“He’s alright now.” 

“Can I see h---”

“He doesn’t want to see anyone… I’m sorry… What... happened?”

Jaejoong’s heart sank… he knew this would happen… 

“I think he heard us…”

“That bad?”

“Very. Much more than you can imagine, Min… I don’t know what to do now…” He looked down at his hands, fiddling with his fingers.

“Hyung… I think it’s about time all of you thrash things out. This is taking a toll on everyone of you… especially yunho hyung…” 

“I know…” Jaejoong sighed, finally allowing his tears to flow… “But Min… I am the one causing his pain… maybe I shouldn’t have returned… it pains me to look at him… he is filled with guilt towards me… how can we ever be happy now? How do we go back to how we were before? I don’t know how, Min… I don’t know how…” 

Chang Min leaned closer to him, holding onto his shoulders now, “Who says it has to be the same? Both of you have experienced so much and have grown stronger… although it won’t be the same but the love you two share will always be the same isn’t it?  I don’t know what happened but… do you remember what you promised each other?” 

“Our… promise?” 

“He… said he needed to take a breather, let’s play another game while waiting~!”

Jaejoong eyed him suspiciously but agreed anyway.

“TAKE THIS!” Chang min leaped up and smashed the shuttlecock back into Jaejoong’s court. 

Just then the lights went out. 

“YAH. Wh--- what’s going on?! Did the shuttle go over?! Is it in?!” 

“I---” Before Jaejoong could reply, a spotlight flashed in their court, right at Jaejoong. 

“IT’S IN! IT’S---” 

“Yunho?” Jaejoong squinted his eyes trying to make out the person’s face. 

“Oh…” It suddenly dawned on Chang min that this wasn’t the time to care about the game. He quickly stepped out of the court, waiting for his cue. 

Yunho made his way over slowly, with a bouquet of white lilies in his hands. He has showered and changed into a white suit. 

Oh...my...god… Chang min looked at him, holding back his laughter. 

“What are you---”

“Joong… from the first day I met you, I knew that it’s you. When you first smiled at me, my whole world slowed. I had to see you everyday, even though you hated me so much. So many years have passed… We have been through so much together and even though you know that I’m sick, you didn’t leave me. I’m forever thankful for that. I can’t express how much I love you. You mean the world to me. When I look into my heart, I see only you. Although I don’t even know if I can defeat this darn cancer of mine… but I know that if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for the rest of my life, because I know in my heart, you're the only one for me."

Yunho got down on one knee slowly, with a ring box in his hand, “So what do you say?”

Jaejoong looked down at him, tears filling up his eyes. 

“Yes. Yes. Yes.” Jaejoong agreed without any hesitation. Yunho jumped up immediately, slid the ring into his finger and pulled him into his embrace. 

“But promise me. No matter what, you will not give up. Let me walk this journey with you.”

“I promise. But promise me, no matter what happens, don’t ever give up on us because I’ll never let you go.” Yunho squeezed Jaejoong tighter in his arms. 

“I promise.” Jaejoong smiled as he buried his head into Yunho’s shoulder. He could feel his heart throbbing with happiness. 

“I know that we can get through anything if you’re by my side. I just need your love, Joong. As long as you give me your love...”

“To never give up and never let each other go…” Jaejoong finally burst out in tears as he recalled that day…  those words… that beautiful day… that perfect day… “How… how did things turn out this way… how…” He covered his face with shaking hands. 

“Hyung…” Chang min held him closer, saying nothing more. He knows that nothing he says can ease his pain… all he could do was to be by his side… 

“I’m… sorry Joong…” Yunho knelt on the other side of the door, weeping… “How can I ever face you now… after all these… Is it time for me to let...go?”

******************

“Eomoni…” 

“Sorry I took so long to come and see you... I heard from Yunho’s father… I… I don’t know what to say. I’m so ashamed to even face you now… I’m so. So sorry… I…”

“Eomoni, please… it’s not your fault…”

“If we had treated you two with kindness and accepted you two back then, all these would not have happened…”

Jaejoong smiled bitterly… “Well… we can dwell on all the what ifs… but the truth is, we can never go back to that day… We have got to move on… all these are all past events and… and like what Min said, we all grew stronger. This is life, isn’t it?”

