Chapter 7 | The Second Man

The Second Man

Chapter 7 | The Second Man

“Both the current periodic table that we use now and the one Dmitri Mendeleev formulated back in 1869 are almost the same, except for a few things. One of them is the first periodic table was arranged according to their atomic weight, whereas the one that we use now is arranged according to their atomic number,” Mr. Shim, the chemistry teacher said, “That’s right, the periodic table changes over time. Most students don’t know that the periodic table is fluid, and that the model changes as new discoveries are made and new theories are develo

A sudden loud, distracting static sound took over the entire school, interrupting the classes that made all the teachers and students halt in their tracks to listen to the announcement, including Jaemin.

“Teachers, this is an important announcement. All of you are advised to dismiss your classes right now and head to the conference hall for an urgent meeting,” the voice, which from what could Jaemin make out belonged to the school director’s assistant, Miss Kwon, announced. “Again, all of you are advised to dismiss your classes right now and head to the conference hall for an urgent meeting. Thank you.”

Celebratory yell could be heard all throughout the building from the students as soon as they processed what was going on. It only meant they’d have roughly an hour added to their free time because of the meeting. Jaemin wondered what could possibly be the meeting about. It was strange for the school director to call for a meeting and cut classes off. The school principal, Mr. Lee, would always do his best not to interrupt on-going classes as much as he could, because he values and education like no other, which means the meeting is a very important one.

Mr. Shim hushed the class, telling them not to roam around and to behave well. He then packed his things before saying his goodbye and exiting the room, leaving the students who were ecstatic as they went on to their respective businesses. It was the last class before lunch, which meant they’d have more time to eat and hangout with friends and classmates.

Coming from behind, Jaemin saw Jeno walked past by him without much of an acknowledgement or a single glance at the very least. He found it weird, considering the arrogant boy would make the most of annoying him. It had been a week since their last interaction—the one that resulted in Jeno walking out, and everything seemed to be going fine for Jaemin, especially in class. He no longer had to deal with anything other than academics, which he’d been neglecting and trying to focus on. So, he guessed that it was better that way. Maybe it was better for them to act like they don’t or never knew each other, and it’s not like they were even friends to begin with.

“For someone who says he has no interest in Lee Jeno, you sure stare a lot, Nana,” Donghyuck commented, his eyes trailing after Jeno who was being followed by Jisung to the corridor. “Come to think of it, he hasn’t looked at you since that incident. You probably hurt him pretty bad.”

And as much as he wanted to disagree, Jaemin was completely aware of that—that he might’ve hypothetically crossed the line, but it wasn’t entirely his fault, was it? He was just trying to defend himself. It’s normal to have that kind of reaction when people try to bully you...right? Jaemin turned his head to the side, glaring at his best friend.

“Let’s just eat,” Jaemin countered back. “He’s not worth my time.”

“Sure.” Donghyuck looked at him knowingly before turning behind. “Chenle-ya, come on, let’s merge our tables. I’m really hungry because of that discussion in Chemistry. I feel like I’ll faint any second.”

“Wait ‘til we get to atomic structure and bonding,” Chenle said, “I’m sure you will hate it even more.”

“Ugh.” Donghyuck sighed defeatedly. “Hey, Chenle-ya, can we at least exchange brains just for this semester? I don’t think mine will be able to handle it.”

“You can’t exchange something you don’t have, Haechan,” Jaemin said as they merged the two tables.

“Just because your head is abnormally big, doesn’t me—”

“Hey Jaemin,” Mark Lee interjected, walking up to their table with a bashful smile. As soon as Donghyuck’s gaze landed on the source of that voice, he was immediately shut up, afraid of saying something wrong in front of his crush. The brown-haired guy was with Lucas Wong, his best friend, and, Liu Yangyang, the German exchange student from last year who continued studying at their school. “Is it—is it okay if we sit with you guys?”

“Uh...” Jaemin looked at Donghyuck and Chenle reluctantly. Donghyuck, however, was too engrossed in staring lovingly at Mark with stars in his eyes, as if the latter was the greatest man the universe had ever created.

They’ve talked about it before, Jaemin and Donghyuck. The former always wondered how could Donghyuck lose every ounce of his breath just being in the same room as Mark Lee. He has always wondered how Donghyuck could pick up all the littlest things about the Canadian guy such as the way Mark runs his hand through his hair when frustrated, bite the inside of his cheeks when annoyed, scratch his nape when shy, pull a very subtle tight lipped smile when happy, and click his tongue when thinking. One time, he’d asked Donghyuck why was he so in love with Mark Lee, to which his best friend had replied with I just am.

