By the time they were on the plane from Shanghai to Seoul, Henry knew absolutely nothing had changed for the better.

The young man had shrunken into his seat, desperately trying to hide away from a reality he couldn't change anymore. He felt drained and spent despite having slept for almost the entire time until then. He hadn't thought it was possible, but he had slept throughout most of the flight from Toronto to Shanghai and then he had still slept a lot during their stay in Shanghai.

The seatbelt signs above their heads went on again and Henry's grip on Zhou Mi's tightened. No, he didn't want to land! He didn't want reality to become an inevitable problem. And most of all, no matter what he had told Ryeowook, no matter how glad he was to have met Zhou Mi, he didn't want to hear Leeteuk's diagnosis the next day! When he had left, he had still had about one and a half months left. One and a half months until Leeteuk had been certain he wouldn't make it anymore, until he'd be bound to either a wheelchair or his home - in other words, until he would try to make Leeteuk stick to his promise. Henry was certain the odds had changed by that time. Had Canada been to much for him? Did his body really punish him for having wanted to see his best friend?

Zhou Mi's thumb gently caressed the back of Henry's hand, but it didn't help the younger man calm down his heart rate or his thoughts - and it neither helped him regain the energy to be strong, to appear as energetic as he had been the past week.

His stomach growled, but Henry ignored it just like before. He knew the last thing he had eaten had been the tomato soup Ayley had made for them. Since then, it was mainly thanks to Zhou Mi that he had drunk anything at all. The other had gotten him smoothies and some juice so he had more than his vitamin pills that he could take and that actually tasted like something. If it hadn't been clear before, Henry knew by then that he'd never be able to thank Zhou Mi enough for all of the things he did for him. And he knew at least in this life he wouldn't be able to make up for them either. All he could do was cling to his believe of reincarnation and that they would find each other again in their next lives.

"Sungmin-hyung will pick you up, won't he?" he asked eventually to try and distract himself.

"Yes, he will."

"That's great. It'll be good to see him again."

"If you don't mind, we may come by for a visit tomorrow in the afternoon."

Henry nodded stiffly. "Sure, that would be nice." He was certain he'd take any kind of distraction he could get the next day.

"Call me whenever you want us to come over, okay?"

"Don't you have work tomorrow?"

"I do, but I'll only talk to my boss in the morning. I'll join the others during their practice afterwards to see how they're doing and if they've been doing well this past week, so I can take my leave in between if I want to."

"Will you tell them I said 'hi'?"

"Of course I will."

Henry nodded once more. He was certain SHINee would have missed their manager a lot and that they would also be happy to hear from him. "If they ask about me, just tell them I'm doing alright, okay?"

"I will. Don't worry, I wouldn't tell them any details."

"Thank you, Zhou Mi."

"No need to thank me for such a small thing."

"But you're doing so much for me!"

"Of course I am." With the way the older's eyes moved around for a moment, Henry knew Zhou Mi would have given him a different reply if they had been somewhere else. Probably a more specific reply. He sighed, unhappy with how stuck up this country seemed to him all over again.

"I really do like Canada better..."

"I know, I understand Henry. I'm sure someday China and South Korea will catch up."

"I hope they will..."

They talked further about nonesense until they were finally able to get their luggage. That was probably the best thing about travelling in a small plane: everything seemed to go fast since there weren't all that many people to take care of.

When they stepped out of the passengers only area and into the area where people were waiting to pick up their friends or family, Henry looked around to try and find his parents or Sungmin. Before he had succeeded, Zhou Mi already motioned for him to follow him to the left. A moment later, Henry also spotted the others, yet he couldn't smile. Reality had him back.

Somehow his lips were able to form a smile when they arrived at the end of their walkway where Sungmin met them. They just got out of the exiting path when the other hugged both of them. "Mi-hyung, Henry!! You're finally back!" he exclaimed cheerfully. "How was Canada?"

Zhou Mi quickly took over, apparently sensing Henry didn't feel like making conversation at that moment. "Canada was really nice."

"It was? You have to tell me all about it!"

"Won't you let Henry's parents welcome their son back first?"

