My and Sungmin's relationship, well, to sum it up in one sentence: it was going down the drain.

The past few months had been hectic. My internship at the city hospital got approved and so lately, I spent more and more time there, and less and less time at home. But I wasn't the only one leaving the small one bedroom apartment empty. Sungmin finally got his small music store up and running, spending long hours categorizing sheet music and tutoring kids. There had been more days where we didn’t speak a word to each other, than days we had and too many days passed where the only sign that he still lived with me, were the wrinkled sheets on his half of the bed. A Sunday morning made everything change between us.

"Ryeowook called about an hour ago," Sungmin said, sitting at the table, looking over a song. The dots and lines never made sense to me, even though it was a second language to him.

"Oh, yeah? What did he want?" I asked, uninterested in anything but the coffee machine that seemed to have issues. I had to head to the hospital this evening and stay till the early hours of the morning and I knew that I couldn’t do it without a pot of coffee or three.

"Dinner with everyone. Tonight. I know that its short notice, but you could call in and say you can't make it, right?" I turned to look at the mess of dark brown hair on the head that still hung over a few pieces of paper.

"Sungmin," I started, already tired of the conversation. "You know I can't do that."

"It’s just one night, can't you take one night off?" he pleaded, finally looking up and at me, brown eyes dark with emotion I couldn’t describe. When did it get to the point I couldn't read him? When I couldn't take one look and know exactly how he felt?

"And what about you?" I snapped. "You haven't taken a single day off since you bought that little run down store. Between renovations and ordering all the stupid instruments and music, when have you spent a day and night away from it? You can ask me to take a night off, but you can't any other time?" I knew I was saying some stupid things that I would probably regret later but I couldn't stop myself.

"That’s not fair, Kyuhyun,” he stated, his voice dropping to lower notes, just daring me to argue. “My dream was to have my own music store and I have finally achieved that."

"And my dream is to become a surgeon, and I am so close to reaching that dream." There was a moment of silence between us and finally I turned back to the coffee pot.

"I'm going tonight. You can go to the hospital or you can come with me." I sighed, rubbing my face with my hands. I didn't want this choice thrown in my face, but now I couldn’t do anything but choose.

"I have to go to the hospital," I said, exasperated with the same argument.

"Fine by me," Sungmin said in a tone that said the opposite and I asked myself again, what had happened to us. He picked up his papers, headed to the bedroom, likely to get ready for work and twenty minutes later, he left, letting the door be a final closing sound to our argument.

The hospital was busy with the usual, but the buzz of everything didn't penetrate my mind. My head remained clouded over with too many thoughts, even after my mentor’s constant reminders to keep focused. The important surgery they wanted me to sit in on, lasted way too long, and all I wanted to do was go back to the apartment, and just sleep. Hours passed by and before I knew it, I was free to leave.

The streets were icy with winter’s dangerous reminder to drive carefully. My vision blurred from the hours of work and the fact that it was almost three in the morning but somehow I made it without a problem. I pulled into the parking garage and headed up the apartment just in time to collapse on the couch. There wasn't enough energy in my body to even walk the short distance to the bedroom and I doubted Sungmin cared. Sleep overtook me, and my dreams of sunshine on a beach, comforted my tired mind.

I awoke, on Monday, almost falling off the couch, tangled in a light blue blanket. Blanket? There was no way I wrapped the blanket around me, since I fell asleep as soon as I got home. Did Sungmin drape it over me? I stood up stretching my cramped muscles, only to look at the little note on the coffee table. The sloppy handwriting definitely belonged to Sungmin and I read the few sentences before tearing it up and throwing the pieces to the floor.

In the briefest of words, it said that Sungmin decided to stay with his friends for a while. He didn't know where our relationship was heading and he needed time alone. I fell back down onto the couch and rested my head in my hands. A sigh slipped out and I figured there wasn't much I could do about it until he came back. After a few minutes I got up and set about my daily routine, starting with eating breakfast at what was normally lunch-time. At the last minute before heading out the door, I remembered to cross out the day on the calendar.

My day at work fared worse than the day before, and my concentration needed more than just a little work. I almost misdiagnosed a patient, which somewhat snapped me to my senses, at least enough to follow correct procedures the rest of the day.

I came back to an empty apartment, and though it had always seemed empty, now it lacked a warmth that I never knew had always been there. This time I found the bed and fell upon it, before falling to sleep.

The morning light shone brightly through the window, enough to wake me and I got up, showered, and dressed before heading to the kitchen. I almost expected papers with silly symbols scattered across the table and Sungmin sitting in his usual seat, studying them with a powerful intensity. My chest constricted painfully at the empty table and the disappointment that took his place. After crossing out Monday’s date on the calendar, I poured myself a bowl of cereal and slowly ate it knowing I had to leave for the hospital in a few hours.

I could have said I spent those few hours contemplating what I did, but that would have been a lie. For a few minutes, I thought about what had happened between us, and how we became so distant. We started out as just ordinary friends in high school, somehow turning into more in college, and after graduation, and before med school, we decided to move in together. But after that, I didn’t really know what changed. After attempting to puzzle through it, I spent most of my time staring mindlessly at a spot on the wall before realizing what I was doing. Then I would try to make myself at least look busy, before finding there wasn't much of a point and repeated the process over again. After a two hours of that routine, I heard my phone make a short beep, signaling a text. Trying to hold onto the bit of hope I had that Sungmin would come back, I picked the cell up and hesitantly flipped it open.

