It was almost two months after the war in Yongin had ended before Korea was to be given a reason to celebrate. It was the end of the world war that had terrorized people all over the world for far too long, the end of pointless show of fire power and army strength, the beginning of a better future. It took two months of tension between army forces, governments and plenty of negotiations to come to this, but it was here now. And it still seemed like a dream that not many had dared to dream before.

It was on a morning filled with reasons to be happy and carefree like this, that Kibum decided to visit his best friend to carry out a task that had been given to him. It was important and he had been trusted with it because he knew Jonghyun the best and the elder trusted him the most. It was for these reasons that he had been chosen to deceive Jonghyun like this, ironically. A little lie to make him happy, it’s not so bad, right?

Kibum crawled into his best friend’s bed, listening to the birds singing. It was still a bit dark when he had left home to come here, but Minho had to wake up early to get some things done in the city about his official retirement from the military (a decision that he made as soon as he heard of the handing over Korea back to the British). Kibum had lost sleep after waking Minho up and so here he was, this early in the morning.

He laid down beside Jonghyun, waiting for the other to wake up while he thumbed the envelope in his hand anxiously. It didn’t take too long before Jonghyun was stirring in his sleep, slowly gaining consciousness.

“Kibum? Wha-“ Jonghyun paused to muffle a yawn in his hand, his eyes trying to focus on Kibum even though they were tearing now from being squeezed, “-what are you doing here so early?”

“I was bored at home. Minho had to go to the city to meet some officers…” Kibum answered, turning on to his side to face Jonghyun.

Jonghyun nodded sleepily, understanding.

“He’s going through with his decision?” Jonghyun asked, his eyes slipping shut every once in a while.

“Yes. And I’m glad he is. So is his uncle apparently, since he’s going to be there to approve documents of some sort…” Kibum said, pondering over what he was saying himself. It was a bit strange, the relationship between Minho and his uncle. They never spoke to each other but on the rare occasion they did, Kibum noticed that it usually involved a lot of awkwardness from the General’s part, unfamiliar to conversing normally with people and not throwing insults or orders around. Minho was no better, always trying to keep the conversations short to get away as soon as possible because of how confused he felt around the man.

“They’re still like that, aren’t they?” Jonghyun asked, knowing all too well about what Kibum had been thinking of. Kibum nodded, agreeing. He had stopped blaming the General for his grandmother’s death a long time ago because of all the things the man had said and done. Kibum had never seen him as honest as he had been when he had told Minho that he truly did not order Minwoo to attack Kibum like he had the night his grandmother died, In fact, the General had gone as far as to investigate about the other two men that were with Minwoo and had taken them into custody of the military court under charges of committing hate crimes.

Kibum had a theory that the pain the General had experienced in his own life had turned him into a monster that preyed on Minho. But now that the white man realized it, he was trying to make things right again, only he was making very, very slow progress with it because regaining someone’s trust is, of course, very time-consuming.

“Hey, what’s that?” Jonghyun asked, lifting his head and propping it up on an elbow to look at the envelope in Kibum’s hand better.

Oh, right! What I came here for…

“Oh I saw this outside in your postbox. Here…” Kibum lied. No post service would be this fast, but at least Jonghyun was too careless to notice details as small as this.

“For me?” Jonghyun asked in surprise, taking the envelope to tear open at once. Kibum watched his eager best friend quietly, waiting for him to pull that white piece of paper inside that was typed out with a typewriter. Jonghyun began to read it, throwing the torn envelope off the bed.

By the time Jonghyun’s eyes reached the last line, there was a frown already settling on his brow. He began to read it from the top again, his frown lifting slowly as the words finally sank in.

“Hyung, what is it?” Kibum asked, feigning ignorance. He was not prepared at all for the elder to turn to him all of a sudden and tackle him into a fierce hug.

“They accepted me, Kibum! They hired me! It’s odd because just two weeks ago they said they didn’t have enough funding for another singer and now here is my five-year contract! Can you believe it Kibum?! I can’t believe this! It’s a miracle!”

