The acute smell of an unmistakable antiseptic woke Kibum up from his sleep at five in the morning today and he hasn’t been able to fall asleep again after that. He would have complained and made a fuss like a child but he knew better than that. He was an adult and was mature enough to understand that the nurse was simply doing her job of changing his bandages, something that was being done for his own good. Kibum had only smiled gratefully at her while she worked.

Still, that did not mean that he wasn’t grumbling on the inside. Who in hell goes around changing patients’ bandages at this ungodly hour?

Kibum sighed loudly, playing with a button on his scratchy hospital clothes, clasping and unclasping it repeatedly. He looked up at the white ceiling, his mind faraway in a place where there was only sadness and depression awaiting. He doesn’t allow his mind to linger in that place for too long because he made a promise to himself that he would be strong.

Besides, crying will do no difference in changing the circumstances. Kibum knew this more than anyone else. What has happened is in the past. All they could do now is to move forward in hopes of a brighter future. Just like what his grandmother used to tell him.

Unable to sleep any longer with his mind so cluttered, Kibum woke up from his bed, swinging his legs to the side and adjusting the strap of the bandage that was supporting his entire left hand on his right shoulder, before he stepped onto the cold ground. He found his slippers just where he left them last night and put them on. It was still dark and the lights were still switched off because most of the patients (and some staffs, though they will never own up to it) were asleep.

Kibum smiled at the nurse on duty sitting at the main desk to his ward, approaching her to greet her. She was a middle-aged woman, plump and jolly looking. Her mere presence had the ability to put patients at ease.

“Going up again?” she asked, smiling brightly. Kibum nodded, wishing her a good morning. The lady looked amused by his eager nodding and his childish grin that he used to mask all the other less-favored emotions that threatened to take over at the slightest chance they get. Kibum wouldn’t let them.

“Here’s today’s paper. It’s a good day, Kim Kibum-shii. A very good day,” she said, handing him the newspaper for the day like it has become their routine lately.

“Oh and take this. I plucked them on the way here…” the nurse said, digging in a bag for something. She pulled something wrapped in more newspaper out of her bag and the tip of it told Kibum that it was a flower. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was a rose. A white one.

“For me?” Kibum asked, tucking the folded newspaper between his underarm and his torso before reaching for the flower.

“Yes, I thought you’d like it…” she said, winking at him mischievously. Kibum laughed out loud, the sound of it forced although he really did try hard to laugh genuinely. She didn’t seem to notice, though. Kibum took the chance to thank her and slip away to continue on with his morning routine that he has gotten so used to for the past three days.

Kibum needed to climb only two flights of stairs to reach the floor above. This floor housed the intensive care wards and it was always so silent. Even the head nurse on this floor seemed cold and distant. Kibum didn’t like him one bit, but the other nurses said that he was one of the most experienced and skilled ones this hospital has employed. So Kibum simply tried to stay out of his way. That was a pretty hard thing to do when the man was constantly patrolling the corridors and checking on each bed, while Kibum too spent most of the day around here.

It was inevitable, being caught and scolded like he was ten years old. That was the case now also.

“Back to bother my patients?” the man’s voice jolted Kibum while he was in the middle of being ‘expertly’ stealthy. He turned around smiling sheepishly.

“Just bringing the morning order of paper and flowers…” Kibum said, motioning to the things in his hands. The man glared at him for a moment, having already given up trying to subtly and straightforwardly telling Kibum to stop wandering around here. There was nothing that was going to stop Kibum from coming back here and the other already knew this.

“Make any noise and I will personally drag you out by your ears, injured or not. You understand?” he said, pointing an accusing finger at him. Kibum backed away from it, nodding like an obedient child just to escape further chiding and get away from him.

The man then turned around, leaving Kibum in the dark without even glancing back. Breathing properly again, Kibum continued on his way to his destination, this time without feeling the urge to lurk around.

Reaching the second last bed on the right side, Kibum carefully stepped around the curtains and went closer to the man lying on the bed. His head was wrapped in a bandage and he wasn’t wearing the shirt of his hospital garment, revealing countless bruises and stitches on the chocolate skin. There was a small bruise on his cheekbone, a cut on his lip and Kibum knew that looking beneath the blanket would reveal a cast around his left leg.

