Hide and Seek | JunHao

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November 7, 2015

"Junnie." A young boy with jet-black hair called. "Come here!" He ran up to what seemed to be a children's park, going up to a swing.

Junhui was caught off guard by the nickname. No one really called him like that. At least, not as far as he remembers. However, something about that boy had made him feel like it was okay to follow him. "Wait up!" He said, trying to catch up to the boy.

The boy sat on the swing, taking hold of the chains tied to the base of the swing.

"Should I push you?" Junhui asked. He tried to study the young boy's face, but he couldn't focus on it, unable to clearly see the boy's face. It was as if there was a blur that had been trying to block it.

"I'd like that, Junnie." The boy answered.

Junhui got behind the boy and softly pushed him on the swing. He didn't know why, but he felt a sense of nostalgia running through him.

The two enjoyed their time, feeling the winds in the air, as the trees in the background shade them from the sun.

"Ah!" The young boy fell off the swing. Thankfully, he landed just fine with his hand on the sand to keep his balance.

Junhui quickly ran up to the boy. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He held the boy's hand, examining if the boy had been wounded.

The young boy let Junhui take his hands, revealing that there was not a single wound. "I'm okay, Junnie. Don't worry."

"I'm sorry." Junhui held the boy's hands a tad bit tighter. "Was I pushing too hard?"

"It's not your fault, Junnie." The boy said interlocking his fingers with Junhui's.

The action startled Junhui a bit, but for some reason, the feeling felt familiar. He felt comfortable with holding each other's hands like this.

It was warm.

"But... what's your name?" Junhui asked.

"What a silly question." The boy chuckled, letting go of Junhui's hand.

"Where are you going?" Junhui tried to reach out, but as if he was ensnared by chains that would not budge, he was unable to move from his position.

"Sorry, Junnie." The boy slowly turned around, walking farther away. "I have to go now."

He watched as the young boy left and a light getting even brighter, envelopping him, as he gets swallowed by it.

"Wait!" He screamed, his eyes wide open, stretching out his hand in the air. He saw a familiar ceiling above him and looked around, only to see himself in his room, lying down in bed.

Ah, it was a dream.

He slowly puts his hand down and let out a sigh. He stays there in that position for a minute, just blinking and staring at the ceiling, unable to believe that what he had seen was just a dream. Eventually, he got out of bed and went to the restroom to brush his teeth, and headed to the kitchen right after to have breakfast.

"Honey, you're quite early today." Mrs. Wen said. "Come eat."

Junhui walked up and sat down with his parents to eat. "Mom, I had a dream today."

"A dream?" Mrs. Wen raised an eyebrow, handing her son a pair of chopsticks and a bowl.

"Yeah, it felt so real." Junhui took the chopsticks and the bowl from his mother.

"What's it about?" Mrs. Wen asked, pouring some of the seafood noodles she had cooked onto her son's bowl.

Junhui slurped up some of the noodles before answering. "It was about..." He paused for a second. "It was about a..." He put the chopsticks down, trying to give his all into remembering it. "I just dreamt about it a few mimutes ago! I already can't remember what it was?"

Mrs. Wen chuckled. "Is that why you woke up early today despite it being a Saturday? You never wake up at this time if it isn't a school day."

Junhui took a deep breath and exhaled. "I think so. I don't-" He took a moment to try to recall his dream. "I really can't remember it."

Mrs. Wen smiled. "Some dreams are just like that, honey."

"I guess so."

After he had finished his breakfast, he washed the dishes and cleaned the table. Then, he went back to his room, jumping right back in his bed. He reached out for his phone on his bedside table. He wanted to talk to his friends about the surreal dream he just had that he can't quite recall.

He scrolled through his contacts list, trying to figure out who to call. He tapped on Wonwoo's name and called him.

"The number you have dialed is busy at the moment. Please call again later."

"Wonwoo's busy?" He tilted his head. "Ah, he might still be sleeping. He might get mad at me if I wake him up by spamming him with calls."

Then, maybe Jisoo?

He tapped Jisoo's name and called him, only to be met with the same outcome.

"The number you have dialed is busy at the moment. Please call again later."

"Is everyone still asleep?" He sighed, tossing his phone somewhere across his bed. "That's lame."

What he didn't know was that his friends that he had just dialed, were on their way to visit a special someone on this special day.

"Happy birthday, Minghao." Mingyu put poured a some wine on a wine glass and placed it beside the porcelain urn. "Do you remember back then when you told me that the day you turn eighteen, you want to drink wine with me?" He poured himself a glass. "I guess it might have been too late, but it's better late than never, right?" He clinked the two wine glasses together. "We miss you, Minghao." He drank the wine from the glass in one shot. He began to broke down in tears before he could put the wine glass down.

"Mingyu."

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw a familiar face, one that he hadn't talked to in a while. "Wonwoo?" He looked beside the man  with glasses and saw three other boys—Jisoo, Seungcheol, and Seokmin.

Mingyu stepped back, giving the four some space.

The four boys stood in front of the urn, each placing a flower down. They gave a moment of silence to pay their respects, looking at the framed picture of their beloved friend, Xu Minghao.

A rush tears had escaped Seokmin's eyes. He wiped his tears away, covering his mouth with his hand to be as quiet as he could as he kept bawling.

Mingyu put the wine glass down on the floor, and stood beside them.

"Jeonghan couldn't make it." Seungcheol spoke. "Sorry, Minghao. I'll bring him with me next time."

"The others...?" Wonwoo asked, his eyes still focused on the urn in front of him.

"They visited already." Mingyu said softly. "Seungkwan came the earliest with Hansol. Chan, Soonyoung, and Jihoon were here a second ago. The three of them stepped out with Minghao's parents. They were worried that Mr. and Mrs. Xu hadn't eaten yet."

Wonwoo turned his head to face Mingyu. "How long have you been here?"

Mingyu turned to Wonwoo and tried to put on a smile, but the smile ended up becoming so weak that the corners of his lips barely raised. "Thank you, guys, for coming."

END