The Sun Will Come Out (WayV)

Look Up

"Kunhang?"

Fangsu saw Kunhang standing in the doorway, his arm holding on to it. "Yup. That's me," Kunhang said with a smile on his face. His white turtleneck blended in with the walls. He walked up to her, taking a seat beside Fangsu on the bench outside Lihua's room. "You look upset. Something the matter?"

"My friend got hurt pretty bad in the fire. Lihua. Her wounds have healed and everything, but she's gone quiet. She's different. I'm worried a lot of damage's been done. The kind we can't see." Fangsu felt her eyes water, quickly wiping it away. She never cried. 

"Fang . . . Don't cry."

Fangsu feigned offense. "Crying? I'm not . . . Who's . . . No, you." Kunhang blinked then erupted in laughter. 

"Fang, you're funny. That's great," he said between hoots of laughter. Fangsu smiled, laughing with Kunhang. That smile disappeared quickly, though, as thoughts of Lihua came back in her head. I wish I could have done something for her.

Kunhang noticed the drop in her mood. He looked at the ceiling before getting an idea. Kunhang leaned closer to Fangsu, not noticing the slight tint of red that was dusting her cheeks. 

"Fangsu," he whispered. When she turned, he gently said, "Look up."

Kunhang put his hand out, snapping his fingers. A bubble was floating in midair, controlled by his palm. A sparkle was inside. 

Fangsu's eyes lit up, an excited twinkle in them. "Wah!" she gasped. She stood up to get a closer look at the bubble. She reached out with her hand, her palm facing up. "May I?" she asked. 

Kunhang smiled and moved his hand down, the bubble lowering just above Fangsu's hand. It was like she was controlling it. Fangsu had no idea why she was getting so excited about the bubble in the air, but something about just made her forget her worries. 

Fangsu started laughing out of the blue, which slightly worried Kunhang. "What?" he quizzed. 

The bubble remained to hover above her palm as she looked at him from the corner of her eye. "This is a really nice . . . soapy sphere," she said, wiggling her brows. Kunhang cringed, revealing an extra chin as he slumped in his chair.

"I hate that . . . Soapy sphere," he repeated, going over the phrase in his head. 

"Yo, stop judgin'." Fangsu turned her attention to the bubble, her eyes fixed on the sparkle. "Kunhang? I mean, do you wanna be called Hendery?" 

Kunhang pondered over the thought for a minute. "Any is fine, really. Not gonna lie, though . . . It sounds pretty nice when you say my name." 

Fangsu took that as a compliment before her eyes widened and she whipped around. "Woah! Buddy, in what context?" She waved her hands in front of her, backing away. The bubble was still floating. Kunhang instantly realized what he said and laughed. 

"No, no!" he cried. "I didn't mean it that way! Ah, man," he sighed, shaking his head and burying it in his hands.  

"It's fine," Fangsu reassured, smiling. She took a  seat next to him and patted his shoulder. "I get what you meant, it's no biggie. Anyways," she said, turning to the bubble. "How do you control it? The bubble, I mean." 

Kunhang looked up, his eyes settling on the bubble. "There's a simple Cantonese spell to it. Repeat after me, 'kay?" 

"Roger that." 

"Cloud nine, sparkle and shine." 

Fangsu looked at her palm and said, "Cloud nine, sparkle and shine." She saw a circular shadow on her palm. When she looked up, there was a bubble floating in the air It was a carbon copy of the bubble Kunhang had made, no difference between them. 

"Woah," Fangsu said. Suddenly, she cocked a single eyebrow. "Kunhang?"

"Yeah?" 

"Why . . . cloud nine?"

"See, that may just look like a regular bubble with a sparkle," he explained, pointing at the bubble hovering over his hand. With a single touch and a loud pop sound, it disappeared, leaving a soapy residue on his hand. "But what do you feel now?" 

"Sad," Fangsu replied. 

"Exactly," he said. "The term cloud nine is meant to describe euphoria on another level, right? When you say cloud nine in the spell, it means that the bubble will bring a smile to your face. It's supposed to make you feel happy." 

Fangsu nodded, suddenly understanding everything. "That makes sense." She froze, eyeing the bubble then turning to Kunhang. "You did that to make me happy?" 

"Of course! I don't want any of my friends to be sad." Fangsu grew shy, subtly shifting in her seat. 

Fangsu suddenly heard a couple of noises from inside Lihua's room. "Is . . . ?" Fangsu stood up, the bubble popping in the process. She ran into the room, Kunhang following close behind. 

"Lihua!" 

Lihua looked up from the wooden bowl on the counter. She had gotten out of bed, but Fangsu was just glad that she was wearing her gleeful smile that everyone was accustomed to. Lihua's dark hair fell over her shoulders, casting a shadow over her face. She was wearing her wrinkled hospital gown, the sleeves folded. 

Fangsu just stood there, gaping.

She wiggled her eyebrows and laughed. "Fang, close your mouth before a fly goes inside. And who's your friend?"

Fangsu closed her mouth quickly, but she grinned at Lihua without saying a word. Kunhang looked down at Fangsu and felt a rush of joy go through him at seeing her smile. 

Finally, things were starting to look up.