The Rules | JAEMIN

Chapter 11

What the two girls had said definitely made Zhilan feel a lot better, mainly their positive energy transferring to her, but deep down, she still had many thoughts in her head. Many thoughts about a particular male named Xiaojun.

When Jeno dropped Zhilan back to the bar after picking up both her and Soojung, she saw Renjun leaning against the side, arms crossed and a lollipop between his lips.

"What do you want?" Zhilan asked the male, not really eager to hear Renjun's nagging.

"Let's go for a walk." Renjun suggested, pushing himself off. Which between the two of them was code for "let's talk without others listening in."

That's how Zhilan found herself walking with Renjun through the streets of Neo City, hands in the pockets of their leather jackets. They exchanged no words, simply taking in the noise of the cars that drove by occaisionally. Renjun eventually broke that silence.

"I heard you talked to Ayeon and Soojung." Renjun said as they continued to walk.

"I did. They told me about Jaemin and his... Personality."

Renjun chuckled at her words, finding them amusing. "He's a strange one, that's for sure."

Zhilan nodded her head, agreeing with the male.

"But he's also caring. Really caring." Renjun continued. "He'll do anything for his loved ones."

"Like sabatoging their relationships." Zhilan said, recalling what Ayeon and Soojung had said.

"That's one way to put it." Renjun mumbled. "But I mean in other ways. Like making sure our wounds heal properly. Or cooking meals for us when we're busy. He'll sacrafice his own alone time if we want to go out, even if he wasn't feeling like it. He'll do a lot to keep his friends happy."

Zhilan sighed, turning to glance at her childhood friend. "What are you saying?"

Renjun smiled, giving Zhilan a bad feeling. "I just don't think you two are that different, that's all."

Zhilan scoffed. "Renjun, we are so different."

"Yes, but you're also very similar. You're both stubborn as heck, enjoy being alone more than with others, keep all your inner feelings and thoughts away from everyone else, and most importantly, are both terrible at communicating with other human beings." Renjun stated, raising a finger with each point.

"Whatever." Zhilan said, not really listening as she looked around.

"Ugh, you're so annoying, I regret bringing you here." Renjun huffed, aggressively shoving his hands back into his pockets.

Zhilan chuckled at his reaction, finding it funny. Renjun alwas had a short temper, and despite how much older he got, he still kept his childish habits.

"Anyways, how are you doing?" Renjun asked, his tone showing that he was calm again.

"I'm fine." Zhilan said but that wasn't enough for Renjun.

"If you were fine, you wouldn't have cried from what Jaemin said." Renjun was referring to Jaemin's comment on her current relationship status.

Zhilan bit her lip, unsure of what to say. Did the fact that Xiaojun cheated on her still hurt? Yes. Did she ever want to see him again? Definitely not.

"You know, I feel like Jaemin has something against dating." Renjun said as they began heading back to towards the bar. "Like I know he cares a lot about making sure Phoenixes are dating Phoenixes, but I feel like if he actually dated someone, he would understand what it's like."