(Hyukjae POV)

(A few days later)

He started attending classes regularly now. He didn't seem as tired ,exhausted  or hurt  anymore , however I knew that he was still struggling . He smiled more often now , it melted my heart every time I saw him look into my eyes with that joy filled face. He spoke to me without any hesitation or awkwardness, we laughed and talked comfortably with each other and didn't argue as much. I think that it was safe to say that we were beginning to understand each other now.

We met in class and when he wasn't working , we went out to eat after classes were over .

The more I saw him , the more I  met him and the  more I spent time with him ,the more eager I became to keep wanting him to stay  with me.

I don't know why but whenever I saw him talking or even looking at someone else , I felt the urge to want to gain his attention. I wanted him only to look at me and only talk to me.

I was  going crazy ...... I just didn't understand why I felt the way I did towards him.

It was morning and I arrived at my first morning class . The only reason why I was still even bothering to attend this boring class was to see Donghae every morning and well also because apparently we were getting assigned our last assignment for the course today , which was worth a lot of marks. I really needed the marks, I have been so distracted from school lately and needed to get back into gear before I ended up failing the course. Hopefully the assignment wasn't going to be too bad.

I arrived to class twenty minutes earlier so I could get a chance to talk to him . I sat there and waited . Donghae , Ryeowook and Kyuhyun arrived together as always and made their way up to where I was sitting.

"Hi !" Ryeowook said as he and Kyuhyun passed from in front of me to take a seat to my right and Donghae sat down on my left.

"Ugh ! The stupid assignment will be assigned today ! This is literally the hundredth assignment that we had to do for this stupid course ! " Kyuhyun ranted off as he took of his jacket and hung it behind him on the seat .

"Tell me about it ! This class is like torture !" Ryeowook responded, sounding just as frustrated .

I didn't blame them , I was fed up with this stupid class as well. I couldn't wait till it was finally over.

I let the two of them talk and I shifted my attention over to Donghae.

"Well, hello there !" I said, giving him a cheesy smirk.

""Hi"  He said , smiling because of my weirdness.

He was getting used to my personality now. He learned about my addiction to sarcasm and tacky sense of humor.

Ryeowook and Kyuhyun were busy talking about something related to another class, I didn't pay attention , I couldn't.

I just watched Donghae as he took out his books and took a sip of water from the bottle.

He was so stunning. His hair were dark and soft. His eyes were big and enchanting , I could look into them forever.

I sat back and just watched him. He was perfect.

As  he was leaning his head back to drink the water he caught my eyes looking at him .

He quickly put the bottle down and looked back at me  with confusion.

"What ?" He asked .

"Nothing" I said with a smile without removing my eyes off of him.

I didn't need a reason to look at him anymore, my eyes automatically went towards his direction every single time.

"Let's go somewhere tonight ?" I asked.

"Tonight ? I can't , I have tons of homework to catch up on and plus the assignment we will be assigned today. I have a lot to do !" He said with a sigh.

" I have a lot to get done as well, don't worry !" I tried to convince him.

"No Hyukjae , not today."  He said again.

Stupid school , was making our lives miserable . I wish it was summer break already so we wouldn't have to worry about assignments or exams for a bit .

The professor arrived and got started on the lecture . The class was full today because everybody wanted to hear about the assignment.

I noticed Heechul , Leeteuk and Kangin arrive fifteen minutes late and were struggling to find empty seats . I lost sight of them as they all sat in different places .

"Aright class , as you may all already know , judging from the class attendance today, that you are going to be assigned your final assignment for the course. And since you all have worked hard this entire year and have already completed four major assignments , I have decided to allow you to work in pairs this time." The professor announced.

Oh my god . Was this man serious?  Suddenly, I didn't hate this class as much anymore.

The guys and I , all looked at each other in surprise and smiled with anticipation . It wasn't often in university that you got a chance to work with a partner.

Automatically, without a second thought , I turned to look at Donghae , with a huge grin on my face. He understood exactly what I wanted.

He rolled his eyes and let out a slight chuckle . He knew me too well now.

"Fine!" He said .

He had to agree, he had no other choice but to. He wasn't going to partner up with someone else . Not with my presence.

The professor went onto explaining more about the assignment , it's requirements , purpose , marking scheme and due date.

The lecture went on and suddenly everything was boring again. Thank god Donghae was here beside me .

