"Thankyou, Junri." Chen genuinely smiled at her as she handed him his gift.

Junri smiled back. "I hope you like it."

"It's unfair because my birthday is already over." Tao whined.

"I'll give you a gift on your next birthday, then." Junri smiled.

"As long as it's from you, noona~" Tao grinned at her and reached out to pull her into a hug but Lay slapped his hands away.

Lay glared at the maknae. "Down, boy."

Tao pouted and rested his forehead on the lunch table.

"Your forehead... is it okay now?" Lay worriedly asked and let her sit beside him. The wound was already a week old, but Junri still needed to clean it from time to time since it hadn't fully healed yet.

She nodded. "I'm fine now." She reassured. "What did you guys get Chen?"

Chen rolled his eyes. "Only Xiumin and Lay were considerate enough to buy me a present this year."

Kris scoffed. "Excuse me?"

"A pen doesn't count as a present, Kris." Xiumin informed.

"It was a calendar pen." He frowned. "At least I got you something." He shot both Luhan and Tao a look.

Luhan held up his hands. "Pardon me, sir, but my present is just late. It'll be ready tomorrow. I already told Chen that." He said.

Tao blinked. "Mama and Ba didn't give me money." He reasoned.

"You have money to buy yourself bags." Chen rolled his eyes.

"Those are my Gucci money. I don't have Jongdae-ge present money right now." He widely grinned, but he frowned when Xiumin hit the back of his head.

"What did you get Chen, anyway?" Junri asked bith Lay and Xiumin.

"Brand new MP3 Player." Xiumin answered.

"Donald Duck Stuffed toy." Lay said.

"What about you?" Kris asked Junri. "What did you get our dear Chen Chen?" He said, making Chen choke on his own saliva.

Junri grinned. "Open it." She urged Chen.

Chen nodded and opened the lid of the box.

Tao furrowed his eyebrows and confusedly looked at Kris. The older just shook his head at him.

"This is really... great, Junri." Chen said and held up the orange stress ball. It looked like a real Orange, actually.

Xiumin absent-mindedly nodded while Luhan and Lay shared a look.

"Why? Is it bad?" Junri nervously asked.

Lay snapped out of it and smiled at her. "No. It's really cool, Junri. Where'd you buy it? I want one too!"

Junri smiled and started telling the directions of the shop.

Chen put it back inside the box and looked at the others. They all seemed to be in the same page.

"Maybe she just wants to give the same present twice?" Xiumin said in Chinese. "I mean, Chen's nickname is 'Orange'."

Luhan shook his head. "She would have known. She's not that type of person to give the same exact present twice."

"Noona even gave it to ge on MY birthday..." Tao sighed.

Chen just looked at them. "Maybe she forgot? I mean... Tao's birthday isn't really rememberable." He managed a joke, but the members didn't look convinced.

"What are you guys talking about? I'm still here, you know." Junri chuckled, but she silenced herself when they all just smiled at her. "Is the present I gave really that bad...?"

Chen shook his head. "No! I really love it. Seriously." He smiled to reassure her. "But... it does seem familiar. Don't you remember it from somewhere?" He asked.

Lay shot him a look to shut up, but Chen ignored him.

"Noona, when's my birthday?" Tao suddenly asked. He was wearing an unreadable expression. And for once, he was serious and mature.

Junri blinked. "Is it near already? I'll get you a gift. I promise." She smiled at the younger male, but Tao nodded and looked down on his lunch. "... Did I say something wrong?"

"No. Nothing like that." Kris shook his head. "Maybe Tao just wants an orange stress ball too." He grinned.

Junri's eyes widened and she chuckled.

Meanwhile, Luhan stared right at her. *What's happening, Junri? It was already weird for you to start forgetting small things like your pen... or your phone. Is this a side-effect from multiple amnesia you experienced?* He asked himself.

Lay looked at Zelo. B.A.P was on their usual table. But unlike before, when he usually glanced at their table, they were quiet and whispering to each other. *I wonder what's wrong...?*

Junri then suddenly stood up, startling the EXO M members.

"Oh my God... I'm so sorry, Chen." She whispered. "I'll get you a new present tomorrow. I seriously forgot! I'm sorry!"

Chen blinked, before letting out a chuckle. "It's okay, Junri. I'd like this second one better than the first one. To be honest, I lost the first one."

