Chapter Text
Inertia
a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force.
“I just don’t see a future with you.”
“What?” Jeno asked, thinking maybe he had misheard.
“I’m really sorry Jeno,” Renjun tells him. “I don’t think this is going to work out.”
Jeno looks at Renjun as if he had just grown a third head, “Where is this coming from? I thought everything was fine.” he says.
Renjun has the audacity to sigh, as if breaking Jeno’s heart is a hassle for him. “I-I don’t want this to be harder than it has to be.”
“It’s pretty hard for me already regardless,” Jeno nearly shouts. “Tell me what’s going on and we can work on it. That’s what mature adults do. We've been together for three years. The least I deserve is an explanation.”
“Fine!” Renjun shouts back, frustrated with the way Jeno is shouting. “I didn’t want to tell you this because I knew it would only make it worse and hurt your feelings even more. But I-” Renjun trails off.
“I met someone else,” Renjun quietly admits.
Jeno’s mouth falls open out of shock, “W-what? How? When? Who?” He asks at rapid-fire.
“Do you really want to know?” Renjun asks, a pained expression on his face. Jeno’s not sure if Renjun is trying to be merciful or an asshole, either way he does not appreciate it.
Jeno scoffs, “I really want to know,” he nods his head in a sarcastic and over-exaggerated way. Jeno doesn’t usually come with this kind of attitude but right now is kind of a special case.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Renjun sighs again as he takes out his phone. He pulls up a picture of a tall man. In the picture he stands next to Renjun and is over a head taller than him. He’s got tan skin and a big goofy smile. If Jeno thinks about it in relation to Renjun’s height, whoever this new guy is, he’s certainly taller than Jeno. Ouch, the first of many cuts.
“His name is Yukhei,” Renjun tells him as Jeno continues to stare at the phone screen in shock. “He’s from China.” Ouch the second cut. Jeno doesn’t speak Chinese so Renjun never got to speak in his mother tongue with him. “He’s a year older than me.” Ouch the third cut. Jeno and Renjun were born the same year. So this Yukhei guy is older than Jeno too. “And he’s also a model. That’s how we met. It was a photoshoot a couple of months ago.” Ouch. A fourth cut. Of course he just had to be a model. How is Jeno supposed to compete with someone that literally gets paid to be handsome and shares a career with Renjun. And a fifth cut because this has been going on for a couple of months without his knowledge.
“So that’s it?” Jeno asks, defeated.
“I’m really sorry Jeno,” Renjun puts his hand on Jeno’s shoulder. “H-he just makes me feel so alive. I can see a real future with him and I don’t want to pass it up.” Ouch. This break up is going to be a death by a thousand proverbial cuts for Jeno. He’s surprised he’s not already soaked in his own blood.
“Okay,” Jeno resigns. “Okay.”
11 months ago, Jeno really wanted him and Renjun to move in together. Their old leases were ending and he thought it made sense since they had been together so long. Plus together they would be able to afford a bigger place. But today as Jeno walks into his small one bedroom apartment he’s never been more glad that Renjun said it was too soon. He doesn’t bother to turn the lights on. He knowingly wades through the dark of his apartment and finds the sofa. Too defeated to even make it to his bed, Jeno lays down face first into the cushions. The sound of his deep sigh muffled by the cheap foam of his thrifted couch. He lays in this awkward position for what feels like 10 minutes but in reality is 3 hours just wallowing in his own sadness. His 3 years with Renjun had been his longest relationship to date. His longest one before that was with Yeeun back in high school which lasted 8 months. They broke up because they graduated and went to different colleges that were too far apart and they didn’t think long distance was going to work. It was mutual and painless. But this, this was something else entirely. Up until this morning Jeno had thought their relationship was going perfectly fine, he thought they might even move in together when both of their current leases end in a month. Alas, that is not the case.
