Kyuhyun woke up in a white room. He had a moment of panic when he couldn't remember where he was. His eyes landed on a saline drip and he figured he was at the hospital. 

 

He tried to sit up, but a sudden sharp pain in his torso forced him to lay back down. 

 

It was completely silent in the room, save the beeping of his heart rate. Kyuhyun looked around his room again. His eyes landed on something he hadn't seen before.

 

On a chair, in the very corner of the room sat a boy scrunched in a ball. Kyuhyun cocked his head to figure out who it was. Kangin couldn't make himself that small and who else would visit him in the hospital? Who was in his room with him?

 

Suddenly, the dryness in Kyuhyun throat hit him full force. He looked around for something to drink while a coughing fit hit him, causing the pain in his torso to flair up again.

 

The coughing must have woken the sleeping bundle in the corner. Kyuhyun was too occupied with controlling his cough that he didn't even realize until a cup of water was shoved in his face. A hand on the back of his head steadied him as the cup was brought to his lips. 

 

As he took a sip he looked up a who was holding the cup; he choked a bit. 

 

The cup was pulled away quickly and the hand that had been on his head moved to his back to help him cough up the water he had choked on. 

 

“Are you okay?” The boy asked, worry in his voice. 

 

“S-Sungmin?” Kyuhyun said in disbelief. 

 

“Yeah...are you okay?” Sungmin asked again. He was still patting Kyuhyun's back gently to help him cough up the water.

 

“Yeah, yeah I'm f-fine” Kyuhyun managed to get out in between coughs.

 

With the confirmation, Sungmin moved away from Kyuhyun to grab his chair from the corner and place it next to Kyuhyun's bed. Once he was finally settled, he faced a disbelieving Kyuhyun.

 

“How...? What...?” Kyuhyun was fumbling over his words.

 

“You've been in a coma for three weeks.” Sungmin said.

 

Kyuhyun just stared wide-eyed at him.

 

“I-I thought you were going to die....” Sungmin trailed off as he looked away from Kyuhyun. His cheeks started to turn a shade of pink.

 

“W-what happened?” Kyuhyun asked. He tried to ignore the warm feeling in the pit of his stomach at the thought that Sungmin cared enough to see if he was alive.

 

Sungmin brought his attention back to Kyuhyun before he started his story. 

 

~

 

Siwon came running out of the house with his gun aimed at both Kyuhyun and Sungmin. Kyuhyun pushed Sungmin into some bushes just before Siwon fired his gun. Kyuhyun, who had turned to face the oncoming attacker, was shot below his heart. He fell, unconscious, on top of Sungmin, subsequently hiding him from Siwon's view. However, the protection was unnecessary. Before Siwon could even make it to where Kyuhyun and Sungmin lay, three police officers came running into the back yard yelling for him to “drop his weapon.” When Siwon refused, and even pointed his gun towards one of the officers, he was shot in the shoulder, allowing the police to safely arrest him. 

 

Sungmin was helped from the bushes when the police gently lifted Kyuhyun away from him. He grabbed Kyuhyun limp hand and refused to let go, even when the police tried to untie the shirt from around his hands. 

 

Walking through the house, Sungmin saw that Kangin had been shot in his side. It seemed to not be life threatening as the police were allowing him to hug and talk to some man without a uniform. When they exited the front of the house, Sungmin saw three ambulances and three police cars, with a fourth pulling up. He noticed that some of his neighbors had come out to see what all the commotion was, all of them in their pajamas and looking as if they cared.

 

The police, once again, tried to separate Sungmin from Kyuhyun so they could go to different ambulances to get different treatments, but Sungmin, once again, refused. When tears were seen spilling from his eyes, the police allowed Sungmin to stay with Kyuhyun and brought them to the same ambulance. Before he was loaded in the back, Sungmin saw the other man, Han Geng, sitting in the back seat of one of the police cars; he was awake, but there was a gauze on his temple that had a large blood stain on it.

 

Once inside the ambulance, everything became frantic. The EMTs forced Sungmin away from Kyuhyun in order to lay Kyuhyun down and assess his injuries. Sungmin watched, with tears in his eyes as the EMTs ripped Kyuhyun's shirt off; the amount of blood from the gun shot wound made Sungmin want to vomit. An instant panic had risen in him and he began to fight with all the people who were trying to lay him down. All he wanted to do was stay near Kyuhyun and force him to wake up.

 

He continued to fight and watch on in horror as the EMTs worked quickly on Kyuhyun. He continued to struggle until he felt a prick in his arm followed by a sudden rush of lightheadedness. His mind continued to yell that he needed to get to Kyuhyun, to wake him up, but his body was failing him. One of the EMTs put her hand on Sungmin's shoulder and pulled him to lay down.

