"Congratulations Sungie! I say it a lot but I'm seriously proud!" Jeno handed over the flowers and embraced the young blond in a hug, whispering in his ear, "Fighting! Lets get ice cream after you ask him, and tell me all about it,"

Jisung warmly smiled at that, deeply appreciative of his friends never ending support. His eyes then shifted over to Chenle who handed over a book, the cover reading Math for Dummies. Scoffing, Jisung prepared a few witty comments in his head, silently accepting hugs from the rest of his friends as well as his parents. 

It was warm, Jeno thought, softly grinning to himself as he watched the group of people lovingly joke around, almost as if he wasn't a part of it, watching from someone elses perspective. 

"Oy! Why didn't you ever tell me you knew Jeno?" Hyuck asked with a playful pat on the back, eyes lifting to make contact with Jeno, "Me and him have been friends longer than you've been alive,"

Chuckling, Jeno just shook his head, "That is such a lie," 

"You two know each other?" Jisung asked, face scrunched from the headlock Renjun held him in. 

"Mhm, we're good friends!" Jeno replied, unlocking Jisung from Renjuns grip and shoving the younger towards Chenle with a wink, "So don't mind us while we catch up with each other,"

Renjun knowingly side eyed Jeno, "One hell of a wing man," 

"Now we wait," Jeno cooed, perking his lips as they watched the two awkwardly saunter off into a less crowded area, "How was Spain by the way?"

"If theres one thing I learned about the spanish, its that they take their ham very seriously," 

Hyuck was the first to laugh at that, attemtping some play on words for the others to laugh as well. 

For once Jeno was feeling somewhat like he did in highschool, like he had others by his side. 

-

"Chenle must really like you if he still said yes even after that terrible pick up line," the older brunete sighed, amazed that Jisung had in fact gotten in a relationship that night. 

More interested in his mint ice cream than being roasted by Jeno about his poor life choices, Jisung just shook his head, "You know, I've always been curious, but have you ever loved someone hyung? You always tell us about your crushes but thats never a lasting thing,"

Sipping on the coffee he had chosen despite the late time in the day, Jeno just stared out the window to watch people live their own lives without care for others, "Love? Don't know her," 

"Oh come on!" Jisung scoffed, suddenly interested about the boy across from him, "Ever looked at someone and felt tingly? Your breath stops when they're near you? Head hurts when they're with someone else? They make you smile no matter your mood? You want to make any excuse to see them? Sometimes your stomach feels queasy just being around them and you become nervous?"

"Don't tell me you've felt all those towards Chenle? Just hearing that makes me think you should go to a doctor, if your breath stops thats pretty seriously a condition,"

"Of course I've felt all those with Chenle! Its a condition called love," Jisung quipped, putting down his ice cream as he eyed the older, "You don't believe in it... do you?" It came out more as a whisper, as if fearing anyone could be so cold. 

Jeno put down his drink to look at Jisung, gulping harshly and gesturing for the younger to finish his ice cream, "Don't you have a graduation party to be at?"

Jisung's brows upturned in an emotion that seemed like pity, but it lasted no longer than a second, a sad smile replacing it as he finished his ice cream, "You're invited too,"

Throwing out his usual charming eye smile, Jeno sipped on his drink, "I have to finish the plans for my moms anniversary,"

"I see," Jisung nodded empathetically, "Hey Jeno, I'm always here to talk to," he added sweetly before throwing on his coat and leaving. 

Jeno lingered in the closing store a bit longer, mind somewhere between here and there, not necessarily thinking about anything but mind not fully blank. 

People passed by in a blur, only focused on their world, never stopping to think about how the person next to them could be experiencing things they would never know about. It was such a small world, yet no one truly knew anyone, not even those they loved or had been with since birth. There was always the barrier of their mind, what they decided to share and what they didn't. 

"Excuse me sir, I'm sorry but we're closing..." A waitress bowed in apology, snatching his attention away from the mindless people watching. 

"Ah, of course, sorry," taking his coat and throwing away the remains of his drink, he left the cafe, continuing to stroll down the cold evening street without much care of his whereabouts. 

Its already that time of year, huh? New year things were being set up everywhere and the city of Seoul seemed to light up in reds and gold, everyone sharing their joys and hopeful prosperity. It was January, meaning the new year was only a few weeks away. 

Once again, he would be spending it alone, without family members he knew, and with friends that had loved ones, he was always left to his own devices, but he didn't mind much. Being alone always gave him time to think. But then again, maybe he thought too much. 

