Time might take a lot of memories with it, but the ones about the closest ones won’t ever disappear.

WooHyun had a new determination.

He had it already before, but now, after actually realizing how much this small diner meant to SungGyu and realizing that SungGyu, even though they didn’t know each other for a long time, meant a lot to him he had more spirits to do more than just his very best.

SungGyu trusted him, he believed in him and that he might be fixed and WooHyun was not ready to let all those expectations down.

He had let too many people down already and he gave a silent oath not to let SungGyu down. For once he was not willing to let someone down on purpose or not.

The next morning after their walk WooHyun woke up much, much earlier than ever before and quietly went down stairs.

SungGyu was to sleep for good few hours and it gave time for WooHyun to work slowly and carefully.

He ordered the hall - cleaned and the set the tables with menus and spice sets. He once more cleaned the windows and wiped the floor and then returned to the kitchen.

Carefully, this time not breaking a thing, he ordered the dishes and cooking utensils they were they supposed to stand for faster serving. He did everything… apart from cutting any ingredients beforehand, because he was actually scared of ruining something.

He had pealed everything that was needed and now the cutting was left, so he placed a carrot on the cutting-board and took the knife in his hand.

He was so concentrated on the orange vegetable, that SungGyu’s voice behind him almost made him to throw the knife in the air.

“Are you having a staring contest with a carrot?” SungGyu spoke and came closer.

He was still wearing the clothes he slept with and was obviously still sleepy, his eyes even narrower than usually.

“I’m just… trying to think.” WooHyun said and returned his gaze from SungGyu’s messy red hair, he was staring at for a moment or two, to the carrot.

“Mhm…” SungGyu said and took the knife from WooHyun’s hand. “Watch carefully.” He said and stared to cut the carrot slower than any other time WooHyun had seen him doing that. It was either because he was still sleepy or because he was actually showing how to cut it the right way, but never the less it actually helped.

“I think I got it.” WooHyun said and took the knife from SungGyu and took another carrot from the bowl of pealed ones and slowly, even slower than SungGyu while he was showing how to do it, cut in almost exactly the same looking pieces as SungGyu had.

“Good.” SungGyu said and petted WooHyun’s shoulder before he slowly went back upstairs.

Cutting carrots was no longer a problem, but now potatoes appeared next in the row for cutting and WooHyun yet again had ‘a staring contest’ with the vegetable.

“It’s not that much harder to cut potatoes.” SungGyu’s voice rang behind him again and he turned around to see the red-hair already in work clothes as in black button-down and black pants. His hair neatly styled and eyes wider than before.

“Here.” He took the knife from WooHyun and cute the vegetable slowly, letting WooHyun to see exactly how it was done.

He gave the knife back and looked how WooHyun worked for a moment and then stepped back and started to do something else.

“Maybe I should have started by showing things like this.” He said and WooHyun turned around, where SungGyu was standing.

“Or maybe I should have showed more initiative.” WooHyun said with a small sigh.

“Good thing everything is fixable.” SungGyu said, turning to WooHyun with a small smile before going to the main hall.

“Yeah, everything is fixable.” WooHyun sighed and returned to his work.

He sure hoped that everything, including himself, was fixable.

~*~

This new attitude or rather determination did work.

For the whole week he worked almost with no accidents, apart from cutting his finger once more and breaking some empty dishes, while bringing them back to kitchen, which was literally nothing compared to the disasters that happened before.

The week went on so smoothly and calmly that it was already Sunday faster than WooHyun could realize it.

The weather behind the window was gloomy and not welcoming to do anything, yet WooHyun still rolled out of the blankets and went out from his room, just to meet SungGyu, obviously dressed to go out somewhere.

“Are you going somewhere?” WooHyun asked, though the answer was more than obvious.

“There’s something I need to do outside of the town.” SungGyu said, zipping up his jacket.

“Can I come too?” the question broke out from WooHyun’s lips before he could actually think about it.

He was already used of SungGyu always being around and right now he felt like child who didn’t want to let go of someone dear when other had to leave only it was for a short while.

“I… I don’t know.” SungGyu scratched the back of his head.

“It’s okay if I can’t.” WooHyun said yet again automatically.

Not that he lied though. He didn’t know SungGyu for that long and though he felt mutual trust between them that did not mean it was present in all aspects of them knowing each other.

“Just that… it’s quite far away and it won’t be anything fun.” SungGyu said, this time looking at WooHyun.

Somehow WooHyun felt that SungGyu actually wanted to take him with him, that he as if needed it, but he wasn’t sure, if it was the right thing to do or that WooHyun would actually agree on what ever that was. But never the less, he could feel this need of his and somehow understand it as well.

“That’s okay. Fresh air wouldn’t harm and fun is not always needed.” WooHyun said. “If you don’t mind, then I would like to go with you.”

