[a/n: i need to give jeno some justice]
ᴛʜɪʀᴅ ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴ ᴘᴏᴠ
Jeno was impatient. He didn't want to waste any time. He did ask it so suddenly, but he was just used to doing it like that.
"If you have nothing else to say relevant to my contract or job, I'll be going", Hyerin avoided the whole situation and stood up, leaving him right away.
The moment Hyerin was out of his office, Jeno buried his face into his hands and proceeded to brush through his hair. He got up and sat down on his office chair and laid back, thinking about his choice of words. He was sleep deprived and couldn't think straight the past few days.
"What do I need to do for her to like me", Jeno was frustrated and confused, as it was his first time to like a girl. "I should be straightforward with her, it's useless if I beat around the bush"
Jeno sighed and decided to take a nap, because his schedule was free for the rest of the day, which was a day that was rare as he usually would stay up for the whole night. He rubbed his eyes and slept on his desk.
"I got a perfect score in all our exams!", Jeno boasted.
"You did well, my son", their father complimented Jeno. "You are the hope for my company, you will be the CEO! You're my favorite son!"
Jeno smiled widely, his eye smile showing as he skipped over to the entrance and opened the door and running inside and heading straight to the couch. He grabbed onto the TV remote, but he sighed when he remembered a certain memory.
Haechan and Jeno would always fight for the remote, while Mark ends up taking the remote away. Jeno honestly missed the presence of his brothers, as the house seemed too pressuring when he was alone. He wanted to call Mark but he could only call him once a week, as agreed with his father.
"Honey, do you want to play with Jaemin and Renjun?", his stepmother asked as he sat beside him. "You did well on all your exams so you deserve to play with them"
"Are they here?", Jeno asked and she nodded. "Alright! I will!"
Jeno rushed outside his house and ran over to the park they had in their area and saw Jaemin and Renjun there.
"Jeno!", the two of them shouted and started to wave their hands. "Let's play!"
"Okay!", he shouted in reply and approached the two.
"You're free from studying?", Renjun asked as he took out the lollipop in his mouth. "Your parents make you study too much"
"Yeah! We don't get to see you that much", Jaemin pouted. "You're not even in our class, you're in the specialized classes! You even might even skip a grade at this point"
"Ever since Haechan got admitted in the hospital, he says that I'll be the new CEO", Jeno sighed, sitting on the bench, kicking his feet as he didn't reach the ground. "Haechan did very well in his academics, so I have to do well if I don't want to be compared"
"Don't stress yourself out", Jaemin pulled Jeno into a hug and patted his back.
"Right, when will we visit Haechan?", Renjun asked. "I miss playing with him! I can't even share my lollipops with him anymore"
"He isn't completely well yet", Jeno replied.
"Hey hey hey!", Jaemin exclaimed, not liking the bad mood. "We're here to play, let's use our time wisely so..."
"Tag!", Jaemin shouted and tagged Jeno.
Renjun started to sprint off and Jaemin as well. A small smile was on Jeno's face as he started to chase after his friends.
...
Jeno was walking home as it was starting to get dark. Once he arrived, he opened the door and saw his stepmother looking at him with a worried face.
"Your father asked you to go up to his office", she said and Jeno could already sense it. He just bowed politely and left to go to his father's office.
He knocked on the door before entering. His heart was heavy as he turned the knob. He went inside and stood in front of his father's desk.
"I just got a call from your homeroom teacher that you failed your Math exam", his father's face was serious, a hint of anger present. "I thought you got all perfect scores. I even told her that she was mistaken but she sent a copy"
"I'm sorry", Jeno muttered as he looked down to his feet. His hands were together and his palms were getting sweaty. "I didn't want you to get mad"
"I'm disappointed", his father said and got up from his chair and stood in front of Jeno. "Don't you want to become CEO?"
"I-I do", Jeno stuttered, feeling pressured.
"If you want something, then get a grip of yourself and be greedy!", his father shouted, placing his hands on Jeno's shoulders and shaking him back and forth. "Don't let others steal your place! You're not going to be second best, you'll be the very best! Do you understand?"
