“A bond between souls is ancient - older than the planet.” -Dianna Hardy, The Witching Pen

Returning the books at the library turned out to be complicated when the machine decided to break down the moment Himchan inserted his student card. He had to wait for half an hour before the technician came and fixed it. Doing it manually was not possible since the other students were already lined up at the counter. There were like over a hundred of students in the line, if Himchan counted correctly. It was the last day of returning the books since Christmas was around the corner. It was no wonder that the others were here too. Himchan scolded himself for choosing this day to return the books.

He kept on glancing at his watch as he rushed to the hospital that morning. He was terribly late for Joon’s birthday party. He’d promised Yongguk that he would be slightly late, not really late. He had to run down the street to catch up with the bus. He even stopped by a gift store that was a few blocks away from the hospital because he figured that he should at least buy Joon a present for his birthday. Coming with empty hand would surely be embarrassing.

When he reached the hospital, he quickly made his way to the children ward with the teddy bear he’d bought for Joon. He could hear the people inside the room singing the birthday song when he was close enough. He had to regain his breath before he could open the door. As he bent down with his hands on his knees, he heard the door slide open.

“Himchan?” Yongguk called out.

Himchan lifted his head and raised the teddy bear in his hand, face scrunched up in exhaustion from running around.

“Sorry for being late. I had some problem returning the book and then I missed the bus-”

“Himchan,” Yongguk interrupted. When Himchan looked at him, he could see that Yongguk was smiling warmly at him. “Thank you for coming.”

Himchan smiled back and followed Yongguk when the latter beckoned him inside. Yongguk then introduced him to Joon. The boy was happy when Himchan presented him the gift. To make up for being late, Himchan had to sing the birthday song alone for the boy. It was quite embarrassing but when he saw the smile on the boy’s face, it felt worth it. He was amazed that the boy could be so cheerful despite his condition and turned out that he was wrong about the boy feeling lonely at the hospital— he had tons of friends at the hospital. They were pretty close with each other and their families even held a gathering every month so they could eat together.

When Himchan thought back about making friends at school, he realized that he hadn’t really been in touch with them since he graduated. He certainly felt bad that they’d drifted away from each other but there was no arguing that they had nothing that could make them stay together forever.

The children here were admitted to the hospital because of the cancer they had. It was something that they had in common, something that tied them together. Although cancer didn’t bring any good to the person suffering from it, Himchan found that the children were lucky enough to meet each other. He was sure that the bond they had between them was stronger than anybody else. It was one good thing that could happen to them at least. Plus, their family was there by their side.

“I can’t stop myself from thanking you for coming today,” Yongguk said as he sat down beside Himchan, watching the kids play with the balloons.

“Well, I’m telling you to stop now.” Himchan replied with a smile. “It’s no big deal, really.”

“How about your thesis? Are you done with it?”

Yongguk was considerate enough to ask him about his affair. Somehow he felt happy knowing that Yongguk cared.

“Yeah, I already emailed it to my professor. He’ll check it out today and maybe point out the mistakes. By that time, I’ll have to stay up again.”

“I wish I could help you out but I don’t know anything about psychology,” Yongguk gave him an apologetic smile.

“Giving moral support is enough for me,” Himchan said. “It’s my fight anyway. I need to survive this so I can get my degree certification.”

“You’ll do well. I’m sure of that.”

-

Himchan had been waiting for his professor’s reply the whole night but it seemed that he wouldn’t be getting a reply soon. He had his coffee at his side as he went over his thesis for the hundredth time, trying to spot any spelling mistake or awkward phrases. He was fidgeting so much that his mother had scolded him during dinner. She threatened to tie him up when her son wouldn’t stop shaking his legs under the dining table so Himchan had finished his dinner quickly and ran upstairs so he could lock himself in his room and wait for a reply.

He’d spent months working over his thesis and it was a hellish experience when he had to rummage through the library and resource center, looking for the right materials. It was the same for his classmates. They hadn’t been keeping up with their sleeping patterns ever since they entered the final year. Thesis was one thing. They also had some other subjects to cover before they could graduate. A few of his friends had to repeat one or two subjects since they failed last semester. For Himchan, he was lucky enough that he passed this one particular subject that people tend to fail at—he swore he would cry if he hadn’t passed that subject.  

With his eyes trained on the screen of his laptop, Himchan almost missed the beeping of his phone. He fished it out of his backpack and read the sender’s name. As predicted, it was from Yongguk.

“Hey, I hope you’re not too stressed out with your thesis. :O”

Himchan snickered at the emoji Yongguk gave him.

“Not stressed, just anxious. My professor hasn’t sent me a reply. :(”

“Aww, cheer up, Himmie. Don’t worry too much or you won’t be able to sleep! D:”

Himchan chuckled at the nickname. Yongguk could be so goofy.

“I can’t really sleep right now. Got too much to think about. Tomorrow I need to revise the script for the play.”

“Really? Wow, you’re hella busy. Are you sure you can’t sleep? Try lying down and counting backwards.”

“I don’t feel like sleeping and this is not a therapy, Bang Yongguk. You talk like a therapist. :P”

“ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ. At least I tried. XD”

Himchan was in the middle of typing when Yongguk sent in another reply.

“So you’re chilling at your room right now?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Do you want me to come over?”

Himchan read the message for another three times. Yongguk wanted to come here? In the middle of the night? Shaking his head with disbelief, Himchan quickly responded.

“It’s midnight, Yongguk.”

“And you’re not sleeping. :O”

“So?”

“So I’m worried.”

Himchan gnawed at his bottom lip to prevent himself from smiling.

“Hey, you there?”

