“You’re late, Dae. I was worried about you.”

My eyes widened, glossed with warm tears as I tried to run to him. I kept stumbling, but I managed to reach the chair beside his bed. I held his hand between both of mine.

“Himchan...”

“Why don’t you call me Channie? You always used to call me Channie.” he said, his voice weak. I could tell he was trying for me. That’s probably why he was reading earlier, to get his energy up.

“Channie, please, just sleep. Sleep and relax. I will be right beside you no matter what. I promise I won’t leave you.” I said, trying to soothe him by massaging his wrists. This always calmed him down before.

“I’m sorry, Dae.”

I smiled at him.

“What for?”

“For not holding myself back... For being too weak to protect you... For not being fast enough. I already went through losing someone like this, and I’m not going through it again.”

“Junhong is safe, and has been for almost a year now. Do you want to see him?”

“...”

“Nurse? You can come and do your work now. I have a phone call to make.”

“Wait, Dae.”

“Yes?”

“... Never mind...”

“I’ll be back in a minute, Channie. Don’t worry, I won’t leave.” I managed a strained, obviously forced laugh as I turned and exited the room. I pulled out my cell phone, and pressed the ‘5’ button. It automatically called Junhong for me, and I waited. The chirpy voice answered the phone.

“Hi, Daehyun! What’s up?”

“Hi, Junhong. I have a question I need you to answer.”

“What is it?”

“You’re alone, right?”

“Yongguk is coming in after he finishes washing the dishes with Youngjae, which should be completed in like, five to ten minutes.”

“That’s all the time I need. Now, I need to tell you something, but you might want to sit down.”

“Okay... What’s wrong, Daehyun? Something definitely isn’t right.”

“Himchan got into an accident.”

“What?”

“There was a fight, and he ended up in the hospital. He really wants to see you.”

“Why me?”

“I caused the fight to happen because I was being stupid, but he thinks it’s his fault. Just like the time you were kidnapped.”

“...”

“I know it’s still a little touchy for you to talk about, so I won’t press further on that. Do you think you could get a taxi and come here. Just for a little while.”

“Will fifteen minutes be too long of a wait?”

“Absolutely not.”

“I’ll see you in twenty.” And with that, he hung up. I closed my cell phone just as the nurse was walking out of the room.

“Excuse me, nurse?”

“Yes, sir?”

“How bad is his condition?”

“Not too bad at all. Under all the blood and ripped clothing, it’s just small cuts and bruises. He seems to have very sensitive skin. Everywhere the cuts are, there are bruises outlining them. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just that I haven’t had such a physically sensitive patient in a while.”

“So, will he recover quickly?”

“If we’re lucky, by the end of the month, he should be home and almost fully recovered.”

“That’s great!”

“He just suffered from a large amount of blood loss, and he has a concussion from what the doctors told us. We will monitor him for a little while longer, because the doctors still need to fully confirm some things. Nothing serious, so don’t worry.”

“Thank you so much for your hard work, nurse.”

“You’re very welcome.”

“And...”

“And?”

“Thank you for treating us like human beings.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everywhere we go, we are the famous idols from T.S. Ent., but here, you treated us just like you would treat an everyday person.”

“I don’t treat people’s social rank, I treat their bodies and their minds.”

“I probably sound like some rich snob right now, don’t I?”

“Not at all. Oh, and one more thing before I go see my next patient.”

“What is it?”

She leaned in real close, and whispered,

“There is a freshly made cheese cake in the cafeteria.”

And before I realized it, she was gone and I was rushing to the cafeteria.

~

Once Daehyun was out of the room, and the nurse began to check Himchan’s vitals, he opened up the hand that Daehyun was clutching tightly just moments ago. It was a piece of paper, in the shape of a box... No... It was a piece of paper wrapped around a box. Himchan carefully unfolded the paper, and opened it.

It read,

---

Okay, Himchan. I know this is sudden, but I love you so much. More than anyone could ever know. That’s why I want to devote my life to loving you. You know what I’m trying to say, don’t you? You are pretty smart.

 

I want to marry you.

 

(P.S. Sorry there aren’t any rings yet. I know that may ruin the mood, but I still mean it! And once you recover completely, we’ll go and shop for a pair together. I love you, Kim Himchan.)

---

Himchan smiled so wide, the nurse peeked over at him. She quickly went back to her work, and was done soon after that. She smiled and told him reassuring things about his recovery, and left the room as swiftly as she had come.

I walked in after cutting myself a self-satisfying slice of cheese cake, and leisurely made my way back to Himchan. His eyes widened, and his cheeks were a bright cherry color in seconds.

“Something wrong, Himchan?”

“You—What—I...”

“Are you feeling okay, Channie?”

“Why the hell did you propose to me, stupid?”

“...”

“Answer me, Dae!”

I shot him the slyest smile I could conjure up without laughing, and said,

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”