#when i was shown this picture i was like okaayyy

[supernova-151]

happy 11th day of DCLA pride month to jimyam <3

[4dtk]

chance encounter

it was the least expected when you’re bumping into lee jeno in an opened-space bar, with fairy lights hanging over your heads and laughter is thick in the air.

the last time you saw the male was before university, where his hair was a little shorter and he still hadn’t lost some of his baby teeth. it was cute and he was smaller then, but when you had seen him again smiling so widely with his friends, your heart clenched up the same way it did years ago.

there have always been some unsaid chemistry between the two of you. where others had went into holding hands and kissing, the both of you were too shy to initiate anything, so most ‘dates’ just considered of hanging out by the beach in your school uniform with a shared milkshake in your hand.

you cherished every conversation and every date you’ve been on, hoping they would be something more once you had went onto higher learning. the major that you wanted to study, however, wasn’t in the university jeno had wanted so bad to go to and from there, it was a bittersweet, dramatic goodbye that the two made it seem worse than it actually was.

“(y/n)… is something wrong?” your friend had nudged you as you had gone quiet, prompting you to snap out of your trance, though your eyes remain locked on the boy seated a metre away. they followed your gaze to where he sat with the same two friends he had since high school. you could almost pinpoint them, but there was one other guy who looked unfamiliar.

“lee jeno? the lee jeno?” one of your other friends whispered, not wanting to break you out of your daydreaming daze.

with your starstruck expression, your friends could only smile, remembering the conversations you’ve showed them as well as telling them about your dates in exaggerated excitement. jaemin was the one who pointed you out, instantly recognising your face while donghyuck, jeno and the other male laughed at a joke that targetted jaemin.

after much debating and hesitation, renjun stepped up to interrupt jeno’s internal arguments.

“just go talk to her, you loser,” he slapped him on the shoulder, almost making the drink in his hand spill over as donghyuck took the alcohol and gestured towards you.

“okay, okay, i’m going already, jesus renjun,” jeno’s voice trailed off, but not before taking back the drink from his friend. he hoped the small amount of alcohol in his system gave him the courage that he lacked years ago, where he wished he wasn’t so adamant on going to the university in the city.

where he had his dilemmas as he walked over, you catch yourself focusing on his mole instead, knowing it was one of the things you loved about him.

“i don’t like this mole… it makes me look a little weird..” he mumbled to you

“it looks fine, i think it’s cute!”

with that small exchange in your head from one of your ice cream outings, you failed to realise that the male in question was already standing in front of you, sweaty hand clutching the jacket in nervousness.

“(y/n)?” you panic at this point, but slowly nod at the same shy and polite voice he possessed. you practically check him out, eyes moving from his gelled hair and the broader shoulders he grew into, including his arm that had more muscle than before.

the hollers and whoops coming from jeno’s table bring you out of your awe, before avoiding eye contact from the other customers around them. his smile remained the same, too, with his eyes curved like crescent moons and his teeth waiting to be shown.

it wasn’t the one where his head was tipped back in laughter and his grin stretched to his ears, but the smaller ones he’d given you in class paired with some weird face expressions which had you burst out laughing at. you loved either one, though.

“we’re leaving soon, do your friends wanna come with us?”

you looked back at your friends’ expression, thinking it might be a little awkward since no one really knew each other except for the two of you. with a gentle shake of your head, you offered a little smile in consolation, though you hoped he wouldn’t leave just yet.

“text me if you wanna meet up some other time?” the other proposed, taking a sip of his drink so he wouldn’t have to witness your reaction.

“what? how?”

“the same number?” jeno giggles, the hand free of his beer reaching up to scratch at his forearm.

“you mean, you… didn’t change it?”

the same thought then crosses both your minds, not missing how the other lit up at the familiar words.

“change what?” the inside joke connects the both of you instantly, bringing you back to the time at Wendy’s to accompany him while he finished his shift at the cashier. you’re all smiles again now, your heart speeding up to its maximum.

“yeah, no, i didn’t change my number.”

“wow, okay, i’ll text you then,” you grin, bidding him goodbye with a shy wave of your hand.

you remember the chat from before and it’s last sent message—it was to confirm your meetup with the boy to spend one last day together before he left for university in the city. your heart sank when you realised his number hadn’t changed at all, except the profile picture which portrayed a candid photo from a film camera.

we really could’ve kept in touch, huh…

ridding your head of questions of what could’ve been, you went ahead to text jeno with a short ‘hello’, getting a reply back almost instantaneously.

[jeno-yed is typing…] hey, is this (y/n)?

