27 who are you?

Jeno stared at the brunet in confusion. The way his name rolled out of the latter's mouth felt like it wasn't the first time they encountered each other. There was a sense of familiarity.

But that wasn't possible.

He never heard of anyone named Jaemin in his school. Nor did he used to have a friend named Jaemin. Moreover, despite having to visit the hospital a few times, he never recalls having to know someone named as Jaemin.

If anything, Jaemin is a complete stranger to him.

Jaemin was smiling at him and he would be lying if he said it didn't freak him out. Earlier, the male was seemingly serious and scary, but now he was the complete opposite. The brunet looked bright and cheery.

If radiating positive energy was something that could be seen by the naked eye, Jaemin would be radiating with it.

Jeno would have mistaken Jaemin to be two different persons, seeing how his behavior changed in a blink of an eye.

"I'm sorry.. But, do I know you?"

"Don't you?"

Jaemin's smile began to falter because of the question. Something inside him ached after hearing Jeno's words. Did he perhaps mistaken Jeno as someone else? His memory is hazy and fuzzy.

Jeno bit his bottom lip, thinking hard if he has ever seen Jaemin before. Only to no avail. He shook his head, releasing a sigh.

"I don't think so.."

"Oh."

Jaemin muttered in response. He felt frustrated. He couldn't even believe nor rely on his memory anymore. He hoped he wasn't making his frustration evident. Mistaking someone for someone else was embarrassing and awkward enough.

"I'm sorry. Your name reminds me of someone. I ended up mistaking you for that someone."

Jaemin apologises.

"I hope we can still be friends though. I didn't mean to creep you out in any way possible."

'Ah.. So that's why.' Jeno thought to himself.

He purses his lips into a thin line. He gazes elsewhere while lightly nodding his head, afraid to meet Jaemin's own pair of dark orbs.

"It's okay, I guess."

Jaemin nodded his head in sheer delight. He felt a tinge of happiness burst inside him when the boy agreed to be friends with him. Something felt off, but he decided to shrug the thought off. He didn't want to think negatively. It wouldn't help him anyways.

"Thank you. Anyways, why don't we go and take a seat somewhere? There's plenty of empty chairs and tables for us to sit on."

Jaemin suggested, catching Jeno's attention with a raised brow.

"Well, you wouldn't need to take a seat since you're on one already. But I don't and it kinda sucks to talk to you looking down while you're looking up, don't you think?"

Jaemin explained, causing the boy to chuckle faintly.

"Heh.. Yes, you're right."

"We can take a seat right there, the table next to the windows."

Jaemin beamed, pointing his forefinger to the direction of the table he was referring to. Jeno muttered an 'ah' upon following where Jaemin was pointing at with his gaze. Jaemin was about to assist Jeno but the boy refused, and insisted that he do it by himself.

While letting himself follow after his newly found 'friend', he notices the excitement of the said boy as he approaches the table besides the huge window, perfectly displaying the sight outside. He didn't fail to notice the shimmer in the latter's eyes as he gazes at the view outside, the forming grin across his flush lips.

"Do you.. have a fascination for nature?"

Jeno asked out loud, flustering himself. They remained in utter silence for a while, and it was surprising enough that Jeno was the one who broke the silence away. Jaemin averted his gaze from the window to look at Jeno. Jeno felt shy, causing him to look away from the brunet. It made Jaemin chuckle.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ask that out-"

"No, it's okay. But I do, actually. I have this fascination for the world outside of this place. I can't help but be curious of what the world is like out there. There's so much beauty that this world holds."

Jeno momentarily blinked a few times, his eyes painted in curiosity.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean 'what do I mean?'" Jaemin cocked his head to the side.

Jeno shook his head, clasping his hands together and placing them on top of his lap.

"There's nothing worth to be curious about in the world outside. There's no such thing as beauty. Nothing is good about it at all. Life is a chaos outside. You wouldn't want to see it, I'm telling you."

"Oh.. I cannot agree on that one, Jeno."

"Why?"

"There is beauty. There is something worth calling beautiful in everything if you paid more attention, if you take the time to know and find it. The world is beautiful, you know? But most of us see it as something else."

Jaemin hummed, diverting his gaze back on the window, a smile plastered across his lips.

"Even if you say that the world is far from what I imagine it to be, I want to see it. There's always the good and bad in things. There won't be balance if only the good exists, and the bad doesn't. The bad exists to ground the good."

Jeno stared at Jaemin in silence. He felt at loss for words. Something about the boy captivates him and amuses him. Could it be because their views about the world are completely opposed with each other? He couldn't quite tell. It's their first encounter, after all.

"I'm sorry for having to say this all of a sudden, but I have to go."

Jeno's eyes grew wide. Was he too caught up with his own train of thoughts and ended up spacing out?

"Wait," Jeno muttered, but Jaemin already stood up from his seat. The brunet slightly bowed his head before flashing him a smile as he waved goodbye.

"I'll see you around, I guess. Good bye, Jeno."