A familiar sign in the corner of his eye dragged him towards it, finding himself outside the small and warm store without much thought, his focus changing towards the thin boy outside the store that was dragging things in for the night. 

Noticing the prescence, Jaemin wiped his forhead with his sweater, "Ah, sorry, we're closed for the night but-" looking over his shoulder, he quickly straightened himself up, "Jeno? What are you doing here? On your way home?"

"Hm...Sure," he hummed, looking past Jaemin at all the flowers and signs he was moving, "Do you need some help?" 

Slightly exhasperated, Jaemin just giggled and gripped the pots again, "Thats not an answer, but I would appreciate a hand,"

Finishing bringing in all the decorations from outside, Jaemin dusted his hands off and sighed proudly, placing his hands on his hips as he gleamed at Jeno, "Thank you so much, you saved me a lot of time!"

There it was again, that strange warmth that engulfed his whole body, and sure, the inside of the store was warmer than outside, but this was different. 

"Nana! Dinner's ready!" A voice Jeno recognized as Lina's called from the back of the store, opening a door and entering with an apron on, "Oh? Jeno? You joining us for dinner?"

"Huh? Oh no I was just helping Jaemin bring in the decorations," he denied, shaking his hand vividly as if swatting something away. 

Jaemin clapped his hands together once, "You should have dinner with us, it'll be a thanks for helping," the way his eyes glimmered expactantly made it hard for Jeno to refuse, so he just nodded his head agreeingly, not minding the way his cheeks reddened. 

"Perfect!" Locking the front doors of the store, he gestured for Jeno to follow him back through a door. 

The house was connected in the back of the flower shop through a simple door that led to a place for shoes and coats to be taken off and switched out for slippers. Straight ahead were stairs for what Jeno assumed was bedrooms, and a hole in the wall on the left entered to the cozy kitchen slash living room. The entire place was cozy, it was exactly what Jeno had pictured a close knit family home to be like, with photos on the walls, collected cups in the cupboards, and bowls with different designs. 

"Sorry about the mess, the only visitors we get are Lina's dates," Jaemin apologized, quickly shoving the blankets on the couch into a closet. 

Shaking his head, Jeno just smiled sincerely, "No problem," stopping for a second, "Wait, are you and Lina..."

"Siblings?" Jaemin quirked, tilting his head to the side. 

But she called him babe, didn't she? Oh god, is she one of those people that give everyone pet names?! 

"Jeno honey, would you like tea or water?"

Shes one of those people, Jeno facepalmed mentally, feeling like a complete idiot but having an odd sense of relief fall over him, "Whatever is easiest," 

"Tea it is," she sang, handing Jaemin and Jeno plates and food to put on the table. 

It was strange, helping out. Usually he either drank coffee for dinner or sometimes had a bowl of cereal, too lazy to actually shop and not motivated enough to cook. But here he was, smiling at the warmth the two strangers hugged him in. 

"We're home!" A female voice sang, keys dangling around in the distance. From behind the corner came a middle aged couple, both wearing professional attire. The woman looked younger than she must have been, with great skin and bright eyes, her hair showing no greys. And the man seemed like a typical business man in his suit with neatly styled hair, but his warm aura said otherwise, giving off the family man type that Jeno rarely saw, "My! Is that a visitor?"

Jaemin giggled as he gave his mom a kiss on the cheek, going right back to setting the table, "His name's Jeno,"

"How lovely! Nice to meet you Jeno, I'm Jaemins mother, Na Soohyun," She greeted. 

"Nice to meet you, sorry for intruding," he bowed back, noticing the resemblance of Jaemin in her smile. 

"Nonsense!" The father huffed, patting Jeno on the back, "The more the merrier,"

It was nice. It was very nice. Jeno simpered tenderly, watching how they interacted so intimately with each other, smiles and good vibes galore. 

Jaemin followed Jeno's line of sight, ending back up on the older, "They're very loud and outgoing, sorry if it makes you uncomfortable,"

"No, not at all," Jeno denied, making eye contact with Jaemin for a second, "In fact its quite the opposite,"

"Good, I'm glad,"

"Alright! Lets eat!" Lina shouted, throwing her apron somehwere on the counter and hopping into her seat with a joyous smile, one that matched all the other family members on the table. 

And for once, Jeno thought dinner wasn't so stupid.