Eventually, Jeno gets up from the couch to go pee. He looks at himself in the mirror and cringes at his tear stained face and ragged looking hair. He sighs and uses the bathroom. Once finished he goes back to his couch to collect all his things so that he can get ready for bed. He picks up his phone and checks the time to see that it is 1 am. Luckily, it’s Saturday night meaning that he doesn’t have to wake up early tomorrow morning. So, he splashes some water on his face and changes into his pajamas. Although it’s unhygienic, Jeno has just been through a little too much today that taking a shower and brushing his teeth don’t feel that important. He’ll get to it in the morning. He lays down in bed and stares up at the ceiling. The moonlight streaming in through the window is the only thing illuminating Jeno’s world from pure darkness at the moment. Jeno feels numb, it doesn’t hurt like it did 3 hours ago when he took the subway home. And it doesn’t hurt like it did when he first face planted into the couch. It’s not pain that he’s feeling at the moment, that’s bound to return at some point, but right now he just feels empty. Undeniably, irredeemably, and unequivocally empty.
He wakes up the next morning with the only thing being refreshed are the events of last night. He drags himself out of bed and uses the bathroom. He finally brushes his teeth and takes a shower. He scrubs harder than usual with his soap in the hopes of washing his feelings off, it doesn’t work. After his shower he puts on some moisturizer and sunscreen before getting dressed into casual clothes. Usually on Sunday mornings he and Renjun would go to the farmers market together because it’s cheaper to get produce there than it is at the supermarket. But today, Jeno will not be going to the farmers market, he doesn’t want to think about the little grandma that always recognizes them at the strawberry stand. He doesn’t want to have to go through her asking why Renjun isn’t with him. He can just get strawberries when he’s feeling better, maybe next week.
So, just for today Jeno decides to do nothing. It’s very unlike him. As a bicycle engineer, Jeno is so used to the gears always turning and the wheels always moving. That’s usually what he loves about his job and his life. That there’s always something to look forward to, no matter what the wheel keeps on turning. But without Renjun and without all of their plans, the wheels have stopped, the world has stopped. Jeno’s entire world has come to a screeching halt, like someone gripped the hand brake as hard as they could and sent Jeno tumbling to the ground. He wishes there was something to protect his heart the way a helmet protects your head when you fall.
Usually when Jeno has a hard day he calls Renjun and he’ll come over and comfort him. But Renjun’s not coming and even if he did it would hardly be comforting. So Jeno tries to think of the next best thing and he calls his best friend from college, Mark Lee.
“Jenooo Leeee!” Mark calls out as soon as facetime connects.
“Hey man,” Jeno greets.
“Damn,” Mark squints at the camera. “You look like shit.”
Jeno groans, “thanks. I Feel like shit too.” He grumbles.
“Oh sorry man. I didn’t mean to make it worse,” Mark apologizes. “What’s wrong? Where’s Renjun?”
“Uh,” Jeno starts. “We sort of broke up last night.”
A long moment of silence passes between them before Mark seems to register what Jeno actually said.
“WHAT!” Mark yells. “Are you being for real right now!?”
“Mark!” Another voice from the other end of Jeno’s phone yells. “What is all the yelling about in here?”
“Sorry,” Mark says to the owner of the voice. “Jeno and Renjun broke up last night.”
“WHAT!?” The voice yells. “Is he okay?”
“No, Hyuck,” Jeno responds through the phone. “I’m not okay.”
“Oh, hi Jeno. Didn’t see you there,” Donghyuck greets, embarrassed.
Mark just chuckles and pulls Donghyuck on to his lap, “We’re really sorry to hear that man. Are you doing alright?” Mark asks.
Jeno sighs, “no not really.” He admits.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Donghyuck asks.
“Can you make Renjun un-dump me?” He half jokes.
“Unfortunately no,” Donghyuck replies.
“Then I don’t think so guys,” Jeno tells them. “Appreciate it though. I just don’t know what to do now.”
“We’re always here for you if you need anything. You know that right?” Mark says.
