heads up: Running Man is a variety TV show which I talk about in this chapter and 

I fangirl about in my author's note at the end. It makes more sense if you have watched RM, 

but I explain the show in the chapter.  

Sort of... 

Okay, quick crash course on Running Man: the people on the show wear "name tags" 

on their back and if it gets ripped off,  (by other players in the game) you're out of the game.  

Now you're up to date.

Continue~ 

~*~

Chapter III

New Year’s and Birthday Wishes

5월 6일

“Aishhhhh…”  Sungyeol flooped down in the chair beside Myungsoo’s bed.  “It’s so hard to be a idol…”

Myungsoo laughed softly, watching Sungyeol throw his legs up onto his bed beside his.  “What did you do today?”

“Running Man,” Sungyeol muttered.  “It’s so tiring, why did you go on it twice?”

Myungsoo shrugged.  “They didn’t give me much of a choice… and it’s fun.”

Sungyeol reached over and slapped the back of Myungsoo’s head.  “Shut up, it’s not!  It’s so tiring and there’s so much waiting… it looks so much fun on TV, but it’s not!”

He scoffed.  “But it’s fun.  You didn’t get elimintated first in the name tag elimination game, right?”  On Running Man, sometimes they have a game where they have to rip the name tags off of each other's back.  Sungyeol had always said that it was "easy" and he would do so much better than "those idio- lovely sunbaenims." 

“Nope!” Sungyeol sat up and grinned.  “I made it to the last three.”

“By just running around and screaming?”

Sungyeol gave Myungsoo the stink eye.  “Maybe, but it worked!”

Myungsoo rolled his eyes.  “I bet all of our sunbaes were running around laughing.”

“No!  They were running around in fear!”

He laughed at Sungyeol’s claim.  “Anyways… it’s good that you got to the last three, it’s better for us not to get the image as really bad Running Man guests.”

Sungyeol nodded and leaned back in his chair.  “But that was so tiring…” he mumbled, stretching his hands over his head.  “We ran around, jumped up and down and searched all over a big building for tiny little blue and yellow ‘R’s and for basically nothing.”

Myungsoo laughed at him.  “But it was fun, wasn’t?”

Sungyeol sighed and shrugged.  “I guess so… I’m going on it again with you, okay?  And then I’ll show you the tiring side of that show.”

“I look forward to it, but I’ll be showing you the fun side.”

Sungyeol smiled at him and remembered something.  He reached down into his bag as he told Myungsoo excitedly, “Look what I did!”  He handed Myungsoo a nametag reading Song Jihyo, one of the hosts of Running Man.  “I ripped her’s off!”

Myungsoo smiled, his breath misting the oxygen mask unevenly through his laughter.  “I guess you’re truly good at the Running Man if you pulled off Jihyo-nonna’s tag.”

Sungyeol nodded.  “I did that for you.  Remember when we were talking about the Running Man?  You said that you wanted to rip off Jihyo’s or Gwangsoo’s tag.  I ripped it off for you.”

Myungsoo’s eyes shone with gratitude.  “Thank you, Sungyeol-ah… thank you so much.”

Sungyeol grinnend and leaned back, his mouth opening in a large yawn.  “All for you, Myungsoo.”

When he was filming Running Man, all of the hosts, guest and even some of the staff had come up and talked to Sungyeol about Myungsoo’s health, all of them expressing their concern for Myungsoo.  Haha, one of the hosts of the show, had asked how Myungsoo was during the recording, causing Sungyeol to hesitate for a little while.  He wasn’t sure about how he should’ve answered, sure, if it was off the camera, he would’ve answered with about half a truth and half a lie, but all the viewers were "staring" at him, and he had to answer the only way that he thought that he could, saying rather formally and stiffly that Myunsoo doing well and was anxious to see the Inspirits again.

“Sungyeol…”

He jerked up, his feet falling off the edge of the bed as Myungsoo called to him as he was just drifting off.

“Yeah?”

“If you’re going to sleep, at least get onto the bed,” Myungsoo said.

“No, you should get the bed,” Sungyeol said immediately.

Myungsoo laughed softly.  “I’m not made of glass.  I might not have too much time left, but I’m able to share the bed,” Myungsoo shifted over on the bed.  “Come on… lay down.”

Sungyeol lay down on the bed, carefully, still wary even though Myungsoo had said it was okay.  Myungsoo sighed and settled down against Sungyeol’s chest.  Sungyeol smiled down at Myungsoo as he wrapped his arm around his waist.  Myungsoo looked so cute and little, it was hard to think that he wouldn’t be there in a month or so.