“Okay.” SungGyu said with small smile. “But you need to get ready quickly. We need to catch a bus.”

“Okay.” WooHyun nodded and rushed back in his room, grabbed first clothes that looked decent, dashed out of his room straight to bathroom, almost knocking SungGyu of his feet and was back in less than 5 minutes.

“That was fast.” SungGyu said, his eyes indeed wide open.

“You said to be quick.” WooHyun said trying not to blush as he understood how overly excited he was, running around like a teenage girl.

“Then let’s go.” SungGyu said and waited while WooHyun put on his jacket and shoes and then led the way.

The bus-stop was quite a walk away from the diner, as they didn’t need one of the buses that went to the city center on or any of the big districts, but one whose destination was something close to a village on the outskirts of city.

It was kind of strange for WooHyun that almost right before the bus came SungGyu had rushed in to the nearest flower shop and bought a small simple, but at the same time pretty bouquet of flowers.

The bus-ride itself was as quiet as their walk exactly a week ago, but yet again it wasn’t unpleasant.

Actually, silence between them was not a rare thing even though they worked and lived together. In work they exchanged few words only when it came to orders and when work ended it was usually late and they went straight to bed to start it all over again.

The only real conversation they had was the one last week, which was lead in by silence and followed by one as well. So, silence was a comfortable state for them.

WooHyun looked at the bouquet SungGyu was holding. His hand was tightly clenched around the peduncles, his knuckles almost turning white.

The red-hair was looking trough the window of the bus, his forehead nearly touching the glass. His face was grim – filled with unknown sadness and it looked as if he didn’t even want go where he was going right now but had no choice.

The scenery of the city slowly faded away and more and more country-like scenes flashed behind the windows of the bus. Fields, distant homes, smaller and bigger hillocks, clusters of trees here and there.

As if seeing it all for the first time, WooHyun looked trough the window, until he felt SungGyu moving next to him to stand up.

“We need to get out.” He said his voice being as sad as his looks.

WooHyun nodded and stood up, following SungGyu to the front of the bus.

They got out next to a road, that led to a set of smaller and bigger hillocks and SungGyu started to walk toward them without saying a word and WooHyun just followed.

Just when the road seemed to get endless, SungGyu turned to the left to a small pathway and went up on a small hillock were few other even smaller hillocks were built and only then WooHyun understood where they were.

He stopped at the end of the pathway and followed with his eyes how SungGyu slowly went over the small grassy field and stop in front of two of the small hillocks that were set next to each other.

He kneeled down and placed the flowers between them, ordering them neatly and taking the old ones away.

“It has been quite a while, I’m sorry.” SungGyu spoke quietly and bowed down, his forehead touching the ground, first to one then other hillock. “I promised to come more often, but work is taking all my time.
The diner is doing good. There are some issues, but I will work those out. I’ve always had worked them out and this time won’t be different.” He said and let out a deep sigh.

“I finally hired someone to help me.” WooHyun froze a little. “He’s a nice guy. Not too smart in cooking and some other things, but everything is fixable, right?” SungGyu smiled a little. “I kind of hated him for the first week. If you would only know how much trouble he caused.” SungGyu smiled again. “But now, it hasn’t been that much since I know him, but I trust him. I just know that I can trust him.” He said and something tightened in WooHyun’s chest.

“He’s a good person even though he doesn’t believe in that himself. But, I think, I can fix that as well, can’t I?”

Not for a moment SungGyu had even glanced at WooHyun or showed that he was still aware of him being there. Though one could think that SungGyu was saying it all on purpose, WooHyun knew he wasn’t. He knew that SungGyu wasn’t like that.

“I think you would have liked him, that you would have wanted to fix him as well.” SungGyu said even quieter than before.

That something tightened in WooHyun’s chest even more and he took those few steps over to SungGyu and kneeled next to him in front of the hillocks.

He took a deep bow, until his forehead touched the ground and stayed like that for a moment and then looked up.

“Hello, Mister and Missis Kim.” He said and felt how SungGyu hasn’t even moved from his previous position. “My name is Nam WooHyun and I work at your diner right now.” He felt how that something from his chest climbed up his throat but pushed it back down.

“I will do all my best and more to help your son, though I will never be able to do enough.” He said and bowed once more. “But I will still try and I promise to stay as long as it will be needed.” He rose up and pushed the lump in his throat back down with all his might as it tried to jump out with unbelievable force when SungGyu took WooHyun’s hand in his, squeezing it lightly.

WooHyun turned to the red hair.

His eyes were watery, chest rising and falling in heavy breaths but not a single tear was escaping.

Maybe that’s why he needed WooHyun here? So it would be easier to hold it all in and stay strong?

Without saying a word SungGyu stood up, pulling WooHyun along and letting his hand go at the same moment, and slowly started to walk away.

