Chapter 21 When Life Betrays You

It was painful and dark and Sungmin was scared. Not of the pain, not of the darkness but of what it might mean. He was drifting, light and meaningless. He had to find something to anchor himself to. He just had to. Otherwise he might just drift away. He felt warmth nearby. A spark, a fire. He tried to get towards it, trying not to cause himself pain. The warmth…..that would save him…..he just needed to get to it.

The hospital was now in sight and Junsu breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately pushed on the gas pedal and brought the car to a screeching halt in front of the emergency doors. Yoochun immediately jumped out and ran around to Kyuhyun’s side of the car.

“Give me Sungmin so you can get out,” Yoochun commanded, slowly pulling a limp Sungmin from Kyuhyun’s arms. He began to walk towards the entrance with Sungmin, leaving Kyuhyun slightly behind. There was no time to waste.

“Yoochunnie, I’ll talk to the nurses,” Junsu said while running extremely fast for the doors. Yoochun nodded as Junsu ran up to the front desk and began gesturing wildly at him as he walked through the glass doors.

“Yoochun, can you hand me Sungmin?” Kyuhyun asked, running up behind them. His eyes were dark with some emotion Yoochun didn’t understand.

“Junsu’s talking to the nurses right now. You won’t be holding him very long,” Yoochun pointed out. Kyuhyun waved away Yoochun’s words.

“Time isn’t important. I need this. I need to feel him near me. Please,” Kyuhyun stretched his arms out. Yoochun understood. He knew that if he and Junsu were in this position themselves, he would want to be as close to his lover as possible.

He gently lowered Sungmin into Kyuhyun’s waiting arms. Kyuhyun cradled him gently, his heart beginning to pound. A small smile appeared on Sungmin’s lips.

“It’s you again, Kyu. You’re holding me again,” Sungmin murmured, nuzzling into him. Those words did more to Kyuhyun than he would care to admit to anyone. It filled his heart with complete love for Sungmin.

“Sungmin…” Kyuhyun bit his lip. The fact that his husband could tell when he was being held by someone other than himself made Kyuhyun’s eyes water. He tilted his head back and blinked rapidly to try and stop the tears from falling. A few drops fell from his eyes.

“It’s raining Kyu tears,” Sungmin whispered. He was feeling extremely lightheaded and drowsy. He was beginning to lose sense of what he was saying. The water droplets could have been anything. But Sungmin knew better.

“Don’t say things like that, Sungmin. You know what that does to me,” Kyuhyun pleaded softly. Sungmin merely smiled, opened his eyes and blinked slowly. Kyuhyun breathed a sigh of relief. The dark orbs were sparkling. He was still here.

Sungmin always had an effect on Kyuhyun with his words. A simple “I love you” turned Kyuhyun into an emotional mess. Any words with any hint of sentiment or feeling from Sungmin made him see stars. So it was no wonder that Sungmin’s words of subtle love rendered Kyuhyun an emotive wreck.

“Are you in charge of Mr. Lee Sungmin?” A man in green hospital clothes asked, looking at the bleeding man in Kyuhyun’s arms.

“Yes, I’m his husband,” Kyuhyun replied. The man looked surprised for a moment but then nodded and led him over to a white bed on the side of the hallway.

“You can put him down here. The doctors will come by in a moment for an assessment,” The nurse bowed and then left.

Kyuhyun lay Sungmin down gently, mindful of his injuries. Sungmin gasped softly as his back hit the bed. Almost instantly, the sheets were stained a deep red. Kyuhyun turned away from the sight. He didn’t want to see it.

“You’ll be okay now, Minnie. The doctors are going to help you,” Kyuhyun whispered, a smile forming as he gazed at Sungmin. The elder male smiled back and turned to face the ceiling. Kyuhyun leaned his forearms on the bed.

“It’s almost stopped hurting now,” Sungmin murmured. Kyuhyun nearly fell over.

“What?” Kyuhyun croaked. Had he lost enough blood that he was dying faster?

“No, I didn’t mean that. I mean that the pain is so constant, I’ve gotten used to it,” Sungmin explained, knowing the thoughts that were running through his husband’s head.

“Don’t scare me like that, Sungmin! If I lost you again…” Kyuhyun reached out and brushed a few strands of hair out of Sungmin’s eyes. He didn’t know what he’d do if he lost Sungmin again. He just wanted to be happy with him. Was it too much to ask?

Sungmin opened his mouth to reply but at that moment, a bunch of doctors scurried to the bed and pushed Kyuhyun to the side. They conferred with one another, gently turning Sungmin over to see the bullet wound and inspecting the wounds on the rest of his body.

“We’re going to have to do emergency surgery. The bullet probably entered a lung. Look at the wound, it’s an expansion bullet,” one of the doctors noted. His nametag read Taemin.

“I agree with you. Some of the gashes on his stomach will need to be sewn up. There might be internal damage as well. We’ll have to inspect that too. The cuts on the rest of his body are relatively minor,” a doctor with the name Onew said.

“We’ll need to do something to get that silver wire out of his neck. It’s digging into him, Minho,” another doctor pointed to Sungmin’s neck.

“I hadn’t noticed that. Good observation Jonghyun. Key is still in the operating room so he’ll be able to do a full analysis when we bring him in,” Minho determined.

“We should get him on an IV drip. He’s losing a lot of blood so we should also give him a blood transfusion while he’s in there,” the doctor called Jonghyun noted again. “What’s your blood type?” Jonghyun asked Sungmin.

“I’m an A,” Sungmin answered tiredly. Jonghyun nodded.

“We have plenty of Blood Type A. You’ll be fine. I’ll get one of the nurses to put him on an IV,” Taemin walked to the front desk.

“How long will it be until he gets into the operating room?” Kyuhyun spoke for the first time since the doctors arrived.

“Ten to fifteen minutes. Our head doctor is just finishing up with another surgery. He’s first on the list for the OR. Don’t worry. He’ll be fine,” the doctor called Onew informed him. Kyuhyun nodded. Inside he was panicking.

Ten to fifteen minutes? Sungmin could be dead by then! He needs help right now! Do something other than give him an IV!

“Sungmin is the first on the list for the OR?” Kyuhyun responded, parroting what Onew had said. The doctor gave him a kind glance. An IV drip arrived and Jonghyun began to get to work on setting up, helped by Minho.

“In his condition, he must be first. We will send a nurse to take scans of his stomach and the bullet wound. Come on you two. Taemin has just found out we need to analyze some guy with a screwdriver sticking out of his head. We can’t hang out all day,” Onew gestured towards Minho and Jonghyun who had finished and were listening to the conversation. The three doctors walked off and Kyuhyun stared after them.

“In his condition, he must be first.” Oh god, Sungmin is dying. Oh my god…oh my god…oh my god…

“Kyuhyun?” Sungmin reached out and caught Kyuhyun around the wrist. The younger man looked down and smiled.

“So you’re first on the list,” Kyuhyun managed to say.

“I heard the conversation, Kyu,” Sungmin smiled, “I was there.”

Kyuhyun didn’t get the chance to respond because Yoochun came up at that moment with Junsu. The two of them were looking incredibly sombre but Kyuhyun found that he really didn’t care what had caused the expressions on their faces.

“Headquarters has requested our presence to arrest the gang members that Changmin and Minwoong have held hostage. They must be trying to get away. We’ve been called to go there. Will you two be all right on your own?” Yoochun asked.

“Yeah, we’ll be fine. Have they-?”

“They haven’t found Yunho. And now Shinjung has gone missing too. Don’t worry, Yunho and Shinjung are probably holding the members we shot inside the building hostage in there,” Junsu said swiftly. Kyuhyun understood. If Yunho had died, Yoochun and Junsu would have lost two of their best friends.

“Probably. We’ll be fine. You two can go. They need to take some scans of Sungmin so he won’t be around for a while. Don’t worry, you can go,” Kyuhyun tried to smile.

“Okay. Call us if anything happens,” Junsu looked at Sungmin.

“Get the bad guys,” Sungmin smiled at the two of them. Yoochun nodded and then steered Junsu away.

A nurse came over and began to wheel Sungmin’s bed away. Kyuhyun went to follow the two and the nurse placed a hand on his chest and stopped him.

“It’s only patients who need scans from here. Please sit in the waiting room, Mr…?”

“Cho Kyuhyun,” he responded, somewhat annoyed. She smiled and nodded, pointing to the waiting chairs.

“This should only take a minute Mr. Cho. Don’t worry.”

