Bullet to the Heart : Nomin

Chapter 18

Uhhhh...

I'm sorry for not publishing for so long. College has been a butt.

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AKD

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On their last trip to town for shopping, everyday necessities, where Jaemin also insisted they buy some candies and snacks of the sort because he often got hungry at midnight, they came across a little girl, sitting under the porch of a shop, white-faced and crying.

Jeno would've walked right past her without sparing a second glance, but he realized Jaemin had stopped in front of her.

"Jaemin," Jeno began, meaning to call the boy back so they could continue with the shopping and finish it early, but saw that Jaemin was already crouching down to be at the same level as the little girl with a bright smile.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Jeno walked back to Jaemin and stood next to him with a slight frown on his face.

"Oh, Jeno," Jaemin turned to look at him. "This here is Momo. She says she got separated from her mother, and now she is lost. We should help her."

Jeno's frown deepened a little bit more as he thought about chastising Jaemin while he turned to look properly at the girl, Momo, who cowered as soon as Jeno turned his gaze on her. She began sobbing again.

"Hey, hey, don't cry!" Jaemin quickly moved in to reassure her. "Jeno here only looks scary. He is actually a really good guy. He will help find your mom as well."

Jeno was thrown off hearing Jaemin call him a good guy.

He still had no idea how Jaemin saw him as a good person. He was literally the heir of a mafia boss and a highly wanted criminal based on the number of people he had killed.

"Really?" Momo sniffed and turned to look at Jeno with teary eyes.

Not knowing what to do, Jeno dipped his head in a small bow. Jaemin grinned.

"Yeah," he said softly. "Jeno has taken good care of me. He will take care of you too."

As the three of them walked, Jaemin talked animatedly throughout, making Momo repeatedly laugh with his funny antics and silly jokes.

Jeno only observed the two of them, getting more and more curious about how Jaemin could make someone laugh so effortlessly.

At one point, Jaemin bounded inside a convenience store, announcing that he wanted to buy ice-creams for the three of them, and Jeno was left to stand outside awkwardly with Momo.

"Oppa," Momo called out timidly after a few minutes had passed. "Can I hold your hand?"

Not knowing what to say exactly, Jeno ended up only nodding his head and found the little girl enthusiastically pushing her small hand into Jeno's bigger one and squeezing in glee.

Jeno squeezed back and attempted to give her what he thought was a normal small smile. Momo smiled back in answer, and he thought maybe he had managed to look pleasant after all.

"Oppa, do you think we will be able to find my mom soon?" Momo questioned, and Jeno saw the worry in her eyes. "I'm scared. I want to be with mom soon."

"Does your mom love you?" Jeno asked quietly.

He was surprised at himself for asking such a question.

Momo tilted her head to the side in visible confusion. "Of course, she does! She tells me so every day!"

"Then, you will find her for sure."

"But why did you ask me that, Oppa? You know, all moms love their kids," Momo asked, with the confusion still present. "Doesn't your mom tell you so as well?"

"I don't have a mom," Jeno's voice was subdued and monotonous as he said that, and Momo's eyes widened. "Jaemin doesn't either."

Then Jeno found himself giving a soft smile just as the convenience store's door swung open, and Jaemin came out, swinging a bag of three ice-cream cones. As he looked at Jaemin, grinning and handing out the ice-cream, Jeno had a fleeting thought that he'd never had before...

But I have him.

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They eventually did find Momo's mother, who cried out in relief as soon as she saw her daughter. The mother thanked both Jaemin and Jeno at least a hundred times before she insisted on buying them a generous amount of food as a way of extending her gratitude.

The rest of the shopping trip went in silence, as both of them plodded along, purchasing the necessary items as fast as possible because sunlight was slowly beginning to fade, and Jeno wanted to be done before it got too late.

"I'm happy," Jaemin's soft voice called out.

Those two words made Jeno's head snap up and look at him. Jaemin had a small genuine smile gracing his face, and his eyes glinted.

"The mother must've been so worried when Momo went missing. Thank goodness nothing bad happened to either of them."

Jeno's breath caught in his throat as he stared at the other man while he looked ahead, still with the small smile etched on his face. Jeno didn't understand relationships and understood even less about the way Jaemin thought and the things he felt.

But Jeno knew as he looked at Jaemin that he had meant it when he said that he was happy, and he found himself wondering about how Jaemin gained happiness from helping other people.

Jaemin had lost his whole family and had his life snatched away from him when Jeno brought him into their gang, yet he had told Momo that Jeno was a "good guy" and had looked after him well.

He remembered the warmth when Jaemin had hugged him for the first time and the anime he had insisted on watching together with Jeno because "watching together was more fun than watching alone."

He remembered the pillow he had sacrificed and how Jaemin no longer pushed him away anymore.

Jaemin gave so much. He held so much kindness in his heart that Jeno felt baffled.

An angel.

Jaemin was the sole angel that resided in their hell-hole of a hideout in the literal world of criminals.

For the first time, Jeno began wondering if he'd done the right thing bringing Jaemin to be a part of their gang.

NOT EDITED

Thursday, October 22, 2020

How's it going?

Song recommendation:

"Pink Lemonade" by Johnny Stimson