The Prefecture room is absolutely buzzing – the crowd outside it is thick and dark, making me wonder what the hell has happened in the thirty minutes after class to create the chaos. When I clear my throat it goes eerily silent, and I’m admitted to the entrance.

My uncle, DK, Wonwoo, Jihoon and Seungcheol are inside. Jihoon’s sitting down, face covered with one hand – his boyfriend stands behind him, hands on his shoulders. DK is glaring at the floor angrily, and Wonwoo is straight up shaking, papers in his hand. Our principal is just going a little limp.

“Uh,” I interrupt, Jeonghan behind me. “What’s up?”

They all look at me – two angels with anger, two men with upset, and my uncle in defeat – and I already know what’s happened.

“You didn’t.”

Wonwoo slaps the papers in his hand down on the table. “YOU HAVE ING CANCER?!” he screams.

I flinch back, swivel on one heel and smile at the crowd outside. “Excuse us everybody, this is something the Prefects will discuss internally.” I close the door quietly on them and sigh. “Wonwoo, not in front of the students.”

“Who the cares about the STUDENTS right now?!” he bellows. The sound of his anger makes me search for Jeonghan’s arm so I can grip it. “You have CANCER, you dumb !”

Jeonghan moves to hold my hand tightly, closing in on my side. I can tell he’s itching to speak, but he won’t.

“How could you not tell us?” In a way, DK’s anger is worse, because he keeps it all bottled up inside. He knows he’s a walking ray of sunshine, and when he gets angry, it builds up inside. Quiet, disappointed anger is way worse than Wonwoo’s fury. “How could you keep this to yourself?” DK won’t even look me in the eye. “How long have you known?”

I turn to my Uncle, but he’s avoiding me at all costs, makes a quick excuse, and leaves the room.

“Don’t be angry,” I try.

“How? You tell me how.” Wonwoo points at the papers angrily, taking a threatening step closer. “Tell me how to not be angry about this!”

“By calming down, in the first place,” I try to reason.

“Oh my G-…”

I didn’t realize DK’s fists were balled, but now I can see the tendons in his arms, highlighted with the pressure. “You tell me,” he mutters, “how I’m supposed to follow and trust you… when you’ve been lying to us the whole time? How are we supposed to function as your guardians, your friends or your Prefects if you don’t tell us something this important?”

“It wasn’t like that,” I try to explain. “Please don’t be angry. Let me explain.”

“I can’t,” Wonwoo breaks out. The sound of it is so pained, warbled and broken, I flinch back again. “I can’t not be angry. I can’t do it, Joshua.” The look he gets me is so full of grief, so full of pain that I can’t look him in the eye for long. “I have to get out of here.” And then he and DK are gone, vanished with their angelic powers.

Jihoon looks at me with a sad expression. “Don’t be upset,” he says quietly. “They’re not angry at you.”

“…could have fooled me,” I whisper back.

“They’re upset because they’re not allowed to cure you. They physically can’t. They’re going to have to stand by and watch you die, no matter how much they love you. That’s why they’re so angry. Give them a while to deal with it in their own ways.”

I lift my head to him and his boyfriend. “And you?”

Jihoon shakes his head slowly, looking away. “What can I say? I… I don’t want you to die, Joshua.”

Seungcheol gives me a look that tells me I’m an idiot. “What, you think I’m gonna say I’m glad? Don’t ing die, Joshua. I’m just upset you didn’t tell us before! Although, knowing you, you probably had a good reason for it.” He pouts, making his lips a thick circle in his face, the way he usually does when he’s not really that annoyed. “Stupid Joshua with his stupid morals.”

I go sit in the chair opposite Jihoon and look at him. “Are you okay?”

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that? You’ve been working normally all this time, keeping the school running…”

I sigh and lean back, feeling comforted by warm hands on my shoulders. It’s nice to have Jeonghan close. I’m just trying to forget he’s mirroring Seungcheol’s stance. “…I. Well. I… I’ve had cancer before.”

They both jerk up to stare at me, but I can’t meet their gazes. I just stare at my own hands.

“It wasn’t very far on at all. It was back when I was a child. I was declared cancer-free very quickly, really, as fast as these things go. I didn’t expect to relapse like this for… decades, at least. I didn’t tell anybody then, because I knew DK would cry and Wonwoo would worry. I didn’t want to tell anybody this time for the same reason. It’s our last year together, after all, I didn’t want to ruin it. I thought it would be just like last time. But it’s progressed a little further and… well. I’m sorry you had to find out about it like this.” My hands curl into fists. “When I get my hands on my uncle I’m gonna-”

“Don’t,” Seungcheol says softly. “He didn’t do it on purpose. His office computer was running updates and he knew he’d gotten your latest medicals, so he was using our computer to check them. Wonwoo just happened to look over his shoulder and see.”

I have to take deep breathes. “How could everything have gone so wrong? I’m sorry, I never thought it would all happen like this.”

Jihoon eventually grips my hand. “…well, we know now. And we’re only here to help you, so don’t suffer by yourself anymore, alright? Share the burden a little. We can handle it.”

I snort out a chuckle and manage a smile. “Thanks, Jihoon. But… I don’t think Wonwoo and DK are going to see it that way.”

He pets my knee. “Don’t worry. They’ll