Silence loomed over the room. Seconds turned into minutes turned into thirty minutes after Zelo had been forcefully thrown into the hospital room with the door locked behind them and neither boy had said a thing to the other.

Zelo stood near the door. Yongguk sat on the edge of the bed. Their eyes didn't meet for the entire half an hour. The only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock on the wall and every now and then Zelo would jiggle the door handle to see if it had been unlocked yet. No such luck.

After thirty minutes had passed, he sighed and walked over to the window. He flopped down in the seat, shooting a sideways glance at the older man. Still, neither said a word.

Yongguk sat, silent, hands in his lap. He stared at his socked feet, at the ground, at the dark spot on the wall, anywhere but at the blonde boy by the window with the broken expression. He his dry lips and tried to calm the twisting beat of his heart, pounding out of time.

“Junhong..” His voice didn't sound his own when it came from his lips. The sound seemed foreign, laced with a rough gravelly tennor and a soft caring tone. The boy glanced up at him, setting his gaze hard at the older man. Yongguk flinched away from it, drawing his gaze back down at the ground. “Mianhe...”

Zelo kept silent, his hard gaze set on the older man. His knees pulled up to his chest in the seat, fingers gripped tight onto the legs of the jeans he wore. His lip trembled, just the slightest bit. Yongguk didn't notice. He gulped and spoke again.

“What I did...” He paused, his words disappearing in his mind. “I'm sorry...It was selfish..and wrong.”

“I don't care.” Zelo huffed, interrupting Yongguk. The elder turned to look, eyes wide in surprise, only to find that Zelo had turned his head away. Zelo stared out the window, his face reflected in it against the dark backdrop of rain splattering across the city.

Yongguk sighed. Of course, he thought. Of course it would be raining. He ran his hand through his hair and carefully stood up from the bed. His legs trembled. His entire body seemed to be trembling. He took a deep breath, taking hold of the metal pole at his side. The monitor let off a soft beep as it began to send more medicine through the IV in Yongguk's hand.

The few shaky steps it took to walk around the bed and to the window took all the energy and courage from Yongguk. His body drained, it showed on his monitor, the heart rate going just a little faster. Zelo didn't spare him a glance as he stood in front of him. He continued to stare out the window.

“Junhong-ah...” His voice trembled. He didn't even care.

Zelo still refused to look at him. Yongguk's knees trembled and he gave up trying to stand. A lound thump resounded around the room as he came crashing to his knees before Zelo, his head hung low and his shoulders trembling. The boy on the couch flinched, but still didn't turn towards Yongguk.

“Junhong...you're one of the most important people in my life, you know that, right?” Yongguk's voice rose barely above a whisper. His hands rested on his knees, balled tight into fists. His gaze on the floor. “I made a mistake. I got scared and I ed up...but that doesn't meant I hate you...or that I've gotten bored of you...or that I don't want to be around you anymore...none of that it true. I ed up, I'm sorry. Please....Junhong...Zelo...”

The blonde finally turned to spare a glance at the older man, shocking to find that Yongguk was actually bowing before him on the ground. His forehead nearly touched the ground.

“Forgive me, Zelo...please...” A tear dropped to the floor just beneath Yongguk. He stared at it in disbelief. He had not cried in a long time. Not over something like this. Not over a simple fight.

But this wasn't just a simple fight, he thought. Unlike when he fought and made up with Himchan on a near daily basis, Yongguk had yet to fight with Zelo in all his months of knowing the boy. This could be the end of their friendship if Zelo didn't forgive Yongguk now.

Zelo moved on the seat, pulling his legs from under himself and placing his feet on the ground. Yongguk glanced over, just in time to see the boy's socked feet, toes wiggling. He wanted to chuckle at the sight, but kept his serious stance.

“Hyung...” Zelo's voice came in a whisper to Yongguk's ears. He looked up at the boy to find him staring down. Their eyes met and Yongguk gulped. Tears had welled up inside the younger boy's eyes, threatening to spill over. “Why?”

Yongguk his lips, not sure what to say. Not sure what the boy meant. He gave a heavy sigh, looking silently, mouth opened with an unformulated response.

Before he could speak, Zelo continued on. “I knew that you weren't hanging around because of me...” He sniffled, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie. “But I still hoped that...I don't know...” He sighed, falling back on the couch and pouting, arms crossed over his chest.

A long silence passed through them once more, Yongguk not knowing what to say and Zelo mulling over his own thoughts. Yongguk staid on his knees though his ankles started to ache. After a while, Zelo looked down at him and sighed, moving over on the couch to make room for the older boy.

“Sit down, Hyung..” He muttered quetly, but Yongguk took the chance. Before Zelo would have time to change his mind, Yongguk scrambled up and onto the couch next to him.

The tiny inch of space seperating their bodies trembled with sparks of anxiety and nerves. Yongguk leaned forward, elbows on his knees and hands clasped in front of him. He looked back at the boy curled up beside him.

