Chapter 13
The Blue of the Sky on Rainy Days
It was with his heart beating hard that Eunhyuk eventually entered the center after a whole day of waiting. He felt both at ease, as he had lost count of the number of times he had come and almost knew the place by heart, and at the same time, he was a bit nervous, as if he was rediscovering the deserted parking lot and the gray corridors with a new eye. All of these looked indifferent to him now.
He had no idea that Heechul had followed him from afar, through the sports fields, not able to hold his curiosity back any longer. He had not even had to hide; Eunhyuk had not bothered to turn around even once.
He had no idea that Heechul had followed him from afar, through the sports fields, not able to hold his curiosity back any longer. He had not even had to hide; Eunhyuk had not bothered to turn around even once.
- "But what is he doing?" Wondered Heechul who almost had to run not to lose sight of his friend. "What's so damn important?"
He just could not believe it when he realized the place his friend walked so fast towards was none other than the hospital situated five hundred meters away from their school.
- "Seriously, can’t understand a damn thing. His punishment is long over right? Why does he still come here?"
Heechul did not dare enter the building after his buddy. Hands in his pockets, he stood in the parking lot for a moment, frowning in an air of total incomprehension.
- "Eunhyuk, Eunhyuk, what could you possibly have to hide..." he muttered as he pulled out a cigarette.
- "Eunhyuk, Eunhyuk, what could you possibly have to hide..." he muttered as he pulled out a cigarette.
The said boy’s heart throbbed like a dove’s throat when, after his ascension of two floors, from the entrance to the playroom, he saw Donghae’s distant little face lowered towards a white sheet of paper. A big smile appeared on his face and he almost began to jog towards the small table.
- "Hello Eunhyuk!" Greeted Kaehyun who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, cutting him in his tracks. He replied her with a small muffled cry of surprise. "Thanks again for the trip to the farm", the nurse continued, "you were a great accompanist! The weather was nice right? You didn’t get back home too late did you? In any case, I've never seen Donghae so relaxed!"
- "Hum, turtles right?" Randomly answered Eunhyuk who had not listened to a single thing and who did not even realize what he said, eyes irresistibly drawn towards the corner of the small table, balancing on tiptoe to have a better look.
Kaehyun looked at him with astonishment, thinking the poor boy was probably exhausted by his weekend. He left without hearing her reply, looking completely elsewhere.
When he saw him, Donghae did not look less silly. He narrowed his eyes and curled his upper lip like a kitten that was about to drink milk, showing his sharp and white fangs. It remained, hidden in the corner of his lips, something of the former small grin in this beautiful new smile that made Eunhyuk feel all strange and made him want to hug him tight. He restrained himself at the last moment, remembering it was best not to disclose their secret. Donghae he, did not think about it at all, and, more awkwardly than ever, suddenly sat up from his small table, knocking down all the pens and sheets which were placed here in a big rustling avalanche. Crushing all his things, he came to press his cheek against his friend's chest.
- "Hello Eunhyuk", he said in a small but happy voice.
Eunhyuk's heart began to beat very fast and he felt the blood propelled by his ventricle flow into his temples and come spread in his cheeks, coloring them with warm pink.
- "Donghae!" He managed to articulate after swallowing his saliva with difficulty. "You made everything fall, silly", Eunhyuk said as he knelt to put some order, very worried that the nurses, alerted by the noise, could find it suspicious.
After he had put back the table and the sheets of paper scattered everywhere in place, he raised his eyes that landed on Donghae’s thin and soft lips. He had been waiting all day to see him and he did not know if this view was calming him down or agitating him more.
- "Let's go outside", he decided with a little mischievous air, taking the hand of the young patient to pull him in the yard without asking any kind of permission from the nurses who, in any case, did not seem to care a lot, being accustomed to rely on Eunhyuk to make a good part of their work.
When they were in the elevator, Eunhyuk grabbed Donghae's fingers in his while smiling like a perfect idiot, finding nothing to say. He mentally noted he was even more excited than a preteen girl during a boost of hormones, completely failing to pull himself together. Oddly, it was Donghae who spoke this time, gazing at his colorful sneakers:
- "I looked at the clock all day. I was afraid you wouldn’t come, like last time ..."
The elevator doors opened. Eunhyuk put his arm around Donghae’s shoulder to give a manlier air to their friendship, and they walked into the hospital’s small backyard.
- "Why wouldn’t I come?" Eunhyuk asked him, inviting him to sit beside him. "You're very important to me you know."