 

“He'll be alright. He would want you to be alright, too. Please relax, you'll hurt yourself. He will be fine.” The EMT spoke gently to Sungmin. It was the last thing Sungmin heard before the drugs took control and he fell unconscious as well.

 

~

 

“And I woke up here. They told me I had no real injuries, just bruises. But when I asked about you, t-they said you had fallen into a coma.” Sungmin ended.

 

Kyuhyun had stayed silent the entire time. He had many more questions, but he wanted to stay in the moment. Sungmin was looking up at him with a glint in his eyes; Kyuhyun could tell that it was relief. Sungmin was relieved that Kyuhyun was okay. The warm feeling in Kyuhyun's stomach rose a bit higher.

 

But staring was never the right thing to do.

 

“K-Kangin. Is he okay?” Kyuhyun stumbled out. He broke his gaze with Sungmin and looked everywhere but his eyes.

 

“Yeah, I guess. He was shot in the shoulder, but the bullet came out the other side and he's fine. But...” Sungmin trailed off again.

 

“But what?” Kyuhyun asked. This time he faced Sungmin. 

 

“H-he was arrested for breaking and entering and attempted robbery.” 

 

Kyuhyun stared for a moment. If Kangin was arrested, what were they going to do with him now that he was awake? 

 

He tried to ask that very question, but Sungmin shushed him.

 

“He's taking all the heat, Kyuhyun. He said that you and I were friends before and that you just came to save me... You're not in trouble at all.” Sungmin said. Something in him urged him hold Kyuhyun's hand, and somehow he gathered enough courage to do just that.

 

Kyuhyun watched his hand intertwine with Sungmin's like it was the most interesting thing he has ever seen in his entire life. 

 

He didn't know what to say or think. Everything that had happened, happened so quick and everything had changed so fast. It was all too much. He could feel his head start to hurt. 

 

After giving him a moment to reflect, Sungmin gently squeezed Kyuhyun's hand to regain his attention.

 

“I'm glad you're awake.” Sungmin said. He was using all his strength to keep eye contact with Kyuhyun; all he wanted to do was confess and then hide in a hole for a few years. He had spent nearly 24 hours each day in Kyuhyun's room, waiting for him to wake up. In all honesty, he really had no where else to go. 

 

His family had come home from their vacation early when the police had notified them of the break in. The nurses forced Sungmin, after he had refused, claiming they wouldn't care, to call his parents and tell them he was okay and that they could pick him up. There first response to Sungmin's voice was to ask “how could you have let this happen?” They showed no interest in whether or not Sungmin was safe and they didn't even ask which hospital he had been taken to before they had hung up the phone. 

 

Sungmin sighed in defeat and asked the nurse which room Kyuhyun was being kept. He had stayed in Kyuhyun's room for the whole three weeks, eating in the cafeteria and walking to the cafe to work when needed. The nurses took pity on him and had no comment about him not leaving Kyuhyun's side. After a few nights, they even took to bringing Sungmin a spare cot at night for him to sleep on rather than squished on a chair. 

 

In the three weeks he sat with an unconscious Kyuhyun, he realized that even if he had somewhere to go, he didn't want to leave. Kyuhyun had pushed him out of the way and had taken a gun shot for him, a stranger. 

 

But maybe, to Kyuhyun, he wasn't a stranger. He had noticed the boy sitting across the street from his cafe many times. He had even come to enjoy seeing the boy. He had no idea that he had been there for him, but it was nice to see the same face every time he went to work. 

 

Maybe, to Kyuhyun, he was someone important. The fact that Kyuhyun was willing to take a bullet for him was enough proof in itself. 

 

Maybe, just maybe, Kyuhyun genuinely cared for him. He had had three weeks to ponder this. His thought were clarified somewhere in the second week.

 

He had sat alone, in silence as usual, and stared out the window. It finally hit him, what he had been doing, staying by the side of an unconscious boy he barely knew. If he didn't care about Kyuhyun, he would have found somewhere else to go. He did have a choice to stay or not; he chose to stay with Kyuhyun. He cared for Kyuhyun; he liked Kyuhyun; he wouldn't say he loved Kyuhyun, yet, but the thought was there nonetheless.

 

“I'm glad you stayed with me.” Kyuhyun finally said. He took a breath before he started again. “I-I know I told you that I thought I was in love with you. Sungmin, I still feel that way. I know you said that I can't love you, but Sungmin...I could have cried when I saw it was you who waited by my side. I may sound creepy, hell, I know I sound ing creepy, but Sungmin, I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to be waiting for me. Sungmin, I-”

 

“Stop it.” Sungmin interrupted. “Things have changed. You...you took a bullet for me. If you didn't really have some sort of feelings for me, I don't think you would have risked your life like that. I won't allow you to say you love me, yet. You shouldn't say it unless you mean it, and you can't mean it until you know me. But...but I...I want to try.” Sungmin mumbled the last bit.

