Goodnight | ʳᵉⁿᵐⁱⁿ

4

Renjun woke up from his nap at the sound of something shuffling. He opened his eyes but did not move. The sound got closer to the bed and Renjun squeezed his eyes close. The sound stopped near his bed and the bed dipped after a while.

"I know you're not asleep"

His eyes shot open at the unfamiliar voice. Renjun shuffled out of bed and fell onto the ground. He grabbed the closet thing near him, which happened to be his clothing hanger. Renjun directed the hanger towards the boy sitting on his bed.

"Who're you?"

Renjun connected his back with the wall and his knees with his chest. His voice came out shaky. His sore limbs aching from the sudden movements. The stranger sitting on his bed smirked and stood up, so did Renjun. His back flat against the wall and his knuckles turned white as his grip on the hanger became tight.

The boy made his way around the bed and towards Renjun. He approached him slowly with a gentle smile on his face. Renjun could feel his heart beating faster with each step the stranger took.

He backed further into the wall and aimed the hanger directly towards his face.

"B-Back off. Who're you!?"

The stranger scoffed and held his hands up, surrendering himself.

"Put the hanger down. I'm Na Jaemin. I'm....from the house across. I just wanted to greet my new neighbors."

Jaemin said with a grin. Renjun glanced at him from head to toe. He was wearing a simple black t-shirt and sweatpants.

Renjun swiftly moved his gaze to the clock. He narrowed his eyes as he made no move to lower the hanger.

"At 2 in the morning?"

Renjun was sure he saw Jaemin roll his eyes but it was too dark to even make out his face. He quickly stood up, still aiming the hanger towards the stranger as he slides to get the switches on. Jaemin watched him curiously.

Finally, he turned the switch on, making every corner of his room visible. Jaemin squinted his eyes at the bright light, hands still in the air.

"Now, this time, answer me honestly. Who are you and why are you here?"

Now that the light was on his side, Renjun straightened up and spoke up a bit louder to assert dominance. He tried. Jaemin sighed and put his hands down, by his sides.

"I'm an insomniac and I couldn't sleep, okay? I just wanted someone to talk with. Since you're being so hostile, I'll just go back home."

Jaemin turned around and walked towards the window. Being the good natured boy, Renjun couldn't stand to see him sad. Especially when it's because of him. Maybe I can trust him. And we'll probably become friends.

"Wait,"

Jaemin smirked. He knew the boy was too weak at heart. He wiped the smirk off his face and turned around.

"What?"

Renjun struggled with what to say. He didn't still trust him enough to befriend him immediately and he still didn't know how to tell the other boy to prove himself. Jaemin had enough fun with seeing the boy struggle. He broke out into a small chuckle.

"You're so cute"

Renjun looked at the stranger with brows raised. He was surprised. So sudden?

"Come. I'll show you my house"

Jaemin said as he walked near the window. Renjun also walked towards the window hesitantly. He stood besides him with a safe distance between them.

"You see that white house over there?"

The taller boy pointed to the white two story house, surrounded by yellow fence. Renjun just nodded.

"It's my home"

Jaemin leaned back from the window and crossed his arms. His eyes on the boy in front of him. Renjun also leaned back from the window and nodded again, looking at everything else but him.

Both of them stood there awkwardly for a few minutes before Jaemin started to speak up.

"I'll just leave then. You should go back to sleep"

Renjun abruptly tugged on the hem of Jaemin's shirt but no words came out if his mouth. The taller boy looked down at the small hand grabbing his shirt. He let out a small chuckle and grabbed the small hand.

Jaemin led the boy towards the bed and both of them sat down on the floor with their backs leaning against the bed. Both of them sat in a comfortable silence, staring at the stars through the window. The two boys became a bit more closer to each other after talking all night about random stuffs. Jaemin never pointed out his bruises, which Renjun was thankful for.

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