a/n: y'all so nice to me, so why not post another chapter :> thanks for taking interest in the story and i really hope it doesn't disappoint! next update will be  somewhere around next week.

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It’s exactly four days later that Wooyoung gets a visit from a “friend”.

“Who is it?” Minjun asks as Jaebeom and Jinyoung sit back down and join them at the table, settling all the snacks they managed to get from downstairs.

“Mom said it’s Wooyoung hyung’s friend,” Jaebeom says, making himself comfortable again, burying his lower body under the warm electric blanket.

“Friend?” Minjun looks up from his UNO cards.

“Friend?” Wooyoung echoes after, face pulled into a questioning and surprised look. “I don’t have friends,” he blinks his eyes at Minjun. Minjun nods in agreement.

“I’m your friend,” Minjun points at himself.

“Me too!” Jinyoung raises his hand up. Wooyoung smiles and pats his hand on Jinyoung’s head.

“How does he look like?”

“We didn’t get to see him though. Aren’t you going to see him?” Jaebeom asks, nudging his foot lightly on Wooyoung‘s from across the table. “Or is it a girl?” he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

“Oh?”

“Really? Did you get yourself a girlfriend?!”

“I did not!” Wooyoung denies. “I don’t even have a guy friend, let alone a girl,” Wooyoung pouts and gets up. “I better go check who this fraud is!”

Their laughter lingers even after Wooyoung reached the first floor. He sneaks into the kitchen, hides himself behind the wall and takes a peek from the side of the door. This “friend” of his has his back on Wooyoung, and he’s immersed in a very friendly looking conversation with his mom. He seems familiar, but Wooyoung doesn’t really recognize him.

His mother sees him standing there and gives a mock disapproved look. “It’s not nice to keep a friend waiting when they’re here to visit you,” she says. The guy turns his head around, grinning as he sips on his drink through a straw. Oh, him. Of course Wooyoung recognizes him now that he sees his face.

“What are you doing here?” Wooyoung says, staying still on his place.

“What do you mean? I came here to visit.”

“Nichkhun came to visit!” His mom approaches him and takes him to the counter with her. “Why didn’t you say you made a friend here?”

“Umm,” Wooyoung looks at her and then at Nichkhun, unsure of how to explain this to his mom. He knows Nichkhun, yes. He was a customer and they talked before but Wooyoung wouldn’t say they’re friends yet. They haven’t even introduced themselves to each other properly! “Uhh.”

“Hey, you’re not busy, are you? Let’s go and take a walk to the park,” Nichkhun suggests.

“Yeah sweetie, you should go out and breathe in fresh air once in a while too.”

“But mom….”

“If you wanna go out and have fun with your friends, you know you can always just ask,” she smiles. But we’re not friends, Wooyoung wants to say, but the words don’t come out. “It’ll be really nice of you to take him out. He’s always at home anyway. It gets really cold though, so don’t stay out too long. I don’t know if he’s told you but he’s—”

“Okay, okay I’ll go get my jacket,” Wooyoung cuts in before she could finish. He quickly gets his jacket from the coatrack near the stairs and gets back as soon as he could, just in case his mom spill more details on him. “You wanna go out, let’s go out,” Wooyoung mumbles, putting his jacket on.

“Here, take one,” she passes him a packet of blueberry bun. “Nichkhun should have one too.”

“Oh, thank you!”

“Love you mom,” Wooyoung says. He tugs on Nichkhun’s sleeve and drags him out of the bakeshop with him. “Okay, honestly, what do you want?” Wooyoung asks as soon as they exit the bakeshop.

“You didn’t call me,” Nichkhun states, slurping on his drink again. “You saw the note, though, right?”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t call?”

“Why would I want to call?”

“So we can hang out!”

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“Why do you want to hang out with me?”

“Why do I even need to have a reason to hang out with people?”

“Why can’t you just answer my question?”

“Why won’t you tell me your name?”

Wooyoung is slightly taken aback with his question. A cheeky, victorious smile creeps onto Nichkhun’s face. “Well?”

