snowflake [2]; nomin

true love doesn't end

―°❆ chapter seven ༺°―

Who is he kidding? He can never hate Jaemin. Yes, he was hurt by what the younger had said, but it was partially his fault too. Jeno did say he'd might as well go without Jaemin, and he understands those words must've hurted the younger just as much.

He also understands why Jaemin became angry in the first place. Jeno knows he must've been surprised and really afraid too, and all Jeno wants to do now is hug Jaemin and tell the younger he's so extremely sorry.

So he ran all the way from where Jaehyun had dropped him off, and is still running as the familiar white house with the elegant carvings on the stone-tiled roof comes into his vision. He jumps over the fence landing in the backgarden and runs over to the stacked up funiture. "Jaemin!" he calls as he enters through the hatchet. He's met with silence, so he runs up the stairs from the basement and onto the ground floor.

Everything is dark as none of the candles in the house are lit, the only light Jeno can use to navigate around being the small rays of light that peek through the cracks between the planks that cover up the windows. He calls Jaemin's name again but to no avail. He's not in the livingroom and he isn't in the bedroom.

Jeno checks upstairs too, but nothing.

Jaemin's gone.

And Jeno feels his heart sink as he checks the basement again, finding a message written onto the wall next to their purple handprint-tree. With small purple letters 'Jeno I love you' is written, so freshly that Jeno can even smudge it off the grey wallpaper.

He jumps in place a few times before storming out the house, accidentally bruising his arm against something sharp, causing his shirt to tear and a long thin and bloody cut to appear. Nothing as little as a wince leaves him, as he doesn't even acknowledge the pain, too caught up in finding Jaemin.

He just runs, not really knowing where his legs are taking him. They make their own pathway, running on Jeno's love and longing. The world is so big and finding Jaemin would be like finding a needle in a haystack, yet Jeno's legs are like a magnet, knowing just where to search. The sky starts burning up around him and he finds the way the clouds look like feathers beautiful.

He eventually ends up at an old mall Jaemin and he sometimes hangs out at. They tend to walk around in there, hand in hand, acting like they are out shopping and the mall is filled with people and chatter. Acting like it is Christmas and joyful song are playing through the many speakers. They one time went into an old shoe store and Jaemin made a fashion show as he tried on all the high heels in the store.

Yet, Jaemin isn't at the mall and after minutes of searching and calling his name, Jeno leaves, his legs carrying him on to the next place.

He passes by the convenience store and makes a note that he can't see anyone on the roof, rushing along the dirty streets again. Soon, a familiar school comes into his vision and he stops completely for the first time since he ran away from home. Jaemin and he did things in there, and the memories of those wicked, raw and experimenting days are still so awfully clear in his head.

What what supposed to have been a fun visit to see what schools were like turned into something heated and passionate very quickly, and Jeno just chuckles, realizing how lustful they both became just... out of the blue. And maybe, sometimes it just is like that.

He continues running around the area, checking all the places he and Jaemin visit occasionally. Like the old European-styled library in the middle of all the tall office buildings, the orphanage, the now lonely and overgrown park and down by the water, yet Jaemin's none of the places and for every place he leaves empty handed, his legs start loosing the energy they once had.

He finds himself humming a song his mom used to sing when he was little, and instead of running, he walks to the last place he can think of, and hopes that Jaemin will be there. They only went there once so Jeno doesn't know if Jaemin can even remember it.

But when Jeno arrives in front of the big hotel, he sincerely hopes its where Jaemin is. Because, if not, he has no idea where the younger could be.

Jeno goes in through the glass doors and walks right pass the destroyed lobby and over to the indoor pool. Jaemin and he found it a while back, and Jeno doesn't know why they haven't visited again. The water in the pool is pretty clean, and the pool is very big. Maybe it's because neither one of them knows how to swim, and because Jaemin's not a big fan of water.

Jeno walks through the changing rooms and directly into the hotel pool, and all his worries seem to fade as he catches the sight of a body sitting at the edge of the pool, feet into the water and back turned to Jeno.

Jaemin doesn't turn around but is aware of Jeno's presence, having heard the older enter. "I'm sorry," he mumbles and Jeno fights the urge to just go over and hug him.

. * :. ❆