"I'm home!"

Sungmin pranced into his home only to see his family gathered around the dining table. Leeteuk was in the kitchen, cooking dinner for the night while Kangin and Hyukjae were busy looking at the pictures taken from Sungmin's first day of high school.

"Welcome home!"

"Hi, hyung."

"Teukie Umma, I'm home!" Sungmin happily exclaimed.

"Ah...welcome back..." Leeteuk hesitantly replied. His back was facing the other three as he was focused on stir frying the vegetables in the pot. However, this wasn't the only reason. Leeteuk kept his back turned, unable to face Sungmin as to what had occurred this afternoon. He was afraid. He didn't want to believe this was actually real. He didn't want to tell Sungmin. He couldn't.

"Aigoo~ Are these the pictures from before?"

Sungmin hurriedly rushed over to the dining table, dropping his bag on the floor next to the staircase. He peeked over Hyukjae's shoulder and giggled cutely at how everyone was smiling so brilliantly that day.

"These pictures are nice!" Sungmin stated.

"Really?!" Kangin felt proud of himself for being capable of capturing such amazing moments.

"Don't flatter yourself. Anyone can take these kinds of pictures." Hyukjae mocked.

"Aww Hyukkie~ Aren't you so cute in this picture?!" Kangin teased.

Hyukjae turned a shade of pink and hastily closed the scrapbook.

"D-d-don't l-l-look!" Hyukjae stuttered, causing Kangin and Sungmin to laugh at his attitude.

Sungmin stood up straight and went over to his school bag, shuffling through it until he found what he was searching for.

"Look! I'm going to be participating in the dance competition this weekend!" He held up a white shirt with the words, "Seoul High School Dance Club," etched on the front. On the back, "Lee Sungmin," was decoratively written towards the top.

"Great job!" Kangin bellowed, obviously proud of his son's achievement.

Leeteuk, who was closely listening to the conversation, smiled sadly. Sungmin was so happy. He was accomplishing such great tasks at such a young age. It made Leeteuk upset at how all of this will soon wither away from Sungmin. How everything will disappear from his life. How everything will soon change for the worst for Sungmin. He loved these moments. The moments where Sungmin smiled his brightest. The moments where Sungmin laughed his loudest. He didn't want it to end. Leeteuk wished, he hoped, this dream would never end. He wished that this was all just a nightmare. A terrible, terrible nightmare. But, this was reality, and he was going to have to accept it, whether he liked it or not. However, it didn't mean he couldn't stall time so he wouldn't have to see Sungmin's character crumble into pieces. No, he didn't want that.

"Why don't we celebrate with some soju?!"

"Ugh, appa is going to get drunk again, isn't he?" Hyukjae mumbled to no one in particular, rolling his eyes in the process. He never liked alcohol and planned to never drink despite the circumstances.

"I'll take some!"

Everyone turned their attention to Leeteuk who was beaming at them, clearly pleased with the idea of drinking. However, under that smile was a Leeteuk who wanted to break down and cry. He wanted to run up and hug Sungmin, keeping him safe and protecting him from anything. He didn't want anything to happen to his beloved, pink bunny. But, he concluded that he would make the best of this time. He'll be strong. He'll be strong for Sungmin.

"Eh? Umma too?! That's so rare..." Sungmin said, surprised at Teukie's words.

"What are you talking about, Minnie? I'm just happy!"

Leeteuk casually strolled over to the refrigerator and opened it up, revealing the soju bottles located on the right side. He grabbed a bottle and handed it to Kangin.

"Let's drink!"

However, before Leeteuk could go and fetch any cups, an unpleasant smell drifted into the dining room, causing them to scrunch their faces in disgust.

"Hey! Is something burning?!" Hyukjae shouted.

They all turned their attention to the kitchen and raced over, only to find their dinner burnt and steaming.

"AH! MY BIBIMBAP!" Hyukjae screamed. He felt as though he just lost something important, something that would never return. He felt light-headed and slowly walked over to a sofa stationed in the living room and collapsed. The other three watched Hyukjae confusedly, wondering why he was reacting this way. Hyukjae curled up into a fetal position and slowly mumbled incoherent words. Nonetheless, Sungmin understood them completely.

"My bibimbap."

"My dinner."

"I'm going to starve."

"I'm going to die."

"So hungry."

"Food..."

Hyukjae seemed as though he was possessed, rocking side to side, continuously muttering those words repeatedly. Leeteuk ignored his strange son and returned his attention back to the pan. Sungmin quickly rolled up his sleeves and shuffled over to the stove, turning it off, and carefully picking up the pan by the handle. Leeteuk noticed this and realized Sungmin could end up hurting himself if his movements halt once more. He rushed over, and attempted to seize the pan from Sungmin's grasps.

"Teukie, I think I should take over. You're too tired! I'll be fine." Sungmin declared, walking over to the sink with the pan in hand.

"N-no I'm fine! Go wash up and change." Leeteuk promptly replied.

"It's okay!"

However, his words were, unfortunately, wrong. Turning to the side a bit, he accidentally dropped the steaming hot pan straight onto the floor, not before it landing straight onto Kangin's foot.

"YAHHHHH!!!!!!!"

Sungmin stood there, stunned, at what had just happened.

"M-mianhe!" Sungmin apologized instantly, returning to reality.

Kangin held his foot and yelled in pain, hopping over to a safe place on the ground. He fell to the floor and held onto his foot, trying to ease and alleviate the pain it was feeling. Though everyone should have been concentrating on Kangin's injury, Leeteuk was obviously in his own little world.

"Sungmin, are you okay?! Are you hurt?"