Jaemin knows his best friend was never the best in academics, nor was he the best at reading between the lines. One thing for sure is Donghyuck isn’t stupid. So, Jaemin wondered why couldn’t his best friend see that the guy doesn’t have the tiniest bit interest in him. Regardless, he doesn’t have the heart to tell it to him. What if Donghyuck doesn’t actually know? The last thing he wants is to see his best friend crying over some guy who can’t see his worth.

With half a smile, Mark and Lucas pull one of the tables toward the edge of the two merged tables. Donghyuck sat near the window, right beside Jaemin, while Chenle and Liu Yangyang sat across the two, respectively. Lucas Wong took the seat diagonal to Liu Yangyang, whereas Mark Lee took the one closest to Jaemin.

“Here, try this, Jaem,” Mark Lee said, putting a piece of mandu on Jaemin’s lunch box as soon they, he, Lucas, and Yangyang, have laid all their food on the table. “My mom made it. She’s the best at making mandu, I’m sure you’ll love it.”

Jaem? Jaemin thought as he awkwardly took the piece of mandu with his chopsticks, transferring it to his best friend’s lunch box. “Uh… I actually had mandu as my breakfast, so… But Donghyuck here loves mandu a lot. You should give him some more.”

Stunned and hurt a little, Mark nodded aggressively, faking a smile before putting more mandu onto Donghyuck’s lunch box without thinking about it much. He stared for a good three solid seconds, perusing Jaemin, trying to read the latter’s actions but could not put a finger on it.

“T-thank you, Mark...” Donghyuck said sheepishly, playing with his food. “B-By the way, I… I texted you last night, but you didn’t reply. D-did… Did you receive them?”

“Oh,” Mark replied indifferently, “yeah, I did. Sorry, I wasn’t able to reply. I was already sleeping by then.”

“Sleeping?” Lucas asked in confusion. “Didn’t we stay up until mid—”

Lucas wasn’t able to finish his sentence when Mark elbowed him quite harshly, causing him to choke on his food. Clutching his stomach, he immediately looked at Donghyuck and Jaemin before a forced smile plastered its way on his lips.

Liu Yangyang just snickered in his seat.

 

Outside the room, Jeno leaned his back and both of his elbows on the windows of the school corridor as Jisung walked up to him. It was the first week of April, making it a little cold but not so much compared to the previous month. The floor in which Jeno stood overlooks the school ground as the trees that were once leafless were now full of cherry blossoms, coming one with the wind every now and then, decorating and coloring the entire ground in pink.

Since there was an urgent meeting for teachers, some of the students took the extra time to take pictures with the beautiful scenery while some choose to view it on each floor where their homerooms were designated. Each of the corridors of the main building, including where Class 11-A was located, was flocked with students doing their business, most of the girls gossiping around while the guys pulling pranks on one another.

Several seconds later, Jisung got out of the room and walked up to him, settling beside him.

“Did you receive Uncle Jaehyun’s text?” Jisung asked.

Jeno nodded boredly. He heard Jisung let out a long sigh.

“You should reply to him,” Jisung commented, trying to persuade him to talk to his dad, which was the last thing Jeno wanted to do. He remained adamant. “Hey, do you think Uncle Jaehyun is involved as to why Miss Kwon announced an urgent meeting.”

“Yeah,” Jeno answered without any sound of interest as he spared his cousin a single glance before staring right ahead, putting both of his hands inside his pockets. “Mr. Moon actually told me earlier that Dad is going to visit here in three days. He’ll be donating things to, quote-unquote, better the environment of the school where his son studies.”

It’s ridiculous, Jeno thought. Had his dad not moved him here, then his old man wouldn’t have to go to the extent of donating things to the school. He didn’t know what was going on through his dad’s mind, but he thought it was better to no longer intervene. Besides, it wasn’t like he still cared for him. As the days flew living by himself, he realized how toxic their father and son relationship was.

“Hyung, you know he probably just wants what’s best for you, right?”

“I don’t know, Jisung, does he?” With glistening eyes, Jeno looked at Jisung, sighing as he blinked his moisten eyes. His cousin remained apologetically silent, not looking him in the eyes. Jeno just spoke again, breaking the silence between them, “Sending me here, moving me out of our school—none of this makes any sense, Jisung.”

