Don't ask me why I'm writing about Christmas in the beginning of September.  

~*~

Chapter VIII

“Merry Christmas, hyung!”

12월 25일

Myungsoo only had 7 months to live…

Sungjong still couldn’t believe it.

They only had seven more months with Kim Myungsoo.  It didn’t seem right.

Already, they had spent more than four years together and it felt like even longer to them.  Sungjong felt cheated as he was told that Myungsoo only had a little time on his plate with him, all the time they had spent with each other, carefully building their trust together, depending on each other and being each other’s shadows… would nearly go to waste.

Sungjong knew that Myungsoo felt the same way, maybe even more cheated and depressed than the others as he would be the one leaving.  The others would have the others to lean on when he leaves but he had no one on the path that he would head down soon.

Myungsoo noticed Sungjong staring at him.

“Come on, Sungjong, smile,” he said cheerfully as he smiled at Sungjong.

He tried to smile back but he didn’t feel like the smile reached his eyes. Myungsoo was back at his parent’s home for a little while, looking just like normal except for the fact that he was paler and skinnier than before. Sungjong knew that Myungsoo often felt nauseous and faint even if Myungsoo tried to hide it.  Sungjong had spotted Myungsoo slip away from the families to swallow a couple of pills silently.  When he was washing his hands earlier, he had seen the pills lined up neatly in the bathroom cabinet.  He knew that it was probably not the best idea to snoop on his hyung’s privacy, but his concern drove him to pick up the pills and read the labels.  Sungjong had nearly dropped the bottle of pills as he read he labels, surprised at how many pills that Myungsoo needed to take. 

“It’s the holidays, not my funeral,” Myungsoo continued to joke.

Immediately he was pounced on by Dongwoo.  “Don’t mention you’re dying now, Myungsoo,” Dongwoo said, his voice filled with laughter, but his voice pleading at the same time.  “It’s the holidays after all!”

Sungjong grinned for real this time.  It was a nice festive time of the year. This year, most of their families made it out to Seoul to spend Christmas together.  Dongwoo, Myungsoo, Sungyeol, Sungjong and Woohyun’s mothers were making some dinner in the kitchen, the rest of them, their dads, Infinite and Myungsoo’s, Sungyeol’s and Sungjong’s brothers, were lounging around in the common area.

Myungsoo was grinning and laughing as Dongwoo continued to sit on top of him, trying to tickle him.

“S…st… stop it!” Myungsoo yelled.

“Pile up!” Dongwoo yelled.  Hoya joined him, helping holding him down.  Sungjong grinned and jumped on top of them.

No matter what happened, they were still children in their hearts.

“Stop it!”  Myungsoo yelled again as he tried to throw the others off of him.

Sungjong grinned.  Maybe the didn’t matter that Myungsoo was going to die soon, they still had each other, even if it was only for a little while.

He sghed, knowing that he shouldn’t think negitively, so he smiled and held onto Myungsoo tightly.  “Merry Christmas, hyung!” Sungjong said, quietly promising that it wouldn’t be the last time he would say Merry Christmas to him.  

~*~

Myungsoo leaned back and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere.  It was nice to be with his family without having someone ask him if he was all right all the time.

He quickly checked his watch and sighed, he would need to take his next set of pills soon.  He tried his best to hide the amount of pills that he had to take from the other members, but he knew that Woohyun and Sungjong knew anyways.

Maybe, one part of his brain didn’t mind.  He wanted someone to help him through all of this and for him, it wasn’t easy as his pride got in the way, but everyone needs help at some time or the other and Myungsoo needed it now.  He knew that if he turned and asked, his family and Infinite would be right there to help him.

“Hey, Myungsoo.”

He looked up. Sunggyu was standing beside him.  “Hey, are you okay?” Sunggyu asked.

Myungsoo nodded.  “Of course,” he said.  “It’s been a nice evening.”

Sunggyu nodded and sat down beside him.  “I got you a Christmas gift,” he said, handing him a small wrapped present.

“Oh, I think I left your present in my room, I’ll go get it for you,” Myungsoo siad, standing up to go get it, but Sunggyu put a hand on his thigh, stopping him from getting up. 

“Open my present first, okay?” he said. 

Myungsoo blinked confused, but none the less, opened the present.

Inside there was a simple note.  He looked up, his eye brow raised at Sunggyu.

Sunggyu smiled. “Just read it,” he said, ruffling his hair.  

Myungsoo cracked a smile as he smoothed down his hair and opened the note.

It’s Christmas time again.  It’s not a time to be sad, Myungsoo-yah.

Smile!  

Now follow the lights.

He looked up, perplexed, but Sunggyu wasn’t there any more.

“Hyung,” he called, standing up.  “Sunggyu-hyung, where did you go?”

He poked his head out into the hall.  “Hyu-” he stopped in the middle of the sentance.

There oustide of the door was a string of Christmas lights leading down the hall.

There was another letter, this time it was Dongwoo’s writing hanging on the end of the lights.

