You're welcome ;)
"How do you walk so fast? Princess, slow down."
Jaemin smiles at Jeno, still maintaining his pace. "And I thought you could do things like this three times without stopping."
Jeno rolls his eyes. "On a bike."
"Well, you're gonna have to learn how to walk faster. You're gonna do a lot of that today. "
"And where will you be?"
"Somewhere."
"Princess, what is that supposed to be mean?"
Now Jaemin rolls his eyes. "You're so impatient. Princess."
Jaemin continues leading Jeno through the forest until they reach a particular clearing. Jeno folds his arms over his chest as he waits for Jaemin to explain his happiness.
His confusion grows when Jaemin pulls out a small piece of paper.
"What's that?"
Jaemin grins. "Your first clue."
"For what?"
Jaemin gives Jeno the paper. Jenos confusion deepens as he reads the contents. He knows what's going on but he's still shocked.
"A scavenger hunt?"
"Yep. But you only have an hour, 'cause I have other things planned for us. "
"I don't get to know what those are, do I?"
"Nope."
"I think it's interesting how the first activity you picked is something I have to do alone", Jeno teases.
"Princess", Jaemin says, moving right in front of him. "I wanna spend the whole day with you. My goal is make you happy. After you finish, you can stay as close to me as you want. "
Wow
Jeno gets lost in the way Jaemin's staring at him. The look isn't new but considering he was the last to receive it, it feels like it is. The way Jaemins eyes just hold so much care just for him, along with that beautiful smile he understands why Mark never shuts up about. Jaemin is pretty. He's really pretty. But it feels so much better knowing that it's all for him.
Realizing that he's still staring, Jeno snaps out if it and clears his throat, avoiding eye contact with the male. "Is there a reason you brought me to the forest?"
"This is your starting point. Half those things aren't far from here. The others may lead you elsewhere."
"And I only have an hour?"
Jaemin nods and leans in to kiss Jenos cheek. "Good luck."
Even though Jaemins lips had been gone from his skin for almost a minute, Jeno can still feel the gentle kiss from his soft lips.
Remembering he has things to do, Jeno turns his attention back to the paper and laughs at the note at the top of it.
Scavenger hunt
I'm way too lazy to even try writing in riddles. Just the read description and move on
:)
1. Walk forward (please don't get lost, I don't wanna be responsible) until you find the place that's too pretty to ignore. And then (I already know you're gonna laugh) look for the next clue that's hidden on the floor
A bit cautiously, Jeno walks forward, following the path between the trees. It doesn't take long for him to reach another clearing. He stops and looks at the paper again, wondering if this what Jaemin meant.
Something shiny up ahead catches his eye, prompting him to move forward. The sun shines on the spot of trees, letting him see the metallic purple words on the tree. It's a quote.
"In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful" - Alice Walker
He looks at the tree next to it and finds a different quote in red. He checks the other trees and finds more on each of them, written in different colors, all either relating to nature, beauty, or people.
The paper in his hand reminds him of the clue. He goes back to the first tree and crouches down, looking around for a piece of paper. He finds it, slightly covered with dirt, hidden under the root.
Scavenger hunt
Good job! I hope you liked these trees :)
2. Somewhere near you is one of the smallest trees. Find it, look up, look to the right, and tell me what you see (I can't do riddles but I can rhyme, okay?)
Jeno chuckles and follows instructions. He walks around, looking for a small tree. It takes him longer than the first time but he does find a pretty small tree, that's a bit farther away from the bigger ones. He goes right up to it, looks up and looks to the right. He doesn't see anything but the sky and leaves from the other trees so he shifts his position, keeping his head up.
Once he gets to the side of the tree, a glimpse of red, hidden among the green leaves of the bigger tree next to him gets his attention.
Assuming that's what Jaemin meant, he takes a picture and sends it to him. Jaemin responds right away.
Princess
What does it look like to you?
Jeno
A red...paper? Scarf? Idk
Princess
Grab it
Jeno
You know I'm not that tall right?
Princess
There's a rock by the tree Princess :)
Jeno
Okay
Jeno looks around the tree and picks up the small rock. He angles it at the red in the leaves and throws it. On the first tree, leaves and the red paper come down. Jeno picks up and finds a white paper attached to it.
The white paper is the next clue so what is the red paper?
As Jeno opens up the folded red paper, he realizes that it's a heart. In black marker, is a small note from Jaemin.
You're really cute. I already told you this but it's most apparent when you smile. You look beautiful when you're happy
- Jaemin♥︎
Jeno's body reacts to the words before his head processes them. He feels a warm, fuzzy feeling. The same one that Jaemin's been giving him since before he understood his feelings for him.
He looks at the third clue, not wanting to take too much time.
