"Minwoo yah..."

            "I'm not talking to you."

            "Minwoo yah, please..."

            "I don't want to hear it."

            "Please forgive me... I was just trying to--"

            "Stop. I'm done with you."

            I sat uncomfortably in the back seat like a child listening to his parents quarrel. Hyesung stared out the window, pretending to be oblivious to Dongwan and Minwoo's bickering. I had briefly filled him in on what was going on as soon as he had woken from his sleep. While the fact that Jinnie had been hospitalized at a mental institution had come as a shock for me, Hyesung had been much more positive; in fact, he had been overjoyed that Jinnie was indeed alive and breathing. Even more than that, we knew where he was and we were heading over to see him right now.

            Except for a small detour along the way.

            "Minwoo yah... I'm sorry..."

            "I can't believe you lied to me..."

            "Minwoo yah... You have to think about my situation, too. You were unstable and I just didn't want to--"

            "So you told me that Choongjae of all people was dead? You force fed me that ridiculous lie when you knew that he was alive?"

            "Minwoo yah... Please..."

            "I thought we were friends, Dongwan. I clearly thought wrong."

            "Please... Minwoo yah, forgive me..."

            The repeated conversation went on for almost an entire hour as we drove to our destination. Hyesung and I stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt the two, but it was dreadful to play our role as the audience. It was painful to listen because I understood both viewpoints. If I was Minwoo, I would be clearly upset, if not just plain angry, for being lied to for so long. However, I couldn't count it against Dongwan. Witnessing Minwoo's earlier episode, I would've also been too frightened to reveal the truth about Jinnie's condition. That was if Jinnie was really in that horrible of a condition as Dongwan claimed.

            What really happened to you, Jin ah?

            "We're here," Dongwan finally said. With a sigh of relief, I got out of the car and followed the others into a tall skyscraper dressed in black glass.

            "T.O.P Entertainment," I read the letters adorning the glamorous building before I entered its door. I couldn't help but smile as the memories of our time together as six came crashing onto me like a flood.

            Shinhwa...

            It seemed to be so long ago--and by the number of years, it really was. I could remember how the six of us had gathered, just a group of wild teenagers with one crazy dream. How we had come together, butted heads, screamed and punched each other. How we had mustered up all our determination and had never given up. How we had somehow went from strangers to best friends who couldn't live without each other. How we had tasted fame and glory from our bloody hard work. How we had seen the dark side of being in the spotlight and had faced a whirlwind of problems. How we had managed to not fall by grabbing onto each other during our times of struggle.

            And how one day, one of us had left. And how I had never been able to let him go. How I had left the other four because I couldn't bear living with myself.

            I was a traitor, a coward.

            As we walked through the hall that led to the lobby, Hyesung took my hand. I stared at him for a moment, the man who claimed to love me despite my weaknesses and my flaws.

            God, I loved him. I loved him so much it hurt.

            Minwoo and Dongwan halted in their steps, making me jump out of my thoughts. A pretty lady stood behind a desk and smiled kindly at us in greeting.

            "Minwoo sshi! I haven't seen you in so long! And Dongwan sshi, too. And is that--" She goggled me with wide eyes, making me feel awkward. It actually came as a surprise that people were still able to identify me when my looks had gone so sour after all these years.

            "Hi, Mina. I need to see Andy. Right now," Minwoo spoke firmly.

            "Let me just check in with him," the receptionist told us as she quickly picked up the phone on her desk.

            We waited rather impatiently as she dialed a few numbers and listened for someone on the other end. "Mr. Lee? Minwoo sshi and Dongwan sshi are here to see you," she informed her boss. She nodded at something he said and turned to us. "He says he's very busy right now, and that you can schedule a meeting with him in the future."

            "That bastard," I heard Dongwan mutter under his breath.

            "Tell him that Eric's here, too," Minwoo pressed, his words underlined with brewing annoyance.

            "Eric sshi is here as well," the receptionist repeated for her boss to hear. She turned to us again after a brief pause. "He says he really can't see anyone right now."

