The years passed for the two boys at the orphanage. They watched other boys come and go, while the others remained as they did. A few senior caretakers left as well, to retire, and their slots were taken over by new recruits in their twenties or thirties. Everyday a couple or two would visit, inquiring about the boys, and when they were taken to the playroom, Junhyung made great effort to look kind and obedient and adoptable. He longed to step out of the orphanage walls, to belong to a family once again. When he was younger, he watched others of his age be taken away to freedom. Now that he was a little bit older, he envied the younger children who were carried out the front door in their new mother’s arms. Junhyung had to admit it to himself—no couple would want a twelve-year-old boy. No one wanted a child entering his teens, his most rebellious stage in life. But he wouldn’t admit it, especially not when Jiwon—a boy three months older—was asked to be spoken to one morning.

                “Jiwon, can you come with us for a moment please?” one of the newer caretakers asked at the door of the playroom.

                Junhyung watched Jiwon as he stood up and followed the girl away. Around fifteen minutes later, another boy came running into the room.

                “Jiwon’s packing his things! He’s being adopted!”

                While the other children smiled and clapped happily for Jiwon, Junhyung clutched the tennis ball in his hand and threw it with all his might. Everyone fell silent as the ball hit the wall with a loud thud, barely missing a few heads and the large window on that side of the room.

                Yoseob sprung to his feet and apologized to everyone. Grabbing his best friend by the arm, he pulled Junhyung away to the bedroom and pushed him onto his bed. “What’s wrong with you, Junhyung?” he asked sternly, but his voice was still calm and kind. He folded his arms over his chest and looked at the other boy, not with a glare, but with worried eyes.

                Junhyung grunted and turned away from Yoseob. “I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

                “I’m your best friend. If you don’t talk to me, then to whom?”

                The brunette easily gave in and sighed. He stretched out across the entire bed, looking up at the ceiling. “I’m irritated.”

                “At what?” Yoseob sat on the edge of his bed right beside Junhyung’s.

                “That I’m still here!”

                Yoseob paused for a moment. “Don’t you want to be here?”

                “Who does? I never wanted to be here! I never asked to be an orphan! I don’t want to see these stupid gray walls anymore—I’ve been seeing them for the past seven years! I want to step into the world, Yoseob! I want to visit the beach, ride an airplane, get sick at an amusement park! I want something else for a change!”

                “That doesn’t mean you can throw tennis balls everywhere, Junhyung.”

                “I couldn’t help it, alright? It’s just... I’ve been waiting for so long! Some of the adopted kids hadn’t even been here for three months! And me? Seven years! I am so sick and tired of everything in this place.”

                “Everything, huh?” Yoseob whispered so softly that it was almost inaudible, but Junhyung heard it. He sat up and opened his mouth to explain, but Yoseob cut him off with a shake of his head and he continued talking. “You still don’t understand, do you, Junhyung? For some of us here, this orphanage isn’t a jail cell, but a home. I don’t know what happened to me or my family when I was a baby, but I was taken in by the people here when no else probably would. These people, the caretakers especially, they’re my family. I would never want to leave them.”

                “Not even to go to a better, brighter, happier place?”

                “No one would take me there even if I wanted to go.”

                “But I see the way the visiting adults look at you, Yoseob! When they watch you, they’re able to mimic your bright eyes and much brighter smile!”

                Yoseob shook his head again. “No one wants to adopt a kid with a… condition.” Unconsciously, a hand went up to the base of his neck.

                “Condition?” The horrific scene from five years ago replayed in Junhyung’s head. “But you only had it once!”

                “I heard what the doctor said then. It’s a progressive disease. It’s not gone, Junhyung. Maybe I’m just lucky that I haven’t been attacked again.”

                “Maybe it went away and you’re perfectly fine!”

                Yoseob sighed, then nodded and smiled. “Maybe.” He got up and turned to the door. “Come on, it’s almost time for lunch, I think.” Once he faced away from Junhyung, the smile on his face dropped. The disease wasn’t gone, and he knew more than Junhyung thought.