“You’ve such a beautiful heart… how could we not see it…” She sighed as he patted Jaejoong’s head… “I will not ask for your forgiveness, but I have a selfish request… I beg you… Please…  Please stay by our Yunho… you mean so much to him. Without you, he will fall apart…” 

“I… will try.”  

That is only possible… if he lets me stay by his side… 

“I’ll go check on him---”

“Hang on… His dad is heading for his ward now… they need to thrash things out sooner or later… maybe we can sit out here for a while before heading back up together…”

Jaejoong nodded silently… knowing that things would probably not go smoothly… 

“Yunho…”

“Go away, dad.”

“If I were to choose again, I would do the same.”

“, dad!” Yunho plucked his drip needle out and got out of the bed. “He is a human being! Who gave you the rights to play god and let him get taken away?! No matter how much you hated him, he is still breathing and alive! How could you let someone take him away?!”

“You were smitten by him! I could not watch you sink deeper. I had to get you out of it.”

“Damn it dad! It was my choice! This is MY life!”

“And I gave you your life! It was for YOUR own good.” 

“Don’t act fatherly with me now...It was never about me. It’s all about you, dad. How people would think about you, how people would start gossiping behind your back if they know that your son is gay! You never cared about me… you only cared about yourself. YOURSELF. Did you even love me, dad?!” Yunho was seething in anger now. “Get the hell away from me. If it wasn't that you’re my dad, I would have beaten the crap out of you.”

“Yunho…”

“GET. OUT!” He could feel his whole body on fire, his cheeks were red, flushed from anger… but his lips were pale… like he could fall any moment. 

“Fine. But Yunho, no matter what, we’re still your parents. And we care about you.” 

…

“Take care.” He knew that nothing can be said or done now, only to leave him alone. 

He was greeted by Yunho’s mother and Jaejoong as he exited the ward.

He side-glanced at Jaejoong and walked away. 

“Sorry… think he’s still unable to face you…” 

“I understand…” Jaejoong said, eyes still on the door. He wanted to enter so badly. To talk to him, to comfort him… 

“Go on…I'll go after his dad.” Yunho’s mum said, as though she could hear his thoughts. “He probably needs you now…” 

“Thank you…” Jaejoong took a deep breath, before entering. 

“Yunho?” 

…

“Are you alright?”

...

“You can continue to pretend to sleep or we can talk things out.”

Yunho continued to stay under his covers, not moving an inch. 

“Fine. I’ll talk, you can listen.”

Jaejoong stood right beside his bed and continued, “I don’t know how much you heard. But it’s not your fault. None of this is. Be it the accident, Heechul bringing me away, my loss of memory, your dad not saving me, was never your fault. I’ve never blamed you. An accident is called an accident for a reason. It wasn’t done on purpose isn’t it?” 

…

“You tried to save me, Yunho… I remembered… when our car was skidding, I felt something heavy against my body. Your arm… it was stretched across me. You put yourself above me… even at that point of time, you were thinking about me... But what happened after that… was beyond your control… you can’t control what your dad thinks and does… what he did, was his decision.” 

...

“It might be too much for you to take in now… I’ll leave you alone for now.”

“Joong...” Yunho called out after him. He turned around and looked at him expectantly. 

“I--- … nothing.” 

Jaejoong nodded, clenching his fists, trying his best to fight back his tears so that he would not see his disappointment. 

Suddenly, the door opened and a figure staggered in.

“Get in.”

“Hee---heechul?!” Jaejoong recognised him immediately. “Min, what’s going on?”

“I figured that everyone needs closure. So I sent someone to look for him. Apparently, there’s more to the story. You guys better hear him out.” 

Yunho finally pulled himself out of the bed and approached him, slowly, “What is it?! What the hell are you still hiding from us?!” 

“I…I’m sorry, I only hid it from you because I was told to keep it a secret…” 

“WHAT IS IT?” Yunho could not believe it. After so long, there are still secrets that are still unknown. More things to uncover. He had enough. He had to get to the bottom of it right now. 

“It’s your dad.” 

“We already know that he saw Jaejoong hyung and chose to ignore the fact that you brought him away. Just get to the point.” Chang min cut in. 

“He… I… He followed me.” 

“He what?!” Yunho could not believe his ears. “He followed you and yet he didn’t bring Joong back?!”

“He followed me to the Han River,” Heechul continued. 

“What the hell?! YOU ING…”

“I KNOW. I know. I was out of my mind at that time!! I could do anything for my family! You should know how it is like to be able to do anything for someone!” 

