About a month later, Donghae was sitting alone in the living room, his legs pulled up onto the sofa as he hugged his knees and tried to fight back tears. Hyukjae and his family were leaving tomorrow. Donghae felt like he had done the biggest mistake of his life for deciding that he would spend almost all of his time with the said redhead until they couldn't see each other again.

                Over the past month, the two had gotten impossibly attached to one another and it was almost impossible to separate them for just a few hours. It was really sad, when he thought about it. He thought that by spending more time with Hyukjae now that he could, it would be easier for his to let go for a while.

No. He was very wrong.

                   The two ate, studied, snuggled, kissed, hugged, and showed all sorts of affection to each other over the past few weeks, and slept over almost every weekend, and when they weren't together, one of them would call the other and they would just speak together for hours on the phone, and end up not sleeping all night long at times.

                   Donghae couldn't take it anymore, he let out a strangled sob and tears started flowing like a river down his flushed cheeks. He wasn't ready to let go just yet. How could he simply let go of Hyukjae after six months of staying together and almost never leaving each other's sides? It was too impossible.

                    The younger knew that he would be hurt and possibly even depressed if Hyukjae wasn't there with him, he knew he would go back to his old self. He knew he would not sleep in peace at nights, he knew he would stop studying, he knew he would never laugh or even smile as much, and he knew it'll all just go back to the way it was before Hyukjae came along.

                    Sure, he had his friends. Heechul, Kyuhyun, and Siwon were amazing- Even Hyoyeon, now that they had gotten closer, but they weren't like Hyukjae. It was true that they always showed their affection for him, especially Siwon and Heechul, but it just wasn't the same. It wasn't the same as the sense of warmth and security that Hyukjae provided him by just smiling in his direction. He honestly felt so selfish for thinking that way- but he couldn't deny the truth.

                Donghae was startled when the front door started opening. One of his parents was probably home already. Donghae started panicking- He didn't want to show his weak side to either of his parents- Donghwa was already enough.

                 Before Donghae could even wipe his tears, the door was gently opening, and to his dismay, he heard his dad's voice, "I'm home!" The younger quickly hid his face into his arms, and then settled them over his knees, not wanting to make any noises, even if they were just as simple as sniffling. He heard footsteps coming near him and his eyes fluttered shut, hoping that his somewhat strict dad doesn't notice how messed up and broken he seemed.

                  He felt a big hand on his shoulder, pinching it gently, "Son?" At hearing his dad's voice, Donghae immediately swallowed the sob threatening to escape his lips. "Hae, are you okay?" Donghae abruptly felt the sides of his head being lifted up from his arms, exposing his pathetic, weak state to his hero.

                 Without thinking twice, Donghae immediately stood up and stumbled into his father's embrace, wrapping his arms around the older man's neck and sobbing loudly, finally letting all his emotions out at once. As sad as it may sound, he wanted his dad to know how upset and hurt he was; he wanted to be comforted.

                The old man was obviously taken aback by the sudden outburst but immediately composed himself and wrapped his strong arms securely  around his son's frame in a protective manner, "Hey, tell me what's wrong, son. Did you get into a fight with anyone?" Donghae shook his head, "N-No."

                Donghae slowly let go of his dad and wiped his eyes quickly and looked down in shame, "S-Sorry, Dad…for being a crybaby." His dad chuckled and ruffled his hair, "Hey, only real men cry. Now tell me, what happened? You're getting me pretty worried…"

                 Donghae sighed and continued staring at his shoes, "Dad…What's going to happen to me when he leaves tomorrow?" The old man seemed a bit confused at first but then he connected the dots and knew who the younger was talking about. He knew what Donghae needed right now- all he needed was someone to listen to him.

                    He sat down on the sofa and pulled his son down next to him and slowly rubbed the small of his back in soothing patterns, "Talk to me." Donghae rested his head on his dad's broad shoulder and sighed once more, "We've grown too attached together, Dad. We've become too inseparable by now, and now that he's leaving in less than twenty-four hours, I know that I won't be able to be the same anymore. I know that my life will go back to the way it was before he appeared."

                    Donghae paused for a moment, trying to recompose himself to avoid another breakdown, "I-I mean, I never really wanted Hyukkie to leave. If it were for me, I would've told him to just stay here in Seoul and never even think about moving away, but then again, who am I to tell him what to do? It's selfish and unfair to tell him to stay with me, he has to go and chase and accomplish his dreams, Dad. I should be the last person holding him back. I should be the one pushing him on, encouraging him to move forward and make a successful person out of himself- But I guess I'm too much of a baby to be unable to stay alone. I'm too much of a baby that I can't even let him go and do what's better for his future. I'm too much of a baby that I'm too afraid to live without him. I'm just a big baby."