But Kyuhyun did as Sungmin was wheeled out of his sight. He couldn’t stop himself from panicking and thinking of all the worst case scenarios. What if they didn’t get back in time and someone else took Sungmin’s spot in the waiting room? What if Sungmin died while taking the scan and he wasn’t there with him?

“Oh my god! Look at you!” A high pitched voice shattered his thoughts. Kyuhyun looked up to see a nurse standing there, pointing at him. He looked around confused, as if hoping someone would tell him why he was being yelled at.

“Um…sorry? I don’t understand what you mean,” Kyuhyun replied. The nurse shook her head and continued to point at him.

“Why are you here? You should be in the ER right now! How are you still alive?”

For the first time, Kyuhyun looked down at himself. And stared. He didn’t ever remember putting on an indigo coloured shirt or dark purple jeans. And he nearly fainted from shock. No wonder the nurse was so concerned. No wonder she was yelling.

Kyuhyun was asking the same question as her. How could Sungmin still be alive?! He finally felt the wetness of his clothes. He was covered in Sungmin’s blood. It looked like he had been through war and back. He felt sick. Was death inevitable then?

It took a good five minutes to convince the nurse that he was fine. It was his husband who was injured critically and he was just….covered in his blood….that was all. During this time, Sungmin had been wheeled back into the room and once again placed by the side of the hallway. Making his excuses, Kyuhyun ran back to him.

“Are you okay? What did they do to you?” Kyuhyun asked, worry lacing his voice.

“You make it sound as if they were torturing me,” Sungmin answered, a smile in his voice.

“To me, they were,” Kyuhyun muttered.

“They took a scan of my abdomen and my back. It was painful but I’m okay. They also padded the worst of my injuries so I’m not bleeding so hard anymore,” Sungmin explained.

“That’s good,” Kyuhyun replied absently. He picked up one of Sungmin’s hands and entwined his fingers with Sungmin’s. The two of them remained quiet for a while. Kyuhyun tried to ignore the thoughts of death creeping into his subconscious.

“Kyuhyun,” Sungmin whispered.

“What is it, Minnie?”

“Do you have any regrets?” Sungmin asked. Kyuhyun blinked.

“What? Why are we talking about this?” The younger male asked, his voice shaking slightly.

“Do you have any regrets?” Sungmin repeated.

“I regret that I ever let you get away from me,” Kyuhyun answered.

“I have none. As long as you were safe, I would have done anything.”

“Words,” Kyuhyun murmured. Sungmin turned to look at him. He gazed at Kyuhyun with all the love in the world.

“I want to tell you I love you in every way possible,” Sungmin whispered. He tightened his grip on Kyuhyun’s hand. The younger man felt tears start. Was he so emotional? No. Only Sungmin could make him this way.

“Sungmin, what are you saying?” Kyuhyun bit his lip. He didn’t want to think about it. No, he wouldn’t.

“Do you remember the picture of us? The one by our flowers?” Sungmin asked. Kyuhyun thought back. The camellia and the caper, or the Kyuhyun and Sungmin flowers as they were now called, were still sitting serenely on the bedside table in their room with a picture of the two of them after their third anniversary.

They had gone to their favourite restaurant and found a couple to take a picture of them. The two of them had their arms around each other and were smiling. Sungmin’s head was tucked underneath Kyuhyun’s chin and he had his arms wrapped around Kyuhyun’s neck. Kyuhyun’s arms were around Sungmin’s waist and he was pressing a kiss to the top of Sungmin’s head while managing to smile at the camera.

“Yes, I remember it.”

“I want to take another picture like that. Once this is all over,” Sungmin whispered.

“We will. I’ll take you out and we can take another one like that,” Kyuhyun’s voice cracked. He hoped Sungmin didn’t hear it. But he had. The elder male brought their hands towards him and placed a gentle kiss on Kyuhyun’s knuckles.

“I’m sorry,” Sungmin apologized quietly. Kyuhyun’s heart stopped.

“For what?”

“Just in case I die,” Sungmin answered. His response was so calm and so matter of fact that it scared Kyuhyun.

“You’re not going to,” Kyuhyun said stubbornly.

“But if I do, I’m sorry. I wanted to spend so much time with you. I wanted to be with you forever. But for some reason, if I do die, I’m sorry for leaving you. I would never do so willingly.”

“History might repeat itself.”

Sungmin knew exactly what he was talking about.

“It won’t happen the same way twice. Nothing ever does. There are always differences,” Sungmin answered.

“This might be the exception,” Kyuhyun glared at the wall as if the paint had personally insulted him.

“Kyu….please don’t make this harder for me than it already is. Do you think I want to leave? Do you think I like to think that I might die? It hurts to think that I might be away from you,” Sungmin’s eyes began to fill with tears. Kyuhyun felt emotion swell in his chest.

“I’m sorry. It’s like I’m losing you all over again. I already lost you once. I don’t ever want that to happen again. And this…it just hurts….and….I don’t want to live without you,” Kyuhyun’s tears fell from his eyes and dropped onto their entwined hands.

“Kyuhyun….you need to let go. You need to let go of me. I hate it when I see you this way and I know I’m the cause. So you need to let go,” Sungmin too felt salt water spill onto his cheeks. He tried to breathe and calm himself down.

“And if I don’t want to?”

“Then it will hurt more if you do lose me. Kyu, please. I don’t want to see you hurting this way. If you let go, it won’t hurt as much,” Sungmin answered.

“And if you do survive?” Kyuhyun asked, wiping his tears away.

“You aren’t going to let go of your desire for me to live, are you?” Sungmin sighed.

“No, I’m not. Why would I do so? Always hope for the best,” Kyuhyun tried to smile.

“I’ll do that. I love you,” Sungmin’s voice grew quieter. Weaker, more feeble and it terrified Kyuhyun.

“Don’t leave me, Sungmin. Don’t leave me here alone,” Kyuhyun pleaded.

“I love you, Kyuhyun. Don’t forget that.”

“Sungmin….don’t….what are you….words…” Kyuhyun was beginning to lose all sense of what he was saying. Every fibre of his body was screaming that something was wrong.

“Do you love me?” Sungmin interrupted. It was apparent that he was intent upon staying on his path of thought.

“I love you with my whole heart and soul. Everything that’s mine is yours and everything that’s yours is mine. You’re my other half. I love you more than you could ever think possible,” Kyuhyun’s tears fell again.

“I know it’s possible. I love you the same way. We’re part of each other. You, me, we, us. You gave me your love and I gave you mine. We’re one,” Sungmin blinked his eyes but tears still leaked from his eyes despite his attempts to stop.

“Sungmin....I love you.” From the man who often professed his love, this wasn’t the most startling of revelations. But it meant the world to Sungmin.

“Thank you,” Sungmin whispered. He stared at Kyuhyun for a moment before closing his eyes. His grip slowly released Kyuhyun’s hand.

“Sungmin…?” Kyuhyun whispered.

“Excuse me, we need to get this patient into the OR. Please go to the waiting room,” a nurse with a surgical mask on began to wheel Sungmin away. Kyuhyun let his hand slide out of Sungmin’s. He pressed the hand that Sungmin held to his mouth. Tears poured down his cheeks and fell onto his blood spattered clothes.

Ryeowook had been right. There would never be a time when Sungmin failed to become warm and loving towards Kyuhyun.

~₴~≠~₴~≠~

Chapter 23 FINALE When Life Betrays You

Funerals can be sad, they can be happy or they can simply be someplace to go on a day in which one has nothing to do. Sometimes, funerals are a celebration of one’s life, rather than a service for one’s passing. But it didn’t matter to Kyuhyun what this was.

What mattered was the one he loved most in the world was going to be buried six feet under. The other half of his soul was inside a beautiful wooden coffin. The other half of himself, his soulmate, the one tied to him by red thread, was lying peacefully in a polished, mahogany resting place.

He didn’t understand why life had chosen Sungmin to torment. It had ended, ultimately, in his death. Sungmin had been full of life, brought down by Jiwon, healed by Kyuhyun, only to be taken down once and for all. Kyuhyun blamed himself for not paying attention. If he had been looking, maybe Sungmin wouldn’t have died. Maybe he could have gotten out of the way of the bullet.

He understood Yunho’s feelings now. The older male had tried to comfort him, knowing that he had been in the exact same position once before. It was painful. Painful to know that you are the one who killed the one you love most. Kyuhyun’s face remained impassive as he stared at the coffin, lying serenely on the grass beside the gaping hole it would be placed into.

Sungmin hadn’t deserved to die. He wasn’t meant to leave yet. Sungmin had had his whole life ahead of him. Yet, it was cut short by the bullet of a gun that had entered a critical area. But it wasn’t just the bullet that had taken Sungmin’s life. It was far more than that.