Yunho turned to look at Jaejoong… 

Of course…. I know… 

“But your dad, he stopped me. “He paid me to spare his life and to… take care of him. I wanted to reject him but he threatened to call the police. He said he hated him but not that much to want him dead… so I accepted his proposal. That’s why… I brought him to a hospital in a faraway village to treat him…” 

“Why… didn’t you tell me...?” Yunho felt a continuous throbbing in his heart... slowly fading away, replaced by an emptiness that was just so much more painful to bear… He has hated his dad for so long… thinking that he never spared a thought for him… but now, the person who saved Jaejoong… was him… but he still could not forgive him for not bringing Jaejoong back immediately…  “No… no… he is still at fault. This doesn’t mean that he can be forgiven. He could have… he could have brought him back there and then...” 

“You’ve never been a father… you don’t understand how he feels. We’re in a society, where it is so cold and discriminating towards the minorities and those who are considered different from the rest… knowing this, how could a father bear to let his son walk down that road? Especially in our society… How many are really accepting towards gays? Many just give lip services saying that they are open to it but when it really comes  to their own children, how many are able to accept it? I’m a father too… So when your father told me that… I changed my mind. Because of his genuineness. He couldn't accept your relationship with him. But he didn’t want him dead either. Your dad… is not that heartless… all that he has done, was for you… but in a different way…” 

…

No one spoke a single word in the next few moments… silence lingered in the room before Jaejoong finally spoke, “Although it’s late but at least… you told us the truth…” 

“I’m sorry… I don’t expect or even dare to ask for your forgiveness. I just... lost it at that time…” 

“I… cannot bring myself to forgive you completely. But, thank… thank you… for keeping me alive. You had many choices at that point of time. You could have turned back on your words and gotten rid of me anyway. But you chose to save me… and you also chose to give us a chance to meet in Prague… all these, are your own choices. This shows that there is still some good in you…” Jaejoong went forward to help him up. “It is time for you to move on as well… this whole saga is over now. The next time you see any of us, just walk on… don’t look back or feel guilty. You have done what you can…I’m alive, and that’s what’s most important isn’t it? It’s time for all of us to move on from this whole incident.” 

Chang min glanced over to Yunho… Those words are meant for him to hear as well. Jaejoong nodded at Chang min, who then took Heechul by his arms again, “Let’s… go.” Heechul took a deep bow towards Jaejoong and Yunho before leaving the room with Chang min. 

“I don’t know what’s going through your mind now but… I don’t hate your father, Yunho… and believe it or not, I don’t hate Heechul as well… although he took me away from you but he was the one who kept me alive all these years… and look where I am now, standing in front of you… being with you---”

“He took so much time away from us…” Yunho’s voice broke at every word… “Who is going to give back all the time we lost together…?”

“But you didn’t forget me… all these years… that is enough for me…”

“Remembering you is easy, Joong.  I do it every day. But there is an ache within my heart that will never go away. Every day, in some small way, memories of you will surface in my mind… and I… I just couldn’t move on… when I started hallucinating about you, I… I was so happy. Even when I knew my cancer had relapsed, I thought that would be the best. If that’s what it would take to redeem myself and for me to see you again…” He was dying with every word… His lower lip quivered as words slowly made their way out of his mouth…

Jaejoong went forward, knelt down in front of him, lifted his chin up and looked into his swollen and wet eyes. He held his gaze, “I love you. I always have and that will never change. All I want is time with you. To spend the rest of my life with you. I don't care about anything else…” 

“Joong…” Yunho finally let his warm tears flow out from his eyes… every drop falling heavily onto Jaejoong’s fingers. 

“Don’t cry…” Jaejoong wiped his tears off with his hands. He leaned in slowly and planted a kiss on Yunho’s lips…. “I love you…” He whispered silently… They looked at each other in deep meaningful silence, studying each other’s face. Jaejoong’s eyes finally traced back to his lips… he leaned in towards him slowly until his lips were on his again. Yunho parted his lips slightly and felt his tongue brush lightly against his. He leaned against him, forgetting all his problems and letting himself feel the comfort of his arms around him… Everything that happened after the kiss was a blur… as he pulled him closer to him, their breaths got heavier as their lips met again and again…

Maybe... maybe everything would turn out all right. Just for tonight… let me have him again…