posted November 15, 2013

The morning air is so cold and the sun has barely risen but that does not mean that you cannot sweat so much at this time of the day.
 

Especially when you are running like you are in a race.
 

For the first time in his 8 years of existence, JR is running towards his school at 6:10am. Classes start at 7:30am so why is he running?
 

He has waited long enough for this day.
 

The first day of school after a long break.
 

Actually, it's just a seven-day semestral break, but for JR it feels like it has been a year. It may look like he's exaggerating but he does feel like that.
 

He does not miss studying, though.
 

It's not the teachers, friends (more like acquaintances) and whatever there is in the school (or the school itself), too.
 

So why is he so eager to go to school this morning?
 

There is this certain someone that he has not seen the whole sembreak, blame it on his sleeping habits.
 

His mom was waking him up early on the first day of vacation. Of course, he did not follow his mom. He had slept later than usual because he was so happy that he was finally free from school works, even though it's just for a week, so he used his time properly, or so he thought. He slept at 3am the night before so it was impossible to wake him up at 5:30am. It was already lunch time when he decided that he's hungry and sleepy but the hungry side of him won so he stood up and ate. When he was done and was about to go to Ren's house to play, his mother stopped him and said that Ren together with his family went to Busan earlier that day. He remembered his mother's exact lines when he threw a tantrum the moment he knew that he had no one to play with the entire break. “That's why I was waking you up a while ago, stupid. Ren asked for you but you kept on sleeping so you got no choice but to wait until they come back.” 
 

To cut a long story short, he is looking forward to seeing Ren again.
 

He does not know if Ren will be going to school that day. His mom has just said that they will be back on the first day of school. JR then asks if they'll be back in the morning, afternoon or evening but she has answered him that she doesn't know. JR is left with no choice but to wake up at 4am and has waited since then for Ren's comeback. When he doesn't see any trace of Ren at 5:30am, he has told his mom that he won't come to school that day. His mom has disagreed, of course, and she has begun nagging. Because JR does not like it when his mother nags, he immediately goes out of the house and runs towards the school, hoping that Ren just go there first before going home.
 

It's just 6:30 when he arrives at the school, pondering if he should stay at the gate so that he'll be the first one to see Ren when he arrives or just wait inside his classroom. He chooses to wait outside, until his patience runs dry. It's just 10 minutes though, yet he feels that he's so tired and he blames it on the cold weather. Winter's just around the corner, anyway.
 

He has waited until the classes start. It's the first day so nothing much has happened and he is bored to death. Time is ticking so slow that he feels like banging his head on his table. Why? He does not know, what he does know is that nothing right comes into his mind when he's bored. Normally, when this moment happens, Ren's beside him so he does everything to irritate Ren until the said boy gives up on ignoring him and insults him back, the lesson will then be long forgotten.
 

Recess for 30 minutes is next and JR does not feel like eating because normally, he will be exchanging (more like snatching) food with Ren because he thinks that Ren's mom makes better sandwich than his mom.
 

But Ren is not yet here. And JR does not know what to do. And the time passes by with him thinking of something to ease his boredom.
 

He concludes that he has done a good job on easing his boredom when he has heard the bell ring. Finally, 30 minutes of break from listening to intelligent professional adults also known as his teachers. He does not go outside or even in the cafeteria because he has his tasteless sandwich. On why does his mom make such sandwiches is beyond his knowledge. Realizing that he has nothing else to eat, he takes a bite on the sandwich. At least this does not taste bad, it's just tasteless.

 

He's about to take a second bite when he's interrupted by a familiar voice.
 

“Woah! You're eating your sandwich? Really?!”
 

He looks at the source of the familiar voice and jumps out of his seat when it's, finally, the boy he's been wanting to see.
 

“When did you come back!”
 

“Woah woah, wait, are you asking me or are you scolding me? Why such tone? I just came back, you know.” Ren says, amusement evident in his voice.
 