Scavenger hunt
I hope you like the heart♡
3. Count ten trees to ahead of this one, then go to the tree in front of the tenth one. Repeat the process from Clue 2 (Some rhyme, some don't. Deal with it)
Starting from the tree Jeno got the clue and heart from, he moves ten trees in front of it and then looks around for anything hidden in a tree. He sees the white paper crinkled in between a branch. He jumps up and grabs the branch to retrieve the paper. He finds out it's actually an envelope, confusing him.
In it is another clue and a normal-sized envelope. He opens it and finds a card, only with two paper flowers and three real flowers. He reads the card.
Lele told me you love flowers so I found some for you. There's an activity I think you might like so save these flowers for it. I'll make sure to get you more♡
- Your Princess
Not being able to hug Jaemin is more annoying than Jeno thought it would be. He has no idea what activity Jaemin has planned but he knows he'll like it, and he wants to express his gratitude.
He goes through the fourth clue quickly but he gets very shocked at the fifth clue.
Climb a tree?
Jeno searches for the one Jaemin is talking about. When he thinks he's found it, he goes closer but stops when he sees a figure sitting in the nook of the tree.
Jeno
Princess?
Princess
Yes?
Jeno
I think someone is sitting in the
tree you want me to climb
Princess
I know
Jeno
ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME
I'M LEAVING
Princess
Go closer to the tree. You'll live,
I promise
Jeno
If I become a ghost, I'm taking
you with me
"So dramatic, Princess", Jaemin says, looking down at Jeno with a smile on his face.
Jeno rolls his eyes and climbs up the tree to sit next to Jaemin.
"How long have you been here?"
"Not that long."
"Thank you", Jeno says sincerely, holding up the heart and envelope.
Jaemin smiles. "You're welcome. But save anymore thank yous until you're done."
"What else did you do?"
"Clues six through ten have their own charms."
"Do I have to tell Jisung about you overspending?"
Jaemin rolls his eyes. "No. I actually spent less than dollars on this."
"Alright. So why are we in a tree?"
"So you know it's here and that you can sit in it in the middle of nature. Every place I sent you was something I wanted to show you. When you're by that small tree and look up, you can get a clear view of clouds sometimes. And I don't know, I just like that that tree is different from these bigger ones."
"I love the ones with quotes on them."
"I love them too. I wonder who painted those there. I researched it and apparently the paint gets renewed whenever it starts to fade."
"That's cool. I really like doing this scavenger hunt. It's calming. Probably because we're in a forest."
"It's peaceful here."
The two spend a bit more time in the tree before climbing down. Jaemin gives Jeno the sixth clue and makes him wait for a minute with his eyes closed so he can leave. Jeno does and then starts on the clue. It takes him out of the forest and to the small shopping center near there.
Hesitantly, he enters the gift shop. He feels better when he sees there's not many customers but he's still nervous.
An older lady behind the counter smiles at him. "Are you Jeno?"
"Yes."
She hands him a rose and the seventh clue. "Your boyfriend told me to give you these."
"Oh, um, thank you."
"Of course. Have a good day, honey."
"Thank you, you too."
Jeno leaves the shop and follows the instructions of the next clue. They go by quickly until the ninth clue that leads him to a stationary shop.
It would be fine if the worker behind the counter actually had an expression on his face instead of just staring at him.
"Um, hi", Jeno says.
"Are you the boyfriend?"
Jeno nods, wondering if that's what Jaemin addressed him as when setting this up.
"What's his name? Jaemin?" Jeno nods again. "Jaemin bought you this and told me to ask you if you're hungry yet. If yes, text him one. If no and you wanna do another activity first, then text two."
"Alright, thank you", Jeno says, taking the package.
"Have a good day, sir."
"You as well, thank you."
Jeno leaves the shop and stands in front of it to text Jaemin.
Jeno
2
Princess
You have two options. One requires
more physical activity and the other
we can do while sitting down. Which
one?
Jeno
Let's do the one sitting down
Princess
Remember where we were when
we had that picnic with everyone?
Jeno
Yes. Want me to meet you there?
Princess
Yes please
Jeno
Okay
Jeno goes to the park and finds the spot Jaemin is talking about. He finds Jaemin sitting on a blanket, next to two notebooks. Jeno recognizes one of them and gives the boy a look.
"How'd you get that?"
"Lele gave it to me when I told him I was planning our date. I told him what I planned to do and this went perfect with one of the things I wanted you to do."
It makes sense now. The stationary shop. Jeno opens the package and finds a bunch of stationary supplies.
"You like creative journaling?"
Jaemin nods. "I don't do it much. I normally just hoard the stickers and pretty pens and markers."
"That sounds like you."
