm currently in debt to Jeno from not being able to pay the full fee."

"Jaemin! You left the poor boy without paying him? Did you not have money?" Taeyong smacked Jaemin on the shoulder, prepared to go into a lecture about the importance of paying for services.

"Yeah, the fee didn't occur to me until he said it was time to pay and I ended up not having enough money. Don't mom me," Jaemin stared back at Taeyong's disapproving glare. "I felt really bad and so I got his number so that we could meet another time to give him the rest! Don't worry and stop staring at me like that, I swear I'm responsible!"

Taeyong sighed, clearly disappointed in Jaemin's inability to think ahead. "So have you two decided on a meeting place yet? When and where are you two meeting?"

"Good question," Jaemin tapped his chin. "I should probably text him about that."