Work Text:
University student Jeno was boarding the long distance train from his hometown back to the city where he was studying. It was a relief, he couldn't wait to get back to the serenity of his own rented flat. His family was just too much at times and on top of that, he didn't get along with all of them.
Once Jeno's black trolley was thrown onto the wagon, he followed soon after. Then he quickly attached it to the spot designated to lock bags in place, as it had become routine for him.
Before he began taking that more comfortable train, he used to have to ride the whole way with his trolley blocking the aisle and a way out of his seat. Jeno also used to have to carry it with him to the bar or the restroom, a big hassle and one he got saturated with quickly.
It was a three hour trip so when he started working part time, he was able to add money to the allowance his parents gave him in order to rent his apartment and upgrade to that more comfortable train.
On the other side of the wagon, someone entered who didn't have quite the same experience as Jeno. His name was Jaemin and he was getting on that train because it arrived at the best time for him. Not too early or too late, unlike the regular, less expensive, slower long distance train and all the buses. Therefore, his family made an effort to get him a ticket for that better train this time around.
He usually took the bus back to university. It took longer and it wasn't as comfortable, but at least it was cheaper and he knew how hard it was for his family to keep him in college. They wanted him to take all the time he could studying and resting, so they didn't let him get a job and took care of all of his expenses. In return, he managed his finances attentively and made sure to get the best grades he could.
Jeno was making his way to his seat on the train, ready to get cosy with his headphones and iPad propped on the table. That was something else he loved about that train. If he picked one of the four seats facing each other in the middle of the wagon, there was a table in the middle of them.
Truth be told, all seats had a support you could pull down that imitated a table, like the ones on airplanes, but it wasn't the same as actual tables. Jeno always reserved his tickets in advance to guarantee a seat with a table where he could work, eat or watch anything comfortably.
And, like usual, after settling down in his seat next to a window and putting his iPad charging, the black haired boy was about to put his headphones on when something, or rather someone, caught his attention. He looked around the same age as him and had beautiful dyed pink hair but what made him unable to go unnoticed was his beautifully sculpted face.
Jeno didn't even think dyed hair could be pretty, he thought people did it for attention, to stand out. But on that particular boy, the unnatural hair color looked beautiful, Jeno too would try to dye his hair if he would look that good.
Said boy was none other than Jaemin, who had struggled for a little too long with the bags locker system he wasn't accustomed with. He didn't notice the other's presence, and his gaze on him, until he sat down in his seat.
Now on the other side of the train, next to a window, also on a place of four seats with a table and right in the opposite direction of the boy, he finally saw him. In fact, he could look directly at him without obstacles in the way.
He looked maybe the same age or older and all he had on him was black, from his hair and comfortable clothes, down to all the electronic devices he had near him. A little boring. popped into Jaemin's mind before he took a proper look at his face.
He was thin which accentuated the shape of his face but, by the size of his shoulders and arms, he could tell he worked out. He's handsome actually… Wait, are we still looking at each other? Jaemin, look away quickly! And, with widened eyes, he did, trying to distract himself by preparing his laptop to do what he had planned to do.
Jeno had let his headphones fall onto his shoulders and watched Jaemin all along, not really paying attention to what he was doing but rather in awe of how cute he looked.
Wait, did he- did he just check me out? He looked down as a faint blush manifested itself on Jeno's cheeks and a soft smile unconsciously formed on his lips.
Now that the other boy was busy doing something else, Jeno took the chance to glance at him again and pay attention to him besides his face. In contrast with his own personal palette -black-, his outfit was rather colourful and he had a silver laptop filled with mostly yellow stickers.
Jeno would never do something like that to his laptop but for some reason, he still found it cute. It was clear their aesthetic styles were really different but he wondered what else was different between them.
Wait, am I curious about him already? Just from his appearance? He isn't even my type… like- his train of thought was interrupted when he was flashed the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. Ok yeah maybe that makes up for him not being my type. Wait, stop staring at him, how embarrassing.
Jaemin chuckled at how flustered he made the boy on the train. He smiled at him after noticing a pair of eyes on himself, a heavy gaze, doing what he had done earlier.
