!Updated a few days ago, make sure you've read it!

Jaemin sat at the table, his parents sitting across from him. "How are your lessons coming along?" Mrs. Na asked before taking a bite of her toast. Jaemin just shrugged. The air felt thick as they all fell silent. It wasn't everyday that Jaemin's parents had the time to eat with him at home. "I see, I'll have to call your teacher later and ask for a report." She said the last bit quietly, but loud enough to make sure he heard. 

"She doesn't work Sundays, you'll have to call tomorrow." Jaemin told her through his mouthful. She sighed, just another thing to add to her to-do list. She listened as her husband tried to initiate conversation. 

"Did you have a good time at that sleepover the other day?" Mr. Na asked, giving his son his full attention. Jaemin shifted in his seat, it wasn't necessarily odd for his father to ask him about things like hanging out with his friends, but he rarely did so in front of his mother. His mom was always more strict than his dad, his friends said it probably came with her maternal instincts and her desire for him to be better than she is. He found that believable enough, if not true. 

Jaemin let himself smile, "It was fun, we just played games most of the time." He felt like he was ten telling them both about his big outing at a classmates birthday party. 

Mrs. Na's eyebrows furrowed, "You stayed the night somewhere? When?" She looked between her husband and son, clearly unsettled about being out of the loop. Jaemin had purposefully called his dad to ask, knowing his mom was always a bit harder to convince.

"The other night when it stormed I stayed at Jeno's house." Jaemin informed her, trying to focus on his food and not her stares. 

Mrs. Na frowned, setting her fork down. "I see, I suppose if your dad allowed it." Despite her nonchalant words, it was clear she was at least a tiny bit offended. Jaemin avoided eye contact, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say now. 

Luckily, his dad spoke instead, "I figured telling you about it would be silly, since you were busy with work." His voice suddenly sounded tired. "As long as Jaemin doesn't miss lessons, a break is sometimes a good thing. I'm taking a break today." As if to prove his point, he stood up. "I'll be in the living room." Mr. Na said, walking out of the room. He didn't feel like starting an argument today, he was usually a lot more relaxed on the days when he had nothing to do. 

Jaemin stood up too, not wanting to be in the house all day. "Thank you for the food." He said quickly, leaving before his mom had time to say anything else. His mom had a better hold of her temper when she was angry, but she was easier to anger. His dad rarely got angry, but when he did you could hear him from around the house. Luckily, nobody in the house had gotten in an argument like that for a while. They all chose to keep to themselves mostly. That's just a part of why Jaemin headed for the front door, instead of his room. He grabbed his car keys off the shoe cabinet, before pulling his phone out of his pocket. He went ahead to his car as he waited for the phone to be picked up. It wasn't until he was shutting his car door, that the sound of another voice greeted him. 

"What do you want?" Doyeon asked, her voice groggy from having just woke up a few minutes before. 

 Jaemin snorted, "You don't have to sound so happy to hear from me." Jaemin mused, "I was just calling to see if you wanted to go get something to drink at some cafe?" He tried to sound nonchalant, but if his voice had betrayed him she would have realized just how badly he wanted her to say yes. 

Doyeon was quiet for a second, "Give me seven minutes." She finally said. 

"That's a random number, why not five or ten?" He asked, his smile light.

The sound of Doyeon getting up from her bed could be heard over the receiver, "Because I need more than five, but less than ten." 

Jaemin nodded slowly, even though she couldn't see, "Whatever you say~ I'll be waiting in my car." He told her before they both said a chaste good-bye and hung up. 

It really was weird--the feeling of liking someone as much as he liked her--it made him feel silly half the time, but the other half he felt so at ease. It was different than how he'd felt with anyone else, it wasn't some kind of forced attraction because of a confession, or some sort of surface level relationship that was only built upon looks. It felt so human, like he was sure she was someone who was meant to be a big part of his life. Her smile had a different effect on him as well, with most people they had different kinds of smiles--but not Doyeon, everyone of her smiles had good intention behind it. Even the ones that were a bit more forced were special because it showed that she was trying. It was like a glow that slowly got brighter the more genuine her smiles were, but there was never not a light behind it. Maybe that's sappy of him, maybe he fell a bit too deep. That thought scared him, what if he really had plunged headfirst into a river too overwhelming for him to swim in? Would he ever make it back to shore, or would he slowly sink deeper until he reached the bottom?

Jaemin once compared his relationship with Juri to The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, and her betrayal to that of a red streak across the painting. This time it was different, he didn't see a finished painting that could be destroyed when he thought of himself and Doyeon; instead he saw a blank canvas that was being worked on one color at a time. It wasn't someone else's work, but his own--because these feelings were like nothing he'd ever seen or felt before. They were unique to him and her. But not just the romantic version of him and her, which he wasn't sure would ever happen, it was also the platonic version that was just as beautiful. Because before anything else, she was a friend to him, and he was the same to her. He wasn't sure what the finished painting would look like, or how many years it might take to complete...and he was okay with that. 

The sound of the passenger door opening startled him out of his thoughts. Doyeon was wearing a scowl as she slid into the car. "It's early." Is all she said. Jaemin chuckled, switching the gear to drive. 

"It's ten in the morning." 

"On a Sunday." Doyeon shot back, already expecting some kind of comment like that from him. "After two years of knowing me, you'd think you'd know not to contact me before ele