            Andy... Are you really refusing to see your hyungs?

            "Tell him that Hyesung's here to see him," I proclaimed.

            I suddenly felt the lobby growing cold. The receptionist gave me the strangest look, but when no one dared to refute me, she complied with my request.

            "He says that... Hyesung sshi is here," she said hesitantly. She waited for a respond on the other end and mumbled, "Yes, sir," then hastily hung up the phone.

            "Mr. Lee says that he will see you now," she told us, still watching us with a curious expression on her face.

            Minwoo flashed me a smile and Hyesung squeezed my hand. Dongwan led the way to Andy's study, which took a journey of a few good minutes. What greeted us at our destination was two large black doors with a golden plate that read "CEO Sunho Lee".

            Dongwan quickly exchanged looks with Minwoo then proceeded to open the doors, revealing an enormous room that was easily bigger than my entire apartment. The walls were pale and , and there wasn't a piece of decoration to be seen--no plant, no artwork, not even a bookshelf. The only furniture resting inside was a long wooden desk, polished and glossed to be the finest of its kind. Behind it, a man sat in a tall black chair with his fingers interlaced carefully and his lips pressed into an unwelcoming line.

            "Andy," I breathed, mesmerized. The young boy I used to care for and look after had indeed grown into a fine man. His boyish cuteness had faded over the years and a certain y charm had possessed him. With his hair pushed back and his black suit fitted brilliantly over his body, he looked like a handsome, professional CEO that every woman employee would lust after.

            Well, perhaps that was what he was now. CEO Lee, gorgeous as ever and living the dream, while his hyung wasted away in a rotting dirt hole. I was ashamed of how much we had drifted apart, and at the same time, I couldn't help but be proud of the success my beloved dongseng had managed to achieve.

            "Junghyuk."

            I was startled by the way he called out to me. Never in our long years together had Andy ever uttered my name so coldly. Our eyes met, his enchanting brown hues with mine, and I suddenly felt the need to look down to my feet. His gaze was compelling and overpowering and I could tell that my dongseng had risen over me. I was no longer a hyung to him, but a poor scumbag who was a sorry excuse for a human being.

            "Andy."

            His name fell out of my mouth as a soft whisper. Without warning, water stung my eyes and a tight force constricted my heart. "I really missed you," I choked out before I could stop myself.

            I never realized until then how much I had missed him. Out of the four members, I had missed him the most. Andy had always been family, even before our days of stardom. A part of me had been always worried about him, concerned if he was eating well and sleeping well. I had always wondered the most about him subconsciously, but had been too much of a coward to pick up my phone and dial his number. And now that he was before me, I wanted to weep and embrace him, like a father who had been apart from his son for too long.

            Andy frowned at me and he opened his mouth to say something, but shut it quickly. He moved his eyes from my face to Dongwan's.

            "Why are you here?" he asked in a low tone.

            "They want to see Choongjae," Dongwan replied.

            "We know he's alive," Minwoo added, his words layered with anger and resentment.

            Andy glared at Dongwan. "You promised."

            "I'm sorry. I had to," Dongwan started rambling in reply. "Especially now. With Hyesung back--"

            The room seemed to plummet in temperature at his name. Hyesung stiffened beside me and I felt his fingernails digging into my palm.

            "What?" Andy spat with his eyes narrowed.

            "He's back, Andy. Hyesung is really back," Minwoo claimed confidently.

            Andy stared at Minwoo for a second then sighed. "Minwoo hyung's finally crazy, isn't he?"

            "He's not crazy," pressed Dongwan. "I didn't believe it at first either, but Hyesung's really back."

            "Where is he then?" Andy questioned.

            "He's right here," I answered. I turned to look at Hyesung and gave him a small smile.

            "There's nothing there," Andy sneered.

            Dongwan sighed. "You can't see him. None of us can. Except Eric."

            "Really?" Andy chuckled darkly. "And you both believe him?"

            "I felt him," Minwoo told him. "And Hyesung threw a bookshelf on Dongwan."

            "It's true," Dongwan agreed.

