double sided | noren

t h i r t e e n

The bell jingled as Renjun walked through the door to the cafe. He looked around for Chenle and Donghyuck, spotting them at the seats closest to the counter.

The cafe was pretty small, but cozy at the same time.

Chenle spotted Renjun and waved him over.

"We ordered your favourite drink!" Said the youngest enthusiastically.

"Thanks," renjun answered and sat down.

It was later in the afternoon. The three boys had decided to finish their homework first before meeting up. By now it was almost four o'clock.

"How's jeno been treating you?" Asked Hyuck.

Renjun sighed. "Not the best. He kicked me again a few days ago. Jaemin walked me home."

Chenle's eyes widened. "Jaemin?"

Renjun nodded. "Why are you surprised? You seemed pretty close with him and Jisung at school."

"I know, it's just that you seemed absolutely terrified when we were talking to them," chenle answered.

Hyuck chuckled in agreement. "We noticed, but of course we couldn't say anything in front of their faces."

Renjun laughed. "Jaemin's actually surprisingly nice," he answered, "I just wish jeno could be the same."

Hyuck and Chenle nodded in agreement.

Just then, the waiter walked to the table with all of the drinks, setting them down.

"If you need anything just let me know okay?" He said, "and I'm sorry but I couldn't help but overhear you guys talking about jeno?"

Hearing this, renjun, chenle, and Donghyuck had to control themselves from choking.

Donghyuck was the first to speak up. "Yeah, do you know him?"

The waiter chuckled. "Yes I do, actually. I used to go to your school." He said casually, "my name is Mark by the way."

"I think I remember you." Hyuck said, a smile appearing on his face, "I'm Donghyuck, and this is Chenle and Renjun."

"Nice to meet you guys," mark answered, "so has jeno been bothering you?"

"How did you know?" Renjun asked, surprised.

"Trust me, I've known jeno for a pretty long time now. There's a reason he bullies people at school. I've been there too," said Mark, chuckling a little at the last part.

"What do you mean?" Asked chenle.

"I used to be on the sports teams with Jeno. The older kids on the teams, they threaten the younger kids by telling them to bully the other students at school." Mark sighed before continuing, "they say that to have a spot on the team, they need to have a reputation at the school, or else they get kicked off."

Mark looked at the other three boys. All of them had their mouths wide open in shock. This information was completely new to them.

"You mean that jeno only does it to stay on the team?" Asked renjun unsurely.

Mark nodded. "That's the reason I left the teams."

"Wow, that's quite a story," said Chenle.

"Yeah," mark said, "I should probably get back to work now, my boss isn't going to be happy. But feel free to drop by anytime to talk!"

The three nodded, and waved goodbye, thanking Mark once again.

"I don't know what to say anymore," said Renjun.

"Let's take our minds off of this, we came here to relax," suggested Donghyuck.

Chenle and Renjun both agreed.

For the rest of their time at the cafe, the three boys chatted and laughed happily, and soon, it was already time to leave.

They all said their goodbyes and parted ways.

The sky was getting dark. It was getting closer to winter, which meant the days were getting darker faster.

Renjun put his hands in his pockets, trying to keep them warm from the chilly weather.

If what Mark said was true, he felt guilty for treating Jeno the way he did. He shouldn't have been that harsh.

Renjun kept walking, letting the thoughts run through his mind.

Not paying attention, he turned down a dark alley thinking that it was his street. When he finally looked up again, Renjun realized that he had no idea where he was.

And that was when he felt someone cover his mouth and tighten a grip around his neck.

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Turning point in the story ;)