Sungmin wanted me to pick up his stuff tomorrow morning -Ryeowook

It seemed as though someone dropped a thousand pound weight on me and crushed me into the floor like in cartoons, only I didn't get up with stars around my head. Instead, I had a broken heart and probably a bump on the head where I hit the ground. I pulled myself up and slowly inspected the sore spot with my fingertips, making myself wince at the pain that arose.

Realizing I was running late as I checked the time on my phone, I rushed to grab my shoes and keys and almost ran to the car. Almost, because running would have seemed juvenile and people already stared as I hastily made my way to the garage.

I barely let the car warm up before pulling out onto the street and practically asked for a speeding ticket as I raced past almost everyone. The brakes on a car were probably there for a reason, though that didn't concern me when I took that right turn a little too fast. I should have also been paying attention to the road because it only took a second on that invisible killer to lose control. Only a second to see that this wouldn’t end well. Only a second to wonder if I would ever see Sungmin again.

"Wake up already." My eyes fluttered for a moment before opening to a dark expanse, only it wasn't dark. It was more as though there wasn't light or dark but just a steady blackness that surrounded everything. Wondering where the voice came from, I turned to see... A teddy bear?

"Who... What are you?" I asked, wondering if I was really having such a weird dream that there was a talking teddy bear. It had to have been about a foot tall, made of fuzzy, copper brown fur that was a little worn, had black buttons for eyes, and a slim red ribbon around his neck.

"Your guardian angel of some sorts." I almost choked on my next breath at his declaration.

Of course, I would have a teddy bear as a guardian, and I would meet him in this empty world, and…

"Now I know I'm dreaming,” I said, finishing my thought out loud.

"It’s the truth,” It stated, and shrugged its fuzzy shoulders. “Fate had placed me as your guardian, and after that first near death situation, I thought you would have quit with the dangerous behavior. Apparently not," the teddy bear said, sounding almost bored, if a stuffed bear can be bored. I almost expected him to take out an emery board and start filing his nails, or at least examine his paws.

"'Near death situation?'"

"When you were about three,” it began, scratching its furry head, as if it would help him remember. “Your parents left you alone for a few moments. Bad idea since you headed straight for the fireplace. I showed up, scared you in my true form, and then changed myself to this bear you see now, which immediately drew you from the fire. Besides, don't you remember what just happened?"

I racked my memories, only to settle on losing control of the car, sliding on ice, then hitting a telephone pole, in an explosion of glass, and the screeching of metal being crumpled like paper. A lump rose in my throat but I fought it back down.

"Remember now?" I nodded solemnly.

"Am I dead?" The teddy stilled, as if in thought.

"That depends."

"On what?"

"What your answer to the next question is." I was taken aback a little, not that I should have been, since I knew that this should have been standard procedure, or at least I always saw it in the movies. The angel, or judge, would ask a question and depending on the answer I could go to some kind of Heaven, Hell or be reincarnated to live a better life. I prepared my answer, thinking it that he would ask something like, “did you live a full life?” or something similar, as I waited for the question.

"Do you have any regrets?" the teddy asked.

Regrets? That came as a surprise, though none was evident on my face. What regrets did I have? Immediately, Sungmin’s face appeared in my mind and I found that nothing else mattered. Every other decision, good or bad, didn't matter; I didn't regret any of them except for the many decisions where I put work or school ahead of Sungmin, Sungmin who was supposed to be the most important person of my life. I worked so hard to have him by my side, and then I let the most beautiful thing in the world become just another part of my life, when he really should have been treasured like the rare and precious find he was. I should have held him at night, made love to him until the dawn broke out over the horizon, and told him the three most important words every single day, multiple times. I regretted not even being able to remember when the last time I told him I loved him was. I let out a sigh, letting down my guard in front of my guardian who had probably seen all my uncharacteristic moments, so what was one more?

"Yes, I have regrets. Probably too many." I figured this answer would get me reincarnated, so that in another life, I could make better decisions and live without regret.

"You have three days"

"What?" This time I let the surprise show.

"I will place you back to the time you woke up three days ago. You have the chance to change all the bad choices and make everything right again." I nodded, despite knowing there was no question. The teddy bear raised his paw, likely to cast the spell or use whatever magic guardian angels have but I asked him to wait a moment.

"What?" it asked.

"What’s your name? And true form?"

"Leeteuk. And are you sure you won't get scared again if you see it?" The teddy said with a teasing lilt to its voice. I glared but unfortunately it seemed to have no effect. It raised its paw again and this time a blast of air flew out at all directions like a bomb, making me turn and shield my head with my arm. When I felt the air calm once more, I turned back to face the teddy bear, only this time it wasn’t a teddy bear, but a man… maybe. He or she had long straight brown hair, pale skin, and dark eyes that seemed black like the teddy bear’s button eyes. A brown tunic, pants and red sash were all, that he (I figured it was a guy) was wearing but despite the simplicity of the ensemble, he seemed to make it appear elegant. With graceful movements, he crossed his arms and slowly stepped toward me, close enough that I could smell a sort of fresh and clean scent, almost like what an open field may smell like. “Happy now?” I didn’t answer so he raised his arm and suddenly everything went dark again.