Run to You | Xu Minghao ; THE 8

V

┍━━━•☽°•°❀°•°☾•━━━┑
then you reach out to save me
그때 넌 날 구하려 손 내밀어
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Jia's POV:

Unfortunately, I could not have the chance to talk to Minghao after that day.

I did find him in our practice room the next morning, and the day after as well, but there was always one of our trainers with us. Since the contest was approaching, each team was being trained privately with their assigned instructors. We would be practising all day, hence I never got the opportunity to approach him.

Eventually, the day of the rehearsal arrived. Both of us had already changed into our outfits and we were waiting for our turn. We were to perform at the very end; so we would have to wait for a long time.

"Hey, Minghao, um-"

"It's okay, you don't have to apologise. I forgave you for that long ago,"

I looked at him, flustered. "But still, I didn't...mean to say all that. It just...came out recklessly because of anger. I'm so sorry, Hao."

"Hao?"

"Huh?"

"You called me 'Hao' just now," he grinned.

"Oh, um...I did?"

He laughed lightly and I felt a bit relieved.

"I missed you," he whispered.

"But I've been here the entire time," I said.

"Exactly."

Oh, Xu Minghao.

He stood up and offered me his hand. I raised my brows in confusion.

"There's still an hour till we're up. Should we grab something to eat and take a walk?"

I smiled and took his hand.

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It was almost sunset time. We grabbed corn dogs from a store near our campus and sat down on the benches near the river, munching on our food. There was a soft breeze, and the view was beautiful. I finished eating and felt Minghao's head rest against my shoulder. My heart fluttered a little.

Wait...why?

"I love coming here. I don't do it very often, but I think this place is probably my comfort place in a way," Minghao spoke. I nodded my head.

"I realised that even though we are so close, we barely know anything about each other," he continued. "So I'm going to provide you random information about myself now and then." He smiled at me.

I smiled back and nodded. "But why is this your comfort place?"

"Mmm...there's always such beautiful scenery here, along with the soft breeze. Looking at the view keeps me mesmerised, and in a way, it takes away all my stress and worries. It feels like it's just me and this river, as if those worries never existed." I nodded along as he explained.

"What about you? Do you have a comfort place?" he asked with sparkling eyes.

I swallowed. "Yes, I guess. There's this garden closeby. I go there at night because the view of the sky is so pretty. I haven't had the chance to go there since the semester started, but... as you said about getting mesmerised by the view and forgetting everything...yeah, I get that," I say.

He rested his head on my shoulder again, nodding slowly as I took a deep breath.

Xu Minghao, I think I'm falling for you.

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Minghao's POV:

We ended up being late for the rehearsal. But I didn't mind. For every moment I spent with Jia, it was worth it.

We got a bit of scolding, but we told them we had gone to eat. (Not a lie, we technically did eat...)

I helped a struggling Jia tie the string on her hand, and we wished each other good luck.

We stepped up on the stage, got into positions, and the music began.

And I let it take control over me.

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Jia's POV:

The rehearsal had gone perfect.

We had performed better than we had ever done, even during practice and individual training.

It was past 7 pm now. Minghao said we should eat outside as a treat to ourselves, and I of course agreed. I didn't know where we were going, but he had a basket in his hand. I asked him, but he wouldn't budge.

We kept on walking, and we eventually reached a garden. A very familiar garden...

I looked up at Minghao, my eyes brimming with tears. He just smiled back.

"Come, let's eat," he said as he sat down on the grass, patting the spot next to him. He took out the food from the basket and served me some.

"Thank you," I mumbled as took it.

We quietly ate our food and I took a deep breath of the scent of nature around me. I looked up to the sky and there was a sparkling constellation of stars. I gasped and pointed up. "There are so many stars tonight! How beautiful..."

"Beautiful indeed," Minghao whispered. I smiled and leaned against him.

"Thank you so much for bringing me here today," I said.

"Of-of course," he stuttered and I giggled.

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