𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂; norenmin

𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝

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Jaemin sauntered into his bedroom with his energy gauge hitting seriously close to zero. His muscles ached from constantly being on his feet, his brain was fizzing up from overuse and still, still, he wanted to be alert in case Renjun wanted him.

The Chinese male was notorious for telling him to come over whenever it suited him, or calling at ridiculous times for long periods. Hell, how Jaemin was able to survive on such irregular sleep patterns was the most mysterious thing.

The pinkette flopped onto his bed and screamed into the duvet. It was muffled, of course, so nobody was able to hear his distress and frustration other than himself.

I can do this, he told himself almost every night. Maybe if I sleep tomorrow at lunch, then I'll be able to....wait, I have to talk to Jeno at lunch. Then if I skip maths? No.....Mum's getting mad about my grades...

His body was desperately trying to save him, help him into sleep at the most inconvenient times. Yet when Renjun called, he went. If Jeno was alone, he sat with him. There was simply no time nor space in his selfless life to be selfish.

A knock to his door had him frantically shuffling on his bed to look like he wasn't just lying in a hopeless heap. "Yeah?!"

The door opened without a response, producing his mother who was wearing a concerned expression. "Jaem? Are you okay?"

Jaemin frowned, flicking his hair off his face and putting on a lopsided smile. "Of course. Why? What's up?"

The older woman shook her head, leaning against the doorframe and folding her arms. "I'm worried about you, you know? You're so tired lately, always next door, rushing around to do work at stupid and ungodly hours of the morning. It's taking a very obvious toll on you."

The younger pursed his lips as he thought quickly to come up with a decent answer. "I'm fine, Mum. I promise. It's just hard to balance certain aspects of my life sometimes...."

She scoffed, "More like balancing Renjun with your health. Baby, when will this crush end? You're practically keeling over from exhaustion. Love shouldn't treat you that way...."

Jaemin sighed, laying back onto his mattress and shrugging listlessly. "I don't know.....He....He just hasn't noticed me yet."

"It's been ten years, Jaem. Please let him go. Friends can sometimes be more worthwhile than lovers, and Renjun is a good boy. He'll be a valuable person in your future, which will become uncertain if things escalate into a romantic relationship."

"I don't need love advice, Mum. I just need sleep."

"At least we can agree on that. Anyway, I came here with a reason, believe it or not."

He sat up, giving her a scrutinising look and hoping that this wasn't another one of her irritating ideas. "What?"

"I've gotten you a tutor. For maths, history and Korean."

"Mum! What the fuck?!"

"Shhh, language! And this is for your own good, okay? Less time spent with Renjun and more time focusing on work will do you a world of good, I promise."

"Tell whoever it is to go away! I'm not sitting through tutoring lessons!"

The female sighed, massaging her temples and having already prepared for this conversation in advance. "He's a boy you already know."

"Oh no, that's makes it worse! That's so embarrassing-"

"He's like, a full year younger than you! It's Park Jisung? Remember? From when you both went to elementary school together?"

Jaemin's jaw dropped, the teen jerking up from the bed and racing over to grasp his mother's shoulders. "Park Jisung?! The weird kid?!"

"Well....he's not so weird anymore. Actually, he's quite the looker-"

"No! He'll make fun of me!" The pinkette whined, sinking down into crouching position, "I used to snatch his crayons and tell him that I could because I was older."

Mrs. Na burst out into a fit of laughter, clutching her sides and doubling over to compensate for the feeling. "Y-You stole his crayons?"

"It's not funny!"

"Jaem, you're so cute. But no, I'm not changing my mind. He's coming over tomorrow to see what state your subjects are in, and to prepare some sort of helpful lesson plan. Please put this time to good use."

The teenager watched as she blew him a kiss and walked out with the door clicking shut behind her.

This isn't happening. I am not about to get tutored by a guy who's younger than me, and used to eat pencil peelings! What about Renjun? I can't hang out with him if I have a goddamn tutor! Nooooo!

In the back of Jaemin's mind, he knew damn well that this was good for him and that it would improve his mental health and physical stability. But he wasn't ready to change, and all because of a boy who didn't love him back.

Na Jaemin was a fool.

His phone started to ring and vibrate against his duvet where it had slipped from his pocket. The male instantaneously leapt up from his crouched position and threw himself onto the bed.

The caller ID was Renjun's, and he couldn't help but stare at the screen for a moment.

Friends can sometimes be more worthwhile than lovers...

Those were wise words, he would admit....but was he smart enough to follow them? His eyes read over his love's name a few times as he tried to stop himself from falling for it again. This call could last hours, leaving him a zombie by morning....

I'm sorry, Mum, he thought, sliding the green phone symbol to pick up. But this is my life. If I fall, then I'll thank you for having been there to warn me in the first place....

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