"Patients with spinocerebellar degeneration disease may die directly from the disease."

Leeteuk sat there, immobilized, as he reread the sentence over and over, striving to discover a mistake anywhere. It was futile, however, as the words were clearly printed in bold letters. He wanted to cry, to throw the book on the ground and rip it apart. Though, that would be chaotic and wake everyone from their slumber. Tears wanted to escape so badly from his eyes, but he held them in as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Promptly, he pushed all the books aside and into his bag, attempting to hide them from the intruder's view. Slowly, the figure stepped down from his last step and stood there, eyeing Leeteuk suspiciously.

"What's wrong?" Leeteuk asked.

"I should be asking you the same question."

Hyukjae positioned himself against the wall and crossed his arms, staring at Leeteuk with eyebrows raised. He had heard flipping of pages and shuffling coming down the stairs and wanted to investigate further. Now it was clear that it was only Leeteuk, but why he was awake was the question Hyukjae wanted an answer to.

"Well...I-I can't sleep." Leeteuk stuttered.

"Mmmm..." Hyukjae acknowledged.

He was about to ask further when sleepiness engulfed him. He let out a yawn and decided to head back up to his nice, comfy, warm bed. As he dragged his feet up, Leeteuk called from below.

"Good night!"

"Good night."

Leeteuk's smile vanished as he restored his attention back to the book in front of him. He was determined to get to the bottom of this disease and save his Minnie.

Just wait for me, Sungmin.

"It's fine now. The wound is fully healed too."

"Thank you!"

Sungmin was at Seoul University Hospital, having his injury cleansed and examined, as Leeteuk had promised the hospital.

"I'll provide you with some disinfectant as well."

"Neh!"

The doctor handed him the disinfectant. Sungmin thanked him once more and opened the door to leave the room, only to turn back around and bow again. As soon as he walked out, however, he noticed a pink ball bouncing towards him. He rushed to stop it and picked it up, seizing it in his hands. He scanned the waiting room to see who it might belong to, only to realize a small boy racing towards him. The little brunette didn't look more than five years old as his hair bounced up and down on his head as he ran. Finally, he abruptly stopped before Sungmin and lowered his head.

"T-thank you..."

"Are you playing by yourself?"

The smaller nodded as an answer as he was too shy to look Sungmin in the face. Sungmin giggled at the little one's cute behavior. He stood up from his kneeling position and ruffled the latter's hair, causing the other to look up in surprise.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm v-visiting my appa, but he is having a check-up right now."

"I see. Then, how about I play with you until he's finished, neh?"

The little boy's small frown vanished as his lips curled up in a huge smile. He vigorously nodded his head in approval.

"Neh!"

Before Sungmin had a chance to react, the five-year old held onto his hand and pulled him along, hastily running outside so that they could play. Sungmin, who was having difficulty holding his school bag, along with the pink, bouncy ball, allowed the boy to do as he liked for he couldn't refuse. Suddenly, he remembered that he hadn't asked the little one for his name yet.

"Mmm...what's your name?"

Without glancing at the other, the smaller one replied, "Onew!"

"It's nice to meet you, Onew. I'm Sungmin, but you can just call me hyung, neh?"

The couple eventually made it to the outside of the hospital where the fresh air wafted through their nostrils, filling it with the sweet scent of spring. Sungmin smiled happily at the sight, while Onew shuffled a distance apart from Sungmin. He positioned himself about ten feet apart from the older before calling out to him.

"Hyung~ Let's play!"

With one last beam, Sungmin dropped his school bag on the floor beside him and gently tossed the ball in the air. Onew hurriedly raced forward and professionally caught the ball in his arms. This continued on for quite a while, Sungmin tossing the ball to Onew who will catch it, and Onew tossing the ball to Sungmin who will catch it. They were laughing happily and smiling at each other as they played with one another. Unfortunately, however, their fun terminated sooner than expected. Onew had tossed the ball into the air perfectly, heading straight for Sungmin. The older, of course, attempted to catch the ball until he felt his movements unexpectedly halt for a short second. In that short second, his arms remained half way in the air, unmoving. When he regained his ability to move, Sungmin's arms were too late as the pink ball bounced on top of Sungmin's head and then off.

"Ouch..." Sungmin whined.

Nonetheless, he chased after the pink ball and picked it up. He was startled. He didn't know why his arms wouldn't move and he didn't understand how either. It was like he had no control over his body. It was like he wasn't himself. He tried to laugh it off, but it wouldn't work.

