dazed and confused - norenmin

prologue

jaemin

jaemin had always loved the summer.
maybe it was because he could finally relax, and forget all the stress of the school year.
maybe it was the weather - warm and breezy, and full of possibility.
or maybe it was simply jeno.

jeno was jaemin's best friend, and had been ever since they were five years old,
when he had come across jaemin in the school playground, sobbing after one of the older boys had pushed him over.
jaemin still remembered how the dark-haired boy had come up to him and without hesitating or saying a word,
wrapped his arms around the younger boy. in that moment jaemin had felt safe. protected.

fast-forward 12 years and they were inseparable.
jaemin stayed at jeno's house almost as much as he did at his own, and both their mothers treated the other boy like their own son.
jaemin knew that he could rely on jeno, no matter what.
they had been through a lot together over the years - when jeno's parents separated, when jaemin was bullied.
jaemin couldn't count the number of times they had cried in each other's arms,
after jeno's dad packed a suitcase and walked out, or after jaemin was beaten up for being a 'pretty boy'.
they had got through it all together.

every summer jaemin and his parents would rent the same small villa by the sea, with jeno and his mum right next door.
their days here would always follow the same pattern: the adults shopping or reading on the beach,
and jeno and jaemin left to their own devices.
jaemin loved it.
he was happiest when it was just him and jeno, lounging around and watching movies, or exploring the lively seaside town.
they could be doing anything, it didn't matter to jaemin, as long as he was with jeno.
jeno just had ability to make jaemin smile, to make his heart laugh.