“Yeah, I know,” Jeno replies. “It’s just that, I don’t know. It’s kind of like me and Renjun did everything together. I don’t want to go out and do my normal things because they were our normal things. And I have so many things to think about right now that this on top of it all makes it worse. We were supposed to go look at apartments together next week.”
Mark and Donghyuck give him a look of pity, “We’re really sorry. Jen, we wish we could be there with you to help you through this.” Mark tells him. Jeno wishes they could be here with him too. But unfortunately the couple lives all the way in Busan while Jeno lives in Seoul.
“Maybe you should come visit,” Donghyuck suggests.
“Yeah or maybe you should just move here,” Mark tells him. “We would love it if you did.”
Move to Busan? Jeno thinks to himself.
“I think he took that seriously,” Donghyuck whispers to Mark.
“I mean,” Jeno starts. “It would kind of be perfect timing,” he admits.
“Jeno, are you being serious right now?” Mark asks, although he looks skeptical there’s a noticeable glint of hope in his eyes.
“Think about it,” Jeno says. “My lease ends in about a month so I’ll need to move anyways right? And I’m not sure I want to stay in Seoul anymore. Renjun lives here for work, you don’t need to live in Seoul to be a bike engineer. I’ll ask the company I work at if they have any offices in Busan. And now that there’s no more-” Jeno stops himself.
“No more me and Renjun,” He says slowly and quietly. “I don’t need to be here. I-I don’t want to be here.”
“Oh Jeno,” Mark softly calls out from his end of the call. “It’ll be okay. If you want to leave Seoul then leave Seoul. If you want to come live in Busan then come live in Busan. Lord knows that we would be thrilled to be able to hangout with you all the time. But take your time making these decisions. Busan will still be here in a couple days and we’ll always be here for you. You don’t have to rush and you don’t have to get through this alone.”
Jeno breathes, “Okay, okay. You’re right.” He admits. “I’ll take some time to think about it and consider my options.”
And so he does. Over the next week Jeno asks the bike manufacturing and designing company that he works at if they have any opportunities for him in Busan. They tell him they’ll look into it and get back to him. He reaches out to his family, aside from breaking the news about Renjun to them he also talks to them about his uncertainty of remaining in Seoul. His parents tell him he can come back and live in Incheon with them if he’d like. He doesn’t like the idea of moving back home so much. He’s too used to the freedom of living independently. His older brother Doyoung says that he can come stay with him if Jeno prefers. Jeno is also averse to that idea because, to put it nicely, Doyoung is a whore. Jeno doesn’t think he’s ready to handle meeting someone new every night and hearing the inappropriate sounds his big brother is making when someone is ‘hanging out’. So, for now, he’s even looking at apartments in Seoul just in case he doesn’t find any better options.
Jeno walks into his apartment, it’s the Friday after his break up with Renjun and once again he has nothing to do. Lately he’s started to wonder if he had any friends that weren’t Renjun’s friends in the city. The answer so far was a resounding no. Jeno takes his jacket off by the door and puts it into the coat closet near there. As he takes off his shoes he looks down and sees a pair of sneakers that he doesn’t remember ever buying. The laces are untied but they are neatly placed next to each other there by the front door. They look a little scuffed but still well taken care of. He’s not sure what brand they are but one thing is for sure, they are not Jeno’s. His head shoots up and looks around. He steps further into his apartment, shoes still on. It’s still daylight outside, so the sun is shining through the window. He places the coffee he just purchased from the cafe down the street on to a counter in the kitchen as he passes. He plants himself at the corner of the kitchen and the living room. The tv is on. A cartoon is playing on the screen, Jeno can tell by the voice acting. Did he walk into the wrong apartment? He looks back for a moment and sees his other shoes on the rack near the entrance indicating that this is indeed his house. As he’s about to turn the corner and enter the living room he hears a laugh.
