It was late summer, and Kim Jongin & his parents had just moved in to another city. This was for his father's job, as he had been assigned to another place lately.

Moving for Jongin wasn't easy. It's not like he had any other choice, but he didn't really want to leave his hometown if he had a say in it. This whole moving experience is something so alien to him. Leaving his childhood friends and his new-found love, Lee Taemin, wasn't easy, but at least he got to spend a few weeks with them during summer.

3 hours have passed since Jongin and his family started driving to their destination. Behind them was their truck with all their stuff in it. Jongin, or Kai, was getting bored. They left at 4AM and it was now 7AM; there was nobody he can text this early in the morning, it was summer after all. Kai unknowingly dozes off for a few hours, and gets a shock when he wakes up. It was raining, it was raining quite heavily because you can hear the drops of rain falling on the car's roof, a loud thunder even came roaring in a few times.

They have now arrived to their new area. It was a pretty normal neighborhood, Kai thought. He puts on his hoodie and hurriedly enters their new home. His bedroom was set up first, and he stayed there for the rest of the cloudy afternoon.

--

Jongin didn't know what to do. It was raining; he couldn't take his bike and go around the neighborhood. The guys who'll set up the internet didn't get here yet. And his friends... Well, he thought they were his friends. He tries to call each one of them, but to his surprise, none of those calls were returned. Not even his short summer romance with Taemin. Jongin was somehow glad he left them, realizing that they never even liked him anyway...

10 minutes past 5 in the afternoon, it stopped raining. Kai had a little red balcony outside his room, and he decides to go there and look at other houses and gardens and stuff. Okay, Jongin didn't really want that. He wanted to do more interesting things, and he hasn't gotten used to this "country life" yet. As soon as he goes out, he realizes that there was a balcony facing his own too. Awkward, he comments. But he was curious too. They were probably the ones who gave that pie a few hours ago. He remembers his mom screaming from the kitchen about him wanting pie or something, that being a welcoming gift from the neighbors. Jongin walks around there for a while, slowly accustoming himself to the balcony. After a short while, Jongin found himself sitting on the chair in the balcony. Was he waiting for anything special to happen? He doesn't even know why he's here.

Suddenly, he sees a person's silhouette appear. His frame was small and fragile, but he was tall. The person opens the curtains to let some sunshine in and sits in front of the window. "Why can't he just go outside?" Kai thinks.

Jongin was getting impatient. It had been a good hour since he was out here and that other kid hasn't even gone to his balcony yet. Jongin was bored as hell, and out of impatience, he gets a stone and gently throws it, avoiding the window but hitting the door instead. The guy was startled, he stands up and shifts to the door. Kai was getting nervous. What if this guy wasn't so weak? What if he actually throws the stone to Kai's face in return? Jongin tries to shake off those thoughts and enters his room, but it was too late.

"Yah!" the boy said and asked, "What is it?"

Jongin mentally slaps himself a few times before he turns around to explain things. But when he saw the other boy, he felt like he was struck by some sort of lightning. Jongin sees the boy, who didn't look very mad, but he instead had such a plain expression on his face. The boy's skin was pale, and he gave off this scary but cute aura. His hair was a soft shade of brown and the way his lips--oh wait, dammit. Jongin started to judge himself when he thought of that. This guy had girly features, and it reminded him of Taemin. That was just that. No special feelings for his new neighbor. But he did want to be friends with him.

"So-sorry..." Jongin's cheeks flushed. He wasn't the kind to blush of embarrassment, but he barely even knew this guy and he threw a stone to his door. 

"I'm sorry, can you say that again?"

Jongin stops staring at the floor and looks up to him. "Ah..sorry!" Jongin bows and the guy smiles.

He waves at Jongin and goes, "Hi, I'm Sehun. Sorry but I have a bit of a hearing problem," Sigh of relief. He wasn't mad.

