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The beach reminds Minghao of his dreams. Dreams that hum a certain tune of comfort, caressing his hair as he lulls deeper into slumber and leaving him awake once again, only to come back every year on his birthday.
He spent a week’s worth of allowance to get here, skipping a day of class wouldn’t hurt his academic standing anyways. It would have been an outing, a treat he has given himself to enjoy even for once. With a bag filled with random snacks and a birthday candle, he goes on his merry way to the shore. His shoes sank into the sand, his eyes glued onto the cloudy sky.
The sea always looked kind, and patient as if it was waiting for someone to wake them up from its rest. It was odd really, his dreams filled with roaring waves crashing against rocks are now silent. Minghao always believed that the beach was calling him, guiding him to something valuable and worth his visit.
His dreams were always at this certain beach. He can’t recall anything that happens in his dreams, but when he wakes up he feels a warm touch on his forehead, similar to a soft kiss. It started when he was 14, and 5 years later it’s still the same.
Minghao recalled the sea telling him in his dreams to come and wait. And here he was, waiting, with his scarf covering his cold cheeks, feeling the cold breeze slide on his hands as he hoped for the sea to give him what he was anticipating.
Unfortunately, it didn’t answer. But the sky responds when its grey clouds start to drizzle rain, guiding Minghao to a warm cafe near the edge of the sea.
As he enters the establishment the smell of coffee greets him, he walks straight to the counter, focused on finding anything tea-related drink he could find.
When he settles for a honey green tea, he looks up to see the most beautiful man he had ever seen. His face is full of youth with his hair swept down, perhaps the same age as him. He looked like an unearthly being made out of perfection, his eyes glinted with pure joy as he looked at Minghao.
The man’s face is adorned with a sweet smile, but it gradually turns into a concerned expression as the silence drags out.
At that moment, Minghao’s mind panics, his eyes darting back to the menu to recall what he ordered. However, the words are now a mess jumbled together making him prolong the awkward silence.
“I’ll order the…tea?” Minghao pauses to look back at the employee and continues after a soft sigh, “The honey green tea, please.”
The man named Jun, indicated in his nametag, rings out his order and smiles once again, “Your name?” Jun’s voice seemed eerily familiar.
“Minghao.” He replied awkwardly, he immediately took out his wallet to preoccupy his embarrassed self.
“Any additional order?”
Jun looks at him, mouth pressed into a fine line. He looks as if he was expecting something from him.
Minghao meekly tells him no and finds the spot next to the window after paying. His back faces the other side of the room to avoid any more interactions with the employee.
He looked back at the wide window beside him to see that it was still drizzling. It was expected, it was November and the sky is always on the verge of pouring when it was this time of the day. He’s an idiot for not remembering to bring an umbrella when his phone alerted him of the weather this morning.
As he waits for his tea, he tries his utmost best to discreetly take out a cupcake he bought. It didn’t look quite as appetizing as it did in the packaging but he shouldn’t complain because it was the cheapest thing he could find in the convenience store. He didn’t want to spend too much since he still needs money for a ride home.
Minghao places the tiny cupcake on a tissue and rummages for the candle he took from his mother’s baking drawer. When he finds it he sticks the thin birthday candle in the center. The sight of his tiny birthday cake looked sloppy, with rainbow sprinkles looking dull and cheap, but it didn’t matter to Minghao that much. He smiles at the sight of his abomination of a pastry since he had finally fulfilled his birthday on the beach despite his parents’ discretion.
Before Minghao could take out the lighter he has in his pocket and finally make a wish, he feels a tap on his back.
“Minghao, right?” Jun’s careful smile is still plastered on his face, but the moment his eyes wander to Minghao’s DIY cake his smile subtly grows wider. “Here’s your order. I’m sorry for the sudden interruption.”
Minghao straightens his back, he looks like an idiot, and Jun’s reaction proves it. He’s sure that the tips of his ears are bright red judging by the way his ears are tingling. He is embarrassed, so embarrassed. But he tries to let out a response to not dig his grave deeper.
“It’s fine. Thank you,” Minghao looks at Jun’s nametag to pretend he didn’t know the man’s name. And for a second, he finds himself feeling deja vu.
“Jun.” Minghao sputters out like a question.
Jun smiles wider at the acknowledgment and looks into Minghao’s eyes softly before coming back to the hostess booth.
Minghao finally relaxes his posture after the sudden surprise. He taps his pinkish cheeks with his palms, trying to reduce his flustered appearance. Why did Jun seem so familiar? Has he seen him before? Well, if he did he might have remembered their encounter.
It isn’t something to dwell on, since their interaction is presumably over after he received his drink. He sets his previous thoughts aside and finally takes out his lighter. Minghao still resumes his birthday celebration and lights his candle, he takes a few pictures before he finally makes a wish.
However, he gets interrupted again with another tap on his shoulder. Minghao turns around to see a cake in front of his face. He looks up to see Jun, once again shyly smiling at him while holding a slice of cake.
