"Keep me posted yeah?" Asked Jake as turned to Dongmyeong who had accompanied him to the gate in the airport. "I'd stay longer if I could, but classes and stuff," he added.

"I get it," responded Dongmyeong as he nodded, adjusting the sleeves of his guard outfit. "I'll keep you posted, you're in our guard chat now," he explained. "But even then, I'll make sure to personally message you," he added.

Jake nodded, turning towards the gate with a resigned huff. "Back home I go," he sighed before walking towards the person at the counter with his plane ticket and passport in hand.

Dongmyeong watched him go, waving when Jake turned to look at him. After Jake entered the jet bridge Dongmyeong turned and left, heading back towards the main terminal.
 

~

Keonhee sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can you two stop looking like you're about to just go at each others throats?" He asked, fixing a glare at Yunho and Hyunjae. "This is a very delicate situation and we can't afford to look like this," he emphasized.

"You shouldn't even be here," snapped Yunho as he crossed his arms over his chest as he continued to glare at Hyunjae.

"You know the reason I'm here," remarked Hyunjae as he glared back at Yunho.

The three of them turned to Jay's door when they heard some sort of alarm going off, and Keonhee immediately rushed into the room while Yunho ran to get a nurse. Hyunjae looked apprehensive as he stood in the doorway, moving when the nurses came back and soon took his place again as Yunho stood behind him.

Jay was sitting up, coughing as he clutched at his neck. The nurse was trying to soothe him and get him to drink some water, gently moving his hands away from his throat.

Keonhee went to help, putting a gentle hand on Jay's shoulder. "Hey," he greeted gently. "Let the nurse give you some water okay?" He asked, encouraging Jay to bring down his hands.

Jay looked at Keonhee, slowly putting down his hands and letting the nurse hand him the cup of water. He brought the cup to his lips and tilted his head back slightly while he drank the water.

There was movement outside the door and Yunho and Hyunjae moved, letting Dongju through as he nearly ran through them to get to Jay.

Jay moved the cup down and the nurse took it from him.

"What the hell were you thinking huh?" Asked Dongju as the nurse checked Jay's vitals before leaving the room to let everyone get their time to talk to Jay.

"Why didn't you let me die?" Asked Jay as he looked down at his lap.

"Jake was the one who found you," chimed in Yunho as he shook his head. "You know he wouldn't just let you die," he added as he walked into the room, going to stand in front of Jay's bed.

"If you really wanted to die that badly I think you should've done something else," remarked Hyunjae as he shook his head. "Not that I condone doing this in the first place," he added quickly. He moved from the door and closed it, standing against the wall next to the door as he glared at the space in front of him.
 

~

Jay looked down at his wrist, seeing the red marks on his wrist again. He almost wished that they had the right mind to cover his wrist up for him, but Jay knew that asking for that kind of thing would raise questions so he turned his wrist over and tried to ignore the burning as best as possible.

"Are you okay?" Asked Keonhee as he sat down in a chair beside Jay's bed. He tilted his head to the side as he looked at Jay, fidgeting slightly with the leather bracelet on his wrist.

"I don't know honestly," mumbled Jay as he let out a soft sigh. "The burning is still there, but I'm trying my best to ignore it," he added.

"Do you think you can finish this project?" Asked Keonhee as he looked genuinely concerned for Jay.

"I have to right?" Asked Jay as he let out a dry chuckle before falling back against the bed with a sigh. "I have to," he breathed, throwing an arm across his eyes to try to ignore the world around him.

"I'm here," reassured Keonhee as he reached over and patted Jay on the arm. "You know I'm here," he repeated before moving his arm back and sitting back in his chair with a sigh.
 

~

Jay stared at the sketchbook in front of him, a look of concentration on his face as he furrowed his eyebrows in thought. He was drawing an outline of his soulmate, using a picture he had as reference. They weren't going to release him from the hospital yet, but that was fine with him. Jay needed time to be sure he was okay.

His other classes weren't that important, but he knew the big projects for the end of the semester were due soon. Jay just hoped that he managed to get them done in time.

"Kid," came Arthur's voice as Arthur entered the room with Yunho standing behind him like he usually did.

"Yes?" Asked Jay as he stopped drawing, putting his pen down and turning to Arthur.

"How are you feeling, really?" Asked Arthur, pulling up a chair and sitting down beside Jay's bed. Yunho closed the door to Jay's room and leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

"I don't know," mumbled Jay as he let out a soft sigh. "But I hope that finishing these projects will help me at least move on," he added.

"Well, I have a proposition for you," started Arthur as he nodded. "Do well and finish this semester," he explained. "And I'll send you and whoever you want to Korea to visit your friends," he added. "For a month," he added as an afterthought. "But you have to finish the semester and these projects of yours," he explained.

"I just have to survive?" Asked Jay. "Survive and finish this project?" He asked to be more specific of what Arthur wanted.

Arthur nodded in response, and Jay took a minute to let it sink in.

"Okay," Jay finally decided, nodding to Arthur who gave him a gentle smile. "I'll try," he sighed, looking down at his sketchbook again.
 

~

Jay sat in front of an easel, an idea in mind as he sketched out what he wanted to do. It had been a couple weeks since he was released from the hospital now, and Jay felt like it was time to finish the first major project and that was to paint something he considered important to him.

"Did you know that both our soulmates are related to each other?" Asked Keonhee as he stood behind Jay, watching him work.

"I did," hummed Jay as he nodded. "I was about to start on a painting of all four of us, do you mind?" He asked, turning to Keonhee.

"I don't mind," reassured Keonhee as he nodded. "I guess we're connected in a way thanks to them," he mused. "Maybe we were meant to meet at some point hm?" He asked.

"Maybe when this is all over we'll head to Korea to drop a small picture of us at their gravesite," mused Jay as he turned to the easel again and continuing his sketching.

"Yeah, I'd like that," mused Keonhee before he turned and left the room, leaving Jay to his devices.

Jay let out a small chuckle, a small but sincere smile appearing as he glanced at the picture of his and Keonhee's soulmates on his desk. "Yeah, we'll definitely go visit soon," he mumbled, turning back to the easel and getting lost in his own world as he sketched out what he envisioned in his mind.