"What do you think about my dress, Jeno?" Leah twirled around her sparkly dress that her mother brought for the party.
"You look very pretty Leah. Jaemin would definitely love it." Jeno replied with a pained smile. The three of them were eighteen at the time. Jeno and Leah were childhood friends and Jaemin was her crush who studied at the same school as them. But Jeno would never tell her that he harbors the same feelings for Jaemin as well.
"I know, I know. There's no one prettier than me in this room and Jaemin would never bat an eye on anyone else." Leah flipped her hair and smiled. It hurt Jeno but he didn't comment on it. He didn't know if he was beautiful enough for Jaemin to bat an eye on him.
The party started and Jeno dreaded every moment of it. It just wasn't something he was into. These business parties that his parents organized were filled with materialistic people. He sat down at a secluded corner of the room, sipping wine. Leah left him for her friends after commenting how boring he was. He wanted to cry when her friends laughed at him.
Jeno checked his watch. Jaemin still didn't arrive. It was pretty late and Jeno grew tensed. It wasn't like he was super close with him or anything. They just smiled at one another if they met in the halls at school.
"Hi can you please open this for me? Oh Jeno is that you?" A cheerful voice drew Jeno's attention. There stood Yoona. She was two grades below Jeno and he knew that she was interested in him. Leah tried setting them up countless times but Jeno always denied. She was pretty, kind and everything but Jeno's interest was solely on someone else.
"Hi Yoona, nice to meet you. Here!" Jeno took the carton of strawberry milk and opened it for her. She shyly took it from him and was about to drink it when someone harshly grabbed it from her hand, almost spilling the contents.
"Hi there Yoona! Sorry for the strawberry milk!" Jaemin gulped down the contents in one go and gave her a big smile. Yoona got a little scared with how unusual Jaemin was behaving. Therefore she quietly left with an unsure smile directed at Jeno who was beyond shocked at what just happened.
"Why did you do that Jaemin?" Jeno asked with a hint of irritation. He honestly had no idea why Jaemin was behaving that way. It was out of character for him to act this weird. Jeno observed his wrinkled suit snd his disheveled brown hair. His eyes were red and swollen. Was he drunk? Moreover as far as Jeno knew, Jaemin was lactose intolerant and he disliked strawberries.
"Just felt like it dumbass." A hint of sarcasm was visible in his tone. But what Jeno could see in his pretty eyes were sadness and desperation for someone to understand them.
"Are you drunk?" Jeno enquired.
"Oh I wish I was. But unfortunately I just want to be honest today Jeno." Jaemin smiled at him as his tears started filling up his eyes. Jeno didn't know what to do but obviously didn't want Jaemin to cry in a hall full of fake people.
"Do you want to go somewhere else? I can call Leah-" Jeno offered but was interrupted by Jaemin who held the empty carton of strawberry milk up.
"NO…I want us to be alone." Jaemin looked directly into Jeno's eyes with so much fury that it scared him. He really wanted to know what exactly was happening to Jaemin.
"Okay, Okay. Let's go." Jeno led the way.
...
"I like you" Jaemin whispered whilst looking at the night sky from Jeno's balcony. He calmed down a little bit after leaving the hall.
"What?" Jeno, who was also looking at the same stars abruptly turned around. He was met with a breath taking side profile of the boy he loved so dearly. He heard every word that Jaemin said but could not believe. Did he just say that he liked him? Was he dreaming? Probably yes. It has to be a dream.
"You heard it right Jeno and I know that you feel the same about me." Jaemin turned around and walked towards Jeno and looped his arms around Jeno's neck, earning a shivering gasp from him. Jeno realized that he was not dreaming. Jaemin was real, very real when he felt the said boy rest his forehead on his .
Jeno felt his heart explode into millions of butterflies. Things were happening faster than he could comprehend, making everything seem unreal. Yet Jeno secured his arms around the lovely boy bringing him closer. He could feel their erratic heartbeats crashing through their bodies.
"I-I don't know what to say Jaemin, Leah-she likes you too and she is my friend. I c-can't just…no!" Jeno shook his head and removed his hands from Jaemin's waist and walked a step back from his soft embrace. He looked down at his shoes as he felt his eyes sting with beads of unshed tears.
"I don't reciprocate her feelings. But I love you Jeno." Jaemin confessed. Jeno looked up, not believing his ears. His glossy vision could see how dejected Jaemin looked.
"B-but Leah, I can't hurt her Jaemin." Jeno pleadingly looked at Jaemin who smiled sadly at him. Jeno could see how badly Jaemin was trying to control his emotions. Jeno wanted to slap himself for being this weak and prioritizing his friendship over his feelings for someone who is waiting for him with open arms.
But it is the right thing to do, right?
"Oh that's great then. That bitch is lucky to have a friend like you as unlike me who fell in love with a coward. I am jealous, you know?" Jaemin laughed somewhat like a madman. Jeno was conflicted. On one hand he felt like Leah deserved him but then again the selfish and possessive side of him wanted to make Jaemin his right where they were.
"By the way today at the end of the party dad is going to announce my marriage with Leah. Hope you would be there to bless your best friend." Jaemin gave him one last smile and turned around to leave. His last hope was crushed to bits. Jeno was the one whom he loved. There was never a place for anyone and there would never be anyone.
