true love was only for dramas. so, why did minghao persist in diagnosing junhui with it?
(ii/??? of enamored saga) → [love at first sight/아주 nice universe]
항상 너와 웃으며 이 밤을 그리워하며, 하루를 아쉬워하며 longing for this night, wanting more out of a day
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The chatter of the eager-voiced fans reverberated still within Junhui's chest as he made his way outside the doors of the mini amphitheater. Luminous as they were, the lamps didn't help much on his path through the darkness.
After nearly seven years as an official band member, he had learned that paths in darkness weren't all too bad. Physically, a shaky Wonwoo would linger beside him if there ever came an opportunity, but mentally, perseverance was key. The more difficult an obstacle, the richer the victory.
Sure, he could begin, one could even surmise, that he was exhausted beyond belief, with an immeasurable amount of fatigue that clung to his limbs like velvet, weighing and stretching his bones apart, boring into the bags underneath his eyes. Hell, everyone was exhausted, too. The schedules were busier than they had ever been, even when he had traveled to and fro during the CYZJ promotions.
But none of it kept him from following Minghao to a friend's house for some tea, as well as some other matters that funnily enough had absolutely nothing to do with him.
"I'm telling you I just don't want to go alone. It's late." His younger friend rubbed his arm playfully as they sat beside the other on the bus ride home. The traffic bumps lightened the mood, even by just a few smiles from all the boys.
"You're just afraid of the dark. Admit it, Xiao Hao..." Junhui rasped, nudging him with just as much fervor as he had initially received.
"Shut up, Hui Hui," Minghao retorted underneath his breath as they continued shoving each other in and out of their seats until they were scolded by an appalled Seungkwan.
"We're in public, you tools." The latter had mumbled tiredly.
"My friend has all kinds of tea that I know you'll love. I need to go over." He muttered curtly, his mouth settling near Jun's nape of his neck.
"I didn't know you had friends, in general, outside of our family" — he paused to snicker a little — "But especially here, near the studio." While the delicate flesh of Junhui's lips appareled a raspberry-colored smile, it soon melted into a tight purse, as if he held back a grimace. The night concealed his bleeding mouth of emotions.
"It was kinda inadvertent - the way we met is what I'm referring to. But we aren't quite friends. We're still learning facts about the other, that sort of thing, you know?" A lamppost cut in between, flashing upon the irregular phases of each other's faces, like the moon emitting light despite the craters, all ever glowing and such.
Mingyu yelled something from behind them, earning roars if laughter, which usually would have made Jun rotate into everyone else's gravity, but he just sank deeper into his seat, allowing more ease for Minghao to join the tallest.
His diaphragm flitted within him, bowing to the respiratory orders of his body, but shaky breaths persisted. It had been a long day? A quarter of his mind offered, in consolation, perhaps; he wasn't sure.
Junhui couldn't help but allow his thoughts to sail the ship of his feebling state, growing weaker by the hour; his family and his friendships with the boys and his fans were the sole drive of his heart to continue pumping. Yet, the gap he had suspected of festering within him merely blended into the reality of this ache, a melancholy throb of what truly awaited him.
"You have to make sure to call us when you're on your way back. I don't care who but I will be offended if you don't call me. Be safe, guys, okay?" Seungcheol emphasized, as the bus creaked its final meters towards the upcoming stop. He gave Minghao one final, encouraging nod before allowing their leave.
The breeze cut through the air as the Chinese duo stepped off, though the transition took longer than it should've since Mingyu didn't know when exactly to quit goofing around with Minghao. Jun felt like too much within that moment and like he was watching himself move without himself, like he was living within himself, and not actively in control.
This part of town was not new, since they frequented a supermarket close by, but he had never visited this section. The complex appeared to be an apartment, but with the weathered down texture of the concrete walls, the nearby graffitied cinderblock fences, and the ceiling lights dimmed by moth aggregations, it could have easily been a motel.
"Don't worry, my friend's not a murderer," The younger stated, in reassurance, as they entered the first floor, an open compartment of an aisle of rooms of the building itself. Sets of stairs crisscrossed throughout the ends of each hall. "She even made sure that the landlord wasn't one either."
At this, Junhui paused, even so much as going a whole clack of a step back to prove his chagrin. A hiss emitted from his lips as Minghao doubled over in giggles, realizing his fault.
"It's just a girl, Jun. What? What's that face for?" He asked but heat continued to douse Jun, surely licking all his delicate features in a dull shade of crimson. His mouth curled and quivered instinctively at the situation. All this, though, still gleamed in moonlight, somehow humming like a nightlight.
"Hao...really?" He murmured bashfully, in a low, syrupy voice. "It's bad enough I have to meet someone new and now...a girl?"
The latter joined him on his plack of stair, leaning his back upon the railing as he sighed tiredly.
"You're cute, Junhui, you really are, but you're going to have to get through this phobia of girls. Not just that. New people, new things," Jun had to frown, sucking a wince down. This was a conversation he had never desired to tread near. "The love of your life is going to be new to you at one point," please. "We were new to each other at one point, too."
"I-it's not a phobia. I just — " Minghao swept his hair back before touching the sleeves of Jun's jacket. "I'm probably never going to fall in love. That stuff's for madmen and dramas and books."
The crickets' interlude of monotone song syncopated in different bushes behind his back as Minghao continued his wistful gaze upon his elder. Jun's voice dropped with way too much cynicism.
"I might be tipsy every time I bring it up, but you know that's not true, right? You know, love is equal. I love you. Carats love you. We love you," a tone of desperation accented his words. "Love will hit you like a fist or it'll wrap you in a blanket when you meet your soulmate. It'll make you feel like the richest person even when you only have two coins on you. And the love of your life?" They met eyes.
"They'll complete you, no matter how broken and empty you're feeling. They're waiting for you, Jun," The night whispered behind them in distant honks and bus hisses. "And coincidentally, my friend is waiting for us, too. It's three minutes past the time of our scheduled arrival."