“I, um, I brought you something,” The man sheepishly says, his eyes now avoiding Minghao’s, “I don’t know if you're fine with chocolate, but yeah!”
He looks at Jun with wide eyes and proceeds to fish out his wallet.
“It’s on the house.” Jun sheepishly said when he caught sight of the wallet. He points at Minghao’s cupcake before he adds, “I just assumed it’s your birthday, so yes, please enjoy our cake!”
Minghao’s face seems like it’s about to explode out of genuine affection for such a simple gift from a shop. He takes it with his two hands and smiles, he looks at Jun with joy and excitement like he had just forgotten their awkward interaction at the sudden present, “Thank you. You didn’t have to bother though.”
“I wanted to, I mean we wanted to,” Jun answers him with haste, his cheeks now bunching up into a cute grin before making his way back to his station.
Jun looked beautiful up close, it didn’t seem so hard not to stare at him as he smiled at Minghao so freely. Unlike before, the man’s smile with his teeth showing, his braces now visible making Jun look more endearing than Minghao could ever imagine. This might be one of those rare moments, where you meet beautiful strangers you know you’ll never see again. But Minghao still can’t put a finger on why there was this sudden pull, familiarity seeping into his mind, telling him he knows who this stranger is.
“Have I seen you before?” Minghao muttered out loud by mistake.
Unfortunately, Jun hears it and turns around. His eyes are now wide.
The immediate silence follows after Minghao asks. And for a moment, Minghao realized that maybe Jun’s welcoming smile meant something else.
Jun looks at Minghao with almost a glimmer of hope in his eyes. He turns his head to the side, contemplating what the right words would make his point come across and make him look like he wasn’t crazy. “Has the sea sent you, Minghao?”
At that moment Minghao almost drops his sliced cake.
The sea has sent him. His dreams set near the sea did. Does this mean this had anything related to his dreams? Or is he jumping to conclusions?
Jun…
His brain seems to function as it tries to uncover each dream he had every night on his birthdays. Was Jun the one who leaves him a pepper of warm kisses before he woke up? Was he the one who lulls him back into a blissful rest every time?
“I know you're confused, I am too. But, how about you blow your candle first before we talk?” Jun softly spoke.
And he does, he blows out the candle swiftly and turns back to Jun with eagerness. This was what he was anticipating, his birthday celebration can wait.
Jun withdraws his hands that were about to clap and frowns, “You didn’t sing the birthday song.”
Minghao didn’t seem to care about singing his birthday song, instead, he tapped the seat next to him for Jun.
Jun checks the booth if someone is covering up for him before taking a seat and scooting closer to Minghao. He takes a look at the beautiful scenery through the window where the clouds had now parted, letting the sunshine trickle onto the shore.
When Jun finally looks at him, he smiles warmly before he speaks, “You know, you’ve always told me you’ll pay a visit. So when you came to this shop, I was surprised you didn’t greet me like how we always do in my dreams.”
Jun sighs, “We only see each other each night every 7th of November, so it’s understandable you might have forgotten every time you wake up. This might be different for you, and I might seem crazy, but you remember me every time we meet in my dreams.”
And there Minghao realizes that Jun was the silent comfort that douses his dreams with warmth. He was the one whom the sea had told him to come for. He can’t believe it, because it’s surreal, and this man before him had waited for him to come.
As they talk about each dream, Minghao begins to remember fragments from his old dreams; the games they’ve played, and the kisses they’ve shared causing Minghao to blush once again.
It’s embarrassing how much he had forgotten, how he had only remembered this certain place every time he woke up from his dream. And Jun seemed to remember it all, he had waited for him to visit him in this place. Jun even managed to take up a job next to this beach just for him to widen the chances of their meeting.
“Hao, it’s natural to forget about our dreams.” Jun pats Minghao’s back for reassurance, “As long as you don't forget about me now that we’ve met in real life.”
Minghao looks at Junhui’s face filled with hope and decides that no matter how surreal it is, he’ll give it a try
“So, when can I see you again?”
—
Minghao wakes up with a soft kiss on his forehead. He opens his eyes to see Junhui sitting beside him, with a large cake filled with numerous candles on top. He wipes his eyes before sitting up properly to see his cake up close.
After meeting Jun in the flesh, his dreams on the beach stopped. It was fine really since he gets to celebrate with Jun in reality.
“Happy 25th Birthday, my Hao.” Jun softly whispers into Minghao’s ears before giving his cheek a sweet kiss, “Make a wish and blow before I burn the bed with all these candles.”
They both laugh while the sunlight trickles down to their room. The sound of the morning waves is evident as Minghao takes in his beautiful boyfriend silently. He takes the cake and disregards the lighted candles before placing it on his desk and pulling Jun back to bed.
Because maybe, just maybe, he didn’t need any more wishes since Jun is here with him