The gang members that had been captured had been convicted. Taekyung’s death was put down as the result of a gang fight. Those who had been in the circle weren’t talking and Kyuhyun wasn’t convicted of Taekyung’s death. He wouldn’t have cared though. With Sungmin gone, his purpose in life was non-existent.

Shinjung had found Yunho inside the building, trying to hold off five members at once. He had immediately jumped into the fray and saved Yunho’s life. The two of them had run outside just before the reinforcements had arrived. Changmin and Minwoong had been safe. They had taken care of the hostages outside of the building, cuffing them and taking down descriptions.

Yoochun and Junsu had shown up a few minutes afterward. They had taken the hostages and led them into different police cars. Most of them hadn’t bothered to put up a fight. They knew they were done in and it was fruitless to try and escape. Rebel Heirs has cleared out before the police had gotten there so they escaped capture.

Rebel Heirs lost fifteen members to the fight. Shinjung had decided that they would disband. It was time to move on with their lives. So Rebel Heirs disbanded. The way Shinjung put it, it had been a class reunion and it would be the last one. They had fought together one last time and now they were free to move on with life.

The police force had then been called to the hospital Sungmin was in to calm down “a raging madman”. Said madman was Kyuhyun. The doctors had told him that, despite the operation, the lungs had filled with blood and Sungmin suffocated before they could fully drain the blood away. Kyuhyun had refused to believe this and demanded to see his husband. When the doctors denied his request, he flew into a fit.

He destroyed a hospital room. The police had been called to arrest the man but Yunho had refused. He told the nurses to give him something that would knock him out. Kyuhyun had been calmed and then placed in a hospital bed. When he had woken up, he made no movement whatsoever.

He knew that the doctors were telling the truth. He hadn’t seen Sungmin, but there was a gaping abyss in his chest, where Sungmin used to be. He needed no machines to know if Sungmin was gone. His heart told him the truth already. And Kyuhyun wanted to die. He was nothing without Sungmin. He was alone now. Sungmin was lying peacefully in his coffin, away from the pains and the cruelties of the world. Kyuhyun felt tears starting in his eyes. Sungmin had died, just as he had before. But this time, he wasn’t coming back. History never repeats itself twice. There are always differences. Subtle differences sometimes but differences nonetheless.

Kyuhyun had known that Sungmin wouldn’t come back. He didn’t know how he knew this. He just did. It was ingrained into his consciousness and it was something that he wouldn’t be able to forget.

“Are you ready, Kyuhyun? The ceremony will be starting soon,” Eeteuk placed a hand on Kyuhyun’s shoulder. The youngest nodded and stared at the coffin before him. Kangin wrapped an arm around Kyuhyun, squeezing him once before standing quietly beside Eeteuk. Heechul and Hankyung, all dressed in white, came up to stand beside him. Ryeowook and Yesung were wearing matching white suits.

Eunhyuk and Donghae were leaning against each other for support as they walked down the driveway. Siwon had arrived with a long stemmed flower and Shindong was stepping out of a long white limo. Kibum pulled up in his car and stepped out, his head bowed. Jiyong and Seunghyun got out of a small while car, holding hands and looking incredibly sombre.

The five police officers that saved their lives were stepping out, all in white. Changmin had an arm around Minwoong’s waist and seemed to be holding him tightly. Junsu was already crying lightly, Yoochun rubbing comforting circles on his back. Yunho stared straight ahead. His dark gaze turned to Kyuhyun who looked back.

“Don’t blame yourself. It won’t bring him back,” Yunho said, knowing exactly what Kyuhyun was thinking.

“Of course it won’t bring him back. That’s what took him away,” Kyuhyun answered, biting his lip in order to maintain composure.

“We will begin with the blessing,” the preacher announced, coming out of the church. Kyuhyun held his head higher. He looked up at the surrounding people. Twelve of them stood on once side of the coffin. Five stood on the other side. The preacher stood at the head.

Eeteuk and Kangin, Heechul and Hankyung, Eunhyuk and Donghae, Ryeowook and Yesung, Siwon, Shindong, Kyuhyun and Kibum stood on one side. Yoochun and Junsu, Changmin and Minwoong and Yunho stood on the other. Kyuhyun’s lips turned up slightly as he looked at the family he and Sungmin had amassed.

So many people had come for Sungmin’s funeral. Despite what Jiwon had once said, Sungmin was loved by many people. Kyuhyun felt his strength waiver. He couldn’t break down now. That was to do when he was alone. He couldn’t let everybody see him cry now.

The preacher began to talk, “We will each have had our own experiences of life and death, with different memories and feelings of love, grief and respect…”

Kyuhyun swallowed. He couldn’t do this. No, he couldn’t. He didn’t want it to be final. It couldn’t be final. Sungmin wasn’t……gone……this had to be some sort of joke. But Kyuhyun could feel it. Despite his mind telling him differently, he could feel it. The gaping hole where Sungmin’s presence used to be.

It was hollow there, full of nothingness. It could only be filled by Sungmin. Such a void was too large for another. Kyuhyun knew this. He stared upwards, his fingers clenching around the flower stems that he held. The funeral had thrown everything into frightening reality. It was true. Sungmin was dead. He was gone and Kyuhyun couldn’t do anything about it.

He remembered it perfectly. How could he not? It was the day he lost his everything.Sungmin……you never had a chance did you? Not if life wanted to play with you.

~₴~≠~₴~≠~

Flashback

~₴~≠~₴~≠~

Kyuhyun was scared. He didn’t know why. All he felt was terror. Sungmin had gone into the OR half an hour ago. How long did the removal of a bullet take? He was scared.

The doctor came out of the room and went to the front desk. Kyuhyun tensed. Could this doctor possibly be one of them working on Sungmin? He watched the doctor with apprehensive eyes. His expression only grew more drawn as the medic walked towards him.

“Are you Cho Kyuhyun?” the doctor asked.

“Yes, I’m Kyuhyun.”

“I’m Key. I’ve been working on Sungmin. The bullet has lodged itself into his lung. His other lung has also been punctured slightly with a broken rib. The blood from the injury has been filling his lungs with blood. He can’t breathe unless we remove the blood. We can drain it but the dangers of that are that he may lose blood faster or we might not be able to fully drain it away, resulting in his suffocation,” Key explained.

“So……..what are you saying?”

“The equipment that we need to drain the liquid is being used. We’ll get it in five minutes. In that time, he could die. But he might have a chance. Or we could stop here. He’s out of surgery right now and in a recovery room. If you would like to talk to him, you can. I’ll come by in a minute for your decision,” Key informed him.

Kyuhyun allowed himself to be led in the direction of Sungmin’s recovery room. His heart thumped inside of him. He didn’t know what to expect. He felt cold as he walked through the door.

“Kyuhyun, I missed you,” Sungmin murmured from his bed. Kyuhyun went to him and sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around Sungmin’s body. The elder male pulled him onto the bed with him, regardless of Key’s presence.

“I’ll leave you two to discuss. I’ll be back in a little while,” Key informed them.

“How are you feeling?” Kyuhyun asked, running a hand over Sungmin’s delicate, marred features. Sungmin leaned into the touch, feeling better than he had before.

“I’ve had worse,” Sungmin tried to joke. He ended up coughing. A small trail of red liquid dripped from the corner of his mouth. Kyuhyun wiped the blood away. “You know why you’re here right? To talk about my options. Either way, Kyu, it doesn’t look good for me.”

“No, don’t say that. You’ll be fine. Do you want to try draining your lungs?” Kyuhyun asked. Sungmin sighed and leaned against the younger male.

“Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do,” Sungmin answered. Kyuhyun nodded in the affirmative.

“You’ll be healthy again. Did they patch up the rest of your body?”

“Yeah, they fixed everything. They took out the silver wire. They cut off the cuff around my waist too. Both of them are going to be confiscated and analyzed to see how they work. They had to give me stitches. They said I was really lucky. If I had been shocked one more time, the wire would have cut my jugular vein,” Sungmin informed Kyuhyun.

“Thank god it didn’t then,” Kyuhyun breathed. He turned to face Sungmin. The elder looked at him questioningly. He leaned forwards and placed a gentle kiss on Sungmin’s lips. The sweet taste of the elder man made Kyuhyun shiver all over. Despite his injuries, he still was the same. Kyuhyun broke the kiss and rested his forehead in the cook of Sungmin’s neck.

“Are you going to leave me?” Kyuhyun asked softly. Sungmin knew what he was talking about.

