He looked quizzically at the duffel bag in Minki’s hand for a moment; then he noticed with horror that the boy had a bruise on his cheekbone, and that he had obviously been crying.

“What happened?”

Minki placed the bag next to Jonghyun’s hospital bed and sat down with a weary sigh. It had been ten days since the surgery and the brunette was recovering fast. He had been laughing in triumph when the doctors had informed him that his blood type had changed and that the rare infection was gone. Minki almost hadn’t left his side during that time.

“I’m going to stay here with you for a while”.
“Why? What’s in that bag?”
“My clothes and my school books. I’m not going back home”.

“But Minki, you can’t just…”
“Actually I can…” He bit his lip and Jonghyun could see his eyes tear up. “I don’t have a home anymore, my parents kicked me out”. Even though he tried, he couldn’t help but sob the last three words and he started to wipe his eyes, angry with himself.

“Why? Oh God Minkiah… That’s terrible!” There was nothing he wanted more than to place his arms around the blonde and hug him as tight as he could, but he was sitting too far away.

“I think I knew it would happen sooner or later” he muttered heart-broken. “I was never number one in my class and I never had much of a social life, not in their opinions anyway… They were always annoyed because I’m sick all the time, too. And when I dyed my hair they got really mad at me, they hated that I was always so girly looking, and then… then I ran off to The States without saying anything and I had to tell them about you…” He cut off, shivering from pent crying. Jonghyun couldn’t bear to watch anymore.

“Come over here” he whispered and Minki slowly obeyed, his legs numb and unsteady. When he was in the reach of Jonghyun’s arms the older boy pulled him close and made him lay on the bed next to him, cradling him helplessly.

“When I told them I had a boyfriend my father couldn’t control himself any longer and he punched me… And then he told me that Minhee had always been their favourite and that I was just a disappointment to them” he cried incoherently into Jonghyun’s pillow. “He said that from the day she died they became childless… I shouldn’t seek to call them my mum and dad again…”

“Minki…” Jonghyun felt as if someone was squeezing his heart with an iron fist. “I promise that you can stay with me. And when I’m discharged from here you can live in my parents’ house. They’ll understand”.

“Hyung, I couldn’t ask that of you…” Minki tried but Jonghyun hushed at him, placing a finger on his plump lips to make him stop talking.

“You don’t have to ask. Okay? If this is what we have to do to carry on, then it’s nothing. Besides, I don’t mind having you close”. He placed a peck on Minki’s cheek and the younger one snuggled up to him, as a child seeking protection.

“I love you Jonghyunah… I really really do”.

Aron couldn’t help but stare a bit enviously at the ring on Minki’s finger as they walked home from school together.

“Do you like it hyung?” Minki smiled when he noticed Aron’s gaze.

“I do, yes. I think I should get a pair for me and Minhyun actually. Do you think he’d want that?”
“Coming from you? He’s going to cry, you know it” he laughed in response, looking happily down at the little silver ring. Then the smile vanished and he frowned a bit when a twinge ran through him. “Jesus, not again.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Headache. I stayed up too late last night I suppose. Had to write that infinite paper for history class, it took forever… Do you have a painkiller by any chance?”
“Sure”. Aron took out a small glass of pills and they stopped while Minki swallowed one of them.

“Thank you”. He leaned on the fence of the bridge, looking absentminded for a while. “Any news about Fisher?” he asked suddenly, still looking at the water. Aron shook his head.

“The police won’t give him up, they’ve got too much on him. Not only the kidnapping, but also a lot of other stuff. They pinned the murder on our former teacher on him as well and his apartment wasn’t exactly clean either… He’ll be convicted tomorrow, they’re aiming for a life time sentence…”

He sighed meekly and placed himself next to Minki.

“I’m sorry to hear that…”
“Yeah, it’s horrible. He was a really good friend and I can’t even help him at all. I feel so useless…” He forced out a bleak smile and looked down. None of them said anything for a long time.

A lot of people passed by without looking at them, cars drove by, too. Beneath them the water floated steadily, the tranquil sound of it almost impossible to hear in the noise from the city. Then Minki took a deep breath without tearing his gaze from the water.

“How long have you known?”
Aron looked puzzled at his sad expression for a moment.

“About Fisher?...”
“About me Aron”. Minki sighed and finally looked at the older one again. “How long have you known without telling me?”

He couldn’t look the blonde in the eyes as he answered with a slight tremble in his voice.

“I always knew”.

“Always?”
“Ever since we found out that you were a Helix”.

Minki nodded tiredly. The wind was playing with his long hair that he had forgotten to put up into the regular ponytail. His pouty little mouth made him look unintentionally glum.

“I see… I suppose I’m actually a bit relieved that you didn’t tell the others about it. This way things will stay as they are for as long as possible, right?”
“Yes. I guess you want me to keep on not telling the others?”
“It’s better that way. I’ll tell them when it’s time so please don’t act differently from usual or anything just because I know now… Everything is going to be fine”.

Aron couldn’t control himself. He grabbed Minki’s hands and clenched them, looking devastated at the younger boy. Such beauty… His luscious milky skin and those small rose petals as lips. At that moment he hated nature, he hated God, he hated everything possible that had made Minki a Helix.

“How can you say everything’s gonna be fine when you… when you…” There was no way he could say the words. If they were spoken out loud they would become real and utterly inevitable.

“Because I say so” Minki answered silently. His dark eyes were begging Aron to understand. “If I don’t know that you’re going to be all right, then how could I possibly be able to leave with my mind at peace?”