“Why do I have to tell you my name?”

“Because you know mine and it’s only fair if I know yours too,” Nichkhun reasons. “Besides, you still owe me ice cream and bubble tea.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Wooyoung opens the packet and takes a bite on his blueberry bun.

“No ice cream and bubble tea means I will keep bothering you to get them for me,” Nichkhun answers. Wooyoung stops chewing and looks at Nichkhun.

“Are you really gonna leave me alone if I buy you those?”

“No. I’ll just stop asking for it.” Wooyoung grunts and takes an angry bite on his food.

“You’re annoying. You know my name, that‘s why you asked for me when you came to our shop.”

“I do,” Nichkhun admittedly nods his head. “But we never really properly introduce ourselves, did we?”

Wooyoung sighs heavily. “…No.” Nichkhun stops and stretches his hand out to Wooyoung, a genuine smile on his face.

“I’m Nichkhun,” he says. Wooyoung eyes Nichkhun’s hand for a very long time before he finally takes it in his.

“Wooyoung.” Nichkhun’s smile turns into a grin. “I’m Wooyoung.”

+

“Why do you keep coming here?” Wooyoung carelessly asks. Nichkhun stops eating and chuckles, while Wooyoung’s mom turns to look at him with widened eyes.

“Wooyoung,” she presses sternly. Wooyoung bows his head in apology at her and continues eating his cake. “Isn’t it nice to have someone accompanying you? I get busy with my bakery, I feel sorry I can’t spend so much time with you.”

“It’s okay mom. I’m glad your bakery is doing really well,” Wooyoung assures.

“Luckily there’s Nichkhun,” she smiles. “Finish your cakes!” She walks out of the kitchen when there’s a customer calling out for her.

“You’re here to eat free cakes, aren’t you?” Wooyoung deadpans. Nichkhun only laughs. “Don’t you have to go to school or work or something?”

“Not today!”

“That’s what you said yesterday. And the day before. And before. And before…..”

“I have a lot of free time, so you don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’m worried that you’re wasting a lot of my time.”

“So what are we going to do after this?” Nichkhun easily ignores what Wooyoung just said.

“Uhh, you’re going to go home, that’s the plan,” Wooyoung mutters.

“Do you want to go out?” Wooyoung contemplates. “It’s a really nice day, let’s not waste it!”

“But…go where?” Wooyoung’s eyes follow every of Nichkhun’s moves as he gathers the plates and puts them in the sink. “I'm not familiar with my ways around here. And I think neither do you, mister,” Wooyoung raises his eyebrow.

“We won't get lost, if that’s what you’re worried about. It'll be a fun adventure.”

+

It's not that Wooyoung hated Nichkhun's company, but this -everything- is all too new for him. He never had friends before (just a few familiar people at the hospital) and his social skill is probably at the most bottom of all levels since a very long time ago. It takes time for him to warm up and get used to new presence of people in his life, another few more times to decipher their thoughts, behavior and purpose, and another few to finally accept them in. Wooyoung can't read Nichkhun, can't find out what he really wants and why he's here. This is a problem to Wooyoung especially when he realizes he's already gotten used to Nichkhun's presence after only a short while. Nichkhun easily breaks that barrier and Wooyoung easily lets him in. It's intriguing but unfamiliar and maybe a little scary at the same time.

Wooyoung doesn’t know why his parents trust Nichkhun so much. It probably has something to do with Nichkhun’s behavior (friendly, polite and overall very nice to everyone), or how he looks (handsome, smart, charming) but they let Wooyoung mingle around with him. They don’t mind that Nichkhun comes over to visit, or asks to take Wooyoung out for a walk. It’s healthy for you, dear, his mom had said.Look at how happy you are now! Wooyoung disagrees but often time, he realizes he never really refuses Nichkhun no matter how reluctant he is to let Nichkhun does things his way.