Jonghyun’s shrieking was surely heard from even the garden downstairs. Kibum did nothing to stop the elder as he shook Kibum in excitement and disbelief, all rolled up into one huge emotion of ecstasy.

It’s a miracle. It’s also your father, hyung.

Jonghyun flailed around for a bit some more, kicking and screaming before he settled down long enough to read the contract again. He sat cross-legged on the bed, motionless as he went over every single word as though to make himself believe it.

“Hyung, congratulations! Seems like you made them realize that a funding problem was no reason to not accept with talent like yours…” Kibum said. He was truly happy for his best friend. This had been his dream all along. And although he did not know this, it is a dream that had finally come true because of his father and Jinki.

“His requests to me before he had disappeared had been to find his lost family and to bring them back, and to trust Jonghyun by allowing him to do what he loves, music. If only I had known what he was about to do then when he had asked me for these favours…” were the words full of regret that Jonghyun’s father had uttered to him just a few days ago.

“Hyung…” Kibum called the elder again when he did not answer. At this, Jonghyun looked up at him, eyes shining with tears, some of them already falling down his cheeks. He was smiling, though.

“Kibum, I did it. I can finally make a living myself now. I can take care of hyung’s family. I can make his wishes come true. I can sing for him, like he had always liked me to…”

Kibum was quiet as he pulled the other into a hug, allowing Jonghyun to cry more tears of joy and fulfillment.

“You have to give it to him, make sure he doesn’t find out about my role in this. It is all because of his talent that I had undermined for too long. I only carried out my duty as a father…”

“You deserve this, hyung. It’s about time that something good came to you…” Kibum said after a while.

“Will father accept? Do you think he will?” Jonghyun asked, pulling away and revealing his tear-stained face in the process.

Kibum smiled encouragingly at the elder for finally finding something to give meaning to his life once again.

“I have a strong feeling that he will, hyung…” Kibum admitted, putting a smile on the elder’s face.

“I think so too! I know Jinki hyung would be proud of me if he’s watching from wherever he is…”

“He would, hyung. So am I…”

Jonghyun smile grew wider at that, a sight Kibum hadn’t seen for weeks. At least, not a smile this sincere. Kibum was a little surprised when his best friend pulled him in suddenly and kissed him on the cheek.

“Kibum, promise me something…” Jonghyun started in a serious tone although he was still smiling. Kibum nodded, curious of Jonghyun change in tone.

“Promise me that you’ll love Minho every day like it’s your last. Savor every moment you spend with him to the fullest. There’s not a day that goes by without me wishing that I had been more honest with Jinki hyung about the way I felt for him. The regret is not something you want to feel, Kibum. I would know…”

Kibum looked at his best friend for a long time, baffled, before he answered.

“I… I will, hyung…” Kibum stuttered, getting choked up suddenly. Jonghyun patted him on the cheeks comfortingly. The roles were suddenly switched and Kibum didn’t even know how.

“Good. Just an advice I thought you’ll be needing… soon…” Jonghyun chirped, his mood lifting once again. Kibum did not even get a chance to question the mischief in his eyes as he had said that last sentence because the elder was suddenly leaning in to kiss his cheek again, before jumping off of the bed to go announce it to the world that he was now a professional singer.

Kibum never got around to asking about it the entire day.

Kibum bit his lower lip in concentration as he struggled to get rid of every wrinkle on the green uniform. The starched material had to be perfect for tomorrow. Kibum pressed the heavy and hot iron further into a particular crease near the collar that wouldn’t straighten out no matter what he did. The uniform was being as stubborn as its owner.

“Minho, I’m going to end up burning up you or myself if you continue distracting me like this…”

Minho ignored the warning and shifted even closer to Kibum, his legs bent a little on either of his sides as he placed his chin on Kibum’s shoulder. His hands were underneath Kibum’s shirt, tracing mindless circles on his stomach. He would press barely-there kisses every once in a while to the back of Kibum’s neck and nudge his nose into Kibum’s hair every other time, as though trying to sniff him in. It was a little distracting and distractions cause accidents.

