dicey ↬ nomin

Ch.17

Jaemin, Mark, Renjun and Jisung were sitting on a bench in the green, a little too squished to be comfortable, but the milkshakes in their hands made up for that. Girls were walking past them and staring at them with what could only be described as a huntress' gaze.

"Okay, I know we're good looking, but it's uncomfortable how many eyes we're receiving," Renjun mentioned while sipping his milkshake.

"You've got it all wrong," Jaemin interrupted, "they're staring at me. You guys are just the side of chips to my main meal."

Mark looked crestfallen and sad. "I thought it was me they were looking at."

"No Mark," Renjun added, "they don't look at you because you're too blindingly handsome."

"Aw, I love you too, Renjun. You're way more handsome than me."

Renjun smiled so much that his cheeks started to hurt. "But look at this guy here," he pointed to Jisung, who was avoiding eye contact with the girls, "he's such a heartthrob with that pink hair and enviable height."

"No," Jisung turned red and hid his face in his hands. "I think you two are the best looking in our group." Of course, they were just messing around, having a laugh, if you will, but Jaemin was looking at them in annoyance.

"Stop having an 'ultimate friends' moment without me!" Jaemin cut in and waved his empty cup around. "So why don't I get any compliments?"

Mark and Renjun gave him an irritated glare. "Us side fries look out for each other. Back off, you quarter-pounder burger."

Jaemin jutted out his bottom lip and let his arms go limp. "I though I was a chicken royale..."

"No! You're nothing, now let us have our bromance in peace," Renjun growled and literally turned his back on his friend, continuing to compliment his bros.

After a few more minutes of creepy girl stares, Jaemin noticed Chenle and Jeno walking around the park too. He perked up and tossed his cup into the bin. "Look."

The other boys saw them too and went quiet. "They're always together, now that I think about it," Renjun thought aloud, Mark and Jaemin knowing that they lived together but not knowing that each other knew.

Jaemin's eyes followed Jeno while Jisung's eyes followed Chenle, both just wistfully staring. The subjects of their gazes were laughing and chatting while standing by the fountain in the centre of the green, near a group of tourists and a few couples engaging in couple habits. Some of the girls watched them too, fixated by Jeno's eye smile and Chenle's adorableness.

"They seem popular," Mark said out of the blue, completely ruining the moment.

"So it seems..." Jisung nodded and looked down at his milkshake.

Just then, one of the girls passing by stopped walking. She had a pink and black tartan skirt and a white jumper despite the warmth. "Jeno! Lele!" She exclaimed and launched herself at them, flying straight into Jeno's arms and wrapping herself around him. She moved onto Chenle and did the exact same thing.

"Chaeyoung!" They smiled, hugging her back.

"I haven't seen you in ages," Jeno smiled a wide, happy smile and watched as the girl looked at their faces in wonder.

"You've changed," she pointed to Chenle, who put his hands on his face and tilted his head. "You haven't," she pointed at Jeno. "You really haven't changed in what, two years?"

Chenle couldn't wipe the grin off his face, just so happy to see one of their sisters who had found an adoptive family. "Your birthday must be soon," he mentioned.

"Yup. I'll be sixteen in three weeks. That means that you'll be seventeen soon and you'll be eighteen soon."

"Soon is an overstatement," Jeno sighed. "Eighteen is a while off, but I can't wait."

She frowned and let her arms hang at her sides. "So...does that mean you're both still at the orphanage?" The two boys nodded, not in a sad way, but a matter of fact way. They couldn't really be sad when the only family they've known was Ms. Kim and the other children. "How's Ms. Kim?"

"Eh, same ol'."

Chaeyoung chuckled and looked at Chenle. "Has she adopted you yet?" He shook his head in confusion, not really knowing why she would ask, but answering her nonetheless. "Oh, I assumed she'd have done that. And Jeno, are you still looking after Jaewoo and treating him like a five year old?"

"God no. The days of me treating him like a little kid are over. He's taller than a tree now and he doesn't need me to look after him."

"True, true. And how about Hyucky? Is he still as sassy as ever?"

"As ever," Chenle chimed, thinking about the boy's snappiness and harshness. "But he's gotten a bit mellower. He gets along particularly well with the littlies these days, probably because you left and they missed you."

The four boys sitting on the bench just watched in curiosity, not entirely picking up on the conversation. All they could see was that this fifteen year old girl had hugged them and now they were talking to her like old friends. "She's probably an ex-girlfriend," Mark voiced, getting up to put his cup in the bin. Renjun did the same.

"Aww, did this crush your heart?" Renjun snickered and nudged Jaemin playfully.

"I don't have a crush on Jeno!" he whisper-yelled and looked around to make sure no one heard his outburst. "Stop saying I have a crush on him, cuz I don't." But he was interested in the girl's relationship with the two boys. It certainly didn't look like your run-of-the-mill meeting.

"Maybe they're in a cult together," Renjun added, being the last straw for Jaemin, who just wanted his friend to shut his trap and let him eavesdrop.

"Right you!" Jaemin lightly snapped. "You've been spouting nothing but weird stuff since we met up. Did you drink or something?"

"Now now, you're the one who compared yourself to a quarter-pounder burger!"

"It was a chicken royale!" He retorted, putting his index finger on his lips to signal a moment of quiet. "Let me eavesdrop. I'm sure Jisung wants to know how this girl relates to Chenle."

Jisung, who had been quiet and neutral the whole time, looked at Jaemin in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The other pink haired boy just hushed him and pointed to the group of three standing by the fountain. "Don't question - listen."

They rolled their eyes but complied with their friend's quirky behaviour anyway. Nothing he ever said or did was normal, or orthodox, so there really was no arguing with a person who made their own rules. And so, they listened carefully over the loud sloshing of the fountain and the talking of the park visitors, but they couldn't hear a thing the others were saying.

"I guess I'll have to ask Jeno about it when we go to school on Monday," Jaemin sighed and stood up.

"So we can go?" Mark smiled in relief, stretching his back. "Because I have to meet up with Donghyuck soon."

"Go get your man," Renjun teased, eliciting a blush from the other boy.

"We're not even together!"

"Yet."