Hide and Seek | JunHao

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August 22, 2015

"Honey, you can't keep locking yourself inside." Mrs. Wen wiped her tears, standing in front of the door to Junhui's room. "Y-You need to eat, at least." She knocked on the door, unable to count how many times she's knocked. "I-I left some food here." She waited a few more seconds, trying to hear a reply, but was met with nothing, but silence.

The death of Minghao took a toll on a lot of people. It was hard and countless tears were shed. No one expected such a tragic thing to happen.

An autopsy was held. Traces of chloroform had been found on the boy's lungs. Traces of semen belonging to someone else had been found. Among his belongings, a single earring was found and the pierced area on his left ear was completely torn. The injured arm was in a worse state. The cause of death was said to be strangulation, as his throat, inside and outside, were completely bruised.

The police had been working on the case, but have not found anything. This was real life. It wasn't a movie nor a series. There were no extremely skilled investigators who found clues and solved the case immediately. There was only Minghao's parents crying every single moment, not being able to sleep, not being able to do anything, knowing that their son's murderer is out there alive and well. They were filled with rage, sadness, grief, unable to accept their son's brutal death.

They kneeled.

'Please punish our son's murderer!'

'Please bring our son back!'

'Please let us talk to our son one last time!'

'Please let us see him one last time!'

'Please take me instead of my son!'

'Take me instead, I beg you!'

They cried out, but nothing was happening. They felt helpless. Before a tear had the chance to dry on their face, new tears came down.

The case had been reported on the news. Thus, Pledis School of Arts and other nearby schools had been suspended for a while. A lot of parents had wanted their children to stay inside for the time being. Police patrols were also dispatched around the areas for safety.

The boy's friends weren't doing great either. It was too sudden. All they knew was all of them hanging, eating good food, playing, and laughing together, sharing these joy-filled moments. The next day, they were met with the unfortunate news.

They had their regrets.

'I shouldn't have forced Minghao to play with us.'

'If I took Minghao's side and said I didn't want to play hide and seek, he would still be here with us.'

'I shouldn't have suggested playing hide and seek.'

'We should've gone home after eating.'

'Minghao was injured. If we didn't force him, then maybe...'

'I should've looked for Minghao instead of leaving it to Jun.'

'If I followed Minghao in where he went, maybe he would still be here.'

'I should've made sure everyone was safe.'

'If I didn't have that stupid fight with Cheol, we wouldn't have needed to go to the park.'

They weren't sure what to do. They weren't sure how to act.

Junhui was suffering a lot. After hearing the autopsy results, the boy had completely broken down. The thought Minghao going through something like that filled him with anger and tears. He was supposed to protect Minghao.

He hated himself for simply just leaving the park without further looking. He blamed himself for playing some stupid game, while Minghao was probably running for his life. He hated himself that on that day, while he was sleeping, his boyfriend had been on his last breath.

He felt that way, but what is it that he can do now?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

He can't bring the boy back to life. This was real life, not a fairytale. There was no such thing as true love's kiss.

He can't catch whoever did that to Minghao. He wasn't a police. Heck, not even the police could track the murderer right now.

He felt useless.

He felt guilty.

He felt angry.

He felt sad.

He felt lonely.

He had no idea what time it was. He had no idea what day it was. All he'd been doing was cry, thinking about his love, the person who knew him the most, the one who loved him like no other, the one who had the most beautiful sounding giggles, the one that liked the cuteness of frogs when most people find them digusting, the person he used to give forehead kisses to, the one he grew to love with his every being, Xu Minghao.

He can't accept his death this way. He wants to be able to feel his love, his warmth, the comforting hugs, the way he'd put his hands over his waist, the feeling of their hands being together. There he was lying down on the cold floor. Beside him was nothing, but the darkness, he tries to reach out, hoping that his boyfriend would be there to hold his hand. However, that wasn't possible.

Minghao was gone.

His eyes were closing, as his breaths were getting weaker. His body was cold. He hadn't eaten for who knows how long. His head was aching.

He wanted it to stop.

He wanted the pain to stop.

The last tear had made its way out, as his eyes had shut. He no longer had any will. He didn't know how to continue living without the younger Chinese male in this world.

Just like that, the afternoon passes.

His parents were worried for the boy. His father had already decided. If they have to force the Junhui to eat, then, they will.

"Jun!" Mr. Xu knocked heavily on the wooden door. "You need to eat. Get out from there or I'm going to break the door open!"

There was no response.

He gave a glance to his wife, seeking confirmation on whether they should really break down the door or not. His wife just looked back at him, not knowing whether it was right or not. She knew that the kid needed space. She knew that, but as a mother, his son's health came first.

His father proceeded to slam the door open, breaking the door knob completely.

The room was dark. It was quiet. The darkness was obscuring their sight, unable to focus in their surroundings.

"Honey!" His mother shrieked, quickly rushing to the her son's side.

Junhui was there, passed out on the floor, holding the necklace that Minghao had given him in his hand, the single earring that was retrieved from Minghao's body in his other hand, and beside him was a photo of him and the younger Chinese male together.

END