Don’t catch a cold by standing there without your jacket!

Get your jacket and follow the lights.

Myungsoo smiled and grabbed his jacket.  He certainaly didn’t know what the others were planning for him, but he was certainly excited and happy to find out what waited for him in the end.

The next note, in Woohyun’s handwriting, was stuck on the door leading outside.

Come on, slow poke.  Go down the street and turn at the restaurant.

Hoya’s waiting for you.

Myungsoo hurried down the street wondering what the others had for him.  His breath came out in little clouds as he jogged down the farmiliar street. 

He reached the resturant and looked around for Hoya’s note, but something else caught his eye.

In the store across the street, there was a TV playing in the window.  The video was of Hoya dancing to something.  Myungsoo got closer, shoving his hands in his pockets.

After the dance was finished, Hoya held up a sign.

Myungsoo!  We hope that you’re having fun.  Do you see Sungyeol?

He looked around, searching the streets for Sungyeol’s farmiliar tall figure, but finding the streets empty.

Instead, his phone rang.  Myungsoo fished it out of his pocket and checked the screen.   

Yeol

Myungsoo quickly answered the phone and pressed his ear against the frozen surface. 

“Hello?” he answered.  

“DO YOU HEAR ME?”

Myungsoo jumped and held his phone away from his ear as Sungyeol screamed from the other end.  “What?” Myungsoo asked, trying to process the change of language.

“DO YOU HEAR ME?” Sungyeol yelled again in English.

“Yes, I can, just fine,” Myungsoo said, not bothering to answer in English, highly doubting that Sungyeol knew how to say anything else than his line in Be Mine.  “Where are you?  Where am I supposed to go?”

“DO YOU HEAR ME!”  Sungyeol yelled again, then he hung up.

Myungsoo looked at his phone, laughing at his friend’s weirdness.  Just as he was about to call Sungyeol again, he heard something in the wind.

“Myungsoo!”  He turned around looking for the source of the voice.

“Myungsoo!”  Someone was standing at the end of the street, waving his arms at him.  “Myungsoo-yah!”

Sungyeol jumped up and down a few times to make sure Myungsoo had seen him.  “Come with me!” he yelled.  He turned around and ran down the street.

“Wait!  Sungyeol!”  Myungsoo hurried down the street.  When he got to where Sungyeol was standing, there was another note.

This one was in Sungjong’s handwriting.

You heard Sungyeol-hyung?  Sungjong wrote in English.

Good.  It said in Korean.

Then follow the lights.

Myungsoo looked up.  On the near by street light, there was a bundle of golden lights, each of them marked with an infinite sign.  

Down the street, in the fading lights of Christmas Eve, he could see the next bundle of lights set on streetlights or benches.  He hurried down the street, following the lights.  He was really thankful that the other memebers had come together to do something for him.  If he couldn’t make it for another Christmas, this would be his last and he knew that the other members were determinded to make it a wonderful Christmas for him. 

Myungsoo ran down the road, smiling at the bright snowflackes falling in the evening sky.   The lights that Infinite had set up for him sparkled, as if stars had come down from the sky to lead his way.  

He turned the corner…

~*~

He opened his eyes, the darkness greeting him even out of sleep.

All of it was just a dream, but not just a dream.

It was a memory.  The past, 3 months ago now.

He rolled over on his bed and gently touched the cluster of lights, the same ones that had lead Myungsoo to the others on Christmas.  He kept them close on to his bed.  The lights, though they didn't glow any more, brightened up his room and helped him remember things that he was afraid of forgetting. 

The other six members had got together and carefully planned their special Christmas surprise for Myungsoo, planting the notes, video taping Hoya’s message, and hanging up the golden clusters of lights.

Now, he took the same golden lights in his lap and traced the infinite sign on one of them.

When Myungsoo had found them, they had a surprise for him.  He closed his eyes again and smiled, holding the golden lights close to his heart, as he remembered the present that they had given Myungsoo.

A promise.

A promise to be infinite. 

Hello!~ 

So, number one, I'm back at school... yay...? I want to be still watching Running Man and Infinite and writing and drawing all day instead of in a classroom learning about... stuff... 

Second, yes, Christmas in the beginning of September, Merry Christmas everyone... I hpe you liked this chapter!  DtR is mostly split into 8 parts and we're now finished part 3, and we still have  a lot more to go! and yes strange ending, I might write the actual surprise they had soon, but for now... Next chapter's VERY exciting! Don't worry, I'll update soon! 

Number 3, just so you know, I've been writing Down the Road for exactly a year now~! (I write everything before I start posting bc then I can get more details and things like that.) Down the Road is my baby, so I hope that you're enjoying it and you'll comment! Please comment and subscribe and upvote please!  Thank you for the support!  

And I heard what happened with Ladies' Code, I dont know Ladies Code very well, but I was so sad when I heard the news.  

May EunB rest in peace and Sojung and RiSe recover well.