“You do realize that no one’s going to come up to me and ask, ‘Minho, why is there a one inch crease below your collar?’, right?” Minho mumbled sleepily, his chin digging into Kibum’s shoulder with every word he spoke. Kibum glanced back at him, throwing the other a glare before returning to his work.

God, the metal ironing box is heavy!

“I just want my boyfriend to look presentable for his final day at his job. He should at least look decent enough to receive that Medal of Honor, right?”

“Are you saying that I look sloppy all the time?”

“Maybe.”

Minho grunted in disapproval, turning his head to bite the side of Kibum’s neck. Kibum almost sent the iron flying into his own legs that were crossed before the laid out uniform on the floor.

“Yah, look what you almost made me do!” Kibum shouted at him, chastising. Minho burst out laughing at that, bracing himself for Kibum’s barrage of hits.

The newly fixed up, wooden house became filled with high-pitched shrieking and low rumbling laughter. It floated in the still, winter cold air and moved to fill up every crevice of the otherwise empty house. The only other noises came from the crickets outside in the paddy field and from howling dogs much further away. It was particularly silent around the back of the house because of the absence of farm animals now, having been sold to the villagers quite some time ago.

Soon, the shrieking and the laughter died down, in favor of allowing other tell-tale sounds of lips smacking to fill the air instead.

“You’re handsome. Are you happy now?” Kibum bit the snarky remark off. He jutted his tongue out to mock the man below him, who he had barely pinned down to the beddings during the battle earlier.

“How sincere of you Kibum! I’m ecstatic, thank you!” Minho replied just as sarcastically, running his hands up and down Kibum’s thighs.

Kibum rolled his eyes, laying down properly on the other’s chest with their faces only inches apart but still not quite touching. He was straddling the other in a trapping hold to keep the other from moving too much.

“How did things go with Jonghyun hyung today?” Minho asked conversationally as a hand moved to slide the back of Kibum’s t-shirt up so that his fingers had more area to draw patterns over. Kibum reveled in the gentle grazing of those rough fingertips, pushing his own hands into the other’s hair and grabbing handfuls of it to play with.

“Good. He didn’t ask too many questions so I guess I did a good job of distracting him…”

“It’s a wonderful thing, what his father did for him even if it was against his own preference….” Minho mused, his eyes on the wood patterns of the beams on the ceiling.

“He only wanted the best for hyung. It took Jinki hyung to make him see that music is his passion, though. Jonghyun hyung cried, you know? He misses the man. Stupid war, stupid egos. Jinki hyung would still be here If only humans had gotten along from the start. Or at least stopped to think humanely…” Kibum said, frown searing into the other’s chest.

“I’m going to sound insensitive saying this, but it is the same war that brought me to you,” Minho stated.

“And it is the same war that almost took you away from me…” Kibum muttered lowly.

“Sometimes things have to get really bad before they got better, love. How else would we learn then? At least, now we know that this could be a lesson to the future generations so that something as terrible as this does not repeat itself…”

Minho was right. He is always so insightful when it came to things such as this whereas Kibum could only afford to see the immediate effects that are blaringly obvious. Even Kibum had to admit that, although he hated being wrong.

“Choi Minho’s a clever one, isn’t he?” Kibum teased.

“Of course! He has to keep the reckless Kim Kibum in check, right?” Minho said, matter-of-factly. Kibum lifted his head to give a look that said ‘Shut up before I bite your ear off’ and Minho answered with a look that said ‘Just try it and see’.

Staying true to his words, Kibum turned his head as he pushed up to sink his teeth into the shell of the other’s right ear, putting into action the meaning of the word ‘chew’.

“Ouch, Kibum!” Minho complained loudly, slapping his bottom, scolding. Kibum pulled back to smirk down at the other who was trying to soothe the teeth mark with a hand now.