            "You are all mad," Andy said. "The dead cannot come back to life."

            "None of us believed it at first," Minwoo explained. "But Hyesung convinced us that he's truly back. Just give him a chance to convince you, too."

            "You are all crazy," Andy replied, shaking his head. "There's no possible way--"

            "We're running out of time," I cut him off, catching his attention. "Please, just come visit Jinnie with us."

            "And why would I do that? My time is valuable you know."

            "Please," I pled. "If you ever cared about Hyesung..."

            "How dare you," Andy muttered irately. For a second, I thought he would curse me off, but he just rubbed his temples and reached out for his phone on his desk.

            "Mina, get the car ready," he said and hung up. He glowered at me as he got up from his chair and walked out his door, motioning us to follow him.

***

            No one dared to speak a word during the entire car ride. Not once did Andy even glance in my direction. Hyesung sat beside me, never letting go of my hand. Occasionally, he would give me a small smile that would warm my insides and melt my nerves. Still, we were both too nervous to meet Jinnie again to enjoy the smooth limousine trip.

            By the time the car stopped, my palms were drenched in sweat. We all exited the vehicle in silence to face a tall pale building. The place was surrounded by a forest that stretched far and wide. There was no one else around, not even a random jogger, but I reckoned that the hospital was isolated for a good purpose.

            As we received our visitor passes at the front desk and continued on to walk through the halls, I could smell an unnerving mixture of chemicals in the air. It definitely had the chilling atmosphere of a hospital, with its endless white walls and countless cells. There were occasional screams that echoed from a distance, covering my skin with goose bumps, but Andy did not falter in his steps nor did he even flinch. So the five of us pressed onwards without rest.

            The path we took had so many twists and turns that I doubted if I could return to the entrance alone. Andy kept walking as if he knew this place inside out and I couldn't help but wonder how many times he had visited this facility. According to Dongwan, Andy had been the one who had protected Jinnie all these years.

            "How many times do you come visit Choongjae?" I had to ask.

            When he did not reply right away, I thought he was ignoring me, but after a brief moment of silence, he said, "I come here every day."

            "Why? I heard that there are no signs of him ever recovering..."

            At that, Andy sighed, and I was afraid I had been to blunt. However, he answered simply, "Because he's family."

            "Andy was always the kindest and gentlest of us six," Hyesung told me as he reminisced our past. "While we cared for him as hyungs, he was the one always there for us like a guardian angel."

            "Guardian angel..." I murmured.

            "What did you say?" Andy asked, turning back to look at me for the first time.

            "Nothing," I quickly said.

            Andy regarded me strangely for a moment then shook his head. "Anyway, we're here," he announced.

            There was a large metal door standing unaccompanied at the end of the corridor. Andy pressed a five digit combination on a nearby number keypad and the metal door swung open, allowing us in.

            Inside was a large room with a long glass wall that separated it into two spaces. On our side of the room were two men in white coats, rapidly scribbling away at a sheet of paper. On the other side was a bed, a desk, a chair, a sink, and a toilet, all bolted tightly to the floor. A figure with long disheveled hair and loose white attire sat on the bed motionlessly. His eyes--the little of them I could see through his tangled black locks covering his face--were completely empty.

            The first shock came as I wondered if this was actually a dead man.

            The second shock came and I realized that this man was--

            "Jinnie..."

            It was Minwoo who whispered the name with tears sprouting from his widened eyes. "Is that... Is that really Jinnie?" he asked, his voice utterly broken.

            The two doctors in the room looked up from their papers to glance at us.

            "Ah, Mr. Lee, you're here," one of them said as if they had been waiting for Andy's arrival.

            Andy politely nodded at them. "Dr. Kim and Dr. Cho, could you just give us a few minutes of privacy?"

            "Of course," they replied and walked out of the room.

            Suddenly, we were all alone. The six of us. Shinhwa. We were united once again.

            Except this wasn't how I had pictured our reunion at all.

            Andy carefully approached the glass door that led to the other side of the room and opened it. The five of us entered, walking closer to our own darkest nightmares.

