”He’s not coming.” Kibum stated matter-of-factly.

The three friends were sitting in the lobby of the hospital, still waiting to hear back from Taemin. It was five minutes to five and Taemin had yet to confirm or deny whether he’d make it.

”I can’t believe he wouldn’t show up for something like this.” Jongin tsked, with a shake of his head.

”Please, I can. He’s not the guy we used to know, Jongin.”

”Guys.” Minho interrupted. “He has five minutes. He could still turn up.”

Kibum scoffed. ”Right, because Taemin is suddenly super punctual.”

”Why did we even invite him?”

Minho raised a brow, surprised at Jongin’s question. ”What? Come on. You guys know how much Jonghyun hyung loves him. How happy he’ll be to see him. This isn’t about us, okay?”

”I’m just nervous. I want to see Hyung already. I want to know what’s wrong with him.” Jongin fiddled with the small pot of flowers in his lap. 

The other two didn’t respond. They felt the same way. They thought back to the previous day:

Like any other day, Minho, Kibum, and Jongin were chatting idly as they headed toward their favorite cafe. But before they could enter, they were greeted by the sight of owner Lee Jinki exiting the store. They approached him as he locked up, their brows furrowed and lips pouted in confusion.

”Closing early today, Hyung?” Minho asked, making Jinki jump, as he didn’t see the guys until they spoke.

”Ah, hey, boys. Yeah, sorry, I gotta get down to Jonghyun in the hospital. Apparently, he had a fall.” Jinki explained, failing badly at hiding his frantic, and receiving audible gasps in return.

“A fall?? Is he okay?”

”I don’t know, I don’t know.” Jinki rubbed his forehead. “They didn’t give me many details. All they said was neighbor saw him fall while he was gardening at home today so they called an ambulance... Aish, always something with this man.” Jinki tried a positive smile, but the stress he wore on his face clearly broke through it.

The boys looked amongst each other in worry and shock.

“Well don’t let us keep you, Hyung. Get to him.”

Jinki nodded. “Thanks, guys. I’ll keep you updated.” He said quickly before turning and hurrying to his car.

”It’s been over five minutes. Let’s go.” Kibum spoke up. “If he shows up, he can text.” he concluded as he stood.

The boys, led by Kibum peaked into Jonghyun’s room. The door was open and they could see said man sat up in his hospital bed. Aside from an ornamently placed bandage on the corner of his forehead, Jonghyun appeared perfectly fine. Maybe just tired. However, upon noticing the guys, his usual enthusiastic energy was restored.

”O-omo! Jinki, they came!” Jonghyun gasped, quickly patting the other’s shoulders.

Jinki smiled gently from his seat beside his husband’s bed. “I see them, baby.”

“Come in, guys! Come in!” He effortfully waved his arm, gesturing for them to enter, seeming to have been completely recharged by just seeing them.

The boys shuffled in one by one and surrounded Jonghyun’s bed, with Jongin being the last to join before handing over the flowers.

”Oh, gomawo~ They’re beautiful! Right, yeobo? Aigoo, I didn't want you guys to see me like this but I’m so happy to see you came to visit.” Jonghyun cooed in appreciation. He had to resist the urge to burst into tears right there.

”Of course we did, hyung.” Minho smiled.

”Hm..” Jonghyun’s grin wavered as he looked between his visitors. “No Taeminnie?”

”Sorry, Hyung. We asked him to come but he didn’t bother to respond.” Kibum mumbled bitterly, still peeved.

”Kibum.” Minho scolded quietly. 

Jonghyun hurriedly waved his hand. “It’s okay, I’m sure he’s got much more important things to do.” He smiled softly at the thought. He was so proud that Taemin was so successful lately. Sure, he missed him at the coffee shop, but first and foremost, he was proud.

"I'll go get your food, jagiya." Jinki offered. In a way, he looked worse than Jonghyun. While Jonghyun looked a little weak, Jinki looked worn, like he absolutely had not slept a wink for the entire night, which was likely the case.

"Bring me something with chicken!"

"Yah, don't start getting picky. You'll get what you get and like it." He pecked Jonghyun's forehead and made his way out of the room to find the nurse with his husband's dinner.

Jonghyun sulked as Jinki exited the room. "You all see how he treats me? Even like this?"

The students in the room felt a subconscious sense of relief from the banter. This was such a weird situation, and so far, no one was talking about it.

Kibum took the seat where Jinki was previously sitting. "Hyung?" he asked suggestively, hoping Jonghyun would get the hint to explain the situation. He did, a strange calmness washing over him.

"Okay." Jonghyun replaced his pout with a small and soft smile. "I'm sorry to worry all of you. It’s... a tumor." He played with the leaves of the plant.

"What? Like cancer??" Jongin blurted. He didn’t mean to sound so rude but he was surprised and confused. Jonghyun expected that. He shook his head gently. Kibum and Minho looked to each other briefly.

"Don’t worry. It isn't cancerous. It's benign."

"Oh well, that's good! Isn't it...?"

"It would be," Jinki started as he reentered the room, his hands holding a large tray with platters, "if it wasn't pressing against his spinal cord. He can't walk." Jinki rested the tray on the plastic tabletop near the foot of Jonghyun's bed.

Minho's eyes went wide. "What?! What do you mean? Hyung, you can't walk anymore??"

"Yah! Don't tell them that, Jinki!" Jonghyu