“I understand, but didn’t you actually think of moving out?” Jisung reasoned out. “It just turned out Uncle actually thought of it first. Besides, you’ve lived for about four years without Uncle Jaehyun before.”

“But the fact that he thought about it… It hurts, all right?” He drew a long breath. “It hurts more than I thought it would. It hurts more than I will ever admit. Like, I’m not even legal yet, I’m not even twenty yet. When he sent me to Shanghai with your family, it was one of the loneliest times of my life… And I’m thankful for you, Uncle Baekhyun, Uncle Chanyeol, and Mr. Moon, for making it bearable. Dad went to the US that time to unwind because of his failed marriage, but why couldn’t he have just taken me with him?”

Jisung looked down, not knowing anything to say. He didn’t think much of it before, and now it felt like his cousin was shedding him some lights.

“I was never okay with the set up, but I got used to it. I mean, that was the only way out—to be used to it. But this?” Jeno pointed his index finger, his eyes reflecting all the repressed emotions he’d been hiding. Knowing his cousin, Jisung would have never thought of Jeno displaying any form of fragility intentionally, especially in a public place where everyone could notice the commotion. It must have been taking a toll on Jeno, “We’re in the same country, same city even. I no longer have Papa, and I feel like Dad and I are slipping away from each other every single day I wake up. There are times that I’m okay, that I’m probably just overthinking and it’s all just in my head. But there are days that sudden wave of realization dawns on me that maybe Dad is really trying to get rid of me. I just don’t know anymore.”

“I’m so sorry, Hyung. I didn’t know that’s how you’ve been feeling.” Jisung muttered, looking at his cousin wholeheartedly apologetic.

“It’s not your fault. I should be the one sorry. I’m acting like a kid when I’m the older one between us.” Jeno chuckled humorlessly, wiping the tears he didn’t know had skidded down his cheeks as he tried to laugh and act like everything was going fine. When he realized Jisung could see through him, he dropped the act and said, “You don’t realize how lucky you are, Jisung...”

“Is it because of what Na Jaemin said last week?”

Jeno knew that Jaemin doesn’t know anything about him and his father, but he couldn’t minimize the pain he was feeling. He couldn’t brush off the feeling that maybe Jaemin was right, that maybe what Jaemin said might have some truth to it, even in the tiniest bit. No longer capable of enduring the sorry gaze from his cousin, Jeno left with a heavy heart.

Mr. Moon, his butler, had his own room in his apartment. Technically, Jeno wasn’t living alone because he at least had Mr. Moon. The thing is, his butler goes home by ten in the evening, leaving him alone in the cramped apartment he, or his dad, recently bought. And then Mr. Moon would come as early as seven in the morning to prepare all the things he needs for school, his breakfast, as well as cleaning the place. The room Mr. Moon had in his apartment was for convenience more than anything. That way, his butler no longer have to pack stuff all the time. It saves more time, energy, and effort.

Truth be told, it was a dynamic Jeno had gotten used to when he was still living in their house. Living there ever since he came back from Shanghai was a little colder, considering Mr. Moon would leave at night and only come back in the morning. Add to that the fact that despite him living with his dad, he would always be asleep when his father comes late at night. In the morning, his dad would always wake up and have his breakfast early, so Jeno hadn’t had the opportunity to make their bond stronger. When Jeno arrived in Korea for the first time four years, he hadn’t given as much as a single glance his dad. He was mad at the time. At the same time, he wanted Jaehyun to comfort him. He craved the affection both of his parents used to give him. However, he guessed it was too late for that.

As he spent more time alone, Jeno realized that the gap in between his father was expanding exponentially. And he wouldn’t be so surprised if one day he sees his dad, the one who used to be his savior, his hero, his partner in crime, become another stranger who happened to be a huge part of his life in the past, just like his other father.

Earlier that day, before insisting on taking the bus instead of being dropped off by an expensive car, Jeno had a conversation with Mr. Moon, in which the latter mentioned how Vice President Jung was going to become one of the sole sponsors of Third District of Seoul High School for Science and the Arts. Initially, Jeno was okay with it. It was a noble thing to do, he would admit. But when Mr. Moon mentioned the reason for this move was for better connection and for Jeno to be untouchable in school if he ever get into a mess, he was beyond livid, his eyes seething with pure rage. He didn’t need those kind of treatment. He could handle himself well enough to not be put in a position where he’d be kicked out.

