"Please," Daehyun's voice broke as he cried into his lovers hospital gown, tears sliding down his cheeks while he held tightly onto Youngjae. He feared for what would happen if he let go. "Don't leave me here alone. I don't want to live without you."

Pain flashed across the younger's features as he heard those words, but his eyes turned up into half-moon crescents as he smiled tenderly, the others soft black hair. Pulling him onto his hospital bed, Youngjae scooted over as he delicately held the sobbing Daehyun to his chest, as if he was the one who was diagnosed with a fatal illness. Looking across the room, he gazed out the open window at the trees dancing in a soft breeze, the warmth of the sun making everything seem serene and peaceful. Spring had almost arrived.

"I don't want to die," he murmured quietly when Daehyun's tears had finally quieted to sniffles and hiccups, "especially not now, not now that I've found the one person who I want to spend the rest of my life with. Not now when I want to grow old with you. Not when I love you with all my heart."

Never before had Youngjae loved anybody this much.

Daehyun wove his fingers into the others pale green gown, his breath hitching when he heard those three words. Turning his tear-stained face upwards to look at him, he opened his mouth to respond but was silenced by Youngjae's warm, soft lips lightly pressing against his own. His eyes widened as the other cupped the back of his neck, slowly tilting his head back whilte deepening the kiss. Sliding his eyes shut, he clutched Youngjae's torso and cradled his round cheek in one hand as their legs intertwined, not in a ual way, but simply to be closer to each other. The younger tasted perfect; a wisp of soothing vanilla mixed with a hint of  strawberry. Suddenly, Daehyun felt something cool and wet drip onto his cheek. Pulling away slightly, his eyes slowly opened to the shocking sight of Youngjae with tears cascading down his cheeks and fear evident in his eyes.

"I don't want to die," he whispered his words from earlier as the full extent of the situation hit him like a speeding bus. "Daehyun, I don't want to die, but I know it's going to happen eventually."

The ugly words tasted bitter in his mouth, but they had to be spoken.

"After I'm gone," Youngjae's voice trembled slightly, yet he continued after taking a deep breath, "I want you to move on."

Daehyun couldn't believe what he was hearing- no, he didn't want to hear it at all. He clenched his jaw and buried his face into the younger's chest, holding in the tears that threatened to spill when he only just managed to stop them.

"I won't be able to, Jae," his voice was muffled, yet Youngjae could clearly hear the pure heartbreak in them as he felt tears sliding down his own face again. "Not ever."

"Don't cry because of me, Dae. You have to live a long and happy life after I'm gone, alright?" Gently cupping Daehyun's facee, he tilted his head back so they were gazing into each others' eyes. "Alright?"