He noticed how cute the boy got when he was embarrassed, his eyes widened and he slightly chewed on his bottom lip. The pink haired boy was getting excited about the situation: finding a handsome boy around his age on a train who seemed to have interest in him as well? He had read too many love stories to know this could end up as one and he intended to talk to him before they went their separate ways.
Just as he was getting ready to start working on his laptop, the train started moving and that's when it hit him. I don't even know when he'll get off. What if he gets off before I manage to talk to him? It's now or never. And so he was determined to, at least, see if they could get along before it was too late.
"Psst… Psst!" the pink haired boy shout-whispered trying to get his attention.
"Huh? Me?" Jeno squealed in surprise before confirming if it was directed at him.
"Who else would it be, genius?" he got in reply with a playful roll of the man's eyes, followed by a chuckle that caused butterflies to form in his stomach.
"O- oh, well then," he gulped, "What is it?" Suddenly he was really nervous, he wasn't expecting the other boy to be bold enough for the both of them.
"I'm getting off in 3 hours, how about you?" he asked expectantly, leaning forward, closer to Jeno.
"Oh, me too, actually. Why? Do you need anything?" his lips pressed against each other as his eyes avoided the other's unwavering gaze on him.
"Oh amazing. I just wanted to make sure to talk to you before you got off the train, cutie." Jaemin spoke calmly, surprising even himself with the amount of confidence.
"Huh?" he let out a nervous chuckle, failing to hide how flustered he was, "What? Uh, thank you?" he gave the other an awkward smile and averted his gaze, embarrassed with how unlike himself he was acting.
"Oh wow, looking at you, I couldn't have predicted how adorable you could get," he leaned his head trying to get him to look back at him and once he did, he flashed him a genuine smile. "I'm Jaemin by the way."
"I'm Jeno.. nice to meet you." he managed to smile back at him, getting more used to his bold and bright presence.
The conversation flowed nicely and it didn't take long for them to realise why they were headed to the same station. They were surprised they had never crossed paths before but they were pleased it meant they could keep seeing each other.
After talking for a bit they decided to get to what they had planned. For the majority of the trip, they each focused on their tasks, comfortably exchanging smiles and checking up on each other.
Jeno got to check off multiple videos from his Watch Later playlist and Jaemin got a good start on the project he had received for the week. Although none of them stated it, they found each other's company enjoyable. It was a good change from all their lonely trips.
As their destination approached, they each wondered what to say or do now. How could they turn the 'goodbye' to a 'see you soon'? This time it was Jeno who took the initiative.
"So how did it go? Did you get much done?" the boy asked as he took off his headphones and placed them on the table.
"I guess you could say that, yeah," he replied with a nod, "And you? Did you have fun?" he stretched his arms upwards, tired from working on his laptop.
"Yeah! I missed having time to binge watch just like this. And it felt nice to have your company.." he said a little lower this time but Jaemin still catched it.
"Aw, I feel the same way!" he took a deep breath in, "Do you wanna, maybe, keep in touch..? I understand if you-" but before he could finish speaking, he was in awe of Jeno's prominent eye smile.
"Don't worry, I'm glad you asked. How do we-? uh.." He looked around his things, thinking about what he should do. "I don't know where I put away my phone-" But before he could go into panic, Jaemin pulled out a pink post-it notes block and began writing on it.
"Here. Have my number and text me whenever you feel like it." He got up to hand Jeno the note with a smile before walking back to his place to put everything away.
Jeno stared at the paper in his hand for a bit, incredulous that things turned out like that before the thud of Jaemin's backpack falling snapped him back to reality. He began getting ready to leave as well but Jaemin was already done and the train was almost at a stop.
"I have to go catch a bus but it was super nice to meet you, Jeno! Hope we can see each other again soon!" the pink haired boy said as he headed towards his luggage, waving at a dumbfounded Jeno who was still processing everything.
"Hope so too! Bye, bye!" and with that Jeno finally took a deep breath, smiling to himself. He thought those sorts of things only happened in fiction but then again, maybe he’d just made a new friend. He didn't want to get his hopes up when he clearly had a crush on Jaemin. Just thinking of him was enough to get him all giddy.
He gathered all his belongings and rushed to get his trolley before the train took off again. He felt like a different person after the trip and he knew if he didn't regain his composure, his roommates would notice it too. With a confident step, he finally stepped off the train, ready to get back to his university life.