            "J-Jin ah?" Minwoo stuttered, already starting to break apart.

            The man in white did not even look up. It was as if he no longer recognized his name.

            "Jin ah... Jin ah..." Minwoo kept muttering as he got closer to him.

            "Don't touch him!" Andy suddenly warned. "He can get very violent."

            At his words, Minwoo stopped in his tracks and started to cry. "I just can't believe... I can't believe that this is Jinnie..."

            Dongwan stepped forward and embraced Minwoo in comfort. "Minwoo yah, we all can't believe it..."

            "He... He doesn't recognize any of us?" I choked out.

            "No. I tried to talk to him every day, but he never responds," Andy answered. "It's as if he has forgotten how to speak. Except when you touch him. He screams and attacks you."

            "Has he ever... attacked you?" I asked.

            I saw a hint of glimmer in Andy's eyes, his hues doused in unspeakable sadness. He rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, revealing numerous scars in the shape of claw marks on his arms. "The doctors had to tranquilize him to get him to stop," he said dejectedly. "I just... I just want him to come back... Return to his old self... Junjin... He was always so happy on the outside, I never thought he would break like this..."

            A tear rolled down my cheek. "This... This is all my fault..."

            "No," whispered the man who stood beside me. "This is my fault."

            "Hyesung ah..." I wanted to argue against him but the words wouldn't come. All I could do was watch as he walked closer to the empty vessel that had once been his beloved dongseng.

            "Jin ah... I'm sorry..." Hyesung said, tears falling like raindrops from his eyes. "I'm so sorry..." He reached out and gathered Jinnie into his arms. I waited for his arms to go through Jinnie's physical body, for Hyesung to be cruelly reminded that he no longer had the ability to touch anyone else but me.

            The vacant expression on Choongjae's face changed in a fraction of a second.

            "Hyesung!" I called out in panic as Jinnie pushed him away aggressively. Hyesung fell hard to the ground.

            Then the screaming started and all hell broke loose.

            Jinnie suddenly leaped up from his bed and whirled his head about, trying to detect what had disturbed him.

            "What's going on?!" Dongwan shouted, alarmed.

            "I don't know!" Andy cried back. "Nobody touched him, I don't know why he's going into one of his fits..."

            Unless...

            "Eric!" Hyesung yelled at me, a wild smile possessing his face. "Eric! I can touch him!"

            "But how..." I started to say until I remembered Dongwan's words from earlier.

            "Except Jinnie. I always thought maybe Jinnie loved Hyesung the most, even more than you, Eric."

            "It was Hyesung!" I proclaimed to the other three. "Hyesung can touch him!"

            "Don't be crazy--" Andy started to say when his expression morphed into horror.

            A strong impact suddenly collided into me, knocking the wind out of me. Suddenly, I found myself on the floor, unable to breathe.

            "Eric!" someone yelled, but I could barely hear as robust knuckles pounded on my jaw. Then, when I finally thought the attack had stopped, I felt long fingers closing around my throat.

            Something made Jinnie shriek and I crumpled to my knees, able to breathe again. Water stung my eyes, blurring my vision. I could make out unfocused images of the other three trying to contain the mad Jinnie with little success.

            "Jin ah! Stop!" Minwoo was yelling.

           "He won't listen. He can't hear us. He's going to keep attacking!" Andy shouted back.

            "Get the doctors! He's inhumanly strong. At this state, he might kill us all!" Dongwan cried, terrified.

            When my vision finally cleared, I found Jinnie struggling on the ground with Dongwan and Minwoo restraining his arms and Andy pinning down his legs. There was madness in Jinnie's eyes as he flailed about, his head still whirling, looking for something.

            Was he still looking for what had touched him?

            Was he trying to search for Hyesung?

            As thoughts ran through my mind, there was a loud crunching noise as Jinnie's knee made contact with Andy's nose, making Andy lose his grip. With his legs free, Jinnie started kicking the air, trying to get out of Dongwan and Minwoo's grasp as the two held onto him for dear life. I tried to go and help, but someone was faster.

