[Go To Na Jaemin and his companion] START:

Smiling sheepishly at Mark and Chenle, Renjun simply waved before running towards the boy named Na Jaemin and his companion. 

If they had screamed after him, he would never have known for this was his only perk of being deaf. 

The boy named ‘Na Jaemin’ and his friend were still conversing happily on that bench, their mouths open in silent laughter as he approached them - the one who he had never seen before was the first one who noticed his presence. 

“Hi,” He greeted awkwardly, praying that his Korean was satisfactory. “I would just like to thank you for showing me to the administration office earlier,” He said as he turned to Jaemin, the other’s mouth falling open in realisation before a bright smile was being directed his way. Words such as ‘no problem’ and ‘I’m Jaemin by the way’ were being formed before the boy gestured to his friend. ‘This guy is Park Chisung and he’s a first year here’ were what Jaemin’s lips created and Renjun stared at the two before smiling brightly and saying that it was a pleasure to meet them both. However, his luck had clearly run out when Chisung asked for his name - memories of what Mark had warned him about suddenly resurfacing despite the fact that Renjun wasn’t really one to believe rumours.

Renjun, you don’t know what will happen if you become close to him…

…but surely he’s not what they say…right?

Should Renjun [give Na Jaemin and Park Chisung his name] or [refuse to introduce himself]?

If you chose [give Na Jaemin and Park Chisung his name], please continue reading below.

If you chose [refuse to introduce himself], please scroll down until you see [refuse to introduce himself] START.

[Give Na Jaemin and Park Chisung his name] START:

Giggling to himself at the thought of possibly finding two new friends, Renjun did his best to pronounce his name properly.

“I’m Huang Renjun and I’m from China,” He shyly said, lips forming a small smile as he began to fidget more under their gazes. “My Korean name is ‘Hwang Injun’ if my actual name is too hard to say.” ’That’s so cool’ was what he could read from Chisung’s lips, the other looking quite excited while Jaemin smiled softly at him. ‘I know it must be hard to have moved here for university when you’re so used to another country’ was what he had caught before Jaemin had stood up and bowed, his face becoming parallel with the floor as Renjun felt his heart sink since he couldn’t hear what the other was saying. 

“Um…” He started, seeing a look of curiosity on Chisung’s face as Jaemin peeked up at him. “I…uh…can’t hear you…” He trailed off, wanting nothing more than to run away in that one moment, the panic slowly rising since he didn’t know what could happen. He felt a soft hand patting his shoulder and turned to see Chisung, the boy having a sympathetic look on his face as his free hand held up a phone with the words ‘Jaemin’s just flirting with you’ typed neatly into notes. Confused, he looked back at Jaemin who was now sporting slightly flushed cheeks and an embarrassed expression before he coughed, taking out his own phone and typing before showing it to him. ‘Ignore Jisung, he’s too young to understand how adorable you are’ was what was written and Renjun looked between the two, furrowing his eyebrows before asking his question.

“Who’s Jisung?” 

He watched as Jaemin doubled over, his laughter probably being obnoxiously loud before Chisung hit his back and huffed, crossing his arms before angrily typing into his phone - his actions doing nothing to make Renjun backtrack and think about what he had said. 

It was a genuine question though…

‘My name is Park JIsung - it’s a JI!’ was what he read from the message on the screen and immediately apologised to Jisung who sighed and waved his apology away, instead typing some more. ‘Do you mind if we grab your number? I think Jaemin likes you too much to let you go…’ was the new message and Renjun found himself smiling wide and unlocking his phone to get the other two contacts, receiving Jisung’s phone in exchange. He happily labelled himself as ‘Renjun - DO NOT CALL’ and saw Jisung chuckle at the name he had set for himself. When he looked back at his phone, he found two new numbers - ‘NEW FRIEND JISUNG’ and ‘OLD JAEMIN’ - before another phone screen was being shoved in his face. ‘Sorry Injun but I have to show Jisung to his new dorm! We’ll text you later :)’ was what he read and he nodded, waving goodbye and heading over to the cafe on campus that he saw on the university’s website - Dream Cafe. He got a simple iced coffee before making the trek back to his dorm room, fiddling with his key a little before he finally got inside and his phone vibrated in his pocket. When he checked who it was, he saw that it was Jisung who had created a group chat with himself and Jaemin, the other two already telling him to reply to which he did. 