Jongin reaches his hand awkwardly and realizes that they were quite far off so they can't shake hands. "Ah..I'm J-Jongin! My friends call me..Kai..."

Sehun smiles, and replies, "Oh okay..nice to meet you then...bye-"

"Wait!" Jongin says on impulse. "Can't we um..can you show me around?"

Sehun raises his eyebrow. Maybe that wasn't sucha good idea. "I don't really know my way around here too.."

"Then c-can we exchange numbers or do you have an SNS account or something..." Jongin was shocked, he rarely stutters.

"Sorry, I don't have a phone." Sehun's face turns gloomy and he walks back to his room.

"I-I'm sorry too!" Jongin just couldn't leave things like this.

"Good night....!" Maybe that cooled things off a bit? Sehun smiles, and the corner of his eyes scrunch up a bit and his eyes became really small. Jongin found it cute. Jongin couldn't hide the smile on his face, up until he goes to bed.

Throughout the rest of his summer, especially during the afternoons, Jongin and Sehun would often stay at their own balconies and talk. They've gotten to know each other better, but there was a problem: Sehun's couldn't really hear that well. Jongin had asked Sehun if he wants him to take Sehun to see a doctor more than once, but Sehun always shrugs it off and says that he'll go with his mom soon enough. The space in between them during the rest of their summer seemed to lessen, having hours of neverending talks. It was now one week before school would start, and Jongin quits his part-time job at a convenience store. He was bored one day while strolling in his neighborhood and decides to work in the mornings to earn a bit of money for the summer. But Jongin didn't have anyone to go out with, so he had a lot of money, compared to the average student's savings. It was a Sunday morning and he had just quit. He buys a lollipop and walks around listlessly, observing the tall green trees and the different kinds of people walking around. He notices that this city wasn't at all that populated, to the point where he sees the same faces everyday. Kai enters a cellphone shop for no reason. He takes out his phone and looks at the new models to compare. He had a smart phone, but he's starting to grow tired of it. He counts his money for a bit and buys a new iPhone 4S. He was shocked that he could actually afford that, since all of his money was just from his part time job. He heads off home when it was 3, hoping to talk to Sehun. He gets on his bike and remember: Sehun didn't have his own phone. This 4s was a little pricey, but if this would make him happy, he wouldn't mind giving it to him. He quickly buys a sim, and goes home. Jongin leaves his bike on their front lawn and steps in front of Sehun's house. He has never gone inside of Sehun's house, even though they've had daily talks for a month. Jongin, with a trembling hand, rings the doorbell, hoping that it would be Sehun who'll answer. He waits for a few seconds and hears the door unlock. It was his mom. Not that he had anything against his mom, but Jongin was especially shy around adults. Kai smiles, bows, and introduces himself. His mom laughs, having a similar eye smile with Sehun.

"Oh, I know you. Sehun isn't doing much so you can just head on upstairs. He's been looking brighter these days, and I guess you've become friends?"

Kai gently nods. "Um...can I ask if you've gone to the doctor already?"

Upon finishing Kai's question, Sehun's mom, Mrs. Oh, looked puzzled.

"He told me that he had problems..with his ear..he musn't have told you yet, but I really am concerned."

Mrs. Oh gently pats Jongin's shoulders. "Thanks so much for that Kai,"

Was she starting to tear up?

"Sehun doesn't talk much but he seems better these days," She smiles brightly again, wiping her tears off. Felling uneasy, Jongin bows and climbs up the stairs.

Sehun opens the door and he covers his mouth in shock. Jongin was kind of startled too, it was the nearest both have been to each other.

"Uh..hi.. I... came to give this to ya..." Jongin shows his the box of the cellphone, and Sehun wasn't even quite sure what it was. He blinks his eyes a few times, then invites Jongin in. Sehun and Kai were now awkwardly facing each other, with Jongin on the computer chair and Sehun on his bed. To start things off, Kai cuts to to chase and hands him the phone.