[(y/n) is typing…] no it’s her friend

[jeno-yed is typing…] WHAT

[(y/n) is typing…] I’M KIDDING

[jeno-yed is typing…] jesus, you scared me

[(y/n) is typing…] heheh, sorry

you know the name in your contacts is still jeno-yed… do you want me to change it?

jeno grins at your teasing trait as well as the nickname you gave to him, right after donghyuck had compared a samoyed to jeno in high school. the conversation had carried out naturally, talking until you had fallen asleep with your phone low on battery. you had settled on a date where the both of you were free, though, so you could say it was the only thing keeping you motivated to finish the school week.

finally, friday had arrived and you rushed home after classes to meet up with the boy, hoping he wouldn’t bail due to the meetup being so late.

jeno played with a pebble on the floor as he waited for you, lip below his teeth as a way to deal with his anxiety. would you show up? would you freak out at the last minute? what if-

“hey.”

his abrupt spin caught you off guard, his facial expression mimicking a deer caught in headlights. jeno relaxed at the sight of you, offering an arm for you to hook an arm around as you two made your way into the bowling alley.

the bowling alley that was in the basement of the mall, mainly remembering it for the yummy food they sold there. with shoes and some food, you two settled for a lane at the very end before noting that a worker was making her way over to you.

“oh no, what did we do? we just came here,” jeno whispered, nudging your sides with the bowling shoes.

you stifle a laugh, rolling your eyes in the process before setting your things down. “calm down,” the encounter didn’t lead to any issues, explaining to the boy with sarcasm laced in your voice.

“she just came over to tell you how handsome you are.”

“huh?”

you let out a full laugh this time, finger flicking his bangs which almost covered his eyes. “cosmic bowling’s starting soon, you dummy. it’s almost 12.”

“oh,” he smiled, hoping you didn’t know how much your small gesture affected him.

seventeen minutes in and you were still struggling with your bowling ball, not missing the way jeno burst out laughing at your fourth gutter ball.

“strike!” the tv above had sounded, making you let out a whine of disapproval at ‘how unfair it was!’

“okaayyy, up you go.” he’d stuck out a hand after he said that, looking at you expectantly.

“what?”

“take my hand, you loser,” jeno smiled.

“hey! i thought we left that nickname in the past!” you fought back playfully.

jeno only rolls his eyes, taking your unsure hand and pulling you to your feet as the song overhead changes and the turn switches to yours. you watch him as he picks up the ball you usually use, handing it to you and asks you to get ready to bowl.

“is this okay?” he mumbles, coming up behind you before you could ask what he meant. his hand is on your waist and his other cradling your dominant hand.

you nod in response, thankful you weren’t facing him for the time being before he ruins the moment with a teasing statement, “you really suck at bowling, you know that right?”

“lee jeno-“

“okay, okay!” he laughs, prompting laughter from you as well. he walks you towards the lane and guides your hand before letting go of the bowling ball together, gaining a clean strike a few seconds later.

“yeah! a first strike!” you grinned, naturally turning around in his embrace as you rest your arms on his shoulder, freezing in place to admire how he looked at the moment.

was this what i missed all these years?

you shot him a quick smile, leaning forward to place a quick peck on his cheek while you feel his arms tighten around your waist. you were tipping over with feelings, tempted to blurt out why you liked him so much where his eyes shone with the lights of the bowling alley and the smile which reached his ears and the contagious laugh he possessed-

“sorry, (y/n),” jeno whispered, breaking away from the embrace and turning his attention back to the lanes in front of him. he doesn’t miss the soft, “don’t be sorry,” coming from you after, the mood returning to a light and teasing one like it was before.

once the night had simmered down, the bus ride home was quiet, as well. jeno provided his shoulder, while you passed him one side of your earphones, enjoying each other’s company just like the times in high school.

the short walk back to your home mimicked the bus ride, the soft beats and lyrics of the love song flowing through the earphones giving you a rush of confidence as you reached forward to grab the other’s hand.

you were glad you did it, because the way your fingers fit so naturally made your heart jump in your chest, struggling to hide the grin crawling onto your face at how warm and gentle jeno’s hand felt.

the only time this date had mirrored the ones before, was where he’d stay for a few minutes outside your door, reluctant to leave so quickly. both your palms began to sweat, but with how comfortable his hand felt, none of you wanted to pull away.

“so…” he muttered, while you mustered up the courage to look him in the eye.

jeno tilted his head to the side and to the other, prompting bursts of laughter at yet another inside joke shared between the two of you.

“so…” you copied him, stepping closer to the male.

“so…?” the feeling of his hand in yours withered away, having to disconnect with how little space you had in between your bodies. instinctively, your hands found their way around his neck, leaning in with hopes of what might happen.

“so.” jeno stated with a grin, meeting you halfway before your lips met each other on the doorstep of your house.

banana smoothie, was what it tasted like.

his arms wound your waist like earlier, deepening the kiss before pulling away. leaving his forehead on yours, your heels had raised to meet his height as he spoke.

“i guess i fell in love with you, again.” jeno whispered.

“i guess you did, and perhaps i did too,” your lips meet again, moving like a dance now that you’ve done it once.

you’ve done it once, you’ve done it twice, and you’ll do it all again to make up for all the years you’ve been apart from lee jeno.

it’s not proofread so it may have grammatical or spelling mistakes!! hope u enjoyed!! it’s a little longer than what i usually write so i hope it’s ok!