Here For You | JunHao

三十

Minghao's eyes flickered, waking up from his slumber. His eyes immediately widen when he realizes that he was not alone in the room as there was a hand on his waist. He immediately jumped out of his bed, panic suddenly rising within him.

"What? What's wrong?! Are you okay, Hao?" The man's eyes widen, startled. His hair was mess and his eyes were slightly droopy, indicating that he had been sleeping and was abruptly woken up by Minghao's sudden movements.

Minghao's breathing returns to normal the moment he actually saw who the person was.

Oh... it was just Junnie...

Wait a minute.

"Why are you here?" Minghao asked, scratching the back of his head. "Weren't you supposed to be at your parents' house?"

"Oh, sorry. Did I startle you?" Junhui grinned. "I slept here last night."

"Yes, I can see that." Minghao shifted his weight on one leg. "Why. Are. You. Here."

"Mom and dad had a night shift." Junhui said, smiling, his eyes getting smaller. The expression in his face slowly disappeared. "I just... I didn't want to be alone tonight."

Minghao sighed, sitting back down on the bed.

"Your mom let me in." Junhui rubbed his eyes, blinking them a few times. "She told me not to wake you up."

His eyes quickly widened as he recalls. "Oh, shit! Mom! She cooked dinner, but I just ended up sleeping..."

"Yeah... I ended up all of eating it." Junhui chuckled. "You have no idea how full I was last night. I think my stomach almost exploded. I also ate when I was at my parents' house. I had too much food yesterday that I thought I'd be fine if I don't eat today."

Minghao giggled. "Take some digestive later."

"Okay."

Minghao yawned as he stretched his arms. "Let's leave after lunch."

"After lunch..." Junhui mumbled, sliding back and resting his head back on the pillow.

Minghao lightly punched Junhui's arm. "Get up. It's already 8 AM."

"IT'S STILL 8 AM!" Junhui said, covering his face with a blanket."Do you think we have class today or something? You had more than enough sleep since you've been sleeping since dinner. Let me sleep just a bit more."

"If you don't get up now, I'm not cooking breakfast for you."

Junhui immediately rose from the bed. "Thanks for the food, Hao!"

"I thought you said you'd be alright with not eating today? I was really looking forward to not cooking today."

"I said, I thought I'd be fine." Junhui pointed out. "If I'm getting free food, then, who am I to not eat it?"

"Whatever. Let's just go down already."

The two had soon gone downstairs to eat breakfast. Minghao had cooked up a lighter version of a tomato egg drop soup (dan hua tang but with tomatoes), something he's had a lot growing up. It was pretty quick to make and didn't require a lot of ingredients. Taking into account that Junhui was probably a bit full, he decided to make the soup lighter, but still having the nutrients he needed as a breakfast meal.

Junhui took a sip from the tomato egg drop soup. "The soup's great! Thanks, Hao."

Minghao hummed in response, focusing on eating.

"It's been so long since you've made this for me." Junhui paused for a second, looking at the dish. "I kinda missed it."

"It's been while since I've made it in general."

"Huh? You don't have anyone else to cook for anyways." Junhui chuckled.

"Of course, I do." Minghao scoffed. "I have Yanan."

"Oh... right." Junhui took another sip from the soup.

"How was it yesterday?" Minghao asked, looking up at Junhui.

"It was okay. They bought a cake for me. It's not even my birthday." Junhui sighed. "But it's getting better, I guess." He slowly swirled the soup around with his spoon. "I know it's childish, but I, at least, wish that they greeted me on the same day or even the day after my birthday." He scoffed. "I wonder if yesterday's cake is supposed to be my cake for my next birthday in advance."

"Jun-"

"-It's okay though. You were always there and that matters a lot to me." Junhui said, smiling at the boy.

Minghao couldn't help, but have a slightly worried expression on his face. He couldn't really say anything.

After breakfast, Minghao and his mother talked, catching up with each other since they couldn't do that fully yesterday due to Minghao accidentally falling fast a sleep.

Junhui, on the other hand, went back to his parents' house to bid farewell. His mother was in, but unfortunately, his father was not. If he could just text them that he was going, he would've, but he loves his parents too much for him to actually do that. Although it did hurt him for them to always be in absence, he still very much cares for them.

"...and that's what I've been up to lately." Ms. Xu said, sipping on her tea. "What about you, honey? How are your classes? Are you eating well? Anything new?"

"Classes are still the same as always. Sometimes hard, sometimes it's alright." Minghao chuckled, slightly thankful to have had a temporary getaway from college. "Oh, mom. I need to tell you something."

"Something the matter, honey?"

"No, I... uh..." Minghao took a deep breath. He was contemplating whether he should actually say it or not, but decided to do it. "I have a boyfriend."

Maybe he thought that announcing it to his mother would make him feel like he has someone now.

That he has someone he can love and who would love him back.

Maybe he thought he could forget Junhui by making it official that he's dating someone else.

Maybe he thought it'd be easier for him to move on.

Or maybe he just randomly felt the need to tell his mother about it.

I mean, who knows?

Ms. Xu looked at her son for a few seconds before answering, slightly appalled by the sudden news, but trying to keep her composure. "Do you like him?"

"I-" Minghao paused. "He's a good person."

"Do you like him?"

"He's considerate."

"Do you like him?"

"He's funny. He's also really nice."

"Do you like him?"

"He likes me."

"Honey..." Ms. Xu took her son's hand.

"I'm trying to." Minghao said, placing his hand on top of his mother's hand.

"I trust you, honey."

"Thanks, mom."

END