Weeks passed, Taemin continued to improve, and finally, after nearly two months of recovery, he was discharged. But now he and Jongin faced another challenge; getting home. Taemin couldn’t walk or stand without assistance--he wouldn’t be able to for a good while--so he was fully reliant on a walker, and he couldn't walk far distances. Jongin's apartment was only a few blocks from the hospital, but even that was incredibly far for Taemin in his condition. So as they walked out of the glass doors into the chilly air of late September, Jongin's first thought was to hail a cab. It took some time, given that it was a busy time of day, but he was able to find one, and they were home soon enough. And then arose a problem which Jongin had completely forgotten about. The stairs. There was no elevator in their apartment building, which meant they'd have to walk up three flights of stairs. They entered the stairwell, pausing before the first step.

"Jongin," Taemin's voice quivered as he spoke. "I don't know if I can do this."

"You should at least try. I'll help you, okay? Just hold onto the railing for a moment first." Jongin held out a hand. 

Gingerly, Taemin let go of his walker, grabbing onto the stairway's railing as if for dear life. Jongin took the walker from in front of Taemin, first folding it, then picking it up to carry it up the stairs with them. He held his free arm out to Taemin.

"Hold on to me now." He directed. Taemin tightly grasped Jongin's arm with one hand, then the other, shuffling his feet to move closer to him. 

"Let's go."

Their progress up the stairs was slow, but Jongin was just glad that Taemin seemed to be making it up alright. It was clear that each step was a struggle for him, though, and by the time they'd reached the landing of the first floor, Taemin was winded. 

"Do you want to rest here for a moment?" Jongin asked. Taemin nodded, still trying to catch his breath. 

"Jongin," He said finally, "I don't think I can do this." 

"Of course you can. I know it's really hard, but I know you're capable of making it all the way up."

Taemin shook his head. 

"I'm not, Jongin."

"Come on, don't say that. Just try to go a little farther." Jongin urged him.

"Ok..." Taemin began to move towards the first step, and Jongin hurried to be walking beside him. They started up the next flight, going even slower than before. He could feel Taemin trembling with effort beside him.

About halfway up the flight, Taemin tripped. Fear raced through Jongin as he dropped the folded walker and reached out to his boyfriend, steadying him before he could actually fall.

"You alright?" He asked. Taemin nodded, and Jongin breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Jongin." Taemin lifted his head, meeting Jongin's eyes. He was pale, and his entire body was trembling. "I-I can't-" 

He was cut off as Jongin gently scooped him up, holding him tightly to his chest. Taemin buried his face in Jongin's shirt. Jongin sighed.

"I know, Taemin. It's okay. You tried."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, it's all okay. Let's go home." Jongin began walking up the stairs, cradling Taemin in his arms. Taemin was light enough that it was easy to carry him, even in Jongin's unfit state. Soon he was standing in front of their apartment door, feeling strange to be returning after basically living in the hospital with Taemin for two months.

"Tae, I have to put you down for a second." Carefully, he placed Taemin's legs on the ground, then stood up, still holding onto his waist with one arm. Taemin wrapped his arms around Jongin's neck as he reached around him to unlock the door.

"We've been here before." Taemin said. Jongin stopped, leaving the key in the door's lock. "Before we started dating, remember?"

Jongin chuckled. 

"How could I forget? You were so sick. And really mad at me."

"I was worried." Taemin paused before continuing on in a quieter voice. "It seems like you're always taking care of me, doesn't it?"

"I've never thought about that." Jongin unlocked the door and pushed it open. He picked Taemin back up. "I guess so. But I don't mind. You do so much for me, anyway, it's the least I can do to show you that I love you too."

"What?"

Jongin stepped inside the apartment.

"Hmm?"

"Say that again." Taemin prodded.

"What?" Jongin knew what he'd said. It was a mistake, it'd just sort of slipped out, but there was no taking it back. He turned the lights on and surveyed their apartment. "It's gotten a little dusty in here." He wrinkled his nose. Taemin sighed.