“Hahaha!” It's light and happy. The owner sounds young. Not like a little kid young, but maybe a teenager. Jeno frowns, how did a kid get into his house? Jeno turns the corner and spots a kid sitting on his couch. From the side, Jeno can see that the kid's hair reaches to about his eyes and he has a slender nose. He’s pretty skinny but he looks like he might be pretty tall if he were standing. The kid sits with good posture and his hands in his lap. As Jeno watches him the kid laughs at something else happening in the cartoon and it’s enough to reel Jeno back into reality.
“Um Excuse me!” Jeno yells. The kid jumps in his seat, no doubt surprised by Jeno’s sudden presence.
“Oh you scared me,” The kid says.
Jeno gives him the most confused and judgemental look, “I scared you!? What are you doing in my house!? How did you even get in!?” Jeno asks.
The kid shrugs, “the door was open?” The statement certainly sounds more like a question to Jeno.
“No it definitely was not,” Jeno tells him. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“Well, my name is Jisung. Or Andy, but only my uncle really calls me that,” the boy, Jisung, tells him. “And I’m not really sure what I’m doing here to be honest.”
“Well where are your parents?” Jeno asks.
Jisung thinks for a moment. “My parents? Well I don’t really know where they are.” He admits.
“What?” Jeno asks. “You don’t know where they are?”
Jisung nods, “Yup.” he tells him.
“Well, do you have a phone that you can call them with,” Jeno asks.
Jisung pats his pockets and looks around the couch, “Mmm. Nope. No phone,” he tells Jeno.
“Well do you have their phone number and we can call them?” Jeno asks.
Jisung thinks for a moment again, “I don’t know their phone numbers. It was just saved on my phone,” he says.
“You don’t- You don’t know their phone numbers,” Jeno sighs. This is going to be a long Friday. And to think he was complaining about it being uneventful just moments ago. “Well, maybe you can tell me their names? If they live in the building we can go down stairs and ask the doorman.”
Jisung shakes his head no, “I don’t think they live in this building,” Jisung says.
“You don’t think?” Jeno stares at this kid. He can’t be serious.
“Yeah,” Jisung continues. “And I don’t know their names either actually.”
“Is this a joke?” Jeno asks. He looks around the room to see if there is anyone else present. “Okay, whoever put this kid up to this, you got me. This isn’t funny anymore. Take him home.”
Jisung also looks around the apartment with him. “Do people hide in your house and play tricks on you a lot?” he whispers.
“No, not really,” Jeno admits. “But it’s also not everyday some 12 year old kid just shows up on my couch.”
“Hey I’m 15,” Jisung corrects him.
“Oh so you remember your age but not your parents names?” Jeno frustratedly asks. Jisung’s only reply is a shrug.
It’s because of this that Jeno finds himself walking into the police station at 6 pm on a Friday night with Jisung in tow. Jeno walks up to someone sitting behind a desk near the entrance. He clears his throat to catch their attention. The officer looks up at him and smiles.
“Hello sir what can I help you with,” the officer politely asks.
Jeno points a thumb over his shoulder at Jisung, “I found this kid in my apartment earlier. He says he doesn’t remember his parents' names or phone numbers so I was hoping you could help me out.”
The officer looks over Jeno’s shoulder towards where Jisung is standing. The officer makes a confused face before turning back to Jeno. “Uh, okay sir and can you tell me the kids name?” they ask.
“Jisung-” Jeno turns around and waits for Jisung to fill in the blank.
“Uh-,” Jisung stammers. “P-park. Park Jisung.”
“Park Jisung,” Jeno tells the officer. The officer types the name into their computer and looks to be searching through a list.
“Well, sir,” the officer starts. “There are a lot of Park Jisung’s in Seoul. Where is the kid now so we can try to ID him in the list.” they ask.
Jeno gives the office a puzzled look, “He’s right here. He’s like right behind me. Tall, skinny kid.” Jeno once again points back at Jisung.
“Sir, there’s no one there,” the officer gives Jeno a concerned look.
Jeno quickly turns back and sees Jisung very clearly standing behind him. “He’s right there! How can you not see him? Jisung, say hi.” he commands.