“I’m not going to try. I’ll fight with every fibre of my soul to stay by your side,” Sungmin wrapped his arms around Kyuhyun.

“What is your decision?” Key asked, walking back into the room.

“Drain his lungs. He’ll survive,” Kyuhyun answered immediately. Key looked to Sungmin who nodded in agreement.

“Draining it is then. We’ll be back to fetch you in three minutes,” Key left the room.

“Are you afraid?” Sungmin asked.

“I’m terrified. I don’t want to be without you. Ever,” Kyuhyun responded. He pressed a kiss to Sungmin’s neck gently, careful of the stitches. Sungmin let out a soft breath.

“I love you, Kyuhyun,” Sungmin whispered.

“I love you too, Sungmin,” Kyuhyun kissed Sungmin once more. He wrapped his arms around the elder male’s frame. Sungmin leaned into the embrace.

“What do you want to do? When this is all over?” Sungmin asked, taking one of Kyuhyun’s hand in his and beginning to play with his fingers. Kyuhyun smiled down at his husband. Sungmin was now finding it harder to breathe.

“Let’s buy a place in the country. We’ll get away from the city. Maybe we could go with Heechul and Hankyung to China. Would you like that? We could travel, see the world. Find a place we both want to settle in,” Kyuhyun sighed into Sungmin’s hair.

“That sounds nice,” Sungmin coughed.

“Yeah. As long as I’m with you, I don’t care what I’m doing,” Kyuhyun smiled.

"We’ll need to be somewhere with flowers. Lot’s of flowers,” Sungmin felt as though his lungs were straining just to draw one breath of air. He didn’t betray himself. He didn’t want Kyuhyun to worry. He forced his voice to sound as normal as possible.

“We’ll have a crazy story to tell our children,” Kyuhyun held Sungmin tighter. Sungmin laughed, which quickly turned to coughing. Blood began to trickle out of his mouth faster. Kyuhyun’s heart beat loudly.

“It’s time. The machine is here. Are you…? Onew! Get in here! He’s beginning to cough up blood!” Key rushed to Sungmin’s side.

Confusion and panic followed him. Kyuhyun was pulled off the bed and Sungmin began coughing uncontrollably. Onew rushed in and tilted Sungmin’s face towards the sky. Sungmin’s breathing became laboured.

“Quickly! Get the machine in here! You’re going to have to go,” Key pushed Kyuhyun out of the room. Kyuhyun stumbled out, stunned. He turned around and vaguely heard Sungmin call for him. Then the door shut and Kyuhyun stared at the barrier between himself and Sungmin.

What seemed like hours later, Key came out of the room and stood in front of Kyuhyun. He jumped and then stared straight at Key.

“How is he?” Kyuhyun’s eyes searched for good news. But all he found was a stone cold wall.

“We tried our best. But the blood had filled almost all of his lungs already. The draining process takes time. He died before we could get to the point of rescue. I’m sorry, we couldn’t save him,” Key murmured. He wasn’t prepared for the blast of energy that came his way.

Kyuhyun had him by the collar and was pressing him against the wall. The look in his eyes was dangerous.

“What? What do you mean you couldn’t save him?” Kyuhyun asked, his tone deadly.

“I’m sorry. There was too much blood in his lungs. The wound was large. There was more filling than we could drain out. He suffocated. I’m sorry,” Key turned his face away.

“Sungmin……he can’t be………let me see him,” Kyuhyun demanded.

“I can’t do that. We’ve already taken him-” Key didn’t get to say much else.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN’T SEE MY OWN HUSBAND?!” Kyuhyun yelled. He was past all rationality. For the second time, he had lost Sungmin. Something inside of him had snapped. He could now feel it. A void, ripping itself open in the very core of his soul.

“It’s impossible, we’ve already taken him to the-” Key was cut off for the second time as Kyuhyun rushed past him into the room that Sungmin had once been. The bed was empty, the door to another hall open. The sheets were no longer white but white with red spots. The machine used to drain fluid from the lungs was still beeping in the corner.

Kyuhyun felt lost. He didn’t know what to do. Sungmin was gone. And he lost all restraints. He began to tear the room apart, screaming Sungmin’s name as if that would make him appear. The police were called, tranquilizers were brought.

“No! He’s not dead! He’s not dead! He’s strong, he’s healthy! A bullet wound like that couldn’t cause that much damage! You could have operated! You could have done something!” Kyuhyun screamed. He felt the prick of a needle in his arm and his thoughts grew hazy. He felt his body lose control of itself as he pitched forwards into darkness.

~₴~≠~₴~≠~

End Flashback

~₴~≠~₴~≠~

Kyuhyun brought his thoughts back to the present. The preacher was concluding the sermon. Eeteuk was crying into Kangin’s shoulder. Ryeowook’s face was buried in Yesung’s chest. Eunhyuk and Donghae had their arms around each other and were both crying silently. Kibum’s eyes were watering and he was glaring at the ground as if he wanted to set it on fire. Heechul was simply standing there, Hankyung’s arm around his shoulders and tears silently falling from his eyes.

Changmin was comforting Minwoong who was sobbing hard, soft sounds coming from his mouth. Yunho was gazing up at the sky as if wondering if he would see Jaejoong and Sungmin standing there. Junsu’s shoulders were shaking and Yoochun was murmuring soothing words into his ear. Jiyong was wiping his eyes furiously and Seunghyun was resting his head on Jiyong’s shoulder, his tears soaking into the cloth of Jiyong’s shirt.

“I would like to conclude with a few words. When I come to the end of a road, and the sun has set for me, I want no rites in a gloom-filled room, why cry for a soul set free?”

Kyuhyun knew the poem. He began to mouth the words to himself. “Miss me a little – but not too much, and not with your head bowed low. Remember the love that we once shared, miss me but let me go.” Tears began to pour from Kyuhyun’s eyes. Ithurt.

“I would like to say a few words about Sungmin,” Eeteuk began. Everyone looked towards him. Eeteuk pulled away from Kangin and stood up tall. The tearstains on his face made him look regal in a sad, defeated way. The eldest of them looked at each of them in turn, resting his gaze upon Kyuhyun for the longest moment.

“We took in Lee Sungmin ten years ago. Kangin brought him home and he became part of our family. For a year, we lived happily. Through all the drama, through all the hardships. He was always looking for love. It was the one thing he knew he would cherish the most. I tried getting him together with Kibum. But they only loved each other as brothers.

“He had a happy job in the toy company. But when he met Jiwon eight years ago, life took him down a path that he didn’t deserve. The cute, caring person I knew did not deserve to be treated as such. I lost track of him for three years.

“Three whole years I lost with Sungmin. And when I finally found him again, it was a stroke of fate. But then I lost him again, just as quickly as before. But someone brought our family back together. Someone who showed Sungmin the love he was always looking for.

“If you have known Sungmin as long as I have, then you’ll remember his eyes as he got something he truly desired. I could see it when he was given back to us by Kyuhyun. He had what he desired. He had found the love he was always looking for. Even though his eyes had become dull and tired, whenever he saw Kyuhyun that sparkle came back to his beautiful brown eyes.

“Kyuhyun was Sungmin’s happiness. But Kyuhyun was also his saviour. He healed him when nobody else could. Two years ago, Sungmin told me this: ‘I love Kyuhyun because he not only healed my body but healed my heart and mind. He is the glue, the thread, the cement that holds me together. Without him, I’m simply a wall of cracks and holes’.”

Kyuhyun began to cry harder.

“Sungmin has always been someone to do the healing. And then it was his turn to be healed. And that’s why I think he went. He was healed by Kyuhyun, who healed him through love. As cheesy as it sounds, I think it’s true. I know that he wouldn’t have wanted this to happen. More than anything, he would have loved to stay by Kyuhyun forever.

“But maybe, there’s a bigger plan for him. Not here, but somewhere else. Maybe he has a bigger journey. And then we’ll find him again. I don’t know if it will happen but my umma senses tell me that it’s close. And I’d like to thank Kyuhyun. For bringing Sungmin back to us, and for healing him. It may not sound like much, but to me, it means the world,” Eeteuk smiled throughout the duration of his speech. His back was tall and his eyes were dry.

And Kyuhyun understood. Eeteuk was happy. Not that Sungmin was dead but because he was finally healed. Nobody could harm him now. No one could hurt him as much as he had been before. Eeteuk was happy that Sungmin was free. And Kyuhyun smiled at the thought.

“When you are lonely and sick of heart, go to the friends we know. And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds, miss me – but let me go,” the preacher finished. There was a moment of silence as everyone took the words in. Then the preacher stepped back and gestured for Eeteuk to pay his respects.

