“Hyung, I need to see you,” the young boy breathed into the payphone receiver. His cell phone lay lost and abandoned along some street miles and miles away.

“Yoseob,” Junhyung let out an exhausted sigh. “I can’t right now. You know I’m extremely busy this week with the interviews and photo-shoots on top of everything else. Can’t it wait til Saturday when we both return to the dorm?”

“Hyung…” Yoseob took a shaky breath. “I know you’re busy… but I really need to see you.” His voice broke. “Y-You know I wouldn’t ask this of you if it wasn’t important. Please, hyung… Meet me in the park just outside of Seoul under the big oak tree.”

Junhyung could hear the desperation in his dongsaeng’s voice. He bit his lip, closing his eyes and trying to keep his voice level. “Alright, Yoseob, I’ll be there.”

“You promise, hyung?” Yoseob asked quietly.

“I promise, Seobie. I’ll be there.” The phone clicked off, the other line going dead.

Junhyung didn’t know how he was going to get away from the rest of his schedules. He knew he’d be in trouble if manager-hyung found out that he knocked off early. But he didn’t care; he could tell from Yoseob’s voice that whatever it was, it was important. And he couldn’t let his dongsaeng down.

-     -     -     -     -

Yoseob had been sick for a while. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt like himself, it could’ve been weeks, but it felt like years. Years since the last time he gave a full belly laugh and meant it. Years since he had been able to go to bed and not wake up in a hot sweat or violently ill. Late nights spent hugging the toilet and daily regiments of over-the-counter and prescription drugs - these were now the only clear memories in young Yoseob’s mind.

And all this time he suffered in silence. He put on a fake smile and needlessly joked around with his hyungs, pretending everything was perfectly normal. No one knew the secret lying deep inside the young boy’s aching body. No one could know…until now.

Yoseob sat in the park he agreed to meet Junhyung at under the oak tree. He had another doctor’s appointment today, sentenced to another dose of prodding and pricking leading up to endless tests that always affirmed the same result.

Yang Yoseob was dying. There was no getting around that heartbreaking truth. His recent tests only confirmed his fear; he had a shorter amount of time than he thought. Yoseob was exhausted; mentally and physically. Some days, it was all he could do to arouse himself from his bunk. His primary physician advised him that he was in the end stages of his illness. He’d be lucky if he made it another two weeks.

Yoseob knew he had to tell the other members. He just didn’t know how. He couldn’t exactly go up to them one day in the living room while they were watching their programs and chatting happily and just spit it out like a confession to a high school crush. This was a complex, delicate situation and had to be treated as such.

That’s when he decided he’d have to start with the one person he trusted more than anyone in the world, Junhyung. The two weren’t always the closest of people, even having spats nearly every day at the beginning. But over time, they grew on each other and it came to the point where they depended on each other. Whenever Junhyung had a problem, no matter what it concerned, the first person he would go to was Yoseob and together they would work towards a solution. The same went for Yoseob; whenever he needed anything, he knew he could rely on Junhyung.

Yoseob sighed, rubbing his shivering arms and attempted to snuggle deeper into his oversized hoodie. He pulled the hood closer to his face and leaned against the thick trunk of the tree. He knew his hyung would show up; he had to. Yoseob told him it was important; Junhyung couldn’t let his dongsaeng down knowing that it was vital for the young boy that he keeps his promise.

“He has to come,” Yoseob whispered to himself, fighting his chattering teeth. “Junhyung has to come.” Yoseob’s lips were quickly turning blue, the color faded completely from his face. “He promised…”

-     -     -     -     -

“I need to leave,” Junhyung protested against the director of the photo-shoot and his manager. “It’s important; I have to leave!”

“Aniyo, Junhyung-ah, you can’t leave. After we wrap this up, you have to head directly for a phone interview and then make an appearance at some news meeting.” His manager flipped through his clipboard and then pushed it roughly into Junhyung’s chest. “I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them.”

“But hyung –”

“No buts, Junhyung! I’m sorry but whatever it is can wait. This,” he gestured to the set around them, “as well as your other schedules, is more important.”

Junhyung’s face went cold. He took the clipboard from his chest and flung it across the room, not watching as it flew like a Frisbee until it crashed to the ground. “No, Yoseob is more important.”  

Not waiting for a response, Junhyung stormed out of the building and spied a bus that would take him to the park. He started in a full out sprint and made it just as the bus driver closed the doors. He paid the fee and sat towards the front, his knees bouncing impatiently with anxiety. He prayed he wasn’t too late.

-     -     -     -     -

Junhyung got off the bus 3 blocks from where he needed to meet Yoseob. The bitter wind nipped at his exposed neck and face, causing him to hug his loose-fitting jacket closer to his body. A major part of Junhyung hoped Yoseob had wised up and decided to go inside to somewhere warm instead of waiting out in this weather. He shook his head and let out a small laugh at his own thoughts. Yang Yoseob was one of the most stubborn people he had ever met; Junhyung knew that Yoseob would wait and wait no matter the conditions until he got what he wanted.

Junhyung arrived at the park and didn’t spy his dongsaeng anywhere. He made his way over to the oak tree but it was deserted. “What the hell,” he muttered to himself. “Where are you Yoseob?” He pulled out his cell phone and immediately dialed Yoseob’s number. It went straight to voicemail.

“Annyeong! You’ve reached jiggy jiggy Seobie of Beast! I can’t answer the phone right now, but if you leave a message, I’ll call you back….maybe.” The small message cut off with Yoseob’s familiar, cheerful laugh; a laugh that Junhyung couldn’t remember hearing in a long time.

