double sided | noren

t w e n t y - s i x

Jeno woke up in a daze, all of the events of last night rushing quickly back to him. Looking around, he saw that Renjun was still sound asleep next to him.

To Jeno, the boy looked absolutely ethereal. Eyes closed, soft breaths, with his face buried into Jeno's chest. This was what Jeno wanted, maybe even for the rest of his life if he could.

But that was when he remembered. His parents. By now they would've realized he was gone.

Jeno wriggled himself free from Renjun's grasp and quickly stood up, but not before feeling a hand pull against his wrist.

"where are you going?" 

Renjun's voice sounded like honey. He wanted so badly to fall back into bed and listen to Renjun's soft morning voice forever, but right now, that could not be the case.

"I'm going back," Jeno replied.

Although Renjun was still half asleep, Jeno could clearly see the shocked expression on his face, and seeing it made him realize how much he loved the boy. 

"what?" Renjun whispered.

"don't worry, I'll come back right after. I just need to set things straight with them," Jeno said quickly.

Renjun quickly understood, knowing that 'them' meant his parents. "Let me come with you," Renjun said.

Jeno hesitated and then shook his head. "I can't, I don't know what they would do to you."

Renjun wanted to argue, but it was the morning and he couldn't find the energy. Besides, he knew that Jeno was right. "Please stay safe," Renjun said.

Jeno nodded. "I promised to protect you, so that's exactly what I'm going to do," he said and felt Renjun squeeze his hand once tightly before letting go.

He gave Renjun a smile to cheer him up and saw the small boy smile back before he walked out of the room.

His parents couldn't keep him locked in a room forever, and no matter what, he would have to face them one way or another.

• ° , * · ★ . ° •

Jeno anxiously waited as he knocked on the door. After a few minutes, the door opened to his mom, who wore a stern expression on her face. It didn't show but Jeno could tell she was furious.

The first thing he received was a slap. hard. And even though Jeno had already anticipated this, it still hurt and left a visible red mark against his face.

Jeno brought his gaze up to meet his mother's and spoke before he could hear what his mother had to say.

"You can hurt me all you want, but my feelings aren't going to change. I love Renjun and nothing you do or say will change that," Jeno said, still trying to keep a calm composure.

His mother's expression didn't change. It didn't soften even a little bit. There was a long moment of silence that filled the air while Jeno waited for his mother to say something back to him.

"Go! I don't want to see you again!" His mother yelled at him. "You are a disgrace to our family." She didn't wait any longer before slamming the door in his face. 

Jeno didn't know what to feel. Deep down, a part of him still felt hurt. He didn't know what he was expecting after all and he had prepared himself for the worst. But knowing that his parents genuinely didn't want him as a part of their life anymore still made him feel guilty somehow. Maybe for knowing that he would never be able to earn their acknowledgement anymore.

But at least now Renjun would be safe, and that was enough to make Jeno feel better.

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hey y'all :)

so this was a pretty short chapter and idk if it was bad cuz it felt a little rushed but I wanted to get a chapter up

as always thanks so much for reading!