Colours [MASHIKYU]

12 - A brief history of Watanabe Haruto

Haruto had to say goodbye, because he doesn't know if he'll see Mashiho one on one again before he leaves tomorrow.

Unlike Mashiho, Asahi, and even Yoshinori sometimes, Haruto always knew his stay here would be temporary.

Haruto has been in and out of hospitals for years with his eating disorder, constantly in need of forced nutrition. Several times, his parents and little sister feared he would die. He would get so skinny he was almost translucent, get a bit of colour back in hospital, then drain it again once he was out. When this facility was introduced to Haruto's family six months ago, they thought it would be perfect for him. However long it takes, they said, for him to be somewhere near healthy.

At first Haruto was strapped up to tubes in his bed, like he was at all the hospitals he'd been to, then he was allowed to eat in the cafeteria with the others. He didn't want to stay, and he genuinely did want to get better, so he made a huge effort to. Every week, they gradually increased his portions. He still is not eating as much as the regular person, but it's enough for him to be, like his parents requested, somewhere near healthy.

But Haruto only wanted to get out for a short period of time. This was the period of time before he met Jeongwoo. He accidentally entered Jeongwoo's room instead of Mashiho's one day, and from the moment he said 'hello' and Haruto knew he was a goner.

His crush on Jeongwoo got stronger and stronger as each day went by, they would meet and talk every now and then, or just gaze at each other across the cafeteria (until Haruto finally asked Jeongwoo to sit with him). Jeongwoo has things wrong with his brain that Haruto hasn't really asked about, he just helps him through his episodes where he screams and cries (like Mashiho), because Haruto loves Jeongwoo, and Jeongwoo loves Haruto.

Which is why Haruto was so devastated today when he was told he could leave. In that moment, he did not want to be getting better. He didn't care about the state of his health as long as he could be with Jeongwoo.

How is he going to tell him he's leaving? He can't even bring himself to tell Mashiho.