Luhan wakes up to the sound of the door opening and closing.  He opens his eyes to see Jinki standing by the side of Minseok’s bed, checking the machines that are monitoring Minseok’s vitals.  Luhan sits up before greeting his uncle.

“Good morning.”  Luhan says, rubbing the sleep off his eyes.  He looks at Minseok, seeing the other still asleep, just like how he left him last night.  Luhan sighs as he stands up to sit on the chair beside the bed.

“Morning.  Slept well?”  Jinki asks and Luhan nods, sitting down and taking one of Minseok’s hands in his.  “I’m just going to check his vitals to make sure that he’s really ready for the removal of the warming fluids later this afternoon.  We wouldn’t want him going into rewarming collapse or something like that.”  Jinki says, writing something on the paper on the clipboard.

Luhan starts to rub circles on Minseok’s palm as he takes in what his uncle is saying.  “I’m going to send in some breakfast in here later.  Is that okay with you?”  Jinki suddenly asks.

“Yeah.  Yeah, sure, thanks.”  Luhan replies, staring at Minseok’s sleeping face.  “This isn’t the first time that this happened.”  Luhan suddenly says, causing Jinki to stop what he’s doing to stare at his nephew.

“Really?”  Jinki asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, he’s really sensitive when it comes to the cold.  Just a few days ago he passed out when we were playing on a playground somewhere at the outskirts of the city.  And when we were younger he would get sick at the slightest exposure to cold weather.”  Luhan replies.

“Hm… looks like he really is sensitive to the cold.  Some people are just like that, some are sensitive to cold while some are sensitive to heat.  Those sensitive to heat easily get dehydrated and those sensitive to cold easily get hypothermia.  Some just experience small changes and mood swings, they’re lucky.”  Jinki replies, looking at Luhan sympathetically.

“Will he be okay for later?”  Luhan suddenly asks, looking at his uncle.  What Jinki sees surprises him.  Desperation, sadness, pain, and a whole lot of love can be seen in his nephew’s eyes.  He’s never seen those eyes like that, even with the death of his parents.  He looks more closely at the sight before him and realizes what’s really happening.  He gets it then; the break down at the waiting room, sleeping on the couch just to stay here, the constant touching, the way his nephew’s eyes would look at the sleeping face, the holding hands, and all those moments even before the incident that he’d seen them together; they all suddenly made sense. 

“Jinki?  Will he be okay?”  Luhan asks again, waiting for an answer.  The question pulls Jinki out of his mild stupor and he faces his nephew with a small smile playing on his lips.

“Jung gyoh-soo-nim, right?”  Yunho hears as the door opens and someone steps in.  He looks up to see a familiar face that he can’t quite place.

“Yes, can I help you?”  Yunho replies as the man advances.  Yunho can feel his heart racing from where he’s standing behind the counter.  Who is he?  What does he want?

“My name is Shim Changmin.  I’m Luhan’s uncle and legal guardian.”  The man replies and Yunho gives a sigh of relief.  He remembers this guy as the man whom Luhan came in with some time ago.

“Oh, yeah.  I remember you.”  Yunho replies.  The man—Changmin—steps forward and takes out a hand.  Yunho accepts it and they shake hands.  “So, what can I do for you today?”

“I’m here about Minseok.”  Changmin replies.  “We’ve been really concerned about his welfare and well… I don’t really know how to say this but, do you think you can help me?  I’m really trying my best to be professional here, but it’s Minseok…”  Changmin says, trying to find the right words.

Yunho laughs at the current situation.  “I’ll be glad to help.  Considering his current situation at the hospital there’s not much that we can do for him but, afterwards…”

“Good, good.  I was really nervous that you’ll flip out on me.  Uhm… so…”  Changmin replies, somewhat unsure of what to say.

“Minseok’s a really hardworking kid; I saw that even before he became an employee here.  He gets high grades, studies well, but still has time for other things.  He loses track of himself though, especially when he’s caught up in something.  He somewhat independent, but the need to be with someone is still evident in his actions.”  Yunho replies.

“Yeah.  He ran away from home at a very young age and has never been in touch with his family since then.  The Lu family has been his family ever since we found him and took him in.  I’m pretty sure he thinks of Luhan as more than a friend, but not as a brother.”  Changmin replies with a suggestive smirk.

“Man, you have no idea how Minseok is head over heels in love with Luhan.  That kid has been pining for Luhan for years!”  Yunho exclaims.

“Luhan is too, but is totally too stupid to actually notice it.  He just did, actually, the very same day Minseok got mugged.”  Changmin replies, shaking his head.  “Talk about bad timing.”

“Will Minseok ever wake up?  I’m really worried; he’s not just a student and employee, but he’s also a really close friend.”

“I’m sure he will, Minseok’s a fighter.  And besides, Luhan needs him, I’m pretty sure he’s not just going to leave Luhan like that.”

