"Hey, Luhan. It's been a while, huh?"

"Luhan nodded softly as he took off his shoes and walked into Minseok's house.

 

It was about 11 a.m. when Minseok had heard a light knocking on the door to find his old friend at the door.

 

But to Minseok, he was more than just a friend.  A lover, perhaps.

 

The younger of the two took a good look around smiled.  The light smell of mint and vanilla permeated through the room as he walked toward the couch to take a seat.

 

"Not much as changed, it seems?" Luhan asked as he saw bit of clothing strewn acorss the floor; a lone sock here, a pair of boxers next to a lamp whose light was dull, what seemed to be a dirtied cap, and so on. 

The older sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, embarrased and laughed. 

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked.

"Sure," the other replied.

"The usual, right?"
 

Luhan nodded as he stood up to look around the house more.  Minseok prepared some hot water as he looked for some tea leaves in the cupboard.  He frowned as he realized the tin for Earl Grey tea was empty. 

 

He called across the kitchen to Luhan, "It seems I'm out of Earl Grey.  Will black tea do?"

 

Luhan nodded as he looked at some old books on the shelves.  He picked up an ecru-colored book with gold binding as he gingerly flipped through the pages.  A small grin broke out upon his face as he walked over the small wooden table in the dining room. 

"Reading something?" Minseok asked as he poured hot water into two cups. 

"It's the first book I gave you, remember? On our first date?"

 

Minseok came over to the table with two mugs, taking the one that was slightly chipped at the end and giving the better one to Luhan. 

 

"Thank you," Luhan said as he wrapped his fingers around the cup.  His bones were slightly visible as he bent his slender fingers. 

 

"Ah, I remember now," Minseok said as he took the book into his hands.  Faded out letters spelled out "Oliver Twist" on the cover.

He flipped open to the page that was bookmarked with the black ribbon.

"“I know that she deserves the best and purest love the heart of man can offer," said Mrs. Maylie; "I know that the devotion and affection of her nature require no ordinary return, but one that shall be deep and lasting.” 

 

Luhan winced slightly as he pressed a hand to the side of his head. 

"Are you okay?" Minseok asked worriedly. 

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he said as he gestured to Minseok to not be worried. 

 

"Does the piano still work?" Luhan asked as he stood up and wobbled. 

"It does, but I think you should sit down for a while," Minseok replied. 

"I'll be fine."

 

The younger took a seat on the piano bench. Luhan took a deep breath, trying to recollect himself.  Minseok stood worriedly next to him.  The blond placed his thin fingers onto the keys, ready to play, but he never pressed down on the any.  He frowned, frustrated tears falling down from his face. 

Minseok took a seat on the bench, making their legs press against each other as he played a few notes to warm up.  Then gracefully, notes were emitted from the old black piano as his fingers moved from across one side to another. 

 

He wasn't sure of what he was just playing because he played the first thing that came to his head. 

Maybe it was Tchaikovsky. 

 

Memories flooded into his head as he abruptly stopped playing. 

 

Luhan had his head leaned up against Minseok's shoulder as the latter was playing a piece by Bach.  Notes floated into Luhan's ears as he smiled.  There was a loud crack as something pierced Minseok in the chest. 

 

He heard a crash in the distance.

Luhan was still sitting next to him, eyes blinking and confused.  
"Are you okay, Minseok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine.  Do you know the name of the song I was playing earlier by any chance?"

"By Tchaikovsky?"

"No, Bach."

"I only heard you play a bit of Tchaikovsky.  I don't remember you playing Bach."

The two of them sat back down at the tablr and Minseok felt his mug.  The tea was still hot.  
 

"Why aren't you drinking your tea, Luhan?"

Luhan smiled again before talking "I'm not so thirsty at the moment.  Maybe later."

"I've been wanting to talk with you for a while now, Luhan."

"We have all the time in the world."

"I'm sorry."

 

Luhan gazed into the black pool of tea in his mug as his eyes darkened with sadness.  The fact that he was still smiling despite this hurt Minseok's heart.  

 

Minseok felt Luhan's ghostly fingers on his hand.  His face was as wan as ever as that smile of his came back onto his face. 

"There's nothing to be sorry for, my darling."
 

He moved closer to caress the side of Minseok's face, but the latter lightly pushed his hand away.  He felt burning tears fall from his eyes as Luhan sat in front of him, not sure what to do. 
 

"So you really still think it was your fault back then."

 

Minseok sat with his hands under his legs as he nodded grimly.  This time when Luhan placed a hand on Minseok's face, he didn't restrict him from doing so. 

 

The room felt empty as he heard the ticking of the clock in another room. 

 

Luhan's head was covered in blood as he lay on the street.  Minseok felt himself gagging as he saw his lifeless face look back at him with glassy eyes.  Luhan still had a small smile on his face before he dropped completely onto the scarlet-drenched concrete.  The smell of Luhan's blood-covered body choked Minseok as he fought back tears.  A few shards of glass had landed onto him as he ignored the cuts he was receiving from them as he ran towards Luhan and frantically called for an ambulance.

 

A long monotonous beep resonated in his ears as he looked back at the Luhan in front of him. 

 

"You need to move on, Minseok.  There's better people out there for you."

"No," he shook his head furiously.  "Don't you understand I haven't moved on?" he yelled as his tried to grab Luhan's shoulder to shake some sense into him. 

 

Luhan wasn't there and he slipped, spilling both mugs onto the ground.  The burning sensation on his foot from the tea didn't bother him much as he pounded a fist onto the small table.  He grit his teeth, frustrated as he looked at his scarred forearms.  Clear and recognizable were lines on his wrists as Luhan's face flashed before his eyes.

 

He smelled the black tea that had spilled onto his ground and feet as he kicked the chair in front of him into the wall.  

 

Luhan had always visited him every month, even after he was permanently released from the hospital.

 

 

The little girl next door was playing Tchaikovsky on an out-of-tune piano.