Donghae did not answer and waited a little while before hesitantly asking:
Eunhyuk's heart began to beat very fast and he felt the blood propelled by his ventricle flow into his temples and come spread in his cheeks, coloring them with warm pink.
- "Donghae!" He managed to articulate after swallowing his saliva with difficulty. "You made everything fall, silly", Eunhyuk said as he knelt to put some order, very worried that the nurses, alerted by the noise, could find it suspicious.
After he had put back the table and the sheets of paper scattered everywhere in place, he raised his eyes that landed on Donghae’s thin and soft lips. He had been waiting all day to see him and he did not know if this view was calming him down or agitating him more.
- "Let's go outside", he decided with a little mischievous air, taking the hand of the young patient to pull him in the yard without asking any kind of permission from the nurses who, in any case, did not seem to care a lot, being accustomed to rely on Eunhyuk to make a good part of their work.
When they were in the elevator, Eunhyuk grabbed Donghae's fingers in his while smiling like a perfect idiot, finding nothing to say. He mentally noted he was even more excited than a preteen girl during a boost of hormones, completely failing to pull himself together. Oddly, it was Donghae who spoke this time, gazing at his colorful sneakers:
- "I looked at the clock all day. I was afraid you wouldn’t come, like last time ..."
The elevator doors opened. Eunhyuk put his arm around Donghae’s shoulder to give a manlier air to their friendship, and they walked into the hospital’s small backyard.
- "Why wouldn’t I come?" Eunhyuk asked him, inviting him to sit beside him. "You're very important to me you know."
Donghae did not answer and waited a little while before hesitantly asking:
- "When you told me about love the other day, I understood well. But I want to know something else you didn’t tell me..."
- "What is it?" Eunhyuk encouraged him.
- "Well ... I ... can you love more than one person?"
- "Well yeah ... there are different ways to love. For example, I love my mother differently from the way I love my friends."
- "You have several friends?" Donghae asked him, opening big, round, wet eyes.
- "Well, some in high school ... Why do you want to know that?"
- "What is it?" Eunhyuk encouraged him.
- "Well ... I ... can you love more than one person?"
- "Well yeah ... there are different ways to love. For example, I love my mother differently from the way I love my friends."
- "You have several friends?" Donghae asked him, opening big, round, wet eyes.
- "Well, some in high school ... Why do you want to know that?"
But Donghae suddenly stood up and walked away very fast, looking completely stiff and disjointed, almost falling at every step.
- "What’s going on?" Eunhyuk shouted in an anxious tone while running after him.
When he grabbed his arm to prevent him from escaping, Donghae struggled as he started to tremble completely, randomly throwing big arm and starting to cry nervously.
- "But what’s wrong with you, my Donghae? What’s going on?" Eunhyuk asked, trying to canalize him while taking plenty of punch as he was not using all his strength to avoid hurting him.
- "What’s going on?" Eunhyuk shouted in an anxious tone while running after him.
When he grabbed his arm to prevent him from escaping, Donghae struggled as he started to tremble completely, randomly throwing big arm and starting to cry nervously.
- "But what’s wrong with you, my Donghae? What’s going on?" Eunhyuk asked, trying to canalize him while taking plenty of punch as he was not using all his strength to avoid hurting him.
He thought Donghae’s attacks were outdated now, but the young patient was writhing like a madman in his arms, looking completely distraught. The two boys rolled on the ground, in the gravel and the puddles, on the dusty asphalt, blocked in each other’s arms. And they fought this way for several minutes before running out against each other in Donghae’s erratic sobs that he finally let escape with a broken voice, Eunhyuk flattening his lungs to keep him in place:
- "I only have one friend..."
Finally, Eunhyuk understood. He looked at the little face that had been damaged by scratches and his little dirty strand that had lugged on the ground and, for the first time of his life, he felt his heart melt, liquefy literally, as if he wanted to envelop Donghae entirely with his body to warm and protect him, to relieve all his anguish and injuries.
- "But I only love you from this love, silly! I don’t care about others, there's only you I wait to see all day! There’s only you I think about at night! There's only you I kiss, take in my arms! Love, friend, those are just words, who cares! Of course I don’t do that with anyone else but you, idiot! You’re special to me!" He cried in a ringing voice stung with tears. "What are your imagining, silly? You really don’t understand anything about life! I only love you Donghae, only you ..." he breathlessly repeated, closing his eyelids to fiercely wipe his eyes with his sleeve.
