𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘 | 𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐌𝐈𝐍

𝐗𝐗

renjun sat in the waiting areas on the first floor near the entrance. he didn't know what to do with himself. he continued to sob loudly into his hands as he attempted to cover his face. soon after, he heard the elevator stop, the doors opened revealing ten and haechan who ran to his side immediately.

"renjun, we just heard about what happened."

"we're so sorry."

the two comforted renjun, drying his tears as they continued to fall. it was sad to see renjun, who was cheerful most of the time, crying so harshly. his body twitched uncontrollably and he could barely catch his breath. the situation was ugly.

"breathe, renjun, breathe." haechan held the smaller boy against his chest, ten holding his hand. the three boys stayed like that for a while before renjun's breathing went back to normal. his eyes were swollen, his cheeks still red and stained with tears.

"we finished talking to jaemin upstairs. he's just as upset as you are, he really wants to talk to you." renjun shook his head frantically.

"i don't want to see him—...or talk to him." renjun hiccuped. the two boys just sighed, they expected that sort of answer.

"you know he wouldn't do anything to hurt you, ren. it's obvious whose fault this is." haechan said angrily.

"i can't stand to see him or hear his voice again. not after that. it's like i don't even know him anymore. whether it's his fault or not, i can't handle this right now." ten nodded, understanding renjun's reasoning but haechan's mind was planning on murdering jeno.

suddenly johnny came out from the elevator, walking toward the three. "what happened? i've been looking for you guys."

"it's nothing, johnny. just give us a minute, okay? we're leaving early today." ten stated. haechan was going to question why he their boss by his real name, but he didn't think it was appropriate under the circumstances. expecting their boss to further question them or tell them to go back to work, his answer shocked both renjun and haechan.

"okay, come in whenever you're feeling better, renjun." ten squeezed johnny's hand and mouthed 'thank you' as he and haechan lead renjun out of the building.

—

ten and haechan had just left jaemin's office after questioning him and comforting him. mark, lucas, and sicheng came rushing into the room to see if jaemin was okay. they had heard what happened from haechan who just couldn't keep his mouth shut anymore.

"jaemin, are you alright?" mark asked sitting on his desk side. jaemin couldn't even speak. he was still taken aback by everything. from the kiss, to seeing the look on renjun's face before he ran out, and knowing that he's somewhere hurting right then was enough to break jaemin's heart. and he knew for a fact that their relationship would never be the same.

"i don't know..." his voice broke, just barely audible. his hands were shaking as he brought them to his eyes to wipe his tears, "i didn't... i didn't mean for it to happen, guys. h-he wouldn't get off of me, i tried to push him." jaemin continued to spill out what happened, some of it not making any sense.

it was devastating to see the younger this way. especially since he was usually well put together, loud, cheerful, and always the life of the party. but now, it was almost like they couldn't recognize him.

"you really love him, huh?" sicheng was asking but it was obvious. jaemin just buried his face in his hands.

"what are you gonna do?" lucas questioned innocently. he genuinely felt bad for the younger, but he couldn't think of any comforting words to tell him. the situation was new to him but he knew he had to fight for the one he loves.

"you know what? i have to talk to him. he'll just have to listen to me, right?"

"no." the three males said in unison. they knew for a fact renjun wouldn't want to hear anything from jaemin.

"he needs time to process everything. i don't think he would want to see you for a while. it might just hurt him even more. even though it's not your fault, if you try to explain everything to him, he'll just be overwhelmed and shut everyone out." mark explained.

even though it was sad, it was true. everything that happened was beyond jaemin's control and he hated it. it wasn't his fault jeno kissed him, he even tried to push him away but he was just too strong. why he even did it in the first place was also a mystery yet to be revealed.

"why me though? why did he have to kiss me and ruin my relationship? i don't understand."

no one could really answer that question before. but they weren't going to let jaemin beat himself up for something he couldn't control. "don't say that, things happen to everyone. i wish i could tell you the reason behind him kissing you but i really don't know." sicheng comforted.

"has he shown any interest in you before? maybe he was jealous?" lucas added.

jaemin just shook his head. he didn't know if jeno was interested in him or not. he didn't know why jeno had ruined his relationship when they were getting along so well. he didn't what to do, how he was feeling, or if he would ever get to see renjun smile again.

"i'm going home, i can't handle this any longer. i just want this day to end." jaemin collected his stuff to leave but mark stood in front of the door.

"jaemin please don't—"

"mark, just let me go home!" he said a little more harshly than he intended. taking him by surprise, mark moved aside and the three watched as the younger left.

jaemin's mind was blank as he drove home. he tried to ignore the emptiness in the seat beside him. the car was quiet when it was usually filled with renjun's laughter. jaemin remembered the butterflies he would get just by knowing renjun was beside him. he missed it. he missed them.