Kibum doesn’t know how Minho’s beauty is able to outshine all these marks on him that should be marring it.

“Good morning, love…” Kibum whispered close to Minho’s left ear and he may or not may not have let his lip graze the lobe gently as he did.

No reply came. Not even a twitch or any signs of movement, for that matter. Kibum knew to expect this already, but that didn’t stop him from anticipating Minho to call back to him in his deep, smooth voice.

Kibum swallowed thickly, pulling back to place the things on his hands on the table beside the bed. He then took his accustomed place beside the bed, on the chair that almost felt reserved for him. Kibum reached out with his right hand to touch Minho’s, tracing the lines in his upwards facing palm.

“The nurse scared me earlier, you know? I swear it’s getting more and more difficult to sneak past him…” Kibum told Minho, as if the other was listening to him.

“I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking why I’m up so early. And you’re expecting me to say something along the lines of ‘I missed you.’ But I won’t. I’m here ‘cause the nurses woke me while bandaging my hand,” Kibum said, adding a little chortle in the end just for effect.

“You’re wondering about my hand. Oh, it’s fine. Probably a little disfigured. May not be able to use it for a few more months, but I’ll get there. This is all the more reason for you to wake up soon, Minho-yah. Who else is going to kiss it better?” Kibum said, trying to sound humorous and light-hearted, but only ending up sounding strained and unnatural.

Kibum cleared his throat, calming his runaway emotions once again. His right hand now moved to hold Minho’s hand in his tightly.

“Jonghyun-hyung told me before he went back last night that the General came to visit you. I couldn’t come because the evil nurses drugged me. But tell me, Minho-yah, what did he say? Did he hurt your feelings again? Do you want me to go snap his neck?” Kibum asked, only half-joking at the last part.

Minho, of course, remained quiet. But Kibum pictured in his head, how Minho would laugh while waving his offer off, saying that he will do it himself when he gets the opportunity.

“Alright, alright. I’ll let you do it yourself. So hurry up and wake up, alright?” Kibum said, scolding him.

The absence of a laughter or a snappy remark made Kibum’s heart ache, but he ignored it.

“I miss you, Minho-yah. So much…”

Kibum hated how his voice breaks at the end there, but he’s still holding on. No tears had spilled yet. Kibum released the hand in his grip and reached for the newspaper on the table.

“Let’s see what’s happening in the world, shall we?” Kibum asked no one in particular.

He flipped through it from the middle, out of habit, being very quiet as he picked out whatever news that looked interesting and read it out as quietly as possible to Minho.

“Oh look! Some crazy guy in… Russ-Rues- Russia? Whatever. Some crazy guy is leading a group of people in an effort to carry out a new adventure! Guess where, Minho! To the stars. Well, to the moon really but close enough!”

Kibum imagined Minho correcting him that the moon is nowhere near the stars- he made the mistake on purpose to hear Minho delve into his extensive knowledge of outer space. But Minho wasn’t very… capable of sharing his knowledge right now. Nor was he able to sing Kibum sappy ‘poems’ about taking him on an intergalactic tour someday.

Kibum moved on to the next page. There was an article about the Japanese being pressured into handing their power over to the British by other countries. Kibum read the entire article out for Minho, telling him that the Japanese invasion in Korea will be coming to an end soon.

“We won’t have to live in fear anymore, Minho-yah. It’s still oppression under the British but at least they are civil. Most of the times, that is…” Kibum said, cracking another lame joke which went by disregarded once again.

Minho’s eyelids remained close; his chest rose and fell at a steady rhythm, being the only indication that he was still alive. It was so frustrating to see. Minho was just a breath away from him and yet, he was not.

Kibum folded the newspaper and threw it onto the table again. He stood up, looking around for the nurse before he sat beside Minho on the bed. Assured that the other was nowhere in sight, Kibum bravely brought his right hand up to drag through Minho’s hair that showed above the bandage. The hand moved slowly down, his fingertips light on the skin as he traced them over Minho’s eyebrows, eyelids, the bridge of his nose, down the length of it right to the very tip where he paused.