After a long pause, Daehyun's lip trembled as he brokenly replied with a small, "Alright."

~~~ One Year Later ~~~

"Please hyung, we promise it'll only be for an hour!" Junhong clasped his hands together, crouching so he would be at eye-level height to a stone-faced Daehyun. Only minutes before, he had been enjoying a leisurely nap on his faded leather couch when two of his closest friends, Yongguk and Junhong, burst into his apartment and invited him out. At first, the Busan man had been more than happy to accompany his friends... until they told him where they were going.

The coffee shop where he had first met Youngjae.

Daehyun stared coldly at the pleading maknae, wanting immediately to give in to those puppy-dog eyes, but he held tight to his rapidly dissolving willpower. Turning to the eldest of the three, he crossed his arms and tilted his chin down before muttering, "Yongguk, you know why I can't go."

There were too many painful memories trapped in that place. He knew that if he went back there, he would start to cry or he'd have a mental breakdown.

Or both.

Yongguk sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose and pushed back the dark strands of hair falling in his eyes, feeling irritation as well as sympathy bubble up inside for his friend. "Daehyun, I know you don't want to go back there; we all know why. It's almost been a year since Youngjae-" Daehyun flinched slightly when the older male said his name, "-and I know you don't think you're ready for it, but you're hanging on to the past." The deep-voiced man gently grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look into the others deep brown eyes. Taking a deep breath, Yongguk murmured, "You need to let him go. It's what he would've wanted."

After I'm gone, I want you to move on. 

Those words jolted Daehyun out of his seat as if they were a bolt of lightning, knocking his elder to the side. He clenched his jaw as he pushed aside a hurt-looking Junhong and grabbed his faded black leather jacket along with his car keys. Without looking back at the two, he strode out of his apartment and made his way to the elevator at the end of the dimly lit hallway. As he impatiently pressed the calling button for the elevator, he noticed a single white orchid resting on the small mahoganyend table. It looked so out of place, being in a dank and shabby apartment building like Daehyun's, yet he couldn't help but stare as a dam in his head broke and memories flooded into his mind.

"Hyunnie, c'mere! I brought you a surprise!" Youngjae called when he came home from work one night, carrying a large brown paper bag. Daehyun put down the book he was reading and walked over to his boyfriend, pecking his lips with a smile.

"Jae, you didn't have to-" he started but was silenced with a pleasant kiss from Youngjae. Pulling away after a few moments, the younger male smiled widely and pulled him over to the kitchen table before setting down the package. Daehyun stared in wonder as his love pulled the strangest, most beautiful flower he had ever seen in his life.

"What is it?" He whispered in awe as he hesitantly touched one of the pure white petals. "I've never seen one like it before."

Youngjae chuckled and ran his fingers through his boyfriends hair. "It's called an orchid. They don't grow in Korea; the weather conditions aren't right for it. The man I bought it from told me they symbolize strength, beauty, and... love."

Daehyun's eyes widened slightly when he heard that word. "Love?" He echoed quietly before being captured yet again by Youngjae's lips. That had been the first time of many "love you"s to come.

DING

Daehyun snapped his head up, shaking out of the memory that overtook his mind when the elevator arrived. Hurrying inside, he made his way to the parking garage and sped out in his black sedan. He wasn't even sure where he was going; he just knew that he had to get out of that apartment. Yongguk and Junhong were going to be upset with him, no doubt, but-

You are so very far, so very far
To be honest I miss you every day
Even the very small, very small trivial things
make me think of you every day

Daehyun's head jerked towards the radio as the comfort of the familiar song wrapped around him like a warm blanket.

'Youngjae's favourite,' he thought to himself, feeling his thoughts begin to drift back to crescent-moon eyes and round, chubby cheeks. He quietly began to sing along, his melodious voice tinged with sadness as he remembered all the times his lover had woken him up with soft humming to that particular meloody. Tears began to fill Daehyun's eyes as the lyrics flung countless memories into his mind, forcing him to recount the fact that Youngjae was gone... and he wasn't ever coming back.

Your comforting scent fills the room
in the flowers scattered around
Because I’m afraid one day I won’t be able to feel it
I want to take hold of even the air that you were in

It had been almost a year, yet the pain was still the same. Every single day, he still noticed the giant, raw hole that had been torn into his heart the day his love had been taken away from him. His vision blurred as the tears finally spilled down his cheeks in a steady stream. Not wanting to get into an accident, he pulled over in the nearest parking spot he could find before completely breaking down, feeling the cold facade he had covered himself with shattering as sobs racked through his body. He hugged himself tightly as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to muffle his loud cries in his arm as he remembered all the times when Youngjae told him not to cry.

"Hyunnie, don't cry, I'll be fine. They only want to run some blood tests."

"I'm alright, Dae. I'm only going to stay the night at the hospital, please don't cry."

"I promise I'll be okay, DaeDae. Can you give me a smile?"

"Don't cry because of me, Daehyun. You have to live a long and happy life after I'm gone, alright?"

What Daehyun didn't realize at the time was that when Youngjae died, he would as well.

A day becomes months
It seems that even in my heart too a new spring has come…

"So where's my new spring?" Daehyun whispered to himself, feeling vulnerable and broken as he wiped his tears on his sleeve and dabbed the corners of his eyes, knowing already that they would be red and swollen. Releasing a long sigh, he looked up and, with a shock, realized he was parked directly in front of the coffee shop that Yongguk and Junhong invited him to. Biting his lip roughly, he tightened his hands on the wheel momentarily before turning off the engine, grabbing his keys, and stepping out the door with determination, slamming it as he made his way to the entrance.