“I’ll miss you, Sungminnie. Umma will always be thinking of you,” Eeteuk murmured, running a hand over the polished wood. He smiled at the coffin and then moved back. Kangin came up next.

“I was the one who brought you here. And I don’t regret it at all. You better be taking care of yourself. Bye, Sungmin,” Kangin bowed his head for a few moments before backing up. Heechul and Hankyung came at the same time.

“You were supposed to teach me how to cook so I could surprise Hannie. Now I’ll have to teach myself. But I hope you’re happy wherever you are,” Heechul smiled faintly at the lid of the coffin.

“I was going to teach you how to cook Beijing Fried Rice. You would have made a killer dish. Practice your cooking skills,” Hankyung told Sungmin in Chinese. Heechul hit him.

“How is he supposed to understand Chinese?”

“He’ll understand. I know it,” Hankyung replied, reverting back to Korean. Seunghyun and Jiyong came up next.

“I’m proud of you, Sungminnie. You healed yourself. Good for you,” Jiyong patted the lid of the coffin. Seunghyun smiled.

“Thanks for putting up with Jiyong and me. We’ll take care of Kyuhyun. Don’t worry,” Seunghyun bowed. Donghae and Eunhyuk came forwards.

“Thanks for helping us with our crazy schemes. We owe you one. And if there are aliens out there, tell them to drop by,” Donghae told the coffin on his and Eunhyuk’s behalf. Eunhyuk nodded tearfully.

“I hope you have lots of pumpkin pie to eat. I wish I could have learned that recipe. I guess it will always be your secret,” Ryeowook murmured, coming up to pay his respects next.

“I wonder if there are lots of bunnies where you are. I’ll miss you a lot,” Yesung smiled softly at the coffin. Kyuhyun felt his heart breaking with all of the heartfelt comments his family was making. He watched as Siwon, Shindong and Kibum all went up together.

The five policemen walked up as one and saluted. Kyuhyun was the last to go. He walked up and held out his right hand. In his palm lay two beautiful flowers. One was dark red and the other was a beautiful blue. Kyuhyun placed the red flower on the coffin first.

“The red rose is mourning. I won’t be mourning forever because I don’t want you to be sad,” Kyuhyun smiled. Then he placed the blue flower on top of the red rose.

“The forget-me-not means remembrance and memories. I’ll always remember you, I’ll cherish our memories forever. And this flower,” Kyuhyun produced a rose with two blooms on the same stem from his pocket. “This flower represents everlasting love. I will always love you, Sungmin. Always love you.”

Kyuhyun placed the last flower on top of the other two. Sungmin had loved the flowers almost as much as he did. And Kyuhyun wanted to make him happy just one more time.

~₴~≠~₴~≠~

Timeskip: 2 years

~₴~≠~₴~≠~

The graveyard was a tranquil place. It was full of peace and quiet. Kyuhyun loved it this way. He was currently lying on the grass, a piece of polished stone rising above him. The name the stone bore was ‘Lee Sungmin’. Kyuhyun breathed in calmly.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been here in a while. At thirty-two, things get crazy. The flower shop has gotten so hectic! And ever since Ryeowook introduced Venus Flytraps, nothing has been the same. But anyways, I should tell you what’s been happening. You might be shocked if you don’t already know.

“Well, Yunho finally got his child. He named her Jay. He’s so proud of her already. She said her first word yesterday. He called everyone he knew to tell them that Jay said “appa”. She’s such a sweetheart. She kind of looks like Jaejoong in a way. She has delicate features like him. But she also has Yunho’s eyes. It’s odd, it’s like she was made for them.

“Changmin and Minwoong finally tied the knot. Changmin told Minwoong that they were going to a movie and instead went to the Justice of the Peace to get married. Eeteuk is forcing them to have a big celebration. They’re going along with it because they want to stay together.

“Jiyong and Seunghyun also got a kid! He’s so cute. I feel slightly worried for him though. Jiyong being your dad is kind of scary. But at least he has Seunghyun. So that’s good. I think that’s all that’s happened this week. I should think of more things to tell you. I think of you everyday. I remember everything we did. I miss you, Minnie. I love you,” Kyuhyun smiled. He stood up and brushed himself off. He turned around and placed a hand on the gravestone before exiting the cemetery.

~₴~≠~₴~≠~

I feel very light. I wonder what form I’ve taken this time? I think my body is rather spaced out. Now I understand. I’m the wind. I cannot see you, but I can feel you as my form caresses yours. Can you tell it’s me? I hope so. I miss you too, Kyuhyun. But I’m always with you. I’m the breeze, the sun, the clouds, the birds. I could never leave you. I love you so much. I’m always around you.

~₴~≠~₴~≠~

Time passed. Kyuhyun and the others continued on with their lives. Kyuhyun took on the flower shop full time, feeling that it was there he was closest to Sungmin. On some nights, he still cried himself to sleep. Sometimes he felt the loss of his husband so much he retreated into silence. But he knew that he would one day see Sungmin again.

~₴~≠~₴~≠~

Timeskip: 45 years later

~₴~≠~₴~≠~

He was no longer in the old body he once was. He was back to being young again. Kyuhyun moved his hands to see if it was true or not. Somehow he had gotten younger. How strange.

“Kyu!” The call came from behind him. Kyuhyun turned around to see someone he hadn’t seen in a very long time. He felt his heart jump and his blood race. Lee Sungmin was standing behind him, his arms outstretched towards him.

“Sungmin?”

“It’s been a while,” Sungmin smiled. Kyuhyun ran towards him and hugged him hard.

“I love you, Minnie. I love you,” Kyuhyun whispered.

“I love you too, Kyu. I always have. But now, you can hear me say it,” Sungmin laughed.

The End

~₴~≠~₴~≠~

Chapter 22 When Life Betrays You

Eeteuk hadn’t been feeling very well that day. Hell, he hadn’t been feeling well all week. But he had put it in the back of his mind, intent upon making sure that all those under his care were being looked after. It was his duty to make sure that they were all right. He had taken them in and they were his responsibility.

Ryeowook was in the kitchen preparing dinner because he wanted to cook a new recipe that he had learned and Yesung was fixing the television set because it had broken the other day when Eunhyuk had bumped into it and caused it to fall on the floor. The two of them were over again today and Donghae was currently talking about a new aquarium he was thinking of getting.

“-the general depth has to be varying between two to four feet. The width should be at least three feet. When thinking about it, it’s actually a pretty large tank. The general question is the amount of fish that will be put into the tank. I was thinking around ten. What do you think, Teukie-umma?” Donghae asked.

“That sounds like a great idea, Donghae,” Eeteuk agreed warmly. He was glad that his ‘son’ had found something to be passionate about besides feeding children large amounts of sugar. He and Eunhyuk owned a candy store and between the two of them, sold enough candy to feed the whole of South Korea.

Eeteuk winced as his stomach clenched painfully once more. He sincerely hoped he wasn’t getting sick. He had enough problems without being ill right now. He had lost track of Kyuhyun and Sungmin almost three weeks ago and he was worried.

He knew that they were in the care of Jaejoong, Yunho, Yoochun, Junsu and Minwoong. So they should be perfectly safe. They were in a safehouse somewhere in Seoul and very well protected. Or at least Eeteuk hoped so.

He continued listening to Donghae talk about the aquarium he wanted while he subconsciously checked in on everyone else. Eunhyuk was busying himself with the Playstation 3 and was yelling at the screen, asking why a guy in a red hat and blue overalls had to fall down the gap between the land pieces.

Ryeowook was now stirring something in a large pot on the stove while taking special care to add the right amount of salt. Yesung had now joined him, finished with the television that Eunhyuk had taken over. He was helping Ryeowook cook by fetching different ingredients for him to put into the frying pan.

Kangin had just walked into the living room and sat down beside Eeteuk who curled into him, smiling, dimples and all. Donghae hadn’t noticed Kangin walk in and merely continued speaking as if he had been part of the conversation the entire time.

“So, I thought, that instead of having one tank, maybe I would have two smaller ones. We have enough space in our apartment, right Eunhyukkie?” Donghae called.

“Uhh…yeah, sure. We have lots of space,” Eunhyuk called back, too focused on his game to pay much attention to the conversation at hand.

“So that’s what I was thinking. Of course, it could maybe even be three aquariums, but that’s pushing it a little right?” Donghae asked Kangin and Eeteuk.

“Just a little, Hae. You want space for yourself and Eunhyuk as well,” Kangin smiled. Donghae nodded in all seriousness.

