He never planned for it to end up this way; honestly falling in love with one your best friends is the most cliché storyline ever but unfortunately, here he is. The way it happened wasn’t all that complicated, but when is it ever really, and when he realized his condition he couldn’t deny his situation. The petals weren’t so bad initially since they were small; falling out of his mouth with ease and glistening in the moonlight. Some people would have been horrified to see flower petals in the toilet after throwing up, but not Renjun; he was much too used to it.

The boy inherited the disease from his grandmother, who died two years ago from old age. When she died Renjun began to notice some strange things happening to himself. When he asked his parents they couldn’t bring themselves to tell him the truth: he went searching for answers on his own. For a few months they said that he was simply sick and that he shouldn’t worry too much. This would have worked, keep in mind I say would have, but a week after the twentieth visit to the doctor the truth came out.

He still remembers the day that he was formally told because it was on that day that he saw his mother cry the hardest, saw his father go paler than a sheet, and he coughed up a blood red rose. The doctors and nurses scrambled around him to get the various medical equipment needed to keep an eye on him. As he watched everyone around him panic, Renjun remained quiet and deep in his own thoughts. He knew what was going on with him from the very beginning and he knew who was causing him this pain: Lee Jeno, a boy in his grade at school.

“Renjun, sweetie, everything is going to be okay.”

“I know mother.”

“Son, there’s one of two ways we can go about this and we need to know which one you decide on.”

“Yes father.”

The doctor explained to the Huangs that in order for their son to get better, one of two things had to happen. One being that Renjun gets the surgery to remove the plants growing in his chest but have no feelings for this person, or two being that Renjun does nothing and either he dies or his love is returned. His mother and father did not wish for their son to die, but in the end, it is his life and if he wishes to stick it out a bit longer and try to make the other person love him then so be it. He hadn’t told his parents who he felt this unrequited love towards and intended to keep it that way. In the end Renjun decided that it was best to have the surgery and with that the doctors scheduled him in for the next day.

After his parents left, the boy sat on the big hospital bed in silence just watching the world move outside of the cold walls. Deep down, he didn’t want to give up loving Jeno and yet he couldn’t keep going on with this love because he would eventually die. To Renjun Death is the worst thing he could bring to the family and his parents would never recover if they lost their only son. That is another reason why he agreed to the surgery: he didn’t want to leave his parents just yet.

The next few hours passed by with no activity, only Renjun playing games on his phone or watching a movie from the tv in the room. Around eight at night there was a knock on his door, it swung open and there in the door way stood the people he did NOT want to be there. None of the boys knew what to do as they stared at their friend, sadness filling their eyes as they took seats around his bed.

“Injunnie, why didn’t you tell us it got like this?”

“Sorry Sicheng… I honestly didn’t think it would get this bad.”

“That’s a lie; you knew all along.”

The boys turned their heads to voice that came from behind them and there they found the source of Renjun’s pain: Jeno. Sicheng fixed his gaze on the younger boy while Ten, Kun, and Mark tried to be friendly and not let their anger show. They knew what it was like for Renjun all those months and they knew that in the end the boy would suffer one way or another. What caught them off guard was how quickly his condition worsened and how utterly oblivious Jeno truly is.
 

“Jeno.”

“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at home.”

Jeno starred at the boy in the bed, then at his brother who was trying extremely hard not to sock his younger brother in the eye. Sicheng wrapped an arm around the pale faced Renjujn as Mark took three strides towards his brother. The air grew stiff and heavy as the other watched to siblings eye each other. Renjun watched the two in slight disgust and embarrassment; he didn’t want Jeno to know about what was going on and now here he is.

“Mom and dad told me what happened. Junnie, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Jeno, go home. You’re a second year and you have loads of homework I know won’t be getting done tonight.”

Mark didn’t keep his cool in that moment and what Jeno did next was a shock to everyone.

“You’re one to talk. He’s my best friend, not yours.”

“Guys.”

Renjun finally spoke up, his voice ringing through the room as such force that even Ten had to do a double take. He was about to continue his sentence when his chest began to heave and suddenly he clamped a hand to his mouth. They watched in slight horror as their friends’ body convulsed on the bed for a minute before he was able to stand up and run to the bathroom. Once he made it in, he slammed the door shut and made it just in time to throw up the few blood red roses he was holding back.

This time however, his condition didn’t stop with the roses, he threw up once more and found a stem with thorns floating in the bowl. He took a few shaky breaths to try and steady his body and was met with another harsh wave of, petals, thorns, and in the end, blood. When he returned everyone in the room sprang to their feet to help him back into bed. Renjun waved them off though, he wanted to get in himself as he felt like enough of a burden.

Kun tucked the boy into bed, giving him a light kiss on the forehead like a mother does whenever her child is sick. Jeno watched the others take care of the sickly boy in front of him: Renjun, his best friend, caught the disease that kills if it isn’t fixed. It was in that moment that he forgot about sensitivity and asked the biggest question that appeared to have no answer to yet.

“Who is it that you like?”

“What?”

“I said, who are you in love with that isn’t returning the feelings?”

“Let him be, he just coughed up three rose stems with the sharpest thorns, about 3 pounds of actual rose petals, and lost some blood.”

Jeno frowned deeply at the words of the oldest Chinese male, but he knew not to push further for answers. ‘At the end of the day,’ Jeno thought, ‘Renjun is my best friend and he’ll tell me, just maybe not right now’. The boys finally settled down enough to have a conversation with the youngest Chinese male but about ten minutes in, he was already feeling drowsy. Ten chuckled as he saw the boy’s eyelids fight to stay open.

“I think it’s time to go home and let our injeolmi rest. We’ll come back tomorrow once you’re done with the surgery.”

“Thank you.”

His voice came out as a whisper, but they heard him well enough to smile down and bid their good byes. The last thing Renjun remembered from that night was Jeno looking down at him with horribly sad puppy eyes and words that would haunt the Chinese male until his surgery.

“Whoever it is, they’re stupid for not returning your love. You’re amazing Renjun. Please remember that.”

Then he out; too exhausted from almost coughing out his lungs half an hour ago and ready to let go of the person who caused him this much pain. He wanted to tell Jeno who had started this, but he knew that even with the words the other spoke, Renjun would never be loved that way by him. Jeno is a kind person, but his interest do not lie with anyone and even if they did it was clear to Renjun that the other was happy and did not go through this.