“You’re so abusive!”

“You’re such a ert,” Kibum retorted, pushing back a little into Minho’s hand that was still on his bottom. He even had a thumb hooked underneath the elastic of his boxer to ‘innocently’ caress the skin underneath.

Minho looked slightly offended, looking away as he mumbled something along the lines of ‘…you’re still enjoying it…’ under his breath. Kibum laughed at that, kissing the exposed cheek to him before he lied back down on Minho’s warm skin.

“Tomorrow’s a big day, Minho. Are you excited?”

Minho seemed to consider the question for a while before he probably decided that he was, as Kibum felt him nod.

“Do you feel sad that you’re giving up the military life?” Kibum asked.

“Not at all, love. Why should I? I have done what I had to do for my country. Now, I’m only looking forward to a new life ahead. A life with you, in which you would finally be able to go to school like you always wanted and I could finally step out of my little world to discover new things…”

Minho sounded truly happy and that in itself was enough to make Kibum unbelievably happy as well.

“I’m so proud of you, Minho. I don’t think you can even comprehend how proud I feel right now…” Kibum admitted honestly.

“So am I of you, love. You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? My strong and brave love,” Minho cooed, like he would a small child.

“Yah, I’m not a baby!” Kibum scolded playfully.

“You are mine,” Minho said, smiling mischievously as his hand slipped further down his back, grazing the skin teasingly as he went. Kibum shuddered a little under the feather-light touch, his eyes turning dark, mirroring the other man’s exactly. The mischief was wiped off the soon-to-be ex-military man’s face as Kibum bowed his head down to ignite the passion between their lips once again.

They chased sleep away that night, falling in heated traps of lustful eyes and sweaty bodies, the descent into heaven feeling like the first time every single time.

Today is a day to celebrate. Today they are finally being set free. Today was the day just a couple of months ago, one would have described as a wild fantasy, impossible to ever be realized. Yet, here it was, in all its glory.

Minho stood in line, his uniform ironed to be free of even the tiniest of wrinkles, his boots shined to reflect the sunlight like a mirror would and his chest inflated with a final show of pride for his duty. Kibum’s most detestable part of the ensemble, the rifle, was slung on his left shoulder as the army carried out instructions in changing their formations from time to time.

“In the name of Her Majesty the Queen, we raise once again the Union Jack. Rise all!” the white man spoke in English, the only reason Kibum understood any of it being that Minho had taught him important phrases that he would need to know for this flag-raising ceremony.

Everyone who was not already standing (the VIPs seated at the front while the public was cheering loudly around the stadium) rose to their feet to honor the new flag being raised in place of the Japanese one to show the handing over of the Korean government back to the British.

True. This isn’t independence yet. Kibum was fully aware of this. Independence would be when Korean presidents ruled with the good of the people as their priority and not merely for economical benefits. But Kibum was also aware that being under the British was a huge step-up from any other country. He has read all those news about the United Nations’ plans of releasing countries from the hold of occupants so that they could have their own sovereigns and how Britain was in the forefront of this initiative. It gave him hope that true independence was near.

People have finally begun to see that there is no good that comes from oppression. People are beginning to realize that selfishness gains you only that much before you begin to lose the qualities that made you human in the first place. What good is power in the eyes of a crying mother who has lost her children or if it was the other way around? Nothing. Cruel acts only bring about cruel consequences.

With that said, it was a bit ironic that it also took one of the cruelest acts to end all the cruelty. Two bombs, two nuclear bombs to be exact, both hitting two major cities in Japan, killing hundreds of thousands and leaving millions more homeless and helpless, was what it took to end the Second World War. It turned out that an intervention of this proportion by the American army was able to not only demobilize all other active armies, but to also bring realization to the world of the monsters they had turned into.

Yes, the Japanese were cruel. But those who died in their country were humans too, right? There must have been babies, old people, lovers, parents, people of all walks of life there who had done nothing to hurt others but suffered such a horrible fate anyway.