                Perhaps to prove Junhyung wrong, the disease attacked Yoseob a week later. It happened again when they were asleep, and though it wasn’t as grave as the first one from years ago, it still frightened Yoseob.

                “Junhyung!” he said as loud as he could, which wasn’t loud at all. Yoseob forced himself to take deep breaths, but he ended up coughing all the air out. “Junhyung!” he tried to scream again, but the boy on the other bed was fast asleep. His hands reached for the pillow under his head and he threw it toward the sleeping body.

                Junhyung jolted up on his bed and he panicked upon seeing the struggling boy. He got up at once. “Let me call someone—”

                “No, don’t leave me!” Yoseob pleaded.

                Junhyung’s eyes were fear-stricken, but he shook the boy in the next bed awake and told him to call someone quickly. Then he sat on the edge of Yoseob’s bed and embraced his best friend. He could feel Yoseob’s pained, labored breathing as the boy heaved in and out. Once the caretakers arrived, Junhyung easily surrendered Yoseob to them.

                Yoseob’s face was masked with terror as he was carried by one of the men over the shoulder. His eyes were wide and he watched as Junhyung remained on the bed and lowered his head.

                Junhyung closed his eyes, refusing to see Yoseob be taken away from him again.

                “Where is he right now?” the young brunette asked a caretaker the following day.

                “Yoseob’s in the hospital,” the lady answered him. “Do you miss him?”

                He nodded sadly, clearly recalling the look of dread in his best friend’s otherwise cheerful eyes. Junhyung curled his hand into a tight fist. “Maybe I should have asked to come with him. Would you know when he’ll be able to return?”

                She shook her head. “I’ve heard that Yoseob experienced this before. How long was he gone?”

                “Eight months and ten days.”

                “Oh, my. That’s a long time, isn’t it? How old were you boys then?”

                Junhyung swallowed hard. “I was seven. He was turning seven the day after it happened.”

                The caretaker put a hand over in surprise. After a moment, she continued, “Have you two been best friends for long?”

                “Since the day we met.” His lips curved into a tiny smile as he remembered his shy, five-year-old self and the golden-haired miracle that came to his life that day.

                “Were you two entered here around the same time?”

                He shook his head. “I was here when I was five, but he’s been here since he was two.”

                “Oh.” She put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Don’t lose hope, Junhyung. A family will come for you in time. And for Yoseob, too.”

                The words that Junhyung had told Yoseob the previous week flooded his mind. He looked up at the lady with a smile. “I’d rather stay here, really.”

                “Oh? Why is that?”

                “I can’t leave Yoseob.” Then he turned his head toward the main door, praying with all his might that his best friend was okay.

                The golden-haired boy returned to the orphanage four days after, much sooner than Junhyung expected, and the two boys were happily reunited once again. Along with Yoseob, however, came a male nurse with little machines and all sorts of medications. He requested for a separate room for the young boy to sleep in—a room away from the common bedroom, and one wherein he could take better care of Yoseob.

                “The doctor says I’ve grown worse,” Yoseob told Junhyung with a sad little smile.

                “Then all the more you need me by your side, right?” Junhyung said, enraged at the new room arrangement.

                “I think Mr. Choi will be here for only a few weeks. He’s a nice person, actually.”

                “I don’t care! I don’t want to sleep in a different room from you!”

                “It’s just at night, at least. We can still spend daytime together.”

                Junhyung looked at Yoseob and saw how hard the boy was trying. Trying to find goodness in the bad. Trying to smile when he could be crying. Trying to maximize his health as it slowly slipped away from him. Junhyung smiled and nodded. “So, introduce me to this Mr. Kwon. He and I need to set a few ground rules.”