They wander around the neighborhood. Never too close but never too far from Wooyoung’s home. Wooyoung doesn’t tell Nichkhun about his sickness and Nichkhun never asks although Wooyoung really thinks Nichkhun has his own suspicion. Maybe Nichkhun’s curious too, but not desperate enough to prod Wooyoung too much to find out. Nichkhun is very patient, cheeky, yes, but just overall really patient in dealing with Wooyoung and his sometimes cold attitude towards Nichkhun. Sometimes, Wooyoung thinks he doesn’t give Nichkhun enough credit for that.

“What exactly do you do now?” Wooyoung asks. He balances himself on the abandoned and rusty train rail, carefully walking forward while trying not to fall on his sides at the same time. “School? Work?”

“School,” Nichkhun answers curtly. He’s walking right beside Wooyoung on the other rail, but he doesn’t have difficulty to balance himself. (He even has one hand in his jeans’ pocket, posture looking all too cool and perfect and Wooyoung wonders how he does it.)

“Then why are you here with me? Don’t you have to go to school?”

“I don’t have classes now.”

“When do you have classes then?”

“Umm afternoon?” Nichkhun tilts his head. “Sometimes we have classes early morning too.”

“Oh,” Wooyoung acknowledges with the nod of his head. “Where do you live?”

“Finally getting curious now?” Nichkhun teases. Wooyoung glares. “If you’re really curious, I live there,” Nichkhun squints his eyes and points his finger at a certain direction. “The tallest building.” Wooyoung shifts his gaze to where he’s pointing, and sees a distant tall building emerging from above the trees around them, surrounded by other smaller buildings.

“Are you playing with me?” Wooyoung narrows his eyes at Nichkhun in suspicion. “That’s really far from where I live,” Wooyoung turns around, supposedly pointing at the direction of his house and mentally calculating the distance between the two buildings.

“It’s not as far as you think,” Nichkhun says, confirming that he really does live at the tall building. Wooyoung stares at the building again, at how it looks luxurious compared to the other buildings.

“How did you even get here in the first place?!” Wooyoung asks instead.

“I go to places,” Nichkhun explains. “In my free time, I like to discover places.”

“In that case, why did you stop going to places other than here?”

“Isn’t it obvious why I’m stuck here?” Nichkhun starts walking again. “I like spending time with you.”

Wooyoung frowns. “But why?”

“I don’t know… You’re just. Different.”

“Different,” Wooyoung repeats after him. Somehow, he finds the word to be funny.

“In a good way,” Nichkhun quickly explains.

“Yeah, okay.” Wooyoung outstretches his arms sideways and walks quicker on the rail.

“I really wanna help.” Nichkhun’s voice is really hushed, but Wooyoung heard it the same anyway.

“Help wha—” Wooyoung turns, too quickly that he loses balance and slips, stumbling forward but Nichkhun readily catches him. “What,” Wooyoung looks up at Nichkhun’s face. He pulls and looks away. “What do you mean?” Wooyoung asks, closing his eyes and pressing his hand on his left chest where his heart is suddenly beating so fast.

“Wooyoung…?” Nichkhun calls for him, sounding so worried it sickens Wooyoung.

“Stop,” Wooyoung quickly stops him and falls on all fours on the ground. “Don’t come closer,” he warns. He feels shaky and dizzy and it’s getting really hard to breathe.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” Wooyoung stubbornly denies.

“You look really pale….”

God damn it. “I just need a moment.”

“Are you feeling sick? Let’s get you to the doc—”

“I’m fine,” Wooyoung presses. “Just,” he swallows and rolls on his back, lying on the ground to stare at the sky. “Just a moment.”

Nichkhun approaches Wooyoung and Wooyoung lets him come closer this time. “Wooyoung, you really don’t look too good.”

“I’m okay,” Wooyoung insists. “I’m okay. Don’t tell my mom. She gets really worried and— and I don’t want everyone else in the house to get worried too.”

“Okay, I won’t tell,” Nichkhun presses his lips into a thin line. “Let’s just get you back home. Can you walk?”