When it finally got to the part of the ceremony where the army men who had served their country were awarded medals, Kibum was not the only one who went berserk. He came along with a whole group of people; Jonghyun, Taemin, Songdam noona, Jiyoung noona, Mrs. Lee, Jonghyun and Taemin’s fathers (who were currently standing at the VIP section with other important people). Everyone in the crowd in the stadium went wild, cheering for their family members who were now recognized as the nation’s heroes. Kibum was no different, leaving the formality and etiquettes to be followed by those VIPs while the rest of them, the commoners, showed their excitement freely. It was safe to say that his screaming rivaled even Jonghyun’s whenever the elder was trying to hit a high note in a song.

It was a day to celebrate, after all.

“Where’s Minho?” Kibum whined for the umpteenth time. He was tired and it was late and he had done enough screaming and cheering today to fall sleep for a whole day. The only thing keeping him from doing that is the absence of Minho and the strange extreme perkiness of Taemin.

“Told you, hyung. He had to do… something with the other army men…” Taemin said, looking like he was barely holding back from shooting off the couch and ricocheting off the walls with built up pressure.

“Why do you know this and I don’t? And please stop shaking your legs like that…” Kibum said, reaching over to slap Taemin’s thigh. Taemin stood up at that, taking to pacing instead of shaking his legs.

“I told you. He only managed to grab me in the crowd to tell about his whereabouts. He told me to pass the message on to you…” Taemin repeated what he has already told Kibum earlier. But Kibum was having a hard think time believing the younger because of how jumpy he seemed.

“What-“

“Oh Jonghyun hyung! Finally! How glad am I to see you?” Taemin said, immediately clinging onto Jonghyun’s arm as soon as the elder entered the living room. They whispered between each other for a bit, hitting each other lightly, trying to be inconspicuous as possible about it but failing as Kibum was gawking at them both intensely.

“Taemin, I think you have to use the restroom. Go. Use the restroom,” Jonghyun told him loudly. Taemin looked back at Kibum, smiling a little as he seemed to have calmed down a bit now. He turned around to leave but Kibum stood up quickly and caught the younger by his collar, pulling him back.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

“What-“

“Don’t lie!”

“Seriously-“

“Spill. Now. Both of you,” Kibum demanded, swatting off excuses before they were even uttered fully. The two of them looked like trapped mice about to be eaten by a cat, which is exactly what Kibum is planning to do at this rate. Or something along those lines.

“God, you two can’t keep a secret to save your lives, can you?” Songdam noona’s voice chimed from behind him and Kibum turned around to find the woman looking at the two boys disappointedly.

“What secret?” Kibum asked, letting go of his death grip on Taemin’s collar and Jonghyun’s arm.

Songdam noona sighed heavily before calling out to Jiyoung noona. Kibum watched in confusion as the older woman appeared at the doorway, now carrying a small cake in her hands.

“Guess the surprise is ruined now. Happy 20^th Birthday, Kibum!” she said, still wearing that disappointed look although she was smiling now.

All of them broke out into the birthday song then, Jonghyun’s father and Mrs. Lee along with the servants singing loudly (Jonghyun being obnoxiously loud and showing off impossible-to-follow techniques until Taemin started choking him to stop him) while he simply stood there dumbfounded.

“Happy birthday, Kibum!” Jonghyun’s father said, patting him on the shoulders like a father would, proud of his son that was all-grown-up. Mrs. Lee followed after, giving him a red packet of money. Kibum bowed respectfully before accepting it, the older woman catching him by surprise by pulling him in for a hug, only releasing him when his two dumb friends were tugging on his shirt insistently to have their turn to wish him.

“Happy birthday, hyung!” Taemin shouted into his ears as the three of them hugged.

“When did you all even think of this?” Kibum asked, holding the other two tightly, his smile so wide that he felt the muscle of his cheeks beginning to cramp up from how long he’s been holding it.