Renjun found himself texting the other two before he shut his eyes and fell asleep, not having gotten anything related to university done but did get his happiness boosted up for Na Jaemin and Park Jisung seemed like promising friend choices.

Please scroll down until you see [Preview] START.

[Refuse to introduce himself] START:

Lightly shaking his head and trying to ignore the disappointed looks of the other two, Renjun suddenly felt bad for those looks belonged on everyone else but the two boys in front of him.

“My name isn’t important,” He said, knowing that it was a sorry excuse before the other two nodded in understanding. Renjun noticed that Jaemin’s smile seemed to have lost its brightness, the realness dimming slightly before the other’s lips closed and Renjun was forced to stare at Chisung to find out what he was saying. This, however, proved to be difficult for Chisung’s lips were moving too fast for him to comprehend the sounds that were escaping and caused Renjun to suddenly blurt out his terrible secret. 

“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you,” He said quickly, staring at the two in fear as Chisung’s mouth stopped and Jaemin looked at him curiously. “I’m deaf,” He confessed, staring at the ground, ashamed of himself since he wanted to keep it a secret so they wouldn’t treat him any different. He saw a hand wave itself in front of his lowered face, prompting him to look up and see a genuine smile from Jaemin - small, yes, but genuine all the same. Jaemin passed him his phone that displayed a small message typed into his notes. 

‘It’s okay! :) Jisung and I won’t judge you for it :D’ was what was not he screen and Renjun felt relief flow through his bones.

It wasn’t long before another phone was being shown to him, another short message being displayed on the screen.

‘How hard is KSL?’ was what was on it and Renjun looked up astonished to see Chisung - no, JIsung - and his embarrassed face, the other looking away slightly before he piped up.

“KSL isn’t that hard,” He stated, smiling softly and omitting the fact that he had been learning it since he was young. “But you will have to remember a lot.” He saw Jisung snort before the younger showed him the phone once more, a new message on the screen. ‘That’s every language’ were the words that he read and Renjun showed the other an innocent smile before an arm was being slung over his shoulder, Jaemin’s phone and another message sliding its way into his view. ‘Do you mind if we get your number? I think we’ll be a pretty good trio!’ was what he read and Renjun shook his head, happily handing over his phone to Jaemin who in turn gave his. Renjun hummed a tune he couldn’t hear as he set his name to ‘NEW FRIEND RENJUN’ and smiled brighter when he received his phone back, peeking over his cover at Jaemin’s wide smile at his name. He looked down to see two new contacts - ‘Jaemin/Nana :D’ and ‘CHISUNG’ - and giggled, happy at having found new friends. 

When he returned to his dorm, Renjun felt his phone vibrate in his pocket as he was currently trying to make sense of his timetable and the map of the university’s campus. He took it out and saw his two new possible friends messaging him and telling him that they should create a group chat.

Without a second thought, Renjun agreed and spent the last few hours of the day awake and messaging the two new people he had met that day.

Please keep reading on. 

[Preview] START:

The next day, Renjun had been groggy for he barely slept - too busy replying to the messages between himself, Jisung and Jaemin. His laptop barely had any battery so finding a seat in the classroom of his class that was near the power boards was a must - he couldn’t afford to not have his dictation program open. He was glad when he saw that the door of the classroom was open, shuffling inside quietly and noticing light brown hair that seemed to resemble Jaemin’s laying on top of the second last seat in the last row - right next to one that was near a poewrboard. Setting his stuff down in the seat that would be the most convenient to him, he went to gently shake the boy, the other’s shoulders were moving up and down irregularly and Renjun was afraid that he was having a nightmare. When he shook the other, he was met with Jaemin’s face - tear stained and his lower lip bleeding slightly (probably from being bitten). The other’s eyes seemed to contain such a broken soul and Renjun swallowed hard, staring down at the other before croaking out his next words.

“Jaemin…what happened?”

Please continue reading Chapter 12.

Chapter 12 will be updated within the next two months.