Luminous • Jisung

36 • Genuine

• Chapter 36 •

Jaemin linked arms with Cho-a's and smiled brightly at her. "We should go bowling more often," he said happily, addressing her and Jeno.

"I lost every round," she noted and the older one nodded.

"But we had fun." They really did. It was nice; just the three of them. Just a normal night out with friends. Like they didn't have anything to worry about. 

Jeno pushed his hands into the pockets of his jacket and sighed. "We should have taken the bus," he complained after they already walked for minutes. He looked at Cho-a expectantly. 

"A lot of car accidents happen lately," she reminded him, pushing a heavy thought into a lighthearted conversation. "You barely survived the accident you were in when you were young. You shouldn't push your luck." 

Jaemin grinned happily, hit Jeno's arm softly who smiled at the other one's excitement. 

"Look at how worried she is." He nodded curtly. "Alright, ma'am. We'll be careful." Cho-a rolled her eyes but couldn't hold back a chuckle. 

And similarly to that, they talked casually as they walked home. All the way along main roads where there were people around and the street lights shone brightly. 

"You know," Jeno said thoughtfully as he threw a glance at the girl. "We haven't met too long ago but I feel like we have known each other for years." 

"Right?!" Jaemin agreed. 

Cho-a smiled awkwardly, nodded hesitantly but stayed quiet - right in time for the frightening sound of the police cars' sirens that pierced through the calm night air. 

The three watched the cars pass them with wide eyes. 

Turmoil, noise. 

It was easy to tell what had happened. 

"Another accident?" Jaemin asked when they were already on their way to the scene, already found themselves blending in with the crowd that had formed. 

"Should we be here?" Jeno questioned. He was hesitant, not scared. Unsure, not against it. He held his gaze steady on the horrific scene ahead. He looked just like all the other onlookers. 

Cho-a wasn't directly surprised by the lack of empathy in Jeno's eyes. He had started to distance himself from all this early on. 

He wasn't a player in this game, he couldn't change anything, even if he wanted. So why get too worked up about it. 

Jaemin did the same as Jeno. Equally distanced, still uncomfortable at the sight. 

"Jisung's here," he mentioned casually when he saw him, Chenle, Haechan and Renjun wandered around before them. However, the second that he saw them, he already looked away. "He's gonna get angry if he sees us." 

"He gets angry a lot," Cho-a mumbled, barely keeping attention to anything except for-

"Looking for something?" A familiar but annoying voice spoke out of the blue. Scrunching her nose even before she turned around, she eventually met the older one's eyes.

It was none other than Taemin. 

She sighed. "Not for you at least." And after that, she threw a warning glare at Jaemin and Jeno who nodded obediently and took a generous step to the side, further away from Taemin. 

The oldest gasped. It was exaggerated, yet his confusion still echoed clearly through his words. 
"You still don't trust me?" 

Cho-a didn't bother answering. She turned back towards the crowd of people that surrounded the scene. Gaze drifting through the masses of people, she scanned face after face.