!! tw: teen pregnancy and bullying mentioned !!
“It was nice talking to you Jeno, bye."
The smile on Jaemin's face is tight as he nods as a gesture of goodbye towards Jeno. He stands up from his seat, closing his notebook and shoves it in into his bag before making a beeline down the lecture hall steps and out the door.
Jeno watches, his eyes trained on Jaemin's figure and as soon as the door closes, he visibly deflates. Flopping over his desk he lifts his head just enough to bring it back down to the wooden surface with an echoing bang. Lucas laughs gleefully, causing Jeno to turn his head at the male sitting next to him.
"Having fun watching me writhe in absolute misery ?" Jeno asks with a scoff. He turns his head again and continues hitting it against the desk, ignoring the dull ache that was starting throb painfully in his head.
Lucas leans back on his chair, one hand twirling a pen and the other reaching out to pillow Jeno's forehead. "Well, it is quite interesting, don't you think? Interesting and definitely hilarious."
"Oh yeah, totally. My failing, pathetic love life is very interesting, let's all laugh at Jeno's stupid little crush."
"But it is. Jeno you're," Lucas starts, pausing before continuing volubly, "you're Jeno. A smart, strong, kind alpha from the family who owns the biggest conglomerate in the country. You're quite irresistible, just a smile rom you can cause all those fangirls of yours to just malfunction and drop dead and-"
Jeno scoffs at the vivacious words from his friend, ceasing his self-destructing actions and shifts his position to face Lucas. "and Jaemin won't even spare me a glance. Hell, he runs away from me." Jeno shakes his head, bringing a hand up to card through his blonde locks.
"He runs away from the most wanted guy on campus, so yeah Jeno. It is interesting and yes, I will continue laughing at you." Lucas shrugs, letting the pen fall from his fingers and spin on the table so fast it goes fuzzy in Jeno's vision.
Suddenly, the door of the lecture hall is pushed open and a familiar omega makes his way inside. "There you two are, I thought class ended ten minutes ago." Renjun pauses, looks at his boyfriend and than at Jeno impassively, and then chuckles, not hiding his amusement. "Ah, let me guess. Jeno's having trouble with his lover boy?"
Lucas reaches out and hooks an arm around Renjun's lithe waist. "You guessed it," he mutters as he pulls Renjun down onto his lap and then leans in to press his nose into the crook of Renjun's neck.
"Ok, I get it. My advances towards Jaemin aren't going quite to plan and I'm still inordinately single but seriously no need to rub it in." Jeno pouts and turns his head away as the his two friends lean in to kiss. He shakes his head internally, couples these days. Not an ounce of respect to the singles to be seen, anywhere.
Renjun smiles sweetly after he pulls away. "I beg to differ; it's not always you can say you've one-upped Lee Jeno." Renjun accentuates on the syllables of Jeno's name, the smug smile on his face almost duplicitous.
"But I still don't think I understand this very well." Lucas muses, holding an arm out in familiar fashion, stopping Jeno from pouncing on Renjun. "Isn't this the only class you have with him? And you don't even talk to him outside of this class. Plus, other than the rare times he actually seems anywhere remotely close to being interested in you he doesn't show a smidgen of reciprocating your feelings. Do you like him like him or is it just your body telling you to be an alpha and sleep around more?"
Renjun and Jeno both raise eyebrows at this statement. "I can assure you, the number of people I have slept with does not equate to how much of an alpha I am," Jeno says, incredulously.
Lucas shrugs. "I'm just saying..." He shrugs then looks at Renjun and flinches at his disgruntled eyes, quickly pressing a pacifying kiss onto the younger's cheek.
"Look, I get off perfectly fine by myself," Jeno says then pauses, face flushed and body trepid. "Can – Can we stop talking about this?"
"Yes please," Renjun mumbles with a nod of his head. Jeno's sex life (or the lack thereof) was not what he had planned on casually talking about.
"And the Jaemin thing," Jeno says but he falters, tilting his head to the side. He falls into an almost lackadaisical trance, eyes following the strokes of letters on the whiteboard. "I don't know," he decides on saying, coming back to reality.
But he did. Jeno knew very well why he was falling for the pretty omega who was always avoiding him. It had happened on the very first day of this class, this PSYCH003 class he had taken at his father's advice. It was Monday morning and the seat next to him was empty because, apparently, he was intimidating but then, just as the professor walked in another person followed behind.
He had bright blue hair and was wearing a bright red hoodie almost as if he was trying to hide the dullness of his skin, of his eyes, of himself. He didn't look up at the teacher, only bowing slightly as a sign of apology for his tardiness, eyes trained on the ground with an air of lacking confidence around him. He ran up the steps and into the seat right beside Jeno and then looked at him. He looked at him right in the eyes and smiled and Jeno could just feel the sorrow this anonymous boy was drowning in.
And that was when Jeno knew, that darn smile and those darn eyes had roped him even before a courteous warning. What had started as curiosity had grown, was still growing in the depths of his stomach to something he swore was much larger than life itself.
Jeno.
To Jaemin, Jeno was quite a character. So yeah, sometimes Jaemin slipped found himself leaning towards Jeno's advances but even then, he always had at least a little bit of control, a little bit of a hold over himself.
He had to, otherwise, all hell would go down.
Jaemin knew what this feeling bubbling in his heart was, a little too well, but he wasn't in any sort of position to act on them. He doesn't think he ever will be if he was being honest with himself. In fact, he was in his third year of university and after one more year, he would be able to graduate and find a job and not be in the circumstances he was in at the moment and even then, he doesn't think he can do anything at all about Jeno.
Hopping off the bus with a thank you to the driver, Jaemin tugs at the straps of his backpack. He walks towards the horribly painted, neon pink building, pushing the gate open with a grunt. It was heavy and locked tightly to keep everyone inside but it also kept Jaemin outside most of the time. Walking inside, he nods at the lady at the desk before scanning the room.
It looks as if a unicorn threw up all over the room with how brightly coloured the walls were. There were tiny little humans everywhere, some covered in paint and in front of easels, some running their toy cars over the fingers of other kids, some pasting pieces of pasta onto a large piece of paper. Only one was curled up in a corner, a book almost larger than his small body open in front of him. Jaemin smiles, making his way towards the small boy and gently clears his throat. The boy looks up from his book and grins, showing off his sparkly white teeth, as soon as he sees Jaemin.
"Daddy!"
Jaemin laughs, a smile matching the boy's on his own face. He drops to his knees and opens his arms wide open just in time for the boy to barrel into him. Jaemin holds him, arms tight around the child's small figure, and digs his face into the boy's hair. Fluttering kisses press themselves all over the boy's face, giggles escaping when Jaemin tickles at his neck with kisses. While the child was much too young to have his own scent, he now emitted Jaemin's bracing marine scent and it keeps Jaemin's omega content.
"Minjun, my baby." Jaemin lets out with a happy sigh. He pulls away and brushes away the black locks from Minjun's face fondly.