"I-I'm fine, b-but---"

"TEUKIE! DON'T YOU THINK YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THE WRONG PERSON?"

Leeteuk snapped back to reality and faced his lover. He kept silent, but watched as Sungmin earnestly rushed over to Kangin's side, striving to tend to the wound he unintentionally caused.

"M-mianhe, a-appa..."

From the kitchen, Leeteuk gazed at Sungmin and Hyukjae, who awoke from his trance and was now beside Kangin, as they aided their father. He knew why Sungmin dropped it. It just proved that this disease was real.

That it was now developing.

I don't have much time...

Cho's Residence

Kyuhyun was seated at the dining table, enjoying his dinner when his parents walked in, ruining his appetite. He kept his head down, not wanting to speak with either of them, though he knew that it wasn't possible for the latter.

"Your exams are coming up, right?"

Kyuhyun threw a glance up from his bowl of rice to see his father sitting in a chair across from him. He sighed and decided to just answer his questions.

"Neh..." Kyuhyun indifferently replied.

"Give it your all, okay?" His mother encouraged.

"This exam will determine whether or not you'll be placed in the advanced courses next year." She added.

"If all goes well, you'll be able to attend medical school. I'm expecting a lot from you, Kyuhyun." His father stated.

He sat there quietly, taking in everything his parents were saying until he had enough.

"I'm done eating."

Just like that, Kyuhyun stood up and headed towards his room. He disliked---. No, he hated how his parents always pressured him into becoming a doctor. He hated it. He never wanted to become a doctor, but his parents thought otherwise. They expected so much from him and he was getting sick and tired of it. Every time they talked about school, it would always lead to the topic of Kyuhyun becoming a doctor, and he despised the thought of nurturing those who were selfish, as he believed humans were.

"You're not eating anymore?" His mother asked concerned.

Without replying, Kyuhyun shut his door, leaving his parents speechless. His father watched him and sighed. He remembered when Kyuhyun was still smiling, always happy. However, after that incident, everything changed for their family.

Kyuhyun was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He thought back to the past.

Hangeng...

Flashback

"Hangeng! Bring some water, would you?"

"Neh!"

Hangeng came out of his tent after spending time talking on the phone with someone. He grabbed an empty container on the side of his tent, in which he would be able to fill with water later.

"Kyuhyun! Let's go!"

Kyuhyun, who was recently playing in the river, came running after his brother. Although they were only two years apart, Hangeng portrayed a more mature image while Kyuhyun sat back and deprecated the world. The younger ran beside his brother until something caught his eye.

"Oh! A bunny!"

Hangeng noticed this and pulled his brother back.

"Don't! Wild rabbits like to be on their own, Kyuhyun."

"But, wouldn't the bunny be lonely until it dies then?"

"Nu uh. Just the opposite. When they're with others, they feel more pressured." Hangeng revealed.

He watched as the bunny continued chewing cutely on the grass in its mouth.

"Just like you, Kyuhyun." He teased.

"Hyung, if you like animals so much, why not become a veterinarian? Why listen to appa and umma and become a doctor?"

Hangeng looked at his younger brother closely and spoke his words carefully.

"Kyuhyun, even though I like animals, I like humans more."

"W-what kind of medicine is this?"

Sungmin was handed a bag containing his medicine he was just instructed to take. He was anxious and perplexed as to why he had to take this medicine and for what reason.

"It'll help you with walking stably." Leeteuk answered with a smile on his face.

He stood up from his chair and headed towards the kitchen when Sungmin's voice halted him.

"Are the results for the examination back yet?"

"Mhmm!"

"Eh? What medicine and examination?" Kangin, who was listening to his lover's and son's conversation, interrupted. He was unaware of any check-up or medicine since Leeteuk had never informed him about any of it.

"Well, since Sungmin is having difficulties in walking, I took him to the hospital to have a check-up." Leeteuk replied. He seized a cup from the cupboard and advanced towards the refrigerator to fill the cup with water for Sungmin.

"Well? How were the results?" Kangin worriedly questioned.

"Oh, it was nothing. Just some damages to his peripheral nerves, that's all."

"P-peripheral n-nerves?" Sungmin asked.

"Mhmm....it happens a lot during your age."

"Then there's nothing to worry about, right Teukie?" Kangin asked, feeling relieved.

"Mhmm!"

"Oh, okay. As long as there's nothing to worry about." Sungmin stated, a smile plastered to his face.

Sungmin began digging his hand into the medicine bag and pulled out his medicine. However, before he could take them, Leeteuk terminated his action.

"The hospital and I made a deal. Before dancing, your wound must be healed fully."

"Neh!"

Sungmin drank his medicine with his water and scrunched his face up at the bitter taste of it. Though afterwards, he pranced off while humming quietly. Leeteuk sat there, sadly smiling when everyone dispersed from the room.

Sungmin...please keep smiling.

No matter what happens, I don't want to see your smile go away.

I'm going to miss these moments, though.

I really am...

After everyone went to bed, Leeteuk the lights in the dining room and sat down, heaving a pile of books with him. Of course, they were books all on spinocerebellar degeneration disease. He placed them silently on the table and opened one of them, flipping through the pages until he found something important.

May have complications in getting up.

May suffocate from problems in swallowing.

These phrases reappeared in the books Leeteuk was flipping through. He was becoming frustrated that none of these were providing him any information on the cures to the disease. Yes, he wasn't giving up. He continued his search for the disease. He wasn't planning on stopping. He turned the pages until a single sentence stopped his heart.

"Patients with spinocerebellar degeneration disease....

Tears threatened to fall from Leeteuk's eyes as he read the last part of the sentence.

May die directly from the disease."