“So two tanks and twenty fish. That sounds right doesn’t it?” Donghae asked. Eeteuk was about to respond but Eunhyuk managed to get there first.

“Donghae! Do you wanna play with me? We can have a two person battle!” Eunhyuk called from his space in front of the TV. Donghae eagerly agreed and went to join him.

“How are you feeling today, Teukie-ah?” Kangin asked softly. He was concerned for Eeteuk’s health, ever since he had mentioned he was feeling ill to begin with. The oldest male nodded.

“I’m fine. My stomach hurts a little, that’s all,” Eeteuk reassured the younger man. Kangin, although looking unconvinced, didn’t press the matter further. He knew that Eeteuk would continuously insist that he was fine until he was so sick that it would be impossible for him to deny it or he collapsed.

Either way meant a lot of worry for Kangin and this was something that he would like to avoid. He decided to make a mental note to ask Ryeowook to put some mild antibiotics into Eeteuk’s food so he would have a chance of getting better before he got much, much worse.

“Will you be able to eat dinner?” Kangin asked.

“Yeah, I think I can keep something down. It’s not like last time. That was because I was overworked. I think I just caught a cold or something. It should be gone in a few days,” Eeteuk smiled serenely. Kangin nodded back and wrapped his arms around Eeteuk’s slim frame.

“All right. Whatever Ryeowook is cooking, we’ll fill you up on that,” Kangin smiled, poking Eeteuk lightly on the cheek. Eeteuk laughed lightly, his expression lighting up. He felt better than he had all day. Kangin had that effect on him.

“Dinner is ready!” Ryeowook called from the kitchen. There was a loud slam and then a huge crash and then a scream of “Yesungie! What have you done?!”

Eeteuk wondered if he should get up to investigate what had happened. Deciding that it was his responsibility as the umma to make sure his children were okay. Sighing softly, he got up from the sofa and walked over to the kitchen to see the amount of damage that had been done.

Poking his head through the door, Eeteuk held back a laugh as he took in the scene before him. Yesung was sprawled on the floor, a broken bowl beside him, soup all over the floor and Ryeowook picking the vegetable chunks out of his hair.

Apparently, as Yesung had gone to get bowls, he had failed to notice the small puddle of water. Ryeowook had put a mop beside the pool of water to warn everyone that there was a spill on the floor. However, Yesung hadn’t noticed and as a result, slipped on the way back from getting one bowl, sent the soup pot flying and getting most of it on the floor and the vegetable chunks in his hair.

“Are you all right, Yesung?” Eeteuk asked, stifling his laughter while helping poor Yesung up.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m sorry, Ryeowook,” Yesung apologized, looking sorrowful. Ryeowook was trying to look angry and succeeded somewhat.

“I spent at least half an hour on that soup!” The eternal magnae exploded, staring at Yesung with narrowed eyes.

“I’ll help you cook ramen,” Yesung offered, not wanting to be on the receiving side of Ryeowook’s anger.

“Fine but if it tastes crappy we know who’s fault it is,” Ryeowook sent a small smile in Yesung’s direction before picking up the broken bowl that Yesung had managed to get.

“He loves me,” Yesung smiled dreamily. Kangin rolled his eyes.

“Yes, we know. You love him, he loves you, you love each other and you’ve caused us all enough grief with that!” Kangin pushed Yesung lightly who nearly fell into the wall.

A few minutes later, the six of them were sitting down to dinner. The six of them chattered while eating their ramen which was surprisingly good seeing as how Yesung prepared it. Ryeowook didn’t tell them that all Yesung had done was fetch the water. They were well into their meal, chopsticks clicking away when the doorbell rang. The six of them looked up at each other.

“Were we expecting someone?” Kangin asked, looking at Eeteuk in confusion. The eldest shook his head.

“Not that I know of,” Eeteuk responded. Kangin frowned and stood up. Eeteuk followed him and he was immediately copied by the rest of the people at the table. The door was suddenly knocked out quite loudly. Ryeowook tried to look around Yesung who stood in front of him just in case. There was more insistent knocking on the door.

“Omo, it can’t be!” Ryeowook darted in front of Yesung and swung the door open. Heechul and Hankyung stared in at them.

“It’s about time you opened the door. Was I going to have to break into my own house?” Heechul asked.

“It’s not your house,” Yesung commented.

“Heechul-hyung! Hankyung-hyung! You’re back! How was China?” Ryeowook enclosed his hyungs in large hugs. Hankyung smiled as he hugged the eternal magnae. Heechul looked as though he were struggling to hug Ryeowook and push him away.

“Welcome back, hyungs!” Eunhyuk hugged the two of them. Despite his many words of not missing anyone, Heechul hugged Eunhyuk hard.

“I missed you! If you had stayed any longer, aliens might have captured you!” Donghae was squished in the middle of a Heechul, Hankyung hug.

Yesung came next, “It’s nice to see you back Prince and Cinderella.” He was hit over the head by Heechul and then checked by Hankyung before they hugged.

“Welcome back,” Kangin grinned at the two of them. Hankyung smiled brightly.

“It’s good to be back. I didn’t know how much I missed South Korea,” Hankyung smiled brightly at his family.

“My children are home!” Eeteuk clapped his hands in delight and moved forwards to hug the two. They greeted him like long lost children. Kangin smiled as he watched Eeteuk reunite with his ‘sons’.

He brought the two into the living room to tell them about their second trip to China. Heechul immediately launched into a lengthy synopsis of their trip. The second time, Hankyung’s mother remembered that Heechul wasn’t a girl. His father had prepared a large feast for them when the arrived.

For the month they were there, Heechul was brought around to different monuments and places in China. He learned more of the history of Hankyung’s home. He learned to call Hankyung, “Hangeng”, while they were there and was taught how to make Beijing Fried Rice. Everyone was rather impressed with this.

Eeteuk was about to comment on Heechul’s ability to cook when a gut wrenching pain exploded in his stomach. The eldest gasped in pain and then fell to the ground. He clutched his waist and tried to breathe normally. But it was so hard. There was so much pain.

“Eeteuk!” He heard someone yell. He couldn’t register it. There was too much pain in his stomach. His vision started to swim as someone yelled for a cloth with cold water on it. Eeteuk wanted to tell everybody that he was fine but it appeared his current situation wasn’t exactly ideal to tell everyone this.

He felt himself being picked up by strong arms that he knew belonged to Kangin. He was placed on something soft and warm. Eeteuk’s eyes narrowed in pain as another tremor rolled through his abdomen. A cool cloth was placed on his forehead and this, somehow, brought him back to his senses.

He blinked tiredly as Kangin gently sponged his forehead with the cloth.

“What happened, Teukie?” Kangin asked softly as he wiped the rest of the water droplets off of Eeteuk’s face. The elder male shrugged lightly.

“I don’t know. Maybe I ate something?” Eeteuk smiled weakly. Kangin frowned slightly.

“Anything you ate wouldn’t give you that violent a reaction without affecting the rest of us too,” Kangin pointed out. Eeteuk sighed.

“Maybe I really am sick,” he admitted reluctantly. Kangin stood up.

“Are you hurting anywhere?” Kangin asked.

“My stomach hurt a little while earlier,” Eeteuk confessed.

“I’ll get you some painkillers and cough medicine,” Kangin decided. He squeezed Eeteuk’s hand gently.

“Yah, what will cough medicine do for him? That’s for coughing, not stomachs!” Heechul informed the younger man.

“Well it might help him a little. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Do you need a blanket or something?” Yesung asked, concernedly.

“I’ll make some soothing soup,” Ryeowook decided. He left for the kitchen and Yesung went to fetch a blanket.

“I’ll get you another pillow, umma. That way you’ll be more comfortable,” Donghae leapt up and ran towards the stairs.

“Donghae! Take the feather filled one!” Eunhyuk ran after him. Eeteuk was about to call after them to protest when Hankyung stopped him.

“Don’t strain yourself! I’ve got some Chinese herbs that might make you feel better. I’ll go get them now,” Hankyung nodded in concern and then jumped up and went towards the suitcases that had been left in the front hall.

“Hannie! Those herbs are in my suitcase along with my hair products! Don’t destroy anything!” Heechul yelled after Hankyung. Then he turned and looked at Eeteuk.

“You nearly gave me a heart attack. Five minutes after I come home and you want me to leave?” Heechul shook his head. Then he followed Hankyung into the hall. Eeteuk smiled. He was so lucky to have such nice dongsaengs looking after him.

The pain was there slightly but it was beginning to ebb. He placed a hand on his stomach, wondering what was happening to him. The phone rang and Eeteuk lifted his head. It was on the coffee table beside the couch he was lying on. However, his hand was tied inside the blankets.

