for over an hour they had been patiently waiting in the hospital's main lobby on the third floor, as it was closest to where junhui was being treated for the final time. though patience had been far difficult tonight, being aware that junhui was passing away in a room just a hallway separated from them.
seungcheol and jeonghan constantly had been seated on both sides of minghao, feeling this strange sense of parental responsibility to take care of the grieving boy. even when they were both heartbroken themselves, they could do nothing but to reassure and cuddle him from both sides.
until a receptionist walked around the corner, clutching a clipboard against her upper body and wearing a serious grimace on her face. for a split second, hope raised amongst the teenagers who had been waiting for more information all this time.
"are you by chance relatives to patient wen junhui?" she asked in a careful tone, seeing the looks of agony painted all over their faces.
"we're his friends and boyfriend." seungcheol spoke up as the eldest among them, making a small gesture to minghao who sat beside him. "do you have more information about his current state?"
even minghao, who had been feeling numb the entire night, now regained full focus and attentively listened to what she was about to say. though disappointment rushed through him when she shook her head.
"i'm sorry, we don't have that information yet. the doctor will come here soon to tell you what happened to junhui. for now i only came to ask if anyone in this room knows how i can reach his parents." she grabbed a firmer hold of her clipboard and pushed her glasses a little higher up her nose, browsing through her papers once more. "i can't seem to get a hold of them and their cellphones seem to be out of reach."
"i can't remember junhui has ever spoken about his parents. he has lived by himself as far as i can remember, and when he first came here he stayed with a host family." mingyu recalled his memory, suddenly finding it strange that his parents had been out of the picture all this time. but what he found even weirder was that no one ever acknowledged it.
"junhui's parents run a big company back in china. as far as he has told me, they got out of touch." minghao had taken a deep breath and spoke up effortlessly, regaining some strength now it came to junhui's well-being.
the group was left astonished by the fact that minghao had gotten to know more about junhui than they had ever done throughout the past few years. however, they couldn't help but to find it wonderful as well, seeing junhui finally having found someone who he was genuinely comfortable with to share such information.
"so what you're trying to tell me is that i can't exactly reach them?" the receptionist asked, cocking a brow and scribbling something down on a piece of paper.
"i'm afraid that's not possible." minghao sighed, nodding at the friendly woman before she bid them a small 'goodbye' as well as a 'goodluck' and hurried back again.
and once again the room was left in an unbearable silence, the seconds passing by painfully slow as they waited for the slightest sign of life. tears were still flowing down minghao's cheeks uncontrollably. even when his throat wasn't able any longer to make any sound and his sobbing had stopped a long while ago, tears kept streaming down like waterfalls.
"w..what time is it?" chan choked out, his head peering up from jeonghan's shoulder for the first time since they had taken a place in the waiting lobby. even when the two were known for their endless disagreements and discussions, jeonghan seemed to be the only one who tend to calm chan in situations like this.
perhaps it was the type of parental love that jeonghan automatically gave to everyone in the group, that chan needed more than anyone. "it's almost five am." jeonghan spoke calmly, trying to hold back his tears, which had been threatening to fall all night. the elder had also been well-known for his ability to not cry in front of others. seungcheol's company was the only exception though, as they had gotten together through quite an adventure of emotions.
"maybe you should try and get some sleep, chan. aren't you tired after crying so much?" jeonghan tried to make a playful comment in-between all the negativity that surrounded them. yet no traces of a smile were to be seen on chan's expression nor on those of anyone else in the occupied room.
"i don't f..feel tired yet." chan said determined, wanting to stay awake until they would finally receive the final results.
"jesus christ, can anyone just please come with some results already." hansol leaned forwards in his chair, grabbing a hold of the back of his head as he bend down, focussing on the floor to not burst into tears once more.
"i think we should have a..a little more patience.." jisoo tried to stay as calm as he was capable of, wanting to calm hansol's sudden rage and all the other crying teens around him.
until, to their surprise, a doctor in a long white coat that reached knee-height, stepped inside the lobby, his eyes landing on a person immediately. he combed a hand through his last few remaining gray hairs on top of his balding head, pointing a finger at none other than xu minghao, whose eyes widened on the sudden gesture.
"xu minghao?" the doctor called out his name, his eyes wide.
though the boy was a bit weirded out by his sudden appearance, he shot up from his chair and nodded desperately, ignoring his trembling legs that barely kept him standing. "that's me." and without further hesitance, the doctor grabbed a firm hold of his upper arm and dragged him away from the lobby, guiding him through the endless white hallways.
and to minghao's surprise, he didn't seem angry nor saddened, which he had expected to see in the first place as junhui wasn't in a good state right now. yet the doctor kept dragging him down the hallway without giving a further explanation. until they stopped in front of a door that supposedly led them to a surgery room.
or better said, the final stadium.
before they entered, the doctor turned around and gave minghao another look that seemed unexplainable. his eyes were wide and minghao couldn't quite tell in which way his lips pointed as they weren't directed upwards nor downwards.
"xu, i think we might have found the cure."