Kibum bent closer to Minho’s ear once again.

“I love you, Minho. I love you. You told me that only I would have the right to take your life. I’m using that right of mine now to bring you back to me. Are those three words enough? Will you come back to me if I said them a thousand times? A million times?” Kibum whispered to him. No movements.

What was Kibum expecting? For Minho to wake up miraculously and start moving around like nothing happened?

Kibum pulled back, sighing again. His fingers continued in their conquest to the fold above his lips, moving around the edges of the lips that were peeling from dryness. They were really in a terrible condition, chapped and cracking without moisture on them. His water needs were met by the dripper and the IV attached to the back of his hand so there was no need for Minho to drink any water, leaving his lips this pale.

Kibum looked around once again. The sun was rising but it was still dark in the ward. The neighboring patients had their curtains pulled so they would not be able to see. The nurse was still nowhere to be seen. Everything was perfect.

Kibum smiled down at the still unconscious Minho.

“I love you, Minho…” he whispered down to him, right against his lips before he pouted his lips to quickly peck Minho once. Unsatisfied with that little contact, Kibum began to repeat his actions, telling Minho that he loved him before he pecked him once. Kibum felt childish for the way those little pecks made him want to giggle.

Kibum cupped his hand on Minho’s cheek, tilting his head a little before he leaned down once again to capture Minho’s lower lip between his. His tongue laved over the plump bud, tasting the dried skin and bringing back moisture to it. He pulled back after a while and repeated his actions on Minho’s top lip.

The glistening sheen on Minho’s lips when he came back to see them was more than satisfactory. Kibum knew that he could have easily used water to do this. But what was the fun in that? Minho wouldn’t have liked that as much as he did this.

“Are you done harassing him, Kibum?”

Kibum jumped a few feet off the bed and into the air, barely holding back a squeak of fear by slapping his hand against his mouth. He turned around to face the direction where the voice came from.

Songdam noona stood there with her hands on her hips, one eyebrow lifted in question while her lips tugged up at a corner in a smirk.

“You scared me noona! You almost made me scream and you know how scary the nurse here is!”

“Well, it’s better me catching you doing… whatever it is you were doing rather than the nurse, right?” she retorted, knowing she was right. Kibum couldn’t even deny that.

“It’s my turn to babysit you today so behave Kibum. Or else, I’ll call my father and have you transferred to another hospital…”

Kibum bit back all the snappy remarks that sprang to mind at the word ‘babysit’ in favor of giving Songdam noona a sour smile. She returned the smile with just as much acidity before turning around and striding away purposefully. This was her telling him to follow her and he better obey her if he knew what was best for himself.

Kibum left a kiss on Minho’s forehead, promising him to sneak away at the first chance he gets to come see him later.

“Why is it so hard to make you injured boys stay put?!” Songdam noona complained for the third time since the afternoon sun reached its peak. Kibum was muttering ‘Ow’s as he was dragged by his ear from the stairs back to his bed.

“Seriously. Minho seems to be the only-“ Songdam noona cut herself off, snapping her head up from tucking Kibum into the bed to see if she had crossed a line. She has but Kibum was not in a mood to be pitied at the moment.

“-only one staying put? Yeah, he’s obedient like that…” Kibum completed her sentence for her.

“Kibum, I’m sorry…” Songdam noona looked truly apologetic then. Kibum waved her off with his good hand, like it was nothing.

“You said ‘boys’. Did Jonghyun hyung do something?” Kibum asked, changing the topic.

“You mean besides trying to escape us to come visit you and then running off to somewhere we don’t know, returning just in time before we started putting up a search party for him?  Oh he’s been a perfect angel…” Songdam noona sighed, showing her exhaustion in constantly worrying about her brother.

“Does he speak to you guys now?” Kibum asked, his mind full of images of a creepily silent Jonghyun even when he was in only Kibum’s presence, speaking only when absolutely necessary.

