without you ; norenmin [ON HOLD]

8. Marriage and Small Talk

TIME & DATE - 11:38 PM, 9th March
PLACE - Midnight Café and Bookshop
CHARACTER(S) - Huang Renjun, Lee Donghyuck, Rain Dude

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"-he proposed." a giddy Donghyuck finished, staring at the ring on his finger with adoration. "Stop exaggerating Hyuck, he didn't propose, he only gave you his promise. A promise I hope he won't break or else I'm afraid I'll have to break his bones," Renjun joked, earning a shove from Donghyuck.

"But he did it like a marriage proposal and that's the closest I'm getting for now. And I don't want you breaking anyone's bones, you wimp," he said. Renjun rolled his eyes. "Hey, I'm older than you. Where's the respect I'm supposed to be receiving?"

"In the trash," Donghyuck chuckled and barely missed the dirty rag that came flying his way. "Woah there, not the face!"

The other huffed and continued wiping down the tables. "You're just grumpy Jaemin hasn't asked you out yet," the purple-haired male sang, making Renjun pounce at him. 

The few other regular customers who were at the café paid no mind to them, since it was a common thing. The pair would bicker left and right, but one must admit that the friendship they had was quite unique in an endearing way.

"No, but like, admit it. You have a thing for Jaemin," Donghycuk continued. "I've seen the way you look at him Jun. It's the same way Jisung looks at Chenle; like he's his whole world." "You're not wrong about Jisung and Chenle. But I'm really not sure about my feelings towards Jaemin," Renjun admitted, taking a seat beside his best friend.

Donghyuck patted Renjun's shoulder lightly. "I'm sure you'll figure it out Jun. You're a smart guy." Renjun scoffed at this. "You're telling that to a college dropout who is surviving by running a coffee shop with his cousin," he said. "People are smart in different ways Jun. Some are academically smart, some are street smart. You, my friend, are quite good with your feelings, no matter how complicated they are. Remember the time you used to like Yukhei and Kunhang?"

Renjun let a groan slip. "That was ages ago Hyuck. Stop bringing it up." "You're not getting my point," the other male pressed. "You were confused at first but you managed to figure out that you only liked them as friends and later on claimed them as your cousins. And you did that all by yourself without doing anything dumb or asking for help. My point is, you're good at these kinds of things, like Hyunjin. You listen to your heart and your head and make rational decisions. You didn't shun them out like most people would have when they want to run away from their feelings. I'm really proud of you for that."

Renjun hugged Donghyuck and gave him a small smile. He was going to thank him, but he was cut short by the bell at the entrance ringing. He stood up and speed-walked to the cash register. Putting his customer service smile on, he turned to greet the customer. "Hello and welcome to-- Oh, welcome back!" he said. 

It's Rain Dude.

The man nodded and showed him a small smile. "The usual milk tea and croissant?" he asked, to which he got a nod in return. Renjun quickly made the drink and plated the croissant, passing it over to the stranger. The man paid for his food and went to sit near the entrance, as he did the last time he was there. Since there weren't any more new customers, Renjun went back to Donghyuck.

"Explain," was all he said and nudged his head in the direction of the stranger. "He's a regular," Renjun sighed. "You sure he--" Donghyuck's inquiry was cut short by the ringing of his phone. "Minhyung is calling. I should go now. Bye Jun," he said and walked out of the café after a hug from his best friend. 

Renjun was now left with nothing else to do.

Maybe I should approach him?

He made his way to the stranger, the two making eye contact halfway there. "Hello," Renjun said softly and took a seat in front of the man. "The weather is nice tonight," the man said, looking outside with tired eyes. "It is," Renjun agreed. Truth be told, Renjun did not know what the weather was like outside. It was nice and warm in the café as far as he was concerned. 

He heard a chuckle. And oh my God Renjun would do anything to hear that heavenly sound again.

"You're cute," the man said. Renjun felt the back of his neck and cheeks burn. "I-- Uh... Hey, you can't just say that!" he stammered. The man chuckled again and Renjun felt he was going to melt. The man then stuck out his hand.

"My name is Jeno. Are you going to introduce yourself to me or am I going to have to call you mine?"

-ˋˏ ༻☕༺ ˎˊ-

it was too obvious, wasn't it?

also if I ever hit 100 followers I'm calling them pumpkin tarts idc i think its cute