double take | renmin

11

"Huang Renjun!" All eyes were on him as he walked up the stairs to the stage in his graduation gown with the biggest smile on his face. I watched him receive his diploma, holding onto it carefully. Finally, both of us were graduating, but now we'll only be preparing ourselves to face future challenges that weren't all just high school drama.

The ceremony continued until every graduate had their diplomas, and we were all lined up in three neat rows. I would say that it was one of the happiest moments in my life. 

"This pizza is really good." Renjun expressed how tasty the pizza was as he ate it next to me.  "Is it?" I asked, taking a bite of mine to see for myself. "Hmm, not bad." I set it back down, staring into the eyes of my bestfriend. My bestfriend who was going to Italy with me this summer. 

"What? Is something on my face?" Renjun put his own pizza down and wiped his face with the back of his hand. "No, I'm just really happy." I smiled. "Well, I'm happy you're happy." Renjun smiled innocently. "Oh! I think I forgot to tell you. I was so excited, how could I forget to tell you?" Renjun grinned. "What is it?" I asked. "Jeno asked me out on a real date! We went out just yesterday." My heart plummeted right through my chest into the ground, but I put on a happy facade for the Chinese boys sake. He couldn't find out about my feelings for him. Not yet.

"That's great, how was it?" My shaky fingers reached for my cup, just so they'd have something to do other than rest on my sides awkwardly. I hoped my voice wouldn't give away what I was feeling. "It was really simple. We just went for a movie and took a walk by the lake afterwards. It was really beautiful at night. Did you know the bridge lights up at night?" My heart sank even further into the ground with every word. "Does it really? The one at Biwa lake?" My cheery, curious voice didn't suit my emotionless expression at all. I tried to remind myself that if Renjun was happy, I should be happy, but I wasn't. I obviously wasn't. "And at the end, we kissed." Renjun's eyes had this dreamy look and at that moment, I knew Jeno had already won his heart and I had already lost to him. "Did you?" This time, I couldn't fake happiness. There was obvious sadness in my voice, but Renjun was too busy recalling his kiss with Jeno to recognize the sadness. "It was just a peck, but it was magical."

 "Congratulations, hyung." A voice came from my right. I turned to see Chenle walking towards us with a kind smile etched on his face, but he looked different from the last time I'd seen him. His hair was blonde, and he didn't seem shy anymore. If anything, he looked more bold and confident, but I had a feeling that he wasn't as confident as he looked. He wore eye liner, giving a more edgy look. His gaze was dangerously sharp, but the arrogant aura didn't suit him. He seemed like a confused and troubled kid. Maybe love had come and knocked on his door to shake up his life.

  "Thanks, Chenle." I smiled, noticing how Chenle's eyes went back and forth between Renjun and I with a sad smile on his face. "Did you adjust well or make any friends?" I hadn't seen him since we met the first time, but I had thought about him a few times. "Yeah, I've made a few friends." His answer was short and I had a feeling he wanted me to drop the topic, so I did.

I gestured towards Renjun who was standing awkwardly. "Anyways, this is Renjun." Chenle bowed formally, a look of familiarity taking over his expression. "Oh, so you're Renjun hyung. It's nice to finally meet you." Renjun greeted him and Chenle switched to Chinese, therefore, I could no longer understand their conversation.

Fortunately, the two seemed to have a pleasant conversation, so I snuck away to speak with some other students from my year. "Ah, Donghyuck!" I spotted my friend talking at a table with two other graduates and someone I hadn't seen before. "Jaemin, did you forget to talk to me since Renjun was with you?" He clung onto my arm and pulled me beside him, introducing me to his friends.