“Still here.”

“So I’ll come over now?”

“Are you for real though? My parents are asleep.”

“I’m coming there to accompany you, o’ nocturnal creature.”

Himchan stared at the screen silently, blinking a few times. Yongguk then sent a string of messages.

“I’m walking there now.”

“I’m outside now.”

“I’m not gonna change my mind. I’ll be there until you fall asleep! >:(”

Himchan chuckled at how silly Yongguk was acting but he found himself looking out the window a few times, waiting for his friend’s arrival. He thought about unlocking the front door but then he remembered that Jinoo, his dog was guarding it. The dog would definitely bark at Yongguk when it sees him. Since there was no other choice, Himchan would just have to ask Yongguk to climb up the window.

Fifteen minutes later, Himchan spotted Yongguk walking under the street light, hands in his pockets and his signature red beanie on top of his head. Yongguk looked up at him and waved his hands.

“I’m sorry but my dog’s sleeping at the front door. There’s only one way to come up here,” Himchan gave him an apologetic smile as he pointed down at the boxes stacked down the window.

Yongguk stared at them and finally nodded, grinning widely. “I love a little adventure.”

He then nimbly climbed up the boxes and held onto the ledge before he pulled himself up. Himchan opened the window wider, grabbing at Yongguk’s hand when the latter held it out to him. Yongguk stumbled inside and adjusted his beanie before he flashed a peace sign at Himchan.

“Piece of cake,” he chuckled.

“It’s so weird having you sneaking around like this,” Himchan admitted as he sat down on his bed. Yongguk too sat down but he chose the window seat. “I didn’t think you’d be so rebellious. I thought you’d wait till morning to come here and meet my parents first, you know, like being courteous.”

“I am in fact a moral person but since I’m too worried about you I can’t really stop myself from seeing you,” Yongguk answered.

Himchan smiled at Yongguk’s answer. He cared about him so much that it sounded ridiculous even to Himchan. They’d only known each other for a short time but Yongguk treated him like an old friend. Himchan guessed that was why he warmed up so quickly to Yongguk. The man sure knew how to make people feel comfortable.

“Do you still feel wide awake?” Yongguk raised his brows at him.

“Yeah. I don’t think I can sleep.” Himchan frowned.

Yongguk hummed as he perched his chin on his fist. He then looked around the room and pointed at a particular book that was squeezed between the other books on the shelf.

“You studied hypnotism?”

“Oh yeah. But we didn’t really delve that deep into the subject.”

“Show me,” Yongguk smiled at him.

Himchan blinked and raised a brow at him. “Show what?”

“Show me how you do it. Hypnotism. I’m really curious.”

“First thing first, I’m not good at it since I only experimented with it once, and second, I don’t really have the proper tool…” Himchan scanned his own room, looking for anything that could act as an induction object for the hypnotism. Yongguk seemed to know and so he pulled out a necklace which he’d hidden under his shirt. It was a necklace with a pair of small silver wings. Yongguk urged him to use it so Himchan complied, taking it from him. He fiddled with it in his palm as he grabbed the book and started reading it. “Okay so I need you sitting across me.”

“Sitting across you, check.” Yongguk grinned as he walked over to the bed and plopped onto it.

“And now I want you to focus on the wings. Try to concentrate on it,” Himchan held up the necklace and started swinging it from left to right slowly.

Yongguk narrowed his eyes and did as he was told. “Okay, so far so good.”

Himchan let out a soft chuckle and continued to read the book.

“Just focus on the wings. Don’t break your concentration. Okay now close your eyes.” When Yongguk closed his eyes, Himchan scooted closer to him. “Keep them closed. Now your eyelids will feel heavy. Your body will feel lighter. Clear your mind of everything. Keep your head down.”

After a few more instructions to make Yongguk relax, Himchan put away the necklace and waved a hand in front of Yongguk’s face. Yongguk was still closing his eyes. It didn’t seem like he could listen to Himchan’s movement—like he’d completely disengaged himself from reality to enter dreamland instead.

“Yongguk?” Himchan whispered, leaning closer to him.

The distance between them were so close that Himchan could sense the warmth that Yongguk radiated from his body. Silently, Himchan took this opportunity to study Yongguk’s features. His face was clean shaved and his lips were wide, which reminded Himchan of the way he smiled with his gums showing. Just by looking at his face could make one feel peaceful. Yongguk had always given off this friendly vibe whenever he interacted with anyone. It was no wonder that the children loved playing with him. Himchan could stare at his face forever. Maybe that would help him fall asleep.  

Just then Yongguk opened his eyes and laughed. Himchan almost jumped away from the sudden surprise.

“I don’t think it worked at all.” He said.

“You got me for a second,” Himchan chuckled.

“Hey why don’t I try it on you? Maybe I could get you to fall asleep,” Yongguk suggested.

“It won’t work on me if it doesn’t work on you,” Himchan shook his head.

Yongguk hummed and crossed his arms, face all determined to just help Himchan get his good night’s sleep. Himchan chuckled silently at that.

“You know what? We’ll just have to play games all night until you fall asleep. Do you have any kind of games you like to play?”

“I do, actually.” Himchan beamed. He then reached under his bed and pulled out a board game. When Yongguk saw it, he pursed his lips and tilted his head sideways.

“I don’t think I know how to play board games. I was actually hoping for computer games instead.”

“It’s easy, really. I can teach you.” Himchan raised his brows at him. Yongguk seemed sceptical but then Himchan prodded at him. “You’re gonna love it, I promise.”

Yongguk thought for a while but then he finally shrugged.

“Well, as long as you’re happy then I don’t see any problem.”