Red Strings // JaeNoRen

5

The white volleyball proceeded to nail him right in the butt.

"OWWWEHHH!" Mark groaned.

"AHAAHAH! THAT WAS GREAT JENO!" Haechan high-fived the raven-haired boy.

Jaemin was rolling on the floor as he laughed along. His adorable laugh made Renjun smile warmly.

"Hyung, are you okay?" Jeno walked up to the net with a concerned face. "Sorry..."

"It's *ow!* okay---" Mark stood up. "Ah... Nice spike..?"

"Thanks!" Jeno smiled with beautifully curved eyes.

Mark was a bit flustered at his smile, but returned the smile with a sense of sympathy of some sort. Perhaps they were similar in a way?

"Ew, why are they smiling at each other?" Haechan crossed his arms.

Well this was unplanned.

Wasn't Mark the one who was supposed to get jealous during this game? Jaemin's plan looked like it was going the opposite way.

Renjun shook off his thoughts and flipped the score count. Haechan- 1, Mark- 0.

"Okay! Nono's team serves!" Jaemin cheered.

"Okay!" Jeno positioned himself behind the serve line with the ball.

Renjun observed carefully ask Jeno's expression changed. The calm, peaceful expression he usually had was replaced with a slight pout and a small wrinkle in his brows. His eyes widened a little. The raven-haired boy slightly bit his lip and froze up.

A nervous expression.

Renjun almost belived he was nervous... Until he remembered that Jeno was an actor. He scanned Jeno's body.

The boy's body defiantly looked more tense. He gripped the volleyball a little tighter and his limbs were pressed into a more stiff pose.

Well done body expression.

Except, Renjun was a Cupid. (Well, only for his friends.) Sharp eyesight and reading body language helped a lot.

While Mark and Haechan were hard to read since their movements were genuine and relaxed, Jeno's acting was easier to detect because of the emotional detachment from his fear.

Jeno played well, that was obvious because of his spike.
It was harder to act nervous.

Renjun observed his fit body, trying not to get distracted.

Relaxation, relaxation....

Aha! His shoulders.

His shoulders were relaxed.

There wasn't any stiffness in it, which meant that part of him was actually relaxed.

Renjun smiled.

Lee Jeno was impressive.
He probably was a great actor.
It took a lot of looking to find hints. It came out naturally.

I still think Jeno isn't much of a liar, Renjun thought to himself. He seems like the honest type who expresses well when needed.

"Jeno! What's wrong?" Haechan looked a bit concerned.

"J-just... I-I'm not that sure on serving...." Jeno found interest in his shoes.

"No worries! Just try it, and if you don't want to after that, I'll do it, kay?" Haechan encouraged.

"Jeno-ssi! Hwaiting~!" Renjun shouted.

So Jeno was good at volleyball and he was just acting. Why not help the guy? He didn't seem that up for it but he's doing a great job.

"Hwaiting~!" Renjun cheerfully did a tiny cheerleading dance he learned.