by the time junhui was done with reassuring minghao and giving him the needed confidence he lacked, the rest of the group had been waiting downstairs. with towels draped over their shoulders, all wearing nothing but their swimming trunks, they were ready to take an adventurous swim in the gigantic lake that spread out for a few miles at least.
though of course, they had made a promise to doc that they would stay close to shore, since doc had never discovered the mysteries the depth of the lake brought along himself.
junhui was already delighted that his body felt healthy and full of strength, meaning he was allowed to go take a swim. if not, he would be forced to stay inside and watch his friends have the time of their lives. and since doctor kihyun wasn't anywhere near, as he was a man based on appointments, junhui could break the rules just for this afternoon.
he didn't want to think of a possible last time having fun with his friends yet, finding the topic obviously too heavy to even think of, let alone to let it be spoken out loud. especially since his friends weren't entirely aware of his condition yet. beside the slightest side effects, junhui had left it unspoken, finding it rather unnecessary to burden them with grieve and sorrow. especially since they were only here for a day, what could possibly go wrong?
"last one in the lake is a rotten egg!" chan gave the start sign as he took a sprint for the door, calling out a quick goodbye to doc before he disappeared through the doorframe and ran to the lake like a madman.
"he's insane. but i'm going to beat his little ass!" jeonghan ignored his boyfriend and ran after the youngest among them all, calling out his name to distract him from running to the lake, just simply wanting to win.
and while soonyoung and mingyu followed them as well, participating in chan's little game, the rest calmly jogged after them, not putting in the same effort as the four energetic boys who already ran outside. "come one, they weren't expecting us to actually be that crazy." hansol grinned, eyes following the teens that ran to the lake and devoting themselves to the water.
"your friends are amazing." minghao whispered, finding junhui's hand and smoothly slipping his own hand inside his hold. they were the last ones to follow junhui's group of friends and also the only ones to walk on a calm pace. yet neither of the two boys cared about losing the game, finding it far more amusing to watch them play first.
"they are huh?" junhui exclaimed with his familiar sense of pride, staring over the nostalgic home-like scenery of his friends running to the lake one by one.
"it's just, you all have this perfect harmony and your friendship seems so genuine. while you're all such different types of people you seem to get along so well and have this unbelievably strong bond." minghao admired them one by one, feeling delighted to be able to participate in such amazing group.
"and guess what, you're part of it now." junhui whispered, gently squeezing his hand inside his hold, unconsciously spreading heat across minghao's cheeks. "they seem pretty fond of you already."
"isn't that because they found out i'm a dancer?" minghao pointed out the coincidental conversation he had when they first met, recalling chan and soonyoung's overly happy reactions to him and him in particular being junhui's boyfriend.
"in soonyoung and chan's case, most likely. but i think for the others it's both you being my boyfriend and you being so friendly and nice to them." within the past hours they had spend together, minghao had been able to talk quite a lot. which was also a matter of junhui's friends asking way too much questions so they were able to get to know him better. yet unlike usual, minghao had been able to talk freely and actually felt the need to express himself in the best way possible towards junhui's group of friends, since he knew how important it was to his boyfriend.
"say are you coming or what? you've been standing there for quite a time!" mingyu called out, getting pushed underneath the surface of the water by his boyfriend. "just ignore him! he's usually like this." wonwoo called after him, making sure mingyu was able to hear it as he released his grip on the top of mingyu's head.
"it's cold, trust me you're better off on shore!" soonyoung called out from his position, trying to ignore chan, hansol and jisoo continuously splashing water at him.
and midst of that all, both jeonghan and seungcheol had distanced themselves a little from the group, entirely caught up in their own little world, exchanging kisses and holding on to each other with just their heads above the surface.
"we're coming!" junhui let go of minghao and took a sprint into the water, ignoring the cold sensation that keept up higher and higher the further he ran. until he came at a point where he had to swim, as the ground disappeared beneath his feet, meaning he'd came as deep as the others. he let out a high pitched screech once the water reached his collarbones, finding it seemingly a little too cold.
even minghao, who hadn't even came in enough to have the water reaching waist-height, couldn't suppress a series of giggles to leave his throat. "it's cold! hao get out now you still can!" junhui yelled, warning his boyfriend for the almost overwhelming chilly water that hugged his body.
"no way! i'm getting in!" minghao took a sprint as well, taking a dive once it got deep enough and swimming a few meters with his head entirely underwater. it was when junhui felt someone tickling his ankle when he realized minghao had reached him.
and being his carefree lively self, junhui let out a playful shriek and started swimming further into the lake on full speed. even when minghao had his head above the surface again, following him deeper and deeper into the lake. it was all so peaceful and free, having all his friends gathered together, away from the things that burdened him and gave him sorrows. as if nothing could hurt him no longer.
until a sudden sense of pain stroke his body, entirely shutting off his system as his eyes clouded with nothing but a deep black void, his body being swallowed by the cold water and dragging him under.