            "Hyesung ah!" I cried as Hyesung ran to lock his arms around Jinnie's body so that he could no longer move. At his touch, Jinnie started to scream and thrash around.

            "Jin ah! Please listen to me!" Hyesung cried as loudly as he could. "I know you're in there! Please... Please just listen to me!"

            But his words seemed to make Jinnie scream louder.

            "Jin ah... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry I made you like this... I'm so sorry I left you... Please... Please forgive me..."

            Jinnie continued to scream, but a tear fell from his eye.

            It was almost as if... he could hear him...

            "Jin ah... There was never a time after we met that I didn't care for you. You were a brother to me and I will always be here for you. Not even death can change that."

            "LIAR!" Jinnie screamed, stunning all of us in the room. With sudden force, he broke free from Minwoo and Dongwan and reached blindly for the man embracing him that he could not see. Somehow, he managed to grab Hyesung by his clothes and threw him across the room.

            When Hyesung's body crashed into the metal frame of the desk, I found myself able to move again. I rushed towards my lover's side to make sure he was okay.

            "LIAR! LIAR! LIAR!" Junjin was still screaming repeatedly with his eyes drenched in tears. He fell to his knees and began to weep. I looked around at the others: Andy had blood all over his face, his nose possibly broken, and his expression was of utter confusion. Minwoo and Dongwan looked equally bewildered, unsure of what to do next. I returned my attention to Hyesung and, thankfully, found him conscious. He touched the back of his head with a painful moan and when I touched his fingers, thick red liquid dripped from my hand onto ground, spotting the pale white floor.

            "Hyesung, you're hurt..." I said, worried.

            Hyesung shook his head then turned to Junjin who was still crying on his knees. "Liar... Liar..." he was still whispering through his sobs.

            "Jin ah..." Hyesung called out to him. Jinnie seemed to hear his voice and looked up from where he kneeled.

            Hyesung turned to me and undid the buttons of my shirt so that my chest was exposed. Then he touched his head with his fingers then started to write on my torso with his blood.

            "It's not a lie."

            Everyone in the room stared with amazement as the words continued to appear in red ink.

            "Jin ah, my beloved dongseng,"

            Andy gasped and even Minwoo and Dongwan seemed taken back by the miracle happening in front of them. Junjin continued to watch in silence, waiting for more.

            "I will never leave you."

            Hyesung crumpled to the ground from exhaustion and blood loss. I embraced him so that he could lean against me. He looked at Junjin and, although I was sure Jinnie could not see Hyesung, their eyes seemed to meet. There was a sparkle in Jinnie's eyes and Hyesung must have seen it, too, because his lips curled into a small grin, a smile full of faith that things could be set right again.

            "Hyesungie hyung..." Jinnie whispered and I realized there was hope after all. Even Jinnie who had attempted suicide and had been locked up inside a mental hospital for so long... Even Minwoo who had occasional panic attacks and had been unstable for the past five years... Even Dongwan and Andy who had grown tired and had stopped believing in miracles like the reunion of Shinhwa...

            Even me... who had lost all hope...

            I stared at the man in my arms, breathing heavily against my chest with beads of sweat raining down his forehead. This man who was so stubborn and irrational, a crybaby and an idiot... This man who was the best friend anybody could have, the greatest gift my life had been blessed with...

            This man named Shin Hyesung was hope.

[A/N]: HI GUYS!!!!! I'm back... from loads of summer work I did not expect to encounter -_____- I really wanted to update this sooner, but since I broke my promise from last time (that I would update realllll soon) I made sure this chapter was extra long :) Hopefully, you guys liked it and didn't get bored >.< This series is slowlyyyyy coming to a close (maybe like 3-5 more chapters? idk lol) so I really want to thank you guys for sticking with me this long despite my terrible writing and late updates :) Please pardon any mistakes, I still have yet to read this over since I wanted to update it right away for you guys~ Continue to show me support by upvoting and commenting because it really encourages me to continue writing!!! Love you guys and again... THANK YOU SO MUCHHH!!!