You wave happily at Kyungsoo and Lay after school, running over to throw your arms around them, almost knocking them backwards.

“Whoa, girl,” Kyungsoo coughs and pats your arm.  “Take it easy,”

“I’m not a dog, Kyungsoo,” You snap at him and step away, pouting and instead, cling onto Lay’s arm.  “What do you say we go catch a movie today, hm, Lay? And leave Kyungsoo alone,”

“Hey! Aeri, you know I didn’t mean that,”

“Do I, or do I not,” You hum playfully and stick your tongue out at him.

“What movie?” Lay speaks up and you grin at him.

“Whatever you guys want to see.  I’m getting tired of school!”

As the three of you walk away, towards the gates, you catch a glimpse of Kai, standing with his arms crossed while leaning on the wall right beside the gate’s hinges.  His eyes caught yours and he showed you, clearly, how much sorrow he was in.  He looked away quickly and plastered an unreadable expression as he addressed his two buddies. 

“Aeri must be pestering you two,” He smirks at you and flips his hair away from his face.

Slapping his arm, you sigh.  “And there I was, thinking about asking you out with us for the movie,”

“Don’t tell me, are you thinking about watching-“ Kai gasps and repeatedly nudges Kyungsoo’s arm.  “Hyung, it just came out, it just came out!”

“I know!!”

The two of them jumped around giddily, doing their own dance of celebration.  You chukle along with Lay and throw him a grin.  “I love them,”

“I do too,” He sighs contentedly. 

You and Lay watch the two for a while longer before Kyungsoo stops dancing all of a sudden and throws Kai a wide-eyed look.

“What?” You hear Kai ask.

“Oh no,”

“What, what is it?”

“I can’t go,”

“What?!”

“The composing professor told me to conduct an orchestral rehearsal,”

“What??! Can’t anybody else do it?!”

“Aeeriiiiiiii,” Kyungsoo whines, trotting over to where you and Lay are standing, faking a cry and wailing loudly.  “No waaaaaaaaay, can’t you ask us out tomorrow or somethiiiinngg?”

You take out your agenda and wail along to him.  “I can’t anymore, if not today,”

The two of you fake sobs, hugging each other as you said your goodbyes. 

“We’ll get you something, hyung,” Lay calls out, waving at him and you all laugh when Kyungsoo wiped a fake tear at the corner of his eye, nodding.  “This isn’t like you, Aeri, to go out on a school night,” Lay chuckles, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Eh, I like to break the rules sometimes,”

“Sometimes my ,” Kai cuts in, smacking the back of your head.  “She likes to skip class, hyung, on the roof, sleeping,”

“Look who’s talking,” You pull your arm back to feint a punch.  “How would you know I’m skipping classes if you’re not doing it too?”

“Burn, Kai, burn,” Lay offers you a high five and you gladly comply.

“At least I’ve got my grades, Kai,” You throw him a cocky smile.  “Do you?”

Shrieking, you run away as he tries to dig his knuckles onto your head.  You were laughing so hard you had to ask for a time-out and hide behind Lay from Kai.  “Don’t come any closer,” You say in between breaths.

“Okay, kids, mind your manners, we’re in the mall,” Lay puts his arm over your shoulder on one side and Kai in the other.  “And don’t,” He halts his steps as Kai tries to tickle you through his back.  “Even try,”

You chuckle as you make your way into the mall’s cinema, ordering the popcorn and drinks and getting the tickets to the movie.  You end up sitting in between Kai and Lay, becoming the person to hold on to the popcorn and having to patiently wait for your chance to dig into the box as the two continues to eat non-stop.

“Ya!” You hiss at them and snap at their hands when they start laughing.

The movie begins and as much as a blockbuster it is, you can’t pay attention to anything but the two people dearest to you, who are both right by your side.  You wonder if you should have died when you saw Luhan in the hospital room back then.  Shouldn’t you have come with him obediently? It’s just more painful to know now that you only have a few days to see their faces, to hear their voices, to laugh with them, to touch them. 

“Hey, Aeri,”

You turn to look at Lay, who is whispering at you while keeping his eyes on the screen, absorbed in the movie.  You gaze at his side profile, smiling to yourself.  “What?” You whisper back in reply.

“I’d like you to meet someone after this, you up for it?” He asks, glancing at you and you force yourself to tear your eyes away from him.

“Sure, I guess? Is Kai up for it?”

“He probably is,” He grins sideways at you and delves back into the movie’s storyline.

The movie lasts for another good 30 minutes before the credits come rolling in.  The three of you stretch in unison in your chairs, laughing when you notice the similarities.  “That was a good one,” You nod.

“Too bad Kyungsoo-hyung couldn’t come, he really wanted to watch the movie,” Kai messes up his own hair.

“We can always watch it again,” Lay sighs contentedly and miss the flickering gaze you exchange with Kai.

“So, who is this someone?” You ask as the bus drives away from its stop.

