"WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP?" 

Hyukjae came charging down the stairs in his school uniform. His hair clearly portraying his sleepiness as it wasn't combed at all. He was grabbing all the food he could from the dining table and stuffing it inside his school bag, afraid he'll be late to class.

"I did wake you up." Sungmin nonchalantly replied, eating his breakfast calmly. 

"That's a lie!" 

"It's not my fault you didn't want to wake up." 

"Eat your breakfast, Hyukjae!" Leeteuk called from the oven room. 

"I'm okay. I'm going to be late!" 

"But, you shouldn't do that! When Sungmin was in----" 

"I'm not Sungmin. I'm a reckless kid!" 

With that, Hyukjae gathered up his belongings and rushed outside the house, his school bag flailing in the air violently as he sprinted to school. Back at the house, Leeteuk and Sungmin glanced at each other and sighed, unable to comprehend what goes on in Hyukjae's mind. Sungmin sulked a bit at his brother's attitude and it made him upset. However, he had to get going, as well, before he was late for school. 

Kangin was outside the shop, cleaning their bread van by wiping down the side view mirrors. As he rubbed on the glass, it made the squeaky noise once the towel made contact with it, pleasing Kangin. He checked himself out in the small reflection and smiled proudly at his amazing work. Sungmin ran out of the house holding his school bag in one hand. 

"Kangin Appa, I'm leaving!" 

Kangin turned around and smiled happily at his son.

"Be careful!" 

"Neh!" Sungmin continued running while Kangin whirled around, focusing on cleaning once again. However, a loud crash to the floor ceased his movements. 

Sungmin was casually running with no problem when he felt his body stiffen out of nowhere. His hands felt as though they were paralyzed and he tripped, tumbling to the floor face first, unable to use his hands to break his fall. 

"...Sungmin?!" Kangin hastily ran over to Sungmin and picked him up from the floor. He was now crying as blood trickled from his chin, a large gash prominent from the fall. Kangin's eyes widened in horror as he saw how much blood was coming out of his son's wound. 

"LEETEUK!" 

Immediately, Leeteuk appeared from the bread shop and raced over. His eyes also widened as he noticed how much pain Sungmin was in. He was holding his hand under his chin as to not let any more blood flow out of it. 

"C-call an ambulance!" Kangin fearfully stated. 

"No, I'll take him there!" 

"I'm coming too, then." 

"W-wait! Towel!" 

Kangin instantly handed Leeteuk his towel that was wrapped around his neck. 

"Hold this on your injury." Leeteuk said softly to Sungmin who was still sobbing. Though no tears were present, his cries were, nonetheless, no different. Leeteuk carefully picked up Sungmin from the ground and wrapped his arm around his neck, helping his son to stand and walk properly to the car. As the younger limped there, still crying and holding onto the towel on his wound, Kangin ran to the van and opened up the door, initiating the van's engine. Once they reached the car, Sungmin obediently sat in the backseat while Leeteuk promptly made his way to the driver's seat. 

"Kangin, you stay here and watch the shop. There's no time for you to go to the hospital now. I'll call you later!" 

With that, Leeteuk shut the car door and bid farewell to his sweetheart who was still unconvinced. 

"B-be careful..."

His lover gave him a reassuring smile before driving off, concentrating on the road. Kangin watched from the shop as the van disappeared from sight. 

Aish...please be okay, Sungmin...

With Leeteuk's driving skills, they somehow arrived at the hospital sooner than expected. He immediately stopped the car in front of the institution and shuffled over to the door where Sungmin was painfully descending from the van. However, as he was helping Sungmin down, he reached for Sungmin's hand, and he did not fail to notice that there were no cuts or injuries there. 

That's....odd. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kyuhyun was elevating up the steps, carrying a manila folder in one hand. His school bag was hanging around his shoulder, swinging from side to side as he advanced his steps up the stairs to the door he was dreading to open. He appeared in front of the white door and took in a deep breath. He was about to reach for the handle when the door itself swung wide open, revealing a nurse with a surprised expression. 

"G-good morning. This is rare for you to be here." 

"I was told to give this to him." Kyuhyun replied, emphasizing his last word. 

"Dr. Cho, your son is here." 

The nurse hurried on her way as she finished her task as Kyuhyun's father stood up from his seat and walked to the door. 

"Sorry for causing you so much trouble. I realized the deadline for the essay was today." 

Kyuhyun handed him the envelope with an expressionless face. 

"Y-you'll still be on time for school?"

"Yes. If you're done, I'll take my leave now." 

He turned around and was about to descend down the stairway when a voice called him back. 

"Kyuhyun! Thank you for helping me today." 