"For...me...?" Sehun blankly points to himself and stares at Jongin. "Aren't these things...expensive...?" Jongin takes the box back and opens it, turning the phone on.

He gives it back to Sehun once he places the sim in and says, "Well, I was working this past month and I decided to give you a phone since you don't have one. I'll give you the password for our wi-fi so you can make SNS and we can Kakao and.."

"What...?" Sehun was holding his new phone, not knowing what Jong was blabbing about and not knowing how to use the iPhone. For the rest of the night, Jongin teaches Sehun how to work out his phone, and saves his own contact number and adds him on Kakaotalk.

Sehun stated how he felt guilty about recieving such a thing from Kai, but Kai insists. "No, it's yours. We can skype sometimes when it gets too dark outside too," Sehun blushes and Kai realizes that his hand was holding Sehun's.

Jongin quickly withdraws, "I didn't mean to..." 

"No matter..." Sehun takes Jongin's hand. Jongin turns pink as he feels Sehun's hand. It was as soft as how he thought it would be.

Jongin and Sehun just end up looking at each other, maybe even looking right through each other, understanding the other perfectly. Jongin starts to move forward. Until his phone vibrates. Sehun and Jongin realized what they were doing and they quickly moved away from each other, flushing in embarrassment and shock as they smiled like fools.

"Oh, it's my mom. Bye Sehunnie..ah I mean Sehun.. haha...."

"No, call me Sehunnie if you want." Sehun smiles and waves rather happily despite it being 1AM.

Jongin runs to his house next door, being welcomed with his furious mother, telling him that he wasn't giving Sehun any sleep.

The last week of Summer ends, and school is starting again.

Jongin puts on his uniform, buttoning his top as he climbed down the stairs, but still asks for his mother's help with his tie. "You never learn," she states. Jongin eats a piece of bread while texting.

(Kai) "Good morning~ see you in school~ o(^▽^)o"
(Sehun) "^^; hello hello...okay you too..."

Jongin's heart beats in excitement as he boards the bus with Sehun.

During the next few months, Jongin noticed something: Sehun's hearing was getting worse.

Sehun explains that the doctor says that he'll be ok. But Jongin didn't belive him. He and Jongin weren't in the same class but they ate together during lunch.

"Sehun? I asked if you can pass me the ketchup,"

"Oh yeah, right.." Sehun looks uneasy and gives Jongin the ketchup.

"Hey, are you deaf?"

Sehun ignores Jongin's questions and continues to eat, but his guilt was eating him up. Annoyed by Jongin's question which was repeated over and over, he finally tells him the truth: "Okay, my left ear is not that good anymore. It's a sickness that's not very common, they say that my great great aunt had this sickness and it's rare so don't ask me anything about it anymore," Sehun says in one go and continues eating.

"How can you say that? What if you'd go deaf?!" Jongin raises his voice, having a few heads turned and the cafeteria buzzing.

"Don't worry about me, really," Sehun smiles. Jongin couldn't do anything to change Sehun's mind, to make him aware of what was happening, and it's not as if Sehun was Jongin's boyfriend or anything, so what could Jongin do? Absolutely nothing, he says to himself. 

March 14 - White Day

Recently, things haven't been going too well. They stopped having late night conversations at the balcony, and they seldomly texted each other. Maybe it was because of that day when Jongin almost screamed at Sehun's face, concerning him of the thought that he would be deaf soon. The days where they exchanged laughter grew less now, and Kai wanted to make it up to Sehun.

Somehow, Jongin felt like a changed man since he has met Sehun during summer. Before, he was a popular kid, getting involved in numerous flings with both boys and girls. He wasn't even sure if he loved his ex, Lee Taemin. He wasn't sad at all, and he and Taemin were still on good terms, having occasional chats like, "Hey I just met ____ at a party and she said she wants to go out with me," things like that would often come up whenever he chatted with his old friends. Jongin would just reply with "Don't break her heart kkk....." to which the rest of his friends' reactions would be full of "O.o" and "? wtf man. since when did u care about love..............? you've changed."