So, when Jeno received a text from his father about an arranged dinner with the Parks, his Uncle Johnny, and Mr. Moon, he hastily texted back his confirmation that he’d be present in order to confront his dad.

 

In the instance Jeno stepped foot inside the classroom, his eyes meeting Jaemin for a split second, he sensed what seemed to be concern, worry even had he looked close enough, from the latter. Maybe it was because in the way Jaemin’s eyes glistened for a second or maybe in the way his breathing became uneven or maybe in the way his brows met as they were furrowed, but whatever it was, Jeno wanted to shake the feeling off. He wanted to shrug it off, even when he could still feel the pair of light brown eyes piercing through his head as he sat on Jisung’s seat.

He didn’t know if it was because of the Jaemin’s gaze, but Jeno was glad that he was able not to lash out, his anger dissipating as time passed by. By the time the last bell rang throughout the school building, he made his way through the sea of crowd in able to catch up to the boy he’d missed teasing.

Maybe he just needed to do something in order to take his mind off the things that kept on hurting him.

“Hey,” he called arrogantly, “why were you staring at me, you got a crush on me or somethin’?”

“Why are you suddenly talking to me again, aren’t you mad because I hurt your wittle feelings?” Jaemin mocked, side-eyeing the guy he thought would never talk to him again.

“Nah, it didn’t. I was just planning my next move to annoy the out of you.”

“Totally, because coming up to me and talking to me casually is the best move you could possibly think of. Ten over ten for creativity.”

“You totally have a crush on me,” Jeno said cockily as the two of them descended down the steps to the school grounds. “I mean, I can’t blame you. To be honest, I feel like the reason you started this whole thing was for me to notice you. You’ve called me a Stonehenge, and yet you can’t stop staring at me.”

“You know what,” Jaemin started as he stopped abruptly from walking before facing Jeno, “I seriously think you need to get checked. One minute you look like you’re about to overthrow the entire government of South Korea, the next minute you act as if you never planned a coup d’etat.”

Remember when Jeno told Lucas that Jaemin wasn’t that good looking? That was a complete and utter rubbish. He had admitted to himself that Jaemin is indeed ethereal, enchanting. And the way the younger’s mouth verbalized was almost captivating, like some sort of hypnosis that would render someone to follow orders without having second thoughts. Jeno couldn’t help himself but let out a chuckle.

And Jaemin swore the Gods above, that smile was the purest and most beautiful one he had ever laid his eyes upon on with the exception of his dad’s. The arrogant guy before him had a crescent-shaped eyes, resembling the moon. Jaemin was taken aback.

“You didn’t even try to deny it,” Jeno remarked, caressing his chin. And then within the blink of an eye, he turned serious, humor no longer traceable in his words. “Tsundere, I like that.”

Annoyed, Jaemin mustered all his strength, focusing it all on his leg before kicking Jeno in the shin with all his might. The latter shrieked in pain and shock as Jaemin walked straight ahead to the school gates without looking back.

You’re really something else, Na Jaemin, Jeno thought to himself as he clutched his kicked leg, balancing himself with the other.

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Comments

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indri_aki #1
Chapter 12: Just encounter this story, the plot is very good... I hope you will continue this story someday...
Mark_Mark #2
Chapter 12: i hope youll continue this soon. thank you for this
hesah99 #3
Chapter 12: This is the best store I have ever read please continue
justinaudreydelacruz #4
Chapter 12: i’m literally crying.
taeyong_say_meow #5
Chapter 12: WOW

???

ЭТО НАСТОЛЬКО КРУТО, OMG
wangkei #6
Chapter 12: so I decided not to be a silent reader anymore and leave proper comments, cause this story is so lovely T_T, while waiting for the next update, I recommend reading 'Na jaemin was his name' by the same author if you havent already.

and about this story, I loved all the chapters so far, character developments, the plot, their relationships with other characters all and all made it very enjoyable to read. I'll be giving it a second read so I can comment on other chapters :)
so thank you so much for writing this.
d_cielle #7
Chapter 12: Thnks authornim, ill wait the next chap patietly
KatTS501 #8
Chapter 12: Aigoo Jeno-ya you must've held in what you're feeling for too long that a simple statement from Jaemin made you cry. Fighting Jeno & Jaemin
Noah-S #9
Chapter 12: Don't make me cry :(