"Do you believe in love?"

Jaemin glanced at his friend, and on his bubblegum flavored lollipop. Do you believe in love wasn't a question boys at their age would bother with, but here they were, treating it as if Jeno had said something like, "I ate a sandwich for lunch today."

"Eh, sure." Lee Jeno sighed, disappointed with his best friend's response. For him, an answer like "eh, sure" or "yeah" wasn't an answer at all. His friends compared him to their math teacher, who wanted explanations instead of plain numbers. Really, though, what else could they say? A question like that was normally deemed as a yes or no question, yet Jeno denied that it was. No one could blame him, though--love wasn't a light subject.

Jeno and Jaemin were in the playground, sitting on the faded cobalt blue swings. They were old, rusty, made an eerie squeaking noise, and was even said to be haunted. Plus, it was isolated from the rest of the play area, and the maintenance workers just gave up on it. It was the perfect hangout spot, as no kid would dare to have a turn. Jeno kicked the dirt under him, pushing him back. He swung a little, but shortly after, he was at the same spot again. "I want to find love."

Jaemin tilted his head back, and the lollipop slid down to the back of his throat. When he heard Jeno's words, he choked on it. Jaemin leaned forward, coughing a bit before facing his friend. He said this sometimes, and it wasn't a secret, but it threw Jaemin off every once in awhile. Jeno was truly an unusual kid.

I guess that was why Jaemin may or may not be head over heels for him...

...but he was certain that, even Jeno, the weird guy with an obsession with love, would reject his offer of something a little more. Their current relationship as friends was already more than he could ask for. Jeno's standards were high, an unspoken fact about him. 

But... for the tiny, minuscule chance that it could happen after all, he spoke, "What kind of person do you want to find love with?"

Jeno smiled. Jaemin was dizzy. He could trade the entire universe just to see that smile once again.

"It doesn’t have to be with someone else. I just want to find it, that’s all. Though it'd be nice."

Jaemin pouted. What was that supposed to mean? Was he going to love himself, or something? He didn't even answer his question! Jeno never made sense. But it’s cute, he thought.

Jeno leaned to the side, resting his head on the chains that held everything together. For how long, no one knew. He stared at the space in front of him, which was the center of the playground. For Jaemin, it seemed as if he were staring at the younger children frolicking on the slides, hanging upside down on the monkey bars with melted candy sticking to their tiny hands. Unbeknownst to him, Jeno was just looking at the couple watching their child, sitting on a wooden bench in front of the spring riders.

Something stirred in his eyes. It was a mix of longing, jealousy, and a few other unknown emotions. Somehow, he was also happy. If you looked close enough, you would see a spark or two.

He wasn't as popular in school. A nobody, they say. The people (who weren't his friends) called him weird, and avoided any contact. It wasn't like he was bullied or anything, people were just careful around him for being a little different. If it weren't for his interests, Jeno would just be an average teenager living an average life. His childhood was average as well, and he was (surprisingly) pretty open to others. He didn't really have any secrets to keep, either.

I wonder what got him like that in the first place, Jaemin pondered.

No one really knew.