but sometimes ;; haobin

sixteen

The morning came too quickly for Zhang Hao. As the sun greeted his eyes, he became more worried and more nervous about what the day had to offer. Hanbin had opted for sleeping at his aunt's house for the last night — and like the big softie he was, Zhang Hao slept with his mother for the last night. He knew he wouldn't be seeing her for a while after leaving, so he wanted to cherish the remaining time he had with his mother.

"What time is your flight, dear?"

She was speaking more Chinese than usual.

"1pm," Zhang Hao replied as he walked over to his mother. He slowly enveloped his arms around the woman's fragile frame, holding his mother close as she silently hugged him back. "I know you're sad, Mom. It's okay."

"You've grown up so well, my Hao-ya," she whispered softly, letting out a strained laugh of sadness. "Oh, you've grown up now! My little boy has fallen in love. My loveless Hao has found love — what a miracle...!"

Zhang Hao laughed, hugging his mother tighter as he felt tears form in his eyes. "Aiya, don't be so dramatic! I'll visit as soon as I can. Keep the restaurant running without me as best as you can, okay? I'll bring Hanbin with me again."

"I'm glad you found such a lovely boy — your Hanbin seems like a very decent person. I'm sure he will love you very dearly, and I'm sure you two will have such a healthy, beautiful bond." His mother pulled from the hug, pressing a soft kiss to her son's forehead. "Please remain so happy for as long as you can, my dear. Please keep this happiness — and don't ever let him break your heart."

"Hanbin likes me more than you think, Mom," Zhang Hao smiled. "And I'm sure he treasures this short bond he has formed with you. Hanbin adores you — h=because his own mother has never treated him with such love. Thank you for loving and accepting the one I love, Mom."

"I'm glad he feels that way." Mrs Zhang sighed as she pulled from the hug with her son, gently patting his cheeks before walking away. "Are you two meeting up somewhere, or are you taking the same transport?"

"I told him that you'd drop me so that he has some private moments with his family before he leaves," Zhang Hao responded, stepping past the couch to head back to his room. "I'll bring my bags to the car."

"I'll help — then we can eat breakfast."

•

"Are you really leaving us, Hanbinnie...?

His aunt was still rather sad about Hanbin leaving so suddenly, but managed to press out a smile due to Hanbin's apparent happiness. "I get to take my boyfriend with me to Seoul — to spend even more time with him makes me very happy, you know?"

"Bitna quite liked you — it's very quiet here, so she was probably excited to see someone else from the usual cousins," she smiled. "Thank you for bringing life to our quiet fishing village, Hanbin-ah. You were a joy to have here. I wish the others could see you off, but they're unfortunately busy. Besides, the girls had school — they probably feel regretful about not being able to be here."

"I appreciate the sentiment, nonetheless."

Hanbin looked around for a moment, smiling when he watched Zhang Hao enter the airport, glancing around rather nervously. Hanbin excitedly waved his hand to get his boyfriend's attention and Zhang Hao immediately smiled brightly, all nervousness being replaced with relief. He nodded towards his mother before running over towards Hanbin, wrapping his arms around the other warmly.

"I'm glad you're so happy to see me," Hanbin laughed as he gently ran a hand through Zhang Hao's hair. He pulled from the hug, gently stroking the other's reddened cheeks with his thumb. "Ready to head to your new home?"

"Just one moment," Zhang Hao said, quickly turning to run over to his mom. He hugged her tightly and the two exchanged warm words in Chinese to one another before she kissed his forehead. Zhang Hao took his suitcase and joined his partner. "I think I'm ready."

Hanbin faced Mrs Zhang and bowed his head. "Thank you, Mom."

Mrs Zhang's eyes had tears in them, but she was smiling. "Take care of my boy, okay?"

"I'll be off as well," Hanbin's aunt smiled, patting Hanbin's arm. "Take care, you two. And don't get lost!"

•

Hanbin watched as Zhang Hao glanced at his phone rather nervously, wondering if the older was doing as well as he thought he was. "Hyung, are you...?"

"Hold my hand, please."

Hanbin widened his eyes, naturally slipping his hand into Zhang Hao's hold. "Hyung, is everything alright? You look really nervous."

"I can't believe I left home to run off with a boy I barely knew for two weeks," Zhang Hao muttered. "Reality is setting in, and I'm thinking about the weight of the decision I just made. I'm... I'm nervous, okay? What if we start struggling?"

"Trust me, we're well off already," Hanbin laughed. "It'll be fine. I've already spoken with my supervisor and you have a placement as her personal assistant. I told her that you don't have much experience in anything, but she's willing to do on-job training. She said she's looking forward to meeting you for the interview. It'll all be okay, love."

Zhang Hao sighed softly. "I'm... still scared."

Hanbin raised Zhang Hao's hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against it to help the older relax. "It's okay, hyung. Do you trust me?"

"I trust you. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here with you."

Hanbin melted at those words. "Then trust that I will take care of us — okay?"

Zhang Hao trusted his partner — but how fine would they really be?