His face barely cracked a smile as he continued on his way. His father stood immobilized at the doorway, watching his son leave. Eventually, he wandered back inside his office and took a seat at his desk. He looked at the picture frame that stood there, admiring the happy faces smiling back at him. 

Hangeng...you have no idea how much he misses you.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sungmin exited from a hospital room with his chin fully bandaged up. Leeteuk was still inside, speaking to the doctor in private. His hand caressed his wound as he turned to his left, coming face to face with a familiar someone. 

"Kyuhyun-ah." 

Kyuhyun stopped in his tracks and looked at the person who called his name. He stood speechless for a while, adoring the person in front of him. 

"What's with your face?" 

"I-I fell." Sungmin quietly replied, turning his face to the side to hide his embarrassment.

Kyuhyun scoffed, shifting his gaze to the right. He turned back around with a smirk on his face. 

"You always fall, don't you?" 

Sungmin blushed at the statement and walked forwards towards the chairs laid out in the waiting room, Kyuhyun following Sungmin's movements as a wheelchair passed by the two of them. 

"Why are you here, Kyuhyun?" 

Kyuhyun took a seat and placed his school bag beside him. 

"I'm....I'm not going to live long." 

Sungmin stared at the younger with wide eyes full of horror, waiting for him to continue. 

"I just got accepted into Seoul and I'm still young..." Kyuhyun stated sadly. 

"Y-you're kidding..." 

Kyuhyun gazed up at Sungmin and smirked. 

"That was a lie." 

"Huh?"

"Don't believe it." 

"Quit it..." Sungmin pouted while acting angry towards the younger. 

"It's a lie." 

"W-wait w-what?" 

Sungmin stood there dumbfounded looking at the younger. He decided to sit down, a chair away from Kyuhyun. A nurse walked passed them and waved at Kyuhyun who nodded his head as a greeting. Sick of Kyuhyun's teasing, Sungmin smirked and concluded to taunting the other. 

"Mm...know each other?" Sungmin questioned cutely, his eyes growing big and sparkling. 

Seeing Sungmin's intentions, he smirked. 

"Ex-girlfriend." Kyuhyun replied casually.

Unexpecting that response, the latter was stunned. 

"Eh? But, s-she looks so much older than you!"

"I lied." 

"EH?"

Enjoying the bunny's reactions, Kyuhyun chuckled softly while the other pouted even more and frowned, his arms folded across his chest. Kyuhyun glanced over at Sungmin who was already gazing intently at the other. Kyuhyun looked down at his lap and started to play with his hands as a small smile formed on his face, though his tone of voice disclosed a feeling of sorrow. 

"My dad is the head of the hospital here."

"That's a lie too, right?" 

Kyuhyun looked at Sungmin, full in the eyes, before softly chuckling and smirking at him. 

"Yeah. Busted..." Kyuhyun faced the other direction to avoid the latter's gazes. Sungmin smiled in victory and turned away as well, observing his surroundings. The other smiled sadly, taking a small peek at the older. 

How I wish it was a lie...

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"If you look at these scans here, there was no harm done to the bones. All he's left with is a few scratches here and there on his chin." 

Leeteuk sighed in relief at the news about Sungmin and his condition. However, he remembered something else that concerned him as well. 

"D-doctor? I was wondering and it's been worrying me for a bit now. Usually, when someone falls, they instinctively use their hands to break the fall." 

The doctor looked up from his paper work and stared intently at Leeteuk, absorbing all the information he was divulging.

"Yes, that's correct." 

Leeteuk gestured at his hands as he disclosed his next statement. 

"But, Sungmin had no scratches on his hand. He fell face first onto the pavement..."

"W-what?" The doctor was now listening carefully, trying to comprehend everything, but the last comment clearly surprised him. 

"Strange...right?" Leeteuk questioned. 

"Also, he's been dropping things often and can't even hold his chopsticks properly." He added. 

The doctor sat there in silence, trying to contemplate the reason for this, while Leeteuk pleadingly looked at him. 

"I think you need an expert in this field. I'll refer you to Dr. Choi immediately." 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Well, I'll leave now. Bye." Kyuhyun stood up from his chair and grabbed his school bag, ready to leave when Sungmin held onto his wrist, making the younger turn around. 

"P-please think about the songs for the competition..." Sungmin said in a low voice, diverting his gaze anywhere but at the person in front of him. 

"You decide, I don't care." Kyuhyun replied coldly. 

"T-there must be something you like, right?" 

"No, I'm not interested in anything. Anything's fine." Kyuhyun sneered at the older. He took a look around the room and frowned. 

"Don't you think that humans are just animals, filled with hope?" 

"I...wonder..." 

