for the nth night in a row, junhui was seated on his window sill with his back leaning against the wallpapered concrete wall. falling asleep only seemed to become harder the longer he stayed in the lake house and at this point even junhui knew himself that it had undeniably something to do with his mysterious disease. despite the fact that he really started feeling at home as it was a lot livelier than his apartment back in town, he noticed his health started going downhill on a faster rate than he expected.
it were only the small things that were noticeable, yet junhui could sense something was wrong. doctor kihyun had also never contacted him throughout the week that he had been here and junhui doubted that good news would come to him soon.
even the usual optimistic boy started losing the ability to keep a positive mindset in this situation. yet being seated on the windowsill underneath an unclouded starry night sky, with a bright moon being his only source of light, he felt at peace.
junhui was well aware that it wouldn't take long for minghao to pay him his nightly visit and counted down the seconds until his presence would enrich the room. somehow, even when junhui feared his own current state a lot, being with minghao helped him to forget about his problems. though he never had any problems with losing optimism, minghao tend to turn all the negativity surrounding his disease into positivity.
even when no words were spoken, his presence soothed out everything that was a bother.
and just when he expected, junhui heard the hinges of his door creak obnoxiously hard through the silence of the night. yet unlike other times, he didn't hear the door falling back in its lock. until minghao appeared from around the corner, motioning for junhui to get closer to him.
"minghao wh-" minghao effectively shushed him by hissing and placing a finger over his own lips, repeating the same motion over and over for junhui to actually join him. with a lot of hesitation, junhui finally got up from the windowsill and walked over to minghao.
once he finally reached the boy, minghao tiptoed and reached ear height. "i found a way outside, take your blanket with you."
"i- minghao are you insane?" junhui whisper hissed when minghao already turned around and ripped the duvets off his bed, pushing it inside his arms and nodding determined.
his decision already had been made and junhui knew that the only thing he could do was to just follow him like a puppy. "ming-minghao come on please, what if the doctor's find out?" junhui hissed again as minghao turned to the door and crouched to the ground where he had thrown his own blanket.
"lower your volume, for gods sake. we're going stargazing."
junhui's eyes grew at least twice the size and he had to take a moment to comprehend the words minghao had just spoken. stargazing. minghao planned on going stargazing? with him? though the idea seemed pretty alluring and definitely captured his heart, sneaking out after midnight was against the rules.
"minghao you're aware that it's forbidden, right?" junhui warned him. but figuring that they were already midway in the hallway, they could hardly return now.
"fuck that. i want to go stargazing with you." minghao's words gave junhui a kick of serotonin. hearing him speak so freely and without hesitation gave junhui a feeling of overwhelming happiness that he could hardly put to words.
"i love it when you talk like that, let's go." junhui breathed out, following minghao down over the twirling traditional wooden staircase. the humungous living room was completely empty by now, as the clock pointed out it was already far past one am. the fire in the fireplace had mostly died down and had only some smoldering pieces of wood left.
"the coast is clear, if i'm not mistaken all the doctor's are in their rooms. they never lock the glass slide doors, so i suggest we take them. the front door makes too much noise, if we close it we'll definitely get caught and i'm not sure if the security system on the front porch still works." minghao explained his strategy, swinging his blanket over his shoulders as a cape while he made way to the slide doors. "also i think it's best if we don't stay inside the back yard but go out on the open field. this way they can't see us laying there either. and the lake house won't block the view that way."
junhui just went along with whatever minghao had to say, trailing the boy like a lost puppy. though he couldn't deny the fact that his heart was beating rapidly against his ribcage. despite the fact that it certainly did bring him a rush of excitement and ecstasy, he was scared like never before.
the sliding door opened smoothly with barely making any noise, making it easier for the boys to sneak out. no alarm system was heard either, which they gladly took in their benefit.
leaving the garden was easy as well as right outside the door a little waist-height gate was placed. the tiny iron fence also opened up effortless, the squeaking sound it produced not being audible for the sleeping doctors inside the lake house.
and just like that, they suddenly stood at the edge of the endless meadow, taking a moment to stare over the breathtaking nature that spread out in front of their feet. the freedom they both felt in that moment was indescribable. a fierce summer breeze playing with their hair and guiding them to a perfect spot to overlook the entire night sky without anything blocking their view.
"jesus christ, please prepare me next time we're doing this." junhui emit a dramatic sigh as he reached for his chest, making minghao giggle. his shy side was obviously showing again and junhui would be lying if he said it didn't do anything with him. "come lets take a sprint, last one to find a good spot is a rotten egg!"
"that's mean! you had a head start!" minghao yelled as he ran up to junhui, who let out a high pitched yell that pierced through the darkness of the night. it all felt like a celebration of their youth, without responsibilities and unexplainable diseases that haunted them.
and if they only knew about doc who stood in his bedroom, staring at the two boys who chased one another with a content smile on his face.
