He stared down at the caller I.D., the same one that had been popping up all morning and afternoon. Kyuhyun finally gave in as “proper” hour approached.

“Where are you, Kyuhyun?!” Ryeowook yelled, hysterically going off on tangents about something or other. Only a portion of it made sense by the time Kyuhyun heard, “You can’t just sleep with me and then disappear the next morning! Why did you let me wake up alone?!” he had broken into sobs by then, heaving and crying evident across the distance.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, “but I’m not leaving you…not in that way.” Kyuhyun took a calming breath, resting against the brick wall alley outside of a familiar hospital.

“Then why weren’t you here this morning?” Ryeowook sniffled, containing anymore wails daring to pour forward.

“Because I’m Kyuhyun. I can’t be your knight. I’ll never be able to selflessly let you go,” he answered, the quivering undertone unstoppable, “that’s why I left. No. That’s not true.” Kyuhyun shook his head, nails digging into the palm of one hand. “I—I don’t need you to help me anymore. I don’t need you to say you love me when I know that I pushed you into being with me.”

“…Why are talking like this? Kyuhyun, please come back already,” he croaked.

“No, I can’t. Look, Ryeowook,” he swallowed the painful lump in his throat, “this is my one and only gift to you. Use it well.”  And then the call ended, Kyuhyun turned off his phone, and headed into the hospital.

A minute later, he was walking straight into Donghae’s room, ignoring the people telling him that visiting hours were almost over. “Can I stay here for the night?” Kyuhyun asked, ignoring the brief surprise on his best friend’s face.

“That’s against the rules, I’m sorry but you’ll have to—” the nurse on duty answered, only to be cut off by a rather loud beg.

Donghae clasped his hands together, giving the nurse his best puppy dog face. “Please, just for tonight, will you let him stay? I promise he’ll be gone tomorrow!”

The nurse still looked uneasy about the whole thing. She opened to most likely reject the proposal but then Donghae was begging again and the woman gave up, deciding his persistence was too much. “If the doctor comes by, tell him to hide,” she sighed, exhausted as the door slammed shut.

“That was impressive,” Kyuhyun commented, lounging in the visitor’s chair now.

Donghae frowned leaning back on the fluffing hospital pillows. “So why are you here? Shouldn’t you be with Ryeowook?”

“No, I broke up with him…sort of,” he replied, wincing at the sound of those words. It hadn’t really been a break up, had it? No. “I figured out that I’m the problem with this whole thing. I wanted to protect you, but the longer I tried, I just ended up getting upset with myself because I’m useless to you, Donghae.” Kyuhyun couldn’t look at the other boy, growing more embarrassed with every confession. “If it hadn’t been for that weakness, Ryeowook would’ve never considered breaking up with that Stupid—…with Sungmin. I just can’t do that to him anymore. I told him that this was a gift. I want him to be…happy. Is that the right word?”

“Probably,” Donghae remarked, “but I’m surprised to say the least. I never imagined you would feel this way. You’re rather possessive if you haven’t noticed, Kyu.”

“And this is the first time in seventeen years that I won’t be that way.”

***

Ryeowook had a feeling he understood what was going on. After spending all day wondering what exactly was going on the past day and a half, he came to a conclusion with the end of Kyuhyun’s phone call.

A gift?

The stage lights dimmed and Ryeowook stood backstage in the wings, watching the story unfold. There were so many lies and desires that were acted out before him. All of the characters were trying to reach their own ends through honesty and lying, but mostly lying. If that weren’t the case, why would the moral lesson be The Importance of Being Ernest?

He rubbed his forehead, brows drawing together. Once Kyuhyun came back…Ryeowook’s eyes fluttered wide open. With faltering steps, he hurried back to the Tech Shop, searching for a calendar – any calendar, really.

It had slipped his mind all day because of stupid Kyuhyun. Ryeowook spotted a brightly colored paper and hurried over to it, scanning down the boxes to find the current date. Cursing, he flipped open his phone to see a “Reminder” icon…

“So…do you have any questions for us, Ryeowook?” the middle-aged interviewer inquired, smiling pleasantly.

Ryeowook glanced down at his fisted hands, slowly loosening them. “Uhm…I’m not quite sure what you want me to say, sir.”

“I’m just wondering if you have any questions,” he chuckled, “no need to be so tense. We’ve already finished the interview for the most part and we’ve received great recommendations from Henry Lau. That in itself had guaranteed you a place among our incoming freshmen.”

“Oh, I have to thank him again later,” Ryeowook smiled slightly, “but I don’t believe I have any questions for you, sir. There’s no possible way to ask that you open a campus in Korea, huh?”

“I don’t believe that would be possible, no.” He pursed his lips, seemingly confused by the melancholy in the young male’s eyes. “Ryeowook, you’ve already been accepted and you’re going to be attending one of the finest music conservatories in the world and you have yet to smile widely. Is there something you’re unhappy with?” When there was no immediate answer, the interviewer cleared his throat and said, “I assure you that this is off the record. Consider the interview over.”

