"Oh, I see." Minghao chuckled.
Junhui pat Minghao on the shoulder. "Yeah, I guess you could say that if it weren't for you, then, I wouldn't have been able to meet Yuna." He held Minghao's hand. "Thank you, Hao."
Minghao smiled and nodded.
"Will you be okay today?" Junhui asked. "You couldn't attend the wedding rehearsal."
"Trust me." Minghao smiled.
"I do."
Wonwoo looked at the time in his watch, seeing that the start ceremony was nearing.
"Now, let's go to the waiting room. Everyone's been dying to see you again." Junhui said as he pulled Minghao to run to across the hall.
Minghao followed, with Wonwoo following them from behind.
Junhui opened the door and everyone's eyes went in their direction.
"MINGHAO!" Everyone yelled and got closer to see the boy.
Well, everyone except Mingyu who was standing still, his eyes wide open, looking at Minghao. He didn't know what he was feeling. He felt a bit indifferent when they brought up Minghao's name earlier, but now that he sees Minghao in person, it was different. He hadn't seen nor talked to the Chinese male since he had been rejected. He was fine just seconds ago, but seeing Minghao again made him feel things.
Mingyu thought he had moved on, but just from seeing that boy, his heart fluttered. He couldn't get any words out of his mouth. So, he just stood there, looking at the boy that had rejected him.
He is well aware that the rejection was something that happened because of him. He knew that at that time that Minghao was not ready for a relationship and that he needed his time to heal, but he still went ahead and confessed. He fucked up and he knows it.
"Minghao, how could you leave without telling me?!" Soonyoung hugged Minghao tightly. "Have you eaten at least? Oh, and your hair is back to black! You dyed it?"
Jihoon swatted Soonyoung off of Minghao. "Give him some space! You're well aware that he didn't tell you that he was gonna leave because if he did, then you wouldn't have let him."
"Woah, what's this about?" Seungcheol asked, confused with what they were saying.
"Were the two of you hiding Minghao?" Seungkwan asked.
"Guys, chill." Jeonghan stepped up. "Let's let Minghao breathe for a second. He just got here. I'm sure that there's a reason to all things, but let's talk about that later."
Jisoo went behind Minghao and gave him a pat in the back. "Yeah, he's right." He leaned in towards Minghao's ear. "You okay, dude?" He whispered, only the two of them being able to hear.
Minghao silently nodded, giving Jisoo a sense of relief.
"You all seem to be more excited with seeing Minghao rather than me when this is literally my wedding." Junhui crossed his arms.
"I mean, it's Minghao-hyung. Of course, we're happy to see him." Chan said, with an innocent look.
"That was probably the only thing you said today that I can actually agree on." Seungkwan said.
Jeonghan chuckled. "What about you, Gyu? I thought you'd be happy to see Minghao, if not the happiest."
All eyes turned to Mingyu, including Minghao's eyes. For a short moment Minghao and Mingyu met each others' gaze, before the taller looked away.
Minghao still felt a bit guilty with the way he acted to Mingyu, but right now, there were more things he was thinking about.
Mingyu tried to look at Minghao properly in the eyes, but he couldn't. "I am." He answered, looking down.
The rest of the group didn't know about Mingyu's confession to Minghao. The only ones who knew were Minghao, Mingyu, and Wonwoo. Even Soonyoung and Jihoon hadn't known about it and were also puzzled and shocked to see Minghao cutting off conections with Mingyu and Wonwoo for a while.
Wonwoo cleared his throat. "I'd hate to interrupt everyone, but the wedding is to start in two minutes and we all need to go now."
Everyone eyes widened, almost forgetting about the ceremony. They all immediately went outside and went to their positions.
Junhui walked up to the front, next to the officiator.
Mingyu, Minghao, Wonwoo, Jeonghan, Joshua, and Seungcheol were standing on the side as groomsmen. The rest of the boys were seated among the other guests. There were also six other bridesmaids lined up on the opposite side.
After a short while, the big doors opened, and there stood the bride in her white ethereal wedding dress, the sheer veil draping from the back of her hair down to the dress. She slowly walked down the aisle that was filled with a beautiful array of flower petals.
Minghao watched it all—the bride's graceful walk, the hopeful gazes of the guests, and Junhui's smile and his eyes that shone unlike any other.
Mingyu could see Minghao's expression. He couldn't stop himself from worrying. He knew well what it meant, but he wasn't sure what he could do. He hasn't even talked nor looked at Minghao's eyes properly.
Just minutes ago he was completely fine. However, seeing Minghao like this hurts him inside. He knew that Minghao would be attending the wedding, but he didn't know that the boy would have this effect on him. He wanted to be able to ease Minghao's pain. He wanted to be able to do something for him.
Minghao was truly happy for Junhui, but truth be told, he also felt sad.
Some crushes don't always end easily. But what about a fifteen-year long one-sided love?
How long does it take to stop loving the person you've been loving for fifteen years?
How long does it take to stop feeling brokenhearted?
How long does it take to move forward?
How long does it take to be happy?
It takes time to heal.
Everyone has a different pace. But it doesn't happen in a day or two.
But know that time alone is not what heals us. We may forget the pain through time, but it will not make our pain vanish completely.
And just as time is different for everyone, the medium for our healing may also differ. Whatever that medium may be, is up to us.
It's alright to be broken.
It's alright to stumble and fall.
It's alright to stop for a moment and take a break.
It's a process and that's okay.
Not accepting ourselves and our brokenness is what isn't okay.