"We haven't been here in a while." 

"You want me to put you down on the couch?"

"Sure." 

He set Taemin down on the couch, then headed back towards the door. He had to go get Taemin's walker--he'd abandoned it on the stairs earlier when he'd had to carry his boyfriend up.

"I'll remember that, Kim Jongin. I know what you said." He heard the quiet happiness in Taemin's voice and could practically see the sly smile on his face without even turning around. Flustered, he headed out the door, letting out a sigh of relief once it had shut and left him blessedly alone in the hallway.

******

Returning to work was definitely not something Jongin had been looking forward to. But unfortunately, he needed to now more than ever. Money was going to be tight for a good while, since Taemin couldn't work, and they still had medical bills to pay. Since Jongin worked at the hospital, he'd arranged for money to be taken out of his paycheck to slowly pay off all the bills, but of course, that meant that he was being paid less. He'd spent the majority of his past few days off helping Taemin settle back into regular life, and he'd had plently of time to think (and completely overthink) about how he and Taemin would get by in the next few months. But first they had to get through tomorrow, which was Jongin's first day back at work, and Taemin's first day at home alone.

Jongin glanced over at Taemin, who was lounging on the opposite side of the couch, completely focused on his phone. 

"Hey, Tae?"

"Yeah?" Taemin looked up at Jongin.

"I'm a little worried about tomorrow. Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry." 

"But--"

"--Jongin, I promise you, I'll be just fine. I'm stronger now, I don't need you always hovering around me anymore." 

Jongin frowned, and Taemin quickly spoke again,

"Not that I mind it, I'm just saying it isn't really necessary anymore."

"I see. But you'll call me if you need me, right?" 

Taemin rolled his eyes, smiling. 

"Yes, Jongin, I will. Now please stop worrying, okay?"

"Fine," Jongin said, sighing. He needed to distract himself. "Should we go for our walk now?"

"I guess." 

Taemin sounded nonchalant, but Jongin knew his boyfriend didn't want to. Every day since they'd returned home, they'd taken a walk around their floor of the apartment building; it was something Taemin needed to do to help him regain his strength. And while Taemin knew that he needed to do it, he'd made it clear to Jongin that he hated it. 

"Y'know, it's really not that bad."

"That's easy for you to say, you're not the one with a spinal injury." Taemin said, irritation clear in his voice.

"Right," Jongin stood up. "I'm sorry. I know it's hard." He offered a hand to Taemin, who ignored it, instead grabbing onto his walker, which was standing in front of the couch. Taemin slowly pulled himself up until he was standing, leaning heavily on the walker. 

"Alright, let's go." Taemin offered Jongin a tight-lipped smile before turning and shuffling towards the apartment door. Jongin followed, quickly passing the boy to unlock the door and hold it open for him. 

"Do you wanna try the stairs today?" 

Taemin didn't answer for a moment, and Jongin looked to see his reaction. Taemin still didn't say anything, passing him before coming to a stop in the hallway. Jongin softly closed the door behind him. Taemin was standing mere inches away from him, biting his lip.

"I think I do." Taemin said. Jongin raised an eyebrow. He wasn't expecting that.

"Really?" 

"Yeah, I've gotta do it at some point, right?"

"That's true, yeah."

They began their walk. It was hard for Jongin to resist the urge to just walk next to Taemin and not hover like he had on their first few walks, but he knew that Taemin really didn't need him to, nor did he appreciate it. They went slowly, but the walk to the stairs was short, so they still arrived at them pretty quickly. Jongin held the stairwell door open for Taemin. Once he was through, he followed him onto the landing. 

"Are you ready?" Jongin asked, offering the boy his arm.

Taemin nodded. He grabbed onto Jongin's arm and shuffled around his walker towards the stairs. 

"Here, hold onto me with one hand, and hold onto the railing with the other." 

Taemin nodded again, shifting so that he could grab ahold of the railing. He took a step down onto the first stair.

"I feel like I'm gonna fall." He said.

