Kangin coughed and choked on the thick smoke as he looked at Sungmin who was lying unconscious on the wet grass outside. The rest of the members huddled around, watching as the strong man kissed and shook the smaller boy. 

"Min please wake up, please open your eyes.." His voice was broken as he pressed endless desperate kisses to the boy's skin.

There were marks on the boy's pale face, cuts and bruises that would heal with time, but scars that would never completely fade.

The sirens of the ambulance wailed as Kangin wept into Sungmin's lifeless frame.

 

As the smaller boy was lifted into the ambulance, he began to cough weakly.

"Sungmin! Minnie, can you hear me?" Kangin's voice was loud, his tone filled with new hope. The younger boy couldn't do anything but cough and choke on the thick black air that filled his lungs, but Kangin understood. Taking his boyfriend's hand warmly, he climbed into the ambulance with him.

Whilst they were riding, Min kept closing his eyes and coughing, Kangin holding tighter to his hand and whispering soft comforts. He felt panic rise in him everytime Sungmin would close his eyes, everytime the monitor would flicker. 

"Stay with me Min, please don't go.." The plea was heartbreaking, he was pressing kisses to Sungmin's hand and arm as the boy drifted in and out of consciousness. 

"What do I do?" he called anxiously to the nurse. 

"Just stay with him, keep talking to him." She smiled at the panicked boy, and patted his shoulder. "We're doing all we can, he's quite stable."

 

So Kangin started to whisper quietly to Sungmin, to relive the memories of their time together. The long car trips, where they had had to sleep in the car together and then the luxury hotels with crisp white sheets to bounce on. Their first date, both nervous and awkward as they kissed for the first time. As he went through the memories in his head, he began to cry. He talked of their future plans together, the house overlooking the beach that they had been to visit and fallen in love with. But there was a thought in the back of his mind. What if there was no future for Min?

 

He took deep breaths, and smoothed the boy's hair that was blackened by smoke and sticky with blood. When he pulled his hand away from the hair, he saw the red staining his fingers and he heard a siren sound.

It was only when the nurse soothed him and pressed a gentle hand to his mouth that he realise that the siren sound was him. His head was spinning, and he felt like he might faint from worry. He didn't know what to do, how to help. So he did the only thing he could do, and he continued to squeeze Min's hand and to whisper to him. 

"You'll be okay Min, I'll look after you. Please be okay, just please be okay." 

Just when he was beginning to feel his heart clench further, he felt a tiny squeeze back.

Holding Min's hand and it gently, he called his name, desperate to get him to wake up. "Minnie! Min, it's Kangin. I'm here, can you hear me?"

 

Small coughs came from the younger boy, but he didn't open his eyes. His grip on Kangin's hand, although still weak, was stronger than before. The nurse smiled encouragingly as Kangin pressed gentle kisses to Sungmin's cheeks, to the scarred and bruised skin.

They had arrived at the hospital now, everything would be okay.

 

Pacing up and down in the waiting room, Kangin jumped to feel a small body hug him from behind and squeeze tightly. Turning around, he saw Hae sobbing. The younger boy's eyes were red and his cheeks were raw from the constant flow of tears. Kangin hugged him back and sat down with him on a chair. The rest of the members had arrived too, and were seated around them. Ryeowook was trying desperately to hold in his tears, Kyuhyun looked shocked at the events, whilst Eunhyuk seemed to be in disbelief about the whole thing. Leeteuk was sitting with Henry against one side and Siwon against the other as he tried his hardest to comfort all of the members and make them feel better. 

 

Kangin turned his attention back to Donghae, who was sobbing violently into the soft material of his shirt and wiping his eyes with his soggy sleeve. He kept whispering to Kangin.

"I'm sorry hyung, I'm so so sorry. I didn't mean to, I would never mean to.. Poor Min, I've killed him..."

Kangin pulled the boy onto his lap, as though he was a small child. He pressed comforting kisses to Donghae's hair, and whispered back.

