Sunggyu glaced at his watch. Ten minutes to nine in the evening and his friend was late. Thirty minutes behind schedule. Sunggyu sighed as he fished out his cellphone. He redialed the last number in the phone log. Half a minute past, but the person on the other line didn't pick up, just like the last dozen times. He jammed his phone back into his jacket pocket. Then, the young man picked up his books and put them into his bag. Sunggyu exited the cold library with bag hanging on a shoulder and black earphones stuck in both of his ears; he made his way to Seoul Hospital, just a few blocks away. Kim Sunggyu reached the hospital lobby just after fifteen minutes of walking in the clear and slightly windy night. The hospital was still buzzing with activities with children crying, telephones ringing and machines beeping around him. Sunggyu quickly walked to a bank of lifts at the end of the lobby. There were less people and staffs than at the lobby as those lifts went to another wing where doctors had their offices. He pushed a button in the lift and waited for the doors to slide close. He knew that myungsoo would probably be at his dad's office and luckily for sunggyu, he remembered where it was. The poker faced friend of his had brought him there once. Mr.kim was coming out of his office, busily munching and writing in his notebook, when sunggyu finally got there. "Mr.kim!" the red haired teenager called as he tugged the earphones out and shoved it into his jacket. Mr.kim's legs stopped on their tracks as he looked up from his notebook. A big goofy smile crept on his face as his brain recognised the person in front of him. "Ahhh sunggyu!" "Is myungsoo here? We were supposed to meet at the library but he never showed. We've research to - " sunggyu's words came into a griding halt when he saw the look on mr.kim's face. "Is something wrong, mr.kim?" Mr.kim replied with only a small sad smile. He was going to break the same bad news to another person closed to sungjong and he didn't feel like he has another heart to do it. However, he knew he had too. Sunggyu deserved to know. "Myungsoo's not here. But follow me sunggyu," and mr kim started walking before explaining anything. Confused and curious with the words of the early forties kim in front of him, sunggyu followed him. "I don't know whether to tell you 'bout him or not, but you are family member to the sungjong, am I right? Sunggyu nodded in confirmation. His mouth was shut tight as he listened carefully to every words that came out from the doctor's mouth. "Sunggyu... subgjong is ill," and mr.kim began telling his story. It took him ten minutes and with their slow paces, they finally reached the floor where sungjong was fighting for his dear life. "Why didn't he tell me this? Even Howan never told me anything!" Mr kim patted the young man's shoulder. "They may have their own personal reasons, sunggyu. I'm only telling you this as the family's friends, not as his doctor, and also, I think tou might be able to help him. But, it can endanger your life." "I'll help him, mr.kim. But I've to speak with Howan about this matter." He took a deep breath. Then, something clicked into his mind. "Does myungsoo know about any of this?" Once again, mr.kim gave sunggyu another sad smile. "There he is," mr.kim pointed to a row of chairs where a teenage sat, looking dismal and worn out. "He has been there since the last couple of hours. Talk to him, will you sunggyu?" "I'll try sir... Thanks." Mr.kin left right after that, giving those two friends some time alone. Sunggyu's eyes scrutinized myungsoo from where he stood. He had never saw his friend in that state, sulking. He could feel as if a big, thick grey cloud of sorrow hanging in the air above myungsoo. This was the first time he saw myungsoo being as close as this. Fortunately, back then, sungjong had myungsoo to help him through. "I was freezing almost to death at that freaking cold library for one hour and waiting for you, and here you are, spacing out!" Sunggyu grumbled, trying to brighten the mood a little, as he took a seat next to myungsoo. Myungsoo was startled. Sunggyu's voice had disturbed the eerie silence of the ICU. Myungsoo grunted without bothering to look or start any conversation with him. Sunggyu sat beside his friend, quiet. His mind was racing to understand the news about his cousin's health. He had came to visit both Howan and sungjong almost every fortnight but none of them had opened up about this. They didn't even throw any clue about sungjong's health. He and Howan were kind of close as he looked up at him but ahowan didn't tell him anything. Sungjong probably had his brother sown to hide about his condition but it didn't seem fair to sunggyu for friends. "My dad told me that he was sick for a long time,sunggyu, " myungsoo finally broke the silence. "Yes." "Why didn't you tell me about this?" "I never know myungsoo. Your dad's the one that broke the news to me, when I met him just now. Sungjong's not the kind of person that goes around, telling everyone about himself, demanding for pity and stuff. You know him," sunggyu said in a matter-of-factly tone. The last three words shredded myungsoo's heart. If only he knew him, like sunggyu thought, he wouldn't be there in that bed with tubes and wires s around his body. "It's all my fault." Myungsoo whispered to himself but it was loud enough in the pin-drop silence of the ICU hallway to reach sunggyu's eardrums. "Don't blame yourself, idiot. None of us know about this. He can be very secretive and stubborn when he wants to." Silence once again engulfed the conversation, leaving the sound of the centralised air conditioner pumping out cold sterile air and the beeping of various machines. As long as those machines continued to bleep constantly, with the same frequency, myungsoo knew sungjong was okay, albeit being in a state where no one sure whether he would wake up or not. Synggyu observed his friend. He'd known myungsoo almost as long as sungjong did. Their friendship didn't start on right foot, instead it started with the meeting of their right fists on each other's body in a brawl at the playground. Back then, sunggyy was a bully and his victims were always his cousin, sungjong, and some other young boys. Myungsoo had saw this once, when sunggyu picking on on sungjong, and he had asked sunggyu rather nicely to stop it. Sungyu, or course, didn't and continued to bully sungjong. A very bad move as it annoyed myungsoo very much. It caused sunggyu to earn a great, body-doubling punch to his gut. Sunggyu's reaction to this was a weak punch to myungsoo. Before they got into a more serious hand-to-hand combat, a few adults came running to them; parents for both sunggyu and myungsoo. Their parents had forced them to shake hand as peace offering and reluctantly, they did so, with the deepest frown on their faces. This of course didn't make sunggyu like myungsoo or the other way around, but since their parents were very close friends, they met quite regularly and this had somehow given them a strong friendship for a long time even though they sort of hate each other guts. Suddenly, sunggyu chuckled. Myungsoo gave him a look, as if this guy wasn't aware that they were in a serious condition with sungjong battling for his life. "What the hell sunggyu?" Sunggyu couldn't help himself from laughing. "Haven't you notice it?" "Notice what?" Myungsoo barked, trying to stifle his anger. Sunggyu tsked and shaking his head at the same time. "You can be very dumb when you want, huh?" Myungsoo fumed and grabbed a hold of sunggyu's shirt. "What is it sunggyu? Stop beating around the bush and tell me already!" The small eyed smiled. "So, it's very wrong and untrue." "What?" Myungsoo's eyebrow arched up. "Idiot. The rumour. At our school? It's proven that it was a wrong. Somebody must have made up those stories about you and sungyeol." Sunggyu explained. The hold on sunggyu's shirt loosen. "What do you mean?" M