The8 of Jun || JunHao

Where Were You In The Morning: How Do You Just Walk Away

Waking up with an aching back and a numb arm wasn't exactly a great way to start the day, but things could get worse. Unfortunately, things were definitely worse for Junhui today when he realized that the other side of his bed was cold and heartlessly empty.

Where did Minghao go?

Getting his hopes up a little more, he sat up and nervously looked around his bedroom floor. Clean. No traces of hurriedly discarded clothes except for the outfit he wore yesterday.

"Maybe he's making breakfast." Junhui thought to himself. The two boys talked about sharing a nice breakfast last night after their steamy business, so the situation is highly probable.

The thought of Minghao cooking food for him excited Junhui, so he quickly got out of bed and stumbled into his kitchen, not even bothering to wear his boxers. Instead of the smell of coffee and scrambled eggs, he was greeted by the smell of disappointment and bitter realization.

The kitchen was empty. Which only meant Minghao left after concluding his business with Junhui. He left after sweet talking Junhui into his bed and sweet talking him once more until he fell asleep so he could sneak out of the older's apartment.

Junhui felt a pang in his heart. Out of all the people he slept with, Minghao was definitely the one he liked the most. He was giggly and soft and didn't demand things from Junhui. Minghao's words made it seem like they really connected. He wished Minghao atleast left his number somewhereㅡhis number!

The naked boy rushed back to his room and frantically searched for possibly a strip of paper with Minghao's number on it. He even checked his phone just in case Minghao somehow managed to open it and directly input his number into Junhui's contacts.

Unfortunately for Junhui, there was no new saved number, and Mingyu's mom texted him, pleading to keep an eye on his son again for the day while she's at work.

Junhui just sighed and prepared to go to the hospital. He still felt betrayed, but he still kept his hopes up. Who knows? Maybe he might see Minghao again where they first met and they can talk about why the younger suddenly disappeared during the night.

Either Mingyu's clumsiness has rubbed off on Junhui, or the world just really hates him today. It can be both, really, for as Junhui was running to Mingyu's hospital room, he bumped into someone again on the staircase. He really needed to start looking where he's going.

"Uh, sorry." The person he bumped into mumbled as he composed himself from the sudden fall.

Junhui couldn't even utter an apology back, because standing right in front of him was the man who left him to wake up all alone in a room, heart broken and disappointed.

"How do you just walk away like that?" Junhui whispered, but was loud enough for Minghao to hear and stop from walking away.

"Excuse me? It was you who bumped into meㅡ"

"No!" The raging disappointment inside Junhui's heart started spilling from his mouth like hot lava. He promised himself he wouldn't get mad at Minghao for what happened and would remain civil if they ever get to talk about it since the boy probably had a good reason. But he was really hurt. "You made me believe that there's something between you and me!"

Minghao looked at Junhui as if he just spoke in an alien language that he couldn't understand.

"Where were you this morning?" Junhui finally said the words that have been on the tip of his tongue the whole day. He wanted to know so badly. He spent a good hour of his morning just staring at his bedroom ceiling to wonder about why Minghao could've possibly left him during the night when he was the one who initiated the hook-up in the first place.

"I'mㅡ" Minghao started. He looked lost and confused, and Junhui felt bad for getting mad at the boy. "I'm sorry. I don't understand what's hapㅡhave we met before?"

The older boy could've sworn he heard his heart shatter and fall to the floor into a million pieces. The logical explanation would be that Minghao's only pretending to not know him just to avoid a confrontation, but he looked so genuinely lost like a lamb that strayed away from its herd.

"I think you've mistaken me for someone else. I'll get going now. I'm sorry for....not looking where I was going." Minghao hastily said, hugging his folder of medical records to his chest before bowing and walking away from Junhui's life forever.

Junhui eyed the folder Minghao held so tightly, and suddenly, he was hit with the realization that he knew the answer all this time. He knew why Minghao didn't stay, and he felt so dumb for not processing the information sooner. It has been in his memory since the moment he thumbed through Minghao's medical files.

Illness: Anterograde Amnesia

Junhui's heart broke harder than it did before, because no amount of confrontation or begging or even crying could ever make Minghao stay.