The Leafs | EN NoMin [EDITING]

IV.

getting to know my readers better ; what country would you like to visit ? or what was your favorite place you've been to ? :]

remember that this book is still in the process of editing, so stay tuned for the next chapters ! i'm still working on it. <3

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jaemin had returned back to his usual quiet, and shy boy. his main focus was on his studies much more than before though, resulting in him completely ignoring and avoiding jeno, and even his closest friends. everyone saw the change and tried to get to jaemin, prying answers from him, yet to no avail. donghyuck and chenle were both beyond worried, but knew better than to annoy their peach haired friend. the last thing the two wanted would be their friend blowing up at them.

the pinkenette usually strolled around the hallways with a pair of headphones on his head — the big, heavy type, in a nice lavender color. it complemented his hair, actually. the boy didn't give a damn about the world around him, drowning up in his thoughts and memories. it pained him, for sure, but was he going to change it? absolutely not.

even at home, everything felt foreign to the boy. the house, that usually shone with joy and comfort, now felt distant and empty, with both his parents at their works as per usual. jaemin felt lonely, to say the least. at times like these, not even the upbeat music blasting from his headphones helped him feel better. it's been off, the vibes weren't what the pinkenette looked for.

as he wandered around the school hallways, he passed by many different student. the highschool was an international one, meaning that people of many colors, races and nationalities attended the classes. he remembers this one kid from south east africa, that is in his painting classes. it's this tall, absolutely stunning woman, that he's grown to admire. they became friends rather quickly, but even then met up only at their shared classes, since both were partaking in different fields. it has always amazed him, how many different people actually were in the school.

and even then, despite all the happy events or happy things that made jaemin happy that day, the boy kept up his stone cold facade, with lips curled into a scowl and eyes as emotionless, as humanly possible. nothing, but pure pain his far behind those dark irises, hinting that something might be wrong, and it did not revolve around his loss only.

lately, the boy felt more than lonely. of course he had chenle, donghyuck and his parents, he also had his books that kept him occupied, but none of that seemed to satisfy him. the still was that gaping hole in his heart, that was yelling at him to fill it with something — with someone.

jaemin's mother served as a doctor in a local hospital, helping people and children with their injuries and sicknesses. it meant that the young woman often worked three day shifts, sometimes came home in the evening only to be called back in in a matter of hours. jaemin never really spent time with her, because of that. he hasn't seen her for a whole day in years, dare he say.

his father, on the other hand, was a ceo of a company. the man was very kind and understanding, and jaemin definitely saw him more than five minutes a day, yet majority of the older's time was spent locked up in his room, where he did all the important paperwork, or at the actual company building. either way, jaemin usually ate dinner with him, or had at least a small talk with the man over maybe some tea or coffee.

it still wasn't enough, though.

jaemin grew up as an only child, in a neighborhood full of working adults, meaning that almost no children lived on his street. he never really had anyone who would play with him, or care for him — never really had the childhood that any other kid had. he spent majority of his time reading, or learning how to cook at a very young age. sometimes, he'd help around the house, too. he never had a pet, never had any friends.

the boy has also never learned how to ride a bike, and never really scraped his knees, which meant that injuries definitely weren't on the menu. the pinkenette was also almost never I'll — sometimes he's caught the common flu, and once had a very bad cold, yet broken bones or sprains were not the case.  maybe that would explain his sensitiveness to pain.

however, despite being healthy and well in the visible aspect, his mental health would be a whole different case. the pinkenette suffered from many different things his parents frankly refused to treat, such as insomnia, or social anxiety. the boy's nights were long, filled with constant staring into the walls filled with glow in the dark plastic stars be never seemed to take off ever since he became a teen. he grew used to it, which he shouldn't.

the boy's hobbies were rather simple, some would call them nerdy. stone collecting was one of them. he owned various gemstones, or aura stones, some that he's collected or bought himself, and some that his international friends have sent him. he's had many gemstones from europe, where one of the said friends resided. she sent him a couple of stones twice a year, once for his birthday and once for christmas, and jaemim has always returned the favor, seeing they were very good friends, and have been doing this for years now.

his train of thoughts got interrupted, when a hand grasped at his forearm, the boy noticing a familiar face of his loud friend. the pinkenette smiled and stopped his music, the headphones now resting around his neck, as he allowed the boy to lead him into the nosy cafeteria.

he just wanted to get over with this day.

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