"do you realize what you're saying?" Jaemin asked, scowling at the younger, feeling skeptical of what the boy had said.

Jeno only widens his smile, nodding as he did a cute 'mhmm!', still playing with Jaemin's fingers.

The elder pulled his hand away, resulting the brunet to pout at him but he ignores him. "You're out of your goddamn mind." He muttered.

"If it's to help you, I don't mind." Jeno adds.

It only irritated Jaemin even more, "you don't know what you're saying. Go eat something, I'll be out for a minute." He said.

Jeno pulls his wrist back and swings it around while whining, "I just want to help you! Can I not help you, hyung? Please~"

The elder scoffs and pulls his wrist back from Jeno's grasp, "I'll be back. Go eat." He said curtly, before leaving Jeno's apartment in a blink of an eye.

☺︎︎

"Did you even ask as to why he wants to help you?" Yangyang crossed his arms, leaning against the wall as he eyes his friend like he was dumb. Maybe he can be.

"No." Jaemin said in a tone, eyebrows knitted together.

That's when Yangyang grunts. "There's a difference between being dumb and being cold-hearted, but damn bitch, you can do both."

Jaemin groans and glares at him. "Are you even trying to help? What do I even do now that he won't let this shit go unless I give in?"

"Oh, hunny, I am trying to help. But your dumbass is getting on my nerves today," Yangyang retorts.

"And why do you even care anyway?" Before Jaemin could say that he doesn't care at all and is just trying to find a way to not get killed by Jeno's friends, Yangyang cuts him off.

"Cut that bullshit on what you're about to say, listen to me and get my facts in your brain." He lifts up a palm towards Jaemin's face.

"You obviously care about him, believe it or not, but you do. If you didn't, you would've left him right about now, immediately push him away, hell, not even care about his friends who'll be furious at you while he's crying."

Jaemin opens his mouth to speak, but couldn't form any words for an excuse.

"Look dude, just ask him why he wants to help you, either take it or leave it. But honestly, I feel like that's the bestest gift to ever get from a human soulmate, in my opinion." Yangyang chuckled to himself.

Rolling his eyes, Jaemin tsks. "Fine, whatever." Turning around to head back downstairs to Jeno's apartment, the rooftop smelled like some dead rats, must be why no one comes up here but them.

As Yangyang was about to grin at him while he had his back turned, he then looks over his shoulder, "and he's not my soulmate." Muttering and leaving his friend mimicking him.

☺︎︎

"You're back!" Jeno chirps when he opens his door to see Jaemin standing there again. Grabbing the elder's wrist and was about to pull him in, until a strong invisible force stopped them and pulled him back.

"Oh yeah, hehe~ come in!" He giggled, finding his own actions silly while he tried again. This time, Jaemin was able to go back in with ease.

Bongsik greets them with a meow when she passes by them before walking towards the kitchen with her tail swaying.

He turns to Jaemin who raised a brow, his gaze fell on the coffee table with a bowl of cereal on it, it was still full and it looked like no one had touched it. The cereal was even starting to get soggy.

"Where'd you go?" Jeno asks, pulling him by the wrist to sit on the couch beside him, he still hadn't let go of Jaemin's wrist.

"Rooftop. Yangyang wanted to talk." At the mention of his friend, Jaemin wanted to roll his eyes his crappy words of advice.

But at the same time, weirdly enough, his eyes immediately focused on Jeno's face and looks at his "black eye" (he had claimed) and just couldn't help but get annoyed with himself.

It's been a while, and it's even almost October.

"Hyung? You were saying?" Jeno asks, making him snap out of his stupor and blinks.

"What did you guys talked about? You don't have to tell me if it's a secret or something, I get that it's probably private. But remember, you don't have to keep things from me, okay hyung?"

Oh sweet, sweet Jeno.

Nodding silently, Jaemin clears his throat. "Why do you want to help me?" Changing the subject, not really since it was the main point of his conversation with Yangyang, but Jeno doesn't know that.

"Because you're struggling."

"Elaborate on why you want to help me besides that. If it's just that reason, don't take pity on me." Jaemin scoffs at him.

The younger hums and inches closer to Jaemin's side, their arms brushing as he smiles at him.

"I want to help you, not only because of that, but because you're my soulmate and I like you! And I feel like it's my duty to help you, hyung." He said.

Jaemin didn't respond for a minute, making Jeno reach out for his hand to play with his fingers again.

"You obviously care about him."

"immediately push him away."

His thoughts were cut offed when he decided to speak since Jeno got worried and was just staring at him. "You don't have any duties towards me." He sternly said.

"Yeah I do," Jeno argues with a smile. How stubborn can this boy be?

"You don't."

"Nuh-uh, my duty is to make you smile. Even if it's not towards me, and even if we're soulmates." Jeno said in determination.

Jaemin just blinks at him, but in the inside, he got that weird fluttery feeling again. He brushes it off like he usually does.

"We're not soulmates."

"We are, you gave me this soulmate mark." Jeno points to his eye, almost stabbing himself with his finger. "And now, I'm just hoping you have mine. But that's okay if not, maybe I'm just fantasizing too much about this again." He chuckled to himself.

The elder pursed his lips before deciding to ask again, "are you sure about what you have just said about me feeding myself from you?" He doesn't know why he wanted to change the topic so bad.

Maybe because the way Jeno said it was like he had considered himself as a weird and lame type of person. And maybe because a lot of people have thought about that about him.

It irked Jaemin, in a way.

Jeno looks up from playing with Jaemin's fingers, and nods again. "Yup!" He grins.

Sighing deeply, Jaemin doesn't know why, but he said it, and it's out there. And Jeno is smiling at him so much that he hugs his bicep.

"Fine."

"My dear soulmate, I promise to help you anytime and do my best! :3"

"Pup, why is this even happening?"