“Zelo...If I didn't like seeing you...you know I wouldn't come here, right?” He asked, hoping the boy would get the point. “I'm not sure if you realized this but...my probation ended three weeks ago and I'm still coming..”

Zelo's eyes widened. “Really? But, I thought...”

Yongguk chuckled, shaking his head. “I like spending time with you, Zelo...No matter what..”

Zelo smiled, his grin spread from ear to ear. Yongguk found the smile contagious, his own smile widening at the sight of the boy.

“Hyung..” Zelo bit his lip, leaning forward so that his curls bounced around his face. “Hyung...can you make me a promise?”

Yongguk turned around, looking at Zelo with a curious expression. “Anything, Zelo. Just ask and I'll do it for you....always.”

Zelo's smile softened and then disappeared completely. “Please stop doing drugs? Please?” There was a desperate tone in his voice that Yongguk could not ignore. “I don't like it...and it's dangerous...what happened if you'd have died?”

Yongguk's smile faded and he reached out, taking one of Zelo's hands in his own, tracing the boy's palm with his fingers. “Don't think on it, Zelo...” He muttered. “Because it's never going to happen again. I promise you...I swear it, Zelo....Zelo, look at me..”

Yongguk stopped speaking, reaching up to turn Zelo's heda towards him until their eyes met. He smiled softly at the boy, hoping against hope that Zelo would be able to see just how sincere he was in his words. “Zelo, I promise you...until your last day, your very last...I will always be by your side. No matter what, no matter when. From this moment until then, when you need me I'll be there and nothing can take me away from you....nothing.”

Zelo smiled, a soft and brilliant smile that reached all the way from the bottom of his heart and into his eyes. He gave Yongguk's hand a light squeeze, being careful of the IV attached to it, and smiled.

“I'm glad, Hyung...” He spoke softly, happily. “I'm really glad that you're alright...I've been worried like crazy because you haven't been to see me in weeks...When I found out what happened, I got scared...I thought you would leave me for good...”

Yongguk reached up and ruffled the boy's hair. “I'm sorry I made you worry, Zelo.”

“It's alright, Hyung. I'm just glad you're okay now...but...Hyung...” Zelo bit his lip before he got the courage to continue. “Was that scary looking man really your father?”

Yongguk leaned back against the couch with a sigh, resting his head against the hard cusion. “Yeah...he's the man that married my mother.”

“Hyung?”

“My step-father.” Yongguk gave a sad twist to his lips, something between a scowl and a smirk that lasted only for a few seconds before fading into a simple tired expression. “When I was very young, he married my mother. My real father left before I was even born and it was hard for my mom to raise three kids all on her own.”

Zelo pouted. “He doesn't seem like the kind of person who wants kids...”

Yongguk laughed at this, nodding. “He was happy with my sister. She was talented. And my twin brother, he was smart. They both have always been the best at what they've done. It's only me he doesn't like.”

“How could anyone not like you, Hyung?!” Zelo whined, sitting up and patting Yongguk's knee with an enthusiastic smile. “You're the best!”

Yongguk laughed, ruffling Zelo's hair again only to have the younger boy grab his hand and pull it away while whining about being treated as a child.

“I know.” He grinned, all gums and crescent eyes. “I'm totally awesome, but that old slob doesn't know anything and he hates me because I'm not successful and making him money like my sister and brother. I don't plan to ever do anything to help that man. He calls himself my father.” He scoffed.

“At least you had a dad...” Zelo pouted, his voice low. “Even if he ...”

Yongguk chuckled softly. “It's not as great as it sounds, Zelo...Didn't you know? Family doesn't always have to be family..There's this saying...The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. Do you know what that means?”

Zelo shook his head, pouting and twisting his face as he tried to think of what the words could possibly mean.

Yongguk chuckled once more. “It means that those people who choose to be close to you are more important than those who have no choice. Like Himchan. He's like my brother...more like my brother than my own twin is. Like you...”

Zelo's eyes lit up and he smiled, taking Yongguk's hand in his own silently. “You think we're family?” He asked, hope in his voice.

“Anio.” Yongguk chuckled at the confused expression on Zelo's face. “We're more than family, Zelo...didn't you know it? We're soulmates.”

Zelo paused for a moment at Yongguk's words and then started laughing. Yongguk joined in and the two of them laughed for a good fifteen minutes before they finally calmed themselves.

“But Yongguk Hyung.” Zelo spoke as he caught his breath, sitting up straighter and looking at the boy with a smile on his face. “Are you going to come to my brithday party? It's tomorrow.”

Somehow...I'm just not very happy with this chapter. Still...I hope you guys like it! I know I've been getting alot of comments talking about this story's angst the past few chapters, but now it's time for a bit of happy again so....I hope you can look forward to it!!