silence - nct, norenmin

⍣ 14 ⍣

jaemin walked into the school's cafeteria, sitting at his, jeno's and renjun's usual table.

jeno was already there, his tray of food on the side, and a copy book full of equations under his eyes.

jaemin placed his tray in front of the boy an sat down, giving him a small smile.

"have you revised for the maths test?" jeno asked, looking at jaemin.

the teenager nodded while jeno chuckled.

"lucky you. i suck at maths."

the two boys continued eating – and revising – in silence.

at some point, jaemin pulled his phone out and sent a message on the group chat which made jeno's phone vibrate.

the boy looked at the message.

"renjun? he's finishing his art project. he'll be there in a minute."

jaemin furrowed his brows, typing on his keyboard again.

"yeah, he paints." jeno replied to his message. "i'm sure he'll show you. he is very talented."

jaemin didn't get the time to write down a third message, renjun had arrived overjoyed.

"i saw the groupchat." he smiled. "worried about me?"

jaemin flushed a bit, not knowing what to do.

"don't answer him." jeno reassured jaemin. "this little brat."

renjun and jeno exchanged a kiss in front of jaemin's eyes.

jaemin didn't mind.

after two weeks of hanging out with them, he was used to it.

"anyway... you want to see some paintings of mine?" renjun asked jaemin with a grin.

the shy boy nodded, wanting to see how much of an artist he was.

"follow me!" renjun told, knowing that he wouldn't be comfortable if he dragged him by the wrist.

jaemin followed a skipping renjun through the maze of corridors inside which jaemin was still frequently loosing himself.

renjun was talking to him a lot on the way, but jaemin didn't feel so comfortable in these crowdy corridors, so he never really answered.

he found it funny how happy and comfortable he could be when he was texting them from home, and how stressed and nervous he was when they were around at school.

jeno and renjun stayed the same.

but jaemin's comportment and feelings were so different.

when he was home, jeno and renun appeared to be his saviours, the two boys who made him overpass his condition and made his life better.

when he was at school, they were his two friends, and protectors. he felt so thankful to them, but he couldn't seem to express it because of the environment the school provided.

"look at this! i won an art price thanks to it!" renjun beamed, pointing at his masterpiece.

jaemin lifted his head to look at the painting and he gasped when his eyes fell on the canvas.

he was standing in front of that painting.

the painting he had seen on his first day here, and a few other times.

the painting that was making him feel so much things.

the painting that scared him.

this deep red cut on a black thick and matte layer of paint reminded him too much of himself.

it was as if he was seeing his body during his body-opened operation.

the vertical cut displayed his bloody insides, his bowels.

the black paint was his body, dark because of his numerous bruises and his past traumas.

just like his chest, this painting would never be perfectly flat and closed ever again.

the cut was too deep. too painful.

no stitches could heal such a wound.

"jaemin? is everything alright? you look very pale..." renjun told, waving his hand in front of jaemin's eyes.

the mute boy was standing in front of the painting, frozen, eyes fixed on the cut, and tears forming into his pupils.

he couldn't believe renjun had done this.

he couldn't believe such a pure person could create such horrible art.

he couldn't believe it.

"hey, jae- "

jaemin ran away for the nth time in front of renjun.

he was a coward.

but he couldn't do anything about it.

since the accident, running away and being a coward was in his genes.

⍣

"where is jaemin?" jeno asked, seeing renjun coming back alone and dragging his feet.

"he ran away." renjun pouted, sitting next to his boyfriend. "i showed him my favourite painting, and he stared at it for so long... he became pale, and then he started crying, and he ran away..."

jeno furrowed his brows, not understanding any bit of the story renjun had told him.

"the painting that is next to the teachers' room?" he asked.

"yeah."

"the black one? with the red cut?" jeno wanted to make sure.

"yeah, this one."

jeno nodded. "i love this one. it's simple and powerful."

"a bit too powerful if it made jaemin run away." renjun mumbled. "i don't know why he did so..."

jeno thought for a few seconds, picturing the painting in his mind, and then trying to remember everything he knew about jaemin.

it took him a few minutes to connect the dots, but he eventually did it.

"what if your painting triggered something into him? remember sunmi's words... he's traumatized..."