Station 11

cinquante six.

He was dressed in a thick black jacket when I arrived. Since mum didn't have time to get out the winter clothes yet, I was only wearing a coat and I was clearly freezing.
A smile appeared on Junhui's face when he saw me.
"I thought that you would decide to not come in the end", he said.

"No, I am not like that", I answered and nearly said, 'not like you'

"Okay. We could go to a café that's not far from here, where it's warm and cozy and they serve hot drinks", he suggested.

"Sounds nice", I said and showed him my trembling fingers, that already turned red from the cold. 

"Oh, no. Let's hurry up then", he said and started walking. I followed him. There was a strange distance between us. He was in front of me, walking with quick and big steps, while I was behind him, making slower and smaller steps. The wind was blowing through my ears and I shivered.

Junhui turned around. "Do you want to have my jacket? It's really warm in this", he asked and stopped walking, until I caught up.

"No, it's fine. You said it's not that far away anyway", I told him and we continued walking.

We finally arrived and as we opened the door, the warmth of the café hit my face and warmed me up imediatly. I could feel my cheeks turning red from the sudden temperature change. We sat down on a corner that had a window next to it and showed how the wind was shaking the trees.

"Is there something you want do drink?", he asked me. "It's my treat"

"Green tea would be good. And thank you", I said, leaned back on my chair and watched Junhui leave to make his order. His hair grew a lot and was slightly covering his eyes. It was still black and the ends of his hair were slightly wavy. I decided to turn my eyes away from him and watch the street from the window. There was nearly no one outside.

Junhui came back quickly with the tea and a simple cup of coffee for him.

"I didn't know you were drinking coffee", I said and started playing with the string of my tea bag.

"Yeah, trainee life is really tough, coffee helps a lot", he explained and took a sip. "Still don't really enjoy the taste", he said and frowned from the bitterness. I couldn't help, but let out a small chuckle.

"Not as tough as this bootcamp I had to go through with Mingyu", I said.

"Bootcamp?", Junhui looked up.

"Yeah, Dr. Nam said that if we succeed in this bootcamp and she clearly sees how it changed us, she will allow us to leave. So everyday we both had a session were talked and discussed our problems, learned a lot about eating habits, food and even fitness. And everyday consisted of a challenge, trying our fear foods again. It was tough, but I am surprised how much it helped me", I told him.

"Why did you do it together with Mingyu?", he wanted to know. I couldn't describe the emotion in his voice. Did he seem jealous? Or was he just genuinely curious?

"Uhm, we had a little fight and then Dr. Nam decided to make us do this together, since we are both really similar with our illness and we did help each other a lot with getting through it", I decided to be honest. I wasn't scared to tell him the truth.

"That's nice to hear. Alone would've been even harder for you", Junhui said and surprised me. His words were not what I expected. His eyes didn't even change and stayed calm.

"You seem really different", I decided to tell him.

"Really? How?", he smiled.

"So calm. It's not like the earlier days were you were just holding yourself back, you are just calm and understanding", I said and Junhui's smile faded.

"That's why I was allowed to leave", his voice was a loud whisper and I pressed my lips toghether. Talking with Junhui again, made me forget why we even met in the first place.

"Let me explain. It was always you. You were the reason, I wanted to change. And you were the reason, why I did. Loving you and getting your love motivated me to push through this and to take my situation seriously. And it helped me a lot. I never used to listen to my therapists. I always found reasons not to do the things they wanted me to try. I didn't believe any of the things they said. But after falling in love with you and realising I could be a bad person to you I wanted to change and did. I know how to deal with difficult situations now and I don't have violence and anger as my first options. I think a lot, before my actions. But yes I was still a huge coward the day before I left. I still don't know why I was scared of telling you that I was allowed to leave. It was selfish of me to not think about how much this hurt you. And the moment I stepped out of this hospital I regretted it. I thought about it everyday and was so angry at myself for hurting you like that. I am still so sorry for what I did and I just hope you forgive me", he said and closed his eyes. His breathing was unstable from talking fast.

"I think that it was your first bigger goodbye. That's why you were scared of telling me", I spoke and made him open his eyes again. He looked at me. His dark brown eyes were still so beautiful.

"My therapist said the same. But again it was still selfish. I am bad with goodbyes, but that still isn't a reason to hurt you like that", Junhui was holding back his tears. His thoughts seemed to torture him. And he thought he deserved it.

"It's okay. I forgive you. I am happy that you admit your mistake and I can see how much you've grown. The fact that you even had the guts to talk to me, invite me here and explain everything without making excuses shows how much you've changed", I said and Junhui smiled again.

"Thank you so much, Minghao. You don't know how much this means to me", his voice was quiet again. I also smiled.

"What does this make us now?", I asked him.

"I don't know. What do you want us to be?", he avoided to answer.

"I also don't know", this made me shy again and I looked into my mug that was empty now.

"Should we wait and see?", Junhui suggested.

I wanted to deny. I wanted to hug him, touch him and kiss him. But I didn't.

"Okay, yes", I lied and we stood up to leave.

"Well, I have to go to that direction", Junhui pointed to the busy street and gave me his phone to write down his number.

"And I have to go to the other", I chuckled and pointed to the road on the opposite direction. "See you", I said and gave him the phone back.

"Don't forget to message me", he said before I turned around to walk home. But it was only a few steps before he called my name again.

"Minghao, wait", I heard him and turned around. He was running towards me and didn't stop. He grabbed my face and after so many weeks Wen Junhui kissed me again.

"I don't want to wait and see", he whispered. "I am not a coward anymore"

"Me neither", I whispered back and kissed him again.

Junhao is rising again!!! I was excited to write this chapter and bring our favourite couple back together!!! Let's enjoy this powercouple's romance together!
See you soon, Mel.