When Kyungsoo opened his eyes, feeling like days had passed, it was dark, almost pitch-black. He was tempted to go back to sleep again, but decided against it with a sigh of exhaustion. Kyungsoo roughly rubbed his eyes, but when he bent his right elbow, he felt something on the crook.

His other arm reached to feel it. It was a cotton ball taped to his skin.

Had he gotten an IV drip?

With a groan, Kyungsoo squinted and cleared his vision, looking around the dark room for some source for what time it was. He located a clock, with bright, lime green numbers, staring at him in the corner of the room that clearly wasn’t his. 9:30 pm.

He had been unconscious for hours.

Kyungsoo had no idea what happened after his episode. He had never passed out before in his life, much less of shock from big news. He figured that that only happened in the dramas they broadcasted all the time. Finally gaining the will power, Kyungsoo threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, his legs slightly shaky.

He located the door, turning it open. Immediately, he noticed a familiar staircase, and knew instantly that he was in Kai’s house, and that he had just left his lover’s room. Making his way down the stairs with difficulty, Kyungsoo wandered into the living room.

Joonmyun was sitting on the couch alone, Jaesu nowhere to be seen. As soon as he saw Kyungsoo, though, he stood up. Kyungsoo bowed from the neck with difficulty. “Hi,” he mumbled.

“I was beginning to wonder when you were going to wake up,” he teased with a mehrong. “You feel better, Kyungsoo?” he asked, now sounding concerned.

Kyungsoo lied. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Nothing to eat or drink?”

Kyungsoo shook his head. “I’m okay, Joonmyun-sshi. Thank you.”

Joonmyun smiled warmly. “Oh, and if you’re wondering, Kai took a little walk… you might find him in the park behind the house. He likes to go there with Sehun sometimes.”

With a bow, Kyungsoo smiled weakly. “Thank you. Oh, and…” He gestured to the cotton on his elbow. “What is this from?”

His expression faltered. “Oh. We took you to the hospital and they put you on a drip to get some fluid back in you. You don’t remember that?” When Kyungsoo shook his head, he continued. “You were completely exhausted, Kyungsoo. Maybe you should go back to bed instead,” he realized with furrowed eyebrows.

Once again, Kyungsoo shook his head. “I will at my own house after I find Kai. Thank you for taking care of me, Joonmyun-sshi.”

“Hyung,” Joonmyun corrected with a smile.

Kyungsoo grinned. “Right. Joonmyun hyung. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay. Annyeong.”

“Annyeong,” Kyungsoo called once he slipped on his jacket and shoes, which were thrown messily on the foyer. He left the house and shut the door behind him, instantly hit with the freezing breeze of the December night.

He shuddered, pulling his hoodie closer to his less-than-okay body. He had been losing sleep before and after the exams, so maybe that bit of news was enough to throw him over the edge of being perfectly fine and belonging in a hospital with a drip. Kyungsoo had to remember to take the cotton off of his arm when he got home.

Finally stumbling on the park, Kyungsoo squinted, searching with his eyes for the boy he was trying to find. Surprisingly, he found him, head bent, sitting on a swing and kicking the gravel underneath his feet around. Kyungsoo fought through the wind to get to him, feeling his nose getting numb with every step.

Kai still didn’t notice him walking. Kyungsoo noticed with a disapproving sigh that Kai had put a t-shirt on over his wife beater, but that was the only difference.

“You know, if you keep doing this to yourself, you’re going to get a cold. Ever heard of a jacket?”

Immediately, Kai’s head shot up, and Kyungsoo was shocked to find that his eyes were red, possibly from crying. He smiled weakly. “Sorry. I’m not fond on jackets.”

“I see that,” Kyungsoo retorted with a smirk, taking the swing next to Kai’s. He kept looking away and avoiding eye contact. There was an awkward silence as they both kicked the material under their feet, until Kai spoke up, his voice quiet.

“This isn’t good for you either, considering your condition.”

“I feel fine, just tired,” Kyungsoo mumbled. His curiosity broke the surface. “Okay, why do you look like you’re crying? And you never go to this park unless you’re in a bad mood. Talk.”

Kai looked away again, biting his lip. It was also trembling. “It’s… nothing. It’s probably what you came here to talk to me about, anyway, so there’s no use admitting to it.”

“What are you talking about?”

