Just wanna start by saying that I'm sorry for the long hiatus (here's the partial reason: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17170901)

In the meantime, here's a short chapter ^^

The silence in the room was tense, almost suffocating.

The doctor stared at the young man in front of him. It looked like he hadn't even reached the age of thirty, yet he and his brother already had to deal with so much.

Dongsoo curled his fingers into fists. “What are you saying?”

The doctor sighed, seeing nothing but distress in the younger man’s eyes. It hadn’t been easy for these boys; watching their mother slowly deteriorate while they could do absolutely nothing to save her. Their mother had been sick for a long time now, but that really didn’t matter. No amount of time could ever prepare a person to prematurely bury their beloved family member. “It’s best that you and your brother say your goodbyes now if you haven't already. She only has a few days left.”

A few days left? That couldn’t be right. It didn’t make any sense. Their mother was still young. There were so many things she still wanted to do. She was one of the nicest women on the planet; always willing to help everyone around her and put others before herself.

It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair.

“Why can’t you do anything to help her?” Dongsoo asked, his voice cracking as he felt the tears stinging his eyes.

The doctor pinched the bridge of his nose. This was always the hardest part of his job; delivering a death sentence to the grieving family. He'd been a doctor for a long time, and still couldn't find a way to be immune to the helpless feeling it brought. “At this stage, the only thing we can do for her is make sure she’s not in pain. But as I said before, she has until the end of the week at most.”

Dongsoo swallowed the lump in his throat. A few days wasn’t enough time, and he would do anything to extend that it, even just a little bit.

“Please call your brother and have him come as soon as he can," the doctor suggested. "Your mother will need both of you with her.”

Jihye made her way back to Yunho’s bedroom.

It was a relief to see Yunho was exactly where she had left him; laying miserably in bed. He was angry with her, she could easily tell, but she couldn’t find it in her heart to be apologetic.

His feelings on the matter weren’t anything she would take into consideration this time.

“How are you feeling?” Jihye asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.

Yunho sighed. “I’m fine,” he muttered.

Changmin was not only getting discharged from the hospital today, but the officers involved with his case were also going to get his statement. Yunho wanted nothing more than to be with Changmin, providing as much support as possible.

Instead he was here, bed-bound and useless, while Changmin had to confront what was probably the scariest night of his life.

“I should be with him,” Yunho insisted.

“You should be resting,” Jihye countered. “If you want to help Changmin you need to make sure you’re well first. You fractured 2 ribs. You have to limit your movement. We shouldn’t even have let you go see Changmin yesterday.”

Jihye knew she was being harsh; the hurt expression on Yunho’s face confirmed it all. But she needed Yunho to stop being so stubborn. Changmin was one of the most important people in Yunho’s life, so it made sense to her that Yunho would want nothing more than to be with Changmin during one of the hardest times of their lives. However, Yunho also needed to be rational and think about himself for once.

“Are Changmin’s parents still mad at me?” Yunho asked, his gaze downcast. He looked like