"Remember when he used to have to dye his hair that colour?"

"You're not funny, Hyuk."

"You're just old."

"Idiot."

"Hey!"

Hakyeon rubbed his temples, but smiled. Jellyfish had assigned him the role of leader with VIXX, but perhaps didn't see it following him this long into his life.

"It's still kinda crazy how long VIXX went on, isn't it?" Hongbin interrupted, thoughtfully looking out the window. Jaehwan and Sanghyuk cocked their heads at him, but Hakyeon understood. 

"Well, after Wonshik got hit by that bus . . . It was like we got him back."

"Got who back?"

Hongbin shuffled over, crushing Sanghyuk agianst the window more. "Why, our wonderous Ravi, of course."

The man snorted, white bangs falling over his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

Hongbin shrugged. "Fine, don't believe me."

Wonshik looked to Sanghyuk, assessing him for a moment before he coughed. "You changed the radio in my car last time I drove you home."

"Did I?" He tapped his finger against his chin. "What did I leave it on?"

"One of the channels that plays old music. From our debut days."

The younger man went white. "I . . . did?"

Wonshik just nodded, eyes fixed somewhere behind Sanghyuk, though a small smile came to his lips. "They played Beautiful Liar."

Hongbin raised an eyebrow. "Is that a bad thing?"

His smile widened. "Not at all. I just forgot how beautiful his voice was."

Hongbin smiled wanly, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "After all this time, you still miss him like he died yesterday."

"Did I ever tell you about the dream I had after I was hit by the bus?"

It was Hakyeon's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You had a dream?"

He smiled again and nodded. "I saw him again. He was the one that told me to reassemble VIXX. He wanted me to keep creating music. When I went home after the hospital released me, I started cleaning. I cleaned up all of the small things that were his, donated things that I didn't need to keep. But I found a box in the basement full of his old songbooks."

Jaehwan and Sanghuk exchanged glances. Hongbin and Hakyeon were staring him down. "And?"

Wonshik grinned, and for a moment, he looked like he was back in the Hyde video. "I used them."

"Didn't the CEO always tell Taekwoon-ah that his songs were too dark? How did you sneak them in?" Sanghyuk asked.

Wonshik shrugged, the grin stretching wider. "One or two an album never hurt anyone. Not to mention the specials I did. His lyrics were never meant to be rapped, though. That was a little difficult to maneuver."

Hakyeon took a steadying breath. "Did I sing a lot of them?"

"I gave you the parts he would have sung." He dipped his head a little bit. "I kept the darkest stuff for myself, but he had a surprising amount of happy-er songs as well. Those were the ones I gave VIXX."

"Do you have a lot of them still?"

"I haven't made it through three books yet. He had fifteen of them." Wonshik leaned back in his seat, but he didn't seem upset.

"What do you think about his work?" Hongbin asked, casting him a glance from the side as he sipped his tea.

"I never liked the dark themes, you know that. I never would have written something like Blossom Tears or even wanted to perform it. But . . . I have to say that it soothed my soul to know that even without singing on them or being there physically with us, that Taekwoon was still a part of VIXX to the end."

Jaehwan ducked his head, trying to discreetly halt his tears. Sanghyuk let his fall, resting his head on Hongbin's shoulder. 

Hakyeon's smile was watery as he reached across the table, taking one of Wonshik's hands in his own. "Thank you, Ravi."

"Hey, you're the leader. You can't be worrying about us all the time, right? Besides, we never did take Leo out of the members lists."

Hakyeon hiccuped a laugh. "No, we didn't."

"Cheer up, hyung." Wonshik laughed, ruffling his aged white hair. "It's been a life well lived, I'd say."

"To Taekwoonie." Hongbin riased his tea.

"To Taekwoon-hyung." Sanghyuk and Jaehwan mirrored, riasing their cups as well. 

"To Taekwoon-ah." Hakyeon followed after a brief pause.

Wonshik met their eyes and grinned. "To our Leo."

Their cups clinked and Wonshik turned thier nostalgia trip into a discussion of how Bigbang were going on a world tour, again, and whether G-Dragon's hair was a different shade of vibrant pink since the last time he'd made an appearance.

Hakyeon looked up when Hongbin closed the door, but was surprised to find him alone. "Where's Wonshik?"

Hongbin took a few deep breaths facing the door before he entered the living room, gently setting down a yellowed lyricbook with the tidy, but tiny writing that had belonged to Taekwoon and the hasty, massive scribbling that belonged to Wonshik.

Sanghyuk and Jaehwan had stopped fussing over their Jenga game and were silently looking between the two. Hakyeon ignored them, meeting Hongbin's eyes for a moment before he picked up the book.

Shikkie can never keep his hands to himself . . .How does Hakyeon deal with him?

