It is Kyungsoo’s turn tonight to drive to town and get their special dinner – that’s how Jongin calls it. Jongin wants fast food so he gets fast food even though Kyungsoo always feels a little bit hurt because he would be able to cook something in less than five minutes and that’s fast food, too. But no, Jongin wants to eat all the bad types of fast food – sometimes Kyungsoo wonders why he isn’t fat yet. Instead he looks all kind of y with his well-toned body and Kyungsoo wants to look like that also but Jongin says muscles don’t suit him as much as his baby fat that makes him appear just too cute for the world. Kyungsoo blushes at statements like this and he also blushes right now as he thinks about Jongin’s latest words of Babe, if you don’t get the right stuff then I will eat you up instead and he clearly heard the erted smirk in Jongin’s voice before the door closed.

“Idiot,” Kyungsoo mutters with a quiet laugh as he leaves the pizza shop with some food to walk back to his car that he just parked in front of it. He walks carefully closer, trying to not bump against anyone. Then he hears a scream and everything goes too fast for him to even realize what’s happening at the moment.

“Hey! Talk to me! Come on! Can someone call an ambulance?! Hello?!” Luhan’s hands shake in horror as he looks at the passed out Baekhyun in his arms and for a moment it feels like he is no longer breathing. The people around them form a circle and the most just watch them with shocked expressions, not doing anything at all to help Baekhyun. Luhan scans the faces of the people and discovers Kyungsoo. Luhan doesn’t know why but he suddenly feels like he will be the only one listening.

“You! Call the ambulance, immediately!”

Kyungsoo drops the boxes of pizza and pasta as Luhan yells at him and he immediately takes out his phone to do what he is told, trying to explain where they are and that a guy passed out in the middle of the street. The woman on the other end asks how old the person is and that’s the first time Kyungsoo actually looks at him. He falls silent as he sees the all too familiar and beautiful face of Byun Baekhyun. He looks like he is sleeping and the flawless white skin is still the same from back then. Kyungsoo feels himself being thrown back to those days when Baekhyun woke him up with delicious coffee, knowing exactly how much milk and sugar Kyungsoo likes, the way his graceful fingers caressed the sensitive skin below Kyungsoo’s ears and how his lips always tasted like a combination of mint and chocolate against his own. Baekhyun’s scent lingers in the air suddenly and he remembers it so well, it makes his heart go heavy. If only he could…….

“Hey! Are you still there?” the woman on the phone asks him worried but still calm and it shakes Kyungsoo awake from his daydream. All memories start to fade and he’s giving her the information she needs before hanging up, not wasting another second to rush over to Luhan and Baekhyun, kneeling down onto the concrete. He wants to reach out his hands to touch Baekhyun but he doesn’t know if he’s even allowed to do so. Luhan talks to him and Kyungsoo doesn’t understand a word because he is so shocked, afraid and at the same time a little bit happy to see Baekhyun. He knew that Baekhyun lives in this part of the city, or at least he thought that he still does. To meet him again, and especially in a situation like this, was never what Kyungsoo intended or even wanted. Because now he feels like it’s his entire fault that Baekhyun is in this state – and sadly, it is the truth.

Kyungsoo still kneels there as the ambulance arrives and he only stands up when Luhan helps him, leading him a bit away to make space for the doctor. The crowd of people becomes smaller by the second until there’s none of them left, because well, there’s nothing interesting to see anymore – no one died, so no one really cares.

“Hey… can I have your phone? I forgot mine at home,” Luhan wants to know gently and reaches out his hand.

“Yeah, I guess.” Kyungsoo tries to smile but fails and watches Baekhyun being lifted up from the ground while he hands his phone to Luhan.

“Thanks…” Luhan tries to call Sehun but he doesn’t pick up and Luhan decides to drive to the hospital instead, stepping closer to the ambulance before looking back at Kyungsoo.

“Well, thanks man. Here...” He throws the phone back and Kyungsoo catches it with ease, nodding a bit. “No problem,” he says quietly and looks after Luhan, hesitating shortly before saying a bit louder, “Take care of Baekhyun.”

“I will!” Luhan smiles and steps into the vehicle, waving shortly as a goodbye before the doors close. It is only when the car starts driving that Luhan wonders how that guy was able to know Baekhyun’s name. However, he forgets about it as soon as he meets Sehun in the hospital, beaten up and worrying for Baekhyun like hell.

“It’s the fourth time this year.”

“I know but please, you can’t do that to him.”

“We have to or else it will go out of hand soon.”

“No… I will be more careful from now on.”

“You already said that the last three times….”

Baekhyun hears Sehun and the doctor talking quietly at the door and even though he doesn’t understand every word, he knows exactly what the conversation is about.

“It’s already settled, I’m sorry.” The doctor leaves and Sehun stares at the door for a while before turning around with a heavy sigh to look at Baekhyun. Sehun rests his left hand on his hip while running the other through his hair, wanting his painful headache to go away already.

“So, am I going?” Baekhyun interrupts the silence they fell into and Sehun shoots him an apologetic glance before stepping closer to the bed, intertwining their fingers as soon as their hands touch.

“It seems so.”

Baekhyun laughs even though he wants to cry at the moment but he somehow has no tears left and this whole situation is so ridiculous it’s almost funny.

“Well, I know you always thought I’m crazy,” he jokes and Sehun attempts to smile but fails horribly.

“I never thought you’re crazy,” he responds quietly, his voice cracking lightly at the last syllable.

“Yeah, right.”

