small words || jeongcheol

19: conflicted.

Junhui and Minghao special chapter

~*~

Junhui lay on his back in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was awake uncharacteristically early, but today was day Nurse Minghao was supposed to take him shopping. He groaned quietly. He didn't want to go, it was June who wanted to go shopping.

Junhui could tolerate June. After all, June was, strangely, a part of him. A part of them.

June was timid and cute, all the things that Junhui tended to hide about himself. And June was younger, he wasn't sure of June's age, but he was definitely younger than Junhui - at least mentally. June liked pink things, and today was June's day, but he was refusing to show up.

"Come on, June," he muttered, waiting to lose consciousness and have June come to the front. "This is your day, I don't want to go shopping with Minghao."

Junhui glanced over at his closet, the door ajar and his pink shirts on display. He dragged himself out of bed and grabbed a pink shirt, slipping it on. And waited.

"Really?" he muttered. "You're not gonna come out? You're gonna put my through this shopping trip with Minghao?" He sighed, taking off the shirt and climbing back into bed.

June thought himself a matchmaker, Junhui assumed. All three alter-personalities wrote in a journal, their thoughts or whatever. Junhui didn't write much, mainly notes to June - lately just notes telling June to stay away from Minghao, to not talk to the trainee nurse.

Wen, of course, didn't write much. He didn't come out often. After eleven months or even more at this in-patient programme, Junhui had seen far less on Wen than before. Now maybe only a month when Junhui's anger got the better of him, Wen would show up.

Wonwoo's wrist had gotten broken last time Wen was seen. And what Wen did write in the journal, scared Junhui.

He thought about the first day that Nurse Minghao had started working there.

***

About three weeks ago...

"Hi, what's your name?" Minghao asked with a smile. He came and sat down on Junhui's bed. "Mind if I sit here?"

"No," the boy uttered, startled. He was arranging small Sailor Moon figures on his bedside table, wearing a dark pink t-shirt with the anime character on the front. He hovered there awkwardly, playing with his fingers. "Junhui already knows you," he mumbled. "Why are you asking my name?" He blinked at the trainee nurse.

"Because we haven't met before," Minghao answered.

"But earlier at dinner-"

"I met Junhui then," the trainee nurse said matter-of-factly. "But... you're not Junhui, are you?"

He shook his head.

"Well, what's your name?" Minghao patted the space beside him on the bed.

"My name is June," he answered shyly, sinking down on the bed beside Minghao.

"Pleased to meet you, June," Minghao said, beaming, "I'm Xu Minghao, nurse-in-training."

"Pleased to meet you," June said with a little giggle.

"How many are there in your system?" the trainee nurse asked curiously.

"You understand?" June gasped in surprise.

Minghao nodded. "I read up a lot about it before coming here," he admitted, "Dr Kim told me there would be a D.I.D. patient here."

"Wow, impressive," June said, looking down and smiling.