“You’ll find someone new.”

“She’d want you to move on with your life, Kyu.”

“She’s in a better place now.”

“Everything happens for a reason.”

Dull, lifeless, blank eyes stared at the amber liquid he was swirling in a glass before he swiftly turned and hurled it at the fireplace; the sound of shattering glass reaching his ears.

The flames roared up as he slumped onto the floor.

“They don’t know anything.”

~-~-~-~-~-~

“Oppa?”

“Hmm..?”

There was a light smile, almost of a ghost of it really, that lit up her face; the swing she was on slowly and gently moving forward and backward, forward and backward as her feet brushed against the sand every so often. “Where do you see yourself ten years from now?”

“Eh?” His eyebrows rose; his own swing immobile and his sock-clad feet buried halfway under the sand. His shoes were placed tidily at the sight. “Why’d you ask and become sappy all of a sudden?”

She shrugged absently. “No reason.”

Kyuhyun didn’t really take long to think about it. “Well, I’d like to be a successful stage actor ten years from now. Maybe a song writer, too. Sounds good?”

“Sounds good.” The brunette nodded, shooting him a look. “That’s all you see yourself as in ten years?”

He knew  the answer that she was surely hoping to hear, even if she wouldn’t readily admit it. A part of him felt like teasing her, pretend to be clueless and naïve about it, just so he can see how much it means to her. But he decided against it.

“I still see myself with you in ten years.”

This time, it was her eyebrows that rose but he could clearly see that the answer pleased her. “Now who’s all sappy?”

The corner of his lips lifted in that trademark Cho Kyuhyun smirk. “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”

Life was the biggest bastard of them all.

He’d said that he still saw them together after ten years and he firmly believed that when he said it. He believed that even after ten years, they’d still have each other; a fact that wouldn’t change even if the ten became twenty, thirty, fifty, sixty years.

But he didn’t get the ten years he thought he’d have.

He didn’t even get five years.

For less than half a year after he said those words, she said goodbye

“Where is she? Where the hell is she?” Kyuhyun came barrelling in the hospital, not really seeing anything except for his best friend, who had gotten up on his feet from being seated on one of the chairs. “What the hell happened? Where is she? I have to see her. Is she alright? I need to know if she’s okay.”

Shim Changmin’s face had gone pale. Kyuhyun wouldn’t have noticed it if he didn’t meet his best friend’s grief-stricken eyes. It was then he noticed how Jung Yunho had crashed down to the ground and was openly sobbing, how Im Yoona let out a scream of despair into her hands, how Jessica Jung remained seated, a shell of the girl she normally was; her face blank, her eyes haunted.

“No…” He heard Wu Yifan choke out the word behind him as if he already knew what was going on

It was when he noticed the anguish cry that Choi Siwon made; the older man collapsing in tears. Amber Liu had taken a seat beside Yoona; her face buried against the latter’s arm as her body shook violent at each and every sob that erupted from

Wide, hesitant eyes shifted back to his best friend and dread filled every inch of his body. An unreadable expression filled Changmin’s face; tears welling up in his eyes.

“. . . Min?”

The only reply he gave to Kyuhyun’s many questions was a shake of his head.

“No…” Kyuhyun reeled back as if he was slapped so hard; Changmin reaching for him when he lost his footing.

This couldn’t be. It just simply couldn’t be.

“No… No, no, no, no, no. Oh god, no.” A crazed, grief-stricken look filled his eyes as they darted around in search for a doctor. He straightened up against the taller man’s hold. “No, that can’t be. It’s not possible. I need to see her. I have to see her. I have to see. Where’s the doctor? There must be some sort of mistake. It can’t be. I need to see her.”

Changmin held him back before he could get anywhere, tightening his grasp on his broken best friend when he struggled and tried to break free. “Kyu…”

“Get out of the way, Shim!” He yelled, struggling as hard as he could but he was no match for Changmin, especially when Yifan and Siwon came to help. “Let go of me! Let go of me! Those damn bastards got it all wrong. I need to see her. They made a mistake. They made a mistake.”

“I’m so sorry, Kyu.”

Kyuhyun’s legs gave way and he slumped to the cold, hard floor, taking Changmin down with him. “No… Goddamn it, no.”

And all there was left to do was cry.

~-~-~-~-~-~

“There you are.” Changmin let out a sigh of relief as he jogged toward his best friend, who had just stepped out of his car and locked the doors. “Where have you been? You turned off your phone. you didn’t tell anyone where you were. Everyone’s been worried.”

His eyes drifted to the other cars scattered on the driveway and the respective owners who all looked relieved at the sight of him. True enough, everyone was there and they really did seem worried. But all their worries were pointless, at least for him. They should’ve known better to wonder where he was.

“Where else would I be?”

Changmin looked taken aback for a second before he let out a breath. “You went to her again?”

“Do you really have to ask, Shim?”

“It’s been three years.”

“Three years is nothing. I’ve loved her all my life.” With that, he pushed past his best friend, not bothering to acknowledge any of their other friends as he walked up the front steps, unlocked the door, stepped inside and slammed the door shut.

~-~-~-~-~-~

“So this is what it’s like.” Her words were whispered that he was sure he’d missed them if he wa