Kyuhyun felt as though the days he spent in the hospital melted into one another, filled with laughter, sleep, annoying Sungmin and just Sungmin in general. And food. Sometimes he even feels thankful that he broke his arm falling off the top of the slide (it definitely wasn't his fault) and onto an unsuspecting Sungmin, earning him some deep gashes on his leg. Kyuhyun laughs every time he remembers Sungmin's horrified face, then winces as he recalls a raging Sungmin promptly throwing the playground bark at him. 

And that's how their friendship started. 

Their stay in the hospital was rapidly drawing to a close. A mere week, but in that week Kyuhyun felt as though Sungmin had become his best friend. He never did make friends easily. Kyuhyun wonders why he wasn't allowed to go to school like other kids, but instead got a bearded and bespectacled man speaking some foreign language to teach him. 

He got scolded severely when his mother came to the hospital after the accident. "I told you not to venture into that part of town!" she had yelled. His dad didn't visit. Kyuhyun wrinkled his nose. Overseas again. 

Kyuhyun wished he broke both arms. And Sungmin's leg. Just so they can stay together for longer. He liked listening to Sungmin talk about his school, about his friends, about the cuttlefish and kimchi his mother makes for him, about the bugs he finds around the house. Sungmin's voice had a certain calming quality, often lulling Kyuhyun to sleep, his head against Sungmin's shoulder.

Kyuhyun wanted to try cuttlefish too. When he spoke about the weird foreign food he eats, like "stake" and "craym brulay" pudding, he was surprised when Sungmin says he's never heard of them before. And so Kyuhyun described the dishes the best he could, earning some appreciative lip smacking from Sungmin.  

"You should come to my house!" Kyuhyun had exclaimed yesterday. But Sungmin just shook his head, his eyelashes downcast, creating patterns across his cheeks in the late afternoon sun. 

"Why not?" 

Sungmin ruffled Kyuhyun's hair, something Kyuhyun realised Sungmin did whenever he had unexpressed words. Sungmin smiled.

"Come on, let's see if you can find any more of those cicada shells."

Kyuhyun looked at Sungmin's retreating back, and wished they both broke every bone in their body. 

***

The day of Kyuhyun and Sungmin's discharge hit Kyuhyun in the face like a bucket of cold water. His mother had come with two other men in black suits, packing his suitcase. He looked across at Sungmin packing his own, the sizes of their suitcases a drastic difference. 

"Sungmin hyung."

"Yes, Kyuhyun-sshi?"

Kyuhyun looked taken aback. Where had the -sshi come from? 

"Hyung, why are you calling me Kyuhyun-sshi?"

Kyuhyun's mother looked up and breathed in sharply. "What does that Sungmin usually call you then?"

Silence.

Kyuhyun looked over at Sungmin, and saw wide eyes begging him.

"He-- he usually calls me Kyuhyun-sshi. I was joking." 

"Don't make jokes, Kyuhyun."

***

Kyuhyun and Sungmin looked around their shared hospital room one last time.

"You know, I had to throw a tantrum so my mother wouldn't put me in a room by myself." Kyuhyun mumbled, rubbing a fist across his eyes.

Sungmin enveloped the younger boy in a hug. Kyuhyun breathed in the Sungmin smell he had come to associate with security, happiness, friendship. 

"Remember our promise, okay?"

Kyuhyun nodded, his head buried in Sungmin's shirt. 

A loud honk from the street outside interrupted Kyuhyun's quiet sniffles. I don't want to go. 

"You better go. I'll see you off."

Sungmin pulled away from their hug and ruffled Kyuhyun's hair again before walking out of the room.

***

Sungmin panted, running as fast as he could, pain piercing his just-healed leg. 

"Sungmin! I'll see you around!" Kyuhyun yelled, leaning his head as far as he could from the window.

"Yah! It's hyung to you!" Sungmin shouted back as the car turned the corner. 

"Hey Kyuhyun!" Sungmin waved his hand.

"Yeah hyung?" Kyuhyun scuttles over.

Sungmin walks into an abandoned alcove in the park opposite the hospital, its entrance partially concealed by thick climbing ivy. He carefully removes a brick within the wall. Kyuhyun's eyes widened.

"How'd you do that, hyung?" Kyuhyun tries unsuccessfully to pry more bricks from the structure. Sungmin chuckled.

"It was loose, silly."

Sungmin pointed at the gap the removed brick left. 

"I know we're leaving the hospital in a couple of days and it might be harder for us to play with each other." Kyuhyun protested but Sungmin pinched his lips together, effectively shushing him. Kyuhyun tried to pout.

"But see this little space?"

Kyuhyun nodded.

"Let's make a promise to each other. In thirteen years time, when we're older, we'll come back and leave letters to each other during that year.Then on Christmas Day... we'll meet here if we still want to see each other. It'll be interesting I think. Promise?"

Kyuhyun nodded again. 

"Why thirteen years, hyung?" Kyuhyun asked when his lips were finally released.

"Because thirteen is a lucky number."