"Yes", Jeno lowly replied.
"I asked, do you understand?!", his father shouted.
"Yes!", Jeno shouted back, on the verge of tears.
"Keep your eyes on the prize", his father reminded him. He got up and looked at his son. "You'll be sleeping in the garage as a punishment for lying"
"But..."
"Now!", his father shouted and pointed to the door.
Jeno couldn't do anything but to obey his father. He walked out of his father's office. He went down to the living room to see his stepmother.
"I'm sleeping in the garage today", Jeno informed her and she frowned.
"I'm sorry I can't do anything about him", she apologized.
"It's okay", Jeno faked a smile as he walked towards the garage.
He got the inflatable mattress and blowed air into it until it formed. He caught his breath and laid down on it. This was a punishment that his father would do when the three of them would do something wrong.
"I have to be greedy to not be punished like this", Jeno said to himself. "I'll be greedy. I have to be"
Jeno sighed and started to feel the coldness. He got cold easily and especially since it was near winter, he felt like he would freeze. He couldn't bring a blanket with him so he hugged himself to stay warm.
"It's so cold...", Jeno whispered as he was on the verge of tears again as he remembered his mother. He never got to spend time with her because she passed away when she gave birth to him, but he always imagined what his life would be like with his real mother. The tears began to run down his cheek. "It's so cold..."
"Jeno?"
Jeno woke up at the sudden call of his name. He looked up to see Hyerin in front of him. He fixed himself and faced her.
"What are you doing here?", he asked.
"I was told that I have to inform you before I leave", Hyerin said, avoiding eye contact with him. "I also lowered the air-con because you said that you were cold"
"Thanks", Jeno said and took the time to stare at Hyerin. He couldn't figure out why he liked her, or why he was so greedy of her. He wanted to find the answer why but their relationship never got further than boss and employee. "You may leave"
Hyerin bowed a little and made her way outside. She didn't bring up anything about the question he asked which made Jeno confused. He took out his phone and dialed a certain person.
"Mark", Jeno said.
"Oh hey", Mark replied. "Why did you call all of a sudden? It's like 8pm over there"
"Do you like someone?", he asked.
"Woah, that was quick", Mark chuckled. "Didn't I tell you I have a girlfriend?"
"Really?", Jeno questioned. "Can you give me some advice about courting a girl?"
"A girl? Wow, Jeno Lee likes someone?", Mark teased him. "Not-so-lucky girl"
"Excuse me?", Jeno questioned, highly offended.
"You are excused", Mark said. "If you want to court a girl, you have to buy her the things she wants. You have to make her happy and smile, don't be the reason why she's crying and upset. Especially since you're a CEO, you wouldn't admit your mistakes"
"I—"
"Surprise her with the little things and be nice to her. You have to show her Lee Jeno, a thoughtful man, not Sir Lee, a perfectionist CEO", Mark advised. "You gotta seize the opportunity"
"I don't really know who I am", Jeno admitted. "I've dedicated everything to what dad wanted me to do"
"I'm sure you know who you are", Mark said. "When we were little, you would always join me in my bed because you said you heard something scary. You also really liked hugs because they gave you warmth"
Jeno was silent as he thought about everything. He knew that he had to keep his look of Sir Lee because of his father, but there was something saying inside of him that he should also be the natural Lee Jeno even if he wasn't used to it anymore.
"You really think that will work?", Jeno asked.
"Of course it will!", Mark encouraged him. "Anyways, I gotta go, talk to you later lil' bro"
Mark ended the call. He was still in Canada after all these long years. He always wanted to visit but his father forbade him. Mark then sighed as he thought about Jeno and the hardships he had to carry by himself.
"He doesn't even feel love. He thinks that he's required to be the best to be loved. I really hope the person he likes makes him feel loved even if he fails and at his darkest of times."
[a/n: a little heads up, jeno is the type of male lead where he needs to be taken care of and loved!! + i think the reason why i can't update daily is because i have a hard time writing which is because i deadass want haechan to end up with hyerin... i just second lead syndrome-d myself🤡😭✋🏻 ]