Jaemin had built up the courage at work to ask Renjun and indirectly, Jeno, to come to the cinema with him. He was planning to talk to Jeno about how he did not want to even try making Renjun jealous ever again, with the excuse that work would become unbearably awkward. This decision made him happy, lifted his guilt, despite the fact he was scared of disappointing Jeno. It would be worth it, however, despite that — the crushing sense of wrong when he'd linked arms with Jeno and watched Renjun sort of crumble had to be avoided. 

But he was now faced by an entirely new problem; Jaemin honestly had no idea how long he had been standing in front of his cupboard for. A while, perhaps?

What was the perfect outfit for a something with two pretty people, part two? Jaemin was parched of ideas. He ran his fingers through his hair a couple of times, then fell onto his bed in despair. What was to be done about his indecisiveness? 

For some reason, right then his mind threw him back to a shaky memory of Donghyuck doing all his shopping for him. If anyone knew his own wardrobe better than him, it was that guy. He sat up and grabbed his phone. 

/\

| jaemfinished: hyuck

| jaemfinished: hyuck

| jaemfinished: D O N G F U C K I N G H Y U C K

full-bitch: oh my god i was watching strong woman do bongsoon what do you WANT | 

| jaemfinished: idc i'm going to the cinema with noren and i don't have a fucking clue what to wear 

full-bitch: are we getting luckyy? |

| jaemfinished: ¿you wanna die?

full-bitch: bold of you to assume dying is a punishment |

| jaemfinished: shut it with that emo NONSENSE 

full-bitch: i'm wounded D: |

| jaemfinished: anyway what should i wear pls

full-bitch: that black jersey you have with black and red English writing on the front and the vladvlades pants that are black on one side and stripy on the other and those neat black and white sneakers that you never wear |

| jaemfinished: I-

full-bitch: also I think any silver dangly earring on ONE EAR would go well with that ngl |

| jaemfinished: hell,, you never fail to surprise me 

full-bitch: go get changed you dumbfuck | 

full-bitch: then send me a picture of my handiwork |

| jaemfinished: damn okay then 

\/

Jaemin went and got his clothes out of his cupboard, unconsciously flinging half of his jeans across the room in his efforts. He turned around with his prizes draped across his arm, only to find he had left his room in a state of extreme disarray. He cringed, thinking about how he would have to tidy this up later.  

I could do it now, he thought, but his inner procrastinator booed. Maybe later. 

He put on his clothes, and messed with his hair, brushing it through a few times then flattening it down, then ruffling it up again. He slotted in an earring, having only one pair of dangly silver earrings (Donghyuck would have been horrified at this, so Jaemin hadn't disclosed it to him).

He sighed and just decided to get it over with, taking out his phone and snapping a quick picture in the mirror, planning to send it to Donghyuck when he was leaving. He headed downstairs and sat in the living room for a bit, waiting until the clock struck two so he could leave.  

Jaemin was just standing up and stretching, about to grab his keys when the front door slammed closed and a strange choking noise rent the air. Eyes widening, Jaemin rushed over to see Dongmin sliding down the door, his back heaving. His breathing was deep, rushed, and irregular. Dongmin was a singer — he was a professional at breathing. Jaemin's eyes smarted at the sight of his older brother's melancholy appearance.

"Dongmin-hyung?" Jaemin crept over to his brother when he received no reply. By now he was blinking tears out of his eyes. Dongmin was never like this, never. He didn't cry easily, he dealt with pain well, he was serious. This was Bad, with a capital B. 

"Hyung...?" Jaemin sat down, and hesitantly placed his hands on the older's shoulders, only to have Dongmin fling his hands around him and lean into his shoulder, swallowing thickly. Jaemin's hands tentatively patted his back, then guided Dongmin to the couch and sat him down, thinking hard. 

He couldn't just leave Dongmin like this. The kitchen door didn't have a lock, and that was where the knives were. His brother had cut when he was around Jaemin's own age. He hadn't done it for a while, but Jaemin still had to be here, just in case this ordeal brought back old habits. His heart sank as he realised what he had to do. It was selfish, yes, but wasn't Jaemin in love or some shit?

/\

| jaeminNn: jeno?

jeno 💓🤧: hey? whats up |

| jaeminNn: I can't come

jeno 💓🤧: what?? why? |

| jaeminNn: uhm

| jaeminNn: my brothers upset, like,, seriously upset. I gotta stay at home with him. tell Renjun for me?

jeno 💓🤧: oshit I'll tell him we can't go, you good tho? |

jaeminNn: oh yeah I'm fine, its just hyung. shit sorry we cant go|   [send message]  

jaeminNn: oh yeah I'm fine, its just hyung. shit so|

| jaeminNn: oh yeah I'm fine, its just hyung. and you guys can go!! don't cancel just because of me 

jeno 💓🤧: tf nO |

| jaeminNn: cmooooooon

jeno 💓🤧: ...you sure about that?? I feel bad :( |

| jaeminNn: absolutely! the plans are already in place and everything  

| jaeminNn: and 

| jaeminNn: you could uh

jeno 💓🤧: hm? |

| jaeminNn: try make it more of a date thing than like,, a hangout. yknow?

jeno 💓🤧: im shaking are you serious

jaeminNn: no I'm jaemin. and if ur talking bout the other serious, then yes. go for it

jeno 💓🤧: guess I should try :s

jaeminNn: you should! good luck

jeno 💓🤧: thanks 💞 bye 

\/

Jaemin blinked at the emoji, then swallowed a sudden lump in his throat. 

He hated himself for feeling so fucking jealous. 

He then turned his phone off, not wanting to deal with his feelings right now. Hell, he wasn't even sure of who he was jealous of. He turned to Dongmin and sighed, seeing that he had his knees tucked under his chin, forming a lanky ball of sadness. "What happened, Min #1?" He tried using his dumbest nickname for Dongmin to cheer him up, but it didn't work at all. He fell apart, letting his feet drop to the ground, and reached for the bottle of water nearby. He sighed, 

"Me and Bin — we're not. Uh," he swallowed again. "It went wrong. We fought and... I don't think we're friends anymore."

So the two brothers sat there, eating ice cream and watching some stupid American TV shows, their love lives unravelled and laid bare before them.

***