“You’ll see, you’ll see,” Lay smiles, a twinkle in his eye.  “It felt like an obligation to introduce you to this person.  Although you’re the new kid, we’re really natural around you, which doesn’t happen very often between us and strangers.  I thought she should know,”

You blink at him, pushing down the panic bubbling up your throat.  Is he trying to take you to see Jihye? You glance at Kai and see your expression mirrored on his face.  Refusing would be completely suspicious and as a thought flashes in your head, you slump forward, unable to avoid what fate has drawn.  You’re meant to tell Lay about that kiss with Kai.  In front of Jihye’s body; in front of your body.

And well, everything comes into place when you stop in front of Jihye’s hospital.  “We’re here,” Lay announces.

“The hospital?” You ask, faking obliviousness.

“We’re seeing my ex, she’s in a coma,” Lay throws a smile at you before gesturing for you to come with him and Kai.

“Oh, is it the Yoon Jihye girl?”

“Correcto mundo,” He replies brightly, pressing the button to Jihye’s hospital room. 

When the lift dings, you all get off and right before entering Jihye’s room, Lay halts his steps and lifts his hand in apology.  “Need to go to the bathroom,” He throws the two of you an apologetic smile and jerks his head at Jihye’s door.  “Go on in first, I’m sure she doesn’t mind,”

You and Kai step inside and in the sight of your supposed body, your breath hitches.  You’re sickly thin, your hair is all gone and your skin is so pale you might as well be dead.  At that moment, your phone beeps and you glance at it, opening up a text that just came in.

Luhan [17:40]: Not too close.

[17:40]: Yeah.  It’s getting harder to breathe.

You look up to see Luhan on the other side of the room, giving you a mock salute while leaning on the wall beside the room’s window.  You throw a quick glance at Kai, who is peering down into Jihye’s face and Luhan eyes him carefully.

“He can’t see me,” Luhan says quietly and you heave a sigh of relief.

“How are you going to tell him, Ji?” Kai speaks up and you look at him.

Before you could utter your answer, Lay comes into the room and Kai, as if automated, steps out of the way to let Lay sit on the chair beside Jihye’s bed.  “Hi, Jihye,” Lay says, taking Jihye’s hand in his and gently carressing the top of her head.  “How are you feeling, hm? Kai’s here and I brought someone new,” He chuckles.  “Her name is Aeri, she’s a transfer student and she’s really, really, nice.  If you were awake, you’d totally be best friends with her,” His eyes glaze fondly over Jihye’s complexion.  “You two have so much in common and mainly, you girls are probably the only ones we can be natural around,” Lay looks over his shoulder and gestures for you to come closer.  “Come on, introduce yourself,”

The sight of Lay’s twinkling eyes, the ones sparkling with hope that Jihye is going to wake up crushes your heart and you can’t help but shake your head as you step back and cover your face.  “No, it’s okay,”

“Aeri?” Lay asks, worried.

“I know her already,”

You bite your lip in an effort to stop yourself from crying and dismiss the panicked look Luhan has on his face, shaking his head furiously.  Kai tugs at your sleeve tentatively and you gently push his arm away.  “Lay, I-“

“Yoon Jihye!!”

You flinch when Luhan’s wings expand to full size in the room, his darkening expression scarily menacing compared to the gentle, glowing white of his wings.  “Don’t be a fool!”

“Who’s a fool, Luhan?!” You yell back at him, not holding back when you notice that Luhan has stopped the time.  “I’m dying in a day! I’ll be gone! Forever!”

“And you think it’s going to be easier for Lay if you let him know?!” His voice booms, hurting your eardrums.  He steps quickly towards you and grabs your wrist.  “Some things are better left unsaid, Jihye!”

“I can’t hide it from him, Luhan!!” You brush off his grip and raise your chin at him.  “What would you do if you knew you had another freaking day to live and my grandmother stands there not knowing about it? Huh?!”

Well, that shut him up.  “You-“ He starts but closes his mouth immediately, folding his wings back in and staring at your face.  “As much as Tao said he’d take away your pain, it doesn’t work in situations like this,”

“I know,” You reach out to touch his cheek and plant a kiss on his forehead, standing on tiptoes to reach his height.  “Don’t worry so much.  Promise me you’ll spend time with me when you take me?”

Luhan clucks his tongue in annoyance at his inability to stop you and meets your eyes.  “Promise,”

And with that, he disappears, the shift in time draining your energy.  A set of hour and minute sets itself into your mind and you know now, that you no longer have a day to live.

You have 6 hours.

“Kai, when I’m done, put this back around my neck, okay?” You don’t wait for his answer and take off Luhan’s necklace, your consciousness switching to that of Jihye’s.

You’re on the hospital bed, now, cracking an eye open and bearing with the pain that’s piercing your whole body.  Aeri’s body is crumpled on the ground, Kai crouching beside her and you look up to meet Lay’s surprised eyes.

“Lay,” You speak out, your voice hoarse.  “Hi,”