"You're fine, I promise. I won't let you fall." Jongin reassured him. 

Taemin kept going. Very slowly, and somewhat unsteadily, but he was doing it. They managed to make it down the entire first flight, at which point Taemin needed to rest, which was understandable. 

"Do you wanna try going up, or do you want me to carry you?" Jongin asked. Taemin looked up at him from where he sat on the first step of the flight.

"I think I'll try going up." He smiled at Jongin. "I didn't think I'd be able to make it down even a flight. I'm happy that I can."

"I'm proud of you."

Taemin's smile brightened.

"Let's start again." 

Jongin reached down to help Taemin up. Upon actually standing up, he leaned heavily against Jongin, even less steady on his feet than before.

"Oh wow," He inhaled sharply. "My legs are a lot more tired than I thought." And with that, his knees buckled underneath him, and he would've fallen, but Jongin was holding him tightly. 

"Yeah, I'm carrying you back up. Told you I wouldn't let you fall." Jongin bent down, picking up Taemin's feet. Seeing the frustration on his boyfriend's face, he added, "Don't get too discouraged, you're doing really good. But it's better not to push yourself too hard. You're too tired to even stand, so trying to go back up the stairs would be way too much for you right now." 

Taemin frowned.

"I guess."

Jongin brought him back up the stairs, ignoring Taemin's protests when he didn't put him down at the landing and instead kept walking back to their apartment. He didn't let go of his boyfriend until he'd carried him into their bedroom and set him down on the bed. 

"I could've at least walked back here." Taemin complained.

"You probably could've. But I'm worried that you're too tired, so I carried you instead." 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Overprotective much?"

"Apparently I am now, yes," Jongin laughed as Taemin pouted at him. "I have to go get your walker now, I'll be right back."

"Okay." Taemin yawned. "You're right, I am kinda tired... Maybe I'll take a nap."

Jongin leaned down and pecked Taemin on the lips.

"You do that." 

He left the room, hurrying to retrieve the walker. He couldn't have been gone more than two minutes, when he came back, he found Taemin sound asleep on their bed. He smiled at the sight. He knew Taemin was tired. Recovery was hard, especially from the kind of injuries Taemin had sustained, and simple things like walking down the stairs were exhausting. But Taemin was doing so well recently, and Jongin was feeling more positive than ever. Taemin was making great progress. Sure, he still had a long road ahead of him before he was back to normal, but it was nothing impossible. And of course, Jongin would be with him every step of the way. 

*****

Life for the past couple weeks had passed by quietly. Taemin was continuing to recover well at home--he could now make it down and almost all the way up the complex stairs--and everything was going well for the first time in what felt like forever. Jongin had finally decided to reach out to Sehun, who had reacted better than he had expected. Jongin had wanted to set things right in person, but since both he and Sehun had full-time jobs and therefore very little free time, he ended up apologizing over the phone. Sehun had accepted it, even admitting that he missed Jongin and was glad he'd called. They were going to try to meet up sometime next week, to talk and catch up with each other. Finally, Jongin felt his life had fallen into order after such a long period of stress. 

Today Jongin was in a particularly good mood as he made his way home from work, looking forward to relaxing after a longer shift. He hurried up the complex stairs, quickly arriving at his door. He stepped inside, happy to be back.

"I'm home!"

"Jongin!" Taemin was on the couch, tightly gripping his phone. He looked distressed. He leaned forward, beginning to try to stand up. 

"Taemin, don't get up. I'll be right there, okay?" Jongin slipped off his shoes and jacket, eyeing Taemin as he did. This couldn't be good. He crossed the room to sit next to his boyfriend. "What's up?"

Taemin didn't answer immediately, instead pressing himself closer to Jongin, who wrapped an arm around his shoulders. 

"What's going on? You look like you've seen a ghost." 

"I feel like I have." Taemin mumbled, sighing. "I... I got a text from Minho today."

"You what?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna block his number, so he can't text or even call me again, but..."

