Ashes | JENO

Chapter 14

When Soojung woke up that morning, she was surprised to recieve a message that was very out of the ordinary.

A message from Jeno.

Jeno
I'll pick you up in the back parking lot.

Demanding, why am I not surprised, Soojung thought as she typed her reply to Jeno.

Her fingers remained hovered over the keyboard as she recalled what Jaemin had said to her the other day, reminding her about how she really shouldn't be interacting with someone like Jeno.

It's for the cats though, Soojung thought as she got ready for the day, brewing her coffee.

I'm not going for him, we're literally feeding cats together. Harmless. It's not like I'm sleeping with him or anything.

Soojung stared at her phone, quickly sending the message to Jeno before putting her phone on the table, ignoring it as she finished getting ready for school.

...

Soojung
Okay, see you then!

"You seem happy." Renjun said, leaning over the counter to try to get a glimpse of Jeno's phone. Jeno quickly slid it in his pocket, making the art student pout.

"Just sealed a good deal, that's all." Jeno said but he was certain that Renjun could see through his lie.

"Mhmm." Renjun said, moving past Jeno to get some food.

Jaemin was already out of the house with Haechan, the two of them meeting up with Mark and Ayeon at school. Chenle and Jisung were also out, enjoying the remainder of the high school days.

That left Jeno and Renjun alone.

Renjun was without a doubt the most level-headed of them all, the one that was the most logical. One would rarely catch Renjun doing something stupid, unless it was something that Renjun had already known was dumb but had purposedly done it to prove a point. That was the type of person Renjun was.

In a way, Renjun reminded Jeno of Doyoung, someone that Jeno could easily talk to and trust with any secrets he had. Jaemin was a great friend, like a brother, but even Jeno knew that sometimes, Jaemin would let his emotions take over. Jeno had seen it when Jaemin reported Haechan's relationship with Ayeon to Taeyong.

Renjun on the other hand, wasn't like that. He was upfront and honest all the time, and although the truth could hurt sometimes, Jeno respected it.

Which is why Jeno stood there, the mug in his hands as he thought about whether he should really confess about the real reason why he was staring at his phone.

"Do you ever gain any satisfaction from being with different girls all the time?" Renjun asked.

I guess he wants to talk about something else instead.

"Why do you ask?" Jeno said, partially because he didn't want to answer the question, partially because he was genuinely curious.

"I don't know." Renjun said as he sat down on one of the stools, picking off parts of the bun he heated up and placing them in his mouth. "I just don't see why people do things like that. It just seems... weird."

"I mean, seeing different people keeps things interesting." Jeno said, trying to make excuses. Renjun shrugged.

"Don't you ever get sick of it? Like don't you ever just want to pick one person? Or do you ever get attached?"

"No?" Jeno said but the fact that it came out as a question made Renjun raise an eyebrow. Jeno quickly cleared his throat with a cough. "If you're asking if I want to date like Haechan and Ayeon, the answer is no."