Jaemin laughs. "Yeah. I also watch videos of people doing creative journaling and one day, I decided to try it. I thought you would like it too and then Lele told me that you love it, so that's even better."
"Why did you buy more supplies?"
"I decided to buy more supplies that I actually wanted to put in the journal. And I had no way of getting yours. I was already nervous about having your notebook."
Since he's not looking at Jeno, Jaemin doesn't see the fondness in the males eyes or the smile. He only notices when Jeno leans over and kisses his cheek.
"Thank you, Princess."
Jaemin blushes, making Jeno find him even cuter. Jaemin switches the attention to the package, making Jeno laugh.
The two spend their time talking and decorating the pages of their journals. Jaemin smiles when Jeno uses the flowers he gave him.
Jeno looks over at the male when a heart sticker lands on the page. Jaemins face heats with embarrassment as he tries to ignore the eyes on him.
"You're really cute", Jeno says.
"You too."
➳
"I can't believe you have more planned."
"We need to eat, don't we?"
"But that's not the last of it", Jeno says with a pout.
Jaemin coos and brings him into a hug. "What's wrong with me spoiling you?"
"You're spoiling me."
"You can spoil me with affection."
Jeno sighs. "You're doing a lot for me."
"Princess, this is how I am. Get used to it."
Jeno rolls his eyes. He follows Jaemin to his car and stares at the window while Jaemin drives them to some restaurant. He sits up straight when he realizes where they are. Jaemin smiles to himself. He parks in front of Jenos favorite restaurant and hurries over to his side to open his door.
"Get whatever you want", Jaemin says as they walk in.
"Princess", Jeno whines.
Jaemin smiles and kisses his cheek, making him blush. Jaemin leads to a table on the outside dining area. The pair discusses what they're going to order, it mostly being Jaemin threatening Jeno to get what he wants or he'll spend more money on him. It works, annoying Jeno.
➳
"Now, what?" Jeno asks, after being reminded that they have another activity.
"Geocaching."
Jeno's eyes widen as he stares at the boy, trying not to show his excitement. "Really?"
"I mean, we don't have to."
"No, we don't."
"But, if you want to."
"It doesn't matter", Jeno says, even though it kinda does matter.
"I'm playing with you, Princess. I wanna do this too so we're doing it."
Thank goodness
Jaemin laughs at Jeno's face. "You look so relieved."
"You have no proof of what emotions I'm feeling."
Jaemin rolls his eyes. "Let's just start."
➳
"I have no idea what we're doing", Haechan says, staring at the outside of the fabric shop.
"You'll see. Come on", Renjun grins, dragging the male inside.
Haechan lets himself be dragged as Renjun clearly knows what he's doing, weaving them through the aisles and shelves of rolled up fabric. He gets really confused when things suddenly stop looking rolls of color and like actual clothing. Renjun glances at him and stays smiling as the change registers in the brunets mind.
"What is this place?"
"It's both a fabric shop and a clothing thrift store. The clothing section isn't very big as this place isn't know for it but you can always find some really gorgeous pieces. They sell patterns too."
"Those help you create the clothing, right? Like to cut out the fabric?"
"Mhm. It's a template to cut out the fabric and then sew it together properly."
"Did it ever confuse you? Maybe it's simple but I feel like I'd get lost on how to actually put the clothing article together, even if I'd cut out the right pieces."
Renjun shakes his head. "It's not simple for everybody. I went to design school and at first, I'd get super overwhelmed with how to actually create what I wanted so everything felt difficult. There was always one thing that went wrong in my projects. Literally one time, I used the wrong pattern so yes, I made a dress but I failed because it had the wrong bodice. It was so embarrassing."
"How was the dress itself?"
"My classmates really liked it, but I hated that my wrong dress got a ton of attention. But that's kinda how things were there. I'd stress about one thing and others would like it, I'd love this thing and it'd be criticized. Oh, I pissed off my professor once. I actually failed my final on purpose."
Haechans eyes widen. "You did?"
"Okay, I kind of knew that I wasn't 'supposed to'", Renjun air quotes,"do this but he never actually said it. Apparently I should've known. So your final is obviously supposed to be your best work and instead of models, you make it for you. We'd already known that our final had to be top tier so I was always thinking about it and wondering what I could do. As soon as I'd decided, I asked my friend if she'd model for me. She's a gorgeous, curvy girl so there's absolutely nothing both of us could fit. I made her a dress and had her with me on the day of the final. I still went through everything but because I didn't make it something I could model myself, I failed."
"Am I wrong to assume you don't really care that you failed?"
"I don't. I was proud of it and my friend was so happy she got a gown made just for her. I always had her model my designs when she was available and she loved it and that I made things she could fit. I love her so much but she lives so far away."
"Does she visit or do you?"
Renjun nods. "Yearly."
