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Park Jisung was not problematic, he just didn't have friends.
At least not in school, that is.
He used to work in a tiny cafe a street down from his house and he did make a really good friend- a customer who would only come in on even days of the month and specifically only at 5pm.
His name was Huang Renjun and he was just a year older than Jisung himself. Renjun was very specific about everything and he had a very quick temper, always getting snappy whenever the barista takes his orders wrongly and always demanding a refund when his drink did not taste the specific way he wanted it to. Because of that, none of his co-workers liked to take his order or make his drink even though the boy was head-turningly pretty.
Since Jisung was the youngest worker, he was always bullied to take the 'L' for the team, much to his initial distress. The young boy had dealt with demanding and particular people all his life- ranging from his parents to a very picky Park Chanyeol- but somehow when facing yet another difficult person, he still felt the chills and the anxiety.
But after a month or so, Jisung got used to Renjun's rigor. The latter had a thing for yogurt smoothie drinks and only ordered specifically from that section of the menu. His drinks had to be well-blended but not foamy, with 30% ice. He rarely ordered toppings, but if he did it had to be at least 35% of the cup. It all became almost systematic to Jisung after awhile and it was a win-win situation on both sides. Jisung became a valued barista for his ability to satisfy the shop's most picky customer, and Renjun got the drink exactly as he wanted.
As time passed, the two started exchanging more than just pleasantries and started having actual conversations. Jisung would strategically plan his breaks to be right after making Renjun's order so he could sit down with the older boy to talk and slowly, they grew close.
Within two months, Jisung and the other boy had practically became the best of friends. He found out that Renjun was from Jilin, China and was a street biker, a freelancer. And he dug out the boy's birthdate, favourite things and even future dreams from Renjun himself.
The two of them kept in contact even after the cafe Jisung worked in had closed down and they remained close until Renjun had to return back to his hometown one day.
It was a heartbreaking day for Jisung, but even that didn't prepare him for the day he turned on the news to check for the next day's weather, but found out instead that Huang Renjun was one of the fifteen victims found dead after a massive gang cross-fire in Macau. He bawled for days, refused to go to school and even picked up an unhealthy diet, much to the bewilderment of his unknowing yet highly concerned parents.
After the Renjun episode, Jisung never really found any friends, making him the perfect person- according to Chanyeol- to keep an eye on Mark Lee.