 

Kyuhyun took a moment to regain his breathing. What was Sungmin saying?

 

“What do you mean 'try'?” Kyuhyun asked.

 

“I-I mean...Kyuhyun, I stayed with you for these past three weeks. I never left. I could have, somehow, but I didn't. I didn't know why or what that meant until it came to me. I-I won't say love, because I can't mean it, yet. B-But I care about you. I want to give it a try...us...I want to give us a try. I-If that's what you want...” Sungmin trailed off, his courage dwindled away.

 

Kyuhyun was speechless. Hearing Sungmin say that caused the heat that had been in his stomach move all the way into his chest. Was Sungmin asking to be his boyfriend? He tried to contain himself, but a bit of a grin forced its way onto his face.

 

“Don't laugh at me. I'll go....I'm glad you're okay.” Sungmin said when he saw Kyuhyun grin. His courage and confidence had left him with the end of his speech and the thought that Kyuhyun was going to laugh at him made him want to cry. He could find somewhere else to stay. He stood up and went to leave.

 

“No! Are you crazy? No!” Kyuhyun yelled. He grabbed onto Sungmin's hand tighter and pulled him closer, scrunching his eyes and hissing as the sudden movements had affected his gun shot wound. “Don't leave! I don't want you to leave. Sungmin, I'm sorry, I wasn't laughing. I-I was smiling. I'm happy.”

 

Sungmin looked back at Kyuhyun, his watery eyes wide and questioning. 

 

“Sungmin, if you're asking for an 'us,' I want there to be and 'us,' too.” Kyuhyun said. He smiled again as he squeezed Sungmin's hand in confirmation.

 

Sungmin looked down to his lap and felt a smile creep its way onto his face as well.

 

“Wow...” Kyuhyun muttered in awe.

 

“What?” Sungmin questioned quickly.

 

“I've never seen you smile.” Kyuhyun said simply. 

 

At this Sungmin smiled again, this time differently. The first had been a small grin, but this was a big smile, one that made his cheeks wrinkle and his eyes scrunch. 

 

Kyuhyun couldn't help but smile himself. Sungmin was beautiful. He decided then and there that Sungmin should always smile, and he would stand beside him and try his hardest to make that a reality.

 

“You should smile more often. You're cute when you smile.” Kyuhyun said.

 

Sungmin grinned and tucked his head down in embarrassment. Kyuhyun chuckled as he saw a blush creep up Sungmin's cheeks.

 

They stayed that way for a while, just hand-in-hand in a peaceful silence. A nurse interrupted them when she came to check on Kyuhyun. Sungmin excused himself to go get food for himself and Kyuhyun. 

 

When Sungmin came back with a light lunch for them to share, Kyuhyun decided to figure out exactly what happened to Kangin, Siwon, and Han Geng.

 

“Kangin got two years in prison and Siwon and Han Geng both got life.” Sungmin said before he took a bite of his sandwich. 

 

“Is Leeteuk okay, too?” Kyuhyun asked. 

 

“Who?” 

 

“Oh...He was Kangin boyfriend. They broke up, but Siwon and Han Geng found out about him and told Kangin they would hurt him.” Kyuhyun had forgotten that Sungmin had no idea who Leeteuk was.

 

“Is he sorta tall and skinny with brown hair?” Sungmin continued when Kyuhyun nodded. “I think he brought the police...When we walked through the house, he was with Kangin. They broke up?” 

 

Kyuhyun just hummed in acknowledgment. He was too focused on how delicious his pudding cup tasted after three weeks without real food.

 

“Oh...They seemed really close when I saw them. I think they even kissed...” Sungmin mumbled.

 

“They kissed!” Kyuhyun was shocked. It had been a rough fall out between the two, but he knew Kangin had never meant to hurt Leeteuk. Maybe in circumstances like what happened, a lot of things change. “But they are both okay?” 

 

“Yeah. Leeteuk visited you, too. I had gone to the bathroom and when I came back, I saw him.” 

 

Kyuhyun nodded, reminding himself he should call Leeteuk when he gets the chance. 

 

After eating, Kyuhyun felt exhausted. Sungmin helped him lay down without causing too much stress on his wound. Sungmin sat back down on his chair beside Kyuhyun's bed and held his hand again.

 

“Don't leave, please.” Kyuhyun said, his eyes barely staying open.

 

Sungmin smiled again. “I won't. I haven't for the passed three weeks. I won't now.” 

 

Kyuhyun grinned when he saw Sungmin's cheeky smile. He fell asleep with that image in his mind.