“Hi,” Jisung smiles and waves at the officer.
“Sir,” the officer starts. “Are you alright? Have you had a little too much to drink this evening?”
“What!?” Jeno asks. He looks back and forth between Jisung and the officer. It seems some other officers have taken notice of the situation as well. “He’s right there! How can you not see him!?”
“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” an officer that is not the one Jeno was originally speaking with tells him.
“What about this kid?” Jeno asks. “What am I supposed to do with him?”
“Maybe see a psychiatrist,” the officer tells him as they grab Jeno by the arm and lead him outside. Once out, the officer lets go of Jeno’s arm and tells him to stay out of trouble. Walking not far behind is Jisung, not being dragged out like Jeno.
“What the hell just happened in there?” Jeno asks. “Why couldn’t they see you?” Jisung shrugs in response.
‘Hey, hey lady,” Jeno waves a random passerby over. “Can you see him? The tall skinny kid?”
Jisung smiles and waves at the lady. She gives Jeno a confused and terrified look. “Freakin crackhead.” She says as she walks away.
Jeno sighs and takes a seat on the curb of the street. Jisung quietly sits down next to him. They sit in silence for a little while. Jeno’s hands are threaded through his hair as he tries to think of a solution. He peers over at Jisung who is looking around at the people walking by with a curious and innocent look in his eyes. Jeno sighs once again. He seems to be doing a lot of that lately, maybe he should buy an inhaler.
“So what are you?” Jeno asks, gaze turned down towards the street. “A ghost or something?”
“Ghosts are dead right?” Jisung asks.
“Mhm,” Jeno hums.
“Then no,” Jisung replies. “At least, I’m pretty sure I’m not dead.”
“Okay then,” Jeno proceeds. “Spirit?”
“Aren’t those the same thing?” Jisung asks.
“Debatable,” Jeno replies. “Okay so, no one else can see you?” Jisung nods.
“And no one else can hear you?” Jeno continues.
“Seems like it,” Jisung nods again.
“Can other people feel you if you touch them? Can I? Do you have a physical form?” Jeno questions.
“Don’t know. Maybe. And yes,” Jisung answers.
“Okay try touching something,” Jeno directs him. So Jisung stands up and walks over to a trash can and kicks it. The trash can falls over and all of its contents spill into the street. Jisung bends down and puts everything back in the bin and sets it up right. Kid’s got manners even if he doesn’t have a form visible to anyone else.
“Well, that answers that,” Jeno shrugs before standing up. “So, do you get hungry?”
Jisung rubs his stomach and thinks for a moment, “yes,” he answers.
Jeno takes Jisung to the convenience store near his apartment to get some quick and easy food. He usually would just eat at the tables provided outside the convenience store, but not today. He’s not sure what other people will see when Jisung is eating. Will they see a pair of chopsticks floating next to him? Will the food just disappear when Jisung eats it? There’s too many variables, but all of them would cause people to freak out so instead they’ll be eating at Jeno’s apartment.
When paying for the food Jeno asks, “And you don’t have any money either, do you?” Jisung shyly smiles and shakes his head no. With a tired sigh Jeno pays for the food and they make their way back to Jeno’s apartment. They sit at the small table near Jeno’s kitchen slurring instant noodles and drinking bottled tea.
“So,” Jeno starts. “What’s your deal? Is there a specific reason you’re haunting me?”
“I’m not haunting you,” Jsiung laughs. “But I don’t know. I kind of just showed up here. One second I was going to sleep, the next I woke up on your couch.”
“What the hell?” Jeno thinks aloud. “What about your parents? And why did the universe send you to me?”
Jisung shrugs, “not sure.”
After they finish eating and throwing out the trash Jeno goes through his apartment and notices that it is a little tidier than when he left that morning for work. Not that he’s a particularly messy person, but when you get your heart broken cleaning your house doesn’t sit at the top of the list of priorities. Jeno turns to Jisung to see him sitting on the couch with his hands folded in his lap.
“Did you clean my apartment?” Jeno asks.