“Why didn't you tell me that you're going to Busan for vacation!” JR asks (more like screams) ignoring Ren's previous answer.
 

“Yah! Kim Jonghyun! Calm down! I also did not know that we'd be visiting my grandparents there! And besides, I tried to say goodbye but you're asleep.” Ren explains. Seeing that JR has no plans on saying anything, he smiles to the boy and gets something from his bag. “Here! In case you still want my sandwich!” Ren offers.
 

JR gets the sandwich from Ren's hand and sits back. He does not know why he feels so angry and happy at the same time, all he knows is that he does not like how it feels like to feel both emotions at the same time. It pisses him off so instead of being bothered by it, he starts to eat Ren's sandwich. He then realizes that his mom's sandwiches are really tasteless.
 

“So JR-ah! What did you do last summer break?” Ren asks excitedly and it makes JR happy. This makes him think that Ren cares for him the best because he wants to know what JR has done last vacation.
 

He looks at Ren and sees that the boy is also eating a sandwich. He then notices that Ren's hair's shorter than his hair the week before. “You've had a haircut?” he asks. He knows that it's obvious but, well, it's better than answering Ren's question. Because honestly, his vacation is nothing but boring. He has no one to play with except his PSP, and that's made him feel bored, too. If he's going to answer, he might say that he's gone crazy because Ren is not with him and it's too boring. He does not want Ren to know that, though.
 

“You've noticed! Yep! Is it okay? Do I look good?”
 

“Of course. Your hair is pretty.”
 

“What? But I don't want it to be pretty! I want it to be handsome!”
 

“Really? You want your hair to be handsome? Are you serious?”
 

“Minhyun's mom said the same about my hair. This makes me sad, really.”
 

Minhyun? That's the first time JR hears that name. He can't help but be bothered because he knows no Minhyun in the school and by the way Ren says that that Minhyun's mom's commented on his hair, it looks like Minhyun and Ren are close. But Ren has never mentioned him before. Thinking makes him hungry, so he just asks Ren who Minhyun is. 
 

“Who is Minhyun!”
 

He does not intend to sound harsh, though.
 

“You sure does not know how to keep calm.” Ren says as he laughs. “Minhyun is my best friend!”
 

Ouch. That hurts. Because all this time JR is thinking that he is the best friend. He looks away from Ren and keeps on eating. He also makes sure that what he has just heard won't affect his expression. He's too awesome to be sad.
 

“That boy! He's grown a lot! When I left Busan we just have the same height but now he's a walking tower! How can he be so tall at 8? And he's whiter than me now! You see, I am pale but he is paler. Now that I mention it, I think that the weather here in Seoul has tanned me. Anyway, does my accent come back? Because I swear I forgot how to speak the Seoul-way the moment I started talking to him. And his eyes become smaller! I really missed that guy.”
 

JR is sure that he does not ask any more questions but why does Ren keeps on talking? He listens, anyway, because he can't just dash out of the room, that will make him uncool. 5 minutes have passed but Ren is far from finishing his tale about Minhyun. It's weird and even though he personally does not know who this Minhyun is, the boy irks him big time.
 

If the teacher has not come, JR thinks that Ren must have continued on talking about Busan and Minhyun. And for that, he is internally thanking his teacher (for the first time).
 

Lessons are boring as usual but JR is not in the mood to goof around. He is still annoyed so he is not doing anything to kill both time and boredom. He just sits there and looks at the board. He does look like he’s paying attention, but he’s not, because he looks through the board. He understand nothing because his eyes pass through what he’s supposed to see.

He must have been spacing out for a while now because he almost jumps when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“JR! What’s wrong? I have been calling you for a while now but you’re not responding. You’re weird.” Ren whispers so as not to attract the attention of his classmates and his teachers.

“I’m just tired, Ren. Why? What do you need?” JR asks, not knowing that he sounds too uninterested.

“Ya! Why are you so quiet? Normally you’ll be writing on my hand by now or tearing papers and littering all over the place, really, what’s wrong?” Ren worriedly asks.

