"Oh," Jongin stops entering Sehun's window when he notices another person inside, "sorry, I didn't know you had company, Sehun," Jongin says, starting to crawl back out. Sehun shakes his head, and gets up to grab Jongin's hand before he can leave.

     "No, it's all right. You can come in," he says, pulling him inside. "We were just about to head out to get something to eat if you wanted to join us," Sehun informs, grabbing a jacket off of a chair and slipping it on.

     "I don't want to intrude," Jongin starts but Sehun shakes his head again.

     "You wouldn't be. I'd actually like having you with us." Sehun's voice sounds sad and Jongin isn't sure why. He doesn't think it was him, though he's taking a shot in the dark by assuming it was the other person in the room. He's shorter than both of them and has a baby face. 

     "Is it okay with him?" Jongin asks, nodding to Sehun's friend. Sehun looks over at the man of subject and then looks back at Jongin.

     "Luhan? He's really friendly, I'm sure he doesn't mind." Just to be sure, Sehun says something to him in Mandarin and Luhan looks at Jongin before smiling and nodding. 

      "I'd love to meet you," he says in accented Korean."A friend of Sehun's is a friend of mine."

     They're seated at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that Jongin had brought he and Sehun to a couple months before. It surprises Jongin at first, but he doesn't question it when Sehun doesn't make any comment about them being here before. They take a seat at the table near the last window, smiles on their faces as they joke about something that happened on their way there, or something Luhan said to Sehun.

     "So you're Sehun's friend?" Luhan asks Jongin. He takes a sip of his water as Jongin nods his head. "How did you two meet?"

     "I crawled into Sehun's window and we just started talking," Jongin said. It's the truth and isn't really meant to be funny, but the high atmosphere makes them all laugh. "What about you two?"

     The smiles turn fake and Luhan looks over at Sehun who has found in interest in his glass. "We met when he was in China," Luhan says carefully. "School mates."

     Sehun snorts. "He's Tao's cousin," Sehun corrects, not taking his eyes off of the glass. "We all went to the same school, and even though Luhan was two grades above us, we all hung out."

     Jongin nods, taking a piece of kimchi and eating it just to do something. "You speak Korean, well," Jongin says a little after, trying to change the subject and clear the air. Luhan smiles, bowing his head in thanks. "Did Sehun teach you or did you learn from somewhere else?"

     Sehun laughs and Luhan shakes his head. "I actually learned it for a friend of mine. He had a similar story to Sehun's. His parent's owned a large company and moved to China for a few years, so to help him out, I learned his language, and in return, he learned mine."

     "I can hardly teach myself how to live, much less teach someone how to speak," Sehun adds and the mood falls slightly. 

     "Then I guess there's another thing that you can learn," Luhan says. It isn't meant to be harsh, but it comes out that way and Jongin feels like slinking away.

     "Like you know how?" Sehun hisses back. "You holed yourself up in your room for three months after Minseok left."

     "At least I got myself back up," Luhan replies. His grip on his glass is getting tighter and Jongin is afraid it's going to shatter.

     "Only because Tao and I made you. But guess what, Luhan, I don't have him here to do that, do I?"

     "He would be if-" Luhan stops, chewing his cheek.

     "If? If what? If I had just kept out of his life? If hadn't yelled at him? If it were me?" Sehun snaps.

     Luhan stands up, pulling out some money and throwing it on the table. "It was great meeting you, Jongin. I'm sorry our meeting had to end like this. I hope we can keep in touch," Luhan says, giving a friendly smile and a bow to Jongin, who returns them both.

     "Do you want me to walk you back?" Jongin asks, standing up, but Luhan shakes his head.

     "I think I can find my way back to Minseok's. But thank you for the offer." Luhan gives one last look to Sehun before leaving.

     Sehun sits in his seat a little longer before standing up quickly, nearly knocking the chair over if Jongin hadn't caught it. "Where are you going?" Jongin asks. He finds himself in the same situation they were in when they were here before. He's quickly pulling out money and chasing after Sehun. "Sehun, where are you going?"

     Sehun ignores him, instead walking up to Luhan and grabbing his arm, spinning him around. "I'm sorry it wasn't me, Luhan. Because I wish like hell it was me who jumped off that bridge. Zitao was a better person in every way possible than me. I'm a useless piece of who's hanging on by a thread and taking people down with me. So don't think I'm not sorry that I wasn't there when I needed to be," Sehun says loudly. His fist is clenched around Luhan's arm and Jongin winces at seeing the pressure.

     Luhan shoves him off, though. "You think that's what I'm angry about?" he snaps. "You think I'm angry that you ed up? In case you hadn't noticed, Sehun, it's a human trait. Unless you've lost anything human about you in the process of letting yourself slip through the cracks."

     "Then what are you angry about?!"

     "I'm angry that you did the exact same thing that he told you not to!" Luhan shouts. Jongin has a flashback of himself and Sehun on this same street. It's the same anger, the same sorrow, the same silence after the other one shouts.

     "I tried to," Sehun whispers, his voice cracking.

     "Apparently not hard enough," Luhan says. "He told me to tell you that after he died, you weren't allowed to turn into him. He told me to make sure that you lived on. That you didn't just sit in your room, smoking those ridiculous cigarettes and letting yourself die. But look at you now, Sehun. You're dying from an illness that you had the chance to cure, wasting away in your own self pity and making sure that anyone nearby you feels your pain. You really think that Tao would be proud of this?"

     "He was my everything, Luhan. I'm lost without him," Sehun cries, too tired to even hold up his head.

     "He was my family, Sehun. We grew up together. I know what you're going through more than anyone. But I also know that we have to move on. That we have to live a life without him, even if it hurts like hell. I'm trying to, Sehun. I put on a smile everyday because I know he'd hate me if I made people feel the pain I feel now and every single day. So don't you dare think you were the only one who loved him."

     "You didn't love him like I did," Sehun croaks, lifting his head. Luhan scoffs, biting his lip before punching Sehun in the face. He falls to the ground, clutching his face.

     "Don't even pull that . Maybe you loved him more, maybe I did. But here you are, wallowing in self pity while his parents are back in China, trying to live on without their son and never hearing from you to let them know that you're okay."

     Sehun is silent, staying still on the ground. 

     "You were like another son to them. They loved you like they loved Tao. Once Tao died, they only had you, but you let yourself die. Now they have no one. What you're doing now, Sehun, letting yourself slip out of people's lives because you think it will ease the pain when you die, is stupid. I had to hear from your parents that you moved back to Korea. I let you have time, thinking that was what you needed, but when you never called, I had to contact your grandma only to hear that you were dying of cancer and refusing to do anything about it. And then when I asked your parents if they knew anything else about your cancer, I somehow wasn't surprised to learn that me asking them that was the first time that they had heard anything about your health. So if you think that this little game your playing will make people feel better, you're wrong and I hope you win so you'll stop this. It's childish and only making things worse," Luhan finishes yelling. He runs a hand down his face and Jongin then takes the time to help Sehun up and off of the cold ground.

      "I'm leaving in three days. I don't want this to be the last time that I hear from you," Luhan informs, pulling Sehun into a hug. He pulls away and gives Jongin a sorry smile before turning around and walking away.