"No. I'll get you another present tomorrow. I promise." She seriously said and sat back down.

Luhan shook his thoughts off. *I guess we were just over-reacting...* He sighed. *We've been really on edge since her accident.*

"But noona! I still don't forgive you for giving ge a present on MY birthday!" Tao complained with a pout.

Junri laughed and patted his back. "I'll give you TWO presents next time, okay? I couldn't help myself. That orange really reminds me of Jondae."

The table laughed, and continued normally. They shouldn't worry, right? It was all in the past.

But of course... the past shapes the present.

"I'm taking you to the doctor. NOW." Zelo said as soon as they arrived home.

Junri made a face. "We just got home. I don't want to go anywhere."

"That headache lasted long enough, noona. And look at you!" He gestured to her. "You're a mess!"

She gave him a blank look. "Gee, thanks."

He rolled his eyes. "I mean, just look, noona. Your skin is sickly pale and you look like you've aged. You're even moving like an old person!"

"Because of my headache!" She snapped. "You're over reacting, Junhong."

He stayed rooted on his spot. "No. I'm not. Not this time." He said in a firm tone. "Just... try to remember the past week, noona. You're clearly out of it. You can barely even stand during mornings..."

"Everyone gets lazy." She reasoned.

"You don't have the appetite to eat anymore..." He continued.

"I'm on a diet."

"You've grown so skinny you look like a skeleton..."

"That means it’s working."

"And look," He held out a necklace.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "When did you take that? While I was sleeping in the car?"

"You forgot it." He said.

"No. I didn't." She convinced and snatched it away from him. Truthfully, he let her do it. "I wore it this morning." She said again. "I... I always put it here." She patted the bedside table.

"You left it in your bathroom." He said again.

She glared at him. "What are you trying to acheive here, exactly?! Why were you even in MY bathroom?!"

He didn't even flinch. He had grown used to her behaviour for the last week.

"Noona... Let's get you to a hospital." He gently said.

"I'm... not going." She feebly argued.

He held her hands that were containing her precious necklace. Her hands were thin, and bony. Unlike Zelo's firm and slightly rough ones.

"Just this once, noona. Listen to me obediently. You really need it this time." He softly said, almost like a ghostly whisper. "Because you've become too sick for me to even argue with you anymore." He said with a sigh. He let go of her hands. "I already told the driver. Just change into something comfortable and warm. It's cold out." He smiled at her and patted her head before leaving her to go to his own room.

He closed the door behind him, a shaky sigh escaping his lips. Somehow, he knew she was gravely ill.

Something was wrong with her. He heard her earlier in the morning.

Vomiting.

And from how he saw traces of red blood with a small amount of their breakfast at the seat of the toilet bowl, it was enough for him to know he had taken too much time hoping... and praying he was wrong.

He waited patiently inside the empty halls of the hospital. It was an odd sight for him to be like that.

Calm.

Collected.

Usually, the nurses would see and hear him thrashing and cursing. That was his reputation there. But everyone respected him. After all... he did it because of his care for a sibling.

But now, his eyes were dead, roaming on the ceiling of the hospital. It was enough to confirm that this would be deadly and sad news.

"Sir. The doctor will see you now." A nurse, an all too familiar nurse, smiled at Zelo.

He blankly nodded with a 'thankyou'.

"You shouldn't let her see you like this, sir..." She mumbled. "It would hurt her more..."

He glanced at the nurse. "I'm too tired to put on a strong face." He admitted and wordlessly went inside the room.

Once he went inside the room, he could already feel his heart drop from seeing his older sister crying.

"There is still a chance, I assure you." The doctor quickly said. "She has a chance of surviving. The tumor is not large." He added. He expected Zelo to either yell at him or at least some other violent reaction. "Her accident caused it. But it grew slowly. I am amazed the symptoms managed to only show now..." He admitted.

"What part of the brain, exactly?" Zelo calmly asked. He was just looking for something to say.

The doctor rapidly blinked in surprise. "A-ah... Yes. It has taken a part of the Temporal Lobe. And also... there is a small one resting on the Prefrontal Cortex." The doctor showed the scans.

"There are two..." Zelo stated in a blunt tone. To the doctor, it looked as if the younger brother was sick too. But he knew it was emotional stress. "Her chances of surviving are...?"

The old man hesitated before saying, "30-70." He waited, for any reaction at all. Like cursing, yelling, ripping the scans apart... anything.