"But?" Jongin asked. Why couldn't this man just leave Taemin alone?

"But in his text he asked me to meet up with him. Again."

"Can I see his text?" Jongin tried to ignore the anger beginning to bubble up in his stomach. Taemin nodded, handing Jongin his phone. 

<Hey Taemin. Its Minho, idk if you still have my number. Hope you're doing well. I think we should meet up. I know you probably hate me now, but I have answers.>

"What does he mean, he 'has answers'?" Jongin handed the phone back to Taemin.

"He was there."

"I don't understand." 

"Jongin, he was there. Like, when I... you know. When I got hurt."

Now Jongin really was angry. But he tried to stay calm, knowing that at the moment, it was useless to be enraged.

"He was there? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to remember it. He didn't actually do anything, but I think that's the worst part. I just remember him showing up and standing there, right before I out. He didn't do anything to stop them." Taemin was trembling. He stared down into his lap, eyes focused on nothing in particular as he recalled the memory. Jongin squeezed his shoulders.

"Tae, come back here."

No response. 

"Taemin. Taemin," Jongin called. "Look at me." He reached across himself and cupped Taemin's cheek with his free hand. Taemin jumped, turning his head to look at Jongin. "There you are. You're here, with me. Not back there. You're safe."

Taemin's wide eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry. I just... it's so overwhelming." 

"Don't apologize." Jongin leaned over, kissing the boy's forehead. "You've been through a lot."

"Y'know, sometimes, when you work the night shift, I have nightmares about it. I just want to forget about it." Taemin sniffled. Jongin's heart ached. He wasn't sure if he should tell Taemin what he knew, but he felt like he deserved to know. 

"You have nightmares every night, Taemin. You wake me up every single night, even though you don't usually wake up. I've gotten good at getting them to go away without you waking up. It's almost like you're sleep walking, half the time you talk to me, and I'm convinced you're really awake, but you never seem to remember in the morning."

Taemin didn't say anything for a while. Jongin wiped away the tears that were now rolling down his boyfriend's cheeks.

"I... I just want forget about it. I'm sick of this."

"I don't think you'll ever forget about it. But I do think that as time passes, you'll think less about it. You're handling things really well right now, you know that? You'll be okay in the future." Jongin really hoped he was saying the right thing. Taemin closed his eyes, nodding.

"Thank you, Jongin." He took a shaky breath, wiping away the last of his tears. "You're not going to like this, but I think I do want to meet Minho."

"What? Why?"

"I want to hear what he has to say. There's something I need to know."

"Okay, well I'm coming with you." Jongin hated this, but he knew he couldn't stop Taemin, so he'd just go with him. 

"You're fine with it?" Taemin cocked his head to the side, puzzlement written in his eyes.

"No, I absolutely am not. But I'm not about to let you meet him alone." 

"Jongin, I still can't even make it out of the apartment complex on my own. Do you really think I was going to go without you? I'm just surprised that you didn't try to stop me or something."

Jongin shrugged. 

"I don't feel like arguing. But make sure we're meeting in a public place. If he doesn't agree to that, we're not going. I don't trust him." 

Taemin looked down at his phone, opening Minho's text again. 

"I'll let him know."

"Okay. I'm gonna go make dinner." Jongin gave Taemin a peck on the cheek before standing up. Just before he could walk away, Taemin stopped him.

"Jongin?"

He looked at Taemin expectantly.

"Thank you." Taemin said, sending him a small smile. Jongin felt the corners of his own lips tug upwards.

"Of course."

*****

The day when they had agreed to meet Minho had finally come. Granted, it had only been a couple days since he'd texted Taemin, but the short countdown still managed to move intimidatingly slow. They were meeting in a cafe not far from the hospital where Jongin worked, a relatively busy place where there would be many people around and security cameras monitoring the scene. They'd hailed a cab to take them there, and now they were only about a minute or two away. Taemin hadn't spoken the entire ride there, and Jongin could tell he was nervous. Honestly, Jongin was nervous too. Even though he'd done everything in his power to ensure that what had happened to Taemin last time he went to meet up with Minho wouldn't happen, there was still some irrational part of his mind telling him that somehow things would go horribly wrong again. But even aside from that, he was nervous about hearing whatever Minho could possibly want to say to Taemin. 