I noticed his hand resting on my chairs arm rest . I stared at it with fascination. His hand was so beautiful , his long slim fingers and perfectly shaped shinny nails. Everything about him was just so enthralling .

I felt the urge to touch his hand, I wanted to sense his soft skin.

Without second guessing  , I gently brushed the back of my hand over his.

He got startled from the sudden contact of skin. He looked at me quickly and removed his hand .

"What are you doing?" He asked hastily , looking around to see if anyone saw.

I said nothing and just quietly chuckled . He looked so funny whenever he got worried like this over the slightest things.

"Stop it !" He whispered and went back to listening to the professor.

The lecture was the last thing on my mind right now . I was too busy , lost in the perfection that was seated next to me.

(Later on in the day)

It was 6:00 pm and I was done with classes before Donghae , so I decided to go wait for him outside his class, hoping we  would  be able to grab something to eat.

I waited outside his lecture hall for fifteen minutes and finally everyone started coming out . I looked around to find him and eventually spotted him walking out with Ryeowook.

I quickly made my way over to them through the crowd.

"Hi guys !" I said and waved to catch their attention.

They were surprised by my appearance.

"Hi Hyukjae ! What's up ?" Ryeowook said as he saw me approach.

Donghae didn't look surprised at all .  He just gave me a smile , like he already even that I would be waiting for him outside.

"Nothing much." I responded casually.

"So what brings you here ?" Ryeowook asked , looking confused.

"Oh....ummm.... Donghae and I are actually working on that assignment together , I wanted to talk to him about it !" I quickly said , even though I had entirely forgotten about the assignment until now.

"Oh really? You two are partners? Kyuhyun and I are working together ...... well anyways , I have to run now , I start work in half an hour. Have fun with the  assignment !" Ryeowook said with a smile, as he checked the time on his phone and quickly rushed off .

"Alright, see you !" I called out behind him.

I kind of felt glad that he left , it meant that I could be alone with Donghae.

Donghae was standing to my side , hugging a fat textbook to his chest.

"Assignment ? Yeah right ! I bet you had already forgotten about it." He said with a smirk.

He knew me way too well.

" No !  I didn't forget about that stupid assignment......... ok , ok ! I forgot about it! " I tried to not make it obvious that I was actually only here to see him but he kept looking at me with that cheesy grin, so I just gave up .

He threw his head back and started laughing hysterically from all the amusement he was receiving from my frustration.

The way he laughed , the way he covered his mouth with the back of his hands, the way his striking big eyes filled with joy . It all drove me crazy. I couldn't stop looking at him. He was flawless.....in very single way.

" Are we going to stand here forever or what ?" He finally managed to say , calming back down .

" No...... I was thinking maybe we can ----" I started saying but he cut me off.

"I told you Hyukjae , I can't today . I have so much to get done , maybe some other time , ok ?"

"Alright , alright ! How about coffee then? It will only take ten minutes ! Promise ! Please ?" I pleaded.

He looked at me for a moment and then finally gave in.

"Alright, just coffee , then I need to go , ok !" He  told me , making it clear.

"Yeah , yeah sure ! " I quickly said and grabbed his arm and  started walking.

 We went to a little cafe that was located right on campus. I ordered coffee and he order hot chocolate .

It was cute how he didn't even consider coffee or any other drink and just straight up  order hot chocolate .

" Seriously ? Hot chocolate ?" I asked him , trying not to laugh.

"Yeah , so what ?" He asked , looking puzzled.

He was pouting , he looked like a little kid.

"Nothing." I said , shaking my head , again trying to contain myself from laughing.

We got the beverages and started walking towards his dorm. It was already dark out now ,it was cold but it wasn't snowing tonight , not that we needed anymore snow.

We walked down the pathway, our footsteps were synchronized.

Donghae wrapped both his hands around the cup , to keep them warm.  His nose and  cheeks were turning red from the cold .

I looked at him . And once again he was nothing less than stunning.

We walked in silence for a while . I slowed down cause I didn't want us to reach his dorm just yet . I wanted to spend as much time with him. Surprisingly , he slowed down as well and matched my pace.

"So about the assignment ... I was thinking of maybe doing it on Rene Descartes. I find his theories very interesting and I have always wanted to study more about him and now I finally have the chance to !" He said , sounding like a excited five year old who just got a new toy .