“I—” Wooyoung doesn’t know how to tell Nichkhun. He can’t really move on his own right now. Everything feels light and he’s so exhausted, and it’s still hard to catch his breath. Nichkhun seems to get it though, in the way that he pulls Wooyoung up by his arms and loops them around his neck. “What are you doing?”

“I’m taking you home,” Nichkhun tells him. He grabs Wooyoung at the back of his knees and stands up, balancing himself with Wooyoung behind him. “Hold on, okay?”

“I’m fine,” Wooyoung groans.

“Okay then, keep talking to me.”

“You always try to make me talk.”

“Because you have a nice voice.” Wooyoung wants to scoff but a cough comes out instead. “Tell me more about your brothers.”

“We've had this conversation before,” Wooyoung reminds him. He closes his eyes as his head falls and leans forward onto Nichkhun's shoulder.

“Really?”

“Yes. Did you forget?”

“No, actually I'm kinda flattered you remember. Means that you were paying attention to our conversations.”

“Silly,” Wooyoung scrunches his face. Not that Nichkhun can see. “What were you gonna help me with again?”

Nichkhun stays silent for a while. Wooyoung allows himself to breathe properly, following Nichkhun's calm and steady pace. He takes a deep breath in and exhales. “You okay there?”

“Just feeling tired, that's all.”

“About,” Nichkhun starts again. “About the list. Why do you have it?” Wooyoung has to think extra hard about what he's referring to.

“Oh. Don't all people have them?”

“Yeah, but...” Nichkhun hesitates. “These days people don't care about it much, or aware of it unless…”

“Unless....?” Wooyoung urges him to continue.

“Unless when they don't have much time left to live,” Nichkhun whispers. Hushed, ingenuous, but almost as if he doesn't want to believe this theory either. Surprisingly, Wooyoung only chuckles at this. He's getting mentally tired of everything and of himself.

“Yeah,” Wooyoung admits softly. Nichkhun tenses a little. “So what's your point?”

“N-Nothing. Why...Why is it empty?”

Wooyoung swallows thickly. “I don't know. I don't know what I want to do. It's so much easier to wait for the time to finally come than have to go around fulfilling your dying wishes or something.”

“If you have a list, doesn't it make you wanna keep living? At least until you've completed it all?”

“That's what everyone says. What if I die halfway through completing the list? It's got to be the most disappointing feeling especially when I've put so much hope into it.”

“At least you’re just going to feel sorry for not being able to complete everything, and not regretting about not bothering to try at all,” Nichkhun says. Wooyoung sighs. Maybe he has his point, although Wooyoung is still not sure himself of how a simple, powerless list will help him. What do people do it for? Self-fulfillment? For the sake of creating lasting memories with their loved ones? Or just a desperate attempt for achievement?

“Do you really have nothing in mind that you wanna do?”

“No. I never thought about it.”

“Tell me what do you want the most right at this moment then?” Nichkhun asks. Wooyoung allows himself to go deeper into his mind, revealing that tiny, tiny hope and wish he had buried deep inside. Probably the only wish, just a wish he prayed for every night, asked for every birthday but stopped hoping for it years and years ago when Wooyoung learned about the harsh reality. A wish is just a wish and not everyone is lucky to get it. Wooyoung is not lucky. At least not in this sense, he knows.

“I just. Want to be healthy and normal, accepted to be a part of the society. Doing normal things normal people do without having the fear I'm gonna die any fleeting moment.”

Wooyoung's not sure why he's telling him this, but the voice inside his mind tells him that it's okay. Nichkhun is just another person, just another someone that will forget Wooyoung and his stupid thoughts when he's gone, moving on like he's never known anyone named Wooyoung in his life at all. It's okay. Wooyoung tells himself that it's okay.

“How bad is it?” Wooyoung knows what exactly he is referring to this time.

“Bad enough, I could die.” Wooyoung answers truthfully. No need to lie, no need to sugarcoat. It’s better to accept than have to be in denial.

“I want to help you complete the list,” Nichkhun says after a very long pause. Wooyoung only chuckles tiredly in reply.