But he got nothing.

He looked at Zelo who seemed to be staring at Junri. She had stopped crying, but she looked dead already.

"I will leave you. Contact your parents and inform me when the surgery will be." The Doctor said and reached for the door. "And I might have to remind you that those two areas I have mentioned are the key parts of the brain that process memory. Those were the parts that suffered the accident the most." He said with a sigh, before leaving the siblings.

"It feels like watching the accident happen right before my eyes again. Except this time... It's all in slow motion." Junri whispered.

Zelo didn't say anything and stared at her.

"I'm surprised you're calm, Junhong... I half expected you to throw a fit and yell at everyone... anyone..." Junri admitted. She glanced at him, and was almost surprised of how he was staring right at her. "Say something."

He slowly shook his head.

"Why?" She asked.

He mouthed, "I can't."

"Why not?" She asked again. She was so weak, it barely came off as a whisper.

Zelo just stared at her.

"I'm afraid, Junhong." She suddenly said. "I'm so afraid, I don't think I even want to go through the operation." She chuckled. She expected Zelo to yell at her for being stupid, but she heard nothing. And she couldn't bear to look his way. "Tell me, am I crazy?" She asked, staring down at her feet.

"Am I?" Zelo asked back. His voice was hoarse, and cracked. Like he had been yelling for hours, when in reality, he had been too quiet. She noticed it as soon as he closed behind the door to the car when they were on their way to school. He hadn't spoken one word to her, since then. "Am I the one crazy?"

"Why would you ask that?" Junri murmured.

"I was the one who caused this all!" He yelled. She finally had the courage to look up to him, but she regretted it as soon as she saw the large tears flowing down from his eyes. "I was in that same car..." He whispered, but she could hear clearly the guilt and sadness behind them. "But I managed to get out without a scratch!"

"No one blames y-"

"Mom and Dad blame me." He cut her off. "They can't even bare to look me in the eyes! I know you know why they haven't been coming home lately!" He shouted. "How can you act so ignorantly of the facts?!"

"Because I don't blame you one bit..." She softly said. "It wasn't your fault."

"If I didn't ask you to come with me to that stupid restaurant, none of this would have happened..." He whispered, regret lacing his voice.

"Noona! Come with me! Come on~ It'll make you happier. I swear! Try to forget hyung just this once... Please?" He pouted with wide eyes.

Junri frowned, but nodded. "Your aegyo will be the death of me, Junhong. One day, when you ask me to stab myself while using that look, I swear that I'll do it."

"Aww. I wouldn't ask for that! Now come on! They'll close before we even leave the house!"

"I always blamed Lay hyung... for everything." Zelo admitted with trembling fists. "I always blamed him... because I already hate myself so much. I always wondered whether you remember that day... or if you'll even remember it. And I was selfish enough to wish you wouldn't..." His tears fell on the floor. "I always reasoned that I didn't want you to remember because of the pain hyung caused you... but all I really wanted was for you to forget I caused it all."

Junri softened. She had never seen him cry so much before...

"When I found out you remembered everything... because of him... I hated hyung even more." He croaked. He leaned on the wall, sliding down to the point he was burying his face on his knees like a little kid. "But I couldn't stop hating myself... I told Yongguk hyung and the others about it as soon as you were in that coma... and I hated myself even more because they didn't blame me."

"Because you're not at fault here, Junhong..." She gently said.

He lifted his head, showing his damp cheeks and red nose. He didn’t believe her.

She slowly stood up, weakly trying to stand up. She looked as if she was made of paper, fragile and weak. Almost as if she would be swept away with a breeze.

She made her way towards him, and sat cross-legged infront of him. It was like the times when they were kids.

He would be crying because of a cut he had gotten from playing around too much, and she would be there to try and make him feel better.

Somehow... they were both broken.

"I don't blame you." She touched his arms, making him shiver slightly on how cold her bony fingers were. "You're always the one who was there for me... And you can't believe how glad I was to remember that accident." She smiled at him. He stared at her, silently asking her why. "Because I was so relieved you were safe." A tear leaked down her eye. "I was so happy you were okay, Junhong... Please do me a favor and be okay now."

Zelo started crying again, and he hugged her so tightly, she felt pain.

"I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..." He kept mumbling through her hair.

She his blonde hair. "It's okay."