The bride stood in front of Junhui, looking at each other lovingly.
Minghao had stepped forward, presenting the ring box up front, opening it.
Junhui and Yuna had each taken a ring. Both looking only at each other's eyes.
Minghao had stepped back into the row, standing beside Mingyu with the other groomsmen.
"Do you, Junhui, take Yuna as your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'til death do you part?" The officiant asked.
"I do." Junhui answered, smiling at his beautiful bride.
Yuna slipped the ring on Junhui's finger.
"And do you, Yuna, take Junhui as your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'til death do you part?"
"I do." Yuna said, tearing up.
Junhui slipped the ring on Yuna's finger, gently caressing hee hand.
"You may now kiss the bride."
The two kissed and the entire space was filled with loud cheers, claps, and a few whistles.
Everyone was cheering.
Minghao just smiled, sorrowful and happy.
Mingyu was looking only at Minghao. He wanted to hold the boy's hand and pull him into an embrace. He wanted to tell him that it was going to be okay. But he couldn't. All he could do was watch the boy, helpless.
The ceremony had went on. Junhui's parents and Yuna's parents had each given a speech, standing on the podium. The speech had given tears in their eyes and slight chuckles.
Mingyu, the best man, had also stood in the podium to give a speech. After, it was Wonwoo's turn, and then, it was Minghao's.
Minghao slowly walked up to the podium. He didn't know what to say as he hadn't prepared anything at all. He felt like he would burst out in tears at any given moment. As he stood, right in front, his eyes travelled across the room, seeing his friends, Junhui's parents, and most importantly, Junhui.
He saw how happy Junhui was with Yuna, sitting next to each other, his arms linked together with hers. His eyes met Junhui's.
Junhui smiled as he looked at Minghao who was on top of the stage, as if to reassure the boy.
Minghao saw this and took a deep breath. "I've known Jun for a really long time—fifteen years, I think. Wow, it's been that long already?" He sighed, ending with a small chuckle. "It was never a boring day with Jun around. He was careless, free, bright, messy, energetic, clingy, and loud, but most of all, he was a good person. He was kind and always listened or helped people in whatever way he could. I know this because, I, myself, am a recipient of Jun's aid. The things he has done for me are things that I am thankful for and I would never forget them." He smiled. "I still remember the days when I woke you up and we'd go to school together, the times we skipped classes together, the movie nights and sleepovers we used to have, the extremely corny jokes you made, the way you run away whenever I scold you to do your homework." He chuckled. "And here you are now, getting married, starting a new chapter in your life with the person you love. It makes me happy to see that you're happy. I hope that you'll continue to be happy alongside Yuna and live a long healthy life, cherishing each other. I truly do."
A tear dropped, rolling down Junhui's cheek. He wiped it with his hand and smiled. He mouthed a 'thank you' to Minghao, unable to stop his other tears from coming down.
Minghao smiled. He got off the stage and sat back down to his seat, trying his hardest to hold back his own tears.
After the entire ceremony had ended, the banquet had begun.The food had been served and there were more food at the buffet tables. The guests were chatting, congratulating the two who had gotten wed, taking pictures.
Mingyu was walking around, looking for Minghao. He spotted Seungcheol and asked, but to his disappoint, received a 'no' from the elder. He looked around more. He had asked Seokmin, Jisoo, Jeonghan, Chan, and Seungkwan, but only received the answer.
He had pretty much circled the entire room, but to no avail, did not find Minghao.
That's when he had a thought of where the boy might be.
He went to the restroom and checked, but still didn't find Minghao.
But that's when he realized it.
That Minghao wouldn't be hiding where Junhui could easily be.
He went out of the wedding hall and searched every single restroom on the floor, but was met with the same result. He checked the floor downstairs, but didn't have any luck either. He ran upstairs and checked, but he wasn't there either.
He was left with the last floor, which was the highest floor in the building. On the far end of the floor was a single-person type restroom.
He slowly approached and he heard it.
Cries and sniffles.
He softly walked closer to the restroom.
Minghao...
He leaned his back on the door and he could hear him clearer. He just stayed there like that, as the boy inside the restroom wept.
After a while, he heard the sound of water running. Then, it closed. The door unlocked and slowly creaked open.
Minghao stood there with Mingyu a few steps away from him.
"Gyu?" Minghao blinked. "What are you doing here?"
Mingyu could tell that Minghao had washed his face and waited until his eyes no longer seemed red and puffy from crying. He knew that Minghao was once again, going to pretend that he was completely fine when he wasn't. It pained him to see Minghao do that.
"Let's go, Gyu." Minghao said, walking. "The rest of the guys might be looking for us if we're gone for too long."
Mingyu grabbed Minghao's hand before the boy could completely walk away, making the boy stop walking.
"Gyu?" Minghao turned around.
Mingyu walked closer to Minghao and held his other hand, looking at his eyes.
Minghao lowered his head, looking down on the floor. "So, you heard it..."
A tear dropped on the floor.
Mingyu caressed the boy's hand. He slowly pulled Minghao closer and placed a hand on the boy's back, the other hand on the back of Minghao's head.
More tears had followed as Minghao cried on Mingyu's shoulder, gripping the back of the taller boy's shirt.
Mingyu didn't say anything and just let the boy cry, gently patting his head.
The boy sobbed harder as he was in Mingyu's safe arms, leaning on him.
A part of Mingyu's shirt was soaking wet, but he didn't care. He cared only about the boy in front of him.
No words were needed to express it.
Minghao had understood. He felt it.
'I'm here for you.'
END