WooHyun couldn’t even imagine how much emotional pain SungGyu was going trough and how much strength it actually took to come here, as one’s pain after loosing someone so dear was probably unbearable.

WooHyun quickly caught up with SungGyu and started to walk next to him, taking his hand back in his.

SungGyu stopped for a moment and then started to walk again. He didn’t say a single word, just led the way back to the bus-stop where they waited for a bus to appear from afar for quite a while, small rain starting to drizzle right before the said bus appeared.

The ride home was as quiet or even somehow quieter as the one before.

SungGyu had leaned his head against the backrest of his seat, but it didn’t stay there long and soon started lolling freely with each movement of the bus. His eyes were closed, lips slightly parted and telling by all he was probably fallen asleep, which was not a surprise.

Sleep cured not only physical but also emotional wounds.

With one particular bump the whole bus as if jumped up and SungGyu’s head fell on WooHyun’s shoulder, startling the later a little, but he calmed down immediately.

He looked down at the asleep male and the lump in his throat was back the very instant.

All this time he thought that his life now was harder than anyone’s, but it didn’t take much for him to realize now that his life was from the hardest one out there.

The one now sleeping on his shoulder had a life ten times harder than WooHyun’s and he was still the one thinking on how to fix WooHyun.

Another bump on the road stirred the bus again and this time SungGyu woke up.

“How long I was asleep?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Not for too long.” WooHyun said, swallowing back the lump for who know which time that day.

SungGyu looked out trough the window at the already dark scenery of the city, lit up by street lamps and neon-signs. “Our stop is next one.” He said and stood up stretching a little and headed to the front of the bus and WooHyun just followed like before.

The air of late twilight was chilly, but it didn’t seem that they were rushing back to the diner even though they had to work the next day.

They both had their hands in their pockets, jackets closed to the top and in WooHyun’s case even covering his nose.

The neon-lights slowly faded away as they entered the calmer district and street lights as if got dimmer, revealing the night sky above their heads, filled with thousandths of stars.

WooHyun looked up, letting the collar of his jacket to fall down from his nose and let a puff of his warm breath in to the chilly air.

“You can’t see stars in the city.” He said and glanced at SungGyu who was looking up as well. “Too many lights make them fade away.” He said and returned his gaze to sidewalk, hiding his nose again.

“In time city lights will appear here as well and the stars will fade away.” SungGyu said looking at the sky for a moment and then returning his gaze to earth. “Time makes everything to fade away.”

“It leaves memories.” WooHyun said turning to SungGyu as they finally stopped in front of the diner and the red-hair took the key from his pocket to unlock the door.

“It takes even memories.” SungGyu sighed, letting a white cloud of his breath out in the night air.

“The ones that you treasure the most, even the time can’t take away.” WooHyun said and entered the diner, waiting for SungGyu to lock the doors before heading upstairs.

“Maybe you’re right.” SungGyu said with a tint of sadness in his voice, as he followed WooHyun.

Reaching the living room, WooHyun stopped at the door of his room and waited till SungGyu reached his.

“About today…” SungGyu said. “Thank you. I don’t like going there alone.” He said quietly. “Just… just thank you.” He said and already put his hand on the door-handle, when WooHyun decided to take a step forward.

It was a spontaneous act, but he wrapped his arms around SungGyu, pulling him in to a hug.

“Thank you for trying to fix me.” He said, his chin resting in SungGyu’s shoulder.

Slowly, as if being a little afraid, SungGyu let his arms to entwine WooHyun’s waist and held him for a moment, before he pulled back.

“Goodnight, WooHyun.” He said looking in WooHyun’s eyes.

“Goodnight, SungGyu.” WooHyun said, stepping out of the hug and opening the doors of his room. He looked once more at the place where SungGyu was standing seconds ago and saw it empty, small line of light coming from the bottom of other door.

The lump in his throat was back, but he swallowed it back down, entered his room and didn’t even bother to turn on the light.

He went straight to the small window and looked out at the stars.

Time might make all stars to fade away, but they were still there despite his effort.

The same was with memories – they might fade away, but they are always there, if you treasure them enough.

---------------

WARNING: A quite long A/N

First of all - Hello, everyone!
Another chapter, titled just like WooHyun's solo track in 'Over the Top', is up and do hope you liked it.
Second - there's this small explanation behind this chapter. What SungGyu did was actually something I want/need to do, but I am just not strong enough (yet) to do so, so for now I just wrote the conversation I need to have with someone here, alternating it a bit.
And as I know this feeling that I wrote, I would as well take someone whom I trusted with me at the moment when I feel ready.
Thirdly - to more pleasant things.
A Christmas special of 'Can You Smile' including WooGyu is coming up and you can subscribe to it HERE.
Fourthly - if you want to win a fan fic written especially for you, add me on tumblr and wait for later today, when a game will be played. The prize for first three places - a fan fic ;]
Fifthly - Till next weekend with a new update!