The Rules | JAEMIN

Chapter 4

Peace at last, Jaemin thought as he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He opened his eyes again as he heard his room door creak open and turned his head to see Renjun there.

"You good to talk now?" Renjun asked, a small smile on his face.

...

Zhilan thought that Beijing was loud but Neo City was louder. Much louder. And most of it came from a male named Zhong Chenle.

"So this is Johnny-hyung, Ten-hyung, Jaehyun-hyung, and our leader, Taeyong-hyung!" Chenle said, words flying out of his mouth as he introduced Zhilan to the men at the pool table. Taeyong gave them a look before returning to their match.

"Taeyong-hyung is Jeno's older brother! And Haechan's cousin! And Haechan's adoptive brother is Mark, who is also Ayeon's roommate. Oh wait, did I tell you that Ayeon is also Haechan's girlfriend? She likes to call him by his real name Donghyuck though." Chenle continued.

Zhilan looked over at Jisung who was apparently Chenle's best friend. Despite how Jisung was much taller than her, he seemed intimidated by her, immediately looking away.

"Did you get all that jiejie? Oh should I call you that or can I just call you Zhilan since you're only a year older?" Chenle asked her.

"I think that's enough." A female voice said from behind, making them turn their heads.

"Yoo Ayeon." The girl said, sticking out her hand. At least she seems nice.

"Jiang Zhilan." Zhilan said, shaking it. Ayeon gave Chenle a look.

"I'll take over from here. You boys are free to go." Ayeon told him.

"But-" Chenle didn't get to finish as Jisung immediately pulled him away, dragging his best friend out of the bar as quickly as possible.

Zhilan noticed that Ayeon was smiling as she watched them. "Is something wrong?"

"Jisung's scared of you." Ayeon told her as she shifted her attention back to the girl. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing." Zhilan said, shoving her hands in her pockets. "But maybe it's because I called Renjun some not so nice names earlier."

"Oh?" Ayeon said, surprised. "Renjun?"

"Yeah, don't you find him annoying?" Zhilan asked as she followed Ayeon to the bar, the two girls settling down on the stools.

"No, I think he's probably one of the least annoying ones." Ayeon said, a smirk on her face.

"If you want annoying, you should meet my boyfriend."

...

Jaemin and Renjun were lying on Jaemin's bed in the dark, chill music in the background. This was their favourite way to spend their time.

At first, they talked about Renjun's trip to China, the male filling Jaemin in on everything that happened. It mostly consisted of trips to different parts of the country with his sister, Winwin, and surprisingly, Zhilan.

"You know, she's not really who she acts like." Renjun said softly, making Jaemin open his eyes.

"Who?" Jaemin asked. "Jiayi?"

"No, Zhilan." Renjun said. Jaemin gulped at the sound of the girl's name.

"What do you mean by that?" Jaemin said, trying to hide how annoyed he was at the mention of the girl.

"She acts all tough and all on the outside, but she's been through a lot." Renjun told him.

"We're all part of a gang, Renjun. We've all been through a lot." Jaemin pointed out.

"Fair." Renjun said, agreeing. "But most of us joined becuase someone we cared about was part of this. Not because your single mother decided that she didn't want you anymore and left you on the streets alone when you were thirteen."

Jaemin had nothing to say, staying silent. Renjun tool this as a sign to continue.

"I'll let her say it herself, but she came here for a reason." Renjun said in a quiet voice. "She didn't leave China for fun. I know it's hard since she speaks before thinking but cut her some slack, Jaemin. We're all looking for a family, that's why we're here."

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RENJUN AND HIS DEEP WORDS