Working quickly, he managed to free his hand to reach out for the handset. Ignoring the pain in his abdomen, he caught the phone in his hand and pressed the talk button.

“Yoboseyo?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve heard from you. How are you? What’s going on?” Eeteuk pressed the phone harder to his ear to hear better.

“What……? He was shot?! How did that happen?!” Eeteuk shouted. His yells brought the rest of the house running. Kangin burst into the room, brandishing the bottles of medication. Eunhyuk and Donghae weren’t far behind. Ryeowook charged into the room, still holding a spoon and Yesung ran in, carrying a large woollen blanket. Hankyung rushed in with Heechul, both of whom were holding a bag of crushed leaves.

They all stared at Eeteuk who had removed his blankets and was now standing up and practically yelling into the phone.

“What? What? How is that possible? I would have known! I would have felt it! But…but….I…I…I did, didn’t I?” Eeteuk looked up at the assembled people. “My umma senses never lie…I felt it…”

“Teukie?” Kangin questioned softly.

“I didn’t realize it!” Eeteuk was now shouting into the phone. “How could I not have realized it? How? When one of my children……Sungmin……no, no, no, no, no. And Kyuhyun?! What is he feeling right now?! Well, I didn’t think he’d be jumping for joy did you?! Not after….Sungmin….” Eeteuk suddenly looked small and afraid.

“History won’t repeat itself, will it? He won’t be coming back….will he? I….I didn’t….either…” Eeteuk dropped the phone. He looked up at Kangin who took a step towards him.

“Eeteuk?” Kangin questioned softly. His heart beat sped up to an impossible rate as Eeteuk collapsed and began sobbing. Kangin caught him and held him close. He felt his own eyes water. Eeteuk was hurting. And if Eeteuk was hurting, so was he.

Yesung darted forwards and picked up the phone. He needed the whole story. The other four were torn between wanting to know and wanting to comfort their umma. Heechul and Donghae remained fixed in one position, listening closely, while Hankyung and Eunhyuk tried to comfort Eeteuk.

“This is Yesung. Tell me everything,” Yesung commanded. He listened for a while, nodding occasionally and making “mhm”, “ah”, “uhuh” noises for most of the time. Ryeowook stayed close to him in case he reacted the same way Eeteuk had did. The eldest was sobbing quietly into Kangin who was holding him tightly, listening to Yesung speak.

“He destroyed a room? After he heard about….? You mean his…is dead…?” Yesung’s voice went soft. Ryeowook pressed nearer to him.

“No…he can’t…he’s always been strong. Kyuhyun wouldn’t destroy a hospital roomafter hearing about the death…Is that him? I can hear him in the background.”

Ryeowook listened carefully.

“No! He’s not dead! He’s not dead! He’s strong, he’s healthy! A bullet wound like that couldn’t cause that much damage! You could have operated! You could have done something!” Kyuhyun’s voice came through the phone so loudly, that Yesung ended up holding it away from his ear.

Ryeowook’s eyes filled with tears, “Is…Sungmin…?”

“They’re calming him down? Why would you tell him such a thing? Don’t you know how much he cares about….Eeteuk? After you told him, Eeteuk is currently crying. But Kyuhyun…….oh god, it’s a repeat of last time. But he’s not returning is he? I didn’t think so either. Goodbye, Yunho.”

Yesung ended the call and then turned to the others. A tear was running down his cheek. Ryeowook supported him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

“I think you should know what happened to Kyuhyun and Sungmin in the last three weeks,” Yesung began. Heechul’s mouth set in a straight line. Hankyung’s eyes went wide. Eeteuk cried louder, Kangin held him tighter. Ryeowook bit his lip to try and stop his own tears. And Yesung stood tall, a lone tear running down his face.

In another part of the city, Kyuhyun was sleeping peacefully, away from the pain the news had brought.

~₴~≠~₴~≠~

Chapter 20 When Life Betrays You

There was a loud noise and pain erupted through him, all too familiar. It seemed an age since he had felt something like this. His grip weakened and he fell. He heard a soft voice call him and he seemed to spiral into darkness, hearing the voice call to him as he spiralled towards oblivion.

“Sungmin, Sungmin!”

His body felt heavy. Too heavy. He tried to find something to hold onto. Where was he? Where was Kyuhyun? Why wasn’t he here? Sungmin wanted to find him. Heneeded to find him. Where was he? And then he felt warm. He felt loved. Kyuhyun.

“Sungmin? Can you hear me?”

He opened his eyes slightly to see Yoochun staring at him in concern. He tried to sit up but the pain that caused was more than excruciating. Sungmin screamed in pain.

“Get me something to stop the bleeding!” A voice yelled from behind him. Sungmin tried to turn but pain kept him from doing that. There was a flurry of movement as Yoochun ripped the bottom of Sungmin’s already destroyed shirt and handed it to the person behind Sungmin.

Gentle hands caressed his back lightly, holding the wad of cloth to the middle of his back. Sungmin relaxed immediately. Kyuhyun. Yoochun gazed at the two of them. Junsu, who was driving, looked back worriedly in the rear-view mirror.

“You’re going to be okay, Sungmin. You’re going to be fine,” Kyuhyun whispered. One of his hands slipped down and covered Sungmin’s smaller fingers. The elder male sighed softly and leaned against Kyuhyun.

“It hurts, Kyu, it hurts,” Sungmin whimpered, tears forming in his eyes. The bullet was lodged in deep and it felt like small points were digging into the insides of his body.

“Shh, don’t worry, Minnie. You’ll be fine. Trust me,” Kyuhyun begged. If he had been paying more attention, Sungmin wouldn’t be shot. His heart expanded with love and worry for his husband.

“It hurts so much,” Sungmin sobbed. Kyuhyun’s heart went out to Sungmin. He ran his fingers gently through Sungmin’s hair, hoping to soothe him and take his mind off the pain. Yoochun moved forwards and placed a hand on Sungmin’s arm.

“Listen, Sungmin, I’m going to move you so that it’s harder for the blood to get to the bullet wound. The bullet entered in your right shoulder, slightly above where your heart would be if it was on that side. If we sit you up straighter, it will be harder for the blood to get there,” Yoochun informed the two of them.

“This might be painful,” Kyuhyun warned, biting his lip. Sungmin nodded and Yoochun carefully began to move him. A soft cry escaped Sungmin’s lips as he was raised forward, excruciating pain stabbing through him. He bit his lip, trying not to let the hurt show.

“Just a bit further and you should be fine,” Yoochun murmured resolutely as he gently pushed Sungmin into a sitting position. Somewhere inside Sungmin, the bullet shifted. His vision began to fade as brightly coloured dots formed in front of his eyes. Then they expanded, turning from orange and red to green, then blue and indigo. Sungmin wondered if he was going to pass out.

“Not long now, Minnie,” Kyuhyun whispered. His hand found Sungmin’s and he squeezed gently, hoping to offer some comfort. Sungmin moaned faintly as Yoochun finally picked him up and placed him on Kyuhyun’s lap, resting his back against the car door.

“Put your arm behind him so that the door doesn’t stick into him,” Yoochun instructed. Kyuhyun did as he was told and Sungmin settled into a comfortable position.

“How are you feeling?” Kyuhyun asked.

“Like I’ve been shot,” Sungmin answered, managing a small smile. He moved, trying to get closer to Kyuhyun and the bullet in his back shifted again. Sungmin let out a cry of pain, his grip on Kyuhyun’s hand tightening.

“Sungmin, what’s wrong?” Kyuhyun asked worriedly. His heart rate intensified as Sungmin’s grip weakened considerably.

“It shifted…..I don’t think I can stay awake….” Sungmin whispered, his head was already beginning to fall on Kyuhyun’s shoulder.

“No, you have to stay awake. Rest a little but don’t go to sleep,” Kyuhyun swallowed the fears he had and his hyung rested on his shoulder. Kyuhyun blinked back tears and held Sungmin a little tighter.

Yoochun was talking into his radio, trying to contact the others. Junsu was also waiting, his eyes worriedly watching the road, waiting for a response. There was a crackle of static before Changmin’s voice filled the space in the car.

“Changmin here. Can you hear me? Is there anyone there?”

“Yes, Yoochun here. What’s your status?” The police officer leaned forwards in anticipation. There was another crackle before Changmin’s voice came again.

“Minwoong and I are fine. Minwoong nearly got himself shot but reacted faster than the other guy and we’re in the clear now.”

“Good for you! You’ve both survived. Is Yunho there with you?” Yoochun replied, a grin beginning to break out over his face.