Jisung gives him a shy smile, “My dad always taught me to tidy up my room. It was just a force of habit.” he admits.
“So you remember what your dad taught you but not his name?” Jeno asks.
“Hey, I’m a teenager,” Jisung retorts. “I just call him dad. It didn’t occur to me that his name wasn’t actually dad until a couple years ago. And even then I never used his real name.”
Jeno sighs, “That’s fair, I guess.” He thinks for a moment. “Okay kid, you take the bed in my room and I’ll sleep on the couch today.”
“Are you sure?” Jisung asks. “I don’t want you to have to do that in your own house.”
“It’s fine, kid. You’re a guest,” Jeno assures him. He offers Jisung a tooth brush and some of his sleeping clothes. “Wait, you didn’t bring any of your own clothes with you did you?”
Jisung shakes his head, “I didn’t really come prepared, seeing as how I didn’t expect to come here.”
With that Jeno let’s Jisung use the bathroom first. While Jisung is getting ready for bed Jeno sets up his couch so that he can sleep there for the night. After Jisung is done Jeno takes his turn to wash up. While he’s taking a shower he thinks to himself that this week has really just been full of surprises. He wonders for a moment what Renjun would think of the kid. Would Renjun even be able to see Jsiung? Or would he think that Jeno is crazy too. Jeno pushes those thoughts to the back of his mind, because Renjun is gone and he’s not coming back.
The next day on Saturday Jeno wakes up on the couch and after a while of psyching himself up for the day he gets up. Uses the bathroom first then after he’s finished he cracks the door open a little to his bedroom. Once noticing that the room is empty he flings the door wide open and steps inside. He looks around for Jisung thinking that maybe he just fell off the bed. But no, there is no Jisung on the floor nor is he anywhere in the room. Jisung is gone with no trace that he was ever even here.
Jeno groans, “don’t tell me that was really all just in my head yesterday.” He says to no one but himself. Jeno decides that maybe he is crazy and goes to get ready for the day. He brushes his teeth and washes his face. As he is changing in his room he hears the front door open and the jingling of keys. He runs from his bedroom to the front door to find Jisung toeing off his shoes.
“Hi Jeno!” Jisung greets him. “Good morning! I thought I would get you breakfast since you’ve been so nice about letting me stay with you.”
Jeno sighs, he’s unsure if it’s a sigh of relief or annoyance, “Kid, I thought you weren’t real and I just made you up in my head.” he tells him.
“Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you,” Jisung says.
Jeno shrugs and takes the coffee from Jisung’s hand and leads him into the kitchen area. “Wait a second. You don’t have any money. How did you pay for this?” Jeno asks.
Jisung returns him a sheepish grin, “Uh I may or may not have used your wallet.” Jisung admits.
Jeno groans, “whatever.” he stops. “Wait, if they can’t see you, how did you pay?”
Jisung looks even more sheepish, “I just kind of took a random order and left some cash and ran.”
That day Jeno has another apartment showing somewhere else in the city. Although he doesn’t really want to stay in Seoul, his company hasn’t gotten back to him yet about Busan and he’s just trying to keep his options open. It’s three weeks till his current lease ends so he’ll have to figure something out soon. Jeno takes Jisung with him, it seems the advantage to Jisung not being perciable by anyone else means that Jeno does not have to buy him a subway pass. Jeno tours the apartment with Jisung following behind him making faces. Jeno doesn’t say anything till after the leasing agent giving them the tour has said goodbye.
“What’s with all the faces, kid?” Jeno asks.
“I didn’t like that place. I don’t think you should live there,” Jisung tells him honestly.
“Well, it’s not up to you,” Jeno tells him as they get back on the subway. “I’ll be the one living there and paying for it. Even if your ghostly butt is still around, it’s my decision.”
