started with a dare | NORENMIN

24 | SOLVED? (part 1)

but of course, jeno wasn't going to back down without a fight. he was now in a mood, and there wasn't any way for him to calm down until this issue was settled. "where the fuck is your humanity, jaemin? who died to make you not care for anyone anymore? can't you see how hurt we are because of your actions?"

"isn't that the whole point?" there was clearly no sort of emotion present in jaemin's voice. it was as if he had become numb, and although his two roommates noticed this, jeno didn't care enough to stop.

"my god- na jaemin." the other brown haired boy said his full name in an attempt to threaten the other, but it didn't work since the said male was unfazed by the tone of voice that jeno had.

jeno was pinching the bridge of his nose, obviously dealing with enough stress because of jaemin's behavior. he wanted this to be over, but he wasn't going to stop until he got the old jaemin back, the bubbly person he's had a crush on for a while now.

seeing as the two were now silent without saying a word, jaemin crossing his arms with an expressionless face and jeno letting out series upon series of signs, renjun decided that it was time to include himself into the argument and attempt to calm the atmosphere down.

"jaemin, is there something wrong?" the chinese asked with a soft tone, still holding onto jeno to prevent him from lunging towards the other brown haired boy while placing a hand on jaemin's shoulder and rubbing circles on it as a way to calm him down. the said male just shrugged it off and let the older's arm drop by his side.

"nothing's wrong with me," the brown haired male claimed, which was obviously a lie, and jaemin was well aware that his two friends knew it was a lie. there would definitely be something wrong if he was treating his friends like they weren't his friends at all, but he wasn't about to tell him about it.

keeping a soft tone of voice, renjun was now the one keeping the conversation going instead of jeno. "i know there's something wrong. tell us about it. we can talk it out-"

"there's nothing to talk about. you wouldn't understand," the brown haired male cut the older off and replied to his statement. this argument was going nowhere, and all three boys were well aware of this, but nevertheless, it never stopped.

"wouldn't understand what? that you're just a fucking jerk?!" jeno spoke up again after finding his voice. he was really mad and frustrated by this point, and it was only increasing at each word that came out of his brown haired friend's mouth. he couldn't find any reasonable justification for jaemin's actions, and that's what was causing him the anger and frustration.

the one thing that jaemin didn't want to do was admit his feelings. he didn't want to talk to his roommates about his feelings, his crushes, his pain. this was the topic the brown haired boy wanted to avoid the most; the entirety of him saying that there was nothing wrong was for this exact purpose.

yet, in the next second, jaemin couldn't hold back anymore and broke.

"you wouldn't understand how much pain i've been feeling for all these years!"

his sudden outburst caught the chinese and korean male off guard. they didn't expect for him to suddenly yell out what he had said, and for some reason, his words stuck with them. jaemin and pain didn't seem to fit in the same sentence at the moment, since he had shown no signs of struggling, and the fact that it has been years since he was feeling pain inside was the thing that shocked jeno and renjun the most.

"what do you mean?" jeno was the first to ask, wanting to clear his curiosity. none of what jaemin had just said made any sense to him, and he was beyond confused. what was he feeling pain about? how long has it been since then? what part of it wouldn't him and the red haired boy understand? jeno didn't know.

hearing the other brown haired male's question, jaemin was hesitant. he didn't know if he should say what was at the tip of his tongue or not. every ounce of his body was screaming at him to let the words flow out, like water from a faucet, yet he found himself stopping just before he could say it.

there was no way to work around it. avoiding the question and denying what he had said would only cause his two roommates to ask more questions, which the brown haired male didn't want. but continuing on with the conversation and admitting to his friends about what he was feeling inside wasn't preferable. who knows what could ensue from the words that threatened to escape jaemin's mouth.

"i like you both, okay?" and before the korean male could stop himself, he had said it. "as more than friends."

after getting no reaction from the two in front of him, seeing as his roommates were frozen in shock with his sudden confession, jaemin continued. "and i know, it sounds absolutely ridiculous and everything bu-"

"i'm sorry... you like me?"