Minjun smiles cutely, his baby teeth flashing once again. "Daddy, I missed you," he says in a very serious tone and then leans in once again, this time to press a sweet kiss on Jaemin's cheek. Minjun's love for affection was definitely Jaemin's genes.
"Missed you too baby," Jaemin whispers. "I missed you too, but I have to go to work. Aunty Chae is going to take you home and I'll pick you up from her house after, ok?"
"Do you have to go?" Minjun whines, holding onto Jaemin's hand in a deathly tight grip as the latter stands up.
Jaemin tilts his head, frowning, feeling himself go weak for his son's pleading eyes. "Say what, why don't I stay with you for a tiny bit longer? Hm?"
Minjun lets out an excited giggle and nods excitedly. He drags Jaemin towards the reading corner and pushes him down onto the beanbag and clambers on top of him with so much energy that even the strong coffee Jaemin downs on the daily wouldn't have been able to mimic. Taking the book in hand, he points at a word excitedly.
"Look, daddy, I can read this word," Minjun giggles excitedly, "and this word as well!"
Jaemin gasps, proudly praising the boy, ignoring the nagging at the back of his mind. He finds it ridiculous that he works so hard for a kid he can never spend time with but it wasn't like he had any other choice. His parents had made it clear, his ex had made it clear as well; no one wanted anything to do with him or Minjun.
As Jaemin waves goodbye to the little boy after reading a short picture book to him, he runs to the bus. The mall wasn't exactly the most fun place to work but being a visitor information receptionist paid a lot better than just being a cashier or waiter.
He would know.
And so he wore that awful red uniform and that awful cheery smile and sounded so awfully bright while answering questions on where a certain store was when in reality he just wanted to be home and with his child or even possibly studying.
His shift was short, only a couple of hours and before long Jaemin sits on another bus, looking out the window. This really wasn't how he expected to spend his college years, the so-called prime of his life. He had thought he would be going out, partying, finding love but instead he was studying, working and going home to look after Minjun. His whole world revolves around that small boy, the only person ever on his mind constantly. It's why he works his ass off at the mall, it's why he studies so damn hard, hoping to give his son a dream of a future. A future he never had. It's why he has no friends at school, there simply was not enough time in the day and he chooses Minjun, every day, every time.
But at least he wasn't completely alone. The door he knocks on, opens to quite a lavish double-storey house. Minjun was colouring on the floor and a heavily pregnant woman beside him was watching TV, her legs resting up on the coffee table.
"Noona?" Jaemin calls out.
Chaeyoung smiles, waving excitedly. "Jaemin! You're just in time for dinner! I ordered Japanese, I've been craving it all day."
"No, no, it's fine, we won't intrude. I'll just take Minjun home," Jaemin insists but Chaeyoung's eyes turn into slits and she glares at Jaemin. "Or - or I won't argue with an eight-month pregnant woman," he says, rubbing the nape of his neck, sheepishly.
"That's more like it," she smiles, her expression making a complete turn and she was back to her smiley, relaxed self. "Though I don't know how you did it," she says as she stands up, hand resting on the underside of her belly. "How did you do the pregnancy alone, Jaemin?"
Jaemin laughs awkwardly, holding onto Chaeyoung's forearm as she waddles into the kitchen. "Well, technically I wasn't alone. I was just looked at as a complete slu-" Jaemin stops, peeking over at Minjun, "well, that. My parents were decent enough to kick me out after I graduated high school."
Chaeyoung shakes her head. "It's not your fault, Jaemin. You were in love with him, hell he even mated you. Who would have thought he would abandon you after getting you pregnant?"
"We were seventeen, we shouldn't have been getting mated that young anyway." Jaemin sighs, this conversation too familiar for his liking. "Anyway, I'm having more boy trouble. For a second time." He scoffs, "haven't I learnt to stay away from men?"
"Ooh? Is it that kid from your psychology class?" Chaeyoung croons but is interrupted when the door knocks.
Jaemin nods firmly but then masks a look that puts an end to the conversation, before walking over to the door, Minjun excitedly running over to see it was as well. The delivery boy hands over the two bags of food Chaeyoung ordered and Jaemin tips him with a smile.
"Thank you, mister!" Minjun says sweetly from below them both as Jaemin closes the door. "Mm, this smells yummy!"
"It does, doesn't it. Say thank you to aunty Chae as well." Jaemin ruffles Minjun's hair and Minjun nods. He runs over to Chaeyoung, wrapping his arms around her midriff as much as possible in a hug. He then lets Jaemin lift him into a seat, kicking his legs in the air as he waits for his portion of food.
"He's fascinating, don't you think?" Chaeyoung says as they settle into their meal and Jaemin sighs. He should have known Chaeyoung wouldn't let go of this that quickly. "This Jeno guy, I mean."
"How so?" Jaemin pauses halfway through feeding Minjun before turning back to his task.
Chaeyoung picks at the beef in her udon dish. "Well, he hasn't given up. This isn't the first time someone's flirted with you and every time, you scare them off with your one-word answers and fake smiles. So why hasn't this kid not done the same?"
"Ok, I scare boys off because most of them just want to get into my pants and if some are actually looking for a relationship with me, they'll backtrack as soon as they find out I was previously mated and have a son." Jaemin explains before turning to his son, "no, Minjun you need to eat the prawns as well," he adds with a huff.
"Daddy, who's trying to get into your pants? That's funny," Minjun laughs with a full mouth.
Chaeyoung giggles behind her mug of lemonade as Jaemin glares at her, then at his plate of food before stuttering out a stupid response that would sate his son's ever-growing curiosity for the time being. In the midst of this, the focus is luckily shifted when the front door flings open and Chaeyoung's mate saunters in.
"Thought I smelt Japanese food," Jaehyun hums, walking over to Chaeyoung and leaning down to kiss her. He laughs when they part, watching in amusement as Jaemin frowns and places a hand over Minjun's eyes. "Please, I'm just greeting my wife." He pauses before squatting, "and my baby," he says, palm over Chaeyoung's belly.
Jaemin puts on an 'ew, gross' face but he smiles internally, letting the cute couple whisper sweet nothings among themselves. He watches them through his peripheral vision and Jaemin hears something about a foot massage be mumbled into Chaeyoung's forehead as Jaehyun presses a kiss to the side of her temple. That must feel nice, to have someone look after you when you're pregnant. He's a little jealous, he admits to himself, shovelling in a spoonful of rice into his mouth to quell the uneasy feeling. But, he's also happy for Chaeyoung, happy that she would never have to face what he did with a mate like Jaehyun.
After dinner, Minjun had returned to his drawing and Chaeyoung, Jaehyun and Jaemin had gathered around the couch.
"You know, I really can figure out something for now. You don't have to look after Minjun especially as you near your due date, especially with Jaehyun hyung still going to work," Jaemin reasons, but he was cut off by Chaeyoung scoffing, waving away Jaemin with a flick of her hand.
"Chae is not going to abandon Minjun just because of our baby," Jaehyun raises an eyebrow. "Please , she's much too stubborn for that."
