I miss my monkey. Donghae thought, aimlessly walking the corridors in the hospital. I wonder how he is doing- does he miss me at all? I miss him so much.

                Since the split, Donghae had slowly deteriorated into a shell of his old personality. The usually cheerful boy had turned into a mere shadow, constantly dwelling in his past memories and unable to move forward.

                I miss his gummy smile, his energetic and effervescent personality, his kind eyes, and above all, I miss him. Donghae remised, his eyes blurring with the tears that suddenly budded.

                Donghae, worried about crying in front of the entire hospital staff and patients, quickly began searching for an empty room to hide in until his tears had passed. He dashed madly down the hallway, disrupting the general peace with his fleeting figure. Papers were sent flying and shrieks were echoing down the hall, yet Donghae kept running.

                Spotting an empty room at the end of the hallway, Donghae dashed inside of it and immediately slammed the door shut behind him. He sank down against the door, clutching his hands into fists and began to let out desperate, pent-up sobs.

                "Eunhyuk, where are you? Can't you see that I'm miserable without you? That's right, you acted wisely to abandon a wretch like me," Donghae sobbed, his heart slowly breaking into pieces.

                "Hae..."

                "Oh, and now I'm having hallucinations- I thought I just heard your voice. I miss you so much that it hurts, Hyukkie. My chest hurts," Donghae wailed, burying his face into his knees and openly crying.

                He felt a warm hand land on his shoulder.

                What an amazing phantasm; I just heard Eunhyuk's voice, and now I can feel his touch on my shoulder. Don't open your eyes, Donghae, or else the magic will be broken. Just savor the moment as long as you can, the boy thought, his head bowed towards the ground.

                When the warm hand began to travel up his collarbone and along his jaw line, Donghae stopped sniffling and quietly whimpered into his arms. The hand stopped moving when it reached behind his ear, softly caressing the hair with a gentle touch. After a few minutes, Donghae concluded that the touch certainly could not be a figment of his imagination and lifted his head to blink blearily at the stranger.

                Then, Donghae saw him.

                It was Eunhyuk.

                Well, to be accurate, it was the remainder of Eunhyuk's body. About less than a month ago, the boy had been a healthy, active monkey teaching Donghae how to play table tennis. Today, that same boy stood before Donghae, visibly emaciated and fail; Eunhyuk's eyes were sunken within his sockets and his cheek bones stuck out at sharp angles, a visible marker to the fact that he lost 9 kilograms. Eunhyuk's small frame was swamped within the white T-shirt that he wore, the sleeves rolled several times in order to fit his scrawny arms.

                Despite all of Eunhyuk's physical changes, his eyes remained the same- fondly gazing at Donghae with warm brown eyes. Donghae gasped lightly, then hesitatingly reached out to embrace the other. He stopped moving abruptly when he felt a cord press against his arm; looking down, Donghae noticed an IV attached to Eunhyuk's frail arm, pumping a clear liquid into the other.

                Swallowing hard, Donghae managed to say, "Eunhyuk, I'm sorry-"

                "Sh." Eunhyuk said, pressing a delicate finger against Donghae's full lips. "I need to tell you something- I haven't been completely truthful with you. I'm scared that I won't ever get another chance to say this, so... Donghae, I love you."

                Donghae's eyes widened, but he remained silent. Eunhyuk paused for a second to let the information sink in, then began again with tears gathering at the corners of his eyes.

                "I don't know when it exactly started, but I fell in love with you. Because of you, I began to trust again. Because of you, I began to love again. Slowly, frustratingly, I could smile again. Every morhing, I would wake up with you next to me, loving me unconditionally. It wasn't a romantic love, but a friend's love- for which I was eternally grateful for. I had never been loved before you came into my life, Donghae. Somehow, I began craving more. Before I knew anything, I loved you. Donghae, you are the meaning to my life. You are the one I choose to love forever."

                "But this love isn't right. It'll never amount to anything- in less than a month, I'll be gone. Just like a leaf blown away in the wind, I will no longer live in this world. Therefore, this love will never be fated to-"

                Eunhyuk abruptly broke off as he felt a warm pair of lips gently pressing against his.

~Author's Note~

I totally meant to update this earlier. I feel so bad for slacking off on this story and on everyone reading this. I know I'm not the best writer in the world and certainly not the most skilled, but everyone that reads, subscribes, and comments on it is telling me such wonderful things. It's really flattering, to be honest. Thank you for reading, once again! Let's give another round of applause for the EunHae couple!