Chapter 21

“You’re…what?” Minseok wasn’t sure if he heard right.

He had liked Jongdae since he had met the kid. When he had seen Jongdae that morning…his feelings had swelled in size. Minseok had planned to confess eventually; probably after Jongdae had gotten his vision back. But that couldn’t very well happen if Jongdae was already taken.

“Should I say it slowly?” Jongdae asked. “If I remember correctly, you looked younger than me, even as a kid. Maybe your mind still thinks you’re a kid.” It was obviously a joke, but it didn’t make Minseok laugh or smile. Jongdae continued. “Zitao-yah is my boyfriend. It was like love at first sight. Or…well...love at first talk in my case.”

Minseok watched Zitao’s dark face flush. “Hyung…y-you didn’t need to tell him that much…”

“Why?” Jongdae asked. “We’re all old enough to understand. Plus, I’m sure Minseok-hyung already has someone. He’s probably good looking enough.”

Zitao looked Minseok over slightly. “F-fair enough. But—but still. Nobody needs to hear our love story…it—it’s cheesy… Something you’d hear in a drama or something…”

Jongdae laughed. “Hmm… I always wondered how you were younger than me, since you acted so mature. But now I can see your innocence. You’ve obviously never been in a relationship before.”

“Look who’s talking…” Zitao mumbled. “I was the one that confessed, was I not?”

“No, you weren’t.” Jongdae said. “Jeez, you already forgot? Tch, some boyfriend you are.”

“Yah…I—I’m sorry…” Zitao responded a little dejectedly. “B-but still…you were blubbering like a fish…and you were confused about your feelings and—”

Minseok watched (in horror) as that Yifan guy pushed Jongdae towards Zitao. They kissed; Yifan probably did it to shut Zitao up, which Minseok respected. But he could if done it in a better way than that. The cursing Minseok heard suggested that a kiss wasn’t exactly what Yifan had wanted, however. Kid mustn’t be much of a person for PDA (or affection for that matter, seeing as Joonmyeon was practically lying on him, asking for some kind of affection.) This made Minseok laugh slightly. These people were really weird.

Zitao wanted to both kill and hug Yifan for pushing Jongdae into him, causing an accidental kiss. As much as he was sure Jongdae would’ve done it himself if he could see, he didn’t appreciate having him pushed into him. He almost fell over thanks to Yifan.

Jongdae didn’t seem as phased about the kiss as Zitao was though. Maybe Jongdae was more mature than Zitao thought. Not that Jongdae wasn’t mature at all—he probably was; Zitao was just used to seeing and hearing him act all cute and childish.  Zitao was surprised when Jongdae actually kissed back, despite it being accidental.

As much as Zitao wanted to kiss Jongdae, they were being watched by four other people, and it embarrassed him. He gently pushed Jongdae away, petting his hair as an apology for the pout he was given.

“Later.” Zitao promised. “When we’re alone.”

He looked around and quickly stood up, embarrassed. He had 4 pairs of eyes on him and it was a little unsettling. He patted Jongdae’s head lightly, excused himself, and then ran into his room, not baring to see nor hear what they would say about him. He sighed and covered his face.

“Aish. I seriously love you, hyung… I’m just not used to PDA…” he mumbled.

“It’s okay, Tao-yah.” Jongdae’s voice replied, nearly causing Zitao to jump out of his pants.

Zitao looked over quickly. “H-hyung...! H-how did you get here?”

Jongdae laughed. “Joon-hyung brought me on my request.”

Zitao stood up to meet Jongdae, closing the door behind him. “Come here. I’m in a bad mood now. I need someone to cuddle with.”

Jongdae smiled and let Zitao take him to the center of the room. They sat down on one of the blankets and Zitao put his arm around Jongdae’s shoulders. Jongdae smiled even brighter and found Zitao’s free hand, intertwining their fingers. They stayed like that for a little while, comfortable.

Zitao rested his head on Jongdae’s shoulder. “Jongdae-hyung. I love you.”

Jongdae smiled and squeezed Zitao’s hand. “I love you too, Zitao-yah.”

The next day, Yixing asked to look over Jongdae. While he knew the story of how Jongdae went blind now, he still needed to examine the male’s eyes to know what to do. Zitao stayed to be a translator. Minseok was there just to take whatever notes Yixing told him to. The other two men were out on (what Yifan refused to call) a date.

“He’s going to need to close his eyes.” Yixing told Zitao.

Zitao nodded and relayed the message to Jongdae in Korean. Jongdae obeyed and closed his eyes. Yixing placed his fingers over Jongdae’s eyelids momentarily, as if feeling for any sort of abnormality. Zitao watched with interest and curiosity, wondering how exactly Yixing was going to help Jongdae. Yixing removed his hands from Jongdae’s eyelids gently.

“Open.” He said, in Korean. So he could understand Korean, but only speak a little.

Jongdae opened his eyes, blinking slightly. Yixing leaned closer to Jongdae after mumbling for Minseok to get something. Minseok disappeared from the room for a second, then came back with a tiny metal object, which Zitao realized was a flashlight, probably to examine Jongdae’s eyes better.

“Normally, I’d tell someone to bear with the bright light.” Yixing said in Chinese, expecting either Minseok or Zitao to translate. “But I don’t really need to bother to tell you, since it won’t be a problem for you.”