“Hey, Myungsoo?” Sungyeol whispered.

His eyes fluttered shut briefly and opened again. “Yes?”

“Do you… do you see the end?” Sungyeol asked softly.

He sighed and a distant look took over his face.  “I’m not sure… what I see... what if there’s nowhere for me to go when…” he trailed off.  “Some times I see something but I’m not sure… what it is…”

Myungsoo looked up at Sungyeol.  “I-I saw the end once…”  His eyes were glassy, tears threatening to fall down his cheeks.  “I s-saw someth-thing, b-but I co-couldn’t see it.   Hal-halabeoji was there, I ha-haven’t seen him fo-for seven years…” Tears dripped down Myungsoo’s face.  “Wha-what if there’s no end for me? What… if once I go… there’s nothing left for me there and… and there’s nothing left for me here too…”

Sungyeol wrapped his long arms around Myungsoo’s thin shoulders, tears fell down his face too.  “Myungsoo…”

“I d-don’t know wh-what’s going t-to happen or-or where I’m g-going to go…”

Sungyeol shook his head and gripped Myungsoo’s hand.  “There is somewhere for you,” he said with conviction.  “There is.  Somewhere, there’s a place where everything is good.  There will be a place where you can rest your head when you’re weary.  A place where you can watch everything go by you.  Nothing will be out of place.  It will be somewhere everthing you want is there with you.”

Myungsoo smiled weakly at Sungyeol.  “You… you really think so?”

Sungyeol nodded, fat tears running down his face.  “I really do,” he whispered, his voice cracking.

He closed his eyes again.  “Wh-when I saw the end… th-there was someone there too,” he remembered.  “Halabeoji… He looked at me and… and he said t-that I needed t-to go home and… and say goodbye before… I stay there for g-good.”

Sungyeol hugged Myungsoo closer.  “I’m not hearing any goodbyes so you’ll have to stay here,” he whispered stubbornly.  “Because here’s a place where everything’s good, there’s a place to rest your head when you’re weary, a place to watch everything go by you with nothing out of place.  This is place where there is everything you want.

“That’s why you’re staying here.”

~*~

5월 9일

Myungsoo was sleeping when Woohyun entered his room.  His chest moved up and down slowly, his eyes twitched as if he was having a dream.  Wooohyun sat down in the chair beside his bed and wrapped his hand around Myungsoo’s.  It had been an exhasting few days, Myungsoo had been on the dialysis and was sleeping more often than ever. 

Woohyun sighed and closed his eyes.  For just a moment, he thought to himself. 

The next moment, he was blinking open his eyes.  He sat up, rubbing the rest of the sleep out of his eyes and his jacket fell off his lap as he looked around.  He squinted and shook his watch out of his sleeve to check the time, he had been asleep for nearly two hours.

Myungsoo was gone from the bed and Myungsoo’s mother was sitting in the chair oposite from him, reading a book.

She looked up as he started moving and smiled at him as he looked around for Myungsoo.

“He’s getting some tests done,” she explained.  “When I came in, he was awake and he was watching you sleep beside him.  When he saw me, he told me to be quiet because he wanted you to keep on sleeping.  He didn’t want to wake you up.

“Myungsoo was afraid that you were cold so he asked me to put something over you.”  She smiled at him again.  “He was worried about you.”

Woohyun smiled back.  All of the Infinite memebers were very worried about Myungsoo.  Myungsoo would always smile happily, although now his smile was shadowed with fatiuge, as the others fussed over him like worried mothers.  They always tried to be there for him, a hand on his shoulder, a soft whisper as he fell asleep, anything to help their brother.

Now Woohyun realized that as much as Myungsoo needed them to take care of him, he needed to take care of the others too.

About a hour later, Hyeji brought Myungsoo back to the room.  Myungsoo smiled sleepily at Woohyun and his mother as Hyeji attached a few more IV lines into his arm.

“Are you feeling okay?” his mother asked.

Myungsoo nodded.  He looked over at Woohyun and said something quietly.  Woohyun had to lean in to understand what he was saying.

“Sleep okay…?”

Woohyun smiled and nodded.  “Why don’t you get some rest too?”

He shook his head, a soft smile appearing on his face.  “I’m good for now… I want to stay awake for a little longer.”

“Dr. Song says that you need rest,” Woohyun said softly, running his fingers through Myungsoo’s hair, trying to lull him to sleep.

“I’ve been resting all day,” Myungsoo said, his voice still quiet, “I want to be awake for a little longer.”

