Epilogue

Donghae was a happy child. He grew up knowing the best of what love could be; what with his happy family and loyal friends. From a young age he came to appreciate that he was blessed.

His father was the best man the world could have ever produced; a strong man who loved to play but knew when best to teach and scold. He would read Donghae and his brother Donghwa bed time stories every night before heading off to fold their patient mother into his warm embrace. On nights when Donghae’s best friend came over with his twin brother, Donghae's father would pitch a tent in their tiny yard and they’d have fun telling ghost stories and roasting marshmallows.  The thing that made those nights especially memorable in Donghae’s mind was the way Hyukjae, his best friend in the whole entire world, and his dad would treat each other just like father and son. Donghae’s father would dote over him and his twin brother Eunhyuk just as he did with his sons. He would feed them until their stomachs were bursting out of their clothes and rub them on the head with his knuckles in the most playful of ways.

Donghae and Donghwa would always watch from the side-lines and whine about being neglected but truly, they would find comfort in the overflow of love and eventually join the fun themselves. It was always best when their mothers prepared food for them in the kitchen while they played outside. Donghae’s mother would  leave the pots to see to themselves every once in a while to do some teasing of her own while dragging the much more reluctant Mrs Lee with her and scolding her best friends husband for excluding himself in preference of enjoying a beer while the others played around. Those nights were always the best for Donghae. They weren’t the best because he was having some momentary fun or spending time with his friends. They weren’t the best because they ate their tummies full and spent the majority of the night fighting sleep so the night would never really end. Those nights weren’t the best because Donghae got to cuddle next to Hyukjae as they finally gave into their heavy eyes’ pleas to finally let them rest. No, they were the best because even though it was sometimes cold outside and those nights were rare as the years flew past, those were the night when his family was truly complete.

Although he and Hyukjae had no real blood relation, his entire life had been spent beside the boy just as it had been spent beside Donghwa. Living just a few blocks from each other had brought them all the more closer in times of need and on nights when Hyukjae would sneak in through Donghae’s window, too lonely in his own bedroom or too annoyed with his brothers loud snoring. Those were the times when Donghae would put the meaning of their relationship into question and think that perhaps they were not just friends but something more.

It had taken years of avoidance of the matter and many months of stupid arguments before Donghae finally realised his true feelings within the same second it took for him to angrily join their lips to prove a point to his best friend.

“Y-you see you i-idiot! It’s totally fine for us to kiss. It’s what best friends do.” He had proclaimed that day, and so began their passionate tumbles between classes and at break times, while walking home and when the door closed behind them as they entered either of their bedrooms. It wasn’t long between that first contact of their lips and the day that their lives were brought to a halt by the shocking news of Lee Seungyeon's illness and impending death.

Those were the worst days of Donghae’s life. Those were the days when it rained in his heart even though the weather was dry outside. Those were the days when even his mother’s comforting smile couldn’t bring him out of his sadness. Those were the days when he began to realise the true meaning of his friendship because those were the days when Hyukjae’s presence could bring peace to an unnerved family. They would spend tension filled hours trying not to talk about the coming sorrows until Hyukjae would walk in an