"And bored," Chaeyoung adds. "This thing is so boring especially with this protective ass around." Chaeyoung leans in, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "He made me go on maternity leave months before recommended."
Jaehyun holds his hands up in surrender, laughing. "I'm just being careful, honey."
"It's a good call," Jaemin says. He purses his lips and looks down at his son, "Minjun was born so early because I was distressed."
"Oh, you can hardly call that your fault. I would be stressed if my mate decided to leave me, my friends decided to mock me and my family decided to turn on me too." Chaeyoung shakes her head and there's a familiar anger in her voice. The words are harsh but Jaemin knows she means no harm, knows her anger is directed towards the people from his past. "You need to realise, Jaemin, you've done exceptionally well on your own."
Jaemin sighs, shrugging. "You guys have done so much for me too." he counters.
"You mean we helped you, in the beginning, to get yourself on your feet." Jaehyun scoffs and rolls his eyes. "You're a stubborn kid, Jaemin, the only thing I'm doing right now is paying for your apartment. Heck, I don't think I can call that small thing an apartment at all."
"Jaehyun's right, you know? Your scholarship pays your tuition and your jobs pay your other personal expenses and sure those pay-checks can't pay for your apartment but rent in Seoul, especially that close to the university, is insane and I'd be furious if we let you completely burden yourself with all the monetary debts in your life." Chaeyoung adds, hand gently resting on Jaemin's shoulder.
And Jaemin smiles, maybe he was blaming himself too much.
Maybe he's done a decent job at this single parenting thing.
Jaemin doesn't know what he's doing.
His leg bounces nervously and he looks up, directly into Jeno's eyes, and then looks right back down. Jeno must know hypnosis or something, Jaemin thinks to himself as he raises his head once again and scans his surroundings because there is no other explanation on why he was here.
Here as in a small coffee shop, on a date with Lee Jeno.
When Jeno suddenly asked him out after class that day, eyes curved up into the sweetest smile, Jaemin just blurts out a yes. So yeah, Jaemin really doesn't know what he's doing but he does know that Jeno makes him feel some sort of way and it's way too familiar. This feeling that is much too close to love.
"Eight shots of espresso, huh? That's quite intense." Jeno starts, clearing his throat, trying to start a conversation.
Jaemin feels a twinge of guilt, he agreed to the date and won't even engage in a conversation and so for a moment he allows himself to slip back into his old self. Back into a chirpy teenager without a child or two jobs or any such burdens and for once, he allows himself to enjoy.
"Well," Jaemin says, looking up with twinkling eyes, "with university stressing me the hell out, I can assure you that coffee has replaced blood and runs through my veins, so yes. Quite intense. Although, I think anything is intense compared to your White Girl drink."
Jeno seems shocked at the sudden turn of emotions but he smiles and Jaemin realises he really needs to get away from this male before he falls any deeper but for some darn reason he just can't. He's glued to the seat, eyes locking with Jeno and heart beating in his ears and he wants more. Wants more than just today's coffee date.
Dangerous territory.
"Hey, what did my," Jeno clears his throat, "iced skinny caramel macchiato with extra caramel do to you?" And then Jeno laughs and Jaemin feels himself melting into the chair because Jeno's smile.
"You have a pretty laugh," Jaemin mumbles, realising half a beat later he actually voiced that out. Jeno's eyes widen, blinking slowly, before he ducks his head. He's flustered and it's so cute and Jaemin wants to lean in a kiss him square on the mou-
"Um, so, behavioural psychology? Does that have something to do with your degree?" Jeno asks, taking a sip of his drink, easily changing the subject and breaking the awkward silence that was starting to blanket them.
Jaemin snaps out of whatever spell Jeno had him under and smiles. "Not really," Jaemin says, shaking his head. "I'm working on a pharmacy degree which certainly doesn't need a psych class. It's just for the credits honestly. What about you? You do business management, don't you?"
Jeno nods. "Yep, psych is just a breadth subject I wanted to do. It's interesting and everything but not entirely helpful in running a company."
"It might though," Jaemin leans in, with a mischievous glint to his eyes. "You can, like, manipulate people into deals and stuff with all this brain jazz."
"Oh?" Jeno raises an eyebrow before the two of them start laughing again. "No, actually my dad did suggest that. He said I needed to be better at reading people if I wanted to manage the company better."
"Is it stressful?" Jeno looks at him questioningly. "Like, you were born as the heir to such a large company. Is your life a cliché of you just wanting to make your parents happy without actually being into becoming a CEO or whatever?"
"Surprisingly no. I've grown up around the company so I'm looking forward to it, in complete honesty. It is stressful but I kind of enjoy the stress, it pressures me into being the best version of myself." Jeno laughs, "Is that weird?"
Jaemin shakes his head. "No, it really isn't," he mumbles. He does that to himself, he realises. Stresses himself to the point where he runs himself up against a wall but it always manages to make the best outcomes happen. "By the way, I realised you had a book you were reading in class."
A blush sears through Jeno's face cutely, remembering how he had hidden a large hardcover book behind his lecture book. "Um, yeah." he brushes his hair out of his eyes before chuckling gently. "I started it this morning and it was one of those books you can't put down until you've finished it, you know?" Jaemin laughs nodding in understanding as Jeno leans down to unzip his bag that was by sitting by his feet.
He pulls out the book Jaemin had seen earlier and passes it over and Jaemin smiles in excitement. He immediately flips it over, eyes skimming through the blurb and let out a sigh of content. "I totally understand now," he says, handing the book back. "This sounds totally amazing."
"Do you like reading?" Jeno asks, slipping the book back into his backpack.
Jaemin pauses for a second and nods. "Yeah," he says, his voice a little quieter than before. "I used to read all the time, for hours on end before but then life happened." A little more literally than you realise, Jaemin thinks to himself. "I've barely touched a book for leisure in a while." And as he says this, Jaemin once again gets a reality check on how different the two of them are.
The rest of the date goes on and it ends well and Jaemin leaves with Jeno's number in his phone and a promise to text him once he gets home.
As Jaemin sits on the bus, his head hitting against the window occasionally but not bothering him enough to move his head, he realises that he likes Jeno a little too much to be able to leave without looking back, a little too much to not be able to tell him that he has a whole child he birthed.
Jaemin is so, very screwed.
Minjun is crying.
Jaemin swears more tears are gushing out of Minjun's tear ducts than the amount of blood on his left knee. His nose and cheeks are a fiery red, he has snot running out of his nose and he just won't stop wailing so loud that Jaemin thinks their neighbours are going to think there's a murder happening inside.
"Baby, let me clean the wound." Jaemin tries, holding the small packet of alcohol wipes and a bandage. "It's a small cut, it won't hurt at all."
"No!" Minjun insists, shaking his head. He has an iron grip on a large, white bunny and he holds it close to his chest. "Mister Floppy Ears told me it hurts really, really badly."
