“Key, where are you taking me?” Eun-Ae exclaimed as the boy determinedly wove his way through the throng of amusement park guests, his hand clasping hers tightly as he pulled her along. “We left the others behind!” she continued and glanced over her shoulder with a worried expression.

“They’re too slow! We have to make it there before sundown!” he called back to her, ducking underneath a large group of balloons that trailed along behind a rolling cart, where a jolly old man was distributing the air-filled toys to happily awaiting children. Eun-Ae failed to see the barrage of helium-filled sacs coming, and cried out as they bumped against her face. She came out the other side with surprised eyes and her hair standing on end from the overload of static electricity.

“Make it where?” she demanded, squeaking as her came to a sudden stop and she bumped into his back. Rubbing her nose tenderly, she peeked around his broad shoulders to gaze at the magnificent structure before them. “The Ferris wheel,” she murmured aloud, and Key nodded happily.

“Come on, we don’t have much time!” he beamed and pulled her into the line. Apparently, it was quite the popular ride, as the line stretched down the sidewalk; Eun-Ae saw quite a few couples in the mix, holding hands and snuggling together and kissing one another. She blushed at the realization that she was alone with Key, and she was sure that others would assume they were an item.

“Key, shouldn’t we wait on the other boys? I’m sure that they want to ride too,” she suggested in mild embarrassment. The boy would have no part of it, however, and continued to usher her along as the line progressed forward.

“No time,” he explained breathlessly as they arrived onto the loading dock. “Besides, only two can fit in each gondola,” he mused with twinkling eyes, and Eun-Ae frowned when she entertained the possibility that Key had completely intended to leave the others behind so that he could be alone on the ride with her. The thought made her feel both flattered and mortified, and she mumbled incomprehensibly under her breath with red cheeks as she climbed into the gondola. Key sat down across from her and closed the gate, grinning at her.

“I don’t understand why this ride is so important. It’s for couples,” she muttered and crossed her arms, avoiding his gaze. “It’s supposed to be romantic.”

“Don’t read too much into it, Eun-Ae. I just wanted you to see the view,” he answered as he put his arms behind his head and glanced out the window. He seemed nonchalant, but something in his eyes made Eun-Ae think otherwise. However, it was too late; the ride jerked into motion, and the pair of them slowly made their way into the sky in the gently swaying gondola. They remained silent, Key in his contemplative state and Eun-Ae in her awkward, uncomfortable one, as the ground fell away beneath them. She gasped as the gondola jerked once more, bringing the gondola to a halt, and since she had not braced herself for the sudden impact she went stumbling across the floor and nearly into Key’s lap. Reflexively, he grabbed her by the waist and stopped her fall.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, then blushed when she realized that her best friend was grinning like an idiot. “You knew it was coming, didn’t you?” she cried, slapping his arms down and crossing her arms as fire spread over her cheeks. “Did you bring me on this ride just to tease me?”

“That wasn’t my intention, but I can’t help myself when you’re just so easy to tease!” he laughed, the motioned for her to look out the window. “I told you, I wanted you to see the view,” he mused quietly, and Eun-Ae peered out the small window. Immediately she released an awed breath, for they were on the highest point of the Ferris wheel and were able to see the entire cityscape spread out before them. Towering skyscrapers pierced the skyline, black silhouettes against the dark red and orange of the sky. Sidewalks criss-crossed the ground, and little black smudges slowly crawled along the streets, scurrying along to the destinations. Cars zoomed along the roads, and streetlights flickered to life one by one as the bright yellow sun sunk lower on the horizon. What really amazed Eun-Ae was the sky; it was alive with color, fading from purple to red to the slightest hint of blue closest to the ground as the world gave way to night. As she stared out of the little window, she felt Key scoot closer to her in order to gaze out at the scene alongside her.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

“Yeah. Beautiful,” he murmured back, and when she looked at him she was mildly delighted to find that his eyes were trained on her. She nervously glanced at her lap, wringing her hands.

“I’ve seen sunsets before, but never like this,” she sighed, glancing once more at the picturesque scene. “I’m glad I got to see it with you, Key,” she smiled softly at him. He said nothing, only reached out to gently sweep a strand of hair from her face. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the ride jerked back into motion, and it was if the magic that had been in the air disappeared like smoke. Eun-Ae separated herself from Key, situating herself back on the other side of the gondola, and the pair said nothing as they descended back to the ground.

“Well, Key, we really appreciate you leaving us behind like that!” Taemin cried from behind the silver barricade that separated the loading dock from the rest of the park. “You think you can just get away with stealing Eun-Ae and having her all to yourself?” he continued as the boy walked over to him and casually flicked him in the forehead. Taemin squeaked and swatted at him.

“Calm down. There wasn’t enough room, and I wanted Eun-Ae to be able to see the sunset, so I had to act quickly,” Key explained.

“Still though, it would have been nice to at least have said something,” Onew mused as Key and Eun-Ae walked around the barricade to join them. He pulled out his phone to check the time. “I suppose we need to be getting back now?” Eun-Ae nodded sadly, taking one last glance around the park. Despite the fact that night had fallen, the amusement park was still bathed in light, streaming from the glowing streetlamps and colorful neon accents to the rides.

She felt Key’s hand slip into her own and give her a reassuring squeeze.

“Come on, Eun-Ae. Let’s get you home,” he murmured softly to her, and with that, the six of them left the park behind. It was a silent ride home, as the exhaustion hit as soon as they climbed into the car; Eun-Ae stared out into the night with half-open eyes as the landscape rolled by, barely aware of Taemin’s snoring and Jonghyun’s desperate efforts to keep Minho’s head off his shoulder. As the four other boys stumbled half-awake into the house and fell instantly onto the couches in the living room that Eun-Ae’s mother had so graciously prepared, Key followed Eun-Ae to her bedroom, where the nurse hooked her up to a number of fluids and gave her a handful of pills to take. “You do this every night?” he murmured as Eun-Ae crawled into bed and wrapped the covered tightly around herself.

“Yes. It’s gotten to the point to where I’m not even sure what they’re giving me anymore,” she mumbled tiredly, staring up at him with glossy eyes. Key smiled weakly and pulled the comforter over her toes, which had been peeking out from under the blanket. They remained silent for a while before Eun-Ae uttered, “Key?”

“Hmm?” he replied, pulled out of his thoughts.

“I’m really glad that you came. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t,” the girl sighed sadly, reaching out from underneath the covers to gently curl her fingers around his own. “I don’t know if I could have fought any longer… I just wanted to give up. I was so tired, so tired of fighting. I just wanted it to end.” Key crouched down beside the edge of the bed, her hair gently. “But now, I… I want to live again, even if it’s just for a little while.”

“I should have come sooner,” he admitted guiltily. Eun-Ae shook her head.

“No, I don’t think that would have mattered. You’re here now, and that’s what matters, right?” she sighed, then yawned loudly. Unable to fight off the drugs in her system any longer, she slipped into sleep, her fingers still curled in Key’s. He sighed heavily and continued to sit by her bedside, watching the moonlight stream in through the window and catch on her smooth black hair.

Would it have mattered? He thought uncertainly, looking back at Eun-Ae’s sleeping form. Sighing once more, he finally stood and exited the room, flipping off the light and closing the door quietly beside him. He walked silently downstairs to find the other four boys fast asleep in a mess of blankets and pillows, strewn about the couches and the floor without a care in the world. Key settled himself beside them, but his mind was still very awake, and he found little sleep that night.

All he could think about was the fact that Eun-Ae only had nineteen days, and there was nothing he could do.