"Hyung is bad at this, isn't he?" He awkwardly chuckled.

Sungmin passed the ball to Onew who was staring at the older with wide eyes.

"Hyung, are you sick too?"

Shocked, Sungmin gazed at the younger before putting on a smile.

"Nuh uh. Why?"

"M-my appa is like you too. He's hurt over here." Onew explained while pointing to his own chin, though referring to Sungmin's bandaged one. Sungmin forced his smile to stay. He didn't know what to do or how to respond.

"Really...?"

Sungmin stood there, contemplating his thoughts as to why his body wasn't acting and behaving how he wanted it to act. He feels as though his grasp of control over his own body is loosening. It feels like he has no control over his movements at times, especially when he wants or needs to be able to move.

"Siwon hyung!"

Snapping back to reality, Sungmin turned around, seeing Onew, ball in hand, run towards Siwon, who was casually walking, hands in his coat pockets. Siwon discontinued his steps as soon as he heard his name being called, coming face to face with Onew. However, he glanced at Sungmin with an astonished look on his face. Sungmin politely bowed to his doctor and decided that now was the time to leave. Siwon crouched down a bit to meet eyes with little Onew.

"Your appa's examination is done now."

Smiling brilliantly, Onew faced Sungmin and called back, "Appa's check-up is done now! Bye bye, hyung!"

"That's good. Bye bye, Onew!"

With that, Sungmin wandered over to his belongings and lifted them up from the ground. He concluded to heading home to take a rest from such an exhausting day. But, he seemed oblivious as to what he left behind being absorbed in his own little world.

Behind him, a nurse was assisting an elder man, who seemed unable to move as his hands were twisted in odd positions and his neck hung loosely over to the side a bit, in a wheelchair. However, this didn't dissolve Onew's happiness.

"Appa!"

Onew ran over to his father and embraced him in a warm hug. His father, who was unable to speak, held up a character/alphabet chart to communicate with his son.

Sungmin continued walking, never turning back, unaware of what the future holds for him.

Leeteuk sat at his desk in his office, completing his paper works. He slid out a bag from under his desk, revealing the books on Sungmin's disease, spinocerebellar degeneration disease. His mind wandered back to everything Siwon had explained to him about the disease. He reached for one of the books, ready to pull it out, when a voice from behind startled him, causing him to stagger back a little.

"Leeteuk-shii!"

"N-Neh?"

"I apologize, but can you visit this home later and inform the mother about the conditions of her children? The results haven't arrived yet, and I believe they need some advice at the moment."

"I-I understand...." 

Leeteuk stood up from his chair and grabbed his belongings, heading out the door. He placed his bags in the basket of his white bicycle and hopped on. He inspected the address his co-worker had recently presented to him. He sighed and concentrated on pedaling, avoiding any accidents along the way. Soon enough, he arrived in front of the house. It wasn't anything astounding. The house was a regular, one-story home. Although it was a bit run down on the outside, its colors were still prominent as the blue and white shimmered in the sunlight. Leeteuk seized his bags from the bike basket and walked to the front door, knocking on it gently. It didn't take long before the door opened, revealing a middle-aged women. He bowed politely to display his respect, the latter returning the action. He strolled inside as the other stepped aside for him to enter. Leeteuk wandered over to the coffee table and placed his bags there, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"Have there been any difficulties when taking care of your children?" Leeteuk questioned when the latter took a seat in a chair opposite him.

"No, not really." The woman replied indifferently.

"It must be really exhausting having to care and nurture for three kids. I have two kids, but I can understand well enough."

"It's not an easy job, you could say."

Leeteuk scanned the room, noticing bowls and cups were everywhere. The sink contained piles and piles of dishes that needed cleaning. The house itself needed cleaning as a matter of fact. In another room, most likely the play room, three kids were running around, though the floor was scattered with toys everywhere. He stood up and decided to have a talk with the children.

"Did you eat lunch yet?" He asked, standing at the doorway with a bright smile on his face. 

"I'm about to prepare it." Leeteuk glanced back as he heard their mother reply for them, but soon returned his attention back to the kids.

"What do you like to eat? Or well, what did you have for breakfast?"

"Cup noodles." The oldest one, who seemed about six-years old, replied.

"I see..."

"That's enough."

The mother stood up and closed the door to the play room, cutting Leeteuk's connections with the kids, causing him to retreat back to his seat at the coffee table.