“We haven’t seen him since you guys left to take Sungmin to the hospital. How is he by the way?”

“Sungmin needs help soon. The bullet entered an area of importance. If he doesn’t get help soon he could bleed to death. The bullet is almost on the same level as his heart, just a bit higher. We raised him so it’s harder for the blood to get there,” Yoochun answered, glancing over in concern. “Are you going to go find Yunho?”

“Shinjung went to look for him. We’ve got the upper hand now. We’ve phoned the force and they’re coming to pick up the arrested and the wounded.”

“Good for you. We’ll call you back if we have any news. Over and out,” Yoochun waited for the response.

“Roger that. Over and out.” Changmin’s voice faded from the car.

“Shinjung is finding Yunho. Changmin and Minwoong are safe, thank heavens. They’ll be fine,” Yoochun breathed. Junsu gave him a tight lipped smile and sped onwards towards the hospital. He felt worried.

Sungmin was losing a lot of blood. Kyuhyun had been worrying so much over the state of his husband that he himself hadn’t noticed how his shirt was no longer a dark blue but a deep purple. He had been so concerned that he hadn’t seen that his shirt was soaked with Sungmin’s blood.

Junsu could only point this to one thing. If they didn’t get Sungmin to a hospital soon, it might be too late for him. Junsu had only had to take one look at the bullet wound to see the ragged flesh around the area where the bullet had entered.

The bullet had been a Talon. The same type of bullet that had killed Jaejoong. He and Yoochun had found Yunho sobbing in his room two days after Jaejoong had been killed. Yunho had been crying about Talons. Junsu had unfortunately known what those were and immediately understood the pain it brought Yunho.

The Talon was a terrible thing. It killed slowly and painfully if it entered the right place. Because the bullet hole was smaller than the hole it carved out for itself. It expanded once inside, opening up to twice it’s size to allow for more damage.

And Sungmin had been shot by the dreaded Talon. And there was no doubt a reason for it. The bullet killed slowly and painfully if it entered the right place. And if they didn’t get Sungmin to a hospital to get the bullet out, he would definitely be on the losing side of the battle to keep his life. And if that happened, Kyuhyun would lose Sungmin all over again.

And that was enough to spur Junsu to stop worrying about his speed and almost floor the car. Yoochun climbed into the passenger’s seat and leaned against Junsu’s shoulder. The older male relaxed slightly but was unable to fully calm down.

“Su, we’ll make it. They’ll be fine. Don’t speed too much and put us into the position of crashing. Then no one will be helped,” Yoochun placed a warm hand on Junsu’s cold arm.

“Chunnie, you’ve seen these two right? You’ve heard their story,” Junsu pointed at the two of them in the back seat. Kyuhyun was holding Sungmin against him, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Yoochun stared at the pair for a moment.

“Yes,” Yoochun answered finally.

“So you can understand me when I say, I don’t want that to happen to them again. Sungmin nearly died. If Kyuhyun loses him this time, he’ll have lost him twice. Double the pain. How would you feel if you lost me twice?” Junsu asked, serious eyes peeking out from underneath long reddish black bangs.

“Su…..just don’t make us crash,” Yoochun relented, knowing that getting Sungmin treatment quickly would be the only way to calm Junsu down.

“I won’t. Trust me,” Junsu promised. He glared at the road and dared all upcoming traffic lights to be red. The first one they came to turned was green. Until it turned red.

~₴~≠~₴~≠~

It was a feared repeat of last time. Kyuhyun was absolutely terrified. He had lost Sungmin once before. He refused to do so again. But the reality was that it just might happen. And this scared him. Sungmin was Kyuhyun’s life. How can you live without a life?

His arm that was around Sungmin’s shoulders tightened. Sungmin whimpered softly and Kyuhyun released his hold. Just a little bit.

“Kyu?” Sungmin’s soft voice penetrated his consciousness, meant for his ears alone.

“Yes, Minnie?” Kyuhyun swallowed and tried not to cry.

“I’m sorry,” Sungmin murmured.

“What for?”

“For making you worry, causing you pain. And for leaving you when I shouldn’t have,” Sungmin whispered.

“Don’t apologize. I got you back didn’t I?” Kyuhyun protested.

“You did. I don’t think I will ever be able to leave you completely.”

“That’s a good thing. I don’t want you to,” Kyuhyun kissed the top of Sungmin’s head.

It was familiar. So familiar. Too familiar. Sungmin tried to nestle closer to Kyuhyun only to stop as his body burst into vicious, cold pain. He barely managed to keep from crying out. Kyuhyun felt him tense and held him closer.

“It hurts so much,” Sungmin blinked back tears.

“Just a little while longer. We’ll get help for you,” Kyuhyun swallowed the lump in his throat. His thoughts were going out of control. He was panicking slightly and needing to get Sungmin help now. It was so familiar. Too familiar.

Sungmin felt oddly dizzy. He hated that he had caused Kyuhyun so much anguish, worrying about him and then having to come rescue him. His body was beginning to tire. The main injury was the bullet in his back but his stomach was still laced with lacerations crisscrossing in every direction. He was still losing blood from there too.

The pain from his wounds was clouding his mind. Dark spots were appearing in front of his eyes and he felt darkness take hold of him and try to pull him under. No. He refused to go. He refused to leave. Not now. He struggled against the rising tide of darkness that threatened to engulf him.

He leaned back slightly and looked at Kyuhyun fully. He loved his husband so much that it hurt. It was a good hurt though. It was a hurt that he wanted to keep feeling forever. A hurt that he wanted to feel and that only Kyuhyun could give to him.

“I love you, Kyuhyun,” Sungmin whispered. And he did. He really did. He knew that, if Taekyung had followed through with the threat to torture him until Sungmin screamed for Kyuhyun to save him, he would have broken. He would have felt so alone if Kyuhyun hadn’t arrived.

He was glad that Kyuhyun had come, despite the shame it made him feel. He shouldn’t have wanted Kyuhyun to come save him but he was glad that he did. Sungmin reached out slowly and placed his hand on the side of Kyuhyun’s face.

“I love you too, Sungmin. So, so much,” Kyuhyun breathed, tears pooling in his eyes. Sungmin brushed them away gently. He leaned forwards as carefully as possible and placed a gentle kiss on Kyuhyun’s lips.

The kiss was unhurried, soft and sweet. Kyuhyun revelled in Sungmin’s delectable taste, not knowing how much he had missed it until then. He had not realized how used he was to having Sungmin there to hold, touch and cherish until he was gone.

“Kyuhyun? Will you do me a favour?” Sungmin asked quietly, after they had pulled apart.

“What is it?”

“Will you hold me as close to you as physically possible?” Sungmin asked, a pretty blush staining his cheeks despite the pain and situation he was in. Kyuhyun felt his heart expand with love for his husband. A tear fell gently onto his clothing, wetting the cloth in a perfect circular drop.

“I don’t want to hurt you. You’ve got so many injuries,” Kyuhyun bit his lip, looking torn. Sungmin shook his head and smiled.

“When will you learn? You could never hurt me.”

With that blessing, Kyuhyun pulled Sungmin close to him. He tucked the elder’s head underneath his chin and wrapped his arms loosely around him, allowing the elder to snuggle in further if he wanted to.

“Don’t leave me, Minnie,” Kyuhyun whispered so that Sungmin couldn’t hear him. Junsu and Yoochun were both staring at the road, knowing what was going on in the back seat but not wanting to interrupt the time the two were using.

The car hit a bump but Sungmin never felt a thing. He was filling himself on the love of Kyuhyun and in turn, trying to let him know what he felt. He closed his eyes, listening to the soft, steady beat of Kyuhyun’s heart. He smiled unknowingly and burrowed in closer.

The car hit another bump and this time Sungmin was jolted roughly. He gasped in pain and blood trickled out the side of his mouth. The lacerations on his stomach were bleeding harder now. Sungmin was beginning to feel dizzy from blood loss.

Kyuhyun noticed these changes and almost died when he saw Sungmin bleeding harder. His heart clenched in fear and he went absolutely white.

“Hurry! Sungmin’s getting worse!” Kyuhyun screamed, almost to the point of hysteria. Fresh red liquid began to stain the car’s interior. Kyuhyun nearly began to hyperventilate. It was happening. He couldn’t believe it.

Sungmin was losing blood faster than before. This wasn’t a good sign. Kyuhyun looked at the slightly hazy expression on his husband’s face. His heart skipped a beat and everything set into frightening reality.

Sungmin was dying.

~₴~≠~₴~≠~