“Uhhh… Not too long ago…” Jonghyun answered hesitantly. Kibum didn’t have the heart to question the doubtful tone of his voice just then.

“Why now? Two months have already passed, hyung!” Kibum released the other two to look at them properly.

“You hit the big 2-0, Kibum. We couldn’t just let that go by without celebrating…” he answered, pulling him along to cut the cake, which ended up in a cream war between the three of them, Songdam noona suddenly getting herself involved somehow.

“Who’s gonna give hyung his birthday kiss?” Taemin asked out of the blue, reminding Kibum of something very important.

“Where is Minho? Isn’t he in on the surprise as well?” Kibum asked. The room fell awkwardly silent again. Kibum’s suspicion raised its head again.

“Oh well, looks like I’ll have to do it then,” Songdam noona announced all of a sudden, getting onto her feet and approaching Kibum. Kibum watched her with dread building up in his stomach.

“And scar him for life? Please, noona…” Jonghyun said, pulling Kibum behind him protectively. His sister looked annoyed.

“I’ll have you know that I gave him his first kiss…” she said, trying to prove Jonghyun wrong, shocking everyone in the room. Kibum watched Jonghyun’s father leave the room, shaking his head. He made a wise choice because he probably did not want to hear more of the secrets that are bound to be revealed now.

“I know. And I barfed afterwards, suffering alone. I will not let him relive that horror…” Jonghyun said, shocking only Kibum this time. He knew all along?

“Well, if you’re going to such a jerk about it, why don’t you do it instead, see how much he’ll like it then?!”

“Maybe I will!”

“Then do it!”

“I will!”

The back and forth shouting came to a stop when the usually quiet Jiyoung noona suddenly came up to Kibum and pecked him on his lips once. She smiled bashfully when she pulled away, Kibum blushing tomato red in embarrassment when everyone was staring at him as if he had committed some crime.

“Happy birthday, Kibum shii…”

Chaos ensued those words and Kibum became busy in trying to calm everyone down (why was everyone getting so worked up anyway, so protective over the timid lady that no one would have expected to do such a thing) becoming distracted from the fact that Minho was still not there.

Kibum stared at Jonghyun’s face for a long time, seated beside him in the car as the elder drove silently. When he got tired of staring at that face, he took to staring at the younger boy seated in the back seat through the rearview mirror. The younger had a face-splitting grin on his face and it was quite amusing to watch, for a while. It gets creepy after a while.

“You guys are not planning to kill me or something, right?”

No answer. A grunt from Jonghyun and a giggle from Taemin was all he received. Kibum sighed heavily, looking outside the window instead, watching the landscape whir past as they approached his house. Of all the times that Jonghyun had been protective of Kibum, this was the first time the elder had been this irrational about it.

Seriously, how many times has Kibum walked home by himself at night from Jonghyun’s place before for the elder to be so worried now, all of a sudden? He was practically hauled into the car, forcefully strapped into place and here he was, on the way home in the car.

Kibum’s paddy field came into sight and he unbuckled his seatbelt before the car even stopped, ready to get down, go home and sleep for a long, long time, preferably cuddling to Minho. But even if the other was still not there, Kibum supposed he could still sleep for that long with the exhaustion that he was feeling.

“Good night, hyung. Get Minnie home safely…” Kibum mumbled back to Jonghyun, as he began to walk down the dirt path between two plots of his paddy field. Getting closer to his house, Kibum finally noticed a figure standing close to where the hut at the center of his paddy field was.

“Minho. You’re back!” Kibum exclaimed, recognizing the other. He started towards him instead with his hands tucked into his pockets to protect them from the chilly air, smiling despite his exhaustion now. He could see Minho’s features well despite the weak moonlight. He saw that the other was smiling as well.

“You won’t believe what happened in Jonghyun hyung’s house today! They celebrated…. Minho, what is this?” Kibum’s steps slowed down to a halt, finally registering the reason it was not so dark around Minho. There were candles lighted up on the ground that were supplying the light for him to see. Looking closer, Kibum was able to read that the candles spelled out ‘Be Mine’.