“Yah, Yoseob! You told me to meet you here at the park and now you’re not here? What is this? You know how much trouble I’m going to get in because I ditched? You said this was important! Give me a call.” Junhyung hung up angrily and just stood still, fuming internally.

“Excuse me?” a small voice broke into Junhyung’s thoughts, causing him to jump lightly and turn around.

“Ah, nae?” Junhyung’s eyes were met with those of a weary old woman.

“Are you looking for the boy that was here?”

Junhyung’s eyes lit up. “Ah, nae, nae. He’s about this tall, dirty blonde hair,” he measured out Yoseob’s height with his hand.

“Yes, he was here earlier. Nice boy, very talkative; he kept telling me about some other boy that he was waiting to meet. I’m assuming that you’re him.”

“Nae, I was supposed to meet him here, but he’s not around. Do you know where he went?”

The woman’s face suddenly fell, her weary eyes overcome with sadness. “Ah, yes, he’s gone.”

“Gone?” Junhyung asked. “What do you mean “gone”?”

“The poor boy passed out; they took him to the hospital in Seoul.”

“Ah, thank you!” Junhyung started to leave.

“Wait young man!” Junhyung turned back around and was met with a small white envelope. “The boy, he said that if you showed up, to give this to you. He wouldn’t let me read it but he told me it would explain things.”

Junhyung took the envelope, slightly stunned and then bowed to the woman. “Kamsamnida!” He his heel and began to run again.

-     -     -     -     -

Yoseob lay in his hospital bed, thousands of thoughts racing calmly in his head. All of them led back to one common denominator; Junhyung. Did he get the letter? Did he even show up? What if he didn’t? What if this was how Yoseob’s life was going to end; alone and scared with no one knowing what happened to him?

There was a small knock on his door. It was so faint, Yoseob didn’t notice until the person knocked repeatedly in their own little beat. A tiny smile spread across his face knowing exactly who was at his door.

“Come in,” he called out weakly.

The door opened and Junhyung ran in, kneeling down by Yoseob’s bedside. “Yah, Yoseob, why are you in here?”

“Hyung,” Yoseob said hoarsely, the smile not leaving his face. “You came. That means you went to the park. You kept your promise…”

“Of course I kept my promise, pabo! You said it was important. I couldn’t ignore that. Now answer me, Seobie. Why are you in here?”

“Hyung… I’m dying.”

Junhyung’s eyes widened. “Yoseob, that’s not funny. You don’t joke around like that.”

“I promise, hyung…I’m not lying. I’ve been dying for a while now, but…this is it; it’s over.”

“Yoseob, don’t speak like that. Tell me what’s going on?”

“Remember when we were trainees and I got those really bad headaches and I got really sick for a month?” Junhyung nodded in response. “When I went to the doctor, after running a bunch of tests and coming up with nothing, they scanned my brain and they found a malignant tumor. Ever since then, I started bi-weekly chemo and a daily regime of medicine. All those pills I told you were vitamins, were really pills to fight the cancer. Just before our debut, my doctor told me that I was in remission and that with a lower dosage of pills and chemo, I should be cancer-free permanently.”

“T-Then what happened?” Tears welled up in Junhyung’s eyes. “If you went into remission, why are you here now? Why are you speaking this nonsense about dying?”

“I started getting headaches and feeling sick again about 5 months ago. I went to the doctor and he told me that the cancer was back. We fought it for as long as we could, but when I came back for my check up today, he told me that the cancer became resilient to the treatment and if I was extremely lucky, I’d make it a month tops.” Yoseob let out a small, weak laugh. “I guess my month ran out faster than expected.”

Tears fell down Junhyung’s face. “No, Yoseob… you’re not dying. You can’t be dying…you can’t leave me.”

Yoseob reached over and took Junhyung’s hands gently in his own. “Hyung, please don’t cry. This is for the best.”

“How is you dying good for anyone?” Tears rolled off of his cheeks and onto Yoseob’s pale arms.

“It’s the best for me, hyung. I’m not going to get better. At least in death, I won’t be in pain anymore.”

“But,” Junhyung choked. “But… I need you. You can’t leave me.”

“Hyung-ah,” Yoseob squeezed the elder’s hands weakly. “I’ll always be there for you, even if I’m not physically there. I’ll always be watching and smiling down at you.”

Junhyung couldn’t hold back his sobs anymore; his façade broke, revealing a sniveling mess in its wake. “I’ll miss you, Seobie.”

Yoseob tilt his hyung’s chin up to look at him. “I’ll miss you too, Junnie-ah.” He caressed the elder’s cheek softly. “You’re my best friend.”

A few minutes of silence engulfed them. Junhyung managed to compose himself ever so slightly, still sniffling and rubbing at his eyes. “Seobie?” Yoseob hummed from his pillow, his eyes closed. Junhyung was quiet again.

The sickly boy opened his eyes and looked over to his side. “What is it, hyung?”

“Saranghamnida Yang Yoseob,” he whispered, squeezing his friend’s hand in his.

Yoseob hooked Junhyung’s neck with his free hand and pull his face close to his own, placing a soft, sweet kiss on his hyung’s lips. “I always have, and always will, love you, Yong Junhyung.”

He gave the elder boy’s hand another gentle squeeze before the pressure faded away, leaving nothing but the subtle “beep” of the flat line to fill the silent room.