three is the perfect number || jaenoren (norenmin)

quatre

Renjun was thinking about getting a job.

He happened to be an overenthusiastic buyer, as he had discovered in dismay when he had checked his wallet and was short of money to pay for things like art supplies, nice jumpers, Timberlands and other necessities. He could have asked his parents for supplementary funds, but every time he considered doing that he felt spoiled and bratty. 

He also wanted to get Jeno's birthday gift with his own money, because the sentiment was admirable and Renjun wished to actually earn all the happiness he wanted to give Jeno. (That was mostly the reason he started looking for one.) 

So when Jeno himself mentioned to him that the restaurant his brother worked as a chef at had two open slots for waiters, he told Jeno to tell Jihoon that he would be signing up to fill one of them.

Jihoon had texted Renjun himself, a day before he'd actually gotten the email confirming his employment. 

jihoon: hey so i may have gotten you the job but it was only bc all the other ppl would be lucky to be half as smart as you. anyway if you screw this up i will be the one getting a pay cut so don't. screw. it. up.

=

Renjun was jittery as he strolled down to Empathy Restaurant on Sunday evening. The wind was shaking the new leaves on the branches, and the sky was as clear as he had seen it in days, the stars winking down at the world — a pleasant night, but he was nervous, nervous, nervous. The shift he had chosen to work was rather late; 8 pm – 11 pm on Sundays. He had only chosen this because it paid the best, being the busiest hours. On a Sunday night, the place was pretty much packed with people, and Renjun hoped that it would be worth it in the end. 

He was also worried about how he had chosen to get home so late. His parents couldn't pick him up, no friend of his was that dedicated (well, other than Jeno, who unfortunately didn't have a car), and he didn't have a driving license. He could walk home, as it wasn't that far away, but that wasn't safe. He also wasn't up for walking alone, in the dark. So he was taking a public bus, even though he had never actually taken a bus anywhere. 

He shook off these thoughts as he went around the sleek building to the employee entrance, remembering that he had more pressing issues to focus on, such as his first-ever job. He stood in front of the door, rubbing his hands together, his mouth pressed into a tight line. He stretched his fingers out towards the doorknob, then pulled them back again, gnawing on his lip. 

"Nervous for the first day?"

Renjun started and, to his horror, released a little squeak of fright. The voice sounded so familiar he was scared to look. 

He swallowed, turning slowly on the balls of his feet, only to see Na Jaemin regarding him with a dopey grin from a few feet off. Renjun gradually turned pink, realising that his crush had seen him actually squeak. He never squeaked. "I — I swear I'm not like this all the time!" He sighed inwardly in disappointment when he realised what he had just said in the place of an actual greeting. 

Jaemin just let a laugh bubble through his lips and answered, "Whatever you say, Renjun. Are you here for the other job?" He put his hand in his pocket and strode up to the door, all white blouse and toothy smile. 

Renjun didn't trust himself to speak, so he just nodded in affirmation, trying to compute what was happening. So Jaemin was the other new waiter? That made things a lot more favourable, and nerve-wracking. 

Jaemin blew a tired raspberry and turned to look at Renjun, his hand on the knob. "I'm nervous too, so don't worry, you're not alone." 

Renjun let himself smile, unable to help himself commenting, "You don't look nervous at all."