"I've always liked listening to people talk and even prefer it sometimes, but I absolutely love when people talk about the things they're passionate about and things that are important to them. I don't completely understand designing I will gladly listen to you say whatever you want about it because of how animated you get when you talk about it and it's so obvious you love your friend, before you even said it."
"Winwin told me about how I look when I talk about designing. He said he'd listen to me talk for twelve hours straight if I had that energy, no matter what I said. That whole day was nice."
Haechan knows he should probably leave it alone and not say anything to avoid accidentally spilling the truth, but he still wants to know if there's any hope at all.
Don't do it
"Have you ever liked him?" The brunet blurts and wants to smack a hand over his mouth. But he knows he can't leave it here. "Or, like, any of your friends?"
"What? Oh." Renjun gives him a look, relieving Haechan when he seem to amused. "That was random, but I can't say I blame you for wanting all the possible tea."
Haechan nods, hoping he doesn't look as nervous as he feels. "Mhm."
➳
"Princess?" Jeno asks.
"Mhm?" Jaemin responds, eyes filled with so much adoration you'd be blind not to see it. It's like the same look before, but there seems to be so much more beneath it. So much more that it makes Jeno nervous, just thinking about his guesses.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Jaemin doesn't answer right away, unaware of the fact that he's accidentally setting more panic into the male. Until he says, "Have you ever liked someone so much that just the sight of them makes you wanna run into their arms and be held tight? That their smile is something you wanna take a picture of with your eyes to make sure it's engraved in your mind forever? That their presence, especially when they're close to you makes your heart be faster but calm you down at the same time?" Jaemin steps even closer, almost entirely eliminating any step between them. "Have you ever liked someone so much that you just wanted to kiss them, so much that every touch was a sentence describing your feelings?"
Jeno's not sure he's breathing right now. How can he be when Jaemin is standing right in front of him, looking like he wants to kiss him, having just said and descriptions of feelings the male can only relate to as what he thinks is beyond that. He lets out deep, shaky breaths, the warmth hitting Jaemins face, only making him wanna bring them together even more.
"I think", Jeno says quietly. "That I've been the most afraid of you. Even right now...I'm terrified."
"I wanna fix it", Jaemin tells him, just as quietly, only sincerity on his face. "Princess?" Jeno gulps, waiting for the words he wants to hear. "Can I kiss you?"
Jeno nods vigorously, only seconds letting actually thinking to say "yes." "Yes."
Jaemin kisses him. Deep and hard, not wanting to waste anymore time as they've already wasted too much. He's controlling the kiss but he admires the way Jenos mouth fights against him, letting Jaemin feel his warmth, galvanizing him to kiss him even deeper. He's already close to reaching the limit of how strongly he can kiss Jeno, but that doesn't make him any less vehement. Not when he feels like he's drowned in the male and still starved for him. He pulls Jeno closer, almost crushing their faces, but neither care. How could they've finally got what they want?
Even as the kiss slows down, it takes everything to pull his lips off of Jenos. He tries for one, two, three seconds and then misses the feeling of Jeno against his lips and kisses his cheek, knowing that he'll take it too far out here in public if he kisses his lips again. His lips leave tiny zaps on Jenos face, his whole bodily tingling from everything Jaemin.
As he tries to calm down, Jaemin sighs. "You have no idea how much I've wanted to do that."
Jeno blinks, trying to remember things outside of the male in front of him. He cracks a smile. "I think I do, Princess."
Jaemin playfully rolls his eyes. "Sure you do."
"Seriously, Princess, you have no idea how long I've wanted that. I didn't even realize how long it was at first. I really like you. So much. And it scares me. You all do but each of you is different. You...you made me care before I even knew I did and I care far too much for me to not feel the way I feel right now. Each of you, you drive me insane. And it's a really good, scary feeling. Loving you this much."
Jaemin gasps at the confession and pulls Jeno into a hug, feeling like his chest is about to burst. Jeno feels the same way, both of them feeling far more than they can handle.
"I love you too, Princess", Jaemin mumbles. "And I really wanna kiss you again."
Damn, writing this affected me
NoMin is so...you get me?
That scavenger hunt scene has been sitting here since near the end of October. It was just gonna be something cute but almost be like a significant event as the first date but now it has so much more meaning. It is a significant event, not just because it's their first date but because of how they feel
Oh my Lord, I'm still not okay. Like rn, I'm probably blushing (edit: okay I'm a little more calm than a few minutes ago but my heart, y'all)
I actually love NoMin so much more than I thought I would. Like I literally love their dynamic so much
*With a megaphone* I LOVE YOU
Not proofread❤️
I had to change some things about the scavenger hunt scene and wrote to rewrite it at the top of this chapter and published it like that not realizing lol