                The next days were all spent in Yoseob’s solitary bedroom. He was advised not to get into strenuous activities, or be in places that would cause much excitement, because it could trigger his attacks again. There were also certain foods that were prohibited from him, and Yoseob watched longingly as Junhyung ate the snacks he had to sacrifice to him. All Yoseob’s favorite toys and books were brought to his room, and he and Junhyung played just like they would in the playroom.

                The nights were lonely for Junhyung. He always lay down facing the space that used to contain Yoseob’s bed. He’d lie awake for hours every night, drowning out the sounds of vehicles on the road and of snoring boys. He listened closely for any indication that Yoseob was in pain. He promised himself that he’d run to the separate bedroom as soon as he heard the boy’s voice in the middle of the night. No matter how soft Yoseob’s cry may be, Junhyung knew he’d be able to hear it.

                Three weeks passed without any major incident and it was time for Mr. Choi to leave. He left a bag of medicines to the caretakers, as well as a list of explanations on the different pills and syrups. Lastly, he wrote his contact number in their directory. If anything happened, they’d know who to call.

                “Goodbye, Mr. Choi.” Yoseob embraced his nurse. “Thank you.”

                “Stay well, Yoseob.” The man pat his patient’s head then turned to Junhyung. “Take good care of him, alright?”

                “You took my job in the first place!” the child laughed and bumped knuckles with him, with the promise to guard Yoseob with his life.

                Yoseob moved back to the common bedroom, and with the head caretaker’s permission, the best friends pushed their beds together.

                It was one morning, a month later, when Junhyung woke up again to Yoseob’s sudden hold of his hand. It wasn’t at all like the fearful, panicked grasp of years ago. Yoseob put his hand atop Junhyung’s in the gentlest manner.

                The brunette sat up. It was nearing dawn, and the first few rays of sunshine poured in through the window near them. “Are you okay, Yoseob?”

                Yoseob looked at him with half-lidded eyes but he smiled through his weariness. “I can feel it, Junhyung.”

                “Attacks again?” He jerked, ready to run to the caretakers’ rooms.

                “No, no.” Yoseob calmed him with a gentle caress on his hand. “It’s different. I feel… I need to go.” He breathed in and out slowly.

                Junhyung’s eyes widened. “Go. Go? You mean like… go, go?”

                The golden-haired boy chuckled. “Yes.”

                Junhyung held his breath. No, this couldn’t be happening. He wanted to shake Yoseob to his senses, to tell him to stop joking around. Going was not an option! He’d decided that he wanted to stay in the orphanage, to stay with him! He promised Mr. Choi that he’d protect him forever! Yoseob had once told Junhyung to stay with him, why was he the first one to leave now? He looked again at his best friend and saw how weak he’d become. Even as they grew older, the blonde was always a little bit smaller, a little bit frailer than the rest—and that weakness the child had countered with wisdom beyond his years and a stronger will to live his life happily. Junhyung’s expression softened. “You’re going to leave me?”

                Yoseob smiled sadly, his breath growing shorter with each inhale. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

                “No, don’t be,” he said gently. “I have so much to thank you for.”

                “The same for me, Junhyung. Thank you. And, I love you.”

                Junhyung shifted on the bed and leaned over his best friend. He pressed his lips lightly on Yoseob’s golden fringe.

                Yoseob’s eyelids fluttered open and he sighed happily, releasing the breath he’d held as Junhyung leaned back. “You really do take my breath away,” he chuckled, “and leave me breathless.”

                Junhyung pulled him up carefully and hugged him, feeling Yoseob hold on to his shirt weakly. He closed his eyes and held his best friend closer. Junhyung felt Yoseob’s eyes close slowly, and he felt the boy’s last labored heaves on his chest before it all stopped and his softs hands dropped to the bed.

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a/n: Sorry to everyone who's been waiting for this update! I had this written since last week but I wanted to wait a few days before posting this last chapter~ So yes, this story is really short, but I hope you guys like it anyway :) Thank you to everyone who subscribed and commented! I love you all <3