“You know why you’re ‘out of your body’ these last two nights?” Luhan leans onto the wall, his eyes following your back as you sit on the sofa beside Lay’s sleeping figure.

“Why?” You your head to the side, questioning.

“Because if you’re in your body, you feel pain.  So much pain you wished you were dead,”

You flinch at his straightforward words.  “Ah, I see,” You say, shakily.

“Should I do that tomorrow? So you’ll come with me,” Luhan just suddenly appears beside you, but you somehow knew he could do that, so you don’t jump away. 

You stare back equally into his eyes and smile.  “You won’t do that,”

He smiles back and steps away, shaking his head.  “You’re really daebak, aren’t you,” He flops down onto the sofa, lies down, and runs a hand through his hair, sighing.

You lay down beside him, and quietly let out a sentence of your own.  “You know why I don’t want to go?”

He stays quiet, and you take it as a sign for you to go on, so you do.  “Because of a promise,”

“To whom?”

“My mother,”

Silence settles between you and Luhan sits up, taking your hand.  “Let’s go higher up,”

“Wha—“ Without your consent, he pulls you along, up onto the ceiling.  “Hey!—“ You close your eyes, bracing for impact. 

But you don’t meet the ceiling.

You go right through.

And the stars come to see you.

Luhan sets you down on the hospital’s roof, returning to the position he had on the sofa, inviting you to do as he does.  Following along, you stare at the stars, blinking, making you feel closer to them when you’re actually billions of miles away.

“You know why I’m assigned to you?” He starts. 

“Why?”

“Because of the same person you mentioned,”

“My mother?”

“Mm,” Luhan says.  “Kyungwoo too, Yumi too.  All three of you,”

“Why are you assigned to my mother?” You ask out of nowhere.

Luhan stays silent for a long, long moment, before he answers again, with just four words.  “Because of that person,”

With those words, he takes your hand in his, and all of a sudden, some wave rushes into your head.

In it, you see only a face, the smiling face of a woman, the one you know as your grandmother.

“Grandmother?” You blink as the memories disappear, and it all just makes sense for you.

Luhan was assigned to your grandmother.  But she made him promise to take care of her daughter; your mother.  And it happens all over again, until it comes down to you, Kyungwoo and Yumi.

And that promise, happens because of one word; love.

“How old are you, Luhan?” You ask.

“120,” He answers simply.

“Oh,”

At your answer he laughs quietly.  “We’re called Eternities, and no, we don’t live for eternity,” He cuts you off as you gasp, predicting your question.  “But as a single person, we are Intervals,”

“Oh, I get it,” You nod.

“You get it?” He frowns at you incredulously.

“Yeah.  Eternities and Intervals.  You’re Intervals because you’re assigned to a person.  You have to wait for the right time to take them away, which is when your assignment will be done with.  But when you’re altogether, you become Eternities, because people keep getting born, and for eternity, you’ll be assigned to at least one person,” You explain.

“Oh, you’re smart,” He acknowledges.  “No wonder Yumi is too,”

“You were there?”

“I’m everywhere you are, because, you know, you’re kind of close,”

Close to death. “Ah,” You nod again. 

“But I’m a special case, along with very few Intervals.  We’re called Sempiternal Intervals, Semi for short,” Luhan adds in.

“Because you’re bound by an oath, you have no known beginning or end,” Again, you comprehend his sentence easily.  “Not so hard to understand, you know.  I knew you were preparing for a long explanation,”

Luhan laughs, sitting up.  “You don’t have to give me one, too.  Sorry, probed in a little bit.  I know what you want to do,” He stands up, glancing at his watch.  “It’s late, got to go, kiddo,” He offers his hand and you take it, and the two of you return back into your room, and he leaves you by the side of your bed. 

“I hate to say this,” He bites his lower lip and continues.  “But you’re going to have to make up your mind tomorrow.  I’ll be visiting for the last time and whether you like it or not, you have to come with what’s destined for you,”

Luhan pulls you into his arms, and you can feel him hug you even tighter just before you lose consciousness.