" Are you seriously excited about this assignment ?" I asked him raising my eyebrows .

"Yeah , why ? Can't I be ?" He said , defending his  weird excitement for an assignment.

" You are such a nerd ." I said , teasing him.

He stopped suddenly and looked at me with disbelief.

"What ? You are !" I said  and started laughing after looking at his mad face.

"Oh yeah ? I bet the only thing that gets you excited are dance studios !" He tried to make a comeback but failed .

I busted out laughing even harder . He really didn't know how to fight . He was just too innocent.

He stared at me , as I was dying from laughter and suddenly busted out laughing too. We both were laughing like idiots , in the middle of the sidewalk but there weren't many people around to judge us and think that we were probably drunk or something.

After a while we both managed to calm down and tried to catch our breaths in  the cold. I realized that we hadn't even opened our drinks yet.

"If you are not into philosophy, religion or anthropology,  then why you did you even take this class ?" He asked , taking a sip of his drink.

" Let's just say that I didn't have much of a choice ! That was the only class with space left ." I said , also taking a sip of my coffee.

"Oh !" Was the only thing he said.

"You know ..... in the beginning I hated every second of this class and wanted to drop it so badly but now....... I am glad that I didn't ." I told him.

"Really ? Why's that?" He asked as he turned to look at me.

"Well because I got to meet Kyuhyun, Ryeowook and ............ you ."

He looked at me as I emphasized the 'you' , he didn't know what to make of it so he just quickly looked away and took another sip .

" To be honest ...... I should be the one thankful and glad that I met you ...... without even knowing who I was , you turned my whole life around." He said looking down at the ground.

" Me? What did I do ?" I asked , feeling bewildered by his unpredicted words.

He stopped and turned to look at me again .

"Hyukjae , you saved my brother's life ! How can you not even consider  that as anything ?" He questioned . His eyes were getting teary .

"Donghae ...... you don't need to bring that up every time you know ? It puts me in a uneasy position. I did what was right , now forget about it , please ?" I looked into his frail moist eyes and told him.

Every time he brought this up , I felt bad. I didn't want him to feel burdened , or think that he owed me anything. I just wanted him to be happy .

"Thanks !" He said and smiled.

My heart dropped as I saw his heavenly face under the moonlight . The cool breeze made his features appear soft and delicate .

I didn't even realize it but we were already in front of his dorm now. I took a deep sigh , knowing that he will be leaving now.

But to my surprise, he didn't leave right away. We stood there in silence for a while and finished up our drinks.

We didn't need to even talk now. Just having him beside me was enough. I looked at him , he looked back and smiled.

"Alright..... I should go now ." He said .

My heart started beating faster . I didn't want him to go just yet.

He stood there and waited for me to say something back.

"Alright.... I guess...... see you ." I managed to let out with disappointment.

He nodded and turned away to go inside the building.

I stood there and watched him slowly disappear.

Why did I want him to stay so badly. Every time he turned away to leave like this ..... my heart shattered into a million pieces. What was wrong with me ? Even when I knew I was going to see him again , why did I want to have him in front of my eyes every day , every second?  Why was I so desperate to hear his voice again and again? To see him smile ? To look into his captivating eyes?

Why did my heart go crazy every time he was in my sight?

I didn't know . I didn't know what was going on with me.

(Next day)

We planned on heading over to the library to get started on  the assignment. We were suppose to meet at 5:00 pm , after Donghae finished work.

It was 4:30 pm already , I arrived a little earlier and found a nice quite place to work and waited for him eagerly.

It was now 5:15 pm and there was no sign of him, I called him several times already but he didn't pick up. I tried to be patient and kept waiting, maybe he was being held back by work or something.

It was 5:30  and he still wasn't here yet. Did he forget ? No ! He couldn't !

I called him one more time and when he  still didn't pick up , I put my head down on the table with frustration.

A few minutes later I heard someone pull out a chair in front of me .

"Sorry Hyukjae ! I didn't mean to keep you waiting this long !" Donghae finally arrived and right away started apologizing as he saw that I had been waiting for a while now.

I quickly put my head up and suddenly felt  relieved after seeing his  face.

I knew he wouldn't forget to come.

"It's ok , sit ." I said and gave him a smile.

He placed his bag on the chair beside him and slowly sat down, he looked very uneasy for some reason.