                  Donghae sniffled as his dad leaned back onto the sofa, and because Donghae was resting on his shoulder, he ended up being dragged over too. The old man sighed, "Hae, you're not a baby. You're just a normal human being with feelings, you know? You should be strong for Hyukjae, you should be brave and happy that he'll be leaving, or else, he'll end up getting really worried about your well-being and won't live in peace. You know the boy all too well."

                   Donghae smiled at that and nodded slowly, "I do. Besides, I was the one who promised to wait for him, and I have to stay with that promise. We have to stay together until the very end, until he has done everything he wished for. Even if it takes me ten years, I'll wait for him." The younger vowed as fresh tears involuntarily rolled down his cheeks.

                   His dad chuckled and ruffled his hair once more, "That’s more like it." Donghae smiled sadly before speaking up softly with a guilty look on his face, "I'm sorry for wasting a lot of your time complaining uselessly about my miserable life." The old man laughed and patted his son's shoulder, "That's what I'm here for, son. But never hesitate to talk to me or your mom when something's bothering you, okay?"

                      Donghae smiled and nodded lightly before pecking his dad's cheek, grabbing his jacket and rushing out of the house. Almost as soon as Donghae was out of their front yard, his hair and thin clothes were soaked by the pouring rain. Donghae cursed himself mentally for not noticing that it was raining heavily earlier.

                     He quickly put his jacket on so carelessly to the point that it was hanging from his shoulder on the right side and almost falling completely off of his torso, and then ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the redhead's familiar house.

                     About ten minutes of continuous running later, Donghae was about half way there. He stopped running and placed his hands on his knees, panting heavily, his legs becoming weaker and weaker by the second. He cursed Hyukjae's house for being so far and cursed his mom's genes for making him have such short legs.

                   Donghae yelped in surprise at the startling sound of thunder and lightning colliding together at once. He immediately resumed running as fast as he could that he felt his lungs were on fire.

                  Finally, several minutes later, he arrived at Hyukjae front porch, and didn't waste any second to run over and knock the door loudly. He was getting way too dizzy and tired, and his body was practically freezing by now. A few seconds later, Sora opened the door and gasped at the panting Donghae in front of her. He was dripping wet from head to toe, "! What happened to you?" She asked worriedly and shoved him inside of the warmth of the house.

                    Donghae spoke up through his pants, "I-Is Hyukkie here?" Sora's mouth shaped into a perfect little 'o' as she speechlessly pointed toward the stairs. The younger quickly rushed up the staircase and into Hyukjae's bedroom, abruptly slamming the door open and collapsing on the startled Hyukjae, and 'Hyukkie…' was all he could mutter.

                      Hyukjae gasped and shivered at how cold Donghae was, he immediately pulled away and frowned, "Gosh, Hae, what the hell?!" He hissed, "How many times do I have to tell you to dress well before going out? You're seriously going to get sick!" He was frantically taking off Donghae jacket and then his dripping shirt, and wrapped his body up into a thick, temptingly warm blanket.

                   Donghae just stared at the older male in front of him, "Hyukkie…" He muttered a bit louder this time with pleading eyes. Hyukjae sighed heavily and flopped down onto his bed, pulled Donghae onto his lap and slowly rocked their bodies back and forth. Hyukjae's shirt was getting really wet and he shuddered when he felt Donghae's soaked hair onto his clothed chest, "You're freezing, you idiot." He whispered.

                      After several minutes in comfortable silence, Hyukjae suddenly lifted the younger up into his arms and into his bathroom without saying a word. He slowly set Donghae down onto the counter and turned the water in the bathtub at the warmest temperature possible.

                   He silently walked over to Donghae and took the blanket off, and almost immediately, the younger hugged his chest and shivered repeatedly, and only succeeding in getting Hyukjae angrier and more worried about his ignorance. Hyukjae unbuckled Donghae's belt and stripped him from his jeans and boxers before settling him into the now relaxingly warm bathtub.

                   Donghae sighed shakily, hugged his knees and closed his eyes, trembling slightly at the hot water surrounding his iced up body. About a minute later, he heard the sounds of jeans being tossed to the ground and felt Hyukjae get into the tub with him, immediately scooping him up and against his warm body, rubbing his back and his hair.

"Just be thankful that you look like an adorable, soaked puppy all drenched up like that- Because otherwise, I would've punched you right in the face for not listening to me."

Donghae whimpered a bit as he felt his eyes get heavy, and just before he could fall asleep, he heard Hyukjae mumble softly, "Don't ever worry me like that again."

-To be Continued-

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A/N: Okay so that was only part 1 of what happened the day before Hyukjae and his family leave ><

Please comment! =D