“No, Kibum. He hasn’t said a word to any of us. And he keeps running off before the doctor could even conduct his therapy properly. The swelling on his shoulder hasn’t gone down a bit and even if the doctors say it’s nothing, I’m still so worried. I know he’s hurting but he just won’t-“ Songdam noona was going on and on in a continuous rant, her eyes b with unshed tears.

Kibum pulled her into a half-hug, shushing her and telling her to take deep breaths.

“It’s going to be alright, noona. He’ll be fine. He’s just grieving…”

Songdam noona nodded against his chest, listening to Kibum for once. She stayed that way for a while longer and Kibum allowed her.

“How’s everything back in the village noona?” Kibum asked when she had calmed down enough and moved to sit at the chair beside his bed. Kibum leaned back against the propped up pillow, his eyes fixed on her as she began to update him about the village.

“The villagers are doing better now. They’ve moved back to their own houses and those from Suwon and Osan are returning today. The last bodies were buried yesterday and some suggested celebrating the victory together before going their own ways. But Jinyeok didn’t want to be celebrated. Wanted no part of it. He told them to wait for Minho to come back because he is the true hero and he will come back…”

Kibum smiled at that. That’s right. Minho will come back.

“Works have already begun to restore the damages done and father said he would send aid to Suwon and Osan that suffered even more than us. Speaking of father, he told me to tell you that he was sorry he couldn’t come to see you. He’s busy back in the village, you know…”

Kibum nodded, understanding that the man had his responsibility.

“What about the British army then? The General?” Kibum asked, truly curious about what had happened with them.

“I’m not sure actually. Father met the General yesterday evening and all the British army men were gone after that. Father said he was going to carry out the Queen’s order or something but he didn’t reveal too much. I suppose it has something to do with pushing the Japanese to surrender like the newspapers are reporting…” Songdam noona explained what she knew, looking quite confused herself. Kibum simply nodded, digesting the information given to him.

Songdam noona began to talk about random happening at the village since Kibum was moved from the clinic near his village to this hospital three days ago. He should have been moved before that but the doctors had predicted that he could have been fixed up in the clinic itself. However, they found that the bones in Kibum’s hand that had barely begun to heal had cracked once again and he would need a plate or something to be inserted in it for further healing process and to support it because there was no way his bones would ever go back to being as strong as they used to be now.

Kibum had been moved to the hospital for his surgery in a sort of a last minute decision. It was perfect timing actually since that was the same day they found out which hospital Minho has been admitted into with his head injury.

After the battle that unforgettable day, Minho had disappeared mysteriously with a couple of men. Everyone who had been there only remembered seeing Minho getting hit on the back of his head when he had jumped in to protect Jinyeok. In the chaos that ensued, they only managed to note that a couple of their fighters had pulled Minho away from the battle as they were engaged in trying to run and save themselves from the Japanese army.

No one had known where Minho had gone, where the other two men had taken him. Kibum had spent his days restrained in the clinic, screaming at whoever that came to visit him to find Minho or to at least free him so that he could do it himself. Anger, fear, depression- it all rolled into one murky, viscous emotion that seemed to lengthen the hours of the day so that his torment never met its end. It had been hell for Kibum, even more excruciating then his physical injuries.

Until the night Kibum had dreamed a weird dream. It was a short one and it was hard to tell what had triggered it. Kibum’s grandmother had come to him and he was no longer in pain. He was peaceful for once as he reached out to touch her. However, no matter how much he tried to extend his arms to her, he simply couldn’t reach her. All she did was smile, but it was enough to get the message across loud and clear. The faces of his parents that had flashed before his eyes as he woke up had further enforced that message.

It said that things will get better and it told him to be strong. And that was what Kibum had been doing since that dream. The news about Minho’s whereabouts had come to him the very next day and he took this as the sign that his dream was right. He had stayed optimistic the whole time since he met his lover, who has been unconscious in a temporary coma due to his head injury. He is still being positive despite knowing that the his chances of waking up are getting slimmer and slimmer with each passing day, especially now that he was almost passing the one week mark.