As he was sniffing, Donghae straightened and he felt the wet pulp of his lips come and get rid of his tears muddled in the corners of his eyes. Without opening them, he squeezed him hard against himself, in a big gulp of air, occasionally muttering ‘idiot, no one had ever managed to make me cry since kindergarten' or 'you're really too stupid’. With light kisses, Donghae groomed his whole face, sometimes cleaning him up and tickling him, as if he had whiskers. Eunhyuk, who still had his eyelashes wet with tears, reopened his eyes and put his little strand of hair back behind his ear.
As he was sniffing, Donghae straightened and he felt the wet pulp of his lips come and get rid of his tears muddled in the corners of his eyes. Without opening them, he squeezed him hard against himself, in a big gulp of air, occasionally muttering ‘idiot, no one had ever managed to make me cry since kindergarten' or 'you're really too stupid’. With light kisses, Donghae groomed his whole face, sometimes cleaning him up and tickling him, as if he had whiskers. Eunhyuk, who still had his eyelashes wet with tears, reopened his eyes and put his little strand of hair back behind his ear.
- "Look at the stupid things you make me do", he sniffed before fervently kissing him, pressing his nose against his, one hand resting on his cheek. "And talking about issues", he added, pressing his forehead against his, "we mustn’t tell anyone about it, nor be too affectionate in public, otherwise some might want to separate us. Don’t think it's because I don’t love you silly, okay? It’s because I want to stay with you for a long time. Oh, and while we’re at it, you’re going to participate in a math contest with me."
Seeing that Donghae was starting to open wide, frightened eyes and shake his head to refuse, he kissed him again to make him shush.
- "You’re gonna do it, we’ll fill the papers together. I’ll go with you and you’ll win because you're a genius, and don’t you dare have a panic attack, it no longer works with me."
Donghae's face, which he held in his hands, looked totally cute to him with his completely panicked air and the crumpled collar of his shirt, and, as he was putting back one of his eyebrow correctly in place, Eunhyuk realized his hurt because of the gravel.
* * *
- "What happened to his face?" Kaehyun worried when the two boys finally came back, pointing at the scratches on Donghae’s cheekbones.
- "Oh, it got a bit rough while playing tag", Eunhyuk invented.
- "You played tag?! Donghae, is that true?" She exclaimed as if they had just told her there was life on Pluto. "If so taking a shower is going to sound very fun, young man! You really need one with that state of filth", she joked.
- "Oh, it got a bit rough while playing tag", Eunhyuk invented.
- "You played tag?! Donghae, is that true?" She exclaimed as if they had just told her there was life on Pluto. "If so taking a shower is going to sound very fun, young man! You really need one with that state of filth", she joked.
Eunhyuk looked up at the clock and saw it was almost 19:30.
- "I don’t want to!" Protested Donghae who already had had enough emotions for the day and was exhausted. "I don’t want to go shower."
- "Ah but it’s necessary, your hair is disgusting. Ask Eunhyuk, I'm sure he thinks you stink."
- "No, Eunhyuk loves me."
- "That does not affect his smell", she said while motioning to Kangin from afar, starting to pull him by his hand.
- "No, I don’t want to!" Donghae, who seemed on the verge of exhaustion, repeated.
- "I don’t want to!" Protested Donghae who already had had enough emotions for the day and was exhausted. "I don’t want to go shower."
- "Ah but it’s necessary, your hair is disgusting. Ask Eunhyuk, I'm sure he thinks you stink."
- "No, Eunhyuk loves me."
- "That does not affect his smell", she said while motioning to Kangin from afar, starting to pull him by his hand.
- "No, I don’t want to!" Donghae, who seemed on the verge of exhaustion, repeated.
Fatigue made him very nervous, and Eunhyuk did not know how to relieve his pain and prevent his shower, images of his horrible nightmare coming back to his mind. He put a hand on his shoulder and tried to encourage him.
- "But hot water will feel good Donghae, and anyway, it's not very nice to sleep all dirty, isn’t it?"
- "Listen to your friend Donghae, you have to take a shower", Kaehyun said in a firm tone while Kangin came to take the frail patient by his shoulders.
Donghae, exhausting the remaining of his strength to resist, seemed about to faint as some kind of feverish panic seized him.
- "Don’t hurt him ..." Eunhyuk said in a faint voice, a pang in his heart as he saw the trio go away in the hallway with difficulty.
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Play tag… Hum… I didn’t know this game’s name in English so I had to search on the net but maybe you don’t know it either =/
It’s when someone has to touch the others (he’s like a wolf or a cat in France) and when he touches someone, this person becomes the new “cat” or “wolf”… You have to run not to get caught^^
So yeah seems like there were many names for this game and I just didn’t know what to pick =O
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