As he stepped in, he was filled with nostalgia. It was just as he remembered it: the cozy, faded brown seats formed small clusters around tables, black, orange, and yellow stripes swirling around the walls, and the mismatched tiled floor that Youngjae loved with a passion. Since it was a little past noon, most of the tables were full and there was a pretty long line to the cashier, yet he got in it anyway. He could almost hear his heart pounding as he took in the familiar sights, sounds, and scents of the little coffee shop. Gradually, he made his way to the front of the line and was surprised to see his friend Jongup working as a barista. Jongup spotted him and smiled brightly, waving him over. After placing his order, he hurried to the younger man's work station. 

"Long time no see, hyung!" the younger of the two said happily as he prepared Daehyun's drink. "How have you been? I haven't seen you since February!"

"I"ve been alright," Daehyun replied with a small smile, hoping his eyes weren't as red anymore. "It's my first time back here since..."

Jongup heard the older man trail off and he pursed his lips. "This drink is on me, alright?" His voice was firm as he placed the piping hot caramel macchiato on the small table in front of Daehyun. "There's a table open over there; go on and sit for awhile. My break is in fifteen minutes."

'Still ordering his hyungs around. What a rude kid.' Daehyun chuckled and shook his head; Jongup hadn't changed one bit. Listening to him, he began to make his way over to a free table in the corner of the shop when someone crashed into him. The hot coffee he had in his hand splashed over his arm, causing him to yelp with pain, and he tried to wipe it off before hearing a frantic voice in front of him

"Oh god, are you okay?! I'm so sorry, this is all my fault!" A deep, husky voice cried out from the man. Daehyun was about to angrily snap back at the stranger about being more careful when he looked up. The voice didn't match the face at all. From the sound of his voice, Daehyun expected to see a gruff old man with a scruffy beard, bad breath, and yellow teeth. 

Instead, he thought he was looking at a prince. The male's chocolate brown hair was carelessly swept to the left side of his face and his dark eyes were filled with worry. He couldn't have been a day older than twenty. Daehyun noticed that the man had also spilled much of his drink on his grey v-neck longsleeve, but he didn't seem to notice as his small, slender hands waved around madly as he shouted to some stranger to bring napkins over. Placing his own hands on the strangers arm, he gently tugged his shirtsleeve.

"Hey, I'm alright. It was just an accident-" he began to say when he noticed the tears forming in the others eyes, causing his own to widen with surprise. The male grabbed his hand and quickly stood, pulling him along as he rushed out of the coffee shop with tons of people staring and murmuring after them. Daehyun let the other tow him along, not quiet sure as to what he should do. Once they were out of the cafe and down the road, the stranger released his hand and quickly wiped his eyes.

"I'm so sorry about that, crowds make me really uneasy," the male chuckled quietly, biting his lip before holding out his hand. "I'm Kim Himchan."

Daehyun stared at the outstretched hand, feeling an unconcious wave of deja vu hit him like a brick wall as he thought back to how he first met Youngjae.

"Watch where you're going next time!" Daehyun growled at the chubby-cheeked man that had crashed into him on the deserted sidewalk, feeling his temper flare. He was already late to his first class, now he had to deal with a guy ramming into him!

"I-I'm so s-sorry," Youngjae had stuttered, terror filling his body as he shied away from the man bristling with anger. His boyfriend had come home extremely drunk the night before and decided to take it out on Youngjae with his fists, and he was too weak to defend himself from this stranger who looked like he could strangle him. He felt a tear slide down his cheek as he tried to pull down his sleeve without the other seeing his bruises, but it was too late. Daehyun's eyes had widened in shock when he saw the harsh purple and blue spotches decorating his pale skin, immediately feeling awful for his outburst on the poor boy.

"Hey," he spoke gently as he brushed the hair out of the younger male's frightened eyes, "I'm really sorry about how I just acted. I know you don't know me but... do you need some help?"

Youngjae had looked up to him with such a look of relief and gratefulness it made Daehyun's heart skip a beat.

Daehyun snapped back to the present and extended his own hand with a small smile. "Daehyun. Jung Daehyun."

Himchan smiled in relief when he shook his hand and suddenly looked sheepish. "Erm... I sort of... um... sorry, I spilled coffee all over you." Pointing at hisnow ruined shirt, Daehyun simply waved his hand with a small laugh.

"It's alright, I didn't like this shirt anyways," he replied and Himchan burst out in laughter, his eyes turning up in a strangely familiar half-moon crescents. Without even thinking, he blurted out, "Hey, do you like orchids?"

Himchan cocked his head to the side and tapped his chin while furrowing his brow, an inquisitive look coming across his face. "Orchids? Yeah, I love them. Why do you ask?"

"No reason, I was just curious," Daehyun said as he surpressed a smile, shaking his head. "Do you want to get a cup of coffee with me? One that won't be spilled all over me?"

The older male giggled before nodding, grabbing the others hand. "It'll be my treat. Let's go!"

As they both walked back to the coffee shop, hand in hand, neither of them noticed the two males staring after them from inside one of the small boutique's beside the cafe.

"Do you think Daehyun hyung has finally met somebody, Gukkie?" Junhong asked with a hopeful grin, holding on tightly to the deep-voiced man's hand as he watched Himchan playfully push Daehyun away.

A small smile danced over Yongguk's mouth as he looked to the younger, quickly pecking his lips before leading him towards the door. "I'm not sure, but I hope he has."

Outside, a small breeze blew through the trees. Birds were chirping. Flowers were blooming.

Spring had finally come.

Comments and feedback are GREATLY appreciated!! <3

PS a little comment asked what Youngjae had died from... I chose not to put any specific disease for a few reasons. If I put one in and one of my readers was somehow affected by that disease, I'd feel absolutely awful. I like to think that he had a disease where his body couldn't fight off simple infections, and those infections were making him sick, so that's why the doctors couldn't help him.

Sorry about the confusion!