"What took you so long ?" I asked him curiously.

"Oh nothing .... I just had to go home before coming here . Sorry !" He said.

"I told you , it's ok !" I said.

He looked tired again and restless . He couldn't sit still , he kept moving around. He looked irritated.

"Are you ok ?" I asked him, feeling worried.

"Yeah , I'm fine ! So let's get started ." He said and quickly began taking out books from his bag.

"I looked into the topics last night and every one of them  seems so boring !" I told him .

"Hyukjae , we need to do the assignment on something ! " He said and started looking through the books .

I looked at him as he was busy with the books.

His eyes looked red , puffy  and exhausted . It made me concerned. He didn't look well today.

"Donghae , I know something is wrong . Tell me what is it ?" I asked again .

He closed the book and took a deep sigh .

"Hyukjae , I told you I am fine ! Can we please just work on this !" He  told me , sounding annoyed .

"Ok, sorry, let's work on this thing." I tried to calm him down. I didn't want us  to start arguing again .

We worked in silence for about half an hour. He wasn't very talkative today and I didn't push him to be either , I could tell he wasn't in a good mood.

Suddenly in the middle of writing something, he put his head down onto the table and wrapped  his arms around it.

"Donghae , what happened?" I questioned . What was going on with him ? Why was he like this suddenly?

He didn't answer . I got up and went over to the other side of the table to him.

 "Donghae?" I said again.

And still he didn't answer me.

I shook him slightly to try to remove his arms , so I could see his face. He didn't let me.

"Donghae , what the hell is going on ?" I asked , feeling like something was eating me up alive as I watched him like this.

Finally I forced him  to remove his arms and was able to get a glimpse of his face.

He was crying.

"Nothing !" He said and  quickly got up  and started packing his things up , with tears rolling down his face.

"Donghae , why are you like this ? What happened ?" I demanded him to tell me.

"I told you , it's nothing! Don't worry , please . Can we work on this some other time ? I need to go ." He quickly picked up his bag and turned away to leave.

I grabbed his arm and turned him back around to face me . I looked into his eyes .  He was in severe pain.

I held onto him by his shoulders.

"Please tell me , what's wrong ?" I pleaded . I couldn't stand to watch him like this .

He looked down , he couldn't look into my eyes from all the tears that flooded his eyes.

"It's just........ I don't feel well today. I need to go home ." He finally let out between sobs.

"Why ? What's wrong ? Are you hurting ? Tell me !" I shook him by the shoulders to get him to look at me .

"It's just the ....... back pain. It's nothing , I just need to go home." He turned away  to leave but I stopped him again.

"That was like days ago ! I remember you told me about it at the park . You still didn't get it checked ? Are you serious ?" I was literally shouting at him now , in the library.

He started crying harder . I shouldn't be raising my voice at him right now , he was already so miserable but his carelessness for his own health made me so mad.

He  buried his face into his hands and continued crying .

My heart felt crushed as I looked at him. I couldn't take it anymore .

I quickly packed up our things , grabbed him by the arm and we left the library.

"Hyukjae , what.... what are you doing ?" He asked , trying to release his arm from my tight grip.

"Hyukjae ! Where are we going ?" He asked again , sounding desperate to know what I was doing .

I knew I was being harsh on him by dragging him out of the library like that , he couldn't even walk properly and I was pulling him behind me.

"Hyukjae ! What is the matter with you ?" He finally managed to escape from my stubborn  grip when we reached the car.

" You are so damn pathetic Donghae ! You have had this pain for so long now and you still haven't went to get it checked ?" I shouted at him again , unable to control my anger.

He stood there , with tears running down his cheeks.

" I haven't gotten the chance to , ok !" He shouted back with frustration in between sobs.

I then realized that  he was right . He didn't have the time to look after himself . He worked two jobs and went to school even with the pain. He had no time for himself. He was always busy looking after his family's life. I felt sorry for him. I felt like a jerk pulling him out of the library like he was some sort of abused dog. I felt like a jerk for treating him like this.

" Sorry ..... I didn't mean to . It's just that I can't stand..... seeing you like this !" I explained to him.

"It's , it's ok." He said.

" Let's go to the doctor now and get it checked, huh ?" I asked him , softly . I didn't want to hurt him anymore.

"No , it's ok. I can go on my own, you should go now ." He said , trying to seem like he wasn't hurting anymore.