Jaemin tilts his head. "I think I'll take Mister Floppy Ears away for lying to my baby," he replies causing Minjun to shriek and wrap his arms even tighter around the body of the white plush. With the threat of losing his favourite toy hovering over his head, he finally allows Jaemin to look at his knee.
Carrying Minjun to the bed, Jaemin sits him down on the edge and leans in front of him. He's gentle with the wipe but he still flinches when Minjun whimpers. Minjun's premature birth had lead to multiple complications when he was a newborn, some repercussions still effecting him today and, really, Jaemin wishes more than anything nothing would ever hurt his child ever again. "There, there baby. Here, you can choose a band-aid while I finish this," Jaemin whispers, passing the boy a Thomas the Tank-Engine band-aid tin.
But Minjun simply picks one at random and instead looks at his father with wide, curious eyes. "You know daddy, you said you don't work on Mondays anymore so what do you do after your school?"
Jaemin's movements falter and he feels his heart stutter a bit before clearing his throat. "I meet a friend on Mondays, baby."
And it's only when he says this, as the words come out of his mouth, he realises how stupid he's being. His psychology class occurred once a week on Mondays and for the past few months, after every single class, he's been meeting with Jeno. After being promoted at the mall, he'd been able to drop a couple of shifts and at first, he thought he could spend time with Minjun but then Jeno continued asking him out. And he, well he continued saying yes.
They were dates. Dates to cafes and restaurants, sometimes just walking around the city, going to parks. Jeno's always got something new up his sleeve and Jaemin loves it. Jaemin loves him.
Yet, he still hasn't told Jeno about Minjun.
And now, with Minjun questioning him, he realises something. He realises that he chose to spend time with another man over spending time with his own son and now he was sure his son fucking hates him.
"That's great, daddy!"
Jaemin scrunches up his face in both surprise and confusion and shakes his head. "Wait, what? Aren't you upset at daddy? I've been spending time with someone else and not you."
"Well, everyone needs friends daddy," Minjun says, sounding a little too wise for a four-year-old. "I have friends at pre-school but you never seem to have playdates with anyone other than Aunty Chae and Uncle Jae and that's a little boring." Minjun leans in and whispers the last part.
Jaemin laughs. "I'll spend time with you next Monday," he promises.
"No, you have to spend it with your friend," Minjun says, bright smiles and red cheeks. "I think I can share you, daddy. Anyway, I have you for every other day, so I still win."
"Come here, you little baby." Jaemin laughs, patting the band-aid on Minjun's knee before pulling him into his arms and throwing him onto the bed. Jaemin's fingers make their way under Minjun's arms and he tickles the boy mercilessly.
And as Minjun bursts into fits of laughter, Jaemin's glad he had Minjun even if it was under not-so-great circumstances.
Maybe Jaemin should have just spent the day with Minjun.
Maybe he should have rain-checked on Jeno and then went off and gone to the park with his son. If he did, he wouldn't be in this mess. This mess of a love confession.
"Jeno?" Jaemin's voice is shaky as he watches Jeno lean in towards him.
Jeno has a smile on his face, the one he has when he's nervous but still manages to look devilishly handsome. "I just know that I like you Jaemin. I like you a lot. And I've certainly been enjoying these dates and you have too." Jeno pauses with a hesitant chuckle, "well at least I think you have been. Anyway, I was wondering. Would you like to make this, us, official?"
The restaurant they're in is fancy. Much too expensive for someone like Jaemin who lives paycheck by paycheck. It has such a romantic vibe to it, dim lights that glowed dark red and gentle, flowy music playing in the background. The air is thick with the aroma of food and Jaemin's eyes follow a plate of steak a waiter is passing to another couple as he feels the fear set in.
He swallows harshly, hoping Jeno couldn't smell the sheer panic that had overtaken every inch of his body. "Jeno, I-" Jaemin cuts himself off, shaking his head.
He could tell Jeno, right now. Tell him that, yes I like you too but I kind of used to be mated and I kind of have a son. But, when he opened his mouth, he just couldn't. He couldn't bear to see Jeno also become one of the people who looked at him nothing but hatred and pure disgust in his eyes. He can take it from anyone but after spending so much time with Jeno, after developing such strong feelings for the alpha, he doesn't know if he can bear hatred from Jeno.
And the betrayal. Betrayal, because it was Jaemin's choice to keep it a secret for so long. He was selfish enough to let himself indulge in this fantasy of being loved knowing very well, once the truth is out, it was all over.
"Jaemin?" Jeno's voice is a lot less confident now, not that it was very confident in the beginning either. "Oh, shit. You're not ready, are you? I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have just-"
Jeno is cut off when Jaemin jumps out of his seat, shaking his head.
"I don't like you."
And with that, Jaemin spins around and practically sprints out of the restaurant. Jaemin hasn't run like this in a long time, a balking feeling tugging at his muscles. The cold air of the winter afternoon slaps him in the face and he wants to stop, just freeze and collapse onto the ground and possibly even cry a little bit, but he doesn't. He pushes himself even more and without realising he's in front of Minjun's pre-school.
Jaemin claps a hand over his mouth, tilting his head back to look at the dreary sky. Closing his eyes, he can't hold in the sob that tears through his body. He's messed up everything so, so badly. Jaemin manages to stumble inside the pre-school bathroom and then into a stall, dropping to the ground, breathlessly. The scene is much too familiar. He's had his share of crying in bathroom moments, an amount too much to count on his ten fingers. He knows how to stifle his sniffles so no one hears him and how to breathe quietly to mask that fact that he's crying.
It takes a while before he can completely calm himself down. There's so much guilt thrumming through his veins, his mind replaying that one moment right after he had rejected Jeno, when the male's features fall and he looks broken. Jaemin can't stand it, can't stand the thought of breaking Jeno's heart but it's for the best. And he tells himself this, over and over again. For the best. He pushes him up off the floor and lets out a sigh, walking over to the sink. He splashes cold water on his face, still burning from his little sprint and then lets out a puff of air. He looks at himself in the mirror, forces himself not to start sobbing all over again and then exits the bathroom.
He walks inside the pre-school, waving when Minjun spots him as soon as he enters. The boy is sitting next to a small girl, the two of them rolling Play-Doh into little figures of cartoon characters.
"Hana, meet my daddy!" Minjun introduces when Jaemin reaches beside him. "and daddy, this is my best friend Hana."
Jaemin coos, the girl is absolutely adorable with two high pigtails, a large bow on each one and snug in a warm pink sweater. "Hi Hana, it's very nice to meet you." Jaemin smiles, kneeling to greet the girl properly.
"Hi!" Hana waves her hand enthusiastically but she pauses and tilts her head, a frown suddenly appearing. "Have you been crying?"
Jaemin's fingers immediately go to his eyes, realising they must still be a little puffy. But he smiles and shakes his head and just like every single time, he pretends nothing is wrong.
It's what he's best at.
When Minjun finally decides to part with his friend, the two of them go home. "Daddy, you picked me up early today. Did you not meet your friend?" Minjun asks, happily being carried by Jaemin up the stairs.
