Ashes | JENO

Chapter 1

Soojung groaned as she rolled over on her bed, grabbing her phone. Her eyes almost popped out of her head as she saw the time.

"Crap, I'm late!"

Soojung jumped out of bed, grabbing the first clothes she could find before running to the washroom and getting ready for the day as fast as she could.

It was the first day of the winter semester and the last thing she wanted was to be late.

Soojung was in her first year of college, studying medicine. On any other day, it didn't really matter if she was late, but today, it mattered a lot.

Her first class was her lab class, and labs were so important for her major. Having a good lab bench meant that you had good materials and good equipment. The placement mattered too, as some experiments were sensitive to heat so you didn't want to be by a window where the sun was leaking through.

The most important part was the lab partner and there was one person in her major that no one wanted to be partnered with, and Soojung was no exception.

"No!" Soojung cried as she missed the bus by a few seconds, plopping onto the bench at the bus stop. Now she would have to take the bus that would get her to school right on time.

Soojung sighed as she adjusted her jacket, shivering from the cold. She didn't even have time to eat breakfast since she wanted to get to school early so she could avoid having a bad lab partner.

To make matters worse, she heard motorcycles zoom past, a strong gust of wind following them. Even though Soojung could only get a glimpse of the black and gold jackets, she already knew who the disurbance belonged to.

It was none other than the most dangerous gang in the city.

The Phoenixes.

They were known for being a group of drug dealers that made people shudder upon the sight of the their black leather jackets with a golden phoenix on the back. They ruled the dark streets of Neo City, and it was considered a curse if you ever encountered one at night.

Soojung had never really spoken to any of them before but had seen them walk through the halls of school with confidence. There were six of them at the college, one of them studying medicine as well.

Some girls thought it would be fun to fool around with them but Soojung thought it was stupid. Everyone knew that the gang members only dated each other, so either you join them or just let them treat you like a toy.

As Soojung got onto the bus that had just arrived, she couldn't help but recall the time one of the Phoenixes had marked an idiot in her class that was dumb enough to insult one of them.

Getting marked by a Phoenix was literally the worst thing that could happen to a citizen of Neo City. It meant that the Phoenixes were watching you like a hawk. One more mess up and you're done for.

Soojung caught sight of the motorcycles parked in front of the school, each with a golden phoenix painted on it.

They really don't fear anything.

Soojung wasn't even the least bit surprised when she entered her class to see that all the spots were taken save for one of them.

And it was beside the blond male wearing a black leather jacket with a phoenix on it.

...

This is so stupid.

Jeno watched as his professor wrote the words What is Love? on the board, wanting to punch his brother in the face for making him go to college with the rest of them.

Jeno seemed to be the only one out of his friends who found college miserable, the others seeming to love whatever they studied. Jeno on the other hand, hated it.

He was a literature student, which mean interpreting words and their hidden meanings, which Jeno thought was the dumbest thing someone could possible study.

Words just mean exactly what they mean!

As tempted as Jeno was to switch majors, there was nothing else that interested him so he just decided to stick with it, getting that stupid degree Taeyong wanted him to have so he could get this college thing done and over with.

"What is love?" The professor said, starting his lecture. Jeno leaned on the table as he sat there in the corner of the lecture hall, doodling in his notebook.

The good thing about being a Phoenix was that he had the whole section to himself, his classmates preferring to sit closer to each other rather than being near him.

Being a Phoenix was definitely enough to scare the other students away but Jeno wasn't just a Phoenix. He was the younger brother of the leader of the Phoenixes, one of the most strong and intimidating ones. If someone was beaten to pulp at night in a dark alleyway, it was probably done by Jeno.

If Jeno's build and jacket wasn't enough to scare you, his stare and the cross on his cheekbone probably was. The students avoided Jeno like the plague and he didn't mind it one bit. In fact, he enjoyed it. The other Phoenixes were already enough to drive him crazy.

"According to the dictionary, love is a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties." The professor continued, much to Jeno's discontent.

"It is also attraction based on sexual desire, affection and tenderness felt by lovers. Or affection based on admiration, or common interests. And that is only love as a noun." The professor said.

"But love is also a verb. To like or desire actively, take pleasure in. To hold dear, cherish. It is to feel a lover's passion, devotion, or tenderness for. These are all many different definitions of love."

Jeno glanced up as he noticed the professor pause and looked up to him smiling at his class.

"Love is many things and is also very different for each and every person. This semester, we'll be exploring the theme of love through various works done by many different authors. The first one will be Romeo and Juliet." Groans and cheers sounded from the class. One of the groans came from Jeno.

"You may agree with some of them, you might disagree with others but that is perfectly normal. Why?" The professor paused again.

Why does he even do that?

"That's because each and every one of us have different ideas of what love is and that's perfectly okay." The professor said to them.

He clapped his hands together and Jeno couldn't help but give him a look of annoyance before checking his phone. It has officially been five minutes of class and he was already sick and tired of it.

"For today's class, we're going to focus on all of you." The professor said, making Jeno raise an eyebrow, surprised.

"In your notebooks, take the next ten minutes to write down what you think love is. Is it a feeling, an emotion? How do you know when you're in love? Does it come slowly or all at once? I want you to write down all your thoughts, everything that comes to mind when you hear the word, 'love.'"

Jeno smirked as his classmates began jotting down notes. This is easy.

What is love? Jeno thought as he wrote the words down in his notebook.

An overrated concept. True love just doesn't exist.

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