three is the perfect number || jaenoren (norenmin)

deux

Na Jaemin grumpily shut his locker door, fed up and ready to kill someone even though he was an entire fifteen minutes into the school day, only then to come face to face with an overly sunny bastard. "Hyuck, get your face out of my face —" 

"Good morning, honey!"

Jaemin looked around carefully to make sure there were no teachers around to hear him, before he popped the lock on his locker door, clicked it shut and subsequently told Lee Donghyuck to go mind his own business before he found something very smelly in his bed. Jaemin found that the use of colourful imagery was wonderfully effective when used against best friends and worst enemies. Of which, Donghyuck was both.  

"Being your usual bubbly self, I see! I have to ask your opinion on an issue of mine before you start moaning about some headass-ery," Donghyuck replied, smiling, all teeth, way too mockingly after completing his sentence. Early birds are really terrible people. 

"What is it, Lee?" Jaemin monotoned, and Donghyuck looked around, pretending to be confused. 

"Are you talking to me? There are loads of other Lees here!" He practically shouted, and at least six other guys and three girls looked up from whatever they were doing, looking around in confusion for who had called them. One girl a few lockers down was side-eyeing them warily, probably wondering about whether she should leave. 

Jaemin rolled his eyes at how dramatic the guy was. "You can't ever tone down the volume, can you?"

"Nope, life would be shit, and you know that!" chirped Donghyuck, looking at Jaemin knowingly when he winced. Once, Donghyuck had shut up for a whole day, just to see what would happen, and the principal herself had pulled Jaemin out of class to ask him what was wrong with his best friend. 

Instead, Jaemin eyed Donghyuck warily, "Is there anything you want to ask me before I head to geography to toss myself into a volcano? You won't find me after that."

Donghyuck shrugged, "I'm sure I would, eventually. Volcanoes are easy to navigate if they're extinct, and I'd assume you're headed to one of those, as you naturally lean towards dead things. Anyway —" strayed Donghyuck, "— What do you think I should get Mark for our six month, because I..."

When Jaemin realised this was about a damned anniversary gift, he tuned Donghyuck out rather effectively. After all, he would probably just talk about it again later, preferably when there were more people present to annoy, so Jaemin decided to just tune him out and daydream about coffee. However, he found his eyes being drawn to the gym door down the hall — a guy from his own year was being kicked out of it by Jaehyun — Jaemin was on the basketball team with him. Looks like this kid had gone and pissed Jaehyun off before nine AM. 

The very tall teen was now following after the guy with an intimidating glare, which Jaemin recognised as the you've mildly annoyed me face. "Later, the sign said. You can't ask for favours, Lee. That's not how we do stuff here." Jaemin rolled his eyes, yet another Lee. Donghyuck was actually right.

"Lee" held up his hands in submission, saying something that Jaemin couldn't make out, and he was unable to see this guy's face so he couldn't even attempt to lip-read. All he could see was a rather nice looking back under a bright yellow shirt, and he almost couldn't complain, except the shirt was about to give him a headache. He was almost about to go over and ask Jaehyun why he was scaring people shitless so early in the morning, and also see who this guy was, as Lee turned to start walking away. Jaemin caught a pair of specs, and was about to compute his features, perhaps to apologise — it would be a viable excuse to talk —

"Na Jaemin, were you even listening to me?" Donghyuck snapped from somewhere, shockiing Jaemin into turning around. When he looked back, Lee was gone. He turned back to face Donghyuck with extreme reluctance, annoyed that Donghyuck had stopped him from... whatever he'd been doing.