Minho will come back. This much Kibum believed with all his heart. And the moment something happens contrary to his belief, Kibum was prepared to reunite with everyone he has loved and lost.

“Kibum? Kibum? You’re not listening, are you? I asked if you wanted more soup…” Songdam-noona repeated, bringing Kibum back to the ward of the hospital from the faraway land he had wandered to.

Kibum was just about to open his mouth to answer her when the head nurse came running down the ward, attracting the attention of the patients all around her. She came to an abrupt halt at the foot of Kibum’s bed, clutching the railing there to catch her breath for a bit. Her face had grown red from the exertion and she was still panting as she wheezed the next words out with the biggest smile on her face.

“I told… you th-that today’s… going to be a good day, didn’t I?”

Kibum hated running and he has mentioned this a million times to Minho. He didn’t like the way it felt like his legs turn into lead with every step he took or how his heart had to beat extra hard to accommodate his needs. Yet, here he was running because of Minho, for Minho. It didn’t help one bit that his heart was already beating fast before he started running and now it was just working thrice as hard.

Kibum didn’t care, though. His heart could fail him if it wants to, the way he’s pushing it right now. for all he cared. But it will have to wait until after he had reached the floor above to do that. It will have to wait until he’s gotten to where his entire being gravitates to now.

It will have to wait until he has seen a familiar pair of jet black orbs, peering back at him like he was the only thing in the whole world that mattered to him.

Kibum pushed past the crowding doctors and nurses (and some nosy visitors of the other patients) with all his might. Some tried to hold him back but Kibum would have none of it and his persistence paid as he pushed forward past the last nurse in his way.

They had an oxygen mask over Minho’s mouth and nose. The sound of the machine recording Minho’s heart rate beeped blaringly. Minho’s eyes were attached to the ceiling as his body tensed as though he was in a great amount of pain, his fists curling into the sheets beneath him. His mouth was open but he made no sounds. The doctors were telling him to relax and breathe normally, checking his blood pressure, preparing some sort of shots. It was so frenzied as they tried to get Minho to calm down to accept his newly gained consciousness.

Kibum was shedding tears without even realizing it, in a state of amazement and gratefulness and a little bit of disbelief. He took calm steps to Minho’s side, surprising the staff with his demeanor. If he was wailing and screaming, then at least they would know what to do- drug him and restrain him. But here he was, walking forward confidently, like he was not getting in the way of the staff working around Minho, like he was supposed to do just that.

“Minho…” Kibum croaked the name out hoarsely due to his constricting throat.

Minho heard him. He must have because his eyes snapped open from rolling back into his own head. He turned to his side and instantly found Kibum’s eyes. Kibum stood thunderstruck, a few feet away from the latter, afraid to close the distance in case he broke whatever kind of a miracle this is.

The beeping of the machine slowed down noticeably and the shouting going on between the doctors and nurses ceased. All sounds died away to Kibum’s ears and the world dissolved into something only in the background. Minho’s lips pulled up at its corners and Kibum saw it even through the mask.

A violent sob ripped from within Kibum’s chest cavity and he covered his mouth with the back of a hand to muffle more of the sad noises.

Slowly, very slowly, Minho raised a shaky hand up to his face, pulling the mask away to reveal his mouth. He beckoned Kibum closer with the same hand, letting the mask rest below his chin. Kibum took only two wobbly steps forward before he knew that his knees would buckle if he took another. That was close enough distance for Minho, apparently, because his smile grew wider, as weak as it seemed.

A lone tear left the corner of Minho’s eye as he opened his mouth to whisper.

“Stars…and the moon… are nowhere near… each other… my love…”

(A/N) Okay I know I said I'll update the last chapters together but I couldn't wait and you couldn't wait so.... TA-DAH!!! Those who were so worried about this ending badly- did you think I would be that cruel? :( No, I'm not... So I hope you enjoyed this fluffy-in-a-very-angsty-way chapter...

Dead tired now... Will reply comments soon... I promise I will because I received quite a number that I want to keep reading over and over and over again because of how nice they were! XD 

Have a great day ahead!!! <3