Jaemin laughs sadly, "I don't think I'll be meeting him anymore," he sighs but quickly changes the subject because his four-year-old most certainly did not need to know about the failure that was his love life. "Minjun, you're getting too big for me to carry," Jaemin grunts playfully.
"No!" Minjun whines in a petulant tone and Jaemin lets out a wholesome laugh, shushing him as they go past his neighbours' apartments. "If you can't do it, I'm sure my other daddy can," Minjun says, giggling.
But Jaemin freezes, halfway through their apartment door, shell-shocked at Minjun's words. "Minjun? What do you mean other daddy?"
Minjun shrugs. "Well, everyone has two parents, right? Hana and Leo and Mina all have a mum and dad, Jin has two mums and well, I should have two dads, right? Or do I have a mum?"
Jaemin bites down on his lip, trying to figure out the best way to explain what happened before dropping down to his knees. He's at Minjun's level, able to look at him in the eyes and he lets out a soft sigh. "Minjun, when two people love each other very much they have a baby." Jaemin pauses, gulping air harshly. "But after I had you, your other daddy stopped loving me, so I'm sorry Minjun. You don't have another daddy."
"Oh." Minjun seems upset, shoulder slumped and lips pouted. "Is it my fault?"
Jaemin's eyes widen and he lets out a scoff of disbelief. "No, no baby! Of course not. Your other daddy is just not a very good man."
Minjun nods at this and relaxes before a small smile sneaks onto his lips. "That's fine, then. I have you and you give me enough love for ten million daddies." Minjun says, tone dead serious as he opens his arms wide to show the amount the love Jaemin has for him.
Minjun leans in to press a sweet kiss on Jaemin's cheek before turning to run into their apartment. He looks at Jaemin, then at the TV and back at Jaemin and Jaemin smiles, rolling his eyes but nods. The TV turns on, The Care Bears blaring on and Minjun flashes a smile at Jaemin happily.
Jaemin is surprised at how quickly Minjun moved on. He knew the question was coming but not so soon but it hadn't gone too bad. Now, Minjun was much too concerned about a group of colourful bears saving Care-A-Lot than his other daddy.
Shaking his head, Jaemin walks inside the bathroom. Too much happened today and he just wanted to go to bed and sleep it out. But he can't.
Instead, he takes a quick shower then helps Minjun shower and put on his fluffy dinosaur onesie. "Daddy, will you buy me a Care Bear onesie? A blue one?" Minjun asks as Jaemin rubs a towel on his head to dry his head, his eyes still trained on the tv.
"Of course, baby." Jaemin chuckles. "Now, do you want some leftover fried rice or I can make some noodles?"
"Noodles!" Minjun cheers and Jaemin nods, kissing the boy's forehead.
"Ok, are you warm Min?" Minjun nods, "Are you sure? You know you can get a cold easily now that it's winter. And you don't like getting a cold, do you?"
Minjun sighs and shakes his head as he pulls up the hood of his onesie. "No, I can't breathe and I get asthma attacks."
Jaemin nods, patting Minjun's back.
No, Jaemin really couldn't just sleep it off, no matter how much of a shitty day it had been.
"He still hasn't come to class?" Mark scoffs. He shakes his head in disbelief, looking over to where Jeno was a giant heap of bones on his bed.
"Well, I do see him on campus," Chenle says, shrugging.
Jeno groans, turning around to look at his friends. "That's good to know, good to know he's only avoiding me."
"Honestly though," Jisung starts, shaking his head, "get over him. Who runs away without any explanation when you ask him to be your boyfriend and then doesn't contact you at all."
"It's an even shittier move than something I would have done," Renjun muses. "And that's not a brag this time."
"Look, I'm trying!" Jeno groans again, rolling around in his bed in frustration. "I'm trying to get over him but our dates just took us to a whole new level and now I'm so fucking whipped, dammit."
Donghyuck gets up from the floor, brushing off the dust that certainly isn't there from his lap, before making his way over Jeno's bed. "You're not going to get over him if you just mope around here," he states, throwing his hands up in the air.
"He's right," Lucas says, clapping his hands together. "There's this ramen eating competition at the convenience store near school, let's go eat some ramen and win some money."
Jeno deadpans Lucas. "You want me to get over the boy I'm in love with by stuffing my face with ramen?"
"Yes." the entire group choruses and before Jeno can say anything else, they all pile out.
Jeno manages to pull on a bomber jacket before rushing outside to meet up with the others. The competition wasn't as much fun as it had been advertised. All they had to do was eat extra spicy ramen and hope they finished the bowl in less than the previous record of 52 seconds.
They all fail, except Lucas.
"Can't believe you get that much money for just managing to beat the record by three seconds," Jisung mutters, annoyed. He had been so close, literal milliseconds off from beating the record. Instead, there Lucas stood, leaning against the store counter with that stupid smug grin on his face.
"Oh come on, don't be a sore loser." Lucas winks at Jisung before turning to try and kiss Renjun.
Renjun dodges him, arms out in a non-threatening, karate pose. "You know I hate that spicy stuff, you can kiss yourself until you stop tasting and smelling like it."
Jisung chortles, muttering under his breath, "Karma."
The group was still waiting for their prize money when the door of the store opens, the little bell ringing out. The cold air whirls around inside for a bit until the door closes and Jeno's eyes widen at the familiar scent.
"Shit," he mumbles to himself because that was a scent he would never forget. "Jaemin."
Mark whips his head to the door where Jaemin was running towards the front of the store. He freezes up when he sees the group, desperately avoids eye contact and swallows harshly before making a beeline towards the medicine area. He grabs a small box and then runs up to the counter, breath coming out in ragged puffs.
Blinking slowly, Jisung looks at Jaemin with a raised eyebrow and then scoffs, looking away. Jeno might be a loser, but he was still their loser and what Jaemin had done was extremely rude and absolutely unaccap-
"Daddy!"
Jaemin whips around, his fingers ceasing their drumming on the counter and Jeno leans in a bit to see a small boy still standing by the door. Looking at the empty counter, Jaemin gulps so loudly even Chenle standing at the back could hear. He sniffles and then runs to the little boy and picks him up, so softly Jeno might have thought he was handling china.
"Baby, does it hurt?" he babbles, hands shaking but still holding the child securely. "I'm so sorry, daddy will make it go away soon. Ok? Just give me a second," Jaemin looks around the store, very obviously avoiding the wide eyes of shock the group was giving him.
"Daddy ?" Donghyuck breathes, an unbelieving splutter escaping his lips quietly.
Jaemin finally looks towards them, eyes red and teary and he is so obviously trying not to start sobbing in the middle of the store and Jeno controls the overpowering want to embrace the younger.
"Is anyone, like, here? I need to," Jaemin says urgently, looking behind the counter and trying to peer into the backroom where a worker should be.
The small boy mumbles something inaudible, his heavy breathing now too loud to hear the words, before suddenly collapsing onto the ground. A startled scream rips through Jaemin and he quickly just tears open the box and takes out a blue inhaler from inside.
