my first and last || renmin

T w o - Oblivion

'America's next top model' played on TV as Renjun sat on one side of the L-shaped couch, flipping through his novel.

Mrs. Huang brought over a tray with a chicken sandwich, a juice box and a whole lotta pills.

"It's Friday.." Mrs. Huang said smiling a bit, putting the tray down on the table.

"Hmm?"

"Maybe you should go out with your friends?"

"That's fine." Renjun said, uninterested, drinking some of his juice while still reading his favourite novel.

Mr. and Mrs. Huang looked at eachother.

"Do you want to see a movie?" Mr. Huang asked his son, smiling softly.

"Why don't you and mom go? You haven't been out in a while." Renjun finally dropped his book to look at his parents and take his sandwich.

Mr. Huang shook his head before sitting down next to Renjun, "This is a really good show."

That was Renjun's life.

Reality shows, doctors appointments, eight prescription drugs three times a day, reading the same novel over and worst of all... the support group.

***

"You can't make me go." Renjun whined.

"Of course we can, we're your parents." Mr. Huang ruffled Renjun's hair.

"You need to get out of the house Renjun, make friends. Be a teenager." Mr. Huang stirred his coffee.

"Let's go Renjun." Mrs. Huang held her son's arm softly.

Renjun faked a gun with his fingers, pointing it in his mouth and fake shooting.

***

Renjun went, not because he wanted to or because he thought it would help but for the same reason he did anything nowadays.

To make his parents happy.

Renjun walked towards the elevator, his oxygen tank rolling beside him.

An extremely sick looking man held open the elevator door for him.

"Oh no, I'll take the stairs." Renjun awkwardly smiled pointing towards the stairs.

"Oh sorry-"

"My bad-" The 2 boys said in unison, for a brief moment the earth stopped moving.

The boy was tall and lean, a bit muscular with brown eyes and short, straight, mahogany hair.

Renjun was speechless, he walked into a supremely handsome boy.

"M- My bad."

"I'm sorry-" They talked in unison again.

"Excuse me." A flirty smile was on the handsome boy's face as he watched Renjun shuffle away into the bathroom.

Renjun washed his face with water before looking into the mirror, he didn't like what he saw and the earth started moving again.

***

"Who would like to begin?" Mark asked, Renjun looked around.

No volunteers.

He caught the sight of the handsome boy sitting next to Jeno.

He seemed to be watching him, the same flirty smile from before on his face.

Renjun looked away quickly, fighting the smile that wanted to come out.

"Jeno, would you like to say anything?" Mark asked, giving no choice to the male.

"Yeah, um.. I'm Jeno, I'm 17.. I have eye cancer.. It looks like another surgery in a couple weeks. After which.. I'll be blind.." Renjun tried to focus on what Jeno was saying but it was difficult.

He still felt the handsome boy's eyes on him.

"Being blind is gonna suck.. Not that I'm complaining, I know a lot of you have it worse.. but like, y'know?" As Jeno talked, the handsome boy didn't turn his gaze away from Renjun.

Renjun found this a little intimidating and intimidation irritated him so he decided to play the game with him and met his gaze, holding it just as firmly.

A staring contest.

"My girlfriend helps... and friends like my buddy Jaemin here." Jeno nodded towards the handsome boy who now had a name- Jaemin.

The sudden mention of his name caused him to momentarily look away.

Aha!

He's lost!

Renjun smiled to himself, lifting up his eyebrows as to say "Victory is mine."

"Hi. I'm Na Jaemin. 18. Had some osteosarcoma about a year and a half ago, lost my leg as a result." Jaemin held his leg up, a prosthetic.

"But really, I'm just here because Jeno asked."

"And how are you feeling, Jaemin?" Mark asked.

"I'm on a roller coaster that only goes up my friend." Renjun smiled before looking away, Jaemin had caught him staring.

"Would you like to share your fears with the group?"

Jaemin thought for a bit, "Oblivion. I intend to live an extraordinary life. To be remembered."

Renjun quickly lifted up his hand, "I just wanna say, we're all going to die. It might be a million years from now or tomorrow but it's gonna happen no matter what and when it does, generations will come and go. There'll be no one left to remember Cleopatra or Mozart or Muhammad Ali, let alone any of us, right?"

The look on Jaemin's face was unreadable, "Oblivion is inevitable, I suggest you ignore it if you're scared of it."

An enormous smile spread across Jaemin's face, not a flirty one but a surprised one, a real one.