7 Chapter 7: Melancholy Youth

The history teacher was giving their lesson, and time seemed to have slowed down for Mickey. Minutes felt like hours, while he waited for the long hand of the clock to strike the right time. With fifth-teen minutes left, Mickey's eyes became heavy, and slowly drifted off to sleep. Not long after, the lecture was over, and the teacher had left the room.

Hyung saw the sleeping boy and went to check on him. Hyung leaned towards Mickey and placed his hand on Mickey's back, trying to wake him up.

"Mickey, Mickey! Wake up, did you really fall asleep in class?" Hyung humorously said.

Awoken from Hyung's hand, rubbing his back, Mickey gradually opened his eyes. What he saw was Hyung's face, mere inches from his, their noses barely touching one another. Astonished, Mickey's body shot straight up against his seat, leaving no space between his back and the chair. Hyung could see the flustered look on the boy.

Still shocked by what had happened, Mickey spoke without a second thought, "Why are you so close to my face?"

"I just wanted to see your reaction. We're close guy friends, so we can be as touchy as we want, right?" Hyung teased, "Anyways, it's time for us to eat, come on, let's go."

As usual, Mickey, Hyung and Michelle went along with their routine of having lunch together. Today however, Michelle wanted to eat outside at the school courtyard, instead of the cafeteria. They found a wooden bench in a peaceful and secluded area. Mickey and Hyung sat on one side together, while Michelle sat across from them. As they enjoyed their meal, Michelle brought something up to her attention.

"Mickey, you and your family must be greatly blessed by the heavens! It baffles me that not only you but, Rain and Jiang are super attractive as well! Jiang may be a baddie, but his stoic looks are undeniably dreamy. While I don't know Rain well, I can see the perfection and beauty radiating from her. Sigh…it's quite unfair." Michelle envied.

Mickey sarcastically laughed, hearing the words "perfection" and "Rain" in the same sentence.

"We're just as normal as any other person. Besides, you shouldn't judge Rain based on her appearance. You will see how 'perfect' Rain is once you get to know her!" Mickey said.

Michelle tsk, as she playfully pushed Mickey's hand, "Don't speak so ill of your cousin! I'm sure she's a sweet girl. She's so gorgeous though, every time I pass her in the hallways, I can't keep my eyes off her. If I were a boy, I definitely would try to pursue her."

Michelle looked at Hyung teasingly and continued talking, "Since we're on this topic, who would you date from school, if you were a girl, Hyung?"

"Hmmm…that's easy! I would choose Mickey!" Hyung answered confidently, without a doubt.

The organ that pumped blood inside of Mickey had stopped for a moment, in shock to what he had just heard.

Unfazed, Michelle eagerly responded, "And what is your reason, Hyung?"

"It's simple, Mickey's tall! If I were a girl, I would want to be with a guy who's tall." Hyung explained with ease.

You like me because I am tall? Is that all you like about me…? Or is this your way of telling me that we might have a chance together? Mickey foolishly thought to himself.

Mickey forced out a chuckle, as he tried to keep his composure. He did not want to act suspicious in front of his friends, after hearing Hyung's choice.

"BORING! Just because Mickey's tall? There are so many tall guys at this school, especially the boys in class C-4." Michelle then looked at Mickey, her eyes were burning with the question, "What about you, Mickey?"

As he suspected, Michelle asked him the question he had feared to answer. Mickey's palms became slightly sweaty, his throat began to dry, and his heart skipped faster the longer he took to reply. Could this be it? Was this the opportunity Mickey needed, to tell Hyung how he really felt?

Am I really going to say his name? He said he would have chosen me. It wouldn't be weird if I picked him also, right? We're just doing this out of fun. Mickey contemplated to himself.

"I would choose…Hao." Mickey said with no confidence.

In the end, Mickey could not bring himself to say that he would have chosen Hyung.

Simultaneously, Michelle and Hyung were taken back by surprised.

"Huh, Hao?! Why would you choose plain old Hao?" Michelle exclaimed.

Mickey cleverly responded, "He was the first person who came to talk to me, at this school. It's because of Hao's welcoming personality, I felt at ease being a new student."

Michelle and Hyung nodded their head in sync, making sense of Mickey's reason.

"All this talk about dating reminds me, Hyung, how's it going with you and my friend?" Michelle asked.

A sudden pierce in the deepest parts of Mickey's heart was punctured, hearing those words. Mickey's stomach began to feel uneasy, while trying to keep his cool, pretending to be unfazed by what Michelle said.

Discomfort entered Hyung's throat, as he responded to Michelle, "It's…it's going fine. We're taking things slow at the moment."

"Slow?! I've introduced you to her since the beginning of school, and you two been talking ever since. How can it be that you and Anako are still in the same position?" Michelle retorted.

Another pain squeezed inside of Mickey, as if Michelle's words had taken the form of a hand and constricted his heart.

Pshhh…I thought you said you weren't seeing anyone at the moment… Mickey recalled to himself.

"Don't act coy, Hyung. Anako told me everything already. About your little date with her this coming up Saturday!" Michelle spoke with excitement.

Hyung was silent, too ashamed, and uncomfortable to answer. Mickey's insides were all twisted up by now, after hearing the words "date" repeatedly in his head. The slight chance he thought he had with Hyung was now crushed. No matter how high or sturdy the wall Mickey had built around his heart, it instantly crumbled into rubble. Mickey kept silent while picking at his food, never once taking a bite.

"Mickey, what's wrong? You seem very quiet now." Michelle curiously asked.

The tone in Michelle's voice may have sounded innocent, but Mickey could make out the malicious intent from her question.