They go to two other apartment showings that day. Jisung makes faces and comments at each about how he doesn’t think it’s a good fit and always finds something wrong with it. The day ends with Jeno and Jisung going back to Jeno’s apartment and eating leftovers. Jeno let’s Jisung use his computer since he doesn’t have a phone and Jeno doesn’t really know how to entertain him. The next morning, Sunday, Jeno decides to take Jisung to the farmers market. Despite Jisung being a complete mystery, Jeno sort of enjoys the way Jisung is so amazed and surprised by a lot of things. It’s like Jisung doesn’t know how the subway works, what convenience stores look like, the cartoons on tv, the songs that play in the stores. Jeno’s not sure if Jisung is just filled with young and innocent wonder or if maybe Jisung just isn’t a real person so that’s why he doesn’t know these things. Maybe he’s not from here.
“Jisung, where are you from?” Jeno asks. “I mean, if you can remember. I don’t really expect you to.”
“I don’t really know,” Jisung’s face makes it clear that he’s thinking. “But I’m definitely from Korea.”
That makes sense to Jeno, they are in Korea. They’re speaking in korean. And Jisung, for the most part, has a korean name. “Figures,” Jeno shrugs.
Jeno laughs as Jisung gleefully looks around the farmers market. He asks Jeno if they can get this or that. Jeno finds Jisung to be really adorable for a 15 year old. He wonders if he was this cute when he was 15. All he remembers about that time was his emo phase. He shutters at the memory.
“Hyung, let’s go get some strawberries!” Jisung says. Hyung. Jeno stops. Jisung looks back at Jeno who is frozen in place. After a moment Jeno recovers and continues walking. Jeno smiles a little bit thinking that maybe having the kid around isn’t so bad. It’s not like Jeno has any other friends in Seoul. Jeno follows Jisung to the strawberry stand.
“Jeno?” oh no. Jeno knows that voice. He could recognize it anywhere.
“Hey, Renjun,” Jeno greets. And of course, Renjun’s tall replacement is trailing behind him. His big smile on his face.
“Are you here by yourself?” Renjun asks. Jeno can feel the pity in Renjun’s gaze. It hurts.
“Hyung, who is that?” Jisung whispers to him. Jeno’s not sure why Jisung is whispering as if anyone could hear him anyways. At least it seems that, based on Renjun’s question, he cannot see Jisung either.
Jeno sighs, “He’s my ex,” Jeno mumbles back to Jisung.
Renjun sends him a confused look, “Jeno, who are you talking to?” he asks.
“No one. Don’t worry about it,” Jeno dismisses him. “Yeah, I’m here by myself. Just thought I would get some groceries.”
“Hi nice to meet you. I’m Yukhei,” the tall man introduces himself, clearly not sensing the tension. He stretches his hand out for Jeno to shake.
Jeno reluctantly shakes his hand, “I know,” Jeno tells him.
“Uh, Yukhei,” Renjun says. “This is my ex boyfriend. Jeno.”
“Ohhh,” Yukhei nods his head as he seems to finally understand what’s happening.
“Well,” Jeno starts. “Bye.”
“Jeno wait-” Renjun calls out, but Jeno doesn’t wait. He just walks away, he needs to get out of this farmers market as soon as possible. He officially hates it here.
Jeno can hear Jisung trailing behind him, “Hyung, you okay?” Jisung asks.
Once they are far enough away Jeno slows down to catch his breath. “Yeah, Jisung. Don’t worry about me. I just needed to get out of there.” Because that was their thing. Going to get strawberries from the farmers market together was his and Renjun’s thing. And now Renjun is there, with his new and improved boyfriend, doing the things that they used to do. It’s like Jeno didn’t matter at all.
Jeno takes a seat on the curb of the street. Jisung follows soon after and sits next to him. “So that was your ex huh?” Jisung asks.
“Yeah,” Jeno nods. “Renjun.”
“He seems nice,” Jisung comments.
“He was,” Jeno admits. “He probably still is, but right now. I don’t want to be anywhere near him.”
“Did he break your heart hyung?” Jisung questions. Jeno can only manage a nod in response.