Kai turned to him. Tears were welling in his beautiful eyes. “Kyungsoo, I ruined your education. Possibly your future dreams, because I was stupid enough to give you some alcohol before an important testing day. How you’ve managed to keep from yelling at me is a mystery to me, because I honestly deserve it. I’ve honestly risked your health, for god’s sake.” He was shaky. “If you break up with me now, I’ll learn to move on, because this is all my fault. I’m so sorry.”

Kyungsoo didn’t know what to say. Of course, Kai was right; but the fact that he had owned up to it astounded him. “Don’t be stupid, Kai. How do you really think this is going to ruin my education?”

He wiped his eyes and sniffed. This was so unlike Kai; he was usually comforting the other. “Think about it. They’re going to see the probation on your record when you apply for jobs.”

Kyungsoo laughed. “Kai, you’re overreacting.”

“No I’m not! You have every right to be mad at me.”

“Listen to me. I’m undecided, Kai. I have no idea what I want to do with my life. My parents don’t live by me, they don’t command me what to do. I don’t want to be a doctor or a teacher or any of the big jobs that most parents pressure their kids to be. I don’t know what I want to do with my life. The fact that I only had a semester of college is a good thing; you probably saved me a lot of useless studying. You have no reason to be upset with yourself. Now that I think about it, jumping into college was a stupid idea. I need a career choice first. So don’t beat yourself up. I can take these two years to find out what I want to do, and then I can go after it,” Kyungsoo finished, staring at his lover the whole time.

Kai looked hesitant to speak. “So you’re not mad at all?” he mumbled, his voice hoarse.

Kyungsoo grabbed his numb hand and squeezed it. “No. Of course not.”

Smiling weakly, Kai squeezed back, and they stood up from the swings. Now the attention was on the sick one. “I should get you home, Kyungsoo. This can’t be good for you; you’re not well.”

Kyungsoo nodded, and when they got back to Kai’s house, he got in the passenger seat while Kai went inside to tell Joonmyun where he would be. When he came back, he grinned. “Guess who’s staying the night?”

Eyes wide, Kyungsoo stared at him. “He doesn’t care?”

Kai shook his head proudly. “He even suggested I stay because you’re sick. In your state, he knows you’re too weak to pull anything that wouldn’t let me stay,” he teased, sticking his tongue out. Kyungsoo playfully rolled his eyes and Kai ignited the engine of his car.

With all of the drama out of the way, Kyungsoo felt his exhaustion catch up to him, and when he rested his head on the window, he was out in seconds.

~*~

“Kyungsoo… Hyung, wake up~”

Kyungsoo opened his eyes suddenly, looking up. Kai was grinning at him, the passenger door wide open, the apartment in view behind him. He stuck out his hand, and Kyungsoo unbuckled his seatbelt, his face red. When he got on his feet, he stumbled a bit, causing Kai to stick his hand out in front of Kyungsoo. “You okay there?”

“Y-Yeah, fine,” he sighed, scratching his head. They slowly made their way to the apartment, and Kyungsoo dug they key out of his pocket, shoving it into the lock and going inside. It was pitch black and freezing due to the lack of the heater, so he flicked the lights on.

Kai shut the door and they both kicked their shoes off in the foyer. Kyungsoo plopped down on the couch, his being numb from the cold and the lack of sleep making his eyes droop. Kai grumbled and sat down next to Kyungsoo, wrapping his arms around him and kissing his forehead. “Want to go to bed?”

“But you’d be all alone if I did,” Kyungsoo mumbled, burying his face into Kai’s shoulder.

“Who said I wasn’t sleeping in your bed tonight?” Kai asked. When Kyungsoo looked up at him, he winked.

“You’re a creep.”

“No I’m not! I’m not pulling anything.”

“Whatever. I’m going to bed with you tonight, since you obviously need a lot of sleep to make up for you not getting much this past week,” Kai ordered. “Now or later?”

Kyungsoo yawned.

“Now it is,” Kai answered quickly.

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, but followed him to the bedroom.

~*~

“Kyungsoo hyung?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“You’re really not mad?”

Kyungsoo snuggled closer to Kai. “No, of course not.”

“Good... oh, and hyung?”

There was no answer. Kyungsoo had already fallen asleep.

Kai simply shrugged and kissed his head.

“Night, baby.”

~*~

I tried to write this quickly, since I'm not really available the rest of the week. :b

Thank you guys for commenting so much! It really helps me keep going. <3