"Ah, I'm sorry." Sungmin and Zhou Mi bowed towards Kangin and Sooyoung respectfully, Henry on the other hand hugged his parents, even though he felt a little awkward doing so.

They all slowly went to Kangin's car together. Henry wasn't allowed to carry any of his belongings while mainly Sungmin and Zhou Mi chatted about Canada and about what they had done there. Henry himself only spoke up when he was talked to directly, using the rest of his energy to keep that smile plastered on his face and try and truly convince everyone that he, too, was glad to be back.

They dropped Zhou Mi and Sungmin off at the Chinese man's apartment complex and then drove back to the small house in the poorer area waiting for them. Henry excused himself to go to his room, saying he was tired after the long flight and the long stay in China. He figured he could still talk to his parents later that day. Instead of resting, though, he played the violin a little and then checked his emails on his phone. There was only one - it was from Ryeowook. Henry clicked on it just to be greeted with cursing - cursing that Henry hadn't said anything, that he was an idiot, that he should have simply stayed since he didn't have much time left anyways, and finally begging to keep in touch for as long as possible and Ryeowook saying he regretted not having spent even more time with Henry. He took his time answering, wanting to ensure his best friend that it was fine, that he couldn't be happier because after all they did make up again, they did see each other once more after all those years.

Henry slept a lot again that night and even almost missed the doctor's appointment the next morning because he procrastinated for just a little too long. His mother was far from relaxed when they finally arrived at the hospital, yet she at least agreed on staying in the waiting room once it was Henry's turn.

Almost half an hour passed until a nurse came to the waiting area and called Henry's name. The Canadian hadn't seen that nurse before, but since he was mainly in one area of the hospital, he figured it was no surprise that he didn't really knew the others.

He at down in the examination room and didn't have to wait for long until doctor Park entered the room as well. They made eye contact for a moment, then Henry looked down again.

"This doesn't look like good news..." Leeteuk commented slowly as he closed the door, then he went to sit in his chair and quickly revive the computer. "How was Canada?"

"It was good. Really good. But... it almost seems like I used the majority of my remaining energy for it..."

"How so?"

"I slept almost the entire time on a 15 hour flight and also during the majority of our equally long stay in Shanghai where we had to stay the night because we couldn't get a flight back to Korea on Saturday."

Their eyes met again and Henry could already see the bad news in Leeteuk's eyes. The Canadian young man looked down again, but he still heard Leeteuk stand up. "Let's run a quick check up and see if you're right about your energy level."

Henry nodded and simply let the doctor guide him through the test that he had gone through so many times already. At least since they were only small tests that didn't give away too many details, Leeteuk was able to also tell him the results right away.

When they were done with the examination, the doctor sat down next to him with a deep sigh. Henry hang his head, quietly waiting for what would happen next. The atmosphere in the room got darker the more slow seconds ticked by.

Eventually, Doctor Park spoke up again, "Henry, right now there are only two things left for me to do: one is to increase the medication you're taking, even though that might make you feel even more tired. The other is to beg you to stay at home as much as you can or have someone drive you wherever you need to go." Feeling the older's eyes on him, Henry looked up again and gulped at the expression on the other's face. He had never before seen the doctor this serious. "If you want to see this year's Christmas, Henry, I need you to follow those instructions, okay? Watch nature documentaries, sit down by the window. If you go out, make sure to be dressed warmly and to have someone accompany you if possible. You were most likely right and your body used up most of its remaining energy for this trip. Things will become a lot harder for you from now on, please be aware of that. And please, Henry, please don't underestimate this. Do you understand?"

The Canadian felt his heart sink with every word the doctor said until he wasn't even sure it was still beating inside him. He felt a deep need to just scream and cry, but he remained quiet for a couple of seconds. "If I don't... how much time would I have left?" he asked and could hear his voice break.

"If you don't, you'd realize that it might already be a challenge for you to take your walk to the river and back without having to take breaks in between."

Henry looked down, trying to process the news. He was as good as dead. He had known time was running out, but now? This soon? No freedom anymore? Bound to one place? "But..