The unmistakable sound of a guitar being played reached Kibum’s ears and he turned around to find his best friends standing at quite a distance from them, Jonghyun holding his guitar while Taemin stood beside him smiling gleefully like he has been the entire day.

“Minho, what’s all this?” Kibum asked, his brain hinting something at him that he chose to ignore for now, or at least until he heard the words physically to confirm his inklings. Minho looked as handsome as ever in a white dress shirt tucked into expensive looking pants that Jonghyun would wear to formal occasions with his father. He also seemed a little nervous even though he covered it up quite well with a confident smile.

Kibum took a step closer to Minho, eyebrows raised in question. Minho stood still, his right arm hidden behind his body.

“Kim Kibum, from the moment I met you, I think I always knew that you were going to be the bane of my existence. I know you would turn out to be the test that will push me to my limits, see how far I could go and then how much further I would will myself to go before I caved. I knew and I hated it. I was even a little scared of it? Because no one should ever hold that much control over me, right? Because if you had the power to make my heart stop with just a look into my eyes, as annoyed as you were the first time we met, then imagine what more you could do to me…”

Kibum blinked stupidly, processing what he was hearing slowly, dissecting each word for all it was worth before he took it all in. He heard Jonghyun’s sweet voice singing a slow song that spoke of never-ending love.

This is really happening, isn’t it?

“But then I slowly realized that perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps, you were made to test me, not to break me but in fact, to make me stronger. And that’s what you have done for me, Kibum. I never knew strength until I met you. I never knew passion until the day you kissed me. I never knew how to live until the day you saved me. I realized that perhaps you were the bane that I was blessed with by God…”

Kibum blinked back the tears so that they wouldn’t cloud his vision. He wanted to remember everything. He wanted to remember how Minho’s eyes met his with so much love that it connected the other man to his very soul. He wanted to remember how beautiful his voice sounds as he laid his heart out for Kibum to take. He wanted to remember the way Jonghyun hyung’s song was making all of this that much more intimate. He needed to remember it all.

“You have lost a lot, Kibum. All the love you deserve, it was taken from you too soon, too cruelly. I know that I may not be adequate but I love you. I want to give you the world, just like you have for me…”

Kibum muffled a sob in a hand to not ruin the atmosphere.

“You are the reason I breathe now, love…” Minho said, bringing the hand that he had been hiding behind his back to the front. Kibum inhaled sharply at the sight of the familiar ring. Minho’s mother’s ring.

“So I ask you this now, although I can’t really get down on my knees, with all the stars in the sky looking down upon us and in this place that you first punched me…”

Kibum laughed a little at that, uncovering his mouth as a tear slipped past the corner of his eye. Minho took both his hands into his, the cold circlet pressing into the palm of his scarred left hand. His jet black orbs were peering into Kibum’s very essence, his smile lighting up places in Kibum’s body that would never see daylight.

Sounds of the song in the background were breaking at places, its singer unable to hold back tears of his own probably.

“Will you continue to be the bane of my existence until I exist no more?”

The answer was as clear as the sun in the day and no one really had to hear the word to know it. Still, Kibum had whispered the single syllable into the still air between them, feeling blessed by his loved ones as they twinkled brightly from up above, feeling loved by his friends, feeling completed by the man before him.

For everything bad that life has given Kibum, he had received one good thing to keep him going. Where war and love had failed to be fair, life had ultimately chosen to be so for him and for that, Kibum was eternally grateful.

The end beginning

(A/N) The finale! Ta-da-da-da-da-RAH!!!! Happy with the ending? Disappointed? Please, please, please tell me what you think lovely readers! I hope if you have been silent all this time that you would at least comment now... 'Cause it makes me VERY happy?? 'Cause it'll make the hard work of editing and re-editing and re-editing a gazillion times worth it?

