gentle rain spat up against the window of junhui's room, which was located on the opposite side of his bed. the chinese boy had purposely left his curtains unclosed so he was able to gaze over the serene lake and its surrounding landscape. even when it was a clouded night, the moon only visible from time to time, he was able to capture a handful of stars every once in a while.
no lights were lit in junhui's room, yet still his eyes were used enough to see past the darkness. falling asleep had never came easy to him, especially not in a still rather unfamiliar environment. but even though the wooden structure of the lake house reminded him fairly of a specific lodge he'd visited that same summer break, falling asleep seemed to come with some troubles.
which the digits of his clock confirmed, as it was exactly eight minutes past one am. emitting a heavy sigh, junhui twisted his position again and found comfort on his back. this way, he could easily gaze out of his sprinkled window, over the majestic landscape that spread out endlessly.
until a silent knock pierced through the overwhelming silence of the night. if he hadn't payed attention to the sound, it would have went by unnoticed. yet still, junhui hesitated to get up, scared he might have heard it wrong. they weren't allowed on the hallways past eleven pm beside paying visits to the toilet anyhow. then why did he have a visitor at this ungodly hour?
it was the moment he heard another knock when junhui hurriedly got up from his bed and rushed over to the door. the hinges creaked obnoxiously loud, scaring junhui that it might wake the doctors. yet still, he couldn't help but to be surprised when he saw who visited him this late.
"minghao? what are y-" his whispering was effectively shushed by minghao placing a finger over his own lips, motioning for junhui to get back inside his room so the boy had space to step in as well. only when the door closed the tensed raven boy loosened up.
"it's pretty late, you know." junhui exclaimed as he pointed out the digits on his clock. "shouldn't you be asleep?"
"i could ask you the same question." minghao replied, it being the first time junhui heard him talk so effortlessly. there was no hesitation in the way he spoke now it was just the two of them, without the fear of possibly being watched by a doctor.
"but what if i tell you i've been sleeping until a minute ago and you woke me up?" junhui smirked playfully, which caused panic to appear in minghao's eyes. fortunately, junhui was quick to cover his joke up, not wanting to cause any more of a reaction at the already frightened boy. "no i'm just kidding, i couldn't fall asleep. what are you up for?"
minghao looked down at his fingers that fidgeted with the button up kermit the frog pajama he wore. "same reason.." he shortly answered in nothing more than a bare whisper.
"oh you know what! have a seat, come here!" junhui playfully dropped himself on the bed, trying to make minghao as comfortable as possible as he patted the sheets in front of him. cross-legged, the boy carefully sat down on the pointed out spot, still finding it hard to look junhui directly in his eyes. "i'm actually really glad you're here. nights like these get so lonely when you're not able to fall asleep, don't you think?"
minghao nodded, still not using words when they weren't necessary. "but you know, the view from up here is actually really gorgeous." junhui carelessly rambled on, knowing there was a high possibility that if he spoke first minghao would find comfort eventually. "oh my friends back at home would be so jealous."
"c-could you maybe tell me about them?" minghao asked, his eyes sparking wonder once he looked up. the word friends seemingly warmed him up as junhui saw his expression soften.
"yes of course!" junhui cheerfully agreed before he continued. "uh let's see. you know it's actually a bit complicated. i've been really close with these three boy called mingyu, hansol and chan over the past few years. and since mingyu recently started dating this boy called wonwoo, we also became friends with wonwoo's friends!"
"we have seungcheol, who owns a cafe where we meet up almost daily! and seungcheol is dating this boy named jeonghan, they're actually really cute! and we have soonyoung and jisoo! they invited this chat called the toe cult which we're all a part of now, long story."
a genuine smile tugged on minghao's lips as he listened to every word junhui spoke with care. "that sounds wonderful, i'd love to hear everything about them." he admitted, looking the boy in front of him directly in his eyes as he said so. "do you also like boys..?"
"oh you bet i do! i think it's a coincidence that the entire group does. though i still doubt chan likes boy though.. he still tells us he's straight and you know, i believe him if he says so!" junhui laughed at the thought of his friend, seeing minghao was visibly delighted with the conversation they were able to keep going. "and do you?"
a crimson blush spread across minghao's cheeks as he failed to remain eye contact. "well eh.. i do actually.. but i don't think i'm allowed to."
"and why wouldn't you be allowed to?" junhui asked calmly, reminding himself of the conversation he had with doc a few days back. minghao was still an idol after all who had to follow strict rules he was given by the company.
"it's in my contract.." minghao sighed, looking down at his lap with a rather gloomy expression. yet junhui gave him the time and space he needed, seeing the boy was still busy struggling with finding the right words. "m-my boss.. he doesn't allow me to date an-anyone.. especially not with a boy."
"then shouldn't you be allowed to like whoever you want to like?" junhui asked which made minghao shake his head in denial. "i can't.." he whispered, convincing himself yet again of his low self worth that had been taught by his horrendous manager.
"but you know what, is he here to check on you every day?" junhui whispered, finally getting minghao to look back up at him and shake his head again. "see. you're here now. you're safe to like and date whoever you want. and no one is going to tell you otherwise, okay?"
junhui swore he saw a spark of hope flashing minghao's expression as he silently thanked the taller boy in front of him. this conversation held enough confirmation for junhui that minghao, indeed, had the ability to cure.