“Yeah, so how can we help?  Reducing Minseok’s work hours will be unreasonable but there’s no other way that I can think of.”

“Luhan mentioned something about Minseok saving up for a piano here in your shop, is that correct?”

“Yeah!  Actually, it’s not much of a piano, but it’s a start.  He really misses playing one, you know, and I think he sings too.”

“Yeah, he sings.  We have been graced by his voice a lot of times before already.”  Changmin replies, laughing.  “He loves to sing, actually.”

“I don’t know, but maybe I can hold the piano for him?  But it’s not really worth waiting for, there are other pianos out there that are better.”  Yunho replies, looking at the piano near the window.

“That would be a good idea.  I’ll be on the lookout for some other pianos out there too, if that’s okay with you.”

“Yeah, sure.  Just stop by if you need any help or whatsoever.” 

“Well, I’m actually kind of a busy man so that’s somewhat impossible.  I actually just made a quick detour so that I can stop by here today; I’m actually on my way to a meeting.  Do you have a calling card or something?  That would be easier.”  Changmin asks.

“Oh, yeah, sure.”  Yunho replies, rummaging through the drawers of the counter for the stack of calling cards.  “Here you go.”  He says, handing one to Changmin.

“Thanks.  I gotta go.  Bye!”  Changmin replies before leaving the shop, leaving a stunned Yunho staring after him.

“Did you just give your number away to Luhan’s uncle?”  Someone asks and Yunho turns around to see Chanyeol standing there, leaning against the doorway.

“Well, technically, I gave him the shop’s calling card.”  Yunho retorts.

“Yeah, it just so happens to have your number there too.”  Chanyeol replies with a suggestive smirk.

“It’s not like that!” 

“Okay, but then why are you blushing?”  Chanyeol replies, causing Yunho to blush more.

Luhan’s already at the part of Angels and Demons where Langdon and Vittoria are talking about Santi being Raphael when someone enters the room.  Luhan looks up and sees Yifan and Yunho by the doorway.

“Hey,” Luhan greets, putting down his book and sitting up from the couch.

“Hey, Lu.  We brought you some coffee.”  Yifan says, handing Luhan a cup of coffee.  Luhan takes it, before realizing that hearts are drawn all over it.

“Uhm… Wu… why are there hearts all over this cup?”  Luhan asks.

“Oh, .  I was supposed to use that cup for Chanyeol’s coffee if he ever stopped by.  Sorry about that.”  Yifan replies, scratching the back of his head.

Luhan raises an eyebrow at Yifan.  “So… you like Chanyeol?” 

“Uhm… well, yeah.  Minseok knows, he’s probably laughing at me now.”  Yifan replies, glancing at Minseok.  “Damn, I miss him.”

“Yeah, so do I.”  Luhan replies, sitting on the chair beside Minseok.  “How’s it going?”

“Your uncle visited me a while ago in the shop.”  Yunho replies, munching on some carrot muffins.  “He told me about the piano.”

“Really?  What did he say about the piano?”  Luhan asks.  “I have some banana bread over there, if you want some.”  Luhan says as he points to the table near the couch.

“Oh, thanks.  Minseok’s probably jealous with all the stuff that we have here.  Anyway, we just talked, and I told him that I can hold the piano for Minseok until he can finally buy it.”  Yunho replies, taking a slice of the banana bread.

“That is if he wakes up.”  Yifan murmurs.

“He will, Wu, he will.  He’s not like that, he won’t just give up.”  Luhan replies, looking at Yifan pointedly.

“Okay, I know, I know.  Yeol would’ve killed me if I said that in his presence.”  Yifan replies, blushing.

“You have it bad for him, don’t you?”  Luhan asks.

“You have no idea.”  Yunho replies while shaking his head.

“You should tell him while you still have the chance.”  Luhan tells Yifan.  Luhan looks at Minseok, sighing sadly.  Yeah, tell him immediately and don’t be stupid like me.

“Yeah, I would, I just don’t know how.”  Yifan replies, now looking at Minseok too.  “He does, though.”

“Really?  He was helping you with Chanyeol?”

“Not only him, but also Sehun, and Jongdae.” 

“Wow.  It’s like a group research study thing.  But seriously, just tell him directly and don’t waste any more time.”  Luhan replies, quite amused.  So that’s what Minseok’s been doing recently.  Quite the matchmaker, huh?

“Okay, I’ll do my best.  Just take care of him, okay?  We’re all going crazy without him around, especially since it’s almost Christmas.  I gotta go; I still have to go back to work.”  Yifan says, standing up and taking his things.  Yunho and Luhan bid him goodbye before he finally exits the room.

Yunho takes the seat on the other side of the bed, opposite Luhan.  “He’s one of my best students and a hardworking one too.  You’re really lucky, you know, he loves you so much he’ll do anything for you.”