They arrived at the cafe. Jongin paid the cab driver, and helped Taemin out onto the sidewalk. He looked over at Taemin, whose knuckles were turning white from how hard he was gripping his walker. 

"It's going to be okay. Ready?" Jongin smiled at Taemin, doing his best to swallow his own worries. Taemin nodded, and they began to walk in. The cafe was warm, and just as Jongin had hoped, busy. He glanced around, looking for the familiar face of the only person he'd ever truly hated. 

"There." Taemin whispered, looking to their left. Minho was sitting in a booth by himself, staring down into a cup of coffee. Taemin started in that direction, and Jongin followed, a feeling of dread growing with every step he took. Minho looked up as Taemin sat down at the booth. Jongin folded his boyfriend's walker, then sat down as well, leaning it on the edge of the seat. 

"Taemin, Jongin." Minho acknowledged them. Under the table, Taemin grasped Jongin's hand. Jongin squeezed Taemin's hand, trying to reassure him. 

"Minho." Taemin said. "Neither me or Jongin really wants to be here, so let's just get to the point." 

Minho's face was unreadble to Jongin. He just looked... calm. 

"How are you? You look well." 

Jongin wished he hadn't promised Taemin that he'd let him do all the talking. He understood why Taemin didn't necessarily want him speaking to Minho, given how much he disliked Minho and would somehow probably escalate the situation from talking to something a little more physically involved, but still. He'd just love to say something rude right now.

"I'm fine. I'm actually in recovery from now, I got really injured a couple months ago, thanks to you." Taemin's voice was steady and cool. Minho's face changed. 

"Look--I, it wasn't me. It wasn't my fault, I know you're mad but please let me explain." Something about the way Minho said it made Jongin almost pity him. Almost. Taemin motioned for him to continue speaking.

"I mean, it is kind of my fault, but... ok. I'll just start from the beginning. You know I was having trouble with my mother. She wanted me to marry this girl that I really liked, but didn't love... you know all of that already. But she thought the reason I didn't love her was because I was still in love with you or something, but I told her that wasn't true. So, she wanted me to prove it. She wanted me to hurt you, Taemin." Minho sighed. "B-but I could never do that. But she threatened me, she said that she'd disown me, and she'd make my life hell. And we both know she would, so I got scared. I hired some people. I never meant for it to go so far, I just wanted them to rough you up a little and let you go. I didn't want anything this bad to happen."

Jongin was having a hard time keeping from not interrupting Minho. He flexed his free hand in and out of a fist. How badly he just wanted to completely blow up on that man right now was beyond any form of expression.

"I was supposed to give my mother some kind of evidence, so I figured I'd show up when they were done and somehow get a photo of you with a black eye or something. But then when I got there... it was horrifying. It took me a minute to even figure out what was going on at first, but then I saw you, and how badly they'd hurt you. I made them stop and sent them away, and then I went to take a picture for my mother and got a really good look at you. I thought you were dead. So I panicked, I called an ambulance and then I bailed. I went to the hospital a little later to see if you were okay and then your boyfriend over there threatened me, so I left. And... that's the whole story. I'm really, really sorry Taemin." Minho said.

"You... took a picture? Even after all that, all you were concerned about was your stupid mother's threats?"

"No!" Minho shook his head. "I mean, yes. But I was so scared Taemin, and I called you an ambulance. I was worried about you. A-and just think, I probably saved your life by calling that ambulance. You looked so awful Taemin, you have no idea. I still have the picture, I can show you."

"I don't want to see it. I want you to delete it. Right now."

"Okay." Minho picked up his phone. 

"Wait," Taemin looked to Jongin. "I want you to show Jongin your screen as you're doing it. I want him to make sure you've deleted it. But I'm not gonna look at it." 