Jongdae laughed slightly after hearing the translation. “Just do whatever. Shine lights in my eyes, look at them through one of those special magnifying glasses. It won’t bother me.”

“Well I’m not an optometrist or anything, so I don’t have any special medical devices.” Yixing said. “I just use what I have on hand…and well, my hands.” Minseok handed him the flashlight. “Anyways. Zitao, Min-ge, you guys might want to be careful. The light is really bright.”

Zitao moved next to Minseok, who was sitting behind Yixing slightly. The exchanged a few words, and then watched as Yixing the flash light and flashed it in both of Jongdae’s eyes, then examining each one carefully. Zitao almost felt like he was sitting with a doctor. Though, while Yixing did apparently have a M.D diploma with his name on it hung on the wall in his bedroom, he wasn’t officially any form of doctor.

A while later, Yixing had come to a conclusion and perhaps a way to help get Jongdae’s vision back. Minseok wrote some things on a notepad and disappeared into a different room. Yixing stood up as well, bowing as he left Zitao and Jongdae in the room alone. Zitao glanced at Jongdae, moving next to him again.

“Do you feel any different?” Zitao asked. “Obviously, Yixing-hyung didn’t do anything to cure you yet. But…still.”

Jongdae shook his head. “It just feels a bit weird having someone touching my eyelids.”

Zitao nodded in understanding, knowing very well Jongdae couldn’t see it. “Ah. I understand.”

Jongdae smiled. “I’m slightly relieved you didn’t say ‘I see’.”

Zitao ran his hand through Jongdae’s hair. “That would seem insensitive of me.”

Jongdae leaned his head on Zitao’s shoulder. “Thank you. I love you.”

Zitao pressed his lips against Jongdae’s hair. “I love you too.”

Jongdae moved his head, conveniently moving it to face Zitao. “I’m really excited to get to see you, Zitao-ah.”

“I’m really excited too.” Zitao said, placing his head on top of Jongdae’s. “Hopefully, Yixing-hyung can get it done soon.”

Jongdae nodded in agreement. “I’ll be happy either way, though.”

Zitao patted Jongdae’s head. “You’re always happy.”

“Because I have you and Joon-hyung and all of our friends.” Jongdae responded. “Why wouldn’t I be happy, being around so many wonderful people?”

“Kids! Come on out for lunch!” Yifan called. “Stop whatever it was you were doing in there. And don’t do it out here.”

Zitao laughed and stood up. “Coming, hyung.”

He pulled Jongdae to his feet and led him out of the room. Everyone was around the table, sitting on the little cushions provided; Yixing’s place was still very old fashioned. Not that Zitao even minded—sometimes it was nice to have a break from present time. Minseok glanced over at Jongdae after giving Zitao a friendly nod, even though they had only seen each other ten minutes before.

“Jongdae-yah, can I talk to you after this?” Minseok asked after a second. “We have a lot to catch up on.”

Jongdae looked in the direction of Minseok’s voice. “Hmm? Ah…sure. I guess… Tao-yah, will you be okay with that?”

“Yeah. I guess so.” Zitao responded. “Just don’t be too long, okay? I’ll get worried and jealous.”

Jongdae smiled. Neither Zitao nor Jongdae (obviously) noticed Minseok look away. “I won’t, don’t worry. Remember, I’m older than you.”

Zitao shrugged. “Okay. Go ahead then. I wanted to walk around outside for a bit anyways.”

Jongdae pouted. “Yah, Tao-ah. I want to go too. Just wait until Minseok-hyung and I finish talking, okay?”

“Fine. I’ll just sit around then.” Zitao decided. “Just call me when you’re done.”

After lunch, Minseok led Jongdae into their temporary room. Zitao watched the door close, and had to refrain himself from going up to the door and eavesdropping on their conversation. Instead, he sat on the couch and the television, switching through the channels until he found some stupid game show to give him some entertainment. He was barely paying much attention to it though.

After several agonizing minutes of fake laughter/applause and stupid mini-games, Jongdae came out looking pretty stunned and confused. Minseok didn’t come out after, though. Zitao rose to his feet to meet the confused looking shorter male, touching his shoulder slightly. Jongdae looked up, somehow knowing it was Zitao.

“What’s wrong, hyung?” Zitao asked. “You seem a little rattled.”

Jongdae shook his head and managed to grab Zitao’s hand. “Let’s just go, okay, Zitao-ah?”

“What did Minseok-shii tell you?” Zitao pressed as they moved to the door. “Did he say something mean to you?”

Jongdae shook his head again. “Please. I’ll tell you later. I want to walk around, even if I can’t see anything.”

Zitao nodded in understanding and the couple left the apartment and stepped out into the smoggy, yet still bearable air (for once), of Beijing. They didn’t talk for a while, and just wanted around hand in hand. Zitao couldn’t help wonder what Minseok said to Jongdae to get him to leave the room with such a bewildered expression. He’d have to ask about it later, however. He didn’t want to make Jongdae mad or anything. For now, Zitao would just watch him carefully.

Word Count: 1797

A/N: Ay I finally got this done. Felt like I needed something else to happen between Minseok and Jongdae. So...ye. It happened.

I wonder what Minseok told Jongdae~

Also, it's almost Christmas! Are you guys excited? What did you want for Christmas if you celebrate it? Also, I just got on my Christmas Break, so hopefully I can get these updated quicker. ^^