Renjun’s life returned to normal after the first blow out of the disease; he and Jeno remained best friends, he didn’t fail biology, and most importantly, he didn’t love anyone as more than a friend. That is, until Junior year had rolled around and brought with it a storm of school work, friend drama, and a new flare up of the disease. For half a year, the boy was free of coughing up petals and throwing up branches. For half a year, he didn’t suffer chest pain as he talked to people at school. For half a year, he felt liberated and full of life. Then Chenle made a move that sent the older boy running for his life.

During their junior year of high school, Renjun, Chenle, and a new friend of theirs, Jaemin, had been outside on the rooftop working on projects. Chenle and Jaemin were practicing their dancing while Renjun painted the skyline in his final piece for art class. The three of them were happy to spend some time together, even if it was mostly used to work on their homework. They had a friendship that didn’t need to have constant interacts or loud noises; all they needed was each other to be at peace.

Around one in the afternoon Jaemin flopped to the ground in a fit of laughter, snapping Renjun back into reality. He turned away from his painting to find the youngest of them trying to learn the new choreography for their dance class. Ultimately Chenle always smacked himself in the face with his hands because his timing was off by a second. He then glanced down at the ginger haired male rolling on the floor in hysterics.

“Na Jaemin, stop laughing at me and help me learn this stupid dance! We showcase on Friday and today is Tuesday!”

“Lele, stop panicking. Jaemin , you’re supposed to be in a team with him.”

The two stared at the black-haired male with slightly wide eyes, even though they knew he was just trying to help them out. With a soft sigh Renjun set down his brush and palette, stretched his arms above his head then walked over to them. He replayed the video they were watching to learn the dance and a smile spread across his face. The dance they had picked was one he performed during his first year with the troop and seeing as how Chenle and Jaemin weren’t getting extremely far, he figured it was about time to help out.

“Ah, this one is easy.”

“Huh?”

Chenle and Jaemin watched as Renjun did the exact move that the younger Chinese male could not get if his life depended on it. Jaemin gaped while Chenle whined at how the older was just showing off his secret, but not so secret, dancing skills.

“You’re focusing too much on lifting your foot at the right time. Your hands come first and then your leg will naturally follow. You’ve gotten a good reaction time from there, but your upper body isn’t in sync with your brain.”

The younger sighed, but nevertheless tried focusing on his arm movements rather than his leg and in two minutes was able to execute the move with such accuracy that Jaemin had to do a double take. Renjun felt proud of the younger for not giving up just yet and taking the advice seriously, unlike others in the class.

“You’re ready to dance with the music now.”

He waited until the two were in their places then hit the play button on Jaemin’s phone. The beat was steady as he watched the two practice the dance. Both were talented at dancing and it showed as they moved their bodies, making the perfect facial expressions as well. As Renjun watched them, his heart began to beat a little faster in his chest. ‘Nothing to worry about, I’m sure it’s just because of the music.’ That’s what he would have liked to believe, but the longer he watched them the more his focus went to Chenle.

The way his body moved to the beat of the music; the slight smirk that played on his lips during the chorus made Renjun’s breath hitch in his throat. He did his best to keep down the cough that he knew would be coming sooner or later as the two finished up the dance. When it was finally over all he could do was smile and clap for them, he knew they had been working day and night to finish learning it. Now they could move on to practicing with the group for the showcase on Friday.

“Wow injunnie, I didn’t know you were a dance teacher.”

“He isn’t, but he was in the dance troop during the first year and a half here.”

“We’re juniors though, what happened to the second half of the next year?”

“Um…”

Chenle glanced at his friend to make sure it was alright to tell the tale, but the older beat him to the punch.

“I had Hanahaki Disease, I’m perfectly healthy and free of it now though.”

“Oh man, I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope the person didn’t treat you like .”

“No, he was very kind about it. I don’t think he was prepared to know that it was him since we’re so close.”

“You two are still close?”

“They’re closer than ever now. Seriously, you and Jeno are always together that I hardly get to hang out with you anymore.”

Jaemin laughed at the cute pout the youngest flashed, he was always fond of the young Chinese male. He always thought of Chenle as a little brother who needed to be protected from the rest of the world. Renjun laughed at how childish his friend was acting, but it wasn’t a surprise to him anymore: Chenle had always carried a childish air with him and that was normal. At the end of the day that was part of his charm and no one could deny that fact.

“You can always ask to spend time with us.”

“But I want to spend time with my Injunnie alone.”

The minute those words left his mouth Renjun felt a jolt in his chest but didn’t make a move; he’d gotten extremely good at hiding the physical reactions of the disease after spending a year hiding them from Jeno. Jaemin on the other hand, noticed a small convulsion in the older boys chest but decided to say nothing about it. Even though he could see something clouding the once clear and bright eyes, he couldn’t get himself to ask if he was okay.

“You’re a very whiny child, do you know that?”

“YA!”

Chenle ran after Jaemin, yelling in more than one language, with his arms flailing above his head. Renjun silently thanked Jaemin for making a distraction, even though he figured the other didn’t know what was going on and coughed out one small white petal. He looked down at it in slight horror but calmed down after a second and threw it on the ground away from him. While the petal may have been small, the type of flower it came from was not a good sign at all: a daisy.

later that day

Renjun made his way back home slowly, trying to think through all the emotions that were racing through his body. It wasn’t much of a surprise to him that he felt this way again, it was a surprise that he felt this way because of Chenle. The boy was never someone that Renjun would have liked in such a way, but fate had decided to send him on another trip to Hell.

“Hello sweetie, how was school today?”

“It was fine. I’m almost done with my painting for the exhibition.”

“That’s wonderful to hear. What are you painting?”

“The skyline at the rooftop, I’ve almost got it down, but I can’t seem to get the light right.”

She watched her son slump a little onto the counter with a pout; he really wanted this painting to make a statement. He was always known to be a good artist and when he entered high school he decided to do something with it. Though, of course, he hadn’t been painting and drawing from life previously; he always drew Moomin or painted scenes from the show.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to blow away your teacher. You’ve got quite a lot of talent, and this is certainly a change from always using Moomin and friends as a subject.”

She winked playfully at her son who groaned, hiding his face behind his arms but eventually smiled at her. He knew she was right of course; using those characters over and over again could be boring after a while if that person wasn’t Renjun. Nevertheless, she could only be happy for her son for achieving so much in his life. Especially through the disease last year, his mother and father had thought they would lose their son.

As she watched him sit up there was a slight shift in his facial features while he did so, causing his mother to widen her eyes. While Renjun had survived the disease, his parents became extremely cautious with him whenever they saw him in discomfort. Unknown to him, his mother moved to stand a little closer in case something was physically wrong with him.

“How are you feeling?”

‘What an odd question’ was what he thought, but he made no effort in trying to dodge it. Over the span of that year the disease had taken over his body, he found that his mother would often ask odd questions of him. She still asked them even in his junior year and Renjun had understood that it was going to become a regular part of his life.

“What do you m—”

He was cut off by a jolt in his chest, causing him to bend over while holding onto the kitchen counter. His mother rushed over as he coughed and what came out next disappointed both of them, but neither was surprised. There in her son’s hands lay five fully bloomed daisies and a choked-out sob left his body. She held his shaking body close to hers, trying to sooth him so that the coughing wouldn’t start up as he cried.

“Oh god… not again.”

“It’s alright Renjun, we’ll take care of this.”