Minho reached across the table to let Jongin see the screen. Jongin glanced at Taemin, who was now looking at the wall of the booth, then back to the phone screen. Minho brought up the picture, and Jongin had to supress the urge to scream. Even as someone who had seen what Taemin had looked like right after the incident, the picture was nearly too morbid to look at. He understood why Minho had thought Taemin was dead. 

"Hurry up and delete it." He managed to choke out.

And Minho did. Within a few seconds, the picture was gone. Minho sat back in his seat, putting his phone down. Jongin squeezed Taemin's hand again.

"It's gone."

Taemin squeezed his hand back, then turned to look at Minho once again.

"So what now? Do you just expect me to forgive you? For things to just be fine now because you've told your little story?" Taemin paused. Minho opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Taemin continued. "Because now I hate you. I cannot believe that I used to love you, and then after I'd stopped, I still cared about you. I used to feel bad for you. I really don't know how I didn't recognize that you were this selfish and stupid and god damn entitled. You said that I looked like I was dead. Do you know that I did, in fact, almost die? Do you know how much unnecessary pain and suffering you've brought to my life all because you were too scared to stand up to your mother? I hate you, Minho." Taemin was shaking. Jongin didn't think he'd ever seen his boyfriend so angry before, nor would he ever again.

"Hey," Jongin whispered. He had absolutely no idea what to say. "Should we go?"

Taemin shook his head, still focused on Minho. 

"What if I had actually died, Minho? Would my life be worth it?" Taemin's voice was trembling now as well.

"No. Even this wasn't worth it. I'm... I'm so sorry." Minho looked miserable. Jongin didn't feel at all bad for him. 

Silence fell over the three men for a few moments. Taemin appeared to be collecting his thoughts, while Minho simply sat there, miserably tracing the rim of his coffee cup with a finger.

"Okay. I have one more question." Taemin spoke again. "What did those men do to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I don't know. I was numb in some places and then I out after they'd kicked me around a bit. So, what did they do?"

"They just beat you. Kicking and punching and stuff. One of them had brass knuckles or something. Is that what you wanted to know?"

"Yes," Taemin sighed in what sounded to Jongin like relief. "We'll be going now."

Jongin stood up, unfolding Taemin's walker and helping him out of the booth. He watched Taemin start walking towards the door, then turned back to Minho, who was still sitting in the booth.

"Don't ever contact him again, you hear me? Stay away from us." He spat. Turning on his heel, he walked after Taemin, not even bothering to see if Minho had any kind of an answer.

He caught up to his boyfriend, and they left the cafe without a word, leaving behind them a piece of the painful past.

*****

"So... do you think you should like, press some sort of charges against Minho or something?" Jongin asked. They were home now, resting after such a stressful day. They had the lights in their bedroom on low, and Jongin had opened the blinds so that what light remained during sunset could come in. Taemin was leaning against the pillows of their bed, while Jongin was on the opposite end, propping himself up with his elbows. It was a peaceful evening.

Taemin rested his head back against the heaedboard. 

"Mmmm, I don't think so. His family is really rich, you know. They've got all kinds of connections, so I don't think anything would actually happen."

"Oh." Jongin nodded. "Probably a waste of time, then. You found out what you needed to know, right?"

Taemin nodded.

"I didn't know what they did to me, and I was so scared they'd done something worse than just beat me up, you know? It was starting to weigh on me."

"I'm glad you got your answer."

The two lapsed into a comfortable silence, Taemin looking at his phone, Jongin at the ceiling. His eyes wandered the smooth white surface, pondering part of the conversation between his boyfriend and Minho. He couldn't seem to get it out of his head. However his thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Taemin's voice. 

"Okay I'm curious, did you actually threaten Minho when he came to the hospital?" 

Jongin shrugged, looking back at Taemin.

"I was mad, and I mean, I've never liked him. Why?"

"It's kinda funny." Taemin cracked a smile. Jongin chuckled.

