𝘀𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀; nomin

six

"So you have a test today?" Renjun asked while tilting his head at the younger boy who sat across from him at the food court.

"Yeah. I didn't even look over what the lecturer was teaching us the other day!" The blonde exclaimed, thinking about how much trouble he was going to be in if he failed the classroom assessment.

"Your mother is going to hit the roof," Renjun chuckled, finding his friend's dilemma extremely funny, even if Jaemin was frowning.

"Good thing I'm an adult and don't live under her roof when she hits it," the blonde pouted, seeing that his attention was turned to a purple haired teen who sat on the other side of the court with Jinsoo and some of his friends, but Jeno wasn't sitting with them.

Jaemin frowned, finding that the absence of his neighbour didn't sit well with him. The pair had had a huge fight only the night before, screaming and yelling. It had kept Jaemin up all night, as it usually did.

Why had Jeno not come to school?
The blonde always felt slightly guilty for not going in during the fights, but he genuinely wanted to have a good college experience and was desperate to avoid drama. But no matter how hard he tried, he felt more and more compelled to confront Jeno.

"Why were you looking at that exchange student, Renjun? He's hanging out with Jinsoo and his crew," Jaemin asked out of curiosity, but also wanted to steer the discussion onto the group that seemed fake.

Park Jisung, the boy who sat between both the exchange student who Renjun had taken some interest in, and Mark Lee. Mark and Jisung had been rumoured to be Jeno's closest friends, but Jaemin had never seen them interact in a naturally friendly way since Jinsoo was always there. No matter where the small brunette boy would turn, Jinsoo would have his arm wrapped around his waist. That's what Jaemin had seen from months of observation.

There was another boy who sat with them. He had sandy blonde hair and wore the most snide expression...Lee Donghyuck. He had never seemed overly involved with he group, but it was clear that there was respect. He was Jinsoo's right hand man after all. And observing from the outside as Jaemin was doing, he new that Jinsoo's word was rule.

The thought alone made the blonde snap his attention away from the group and back to his friend who seemed tense at the mention of the mysterious group.

"He's new here. Chenle, I think," he mumbled, uncomfortable with the topic.

"He's Chinese?" The elder boy nodded, smiling gently.

Jaemin was aware that his friend missed his home land, but Renjun had been in Korea for so long that his fond memories of home had started to fade, even if he had tried so hard to hold onto them. "You should talk to him," Jaemin suggested, glancing at the lilac haired boy who was smiling at the conversation he was a part of, but also looked extremely confused.

"I can't..." he didn't elaborate leaving Jaemin to wonder what scared the brunette so much.

"Why not, Junnie?" The boy looked back at Jaemin, keeping intense eye contact between them before looking over his shoulder at the group, only to see that they were starting to pack away, awaiting the class that was about to begin.

"I don't know." That was the only answer the blonde got before Renjun looked at his watch while sighing. "My lecture starts in five minutes. Will I see you in a few hours? Or am I heading home for the day?" The brunette asked, standing up and pushing the plastic chair in behind him.

Jaemin didn't move, since he still had an hour until his lecture began, and the only reason he had even come here was to get a mug of decent coffee and to talk to Renjun.

The blonde glanced at the table that once held the group of friends, but now Jinsoo and Donghyuck were the only ones there.
They were speaking in a hushed manner, even though their conversation was inaudible while they were talking earlier. Jaemin leaned forward, almost forgetting that his friend was waiting for an answer. He was so curious as to why everything that surrounded that group had always been so peculiar.

It just didn't add up, and it never had to him.

"Jaemin?" Renjun repeated for the hundredth time, but it was only them that the younger of the pair noticed his friend standing there with his hand resting in his hip so expectantly.

"I'll see you tomorrow. But will you stay over on Saturday?" Renjun nodded to the boy's request. He had never truly felt at home in the empty apartment that his parents had payed for.

"Kay then...see you tomorrow," Renjun mumbled, picking up his pencil case and folder before leaving his absentminded friend.

He shrugged at Jaemin's lack of presence, seeing that the blonde still had his eyes fixed on the ravenette who was discussing something with Donghyuck.

"Whatever," he muttered, readjusting his jacket and walking in the direction of the exit.

His lecture was taking place in a building that was next door to the food court.

He threw one more concerned glance at his friend before slipping out of the door, and trailing towards the grand building. "Why, Jaemin?" Renjun asked nobody, "Why are you mingling with the wrong crowd?"

The brunette entered his building, trying so hard to shake off the feeling of uneasy that always settled within him whenever Jaemin would bring up Jeno and Jinsoo.

The perfect couple had a flaw.

That was Renjun's mission. He wanted to know what it was for two reasons; to ease the curiosity that had risen in the months gone by, along with the need to protect his friend. And being involved with those two....he was in danger.