With one final huff, Junhui dropped the last box into his new apartment. A satisfied smile spread across his face as he looked around the room that was drowning in boxes. His smile slipped when he thought about unpacking everything. Figuring he’d just unpack what was needed for the night, Junhui collapsed on the floor.

Wiping his face, he couldn’t help but let his mind drift to a certain someone who was back in China.

“And the next car pulls into the stop! Who do we have here?” The announcer’s voice spoke out from the speakers. Junhui felt a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. He had placed a lot of money on the next racer, so he better win. Walking onto the race track, he rapped his knuckles against the race car. The window rolled down enough to see the racers eyes.

“You better win, yeah?”

The racer smirked as the window rolled down all the way, “Of course”

Junhui scanned the racer and was pleasantly surprised to find him attractive. But it was his eyes that captivated him. The racer gave him an amused smile, as if he knew what effect he had on the other. Giving a small wave, he pulled into the starting lanes, leaving Junhui to stare after him.

And that was how their first meeting went. Junhui smiled slightly, wondering what the racer was doing right now.

As fate would have it, the racer ended up losing, not that Junhui minded. Of course, he resented the fact that he lost hundreds of dollars in the process. Leaning against a light pole, Junhui waited until the racer came out of the officials building. As the crowds cleared, he finally caught sight of his bright silver hair.

“So why didn’t you win?” Junhui asked casually, walking in step with the glowering racer.

“He played dirty,” He replied. Junhui barked out a laugh.

“This is an underground race, of course there is going to dirty play”

If anything, the racer started to pout even more.

“So what are you going to do about my lost money?” Junhui ventured, smirk taking over his face.

“Look, it’s not my fault you bet money on me” the racer growled out, spinning to face him. Junhui raised his hands in mock surrender.

“I got it, relax” Junhui tried, laughter clear in his voice. He could tell it was starting to annoy the other. “So, why don’t you go to dinner with me? In return for losing the race”

The other stopped walking, his shoulders visibly sagging. Junhui smiled, already knowing that he could fall for the man. This racer was just too cute to resist!

“…Fine”

A fond smile grew on Junhui’s lips as he remembered their first date. Of course, it was a disaster as Junhui forgot he had no money; leaving them to sneak out the restaurant without paying.

“How could you be so stupid?” Minghao accused as they ducked behind tables on their way out of the fancy restaurant. Junhui wanted to laugh; the feeling that they could get caught at any time was so thrilling…it had him on an adrenaline rush.

“Hey!” someone yelled at them. Whipping his head around, he saw management coming right for them. Minghao immediately dove for his hand and off they went at neck breaking speed. They didn’t stop running until they were blocks away from the establishment. Gasping for breath, a fit of giggles erupted from Junhui. Soon enough, Minghao was also laughing. Sitting on the sidewalk, they rested back to back until the laughter subsided and their breathing returned to normal. Junhui could feel his start to beat faster as Minghao leaned his head on his shoulder. He knew it wasn’t from the running.

The smile Junhui had slowly faded as the memories after that continued. But no matter he did, he knew there was no stopping this trip to memory lane. So he braced himself.

The theft started off small. Maybe, once a week, they would pocket a few things at a convenience store or a department store. But soon, Minghao and Junhui were almost always looking for ways to get their next adrenaline rush. But Junhui had lines that were not meant to be crossed.

It was around midnight when he got to their shared apartment. Minghao was nowhere to be seen but he wasn’t too worried. He was probably at the next track race or something, he told himself. Dawn had broken when Junhui finally heard the door click open. Wrapping himself in a furry blanket, he went out to meet his missing boyfriend.

Minghao was dressed in dark colours, which wouldn’t be alarming if it wasn’t for the suspicious bag hanging off his shoulder.

“Minghao, what is that?” A frown came on his face.

“Relax, it’s fine” That didn’t answer his question.

“I’m serious,” Junhui stormed to the shorter male and yanked away the bag. Basically ripping it open, a gasp left him as he took sight of all the crumpled bills. It could have been hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in that bag.

“…Where did you get this?”

“Just some places…” came the quiet reply. Junhui wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it. Shaking his head, he left Minghao standing in the hallway as he went back to their room. Grabbing the nearest items of clothing he could, Junhui brushed past the younger man as he left the apartment.

“I’ll be back in a while” Was all he said before the door shut, leaving Minghao alone.

That was just the first instance where Junhui had to leave Minghao for a couple of days but he would always come back. But little did he know; there were many more to come as Minghao slowly fell farther and farther away from him. But all the theft, the lies, Junhui could almost overlook them until the final straw came.

“Minghao!” Junhui shouted when he caught sight of the younger man passed out beside a group of strangers. They were laughing.

“What did you do to him?” Junhui demanded expression growing dark.

“How scary,” one of them drawled out, words almost slurring. “Calm down, the same thing happened to me when I first tried”

Junhui’s eyes widened. Tried? Tried what? …He wouldn’t…

“What did you give him?” A heavily calloused hand gestured to the table beside them, where there were various items strewn about. His eyes narrowed, recognizing most of the drugs. He also knew what could happen if they were used extensively.

Pushing past all the weirdos, he hefted Minghao onto his back. Walking out of the bar, he bid a friend who tipped him off, farewell.

If there was anything that Junhui didn’t want Minghao to get involved in, it was drugs and violence. Junhui knew what they could do to a person because he himself ended up in jail for a few years because of it. He also knew that what they had now wasn’t a relationship. And that was why he left.

“Minghao…” Junhui started. The younger perked up at hearing his name being called. But one look at Junhui’s face and he grew fearful.

“I think we should…”

“Stop, please” Minghao interrupted, knowing what was going to come. “I can get better. I—I can stop stealing; I can stop everything, Junhui. You know I can”

Junhui smiled softly, albeit a little forcefully. “I know Minghao but I need you to stop now or else I’m out of here. I can’t be around you anymore; you’re not…the cute racer I first met. What you’re doing isn’t healthy and if you cared at all about yourself or me, you’d know what needs to happen”

Junhui could see Minghao crumpling in on himself and he felt like as well. He knew perfectly well that what Minghao needed was support but Junhui couldn’t do that if he could barely keep his own head clean. Every time he saw Minghao alone using, he was forced back to the time when he was younger and almost permanently on something. It tempted him but he also knew that there was no coming back a second time if he started again. And Minghao wasn’t helping even though he knew of Junhui’s history.

He approached the younger, “I still love you, never think that I don’t but for my own sanity, I have to go”

Minghao nodded his head, refusing to meet his eyes. Junhui leaned down to place one last, final kiss on his forehead, “Call me when you’re ready”

And with that he walked out of Minghao’s life.

Thinking back on it now, he doesn’t regret leaving Minghao. He knew that if he had stayed, then none of them would be here, which is why he moved to Korea. It was almost like the farther away he got from the younger, the clearer his mind became. Of course, if Minghao were to come back to him, all clean and everything, then Junhui would obviously accept him. All he needed was one phone call that could mean everything.

It wasn’t until the early morning when his phone rang. Groggily, he reached over and answered in a sleepy voice. “Hello?”

“Junhui,” the person replied. His eyes widened, immediately recognizing that voice. He smiled. 

End

A/N

So what did you think?? I'm really curious. I wrote this during class (when I was supposed to be studying...) But it's all good, I'm sure I'll be fine. I hope the ending was clear?? also, let me know if anything is confusing or if it doesn't make sense.

Tip== The italics are flashbacks==