The boy never leaves Kris’ side the following weeks, it seems. But Kris knows it isn’t true. Suho has admitted so himself. When Kris is asleep, he sometimes looks after his other protégés. But as soon as Kris wakes up, he is there. No matter what time he wakes, Suho always is there. And the boy spends every waking hour with him. How the boy manages to supply the apartment with food all the time is a riddle Kris has no solution to but somehow, there’s always something to eat in the kitchen so that Suho can make him breakfast and everything else. Since Suho has appeared, Kris hasn’t once called for a takeaway. It simply isn’t necessary. Suho is a great cook.
Physically, Kris starts to feel better. He starts showering more regularly again, shaves every morning and thanks to Suho, he always has clean clothes and healthier stuff to eat.

But deep inside, not much has changed. The dream keeps returning every night, drawing on the energy Kris is so slowly starting to get back. There are still days where he doesn’t want to see anyone, not even Suho and where he locks himself into the bedroom, not eating anything, not showering, it’s like he has fallen back to the time before the guardian angel arrived. Those days come quite frequently though sometimes, there also are those days, where he has lengthy conversations with Suho, where Suho explains more angel stuff to him and they even have one or two discussions about football. But those days are rare.

The boy endures most of it with a probably god-given patience though sometimes, even he can’t keep his cool.

“You can’t go on like this, Hyung!” the boy yells at him after one particularly bad day. “You keep on moping and grieving and suffering and you won’t let me help you! You need to start moving on!”

“Yes, because moving on is so easy after I just lost my family!” Kris shoots back angrily.

“You didn’t “just lose” them! It’s been four months now!”

“That doesn’t matter! It hurts, okay? I can’t just move on! It’s not possible!”

“No, you know what?” Suho snaps. “I think it is very much possible! I think you don’t want to move on! You much rather go on like this, barely alive, making it not only hard for you but for everyone else! You want this! You don’t want to feel better! You think feeling this pain would make up for the fact that you’re still alive and they aren’t! That’s what I think!”

Kris stares at him for a few seconds before he breaks down, dropping to the floor, crying.

“I should’ve been there,” he sobs. “I should’ve been with them. It was my duty to protect them and I failed them. I don’t deserve to have survived when they didn’t. I should’ve spent more time with them. She always said I shouldn’t work so much but I thought it was the best for them. And then... Then I come home from work and... and they’re gone.”

Suho kneels down beside him and hugs him tightly, over his hair, kissing the top of his head gently.

“Shh,” he mumbles, gently rocking Kris. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. You couldn’t do anything. You did what you could, you did what you thought was best for them. It’s okay, Hyung... I’m here... I won’t leave you.”

Kris cries against Suho’s chest, wetting the boy’s pullover with his tears.

“I couldn’t even say goodbye to them.”