RENDEZVOUS

39 | dance the night away

it was nearing ten o'clock when jaemin checked his watch for the last time, and the sun had almost entirely set, dimming the streets until the streetlamps came on and a romantic atmosphere hung over the evening dusk.

passing by a field of wildflowers on his way, jaemin stopped to pick a handful and clustered them together in a messy yet heartfelt bouquet. it helped him feel a little more prepared and slightly less nervous about the question he was setting out to ask, but the butterflies in his stomach still remained.

this was it.

jaemin didn't know what he was, or who he was supposed to be, but had accepted that it was okay for him to take each crush one at a time, falling for a personality no matter what the person looked like. the last one took the beautiful form of nancy, and this one looked like the cutie in the year below that jaemin couldn't take his mind off.

lee daehwi.

the boy who changed everything.

labels didn't really matter to jaemin at this point, not like they mattered to jeno and his determination to let everyone know about his bisexuality. when it came to daehwi, all jaemin really cared about was keeping him close, and making the most of the time they could spend together. and as much as he'd been enjoying hanging out with daehwi recently, jaemin wanted to take a chance and see if things could officially become something more. exclusivity mattered to him, and calling daehwi his boyfriend was an unfamiliar but welcome concept that filled him with a rush of pride.

so, in his grey suit and pink tie, and once neatly styled cotton candy hair that was quickly becoming dishevelled by the wind, jaemin approached daehwi's house, flowers to hand and the question on the tip of his tongue.

clink!

"shit," jaemin whispered, staring up at the house in front of him.

daehwi's parents were probably home. should he have thrown the pebble up at the window? it was a cliché move, but now that he thought about it - wouldn't it damage the glass. jaemin panicked for a few moments more before realising he'd gotten daehwi's number days ago.

to: hwi♡
are you awake?

jaemin sat on the wall outside, feeling awfully dressed up in his tuxedo, and waited for a response. maybe daehwi was already asleep? he hadn't considered that beforehand, and the endless eventualities were making him feel nauseous.

from: hwi♡
not yet.. aren't u at prom?

his heart practically doing somersaults in his chest, jaemin sent another text back. he was going to do this, and it was going to be a big romantic gesture if it was the last thing he could ever achieve in life.

to: hwi♡
look outside :)

jaemin looked up at the house then, trying to figure out which window daehwi would actually peer out of. the curtains in one of the upstairs front rooms shifted and the glow of a bedside lamp leaked through the gap as a face appeared in the window. jaemin tentatively raised a hand, nervous as to what daehwi's reaction would be.

then his phone started ringing.

"are you serious? what is this - romeo and juliet?"

jaemin couldn't help but smile. "that play is one of the most timeless tragedies of all time, and the romance is literally dead by the end."