7. "I"ve missed you" kiss

10 months

Woohyun had been sitting on a bench in front of the hospital for a few minutes. The cold was intense that night; but he preferred to remain there as long as it took. When he found the nurse he used to talk to, he would deliver the bouquet into her hands and then he could go home.

He watched the starry sky with a slight sadness. There was a time when he spent sleepless nights watching the stars and moonlight, all beside him. At the moment, even delivering flowers was something he should do discreetly.

He took a deep breath, ready to get up and look for the nurse, when he noticed a presence emerge.

“How long, Woohyun.”

He couldn't move even if he tried. Braking for long seconds, he tried to take a deep breath and lift his head in the direction of that voice he will hardly forget.

It was amazing how fast his heart beat at just seeing him, as if all that time without meeting him had been absolutely nothing.

“Sorry,” muttered Sunggyu, smiling nervously as he sat down on the bench. Woohyun noticed that his hair was a little longer under his hat and he was shivering slightly from the cold, even with the blanket he was wearing over his hospital clothes. “You looked distracted. I thought you froze in here.”

“Hyung” Woohyun was still bewildered. He stood up abruptly when he saw Sunggyu trembling, leaving the bouquet on the counter and taking off his coat. “You shouldn't be here in this cold.”

“I saw you through the window,” Sunggyu commented. He didn't refuse when Woohyun covered him with his coat, perhaps knowing that Woohyun would insist even more for him to come in.

Sunggyu was silent for a few seconds and that's when Woohyun noticed him watching the bouquet on top of the bench. Woohyun felt sorry for having hesitated so much to enter.

“This… is for you,” he muttered, seeing Sunggyu staring at him. “I never come here for anyone else. I was just working up the courage to go in.”

“I know.” Sunggyu took a deep breath. “I've known about your visits for a long time.”

Woohyun didn't answer, ducking his head and leaning down to pick up the bouquet. He felt his heart racing as he personally delivered it into Sunggyu's hands, something he had avoided all those months. Seeing him smile as he received his flowers brought Woohyun an inexplicable peace.

It's been 10 long months. Even though so much time had passed, when he held Woohyun's hands, the world felt exactly the same.

“You shouldn't be here,” muttered Sunggyu, lowering his head as he noticed Woohyun's gaze. I never tried to disguise it. “I hurt you and yet you never stopped coming.”

“Don't you like my presence?” Woohyun asked, seeing him shake his head.

“I just don't like to see that I still make you suffer.”

“I suffer much more with this distance.”

Sunggyu turned his face towards Woohyun and this time it was hard to hide the regret in his eyes.

“I know I made you suffer when I walked away,” Sunggyu muttered, slowly releasing his hands. “You shouldn't have come back so many times.”

Woohyun couldn't answer. In fact, he was tired of that same speech. He understood Sunggyu's reasons more than Sunggyu tried to understand himself. Woohyun's pain was from seeing him sick and not from feeling any regret over the breakup.

He didn't know how Sunggyu would react, but he just slowly cupped his chin, earning a stunned look from him. Woohyun didn't hesitate, leaning in to kiss those lips one more time, not caring if they were in a public place.

The urgency was there, in the way he kissed him intensely, holding the back of his neck and feeling his heart race as Sunggyu kissed him back. The need to have him was such that he didn't care if anyone might see them. Woohyun dreamed of that moment so many times that he had lost count.

“I know we can't erase the time we've been apart,” Woohyun gasped against his lips, caressing Sunggyu's face slowly. He remains the most handsome man in the world. “That doesn't mean we can't start over. It was what we wanted from the beginning.”

“Woohyun…” muttered Sunggyu, panting. “I'm still not fully recovered. Maybe I'll be more debilitated by the surgery.”

“I can take care of you,” he said, adding shortly afterwards when he noticed Sunggyu more reluctant to the idea. “I know you don't want me to wear myself out like I did at the beginning of chemotherapy, but… being away from you, knowing you're sick, is a lot more painful.”

Woohyun waited until he could answer, giving Sunggyu the time he needed to think. It was different from when Sunggyu was thinner and weaker during chemotherapy, wearing beanies to hide his shaved hair. Woohyun didn't insist that day because seeing him crying had shaken him so much.

This time, even if Sunggyu insisted, Woohyun wouldn't give up so easily. He didn't intend to leave him alone again.

Hesitant and holding tightly in his hands, Sunggyu took a deep breath. Woohyun was still his biggest strength.

“Okay…”