“I’ve never had my heart broken before,” Jisung continues. “Maybe one day I will. I hope it’s by Chenle from two blocks over.”
Jeno turns to look at him, a mixture of confusion and slightly annoyed. “Why would you want your heart broken?” Jeno asks.
“Well,” Jisung starts. ”My dad always told me that some of the best decisions he ever made were made right after getting his heart broken. He says that it motivated him to make the decisions he needed to make so he could grow and change.”
Jeno stares at him for a moment, completely taken aback by the surprisingly genuine and insightful response. “Your dad sounds like a smart guy,” Jeno comments.
“I think so too,” Jisung smiles.
“Do you miss him? I mean you’ve only been here for two days but,” Jeno asks.
Jisung thinks for a moment, “Yes, but also no. I think being here is fun too.”
Jeno smiles at him. “Yeah, fun.” Jeno stands up from where they are seated on the curb. “Thanks kid. I feel better now. Let’s go home.”
The next day is Monday and Jeno must return to work. He tells Jisung to stay at the apartment since Jeno would be too busy at work and Jisung would get bored. Despite Jisung’s protest that he won’t get bored and that he wanted to go with Jeno, he stays at home. Jeno’s day at work is completely normal. He works on the engineering of a new bicycle frame that their company will be producing. He talks to Jungwoo, his supervisor, at lunch about his weekend .Of all the people Jeno works with, he would certainly say that Jungwoo is his favorite. His day is so normal that it's almost like he can forget that his personal life had completely shifted over the weekend. That’s how the rest of his week follows, he goes to work and tests bikes, he comes home and hangs out with Jisung, and on Wednesday they even went to another apartment showing. Jisung once again did not like it. On Thursday when Jeno returns from work he finds Jisung sitting at his computer looking at something with more focus than Jeno has seen him use.
“Hey Jisung,” Jeno calls out. Jisung looks up, surprised. “What are you so focused on?”
Jisung turns the computer to him, “Did you know that emails have this thing called junk mail and even spam mail!?” Jisung asks as if it’s some sort of revelation.
“Yeah?” Jeno says. “That’s not a new thing Jisung.”
“Oh well,” Jisung replies. “I’ve never seen it before.”
Jeno hums and sits down next to Jisung. He looks at the screen with the junk mail on it and notices something from his company. He opens the email and gasps in surprise at the contents.
“What?” Jisung asks.
“They have an available position for bicycle engineers in Busan,” Jeno tells him. He can’t believe this. “Jisung thanks for looking through the junk mail.”
“You’re welcome,” Jisung smiles. “So wait what does this mean?”
Jeno stands from his seat, “We’re moving to Busan!”
So Jeno emails his company back stating that he would like to fill that spot available in Busan. His next week consists of packing up his old apartment, with the help of Jisung. Saying bye to his coworkers. Telling Mark and Donghyuck that he’ll need to stay with them for a while before he can find a place to live in Busan on his own. He even considers telling Renjun that he’s leaving but decides that he doesn’t need to do that. They aren’t together anymore.
One week of packing and planning later and Jeno has rented a moving truck to bring all of his things to Busan. His current lease ends in a few days and he’s already notified the landlord that he has vacated the premises. He climbs into the driver's seat and Jisung is on the passenger’s side.
“Are you ready to go?” Jeno smiles.
“I’m ready,” Jisung confirms. “Not that I have any belongings or things that really connect me to Seoul in any way, shape, or form,” he adds.
With that Jeno starts the truck and their journey begins. The gps tells them that it’ll take 4 hours to reach their destination. The countryside is beautiful as they make their way through. Jisung stares out the window with his face pressed against the glass. He makes sounds of amazement and surprise every now and then. Jeno just chuckles at his antics. He wonders what it would be like to see the world through Jisung’s eyes. To see everything as new and around every corner is a new lesson to learn or adventure to begin. Maybe that’s what this is, moving to Busan and breaking up with Renjun, it’s all just lessons learned and adventures waiting to happen.