"You know, living habits and daily nutrition is an important part of a child's life. You must consider their likes and dislikes while still providing the amount of nutrients each child needs to stay healthy."

"I'll worry about that when the time comes. All of my kids are healthy, so there's no need to worry." The mother rose from her seat and walked over to the sink to wash the dishes.

Her last statement clearly irritated Leeteuk.

Your kids may be healthy now.

But, what about later on in life?

You never know what will happen.

I said the exact same things before.

But now, my Sungmin isn't healthy anymore.

I'm not giving up, though.

I will never give up.

"Your children may be healthy now, but you'll never know what will happen in the future." Leeteuk elucidated as calmly as possible. However, the anger in his voice was evident, causing the mother to observe him suspiciously.

"What did you say?"

Realizing his sudden outburst, Leeteuk decided to take his leave.

"Mianhe..."

He advanced towards his bicycle, stationed in front of the house. He placed his bag in the basket, but was too occupied with what he was pondering about, unaware that his bag fell to the ground until he heard a loud crash. Leeteuk groaned and started picking up the books from the ground and stuffing them back within his bag. However, a certain book caught his eye, discontinuing his movements.

"Case Studies on Spinocerebellar Degeneration Disease"

The next day, Sungmin was walking through the park on his way home from school. He was happily humming a tune, swinging his school bag in rhythm with the song. Suddenly, a little puppy came running out from a bush and stopped right in front of Sungmin, sniffing the ground cutely while whimpering at the same time. He beamed at the little creature and slowly rushed towards it. He knelt down and started petting the pup. It had a beautiful coat of fur. The sesame-colored dog was small, but of course, cute, only about three months old.

"What's wrong? Are you lost, little one?" Sungmin continued to pet the puppy while it searched for food in the grass. He only lifted his hand off of it for a mere second, when it bounded off to who knows where. Being the curious person he was, Sungmin chased after it. He ran to the middle of the park, a large opening perfect for an animal, like a puppy, to be happy and free. However, he was not expecting to see him at the park. Sungmin watched closely as the little puppy shuffled over to the boy lying down on a park bench, his bike posted beside him. The pup the boy's hand that was lazily hanging off the side of the bench, causing the boy to sit up in panic.

"K-Kyuhyun?"

Kyuhyun glanced at Sungmin who stood in the same position. Their eyes met, making one another drown in the other's dark orbs. However, a whimpering broke their eye contact.

"Kyuhyun's/Sungmin's dog?" They simultaneously asked.

Feeling embarrassed about asking the same question, Sungmin lowered his head and walked over to the puppy and kneeled down. He felt a sudden warmness in his cheeks, but disregarded it for now. 

"Hm...it really does seem lost."

"It's probably been abandoned. There's no collar."

"Oh, I see."

Sungmin sadly frowned, but continued to play with it nonetheless. Kyuhyun gazed at Sungmin intently. He was mesmerized by how caring and loving the latter was. The sun shone beautifully, reflecting off Sungmin's milky, white skin, producing an angel before his very eyes.

Sungmin, you're beautiful...

The latter, who had felt someone staring at him, looked up at Kyuhyun. Once again, their eyes met, only to disconnect as Kyuhyun leaned back on the bench. He noticed a bag placed beside him and remembered something. He opened it quickly, revealing an uneaten sandwich. He unwrapped it carefully and broke off a piece, tossing it down to the puppy who happily consumed it.

"Don't be shy. We'll always come here to visit you." Kyuhyun disclosed.

"What do you mean?" Sungmin asked.

"The history of humans and dogs goes back 50,000 years ago."

"Really?"

"Humans would often hunt and required dogs to tag along. If a wild animal came too close, the dog would bark, warning the humans that danger was near. Because of this, humans were allowed to sleep peacefully without worrying. In exchange, humans supplied food for the dogs. Humans and dogs have been supporting each other and have been living harmoniously together up until now."  Kyuhyun divulged.

"I see..." Sungmin awed.

Sungmin stared up at Kyuhyun, admiring him. He knew the younger was handsome, but being so close to him now allowed Sungmin to realize that Kyuhyun resembles a prince. His features were undoubtedly perfect and stunning.

Kyuhyun, you're really amazing, you know?

The two continued to play with the puppy, once in a while stealing glances at each other.

Little did they know, an invisible string was connecting them and growing stronger with every passing second.

The string of fate connected their hearts.

Their hearts that would soon beat in harmony.

Their hearts that would soon unite into one.