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"You know maybe if you weren't such an asshole-"

"Oh give me a break! You're worse than me!"

A collective sigh from the class sounds as Jaemin and Jeno continue to bicker. Last week they were assigned a partner project in their math class, some scatter plot shit or whatever. But according to policy, Jaemin and Jeno now had to be partners- which was a recipe for disaster.

Jaemin sighed and rubbed his temples. He's been dealing with this asshole as a soulmate for almost 2 months now, and he was honestly so fed up. There was no way in Hell that they were 'meant to be'. Jeno rolls his and just turns back to their packet, staying silent. He was too tired to even care at this point.

"I'll do the graphing and you can do the equations-"

"Not fair asshat."

"I'll do the graphing and the ending questions. So chill..." Jaemin muttered the last part under his breath. "Lardass." Jeno shoots him a glare but says nothing.

Mrs. Min pays the two boys no mind, understanding that this was necessary for their growth as a couple. There were always bumps at the beginning but the road would even own and soon enough, Jeno and Jaemin would be pushing each other forward instead of holding each other back, even if they didn't realize it just yet.

"ASSHOLE!"

"FUCKTRUCK!"

"YOU RUINED IT!"

....but that might take a while.

The class lets out another sigh and try to finish their work with the two boys arguing in the corner.

<><>

"Jaemin! Jaemin!"

"Mr. Zhong, please do not interrupt my class. I understand that you have a free but-" Chenle cuts off Jaemin's teacher.

"Jaemin, c'mon. Donghyuk is back." Chenle smiles wide.

With that statement, the whole class goes silent, their eyes wide in surprise.

Lee Donghyuk, practically a celebrity around school. He was well known for his confident presence and dry humor. He charmed students and teachers alike. He grew popular because of the band club, his voice was that of an angel and it would entrap you. Anyone who was his soulmate would be the luckiest person on earth. Donghyuk was charming, funny, sweet, loyal, wise, kind, and really sarcastic.

He had exactly 3 friends at school. Mark Lee, a friend he met in middle school. Zhong Chenle, Donghyuk had practically adopted him. And Na Jaemin, a childhood friend who's been there for him all his life.

Donghyuk had been away at an Arts School abroad for a year, and didn't have much time to keep in touch with everyone. He left before he turned 18, so it was surprising when all the students saw the one and only Lee Donghyuk walking back down the hall with a soulmate mark on his wrist. Walking next to him was Mark Lee, a wide smile on his face and a soulmate mark on the palm of his hand.

Jaemin follows Chenle out of the classroom, the other students not far behind; class and their teacher forgotten about.

"HYUKIE!"

"HYUNG!"

Donghyuk turns around and smiles widely when he sees his two best friends running towards him. "Chenle! Nana! Oh my goodness, I've missed you so much." The eldest of the trio takes his friends into a tight embrace, the large smile not leaving his face.

Jaemin pulls away first. "I can't believe you're back. I totally thought you left for good." He smiled sadly.

Donghyuk laughs. "No don't be stupid. Of course I'd come back." He opens his eyes and they immediately fix onto the mark on Jaemin's face. "Nana...you found your soulmate."

"So did you." Chenle breaks in, eyeing him and Mark, who just stood off to the side, whistling nervously.

"Oh my god of course you two are soulmates." Jaemin laughs. Even though Mark was an ass to him, Jaemin had to admit that he and Donghyuk were a good match. They balanced each other out and kept each other in check. Plus with Donghyuk back, Mark might actually stop beating him up for good.

Donghyuk turns to his youngest friend and smiles warmly. "Don't worry Chenle, you'll find yours as well." He pats the Chinese boy's head.

Chenle huffs and mumbles a quiet "I know." As the 4 walk off, deciding to just skip the rest of the period- no teacher would care anyways. Why? Because Lee Donghyuk was back.

<><>

Jeno slumps in his seat, his lamp flickering slightly from usage. He sighed and turned to look out the bedroom window, the sun long gone and the stars shining brightly against the dark blanket of the sky.

Tonight was one of those nights where Jeno would have to stay up into the early hours of dawn, waiting for his mother to come home. Tonight was one of those nights where Mrs. Lee forgot she had a son waiting for her at home and she would spend her night god knows where. Tonight was one of those nights where Jeno felt small and useless. If his own mother could forget about him, then who else could?

As much and Jeno was tough, Strong, and independent. He was still an emotional kid who could feel like crying and laughing at the same time. And tonight was a night where Jeno felt weak and like crying.