"Whether it's an animal or a plant, they know who they are when they're born. Only humans live to this day, continuing to hope." Kyuhyun threw one more glance at Sungmin and stalked off. The older watched with a perplexed expression on his face, his head turning from side to side. 

What a strange guy...

Just then, a door opened and Leeteuk stepped out of it, appearing in front of Sungmin. 

"Minnie~"

"Umma." 

"This is a great opportunity for your check-up now. Let's go." 

Leeteuk led the way with Sungmin willingly following behind. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Aish...why hasn't Leeteuk called yet?" Kangin announced to no one in particular. 

He was a nervous wreck, cleaning the trays that once held the bread, wondering if his loved ones are okay. He sighed and continued his work, deciding to wait patiently for any call. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The couple reached their destination and opened the door to a similar small room. Sungmin entered anxiously as the person in the chair whirled around, facing the two. 

"Hello. I'm Dr. Choi of the Neurology Department." 

"N-nice to meet you..." 

Leeteuk took a seat in the corner of the room as the examination began. 

"When did you first feel unstable while walking, Sungmin?" 

"A-about a month ago...I-it's probably just because I'm tired though..." 

"And what about falling down?" 

"On the day of the entrance exams for high school, I fell down once..." 

"That's not a problem, though, right?" Sungmin quickly added. 

"Do you have any speaking difficulties?" Dr. Choi questioned, staring at his patient keenly. 

Sungmin thought for a while before answering a simple, "No," while shaking his head. 

The examination continued with Sungmin executing a few tests. For the first test, he had to simply walk back and forth in a straight line. Two pairs of eyes watched closely, Leeteuk in the corner, feeling worried, while Dr. Choi was focusing his attention on any instability with Sungmin's walking. By the end of the test, he was able to walk perfectly fine without falling or stumbling in any manner. 

However, the second test proved that something was most definitely wrong. This test assessed Sungmin's balance. He had to stand up while lifting up one foot, trying to keep his balance with the other. Countless times he stumbled and almost fell over, if it wasn't for the two who were there to catch him. His arms were outstretched, waving in the air as he was having difficulty balancing on his one foot. 

The next test challenged Sungmin's eye coordination as Dr. Choi held up one finger, keeping it in one position, while Sungmin was instructed to touch his nose, then touch the finger, back and forth in a steady manner. At a slow pace, he was able to do both with ease. However, once Dr. Choi announced for Sungmin to increase his pace, the results weren't positive. He continuously missed the finger, sliding too much to the right, or missing his nose, sliding too much to the left. It continued like this for a while until the doctor decided to move on to another test. He held up a small light, insisting Sungmin to follow the light with his eyes. Dr. Choi watched his eye movements carefully as they moved from left to right. 

The last of the examination was for Sungmin to have X-rays of his head. He sat in the machine quietly, anticipating it. To be truthful, he was terrified of the outcome of this test. He didn't like to know something was wrong with him, but he concurred with the directions given to him just to make sure Leeteuk would stop his worrying all the time. He sat there, his eyes b with tears, but he held them back as his body was slowly being slid into the X-ray mechanism. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Hello?!"

"Hi, sweetheart." 

"Teukie! How's our Sungmin? Is he okay? What about his chin? Will there be a scar?" 

"Kangin, calm down. He'll be okay. The wound will heal with time." 

"Oh thank goodness." 

"A-about S-sungmin---"

"I was so worried! I didn't leave the bread shop for even a second, waiting for you to update me on anything that happened. If a scar was to appear, Sungmin would have such a painful memory of the past." 

"He'll be okay, but----"

"It's great that he'll be okay! Thank you, Teukie!" 

"N-neh...W-we'll be back soon..."

"Be careful! Bye, my Angel!" 

Leeteuk reluctantly hung up the phone as the other line disconnected. He stood there for a while, pondering his thoughts. He disregarded them as he decided to return to the room where Sungmin is. He carefully and quietly opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He found Sungmin sitting on a chair, waiting for Leeteuk to arrive. Dr. Choi watched as Leeteuk wandered over to his son and positioned himself beside him. 

"We'll inform you about the results in a few days' time." Dr. Choi declared indifferently. 

"Um...is there something wrong with me?" Sungmin asked softly into the air. His eyes were dark as his worst fears began to build up in his body. Rather than answering his question, however, Dr. Choi approached the situation in a different manner. 

"Every day, write down everything...that you don't feel exactly right about yourself."

"N-neh..." Sungmin complied. He was, of course, unsure as to why his doctor was asking him to do this, but he ignored the question. 

"Just keep some sort of journal or diary, neh?" 

"J-journal..."

Leeteuk threw a worried glance over at Sungmin. 

Sungmin, hwaiting...

Stay strong...

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________