“Yeah, and I took advantage of that.  I’m such an idiot.”  Luhan replies.

“There’s still time, Luhan, there’s plenty of time.”  Yunho replies.  “He always did tell me that even if he left the penthouse, he’ll never leave you.  Resisting your pleas took a lot of effort, you know, he almost did give in once.”

“If only he did or, if only I tried harder.  I hate this, I hate seeing him like this.”  Luhan replies, palming his face.

“I told Changmin that Minseok shouldn’t buy the piano from my shop.”  Yunho then says, startling Luhan.

“What?  Why not?”

“Because he’s doesn’t deserve a piano like that.  I’m actually considering helping him find and buy a better one, but we still have to wait for his decision regarding that.”  Yunho replies, leaning with his elbows on the bed.

“Waiting is such a hard thing to do.  It’s driving me crazy already.”  Luhan says then the door opens, revealing Jinki and a nurse.  “Oh, is it time?”

“Yeah.  Oh, hello.  Didn’t know you have a visitor right now.”  Jinki replies, facing Yunho.

“Jinki, meet Yunho, he’s Minseok’s employer.  Yunho, meet Lee Jinki, my uncle and Minseok’s doctor.”  Luhan says, introducing the two.

“Hello, Lee seonsaeng-nim, nice to meet you.  Should I leave?”  Yunho replies.

“Nice to meet you too, and no, you don’t really need to leave.”  Jinki replies, advancing towards the bed.  He lowers the upper part of the hospital bed slowly and then tilts Minseok’s chin up.  He then puts Minseok’s hands on his sides and then pulls the blanket a little lower, revealing another catheter by the hip.

“We’re going to remove the catheters now.  By the way, this is Nurse Song Qian; she’s going to help us with Minseok from now on.”  Jinki replies, gesturing to the nurse beside him.

“Just call me Victoria.”  The nurse replies and the other two just smile at her.  She and Jinki then begin to extract the catheter from Minseok’s hip.  Jinki pulls it out slowly, and the beeps of the heart monitor speed up.  Luhan instinctively grabs Minseok’s hand and clutches it tightly, staring at his uncle in horror.

“He can feel it?  Is that even supposed to hurt?”  Luhan asks frantically.

“A little, but he doesn’t feel it.  It’s just his body reacting to the loss of the heat given by the fluids.  Don’t worry, Luhan, he’s fine.”  Jinki replies, the needle now fully out.  Victoria hands him a cotton ball and some tape, and they patch up the little mark easily.

“But Minseok…”  Luhan retorts, hearing the beeps start to return to normal.

“Luhan, he’ll be fine.  We’ve done this before so there’s no need to worry.  Anyway, we’ll just let his body rest and adjust for a while before we remove the one in his chest.”  Jinki replies, reassuring his nephew.  Luhan stops arguing, focusing his attention back to Minseok instead.  “Okay, let’s take the other one out.”  Jinki then says to Victoria.  The nurse nods, and then they proceed to do the same to the other catheter on Minseok’s chest.  The same thing happens, and Luhan just clutches Minseok’s hand tighter.

“Careful, Han, you might break his hand.”  Yunho teases and receives a glare from Luhan instead.   

Jinki and Victoria finish taking out the catheter, and Luhan once again relaxes, but doesn’t let go of Minseok’s hand.  The two do the same thing with the mark and before they knew it, they were done.  Jinki tells Victoria to update the status in their records and the nurse leaves the room, leaving the three of them with Minseok.  Jinki gets something from the kit beside him, and Luhan realizes that it’s a hospital gown.  “Will you help me, Luhan?”  Jinki asks and Luhan nods immediately.

Yunho watches silently as Luhan lifts Minseok’s upper body and supports it with his own, occasionally the younger boy’s hair.  They settle Minseok back on the bed after the two successfully dress Minseok with the gown and Jinki leaves to check up on his other patients, telling Luhan to take care of the rest.  Luhan fixes the blanket, bringing it up to Minseok’s chest, just below his heart, and puts his hands back on his sides.  Luhan then sits down and starts to play with Minseok’s hair.

And besides, Luhan needs him, I’m pretty sure he’s not just going to leave Luhan like that.  Changmin had told Yunho, and seeing the evidence right in front of his eyes, Yunho smiles.  “Hey, I gotta go now.  I still have to work tomorrow.”  Yunho says.

“Oh, okay.”  Luhan says, as if on a daze, looking at Yunho.  He probably forgot that I’m here.  “Take care, then.”

“Yeah, sure, thanks.  You too, take care.”  Yunho says before he leaves the room.  Once he’s on the stairs, he dials Changmin’s number and immediately tells him one thing once he picks up:

“You were right, idiot.”

A/N: I'm so so sorry that I didn't update last week.  I totally forgot that I was supposed to update /sigh

Have this as some sort of apology: