▪️runaways → nct jaemin fanfic

11 ✧ 전아름

Jeon Areum's POV

"Holy fuck," Minji, my mum, exhaled deeply. "You're still alive."
"Did you really expect me to die that easily?" I retorted jokingly, but she kept on staring at me in disbelief.
"Who are your friends?" She asked me, gesturing to the seven taller guys stood behind me. I introduced them one by one, and watched as Minji's eyes glistened.

"I recognise a few of those names." She told us. "Jeno, Renjun, Haechan, Jaemin. The four of you met my daughter in a sand pit when she was five."
"We did?" I asked, turning to face them, then back at her.
"I remember the day as clear as anything." She explained. "You came running up to me, talking about the friends you made in the sand pit."
"Wow," Mark sighed. "Who would've thought, Huh?"

"So how old are you now?" She asked, inviting me to sit down on her sofa.
"Second year in high school." I replied.
"So how did you and your seven boyfriends manage to come and visit me on a school day?" She raised an eyebrow at me, but I could only scoff at her choice of words.

I told her about everything that had happened that led to our current situation. About Jihoon, Jinyoung, Chenle's adoption, the party, running away, living in a van, all of it. Minji sat quietly and listened to my drama, since she had technically missed out on the majority of my life anyway.

"Sounds pretty hectic for a bunch of teens." She sighed. "I can tell just by looking at you all that you're not handling it well."
"Well it's not like we've got anyone to miss." I retorted. "We're from an orphanage, everyone we need is right here."

"Except Hoseok..." Chenle trailed off.
"Who's Hoseok?" Minji asked.
"Jung Hoseok. A guy who works at the orphanage." Jisung told her.
"He was basically like a caring uncle to all of us." I explained. "I can't even imagine what he's doing right now."
"Jung, eh?" She smiled, pulling out a cigarette. "That guy promised me all those years ago that he'd take care of you. It seems like he's done a good job." She continued to pull out a lighter, holding the small flame over the toxic stick.

"You're gonna smoke in here?" Mark asked.
"Yeah, what's wrong with it?" She retorted.
"On the way in there was a sign saying no smoking." He told her. "It's kinda against the law."
"The law can suck my ass." She replied, taking a long drag. "The law took away my child."

"That's something I wanted to ask about." I butted in. "My past. Your past. No one ever told me anything about it."
"I don't think it's something you really wanna know about kid," She sighed, breathing out puffs of white smoke into the apartment. "It's not exactly a tale of romance."

"Please," I sighed. "I'm so sick of being kept in the dark. I need to know what happened."
"God, you sound just like him." She spat.
"Like who?"
"Your father."
"What's his name?"
"Park Jimin."

"Park Jimin..." I mumbled. "I remember that name."

"What's your name?" I asked the man sat on the bench in front of me. He had been sleeping until I woke him up.
"My name is Jimin, nice to meet you Areum." He replied, holding out his hand for me to shake.

"Where are your friends?" He asked me.
"In the sand pit." I replied, pointing over to the sand pit containing four boys throwing sand at each other.

"Where are your friends?" I retorted.
"I- I don't have any." He told me. "That's why I'm here alone."
"Can I be your friend?" I asked.
"You want to be friends with a big scary man like me?" He chuckled slightly, leaning back in his seat.
"You're not scary!" I giggled. "You're funny!"
"Okay then. Let's be friends." He chuckled again, this time turning to face me.