But before he could make out of the room, Jeno grabbed him by his arm.
Jeno didn't know what came over him when he heard that Jaemin was going to get married with someone else. Maybe then realization sunk into his dense brain. Maybe then he caught up on the fact that he needed to fight for his love. Maybe then he realized that he was pushing the boy he wished for. He couldn't let the moment go.
Before Jaemin disappears into the hall of people, he needs to do something. So he grabbed him by his arm and pulled him back.
Jaemin landed roughly on his chest. He looked up to see Jeno looking at him with so much dominance that it made him melt then and there. He felt his limbs slowly paralyze into jelly as he took in all the beauty that was for his teary eyes to see. The slowly blowing winter wind made him shiver but he didn't care about it. He cared about how Jeno looked so beautiful with his hair disheveled due to it. Too bad that the same boy was the reason for his heartbreak.
"You are not going anywhere Jaemin. I won't let you marry someone else." Jeno's tone scared Jaemin but it also made him dance in euphoria.
"Why? Aren't you happy for your friend? She's going to marry someone you love in front of your eyes. Won't you be satisfied seeing me suffer?" Jaemin let his walls break as he started to sob uncontrollably. He tried pushing Jeno away and break free from his grasp but Jeno tightened his hold and hugged him until he calmed down.
"I am sorry Jaemin for what I did a while ago. Leah is my childhood friend and I felt I would betray her if I accepted my feelings towards you but… I-I really can't see you with someone else. I love you Jaemin, more than you could ever imagine." Jeno buried his face into his neck.
"Then fight for me like I am fighting for you. Trust me Jeno, you are not betraying Leah. " Jaemin slid his hand up to Jeno's hair and fisted them before bringing their faces closer.
'If only you knew who Leah is' Jaemin thought to himself as he traced his thumb over Jeno's face.
Jeno was crying, he couldn't believe that he was suddenly the happiest person alive in the planet. He nodded and didn't hesitate to plant his lips on Jaemin's.
Jaemin smiled into the kiss. His heart was racing a million miles per minute. When Jeno grabbed his waist and brought him closer, he felt goosebumps over his body. He wanted the time to stop and it did. Eerything halted when the door opened and someone pulled them apart.
"I can't belive you did this to me Jeno!" Leah angrily stormed at Jeno before raising her hand to slap him. But her hand was caught mid air by Jaemin.
"Don't even dare to." His voice grew cold as he harshly slammed her hand down.
"But Jaemin! This scumbag was trying to come between us. Can't you see that?" Leah screamed as she tried to attack Jeno again.
"Don't say a word about him from your dirty mouyh. And how many times have I told you that there is no us?" Jaemin snapped at her. Jeno just stood there like a by stander not knowing what to say. He felt utterly hurt and confused.
"I know Jaemin, you love me. You just don't know it. I will tell my parents to get rid of this guy from your life so that we can be together happily. You-you can't be gay Jaemin. No way! He is manipulating you." Leah accusingly pointed her red painted finger at Jeno who had a betrayed expression on his face. He couldn't help but call himself a fool for prioritizing this girl over himself.
"Oh really? Let me see you try how you get rid of the person I love to death. I have loved him since the day I landed my eyes on him" Jaemin glanced shyly at Jeno before hiz gaze turned cold when Leah started screaming profanities at Jeno.
"By the way Leah, you are the unluckiest person in the world. You don't deserve a friend like Jeno. You know how badly I can expose your deed right now? You and you father really tried, huh? I had a hunch that there was something wrong and I was right. You can't lie anymore. I know everything about your plan." Jaemin continued to talk while Leah turned pale with fear.
"What deed? What plan are you talking about?" Jeno felt out of place.
"A video that showed the true colour of your best friend. I considered showing it earlier to you but the way you kept on defending her feelings, I stopped myself from doing so." Jamin's gaze turned soft when he looked at Jeno. He fished his phone out and before Leah could snatch it, Jeno successfully grabbed it from Jaemin.
Jeno felt his sanity shutter into pieces when he saw Leah and her father discussing about how they are gonna rob Jaemin and emotionally use Jeno to cope and rob him too. Jeno took a deep breath before returning the phone to Jaemin. He grabbed Jaemin's hand and interlaced their fingers. He wanted to get out but Leah harshly pulled their hands away.
"Leave him Jeno! Please…I beg you. Can't you see that I love him?" Leah screamed, all the makeup running down her face as he grabbed Jeno by his sleeve.
Jeno swiftly pulled it back and patted her hair.
"Ofcourse I can see how much you love him. I can also see how dumb I was for trusting an embodiment of snake." He crouched down to face her directly somehow stopping himself from ripping her hair out.
"But I can't leave him you know? I love him a lot and a person like you wouldn't understand." He rubbed each word on her face with a sinister smile. He took Jaemin's hand again and swiftly and proceeded to walk away, ignoring Leah's calls.
"Oh shoot! I almost forgot to say that Jaemin doesn't bat an eye on rotten scums like you." Jeno winked at Leah with a smirk and pulled Jaemin out of the room.