Cupid - NCT Dream - NOREN

Part 5

Renjun's recital came around and his friends all came to watch, Jeno and Jaemin sat next to one another and they were both extremely excited, Jeno was excited to see all Renjun's hard work paying off and Jaemin was excited to see why Jeno was so excited.

The show started and it was quiet and Renjun's friends were amazed at how amazing Renjun was, especially Donghyuck and Chenle. They knew their friend was amazing but he never got the lead roles in their shows but this time he got to show off and it was really something.

Jaemin turned to Jeno who was watching Renjun with utter admiration, Jaemin smirked a little with a small nod.

Jeno sat there he didn't know what expression to make, he saw Renjun practice for the show, he was there the whole time seeing the progress but he didn't understand why in that exact moment his heart was beating so fast, he didn't understand what was going on or why he had the urge to rush up and just hold Renjun.

It was confusing, and as he kept watching it dawned on him and he didn't know what to do, it was the exact opposite of what he wanted, he wanted Jaemin to fall in love with Renjun he didn't want himself to fall in love.

He took a moment and looked at Jaemin and he saw his friend watching the show but he didn't look very focused, Jeno felt like running away, he felt so stupid, he promised Renjun that he would help him but how is he going to help him when he himself wants Renjun.

When the show came to an end the group of friends went out to eat, but Jeno was distant, he was quiet and he would smile from time to time, but Renjun picked up on the fact that something was wrong with him, even Jaemin was worried.

And halfway through their meal, Jeno got up with a small sigh "Hey Jaem will you walk Ren home? I'm not feeling well, so I'm heading home" Jeno said, he waited for his friend to agree and said his goodbye's before leaving.

Jeno got home and the first thing he did was lay on his bed and screamed and he found himself crying along the way, it's bad when you figure out you like someone and you still have a little hope that they might like you back but for Jeno, he knew he had no chance and he knew he was probably going to see Jaemin and Renjun together eventually as Renjun was just too sweet not to love and it all just pained him a lot more than it probably should have.

Renjun sat and ate his food but he was really worried about Jeno, the boy didn't look okay since the show ended when he saw Jeno before the show started. The boy looked excited but now it seemed like the boy didn't want to be anywhere near him or even near his friends. He was scared that he did something wrong and as much as he wanted to focus on Jaemin being the one to walk him home he couldn't help but worry about Jeno.

Jaemin walked with Renjun and although he doesn't know Renjun well he picked up in the change of how Renjun was acting, he could tell the boy was worried and he was no different, he wondered what happened that made Jeno this upset, he knew the boy well and he was hardly this sad.

"Hey... can I be honest with you?" Renjun asked as they arrived at his front door, he wanted to be straight up with Jaemin, he had to do this for himself because he himself was confused over his own feelings.

"Sure," Jaemin said, the two took a seat on steps in front of Renjun's house and it was silent for a little before Renjun spoke again.

"The reason Jeno befriended me..."

"Was it because you liked him?" Jaemin asked cutting Renjun off but the boy shook his head.

"No, It was because he caught me glancing at you a lot, I have... maybe had a crush on you, but you know I think I was more in love with the idea of you than actually being in love with you" Renjun said, he surprised Jaemin a lot and the boy only looked at him a little shocked expression.

"Me? But why would Jeno befriend you because of that?" he asked.

"He said that, since I never made a move on you or even just confessed in general he thought that I would be good for you so he wanted to help me by making you fall for me but you know he wasn't successful," Renjun said softly.

"I think I might like Jeno... and I feel like I wasted his time and I can't even tell him he can't help me with this anymore because he will want a reason for it and in the end, I will have to tell him why but my friends are getting along with you guys so well and they are happy and I don't want to ruin that" Renjun explained.

"Hmm now it's my turn, Renjun you are a great guy and although I would love to like you back I sadly can't... I like Donghyuck... I have for a long time but he doesn't really pay attention to me, he spoke to me once before at orientation and he was really amazing and it all happened before I got popular and I ended up observing him so much I fell for him" Jaemin said, he felt bad, he had to tell the person who just confessed to him that he was in love with his best friend.

"We're really out here falling for one another's best friends huh," Renjun said with a small laugh.

"But I want Jeno to be happy, I think I know the reason he was so upset... so Renjun what do you say, let's help one another out?" Jaemin said to him with a big smile.

"How?"

"I set you up with Jeno and you help me with Donghyuck? How does that sound?"

"Sounds good... you and Jen really care a lot about one another" Renjun said and Jaemin laughed a little with a nod.

Their conversation ended with them exchanging numbers, and Jaemin standing in front of Renjun.

"Good night lover boy," Jaemin said and patted Renjun's head before walking off, Renjun yelled a goodnight as Jaemin walked off.

Both smiled as they walked in their respective directions, Renjun was happy he could get everything off his chest, and Jaemin was happy to finally make a move on his crush.

Renjun laid on his bed and thought back to the time it struck him he might be in love with Jeno, they were in the ballet studio and Mr.Kim was giving Jeno some pointers for a dance cover the dance club was going to do and Renjun was going through his own performance steps.

But he found himself watching Jeno, the boy was so focused it was different from how he usually was and Renjun felt his heart speed up maybe a little too much, he ignored it at first and blamed it on the choreography, but when he went to watch Jeno's performance and he saw the boy giving it his all he found his heart beating even faster than before and the way the sweat dripped down from Jeno's jawline made Renjun gulp.

That's when it sunk in... the feelings he had for Jeno came to light that day and he felt like screaming at first because he felt so bad, Jeno was under the impression he was in love with Jaemin and he was always planning everything out to get Jaemin to notice him but here he was falling in love with Jeno instead.