Underneath was pasted a picture of Wonshik hiding how he was groping Taekwoon from the camera, though the smirk on his youthful face was more obvious than the action itelf. Beneath that was another image of Taekwoon and Hakyeon being assaulted by the other four's aggressive happiness. Taekwoon was shrinking in on himself, but Hakyeon had such a look of exhausted resignation that he felt bad for his past self. He remember that day and it made him cringe. 

Hakyeon looked like he wants to die. Send help for the hyung line. 

He couldn't help but bark out a laugh. It'd been so long since he'd been the subject of Taekwoon's dry, shy humour. 

On the next page were printouts of selfies, one for each member. 

Hyuk's so excited for this tour. It's nice. 

Hongbin's done with being a VIXX Girl. Hehe, it's fun to watch. 

Hakyeon's hair is so nice in this picture. I should tell him do it like that more often. 

Jaehwan . . . What are you even doing?

You look constipated, Wonshik. Goodness, he can't even take a picture . . . 

The last one was a picture of Taekwoon himself, taken in a quiet moment. He was curled up in an armchair, but was smiling brightly. The commentary underneath made Hakyeon want to cry. The fans really like it when I smile. I think I'll try to do it more. 

Hakyeon bit his lip but kept flipping the pages. Gradually, more and more of Wonshik's writing appeared too.

He asked me to marry him . . . Goodness, I said yes. Sorry Mom. :/

You didn't tell me you had a journal! I'm going to sneak in notes like this all the time!

Wonshik, no! Leave this book alone! 

But you don't even use it for lyrics. All this time I thought you were writing, but you're documenting us! So secretive, Woonie!

Yes, so hush. Go start your own journal if you like this one so much. 

Professional proofs, selfies, fan cams, SNS posts, even their wedding invitation. One of the pages was a sketch done by Wonshik of Rovix hovering over the members, the basis picture still tucked into the spine. They were in a semi-circle, arms around each other's shoulders, laughing. Even Taekwoon, who was usually so reserved, was almost crying he was laughing so hard on Hongbin's shoulder. 

I hope this never ends.

The next picture was of Taekwoon's open grave. 

So did I.

The next pages were empty. Hakyeon flipped through anyways, coming across a piece of paper, folded in half, tucked into the spine. It, too, was yellowed and fragile. On top of it was a note written by their old manager. 

You should read it, Wonshik.

I got Taekwoon killed.

Hakyeon opened it.

Coroner's Report

Subject: Jung Taekwoon

Age: 32

Incident Record: Involved in a one-vehicle car accident. One other vehicle occupant: Kim Wonshik. When police arrivied on-scene, the vehicle was wrapped around a light post on the driver's side, trapping Jung within. Kim was retrieved unharmed. Jung was recovered from vehicle with blood running down his face from his ears and nose and with small, topical glass lacerations along his face and shoulder. He was rushed to hospital. During the investigation, Kim claimed that he and Jung were involved in an intense argument when the accident occurred. 

Cause of death: Brain hemmoraging caused by an untreated brain aneurysm. 

Findings: The crash was a result of Jung's physical condition, not any emotional distress. The hemmoraging caused a , wherein Jung promptly lost control of the vehicle and they crashed. 

Hakyeon folded the paper once more and safely tucked it back into the book, closing it as well before setting it back on the table. He met Hongbin's eyes and the other man only solemnly nodded. 

"In the back of the book there's one more picture." Hongbin said softly. "It's the selfie we took last week, at the coffee shop. When he told us about his accident dream."

Hakyeon blinked. 

"Taekwoon's pictures stop two days before the accident." Hongbin whispered, nervously flexing his hands. "It's strange to go from that VIXX to that group of five old men."

Hakyeon swallowed past the lump in his throat. "Where's Wonshik?"

"I thought he was asleep when I entered his apartment." Hongbin pursed his lips and lowered his head. 

"And?" Snaghyuk prompted at a whisper. 

Hongbin's hand was trembling as he used it to cover his eyes, shaking his head. His voice was no less shaky. "I need you to help me make the arrangements."

A warm breeze blew over his body, bringing with it the weight of salt and sea. He could hear feathery linen curtains gently fluttering on the wind and the cotton sheets around his body ease the warmth of the day through. The muted roar of the waves echoed through the open window. He almost wanted to open his eyes, but the pillow and the mattress were just too soft against him. 

Suddenly, but not startlingly, fingers started carding through his hair. They were long, thin and careful, gentled by affection. 

The pillow shifted and he made a noise of protest. Someone just above him released a laugh as light, shy and airy as the breeze itself.

"I'm sorry, Shikkie, but my legs are falling asleep."

Blearily he opened his eyes, looking up to the serene face of Taekwoon. His black hair shone with the same depth a sa sapphire and his smile was whiter than the partially opened dress shirt he was wearing. 

"Hello." He cooed, fingers running through the white-blonde strands they were tangled in. 

"Taekwoonie?"

A hummed chuckle came from him. "I told you I'd wait."