"Mark?" Jeno hisses, elbowing the male that was supposed to be a pre-med student.
Mark just blinks and Jeno shakes his head, before scrambling to the ground. "Is he having an asthma attack?" he asks Jaemin and Jaemin just miserably nods as he attaches the inhaler to a spacer.
Kneeling next to Minjun, Jeno helping him sit up, Jaemin holds the spacer's mask over the boy's mouth. "Ok baby, you know how to do this." Jaemin whispers, swallowing harshly as if to swallow away the tears.
Minjun coughs weakly, chest heaving at a terribly fast pace, but nods. Jaemin presses down and like always Minjun breathes in and out. Pulling away from the inhaler, Minjun coughs throatily without stopping for a moment before going back to deflate into Jeno's chest.
"Hurts," Minjun mumbles, the word inaudible if Jeno hadn't been so close.
Jeno looks up at Jaemin who had sat down, crossed legged, on the tiled floor. The tears he had tried so hard to keep at bay were rolling down his cheeks, his eyes spaced out. "Jaemin, he says it hurts."
Jaemin startles up, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "What? No, it - it should be getting better." He leans in towards Minjun, rubbing away his tears furiously. "Minjun, baby, it's still hard to breathe?"
Minjun nods against Jeno and Jaemin blinks in worry. He counts down the four minutes he has to wait before leaning in to give him another dosage of the Ventolin but even after that, Minjun was scrambling for air, coughing harshly.
"Why - oh my god - why isn't the medication working?" Jaemin panics, looking up at Jeno's friends and then back at the boy. Jeno stiffens at the distressed scent that was oozing out of him and Jeno, well Jeno really doesn't like it. The urge to protect completely overtakes him and he glares at Mark who is still standing there, dumbly.
Mark finally manages to come to his senses and squats next to Jaemin. "Is this normal?"
"No! I mean, he's had asthma since he was a baby but it's never been this bad. Ventolin normally works." Jaemin says, hands shaking as he reaches up to pump some more of it into the boy.
Jeno sees the shaky hands and gently pries Jaemin away from the inhaler. "Ok, Jaemin," he sighs, arms tightening around Minjun. "Can you tell me how to use this?"
"Oh - oh yeah. Just, um, every puff he needs to inhale and exhale four times. Do - do that four times in total." Jaemin's voice cracks as he instructs Jeno, before crawling away from the two. He pulls his knees up to his chest, watching Jeno and Minjun with wide, scared eyes.
"Jaemin, we're going to need to call an ambulance if he isn't responding to the Ventolin," Mark tells him gently, nodding his head slightly at Renjun. Jaemin nods in miserably and buries his head between his knees, shoulders shaking from his incessant sobs. Renjun quickly dials the number, Jeno still still hoping the Ventolin he's pumping into Minjun's lungs would start working and Mark trying to calm Jaemin down.
Eyes tinted pink, Jaemin looks up, his hands furiously rubbing at his cheeks. He takes a couple of deep breaths, trying his best to collect himself down before leaning in towards Minjun. The boy's wheezing was almost silent by now but from how extensively and quickly his chest was heaving it was obvious the inhaler wasn't helping much at all. He couldn't talk, his head lulled against Jeno's chest in an exhausted manner but luckily he was still awake, drowsy and confused but awake.
In a few short but hellish minutes, a group of paramedics enter. Two of them quickly attend to Minjun, taking him out off Jeno's arms and into a stretcher and back into the vehicle while another leads Jaemin inside as well, getting intel on the way.
"Jaemin!" Jeno calls, "I can come," he pauses, fingernails digging into his sweaty palms, "if - if you want."
Jeno lets out a sigh of relief when Jaemin quickly nods. The back of the ambulance is cramped and small but Minjun seemed to be relaxing as a nasal cannula gives him a steady flow of oxygen. The two paramedics hook him up to other machines, monitoring his vitals.
"Um, he's had asthma since he was a baby and it's - uh - especially triggered when he has a cold or its symptoms." Jeno tunes in to what Jaemin is telling the paramedic, the other male nodding.
"Ok," the paramedic nods. "Is he allergic to any medication?" Jaemin shakes his head and the male nods.
The paramedics are all betas, no messy pheromones spiking in the air like Jaemin's - and Jeno's, he guesses although he can't smell himself. It's calming and Jeno sees that Jaemin is relaxing, breathing a little more freely as he listens to the paramedic's soft-toned words.
When they reach the hospital, the paramedic whisks Minjun away to the PICU. Jaemin has to fill out some paperwork which he realises is going to take a while considering his hands can't seem to stop shaking. The calmness he had felt in the ambulance was gone, the hospital was simply filled with the scents of patients in pain and scared family members.
"Jaemin," Jeno says, his voice low and calm, "here, tell me the answers and I'll write them down. Ok?"
"Thank you," Jaemin whispers, his voice laced with gratefulness.
But when Jeno looks at the question Jaemin is up to, he slightly wishes he hasn't. Coughing, he clears his throat. "Um, the child's other parent?" Jeno asks.
Jaemin looks up into Jeno's eyes and there this foreign emotion swirling in them. His scent turns distressed, a yielding whine escaping his lips. Jeno perks up, reaching out to place a hand of comfort on Jaemin's shoulder.
"Can you just put N/A or something?" Jaemin says in a shaky voice.
Jeno nods. He doesn't know what he feels, a mixture of sympathy and relief. He feels guilty for the latter, realising he's putting his own emotions before the current problem at hand. The two of them hurry through the rest of the papers and soon a nurse leads them to the room Minjun is in.
Jaemin walks in, hurriedly, whimpering when he sees Minjun. "Oh, my baby." He breathes out, voice on edge.
The doctor pats the boy's head gently before looking up at Jaemin with a comforting smile. "He'll be alright. He's just sleeping right now," she says. "His lungs are obviously weaker than normal due to his neonatal conditions as you know but he's a strong boy."
"He is," Jaemin agrees, biting harshly on the flesh of his lip.
"We're giving him continuous oxygen and nebulised Ventolin. The IV drips we've attached are for medication that will decrease inflammation and relax muscles in the bronchi and that should help him. In fact, I think Minjun just needs to be monitored for a night or so and he should be able to go back home."
Jaemin breaks out into a grin at this, thanking the doctor who nods and promptly walks off, fixing his white coat as he exits the PICU. Jaemin stays for a little longer, gently kissing Minjun's cheek before sniffling and walking out, dropping down onto a chair outside.
The waiting area is decorated brightly, stickers of animals and Disney characters plastered on the wall but it all seems so out of place with all the pale and worried parents inside it. It's quiet and Jeno feels it's not the environment Jaemin wants to be in and so with a firm but soft hold on his arm, he pulls him towards the hospital café.
Sitting him down in front of a vacant table, Jeno remembers his murderous coffee order and buys it for him, hoping it would make him feel at least a little better. Jeno sips away at his own, much sweeter, beverage but Jaemin doesn't touch his. About to ask why Jeno is stunned silent when Jaemin snaps himself out of his trance and furiously shakes his head.
