kalon || norenmin

είκοσι

epiphany
noun /ɪˈpɪf.ən.i/

a moment when you suddenly feel that you understand,
or become conscious of,
something that is of great importance to you.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Jaemin stares blankly at his tablet. His incomplete missions were burning holes into his eyes.

Screw the fucking riddles he always has to do every time he needed to receive any information from the NCT news centre. He knew he wasn't as smart as the rest of Dream, actual 'A+' students who had the opportunity to become great leaders of the future in research or at least become white-collared workers, while he was stuck on algebraic sums and careless addition of numerals.

It was practically a miracle that he was given the scholarship. The only thing he could be proud of was his love for photography. Some said talent while others said instinctive intelligence, he said it was just passion. Holding cameras and capturing moments was his favourite way of romanticising his life. His ability to evoke emotions in a simple picture just came naturally to him. It helped him to get out of his home life.

To finally have a medium to express his feelings gave him a way of life. Instead of being stuck at home with his parents, he could explore the world, free from expectations.

And all he could thank was his god-parents for buying him a camera for his 12th birthday.

It wasn't just anything, it was a rather fancy Sony A9 Camera that had functions he wanted to explore during the holidays. He was also saving up for new lenses to experiment with.

The poor Korean boy looked towards his left which sat his senior, Jaehyun Hyung, who is an avid athlete and represented the University of Seoul in Swimming. He was also one of the brightest kids in the University, being able to cope equally well with his sport and his major.

Jaehyun sighed and took the younger's tablet, scooting over to teach him how to answer the riddle which had a formula to solve just like the others.

The boy felt a sense of shame, having to get his senior to teach him something as basic as solving a riddle when he could have spent the weekend watching Ted-Ed riddle problems to solve them as Mark Hyung had suggested. But the thought of it just didn't intrigue him.

He'd rather immerse himself in the aesthetics of capturing the moments. But now, he has to worry if he can even stay on this scholarship long enough to get him to a good university ( and possibly away from his parents).

Jaemin has to get out of his house. And the only way he's allowed to do that as a minor is through scholarships and education. Running away would taint his family name as well his reputation. It was an easy solution but
police officers would come to find him (he did his research).

Jaemin stayed over at the NCT dormitories (more like apartments) whenever he could if not he would sleep over at Mark's place.

He couldn't stand his parents' incessant comments about everything and anything he ever did. Because not doing the dishes and doing his homework instead was seen as lazy and unfilial. Because not being able to finish his work on time was seen as incompetent. Because being who he was was never enough.

His parents would always say, " I hope you did your best," but all Jaemin could hear was that it wasn't up to his parents' version of his best.

He may have loved learning as a child, but those days were over. And now all he could see was disappointment written all over his parents' faces.

"Jaemin?"
The older's comforting voice 

"Yes, Hyung? "

"What's on your mind? You seem lost in thought,"

Smile. Don't say anything out of order. You're a Na Jaemin. No weaknesses.

He smiles back charmingly as if the director in his head yelled action.

"Just tired from schoolwork and all,"

"You sure? Then maybe you might wanna go sleep in the dorms now, I'll give Taeyong Hyung an LOA (leave of absence) slip," Jaehyun places a hand on his shoulder. The younger slides Hyung's hand off his shoulder in a light-hearted giggle.

"It's okay, Jae Hyung. I can do it, besides it's just half an hour more to bedtime," his eyes seemingly twinkle in the twilight hall.

Jaehyun looked over to Taeyong, who returned his glance, sharing an unsure look. Taeyong signalled back with a firm nod, translating to a 'Jaemin can head back to his room for early rest'.

"Time to head back to your room, Minnie," He ruffles the smaller's jet black hair as the rabbit pouts in disagreement. Just as the adolescent was about to whine on about how he was going to be a teenager already and how he should prepare himself for longer hours, Jaehyun picks him up like a sack of potatoes, inching slowly towards the boys' headquarters.

*＊✿❀○❀✿＊*

"And this will be the end of today's session for those under 18, please head back to the sleeping headquarters. Lee Jeno and Huang Renjun, please wait at the stage for your mentors to fetch you to your assigned bedrooms.  Adults, feel free to continue with conferences.  Have a wonderful night ahead!" a voice somewhat similar to Ms Kang's announces throughout the hall.

"Injun, that looks like Ms Kang, but if she had a sugar daddy," Jeno whispers into Renjun's ear, earning him a light slap on the thigh.

"That's so mean, Jeno. You're lucky she's that far away from us," Renjun feels mean for giggling at the joke. The boy gets up from his too comfortable memory foam seat, making a move to head down to the stage area as a Samoyed puppy tags behind him.

Maybe it was due to the amount of screen time he had just now or the lack of food in his system or paired up with the combination of not having stood up in a long time made him feel weak in his knees.

They buckle. His head pounds. His vision goes out.

And the last thing he hears is Jeno screaming for help.

While he, Huang Renjun, drops to the ground.

or maybe not.

and that's it for now because i should really head back to doing my homework but as you can tell someone got carried away(whoops) also, do you guys have any idea of where this should head? definitely a trilogy but sis needs more side stories. also, i might need more parts where i rant about recovery and relapsing because this story is my damn outlet. sorry u guys for having to wait so long 😩 i understand if many of you drop this lol but pls stay. it really means a lot. and for those who do, love you 🥺 and thank you because this year is my final year in secondary school so yeah. really hope u can understand. 

okay bye
yves