"I can't leave , knowing you are in this condition!" I said and opened the passenger door for him.

He stood there , feeling hesitant .

"Donghae please !" I tried to convince him.

He finally got in slowly and I closed the car door after.

We drove in silence. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the side window.

His face expressed exactly what he was feeling right now . He looked so helpless and weak.

I wanted  to hold his hand and comfort him, but I tried to resist cause I knew it would make him uncomfortable.

We finally arrived at the hospital. I checked him in and we sat in the waiting room for our turn.

There weren't many other patients here , just an old couple and a mother with her baby .

"Do you want me to get you something to eat while we are waiting ?" I asked him.

He slowly shook his head, with his eyes tightly shut closed. He was in too much pain to eat.

What caused him to have such a bad back ? Why was his body so fragile? I wanted to ask him but I realized that it was probably not the appropriate time right now.

I sat beside him and we waited for his turn.

I hadn't been to a hospital in a long time. It felt so strange to be here.

As I was busy looking around the room , observing everything in sight like a amazed five year old child. I suddenly felt Donghae rest his head on my shoulder.

I froze. My heart started  racing inside my chest. My mind went blank. Was he really doing this?

This is the first time we made physical  contact like this . I held his arm before but ......... nothing like this.

His eyes were still closed. He clenched onto my arm and I could feel his nails digging though my jacket. It was his way of tolerating the pain. He probably wasn't even aware of what he was doing .

I didn't mind . I couldn't mind . If it helped ease his pain then I didn't mind if he stayed like this forever.

I couldn't help myself.

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder so he could rest his head more comfortably. He came closer to my body and now gripped onto the front of my jacket.

I felt the warmth of his body against mine. I looked down at his face. Again , he was no less than perfect.

His breathing was slow and steady now. I think he was asleep.

After thirty minutes it was finally our turn . The nurse  came into the waiting room and called out his name.

"Donghae...... Donghae !" I whispered to wake him up.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked surprised by his surrounding. He had forgotten that we were at the hospital.

I couldn't help but smile from his cute startled  reaction. He looked so lost and innocent.

I walked him to the examination room. The nurse told me that  I couldn't come inside because she had to take x-rays , so I waited outside .

It was almost 8:00 pm now and was dark and snowing outside . I looked out of the huge glass window in the hall way , as I stood there and  waited .

After twenty minutes the nurse came out .

"Is everything ok ?" I asked her anxiously.

" I have taken his x-rays and some tests , the doctor will examine the reports and contact you in a few days if something is wrong. I have also given him pain relief medicine which will help ease the pain for a couple of hours." She said with a smile.

"Oh, alright... thanks !" I said .

She left to get the next patient.

I went inside the examination room and Donghae was putting on his jacket.

"Hi ! Ready to go ?" I asked .

"Yeah" He replied and we left the hospital.

I helped him into the car . Again he didn't say much.

"Are you feeling better now ?" I asked trying to get him to say something . I wanted to cheer him up.

"A lot better ." He said leaning his head back.

Again there was silence and I didn't try to disturb it.

"Hyukjae.................. thank you." He finally broke the silence.

I froze from his voice. His soothing tone made me relaxed and I felt happy that he was right here with me right now.

The rest of the drive was quiet once again.

We reached his dorm .

"Goodnight." He said and got out of the car..

"Goodnight! Rest well ! " I called out  from the open passenger window.

He smiled and waved , after he turned away to leave and once again I found myself wanting to go after him and stop him.

The more time I spent with him the more I couldn't stay away from him. I needed him with me. I couldn't bear to see him in pain. I wanted him to always be happy. I wanted to make his life easier.

(Donghae POV)

I came home feeling tired but I wasn't in pain anymore.

Unable to do anything else from the exhaustion I changed and went straight to bed.

I was tired but couldn't fall asleep. So many thoughts were  running through my head , I couldn't think straight.

I kept thinking about tonight.

As soon as he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer to his body....... the pain was gone. His warmth made me feel safe and secure. His scent was so comforting and calming. I couldn't help but fall asleep in his arm.

For the first time in years ...... somebody made me feel this way and took my pain away.

Without even realizing it .... Hyukjae had  become a major  part of my life ..... I was thankful towards him...... but for some reason I also felt guilty because I knew what was going on. He was a good person and I didn't want to hurt him.