"What are you doing?"
"Pardon?" Jeno is shocked at the sudden question.
Jaemin gulps a mouthful of his drink without batting a lash and Jeno winces, that drink was hot.
"This - This helping. I told you I didn't like you." Jaemin pauses, finally looking up a bitter smile on his face. "I should tell you that was a lie by the way, not that you care anymore considering the fact that you know I have a child."
And suddenly it all falls into place, Jaemin's past actions, the walls he had built so strongly around him plus the words he just uttered all make sense to Jeno. "Jaemin, I-" he starts but he's cut off just as quickly as he started.
"Minjun's mine. I was mated before, you know. It was an immature and reckless decision by a seventeen-year-old me who also thought fucking without contraception would work out. In the end, I'm the one who got pregnant and he's the one who left." The words tumble out of Jaemin's mouth without any warning, the quick and steady flow surprising Jeno. "He forced me to get our bond scrubbed after he found out I was pregnant even though I was still in love with him."
Jeno flinches. Everyone knew bond scrubbing should only be done when everyone in the relationship had lost feelings, otherwise, the pain and depressive episodes that followed would be excruciating.
"He was the first to leave, Jeno, but he wasn't the last. My friends all turned their backs on me, my parents thought I was an absolute whore, hell even strangers would look at me in disgust." Jaemin sniffles, lower lips shaking. "I like you but I know no one wants to be with a previously mated father. I do understand Jeno, so, no hard feelings."
And for a second time, Jaemin walks out on him. Jeno watches silently as Jaemin's figure walks into an elevator, their eyes locking one last time as the door slam shut. Head lurching forward, Jeno sighs but this time, he wasn't going to let Jaemin get away.
This time he was going to let Jaemin know that he was, indeed, loved. By him.
When Jaemin walks through campus for the first time after the incident and he knows something is different. He can feel it.
Unlike before, Jaemin doesn't feel invisible. He doesn't feel like someone that fits into the crowd, someone no one pays attention. He doesn't feel like the normal, college attending adult he has been appearing as this entire time.
Instead, it seems like his whole façade, his whole normal appearance was ripped away and bared out for everyone to see.
And then he hears the whispers. The whispers dance around from one person to another like a wildfire feeding off oxygen, spreading without any intention of ever slowing, let alone stopping. It seems, he realises with a crushed heart, that his son is the talk of the day.
It's all too familiar, the disgusted looks and the hushed whispers and the awful names; just all of it. All too familiar. High school had been a hell he had thought he left behind but it seems he's woken up and walked right into another hell.
"So," a female that Jaemin has never seen before says, standing in front of him. Behind her stands a couple more girls, all of them with brightly coloured hair, makeup too detailed for just school and pretty dresses. "Is it true? You're Jaemin, the guy that has a kid and is trying to get into the Lee Jeno's pants?"
Jaemin simply blinks in response and the girl laughs, all the others following. An insanely sick feeling grips Jaemin's stomach and he feels like he's about to throw up at any minute. Another girl walks up, twirling her hair around her finger. "You do realise Jeno is, like, way out of your league? Even without a kid."
"Indeed," the first girl says, rolling her eyes at Jaemin. "So, you should just, you know scurry along. Find another rich guy you can leech off. Just not, Jeno."
And with that, she and her little clique walk away.
Jaemin brushes his hair back with his fingers, closing his eyes. He doesn't know how this got out. He had thought Jeno and his friends knowing wouldn't cause a huge deal, he didn't think they'd go around telling everyone. He feels the tears welling up but he clenches his jaws and keeps them at bay.
He storms up the steps of a building and towards a classroom he knows Jeno hangs out in. Pushing the door open without any warning, he silences a few giggles and chuckles as he walks in.
Jeno's smile fades and he hops off the table he was sitting on, walking towards Jaemin slowly. He looks back at his friends then at Jaemin, confused.
"Why?" Jaemin asks, lower lip quivering, showing how close he was to crying. He doesn't aim the question at just Jeno, he asks them all. "Why would any of you," he says, pointing his finger at them, "say anything about Minjun."
"We didn't-?" Renjun cuts off questioningly when Lucas hushes him with a hand on his thigh.
"Everyone, every single person knows about me and Minjun and the only people who knew, are you guys."
Donghyuck slides off a chair, motioning at the others. "You should talk to Jeno," he says, "in private."
The group of boys walk past him and out the lecture hall, Chenle pausing. "We really didn't tell anyone," he says, sincerity dripping in his tone. "I'm sorry people found out."
Jaemin blinks in confusion, jumping startled when the door closes behind him. He turns to Jeno, who had walked up even closer to him. They were only an arm's distance away from each other and Jaemin didn't know whether he wanted to walk away like before or talk to him.
"Jaemin," Jeno says, almost as if reading his mind. "Please don't leave, please hear me out."
Jaemin sniffles but nods.
"We didn't tell anyone about Minjun. Not me, not any of the other guys. I promise." Jeno starts.
Scrunching his brows Jaemin shakes his head, thumb pointing behind him. "But - But then how does everyone know? I don't understand, everyone was just talking about me and - and Minjun."
"The guy working behind the counter at the store, he's a student here. I'm sorry Jaemin, he must have seen everything."
"Oh," Jaemin says quietly to himself. "Oh. Oh, God, Jeno, I'm so sorry. I - I just jumped to conclusions and blamed all of you. Shit, I'm sorry."
To both of their surprise, Jaemin starts crying. It wasn't just the guilt of accusing Jeno's friends of something they didn't do, it was everything that had built up over the past week, hell the past year. Jeno rushes to his side, pulling his hands away from his face gently.
Cupping Jaemin's face, he leans in so close Jaemin could smell his minty breath and the musky cologne and most of all Jeno's strong, vanilla and citrus scent. It's calming him he realises but Jaemin's breath hitches in his throat as he stares silently at Jeno. Jeno's fingers, slightly rough at the pads of his thumb, rub the tears that had spilled from Jaemin's eyes with such care that it overwhelms him. "Please don't cry, Jaemin," Jeno whispers, "It was the logical explanation, we don't blame you, ok?"
Jaemin nods, sniffles and tries to pull away from Jeno but realises the male's grip is much stronger than he had thought. "Jeno," he starts but is immediately cut off.
"You should know something Jaemin," Jeno whispers. Jaemin's eyes flick to his pink lips, watching them form the words, before jumping back to his pitch-black eyes. "I really don't care."
Jaemin furrows his eyebrows confused. "About...?" he prompts.
"I don't care that you were mated before, I don't care you have a son. I don't care about any of that." Jeno says. A burning passion and desire laces his words and it makes Jaemin feel things in the pit of his stomach, things he wants to feel forever. "I'd love to get to know Minjun better, I'd love to get to know you better. If you come as a 'get one, get one free' deal, I'll take it Jaemin." Jeno's lips quirk up into a smile. "I'll take it because I love you."