Jeno slams his head onto his desk and groans. Why did life had to be so shitty? Why couldn't Jeno have a normal family and a normal life? Why did everything always fuck up? Jeno didn't know which was worse; his mother never abused him...she just neglected him. Sometimes he wished she would hurt him, at least then he'd be noticed. Sighing, Jeno stands and grabs his house keys and jacket before leaving his home. He couldn't stand to stay in that house and decided to go to the park instead.

Walking around the pebble paths with the moon illuminating the scattered trees, Jeno slowly calmed down. Life wasn't great, sure; but it wasn't terrible either. Yes, his mother forgot who he was half the time, but he still had people who loved him and saw him as family. He still had a bright future ahead of him, with good education and big dreams. Jeno knew he was gonna make it far, surpass his mother's terrible state and make a name for himself.

Jeno stops when he hears crying. The kind of crying where you want no one to hear you. The kind of crying that comes from the heart. The kind of crying that suffocates you so much it hurts. Jeno has only heard this crying twice before: the first being the day Jeno saw his mother break down after his father left for another woman. The second being...

"Jisung?"

The boy looks up from the bench, his eyes glistening from the tears. "H-hyung? What are y-you doing here?"

"I was taking a walk...why are you crying Ji?" Jeno hurries to sit by his friend's side.

Jisung takes a moment to calm down and wipe his tears before speaking. "You k-know Chenle?"

"You mean that shithead's friend?" Jeno raises an eyebrow.

Jisung sighs but nods. "Yeah, Jaemin's friend."

"Yeah, what about him?"

"Is it bad that I'm friends with them?"

"With Chenle? No why would it be bad? You can be friends with whoever-"

"I mean Chenle and Jaemin, hyung. I know how much you hate him...so I thought..." Jisung trails off and looks down.

"You thought that I would hate you for cleaning up his wounds?" Jeno says, looking up at the sky.

"You knew?"

"Of course I knew. Mark did too, we just didn't care. We understood the situation...you were bullying your best friend's friend. Might as well make it up to them somehow."

"Y-yeah...." Jisung looks down at his lap.

"I admire you for that." Jeno says after a few minutes. "You pushed through the guilt and tried to make everyone happy. You had to make Chenle happy by making sure Jaemin was ok. You had to make us happy by not telling us to stop beating up Jaemin." His soft expression soon turns to a more annoyed one. "That shits always in the middle of things. Fucking ass."

Jisung stiffens. "S-sorry."

"I'm not mad at you for helping him Ji...if I was you'd definitely know. I'm just stressed and his presence isn't making anything better." Jeno sighs and turns to lend Jisung a soft smile. The boy returns it.

"Is it your mom again?"

"When isn't it my mom."

"I'm sorry hyung...I know how hard it is...being forgotten and all that."

"Yeah, as long as we don't forget each other, then it'll be ok."

"You know, Donghyuk is Mark's soulmate."

"So I heard. They're a good fit. I'm surprised they weren't already dating."

Jisung laughs and nods his head. "Yeah...I'm glad to see Mark smiling again. His light kinda went out after Donghyuk hyung left."

"You noticed it too?" Jeno eyes his friend.

The younger nods. "Mhm...he was always pretty smiley in general, but it was so much brighter with Donghyuk around. He was more alive. But after Donghyuk left, his eyes kinda dimmed. There wasn't as much excitement in his voice. Sure he was still his wild self, but he wasn't Mark."

Jeno takes a moment to take in what Jisung said. The kid was right, Mark was really down for the year that Donghyuk was abroad.

Jisung speaks again, eyes looking up at the sky. "I guess that's what happens when you aren't with your soulmate."

"Yeah ...When did you get so wise? It's weird." Jeno laughs and Jisung joins in.

"I'm not sure. But they say that kids with childhood trauma grow to be much more mature at a younger age than most other kids."

"That...makes sense. They also say that kids with childhood trauma think of their childhood as the best time of their life."

Jisung turns to Jeno, confused. "Why do they say that?"

"Because after the trauma, life goes downhill. So the only bright things they remember are from before that. Like how I always think of life being good before my dad left and before my mom changed."

"Oh...I guess that makes sense."

The two boys continue talking late until the sun begins to peak over the trees and the city begins to wake up. They bid their goodbyes before going their separate ways.

Jeno enters his home to see his mom passed out on the couch, her shoes still on and her hair a mess. He sighs and makes his way up to his room, Jisung's words ringing in his head. "I guess that's what happens when you aren't with your soulmate." Jeno scoffs. If anything, Jaemin was only making life worse, not better.

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<Sorry it took me so long to update, this past week was h e c t i c. anyways, thank you for reading, and that you for over 250 reads!???? Wtf??? I love you all so much??? Thank you??? Lmao alright bye>