"Oh, I'm fine…I'm just a little tired from working at the market yesterday." Mickey answered softly.

Michelle quickly fired back at Mickey, as if he were a criminal being interrogated, "Didn't you tell me yesterday you were going straight home? Since your grandparents decided to close the store that day?"

Mickey soon realized what was happening. Michelle and Hyung both knew about his secret and were trying to uncover the truth. But how, he thought he had kept his infatuation well-hidden.

Was it that obvious? Mickey wondered.

Mickey then recalled, since the beginning of their conversation, Michelle would constantly glance at him, watching the slightest change in his expression. Deeply hurt, Mickey could not conjure any reason to why the two would humiliate him like this. Was it out of curiosity, or out of pure enjoyment? No ounce of guilt could be seen on Hyung and Michelle's face, while they tried to expose him. Irritated, Mickey could not think of an excuse to give to Michelle. He stood up abruptly, grabbed his belongings and left without saying a word.

"Hm? Why did he run off like that?" Michelle said, pretending not to know the reason.

Hyung turned his attention towards her, and spoke with satisfaction, "Well, I guess you were right."

"Of course, I'm right! There was something about Mickey that seemed off, and now I know. I just wanted to confirm if Mickey really liked guys or not." Michelle explained profoundly.

"You're terrible…, we should go apologize, he looked really upset." Hyung said, with a slight look of regret on his face.

"Hey, don't give me that look, you were as curious as I was! We're both equally at fault. It's not like we exposed him or anything. We can just apologize if we had said anything to upset him, no need to bring up his sexuality into it." Michelle justified.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mickey felt gravely heartbroken and the idea of returning to class was not in his best interest. The school day was already half over, so Mickey decided to skip the rest of his classes. With his head down, he took his time walking out of the schoolgrounds.

Later that day, the chime of the school bell could be heard throughout the campus. It was now time for the students to take their leave. Rain was talking to her friend, and while walking past the school gates, something seemed off. Rain could not pinpoint what was missing, it was like a faded memory, blurry but transparent. Once the two girls were at a fair distance away from school, the thought finally came to her. As if a lightbulb sprouted out on top of her head, she gasped and turned to look back at the entrance.

Mickey is not there waiting like he always is. Maybe he went home first. She said to herself out loud.

Like Mickey promised, he always waited for Rain, even if she turned him down, and his offer to walk with her would always be there the next day. Rain became accustomed to Mickey's thoughtful gestures and did occasionally go home or work at the market with him.

Rain stopped her friend, and then spoke in a somewhat anxious manner, "I forgot I have chores I need to do at home. We can hang out next time, sorry!"

The two parted ways and Rain headed in the direction of their home; her dainty walk momentarily became quick strides. As she ran through the city, she carefully scanned each area she passed by, hoping to find clues of Mickey's whereabouts. Weary from searching, Rain began slowing down her pace, while catching her breath. She was near the riverbank when she finally caught sight of Mickey.

He was sitting on a grassy patch, down by the hill next to the river. Anyone could easily tell how sad Mickey was at that moment, his habit of letting emotions show on his face is what gave it away. Rain could see the despair that hovered on top of the boy's head. He sat in a crouching position with his arms crossed, resting them on his knees. While looking at his reflection through the moving waters.

Rain made her way towards Mickey, rushing down the hill. Her slender legs struggled to keep balance, trying not to fall or stumble. From the corners of Mickey's eyes, he could see his cousin coming towards him. Rain paused at the foot of the hill and stared down at the depressed boy. Her face was full of concern, she had never felt sympathy for anyone before. She was always self-centered, until living here. Unable to comprehend these feelings, all she knew was that she felt guilty for taking Mickey's kindness for granted.

Blunt as always, Rain asserted her voice, while bending over to meet Mickey's face with hers, "What's wrong?"

Her dark orbs were brimming with vigor, as she waited for a response. Mickey was too ashamed to tell Rain the truth, so he answered in one simple word.

"Heartbroken…" Mickey depressingly stated.

"Heartbroken?" Rain responded.

"Yeah." He replied.

Rain then let out a sigh of relief, wondering what could have been the cause of her cousin's broken heart. She could only assume that Mickey was sad about his parents' death, which must had taken a toll on him today. Rain lowered her eyes, thinking how lost she would be if her parents had died unexpectedly. With a sincere and warm smile, Rain placed her arms around Mickey, surrounding him with her embrace.

"Hey, don't be sad. If your sad, then let's go have some fun tomorrow! There is nothing we can do about the past. The best thing to do now is to look forward into the future and enjoy the time with the people we still have." Her voice was assuring and gentle, each word flowing sweetly into Mickey's ears.

Mickey was dumbfounded, until he realized what Rain meant. Little did she know, he was heartbroken because of a boy. The corners of Mickey's mouth began to rise, as he tried to suppress a smile, thinking how silly this situation was. Rain saw the sudden change in the boy's expression, her face changed as well, into a cheerful grin. She then let go of Mickey and spoke in a relieved tone, "For a moment, I thought you were mad at me."

Confused, Mickey replied, "Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because you didn't wait for me today! I thought I might have done something wrong and made you upset." Rain eagerly explained.

Mickey laughed while getting up from ground, "You think too much, Rainie! It's not like you to worry about anyone. Are you sure you're okay, are you sick?"

Rain stood up as well and playfully pushed Mickey, almost making him fall into the cold river.

"Hmph, you should be grateful to have a sister like me looking out for you. Besides, I meant what I said, we should go do something together tomorrow. To forget about our worries, just for a little while." Rain placed a finger on her right cheek, "I know, let's go to the mall!"

The life had been brought back into Mickey's eyes and nodded his head in agreement.