Woohyun smiled at Myungsoo.  “Okay, but if you get tired, you should go to sleep again.”

He nodded.  “I will, hyung.”

Myungsoo’s mother smiled at them.  “I’m going to get some food,” she announced, standing up.  “I’ll be right back.”

Myungsoo nodded and blushed as his mother kissed his forehead before heading out of the room.  Woohyun smiled as once more, he thought how lucky Myungsoo was to have his family so close to him like this.

“Hyung,” Myungsoo murmured after a slight pause.  “Could you tell me a story?”

“A story?” Woohyun blinked.

He smiled softly, his eyes closed.  “Yes, a story.  Please?”

“What kind of story?” Woohyun asked.

“I don’t really care.”

“How about… my birthday?”

Myungsoo laughed softly, his eyes still closed.  “Yes please.”

Woohyun laughed with him and started retelling the story of his birthday, starting from New Year’s Eve, the day that they rushed Myungsoo to the hospital as he started to cough up blood, and continuing to when Sunggyu had took him out of the dorm to met Myungsoo out at the park.   Myungsoo smiled and every once in a while added in parts that he forgot or things from his point of view.

“When you said ‘happy birthday’ to me… I really… I didn’t believe that you were there with me.”  Woohyun paused in his story and ran his fingers over the blanket, trying to stop some of the tears gathering in his eyes.  “I was so happy.  It gave me so much hope to see you standing there.  I thought that you were going to stay by me side forever…”

Myungsoo smiled as Woohyun finished the story.  He reached over and took Woohyun’s hand in his.  “Thanks for the story, hyung.” He smiled.

Woohyun nodded.  Myungsoo looked very tired as his eyes fluttered shut for a moment before reopening.  

It really hit Woohyun at that moment, watching Myungsoo rest so fragile on the bed.  He was so close to the edge and he could fall over at any moment.  The road that they had walked since Woohyun’s birthday had been long and challenging, and here they were, facing another challenge that Woohyun didn’t want to dwell on.

He looked away and towards the window as he felt tears prick at his eyes.  Outside, he could hear the birds singing, just faintly over the beeping of machines in the hospital room.  Sunlight streamed through the window onto the white sheets, reflecting white light onto Myungsoo’s face, making him look like an angel.  Woohyun realized that he had been talking for nearly a hour, retelling the story that Myungsoo wanted to hear.

“Why don’t you go to sleep now?” Woohyun suggested quietly, pulling the blanket up to Myungsoo’s shoulders.

Myungsoo nodded, his eyes closing.  “You’ll get some sleep too, hyung, right?”

Woohyun smiled.  “Of course.  Now get some sleep.  Sweet dreams.”

Myungsoo’s hand found Woohyun’s, gently holding onto his hand, as if to make sure that he wouldn’t leave while he was sleeping.  Woohyun squeezed his hand in return, telling him silently that he would stay there and watch over him as he slept.

Just as he was about to drift off, Woohyun’s voice wreathed around him again.

“On New Year’s, what did you write on the sky candle?”

Myungsoo lips turned up into a smile, a small and wonderful smile that Woohyun would keep in his memories for a long time after that.  And he would, remembering it every time that he felt down, as that smile held a certain beautiful sense of mystery and hope for the future.  The answer that Myungsoo gave would also always haunt his heart as there was the same sense of longing for the hope in the future.

“It’s a secret…”

The smile stayed on his lips as he fell into the arms of sleep.

Hello~  

I'm so sleepy right now... but I decided to update!  Yay for Kei!   :D 

I hope you liked this chapter.  I hope that I explained Running Man enough for it to make sense.  I love that show so much!!! Does anyone else watch it?  AnD dOEs anYOnE ELsE tHInK tHAT SuNGYeOL shOULD be ON rUnNING MAn??!?! I want all seven of them to be on Running Man together soon, but Sungyeollie especially.  a Infinite episode would be so great, it would be like Ranking King all over again except that they're all not shooting at Sungjong (though if they were on RM, they would all still probably be teasing Sungjong)  maybe someday...  

Also, the WooSoo part finally comes to a full circle here! but there's still a bit more of the WooSoo line to go.  Woohyun and Myungsoo's relationship if dtr is one of my favourites, it's also one of the longest, so that's probably why.  

It's February break and I don't have schoooooool and no homewooorrrkkkk (except for a essay about lovely Edgar Allen Poe, but it's not due for another two weeks so who cares about thatttt)~  So maybe expect a chapter on Wendsday or Thursday! 

Okay, annyeong everyone!  See you soon!  And don't forget to comment!  And upvote please!  I love you guys!