Joonmyeon remembers when he first met Yifan.

He was only eleven when a new Chinese guy with such good looks got transferred into his school and was placed into his class. Everyone took an interest to him almost immediately. He was taller than the rest and had a charismatic look on his face, but he never smiled at others no matter how hard they tried. In the end, everyone stayed away from him and called him names and spread rumours about the boy who refused to smile.

One fateful day, Joonmyeon finds himself locked inside the locker room after PE which was supposedly a joke done by some classmates. He had begged and cried to be let out, but the boys merely laughed and called him names as they stood outside the door. But their laughter died when Yifan came and kicked upon the door, and they all ran way when they saw the scary look on his face.

Joonmyeon turned out to be Yifan’s first friend ever since he left China, and they became inseparable since.

As Joonmyeon sits at the end of Yifan’s bed in the hospital, he recalls all the things they’ve went through together. They’ve been through so much that Joonmyeon thinks it will take him forever to recall everything. But what he remembers most is the day they first met and the day when the world took Yifan away from him; Joonmyeon can never forget the fear and heartbreak he had felt when he took the phone call from Mrs Wu who told him about Yifan’s accident.

Something moves at the corner of his eyes and Joonmyeon lifts his head to see Mrs Wu shifting a little in her sleep. She’s still seated on the chair by Yifan’s bed, one hand holding tightly to his son’s while the other is used to prop her head on top of the bed as a pillow, torse bent forward so she could rest beside her only son. Joonmyeon could see the pain and sorrow on her face even though she’s asleep, and it breaks his heart so badly.

“Joonmyeon…” Joonmyeon turns his head when he hears Yifan’s voice, and the spirit of his best friend smiles softly at him as their eyes meet. “Can we go up to the rooftop? It feels a bit too hot in here,” Yifan says.

Joonmyeon is a bit weirded out with the man’s sudden request, but he nods anyway. When he goes outside into the hallway, he sees all his friends seated on the chairs alongside the walls, heads resting on top of each other’s shoulders. Since none knew the exact amount of time Yifan has left, they all refused to go home and insisted to stay. They knew that they would only regret it more if they didn’t.

“Where are you going?” Baekhyun asks Joonmyeon when he sees him walk out of Yifan’s room.

“Rooftop,” Joonmyeon answers. “I need… some fresh air.”

“Do you want us to come with you?” Kyungsoo asks as he sits up from his position that had him leaning his head on Sehun’s shoulder.

Joonmyeon shakes his head. “It’s fine. It’ll only take a while.”

“Be careful.” Sehun tells him, sounding tired.

"And come back quick," Zitao adds quietly.

“I will.”

Joonmyeon could feel their eyes on him as he walks away, and when he turns to a corner, he almost collides with Yixing whose face is wet. He must’ve went to the bathroom to wash his face, Joonmyeon thinks as he smiles at the other. But Yixing’s face is grim and he’s staring at something over Joonmyeon’s shoulder.

Yifan.

“Off to get some fresh air?” Yixing asks, his question mostly meant to Yifan since his eyes are on him. But Joonmyeon is the one who answers.

“Yeah. Felt a little suffocated in there.”

“I understand.”

“It won’t take long.” Joonmyyeon tells him.

Yixing nods. “Okay. I’ll… see you soon, I guess.”

There’s something off about Yixing and Joonmyeon finds himself staring worriedly at the other whose eyes still remained on Yifan’s figure behind him. He turns his head a little and sees Yifan staring back at Yixing, and after a few tense silence, Yifan nods his head and smiles.

“See you, Xing.”

Yixing’s gaze visibly saddens at that and he excuses himself after a soft nod, making Joonmyeon watch his figure leave with a frown. He glances at Yifan and sees Yifan staring at him, so he tilts his head in wonder at which Yifan simply smiles.

“Come on, let’s go.”

***

It’s colder outside on the rooftop and Joonmyeon regrets not taking his jacket with him before leaving Yifan’s room. They sit right next to each other with their backs against the railings, not bothered about the beautiful view of the city below them and simply leaning against each other.

“Do you remember that one time when we went swimming and you accidentally dropped your pants in the pool?” Yifan suddenly asks, his voice quiet but mischievous.

Joonmyeon face is already red due to the cold, but it heats up more as the memory hits him. It was a few months after their first meeting and Yifan’s mom had taken them both to a public indoor swimming pool with the other kids during summer. Joonmyeon had grabbed his brother’s short pants instead of his own, so the cloth was a bit too big for him that it fell off when he jumped into the pool.

“Urgh, don’t remind me please. It was horrible!” Joonmyeon groans as he covers his face. Yifan laughs, his body shaking along. Their shoulders are pressed together so Joonmyeon could feel how delighted the other was at the memory. “What about you, huh? Remember that one time you tripped and fell int