Alright, down to business now... My *coughcough* thank you speech---->

Thank you to all of you who has read my humble story that I know I took too long to finish (10 months, I didn't believe it when I realised it either.) It doesn't matter when you began to read this, just know that you are all appreciated for reading and commenting on this story that I didn't believe even ten ppl would want to read... I have more than 100 subscribers now and that is a very fulfiiling achievement. 

This is not written all that excellently, I know. Not anything close to masterpieces I have read written by people who should really consider dropping their profession to become a full-time author. But what I wanted through this is to bring something new to the table while still keeping a lot of fluff, a lot of cliches (i hope I didn't make anyone cringe painfully), a lot of DRAMA, a little of (I die of embarassment when I go back to read what I wrote. DId I really write those? OTL) to make my readers happy, even if that happiness lasted until only a while after they read my story. I wanted to touch hearts (ambitious, I know) by not only showing love between lovers, but also within a family, best friends, even strangers sometimes. I hope I accomplished these goals I set for myself... :D

And to the people who have been with me through this journey, sharing their feedbacks with me, telling me how much they like it- you have no idea how GOOD that feels. These are among the people that I must must MUST thank!

@jess_mmam ~ A darling reader who has been with me from the very BEGINNING, commenting on EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER! I love you so much for bearing with me through all this time! You always left me such detailed comments of what you thought, being the window into my readers' minds! Your faithfulness is so commendable and just know that you have made one person VERY VERY HAPPY! ME! Your lengthy, heartfelt comments are so sincere and they touch my heart every time I read them. I love you very much dear! <3

@atkluna ~ A dear reader that I am now married to and had babies with too, apparently... O.o Time after time you confess your love to me, and time after time I am ever so grateful for it! You always comment on not only this story but almost ALL my stories.  Your comments are always so encouraging and at the same time they help me learn because you pick up on things that I make mistakes on (probably because you're a writer yourself). I love you so much dear!!! Let's make more babies!!! O.o Hehehe...  <3

@anata_wa_shinda ~ A reader I grew close to halfway through the story but lost contact after a while. We used to have so much fun talking about philosophies and stuff. I guess you became too busy to comment but I hope you still read my story and I just had to thank you for giving me so much encouragement! I love you! <3

@shinestarsky ~ First reader to become an unnie to me!!! You not only read and commented on my stories, but you even offered to translate this into your language and made this lovely poster for me! I am ever so grateful to you for everything that you have done for me, unnie!! Fighting!! <3

@Jooniie ~ A fairly new friend I made through my stories. You came to me like whirlwind because one day I woke up and i had comments from you on three(?) different stories of mine. You even offered to help me with my german when I was desperate! I am so very grateful to you my dear for all your support and encouragement!! Ich liebe dich auf immer und ewig!!! <3

and last but not least....

@LittleBee ~ My newest friend here on AFF who I am ever so grateful to for so many things! Your first comment on my story was soooooo long and it reminded me of one of the main reasons why I started writing in the first place. To let someone see my OTP like I do!!!! MINKEY!!!  You are always so kind, helping when I need it the most, spazzing with me over things, even sharing the same thoughts with me over a lot of things...Ich bin immer sehr dankbar zu dir! Du weisst schon meine Liebe fuer dich, oder?! Hehehe... XD

And to those I did not mention by name here, it is only because my (A/N) will be longer than the chapter if I don't stop here and because I don't want to keep this chapter from you guys any longer. Still, I appreciate all of you, my dear readers, old, new, commenters, silent ones- ALL OF YOU! My gift to you is the flood of Minkey moments lately. They are telling us this- "Why are you writing fanfics for us? Watch us write our own fanfics!" OTL THE FEEEEELSSSS!!!!!

Also thanks to these lovelies~~~ 

@keybummie_, @wuggypie, @kawaling, @hardkoreluv, @ vampireme12, @eileee @aucklandnz91, @desyta

Have a great day ahead guys!!! Hope to see you guys in another story soon... <3