Ryeowook noticeably relaxed. Slowly, he shrugged and met the middle-aged man’s gaze. “I have people here that I care deeply for and I’m struggling with whether or not I can leave them.”

“If it accounts for anything, Ryeowook, the program isn’t a lifetime. You can be back in Korea whenever you please after four years.”

“I…suppose you’re right.” He was thoughtful for a moment, cloudy eyes clearing bit by bit. And then there was a second of clarity. Ryeowook stood up, offering his hand to the man. “I think I’ve made my decision, sir.”

“And what would that be?”

“You’ll be seeing me at the beginning of July for Move-In Day.” A bright gleam of approval flashed through the administrator’s wise eyes.

He stood up, taking Ryeowook’s hand in a firm grip. “Are you positive, Ryeowook? There’s no real way to turn back now.”

“I realize that, sir. And…I’m okay with this.”

“Then it was good meeting you. Please take care,” he bowed slightly and then released the boy’s hand.

Ryeowook bowed once more on his way out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Was there really no time left?

The curtains closed, signaling the end of the first scene. Ryeowook his headset, saying, “Sungmin, meet me at our place.” He removed the piece of machinery before there was a reply. It was an obvious, vague reference. No matter what, Sungmin would know and right then, Ryeowook couldn’t have thanked Kyuhyun more.

Muffled applause bounced against the closed doors Ryeowook passed by, sounding oddly and bitterly familiar. He slowed his steps once he reached the second floor. There was a length of hallway that stretched out before him.

Ryeowook eased his way forward, stopping before a non-descript door. Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and pushed in, finding the light already on. Sungmin had beaten him, as usual. Smiling, Ryeowook carefully climbed the metal ladder, crawling over the cramped edge and dropping into the permanently unseeing Cat Walk.

A huddled figure was watching him approach and Ryeowook couldn’t help but wish that the voices below them weren’t the new generation of actors, but rather the sweet, melancholy voice of Yesung-hyung pouring his soul into the Phantom’s final ballad.

Things were different now though. For one, Yesung-hyung would never perform on that stage again. For another, the play wasn’t a musical and it had just begun, not ended.

“You sounded out of breath,” Sungmin stated, resting his head on his pulled up knees, “why did you want to meet up?”

Ryeowook copied the other boy’s posture so they could look at one another. “I want to break up properly.”

“It’s a bit late.”

“Yes, I know, but I didn’t want to be apart from you back then. Now…I do though.” Ryeowook bit his lip, eyes searching Sungmin’s. “I…wish I could’ve chosen my first love over my soulmate. I wish we could’ve been together for longer and made better memories. I wish, I wish and I wish so many more times that I could’ve shown you how much everything you've done for me means, but this is really the best I can do.” He closed his eyes finally, and felt Sungmin’s arm reach around him, pulling him close.

“You’ve shown me enough,” Sungmin sounded like he was smiling but all Ryeowook could do was hold his breath, “just by never taking that ring off. I used to think it was hope for promise but…it’s starting to feel more like a remembrance.” He even managed to laugh, albeit softly, nearly not a laugh, actually. “If we had had a clean break up, do you think we would’ve known all of these things sooner?”

“I’ve thought about that,” Ryeowook admitted, “…but no, I don’t think so. It never would’ve been clean, not if I really mean it when I say you’re my first love.”

Sungmin nodded slightly, “I still think we’re sweeter than you and Kyuhyun will ever be.”

“I agree,” he giggled, toying with the ring on his finger, “Sungmin…I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“What do you mean?” He backed away from Ryeowook, trying to see the other boy’s face.

“Henry helped me apply for the same music school he attends. I,” he smiled very faintly, yet Sungmin had never seen such determination in Ryeowook’s eyes, “…am flying out tomorrow.” The way he said it, the way his body spoke, all of it made Sungmin incapable of arguing with the decision.

There was silence as the play progressed and the pair on the Cat Walk sized one another up.

“How long has it been since you’ve decided?” Sungmin asked, really truly, finding no way to convince the boy to stick around. But it was hard to believe that it would end like that. How could it just end like that?

“A week or so ago I confirmed it,” Ryeowook explained, “but I’ve known for a couple of months now.” He pursed his lips. “I really wanted to tell you sooner but until just now, I had lost track of the date.”

 A loud banging noise forced their attention to the stage where a supposedly funny situation was unfolding.

Ryeowook grinned, “This is my last show…I don’t know how I’m going to walk away.”

“You better make it count,” Sungmin answered, returning the grin with less energy, “if this is our last show.” He suddenly leaned over, pressing a kiss to Ryeowook’s lips. When he backed away, he met Ryeowook’s eyes and chuckled, “I don’t mind being your Raoul anymore.”

Ryeowook was quiet at first, but then he touched his curving mouth, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.