Jaemin breathes out gently, a small puff of surprised air. He hovers around, head tilted upwards and so close to Jeno that instead of a replying he does something abruptly. Something that surprises both of them.
He leans in, just a little bit more, and brushes their lips together.
It's quick, lasting only a few seconds, but Jeno is blown away. He feels breathless, eyes wide in surprise as he looks at Jaemin.
"I love you too." Jaemin whispers, letting out a relaxed sigh. "I - I guess I'm just so used to people making me out be the bad guy, it's just a little weird for someone to actually love me. Love all of me."
"You were never the bad guy, Jaemin. You went through a horrible experience and was abandoned during a time you needed love the most." Jeno smiles tightly, still breathless from Jaemin's sudden kiss. "Will you let me love you, Jaem? Let me make up for all the years you didn't have it, hm? Please?"
And when Jaemin nods, Jeno grins, gazing into Jaemin's eyes with so much longing that, quite honestly he feels even more overwhelmed. No other words were shared between the two, just a stare between two lovers. Jeno leans in this time, a smile still on his lips as he joins them with Jaemin's. Jaemin's arms wrap around Jeno's neck, hand reaching up to tangle in his locks and their bodies press up against each other, almost as if they're scared of the other pulling away and leaving. Jeno's fingers dig into Jaemin's waist, diving deeper into the depth of his mouth with an unmatched height of passion.
Only when they pull away do they feel the burn of the lack of air in their lungs but it doesn't matter, because at that moment everything is fine. Everything is ok.
And after gasping for a couple of breaths, they go back and press their lips against each other, once again.
Jaemin feels giddy as he sets the table for dinner, the smile on his face unmoving. It's been years since he's felt this happy, his heart full and content and almost overflowing with emotion. It had been a few months since everything had happened and although it had taken a little while, Jaemin finally felt at peace.
He was going to graduate soon and even had a summer internship at a pharmacy already lined up. He had a cute son who was back to being the healthy and energetic little boy he was. He even had a month-old godson, after Chaeyoung had her baby. And he had Jeno. Jeno who loved him so much he felt he would just burst because surely, no human could handle this much affection. So yeah, life really couldn't get any better for him.
Well, it could because just a half an hour prior, Jaemin had sat down and introduced Jeno as not his best friend but his boyfriend and to his relief, there were no tantrums and there were no tears. Instead, Minjun squinted his eyes at Jeno and shrugged.
"Daddy might love you but he still loves me the most." Minjun had said confidently and with a bright smile and Jeno had laughed, agreeing wholeheartedly.
Jaemin sets down the last, steaming dish on the table before clapping his hands and spinning around to go get Jeno and Minjun. The two were down in the building's basement basketball courts playing, Jeno theatrically trying to guard the lowered hoop which Minjun easily throws the ball into.
"Oh dammit!" Jeno stomps his foot unhappily, "you're too good for me Minjun."
Minjun shrieks with laughter, holding his arms out for Jeno to lift him up. Jeno obliges, Jaemin about to speak up because really Jeno doesn't have to carry him but he stops short when Minjun speaks up again. "You can be as good as me if your practice, papa."
Papa?
Jaemin furrows his brows and blinks in surprise. He can only manage a small smile when Minjun spots him and wriggles out of Jeno's arms and runs into him. Jeno flashes a smile towards Jaemin, bending to pick up the ball and walks over to him.
"One day of him knowing and he's already calling you papa." Jaemin mumbles, a little nervous. "I can tell him to stop, I'm sorry if he's made you uncomfortable."
Jeno scoffs in disbelief. "Having that cute little one calling me papa is quite an honour if you ask me." Jeno smiles, pausing as they wait for the elevator. He loops an arm around Jaemin's waist. "I don't mind, baby," he says, a teasing lilt in his voice. "I like it a lot actually."
It's fortunate for Jaemin that the elevator opens right then, Jeno did not need to see the flushed mess he had become. However, it was unfortunate that Minjun turns around and looks at Jaemin in shock. "Daddy? Why are you so red?"
Jeno barks out a laugh, Jaemin turning to glare at him. "No reason, Min."
"Tell your daddy why you want to call me papa, Minjun." Jeno suddenly says as the elevator slowly makes its way up the building.
Minjun smiles brightly, nodding at Jeno and he hops about. "Well, you told me my other daddy left because he stopped loving you, so if papa loves you that means he's my other daddy. Right?"
A smile flowers on Jaemin's face, his breath hitching in his throat. "Yeah, I guess that is what it means." Jaemin squats down next to the small boy, looking at him with soft eyes. He looks up at Jeno who looks oddly proud and laughs at the two of them and wow, Jaemin can hear so much love in it that he's really about start crying in an elevator.
Dinner goes by without much hassle, except for Minjun refusing to eat seaweed because it had fish pee on it. Jeno wasn't much help, simply laughing at the side while Jaemin tried to convince Minjun that it certainly did not have fish pee on it. It was during dessert, while Minjun licked away at his ice-cream, eyes watching Peppa and George bicker over a toy, and Jeno is cuddling Jaemin on the couch that Jeno brings up a sudden question.
"Do you want to meet my parents?"
Jaemin jumps up, suddenly shifting to the opposite end of the couch. His eyes are wide and he stammers in response to Jeno. "Your - Your parents?" He's appalled at the suggestion, why would Jeno ever want to introduce him to his parents.
"Yeah," Jeno says, an endearing smile on his face. "They've been dying to meet you."
"They've what?" Jaemin blinks, not entirely believing what Jeno was saying. "You've told them about - about me?" He asks and Jeno nods confused at why Jaemin was so surprised, looking oddly familiar to a lost puppy, and Jaemin breathes out in disbelief. "Like me and Minjun?"
Jeno nods again. "They want to meet Minjun too, I showed them a picture and they said you two were the cutest."
"Wait, wait." Jaemin shakes his head, trying to wrap his head around Jeno's family actually being alright with him. "They know about me and Minjun and don't want you to break up with me?"
"Of course not." Jeno laughs, scooting over closer to Jaemin. He wraps his arms around the younger again and pulls him against his chest snugly. "They guessed I was dating someone because of how happy I had been lately, because of how happy you make me, Nana and just from what I've told them about you, they love you a lot already. I think if I ever break up with you they'd disown me." Jeno brushes his nose against Jaemin's neck, chaste kisses following. "So, will you?"
It's only then Jaemin realises how serious Jeno is about him. About him and Minjun and it warms his heart. It makes him happy and he wants to feel that forever. The feeling of joy that stirs up inside him when he sees Jeno's eye smile and when Jeno embraces him tightly and the feeling that makes him so delighted when he sees Minjun burst into a fit of giggles, ice-cream smeared all over his cheeks; it's a good feeling. A feeling he wants to keep experiencing and just a glance at Jeno, he can tell that Jeno would do exactly that. And really, with that, there's nothing else Jaemin can ask for.
"Yeah, I'd love to meet your parents."