Nervously, I turned the silver knobbed and pushed the wooden door open to see a handsome young man sitting up in his bed with red puffy eyes. It looked as if he had just finished crying. A decent sized metal table attached to his bed was occupied by a child’s writing book. I could see some sentences being written slowly, yet carefully by the young man who was very focused. Suddenly, Sehun turned and looked at me with squinted eyes, trying to remember who I was. It was obvious that he was observing every inch of my face, trying to see if he could solve the puzzle of who I was in his head. There is no way in this world that this teen is the one I used to love. A feeling rushed over me to leave the room and run away, but his words stopped me in my track.

“I think I know you,” he said moving to the end of his bed. “Chanyeol says I’ve been asleep for a long time, so I can’t remember things right. What’s your name?”

“…Well, can I ask you a question to see if we both know each other?

“Sure!”

                Sehun seemed to be delighted at the little game I was playing with him. He was always a playful child, and I’m sure nothing has changed since his accident. The only thing different would be his body, not his mind. He’s a child trapped in a body that’s growing faster each day. The Oh Sehun that I knew would always follow me around singing, Baekkie is my best friend in the whole wide world. Sehunnie is going to be friends with him forever. It never annoyed me no matter how many times the kid repeated it, because I loved hearing that Sehun wanted to stay by my side forever.

“Baekkie is my best friend in the whole wide world,” I sang to him.

“S-Sehunie is going to be friends with him forever.”

                There were tears in my eyes, and I couldn’t fight them away. It was an uncontrollable waterfall streaming out my eyes against my own will. Once I saw my Sehun get up and walk towards me, I threw the kimchi on the table next to me and wrapped my arms around him tight. I could hear his sniffles in my jacket while his strong arms squeezed me tight. After fourteen years, we were both reunited. Two best friends who have been pulled apart have been joined together again thanks to fate. For all these years, Oh Sehun was dead to me, and I moved on with my life leaving him as a pleasant memory of first love, but now it was a reality again. I can’t possibly love him anymore. It’s been too long, right? I’m getting married to Chanyeol in a little over a year. Sehun isn’t going to change anything… I think.

“Mom and Dad are dead,” he cried out holding on to me tighter. “They died a long time ago Baekkie.”

                The tears that he cried were nothing more than just sorrow. He was finally with someone he knew and let out all the sadness in his heart over the death of his parents. Sehun wasn’t crying tears of joy like I was.

“I know they’re gone,” I said holding the sides of his face. “But Baekhyun is here now, and he is going to take care of you. I’m going to be here for you.”

“Do you promise?”

“I promise.”

                We both walked over to his bed, but I had the dinner I brought for Chanyeol in hand. There was plenty of food in here, so Sehun could eat as much as he wanted. A happy smile rose into Sehun’s cheeks once he saw the food I brought being placed out on the tray attached to his bed. He moved away his writing book and sat up just a bit more to get ready to eat. I could tell he was very hungry. For a few minutes, neither of us said a word because we were stuffing our faces with warm pastries and kimchi. Eventually, Sehun set down his plastic spoon and looked at me.

“Hey Baekkie, can you tell me what it’s like to be nineteen? I think that’s how old Chanyeol told me I am.”

“Well, some nineteen year olds are going to college or working at special jobs now.”

“So nineteen plus six is,” he said pausing to do math in his head. “Twenty-five. You’re really old now.”

                Sehun stuck out his tongue and nudged my arm with his elbow. I could tell he was joking like he always did back when we were kids. We went back to eating but he tapped my hand with his pointer finger while I had it resting on the tray. For a moment I had to sit there and think what he was trying to say, only to remember when Sehun taps me, he wants me to talk. He would do that a lot during dinner time when our parents got together, or when he was sleepy and wanted me to sing a lullaby.

“When I was nineteen, I started to work at a coffee shop. I learned how to make all kinds of yummy drinks,” I smiled seeing the delight in his eyes. “After I saved up a lot money, I moved here to Seoul and bought a little apartment that I still live in. I share it with my fiancé.”

“What’s a fiancé?”

“A fiancé is someone you’re going to get married to. Baekkie is going to get married to your doctor Chanyeol.”

                A little giggle escaped Sehun’s lips thinking of the two of us in love. For a brief moment I felt sad about telling him that I was going to be getting married. I know he never loved me because he was just a child when we were last together, but I still feel like maybe there is a chance. Maybe we can love like I had dreamed of. No. That’s wrong. I’m getting married. I can’t have any doubts now. I love Park Chanyeol and I always will. Sehun can’t ruin this. I can’t ruin this.

                We changed topics again while eating dinner that night. Sehun really wanted to start acting his own age and not like a child. He knows its going to be a long transition, but it is time to be the grown-up he is. I looked at the clock to see that I’ve been sitting with my best friend for almost two and a half hours, and it was getting late. Chanyeol never came back into the room, so I figured he went home awhile ago. Sehun hugged me so tight before I tucked him into bed and said goodnight. I may have also told him to not tell Chanyeol I was here. I want it to be secret…

                Finally, my front door welcomed me with a soft orange glow from the street lamp. I can see the kitchen light on from the window, so I know for sure that Chanyeol is home. I entered the apartment to see my tall fiancé making some soup on the stove in his pajamas. That perfect smile greeted me and he came over wrapping his arms around me. Before we could even say hi, our lips connected passionately. All the day’s tension dissolved off our shoulders while our tongues slid across each others. He stepped back smirking before returning to the stove.

“Baby I’m making some ramen,” Chanyeol said stirring the pots contents. “Would you like some?”

“Oh, no thank you. I just got back from eating out with a friend.”

                Chanyeol isn’t the kind of person to ask who I was with or concern himself with what I do. I can tell he fully trusts me and would never try to pry into my private matters. Though for some reason I can’t bring myself to tell him that I was with his patient Sehun. I feel like he would know everything about our past. Maybe Sehun told him that a boy named Baekhyun was in love with him for years. He cannot find out about my past with Sehun.

“So how was your day,” I smiled trying to changed topics.

“My patient woke up today after being in a coma for fourteen years! It was insane because he was supposed have his machine shut off tonight since no one is alive to pay for his medical bills anymore.”

                My heart dropped hearing the news that Sehun was supposed to be dead by tonight. Fate seems to work in mysterious ways, but sometimes that’s a good thing. We sat down at the wooden dining table, while Chanyeol told me all about Patient 1204. Too bad I know the whole story already. The one thing I did catch was how Chanyeol spoke of his patient. He seems to so protective of Sehun already. I just hope it’s the way he is telling the story and nothing more…