Jongin couldn't believe that he'd thought he'd miss his old friends. He was glad that he gave up all those nights of partying and cheating in exams, in exchange for having met Sehun...and he wasn't about to give up on that. He buys a chocolate cake and aks them to write in "I'm Sorry," with icing giving off bright colors of neon pink.

Meanwhile, Sehun was walking around the streets alone. He doesn't go out much, so he was a little lost. He buys a cake for Jongin. Strawberry Shortcake, his favorite. Sehun wanted to say sorry and wanted to tell him that he loved him.

...And that he was going completely deaf but he wanted to hear Jongin's reply before that'd happen, so he takes White Day and hopes it isn't too late to patch things up between them.

Sehun waits for the traffic light to signal that it was okay to walk. He plans to buy a card, too. Sehun didn't notice, but Jongin was on the other side of the street, paying, standing in front of the cashier, going home and hopefully having Sehun forgive him. While waiting, Jongin sends a text:

"Hi~ It's White Day... Hope I get to talk to you soon."

Sehun recieves the message immediately, and since the only contact number he had was Jongin's, he hurriedly gets his phone and replies. The signal at that moment, changed from the red hand to a green man walking.

Sehun replies, "Me too..." Sehun bites his lip, hiding his smile. This was it, he was gonna tell Jongin he loved him. He hoped Jongin liked him too. And if he didn't, he hopes that Jongin will. He hopes that he'll hear the 3 syllables come out of Jongin's mouth before it happens.

He doesn't double check the signal, and crosses the street. The signal was red already, and Sehun drops his mouth in shock. He was standing in the middle of the street, and he starts to tear up.

"This can't be..." Sehun pulls on his ears, flicks it, doing everything he can to see if it was too late. "No, no, no.. This can't be happening." He couldn't move from the pure shock, and at that time, Jongin exits the store. Sehun was standing in the middle of traffic, cars were loud as ever and passing by, telling him to get out. Sehun touches his ears, and cries. Jongin runs to Sehun, he screams; he shouts. Sehun looks forward and sees Jongin. Sehun slowly starts to walk forward, towards the side where he had intended to cross in the first place. Sehun holds on to his cake, looking only at Jongin. Jongin was crying now. This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't supposed to be. He didn't want to see Kai crying. Sehun only sobs harder and stops walking altogether. Then, a speeding car comes. Sehun had no idea, he was only looking at Kai. Kai runs towards Sehun, ready to jump.

He runs.

It was too late. Sehun had been hit by a car. When the sound was made, a number of people exit the stores to see what was happening. "Ambulance! Ambulance!" Jongin screams out while holding Sehun in his hands. "Hey Sehun, if you can hear me...say so!" Jongin 's arms were trembling as he held Sehun. Sehun just smiles as he is taken by the ambulance.

"Sehunnie..I love you..." He repeats those words over and over again until the ambulance took off. Sehun couldn't hear it, but he read his lips. He was feeling as if he'd die in a few minutes. He was still concious but he had a hard time breathing. The pain in his body was throbbing, his leg was even bleading, and he was crying. Crying hard. He couldn't hear Jongin's voice anymore. But he felt happy. The pain stung, and before he closes his eyes, Sehun's eyes get wet. If he had never met Kai, this wouldn't have happened. But he was okay with this happening. He wasn't mad. In fact, he was happy. He'd rather experience this a thousand times over, losing his hearing and getting hit by a car, if it meant that he could be with Kim Jongin, his first friend, the guy who always listened, his first love. Before growing unconcious, Sehun's heart is filled with thanks towards Jongin as  he held his hand, his facial muscles slowly move up, forming a reassuring smile on his face.

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a/n: sooooo ? <333
(c) gif wasted-daylightt

tell me what you think <3

02 23 2013 - minor editing, spelling/grammar tweaks hope i fixed em all