“The darkest night, produce the brightest stars.”

It wasn’t cold anymore. It felt more of like a burning sensation more now. It burnt and burnt, making his skin itch and parched. Ryeowook had trouble even swallowing his own saliva. His throat was too dry, too constricted. His body was wet from obsessive sweating, his breaths uneven. Ryeowook heard someone calling his name but he couldn’t make out who it was. Alas, the owner of the voice showed up in front of him and waved his hands in front of Ryeowook’s eyes.

“Wookie, are you alright?”

Kyuhyun asked, eyebrows furrowed and lips in a thin worried line. Ryeowook nodded and accepted the glass of water Kyuhyun had offered him and gulped it down in one drink. The water soothe his throat, thankfully and Ryeowook felt his breathing finally returned back to normal. Ryeowook whispered a quiet thank you and handed the glass back to his friend.

“Does it hurt?” Kyuhyun suddenly asked. “You’ve been having these attacks ever since-”

 “I’m fine.” Ryeowook shook his head. “It’s just…. Sometimes it hits me that I’ve stopped taking them and…. And I wonder how I’m going to live.”

That was one thing that improved. Ever since the members restricted Ryeowook from meeting with Hiro, Ryeowook slowly started letting his worries out. At first, he wrote it down and stored them away but then after a week or so of moping around, he got over it. Kind of. He started getting panic attacks however and had to be referred to a therapist. The sessions helped Ryeowook a lot. A lot more than the members could do and the members saw an improvement in Ryeowook faster than ever. He was used to telling his therapist what had happened and because of that, he opened himself to the members and poured out his worries. He promised the members that he would try his best to do that every time something bothered him. 

“You’ve been off drugs for so long now.” Kyuhyun pointed out, taking a seat next to him on the bed. “Does you still want to take it?”

Ryeowook looked away, feeling ashamed of himself and nodded. How could he not when they were what he depended on whenever he wanted to feel high or forget the world just for a little while? Those and heroin, there were what he took to feel happy. Even if they made him feel like crap the next day, they still were dearly to him.

“You know, I’ve been thinking a lot these past few days,” Kyuhyun suddenly said, breaking the silence. “And I thought about something.”

“What is it?”

Kyuhyun took a deep breath and looked over at Ryeowook. “I’m sorry.”

“Wh-What? What are you sorry for?”

“I started all of this. If it wasn’t for me, this wouldn’t happen. I urged you to ask for a solo and you did. But they rejected you and…. All of this happened because I didn’t stand up for you. I should have… I should have talked to the CEO or… just do something but I didn’t.”

Ryeowook smiled silently, tears evident in his eyes. Truth be told, he wanted to hear this. He wanted so badly for someone to tell him that they were sorry and that they should have done something, anything to help him. It was selfish but Ryeowook wanted to hear it. He really wanted too. He couldn’t explain why but he just needed too. It felt right. It satisfied him knowing that at least, despite his rejection, someone was on his side, someone was willing to fight for him.

“I’m sorry too.” Ryeowook nodded and whispered. “I’m sorry I let my feelings control me and made me a terrible person.”

Kyuhyun nodded too and dug through his pocket. He suddenly pulled out a chain necklace with a small bronze coloured cross glass bottle attached to it. Kyuhyun held the necklace with one hand and used his other hand to grab Ryeowook’s hands. The younger male guided the necklace and dropped it in Ryeowook’s palm. Ryeowook looked at him in confusion.

“What’s this?” Ryeowook asked.

“Open it and smell it.” Kyuhyun instructed.

Ryeowook fumbled with the top of the cross shaped jar and pulled the lid of it off. He brought it to his nose and inhaled and his body immediately relaxed at the scent that hit him. It smelt like… Lavender mixed vanilla. There was even a little hint of tangerines and a few other different kind of smell that Ryeowook couldn’t pinpoint what they were. But when mixed, they smelt amazing and Ryeowook couldn’t help but inhale the scent again.

“What is this, Kyu?” Ryeowook asked, finally putting the lid back.

“It’s a ten-in-one stress-relief fragrance.” Kyuhyun answered proudly. “I saw online that these ten scents helps with a person’s well-being and wondered if all ten of them could work into one fragrance. I found someone who could help me with the scents and customized everything them for you, Wookie.”

“Ten? That’s a lot, Kyu! What are they?” Ryeowook inhaled the jar again. “This is really beautiful, Kyu. You shouldn’t have done it.”

Kyuhyun only shook his head silently telling his friend that it was nothing then proceeded to explain the different scents. “There’s Lavender which helps to calm your body and mind. Cinnamon and peppermint, which helps with your concentration, the sweet smell of tangerines, fresh-cut grass vanilla which helps you feel more energized and stimulates all the positive vibes in your mood. There’s also a hint of pine and jasmine scent in there which helps to decrease your anxiety levels and helps with stress. There’s also a hint of apples scent because it helps cures migraines away and last but not least, olive oil to help with your appetite since you’ve been losing so much weight recently.”

“Overall, its ten scents that I hope will help your body, Wookie. I know it must be depressing and exhausting for you to have to fight with your body’s needs and wants and it must be a warzone up there in your brain. I don’t want you to be depressed or have to go through this alone but at the same time, I know that we all c