trapped in a photograph || chenji

𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕏𝕏𝕀 : 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕀

For the rest of the evening, Jun poured on his normal charm. On one level Chenle was happy that all was as it should be; him at a ball with a very handsome man, who would soon be his lover. The other ladies were giving him looks of envy.

                   

But Jisung was gone and Chenle had no idea how upset he was. Chenle felt torn, Torn between tremendous pressure to conform to society's norms, family obligations, and his growing attraction to the Korean rebel. Now sure, he was to be wed to a "man" however, it was all but a show - between both families, business-related, money... and loads of bullshit, within that love between men was still prohibited and frowned upon, it was all secretly arranged for money, so his unholy feelings towards jisung were never to be revealed, not even the slightest bit.

                   

By the end of the night, Chenle managed to push those worries about Jisung out of his mind as Jun kept pouring on the charm and the compliments. The weight of those societal pressures didn't seem as bad when Jun flashed his smile.

                   

Of course, once Jun said his farewell at the end of the evening, Chenle started to worry again. As if released from some spell, Thoughts of Jisung quickly returned.

                   

Lying in bed alone, Chenle soon fell into a deep sorrow for how he treated Jisung. What surprised him most, was the depth and intensity of the feelings of regret and sorrow that came upon him. For the first time since his mother died, Chenle would cry himself to sleep.

                   

The following day was Sunday and he first caught a glimpse of Jisung at breakfast. The actor came out holding a tray of boiled eggs. What struck Chenle was his emotionless expression. The young Korean-Latin immediately found it disconcerting.

                   

"Good Morning, Jisung. How are you this fine morning?" Chenle asked, desperately trying to get some reaction out of him.

                   

"Fine, thank you Mr. Chenle," Jisung replied in a monotone voice.

                   

As Chenle's spirits quickly dropped, his father interjected. "Jisung, your performance last night was splendid. Sir Miles was quite impressed."

                   

The Korean rebel paused from his serving duties and again replied in a polite but a monotone voice, "Thank you, Sir, It was my pleasure."

                   

Jisung then quickly finished and vanished into the kitchen without so much as looking at Chenle. The rest of breakfast was the same. Jisung was there, but he showed almost no emotion and did his work quietly and diligently. It saddened Chenle greatly.

                   

"Jisung's furious at me, I know it." Chenle thought as he ate his breakfast.

                   

"Is something wrong Chenle? You seem sad this morning."

                   

Realizing he did door a poor job of hiding his emotions, Chenle quickly lied. "I was just thinking of mother. She will not be able to see me married. It saddens me greatly."