Chapter 8 Kyuhyun walked out of the room towards Hyukjae and Donghae, who still remained staring inside.   “What did you tell him?” Hyukjae asked, pointing towards Jongwoon who was desperately trying to sit up but failed miserably. “He is really restless.”   Kyuhyun turned to look at Donghae. Hyukjae’s sudden change of attitude (he did no longer sound annoyed or angry, nor did he ignore Kyuhyun) had to be because of something Donghae had said to him.   Donghae just smiled at him in return, gestured his head towards Hyukjae, who was still standing towards them with his back, and raised his eyebrows as a hint for Kyuhyun to go talk to him. Then Donghae turned around and walked away, leaving an uneasy Kyuhyun with a very different out-of-character behaving Hyukjae.   “J-just s-stuff,” Kyuhyun stuttered, he couldn’t remember the last time he'd felt this tense.   The whole situation simply stressed him out. Even though Kyuhyun didn’t need many people around him, he didn't want to lose the people he actually did like and trust. Hyukjae was his friend and somehow they had ended up in a stupid quarrel. It was something Kyuhyun had a hard time with. Fighting his friends made him VERY uneasy. It’s not like he is some kind of hermit who doesn’t need anyone.   “Can we talk?” Hyukjae turned around to face Kyuhyun when saying this. He looked very serious; a side of Hyukjae that Kyuhyun had never seen before. Well, not before yesterday, that is.   Kyuhyun nodded at Hyukjae’s question and they both walked towards the cafeteria; both having decided in utter silence that it would be better to talk there, because, if they ended up having the conversation next to Jongwoon’s room, he might overhear them. And they really didn't want him to have more stuff to worry about.   They both sat down across from each other at a table in the hospital's cafeteria, which was quite an extraordinary place by itself. Both doctors and visitors could sit down at this cafeteria to either eat or drink something. Even patients sometimes came there to sit and eat a bit. But even though the sounds of talking and laughter made it feel like they weren’t in a hospital, the looks of the place told them differently. Everything was white, just like the rest of the hospital; white made it seem more sterile. Doctors sat in their doctors-uniform. Patients sometimes had IVs with them, hanging on some kind of standard which kept the IVs working. Some visitors were crying at their table because their relative or friend was not doing well. Let's just say that a lot of things happened at the cafeteria.   “Kyuhyun... I’m sorry for my behavior earlier. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did... I was just... just...” Hyukjae's voice started to tremble, making it hard for him to continue. He had never been good at explaining his feelings, even Donghae had told Kyuhyun that a while ago. He also never admitted that he is wrong, so hearing him say that he was sorry made Kyuhyun feel slightly relieved. It meant that he was sincerely feeling sorry. “I was just scared," he added with a lot of effort.   Hyukjae’s gaze went down to the table surface. Kyuhyun knew he had to say something in return, to make Hyukjae more comfortable, but he didn’t know what to say. He was still mad at Hyukjae for blaming him like that.   “It’s okay,” Kyuhyun eventually settled down for. It was probably the best to just forgive and forget. Kyuhyun hates people who hold grudges, so he shouldn’t do that either to avoid being a hypocrite.   “Don’t say that, I was wrong. I just... I thought I’d lost him,” Hyukjae said, as he rested his forehead in both of his hand palms, as his elbows rested on the table. ”When you called me and told me he was sick, my heart stopped beating, my mind stopped working...” he sighed wearily.   “What did you mean with ‘chemo’?”   Kyuhyun could no longer keep this question to himself. He needed to know. Didn’t he have the right to know what was wrong? Jongwoon was his friend after all.   Hyukjae looked up and stared into Kyuhyun’s eyes for a few seconds before averting his stare again.   “Chemotherapy.”   “Chemotherapy for what?”   Hyukjae returned his gaze back to the table surface; biting his lower lip in the process, making it obvious that he wasn't really in the mood for having this conversation right now, but knowing that he didn't have any other choice.   “Do you remember that night we had that dance-battle? Jongwoon couldn’t dance because of his back?” Hyukjae asked, and Kyuhyun nodded in reply. “Bone cancer. He has bone cancer... It’s located in his lower back,” Hyukjae said, with his voice almost inaudible, but Kyuhyun could still hear it. He did not know how to respond, though. All the information rushed through his head as his mind tried hard to process it.   Suddenly, Hyukjae stood up.   “I'll go check on how he's doing. He must be lonely. He was awake, right? I have so much to tell him!” Hyukjae rambled, and he rushed himself back towards the IC, leaving a completely flabbergasted Kyuhyun behind; all on his own.     ✭✭✭✭✭     About 3 days later, Jongwoon’s fever had reduced enough to transfer him from the IC to a normal hospital room.   The tube going down his throat was finally removed, and with that, he looked a lot healthier. Though, he still slept most of the time, still exhausted from fighting the now lower fever. Doctor Han Geng was happy with the progress Jongwoon had made, and he assured Hyukjae, Kyuhyun, and Donghae that Jongwoon would most likely be released from the hospital within the upcoming 7 days.   After Kyuhyun had heard from Hyukjae what Jongwoon actually was s