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The petals kept falling, Minghao ’s condition getting worse by the moment. Why were the feelings not reciprocated.The doctors said it would jeopardise his ability to function.
They called it Hanahaki disease. When one has Hanahaki disease, they are victims of a one-sided love who cough up their love’s favourite flower.
Had the feelings been mutual, he wouldn’t be here right now, sprawled out in a hospital bed
Anemone.
Minghao was seventeen when petals spilled from his mouth.
He’d just laid eyes on the new boy. With his piercing eyes and fairy-like smile— he was an angel. He couldn’t fight the feelings that bubble from the pit of his stomach. His classmates stare as he stumbles into the boy’s bathroom, tiny red, purple and white petals floating in the toilet as he frowns. Minghao’s mind went into a spiral when he realised what was happening. It felt as if the universe had put a curse on him for loving someone who wouldn’t love him back. As if it wasn’t enough already dealing with the pain of coughing up blood, bile and petals; sometimes even whole flowers.
‘All was well’... That is the only thing he could tell himself, over and over again. Even when he felt himself grow tired more easily, even if he felt his throat grow tighter with each passing day. It would be alright, he just wished to make it through the day. The days turn into weeks, the weeks into months and finally a year. Please, let it be the final year he yearned.
Attraction is more than just a force that draws one body towards another. Opposites do not attract each other; rather, they contrast. At the very least, opposites can coexist, but there will always be contrast between the two bodies. The opposing bodies will always be black and white, fire and ice, or Minghao and Junhui.
Opposites do not attract because if it did, then Minghao wouldn’t be spewing anemones to the point of almost emptying his insides.
From adolescence to adulthood, Minghao’s feelings were overflowing for Junhui. To Minghao’s disappointment , Junhui never thought of Minghao the same way. With that bright smile, He would look at Minghao and then see his Boyfriend Wonwoo and show another one that could blind anyone. That’s what all Minghao wanted.
The first time it happened, Junhui had met a guy at medical school and always spoke about him to Minghao. Praise was all Junhui seemed to give him. After the third night of listening to his gushing, Minghao didn’t feel well. His chest ached, and his throat felt restricted. Minghao drank some water however it went down the wrong pipe. After rushing to the bathroom, he found himself wheezing and dry coughing by the sink. His throat finally felt like it was going back to normal so he continued to cough until all of the contents were gone. His blurred vision made it hard to see what could have caused so much pain but as he wiped his tears away, he found a sink full of purple anemones; Junhui’s favourite.