"I'm glad you think so." 

Jongin looked out the window. The sun was no longer visible over the many taller buildings of the city, but he could still see splotches of orange and deep pink painting the sky, despite the fact that night's darkness was quickly spreading. Something was bugging him.

"Taemin," He looked back across the bed at his boyfriend. "Did you still love Minho?"

"Right after we broke up? Yes. But when you and I started dating, no. Not romantically, anyway. I wouldn't have gotten into this relationship if I was still in love with him. I couldn't do that to you. I still cared about him, sure, but not like that." 

"I get that."

"What about you? Do you still love Kyungsoo?" Taemin asked. Jongin was taken by surprise.

"I... yeah. Of course I do." He watched Taemin's face carefully. "But it's different. It's not really a situation like a breakup or something, so I don't think I'm supposed to stop loving him after a while. I don't think I can. I've realized, though, that while I still love him, it's not the same anymore. Because Taemin..." Jongin took a deep breath. He was going to say it. He was finally ready.

"...Taemin, I love you. You make me so happy, and I've realized that it's okay for me to be happy, and it's okay for me to be in love again. I can't live in the past anymore, right? I almost lost you, and not like when we almost broke up, I mean like really lost you forever, and I've been thinking a lot since then. I don't think I could've handled losing you. So I just need you to how much you mean to me." 

He was surprised to see Taemin's eyes start to water. The boy was smiling, however, leaving Jongin even more confused.

"What? Why are you--"

"--Shut up and come here," Taemin cut him off, holding out his arms. Jongin did as told, moving closer until Taemin pulled him into his embrace. "I love you too, Jongin."

Taemin sniffled. 

"I'm sorry I'm crying, I'm just happy and it's been a long day. Also you gave me that whole speech and I wasn't expecting all that. I love you."

"I love you too." Jongin smiled. It felt good to finally say it back. 

He held Taemin tighter.

"Out of all the people in the world, I'm so glad I have you."

*****

Later that night, after Taemin had gone to sleep, Jongin left the apartment. He journeyed out to the city graveyard, which was a rather creepy place at night, especially during the current time of year, but he wasn't afraid. Walking among the gravestones, his feet lead him to the very familiar headstone of his former lover. He stood there for a moment, reading it. When he finished he turned his face to the sky for a moment, smiling. And then he left, after not even a few minutes of being there, heading back to his warm home, where someone he loved slept, unknowingly awaiting his return.

It was like Jonghyun had said: he had to be the one to let go. Kyungsoo wasn't the one holding him back, he was. And now, he was free.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N

Hello, I'm back!! :D

I'm so sorry that it took me a literal year to get this last chapter to you all, I had a really rough year and had a lot going on so it was hard to find the time and motivation to write. The important part, however, is that I'm back, and I'm bringing you all that ending I promised you. Thank you so so so so much for bearing with me through my periods of absence and sticking with me in my journey writing this fic. Can you believe that I started it two and a half years ago??? It's so crazy to me. Hopefully my writing has improved in that time, haha! 

It's been a really long time since I've written an author's note, so I don't quite remember how I structured these before, but hopefully I'm somewhere close to how it was normally. 

I just figured I should let you guys know, while this technically is the end, it's not quite ~The End~ yet, because I do have an Epilogue planned! And you won't have to wait a super long time for it because I'm going to start it as soon as I post this chapter in about two minutes, so I'd say you can expect it within the next week. It won't be too long, maybe a thousand or so words??? I hope so anyway. 

Again, I'm so so so sorry for how long I've been gone, I wanted to return to this fic much sooner than I was actually able to, but I never gave up on it. And again I thank you all for not giving up on me or this fic, and for following this for two and a half years. I hope this ending is satisfying for you all, I worked really hard on it, and I haven't written like this in a while, so it took me some time to get used to it again. I love you all so much, I really can't thank everyone who has supported this fic enough for their love and ecouragement over the time that I was writing it. <3 <3

Thanks!

-H <3