Instead of Kyuhyun sitting in the chair next to his bed, it became Sungmin who sat there everyday.

Although sungmin never did much or said anything, Ryeowook looked forward to his visits more and more as his presence took away from the loneliness and dullness of the hospital room. However, it also came almost as a sense of deja vu when he would wake up for no apparent reason in the middle of the night and catch Sungmin silently crying into a pillow, his stance all too similar to that of Kyuhyun’s. In the morning, Sungmin would always act like everything was alright and bid him goodbye. Ryeowook resisted the urge to ask him about  for it was obviously something that he wasn’t supposed to have knowledge of and pretended he never saw. It became a sort of routine and a month passed by, neither of them acknowledging the existence of what was happening every night.  

To fill in the emptiness in his heart when Sungmin wasn’t around, Ryeowook had taken to mindlessly dialing the string of numbers he knew by heart. The call was never answered, not that he had really expected it to be, but every time he heard his own voice singing “one fine spring day”  in his ear, he knew that Kyuhyun was at least receiving the calls. He clung onto the hope that if he called enough times, Kyuhyun might just answer, for he longed to hear his boyfriend’s calm, soothing voice again.

Slowly days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and recovery came as he gradually gained his strength back but not before spending countless evenings in the rehabilitation room at the hospital, drenched in sweat and tears because of frustration at how weak he was. It was only the thoughts of Kyuhyun that gave him the motivation to keep working himself. He had to get better. For Kyuhyun. He vowed that the first thing to he would do when he left the hospital was to look for him.

Through the doctor’s and Sungmin’s assistance, Ryeowook was more or less able to resume daily life although with many limitations after two months.

It was on a warm day in the coming of spring that Sungmin walked in with a bright smile on his face, waving a couple of papers in one hand, the other carrying a black box stuck between his arm and the side of his torso.

“I just talked to the doctor. He said you’re allowed to go home tomorrow.”

The younger’s face brightened up. “It was about time...”

Passing the papers to him, the older removed the box in his arms. Ryeowook stared at the object with curiosity. “What’s that?”

“Something Kyuhyun wanted me to give you after you woke up. It’s seems I never got around to doing so until now. I suppose you can consider it a get well gift.”

Laying the box carefully on his lap over the sheets, the eternal maknae gingerly lifted the lid, revealing a framed photo. Two boys were sitting back to back on a picnic blanket in the grass, each holding a ukulele and smiling brightly, their faces illuminated by the warm sunlight.

In the corner of the photo, sprawled in messy yet good looking handwriting was a short message that looked like the writer had been rushing to finish.

That picnic five years ago was the last thing we did together before the accident. I would do anything to return to that time, but sadly, time machines don’t exist in this world yet. Please do cherish this memory.

-Kyuhyun

Framed in a picture frame with a fine silver border and intricately designed, there was the words ‘Forever Ryeowook, the little prince’ carved in elegant cursive along the bottom.

A lone tear slid from the boy’s eyes as he pressed the picture to his chest, hugging it with both hands as if it were a person. More tears quickly accompanied the first one, soon decorating the sheets with damp spots as he refused to let any get on the picture even though it was covered with a thin sheet of glass.

Sungmin, deciding to give the younger some time and space to sort out his own feelings, quietly stepped out the room, shutting the door with a soft click behind him.

Ryeowook remained in the same position, clutching onto the picture as if it were a lifeline, giving no indication that he even noticed that the older had left. He spent the next hour reminiscing about all the events that had happened between the two of them, his grasp never leaving the silver frame.

Amidst his memories, it felt like Kyuhyun was actually there. He imagined running his fingers down the maknae's smooth skin and crashing lips with his soft, full lips. He could almost feel Kyuhyun's warm body against his own. But then reality came crashing down, and he was left with only a silver framed picture. Crying harder, he told himself that he would never forget anything about Kyuhyun.

Almost shaking from the nonstop tears, he felt a warm hand pull him into an embrace. Although not the same as Kyuhyun’s, the safeness and snugness brought him much comfort as he rested his head on the older’s shoulder. Exhausted from crying and from thinking about so much, he slowly drifted off, feeling more secure than ever in his days in the hospital.

Authors Note: I apologize for the long wait for such a short and terrible chapter but I had to focus on AP testing and all that fun stuff(sarcasm) so I didn't have a lot of time to write. But now that all of it is over for now, I will try to update more often although the next chapter will be the last one. As always, please leave comments! :)