it's been two entire days since minghao had been pulled away by the female doctor, who forced them to stop the conversation they almost had. junhui regretted not taking further actions at that moment, but also knew he could hardly do anything against a certificated doctor.
he had spent his two days particularly great, beside the fact that more doctors had suggested him to keep a distance from the scarred boy and had kept minghao away from him. of course, they had spent time separately in the same room, which included the occasional eye contact. but no more words had been exchanged since that day.
junhui had kept up with his newly made friends and contacted his friends from home everyday when he got that specific thirty minutes to spend on his phone. beside that he had done a lot of reading and even got outside to take long strolls by the lake.
today was one of those days where junhui was seated on the wooden bench next to the lake, only a few feet away from the front door. cool gusts of wind played with his hair and held this calmness that junhui was so fond of. the serene view of the lake surrounded by green mountains and miles of forest, meadows that spread for miles around the lake house where wild horses and sheep's grazed.
the whole scenery came straight out of a studio ghibli movie and junhui could do nothing more but to feel like his own howl in a moving castle. especially with the remarkable white sweater tucked into the black pants he was wearing.
even when an unannounced presence silently got up to him from behind, the serenity remained the same. especially when that certain person sat down on the bench next to junhui, all the way on the other outer end. the boy nervously played with the hem on his sweater once junhui looked up at him with a smile.
despite the fact that minghao's face contained barely any emotion, junhui was glad to see him. the lack of words didn't even bother him at this point, even when junhui was a man who loved to talk. he was willing to give minghao as much time and space as he needed.
"hey minghao, lovely weather isn't it?" the sun shone proudly and lit up the entire valley, making the water sparkle as a clear blue sky guarded over them. junhui only received a quick nod in return, which he took for granted right away. "i don't think it'll take long before the sun will start setting. oh you should've seen it yesterday, the horizon was beautiful."
minghao cleared his throat, catching junhui's attention along with it. "actually..i- yesterday.. i've seen it.." the boy, who hardly was any older than junhui's eighteen year old self, had difficulties to find the right choice of words, stumbling over the sentence he eventually put together.
yet still, junhui didn't seem to have any troubles with it as he attentively listened to whatever minghao had to say.
"i suppose your room is facing the lake then?" junhui questioned in which minghao nodded, leaving all words that were unnecessary unspoken.
so in further silence, both stared over the glistering lake. the radiant flow of the orange sun, that slowly dropped down the horizon, reflected on the lake and made it nearly impossible for the boys to look directly into it. the bright tint of blue that had previously colored the sky had now made place for different shades of orange and pink, which turned into even warmer colors on a slow pace.
the green hills and its endless forests spread out for miles, as grazing animals hid in their shadows. a cool late summer breeze played with the strands of their hair while the sweaters that hugged their bodies kept them cozily warm.
the scenery was all too beautiful. but having the opportunity to share this breathtaking view with minghao, made it even better in junhui's opinion. from time to time junhui wasn't able to restrain himself from throwing a glance at the boy next to him. how the glorious orange light of the sun threw a radiant glow onto his face and made him look so serene.
the wind that played with his long black hair, making it wave up and down on a rhythmical pace. his whole appearance seemed so, enchanting, appealing, charming even. though he was incapable to speak the slightest, this mysterious feeling he radiated only seemed to lure junhui in more.
"j-junhui?" a fair stutter was heard in minghao's voice, yet still junhui tore his gaze apart from the breathtaking scenery in front of him to focus on the boy beside him. he was still nervously fidgeting with the hem of the oversized sweater he was wearing, anxiously looking down as he was seemingly too scared to look the taller boy directly into his eyes.
but junhui accepted it, already glad to have to boy speaking on his own intention. "yes?" he flashed a bright signature smile to get minghao to calm down, which the tensed boy caught and made him at least look somewhat in junhui's direction.
"thank you.. for.. eh, two days back.." he muttered silently, reminding junhui of the little incident they had with the doctor when junhui tried to talk to him. how could he forget?
"why would you thank me for that?" junhui calmly asked, leaving space for minghao to answer him.
the boy was visibly struggling with finding the right choice of words again. if junhui could only reach out to him to just rub his shoulder, or to grab a hold of those slender hands to calm him down. but knowing what reaction physical touch caused on him, junhui wisely restrained himself from doing so. "eh.. well.. i just felt like you.. you know.. cared?"
junhui was surprised when minghao looked up at him. his fingers had stopped fidgeting with the fabric of his sweater and the previous sense of fear that had been visible in his eyes had now completely vanished. junhui's characteristic smile made place for a genuinely heartwarming one as he shuffled an inch closer to minghao.
"of course." he simply answered. "and you know what, i still care. we might not know each other very well, but i care about you minghao."
and it were those words that made the seventeen year old xu minghao realize, that maybe there was someone out there who would be able to cure him. as the sun slowly reached lake height and started disappearing under the water level, minghao knew that junhui might be the boy in question.