“Baekhyun…”

“No, it’s fine.” Baekhyun lets go of Sehun’s hand to touch the purple bruise below his right eye, making Sehun wince lightly at the contact. “I also think I’m crazy.”

“You’re not cra-“

“Shut up, Sehun. I always need your help and you’re younger than me. You always have to be there for me and we both know it should be the other way round. I should say I’m sorry that I couldn’t protect you from those guys but instead you say you’re sorry that you couldn’t rescue me from myself. I’m an emotional wreck and I’m so sick of this.” He smiles bitterly and Sehun can’t help but to grab his wrist harshly to stop him from going any further.

“Don’t even think about it. If you say one more word then I will hate you forever.”

Baekhyun’s smile only grows wider.

Days go by and suddenly a whole week has passed, for Baekhyun it feels like it was just yesterday that he collapsed on the street but as he sees Sehun’s handsome and almost recovered flawless face that evening he knows that it’s not true. And that’s why he wants to leave the hospital as soon as possible.

“But Sehun… I want to go to the lake; I want to spend time there with you. We always go there.” Baekhyun pouts, trying to make a cute face and it totally works on Sehun, it always does.

“I would love to… but you’re not allowed to.”

Baekhyun sighs frustrated and stands up from the bed, pointing at himself.

“Can’t you see? I’m able to stand, I’m able to walk! I’m able to do everything a normal person can! So what is the problem?!” He unintentionally raises his voice, sounding angrier than he actually wanted to. And Sehun clearly feels hurt.

“Will you just stop this already? You’re not allowed to go outside!” Sehun places his hands on Baekhyuns shoulders to push him back towards the bed but Baekhyun tries to keep standing where he is. “It’s not like I’m the one saying you can’t! Don’t always give me the fault for everything!”

“I don’t even do that! Stop touching me!” Baekhyun steps back and shoves Sehun away from him harshly, making the younger stumble back lightly. “You don’t know how hard it is to spend a whole week in this room! You don’t know anything!” He is screaming by now and Sehun looks at him with tears in his eyes, all the emotions coming back up once again. And he can’t help but to scream right back at his lover.

“Yah! I was here all the time! The whole ing week I sat next to you on this chair, holding your hand while talking to you! I was there when you were awake; I was there when you fell asleep! I am, as well as you, caught in this hospital room!”

Baekyhun is taken aback by Sehun’s outburst and the tears that run down his cheeks, his hands formed to trembling fists while his chest rises and falls with heavy breaths.

“I’m just as psychically sick of being here as you are! But please, please do what they tell you just this once! I don’t want them to make you leave for Seoul all by yourself for real!”

Baekhyun lowers his gaze, feeling ashamed because he only thought about himself but not about how everything hurts Sehun more than expected. He gets weaker every day and Baekhyun can finally see it. All of this will destroy Sehun sooner or later. Baekhyun will destroy Sehun sooner or later. Even if he doesn’t want to, he will.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, Jongin. Something happened when I bought the food and I was too shocked to buy something else and-“

“Shh, be quiet…,” Jongin interrupts while pulling Kyungsoo further inside, closing the entrance door behind him before pushing him against the dark wood to trap his body.

“I don’t wanna hear the story…. But you know what will happen now, huh?” A grin forms on Jongin’s lips and as it turns to a smirk, Kyungsoo remembers. He widens his eyes and shakes his head a bit.

“N-No… Jongin, let me cook you something?”

Jongin doesn’t answer. Instead he leans in and starts to place wet kisses on Kyungsoo’s neck, making him shiver hard at the sudden intimate contact.

“Ugh…. Jongin… no…” Kyungsoo tries to resist and shuts his eyes while placing his hands on Jongin’s shoulders, wanting to push him away. Of course, Jongin is much stronger and holds Kyungsoo in place. He kisses his way up to the soft and sweet lips he loves to call his own and the moment he wants to over them, Kyungsoo stops him by turning his head to the side.

Jongin leans back immediately and he can’t help but to be deeply disappointed. Kyungsoo never rejected him like this and it makes him worry.

“What’s wrong?” he asks as he lets go of Kyungsoo to bring some space between them. Kyungsoo’s hands fall down from Jongin’s shoulders and he takes a deep breath before taking off his shoes to simply walk past Jongin into the living room.

“Hey!” Jongin turns around and follows his lover, sitting down beside him on the couch. Kyungsoo stares onto the ground, not really sure what he’s even doing right now. All he knows is that Baekhyun’s face isn’t disappearing anymore, as if it was burned into his mind and he has to admit, he wants to know how Baekhyun feels right now, if he’s okay again or what even happened to him before he passed out.

Kyngsoo knows that he can’t talk about it with Jongin. He will become angry because Baekhyun is a subject they don’t talk about since Kyungsoo told him about it at their seventh date in a restaurant.

“What’s wrong?” he asks again and Kyungsoo fakes a smile as he looks at Jongin, shaking his head.

“Nothing, I’m just tired.” He shortly kisses Jongin’s lips and he seems to be alright with the answer even though he knows it’s a lie.

“What did you want to tell me earlier?”

“Ah… nothing, really… someone bumped into me and I let the food fall down… Sorry…”

“It’s alright.”

Kyungsoo nods and breaks the eye contact, the gentle and understanding expression of Jongin remembering him of Baekhyun even though they don’t have any similarities at all. And as he gets hugged by Jongin it feels like Baekhyun’s arms are embracing him.

At this moment he realizes that it’s the beginning of the end.