“It’s nothing, really. Let’s talk later okay? You need to listen to the teacher so that you’ll be able to explain everything to me later.”

When the last teacher before lunch bids his farewell, JR can’t be more restless. He has promised Ren that they will talk, and judging by Ren’s determined look right now, JR knows that he can’t go away without answering all of Ren’s questions.

They have waited for all of their classmates to leave the classroom. Better be safe than to create a scene. Neither of them are dramatic but it’s more comfortable when they’re talking in a quiet place, where no one will disturb or hear what they’re talking about.

Both of them remain sitting. No one dares to open his mouth. It lasts for a few good minutes before Ren decides to break the silence.

“Are you not happy to see me again? I missed you, I was waiting for you to call so that I could ask you what you want me to buy for you. I don’t know if you’ll like this but here.” Ren pauses as he hands JR a paper bag.

JR is beyond surprised when he sees the paper bag Ren’s giving him. He does not think that Ren will give him anything. And he does forget that he could have called Ren while the other’s in Busan. JR just looks at Ren without getting the bag, so Ren just puts it on JR’s table.

“Open it JR! I have rushed from our house to the school as soon as we came back because I want to give that to you! Why are you acting so weird?” Ren impatiently asks.

JR then takes the paper bag from the table, afraid that Ren will get angry if he just stare at it. As soon as he opens the bag, he sees a black cloth inside. Slowly getting the cloth inside, he looks at the anticipating Ren beside him. When he looks at the thing he’s holding, he sees a black beanie and checks it out.

“So... do you like it?” Ren asks.

JR just nods. When he’s about to put the beanie inside the paper bag, Ren snatches it away from him. He looks at Ren and is taken aback when Ren stands up and carefully places the beanie on his head. After Ren is sure that JR wears the beanie properly, he holds the other’s face and checks him out himself.

“There! I knew this will suit you! You look handsome!” Ren happily exclaims.

“T-thank you.”

“There, now would you tell me why you’re acting weird? I’m worried!”

“No, it’s nothing. Really. And I’m happy that you’re back. Sorry for not calling you.”

“It’s okay. You know, I told Minhyun that you’re a stubborn—“

“Why did you talk about me?” JR asks, irritated yet again because he does not want to hear that Minhyun’s name again. Sadly for him, Ren’s not done narrating his vacation escapades.

“Because he asked if I have a friend here and I said that I have a lot. I mentioned you, though, because you’re my best friend and I told him not to worry about me because I will never be alone because you’re here.” Ren honestly answers. “And I told him that the next time I visit Busan I’ll bring you so that you can meet each other. My two best friends. Isn’t that great?!” Ren excitedly asks.

JR suddenly feels bad. He does not know why but he’s sure that it’s connected with his annoyance towards Ren and Minhyun a while ago. He is selfish and he thinks that the whole world, or Ren’s whole world, just has to revolve around him. All of that is nonsense. At the same time, he feels happy that Ren introduces him to Minhyun, Ren’s other best friend, as his best friend in Seoul. He then promises himself that he will stop thinking bad so that he can live up to that place Ren has given him and so that he can prove to Minhyun that he will never let Ren feel sadness.

“When are you going back to Busan?” JR then asks, a bit excited because this next time, he’ll be going with Ren.

“This Christmas vacation!”

And JR will make sure that he’ll ask for his parents’ permission as soon as he comes home later.

---

this is the story for Ren's birthday (which is late by 12 days... hihi)

and it's the 15th! Happy #20MonthsWithNUEST :D

they have debuted in China! With Jason! Hmmm, not so many JRen moments so far, but I believe in my ship! :))) They will prevail XD XD XD (though I like JaRen, too.)

Anyways, everyone in NU'EST is legal already, am I allowed to post angst now?:))))))))

til next time LOΛE! If this semester permits, I might be able to write again soon. Wish me luck? :))))))))))

nowplaying 편지 (The Letter) - Davichi