"Hae, please don't worry. You didn't mean to start the fire, of course you didn't. It was an accident. Don't blame yourself, it wasn't your fault at all." He hugged Hae tighter. "And you haven't killed him. He's going to be okay."

 

Leeteuk listened to the comforting words and smiled at Kangin, thanking him for taking care of Donghae so well. Kangin could tell that Hae had been sobbing and feeling guilty for a while, and that the leader hadn't been able to help ease the guilt.

Holding the still shaking boy in his arms and rubbing his back warmly, he reached a hand across and squeezed Kyu's shoulder. 

The boy was trying his best to stay strong, to keep his tears in. But Kangin could see the blood on his lip from where he had bitten it too hard. At first, Kyu tried to pull away from the touches, but then he moved closer to Kangin and laid his head on his shoulder whilst weeping. He clenched Kangin's shirt in his fist as he shook with sobs.

"He-He'll be okay, won't he? He can't leave us.."

"He'll be okay Kyu, they said he was stable and doing well. They're just doing some tests and if everything goes well then we can be together soon."

As soon as the words had left his mouth, the nurse entered the room and called for him.

 

"Kangin? Sungmin has asked to speak to you."

He almost ran to the room, and pulled Min's hand into his own. The boy was lying weakly on the bed, his skin white as snow apart from the newly formed scars. 

"Kangin, you're here."

"I'm here Min, please don't strain yourself. How do you feel?"

"Tired.. Is everyone else okay?" Kangin smiled, even when the boy was lying on a hospital bed fighting for his life, he still worried about how everyone else was doing. 

"They're in the waiting room, they love you Minnie and they're so worried.."

Sungmin smiled weakly, and squeezed Kangin's hand gently. "How's Hae?"

"Blaming himself.. I looked after him a bit."

"It wasn't his fault, the food just burned... It could have happened to anyone.."

Sungmin's eyes were drifting shut, and Kangin kissed his hair. "Sleep well Min."

"Wait!" Sungmin pushed himself up on his arms as Kangin stood up to leave. "Please stay with me..."

Kangin smiled and slid under the covers with Min. He felt the burnt skin under his fingers as he hugged the boy tightly. He looked at his boyfriend and wondered if Min knew about the scars.

 

He got his answer when Sungmin lifted his arms up to put them around Kangin. When he saw the red puckered skin, he screamed and began to rub it, desperate to take the marks away. 

Kangin gently pulled his hand away from the scars, whispering gently to him. "Just try and keep calm Min." He could see that the boy was trying desperately to hide under the blankets, but was too weak to move. He pulled the blanket over their heads and looked at Sungmin through the dim light. 

There were tears on the boy's face, and he looked at Kangin. "Will I be scarred forever?" 

"They'll fade with time, soon you won't be able to notice them."

Sungmin shook his head. "No no no! I don't want scars.." The tears were pouring down his face and he lay unmoving in the bed. 

 

Kangin had no idea what to do, he kept hugging Min and kissing him, but the boy wasn't kissing back. He just lay there, crying. Eventually, Kangin went to the bathroom to give Sungmin some space to think. When he returned he found Leeteuk in his place, sitting with Min. 

But the younger boy wasn't just lying unmoving, he was hugging close to Leeteuk and talking to him. Kangin couldn't help but feel jealous, why was Min talking to Leeteuk and not him? Sulking, he walked back to the waiting room.

 

Ryeowook was there, just sitting by himself. He was crying quietly, and wiping his eyes constantly as the tears fell. Kangin sat next to him and put a warm arm around his shoulders. "Don't cry Wookie, he'll be okay."

The younger boy nodded, and pulled away from Kangin's embrace, embarrassed.The older boy frowned.

"Wookie, you can cuddle with me. Let me make you feel better, please don't cry alone."

Ryeowook smiled through his tears, and nuzzled into Kangin's chest. The tiny tears seeped through the older boy's shirt, and Kangin softly Wook's hair.

"Where has everyone else gone Wookie?"

"Leeteuk said that it would be good to go back to the dorm, so tthat we're not just here panicking.." He sniffed gently. "But I can't leave Min.. So Yesung and I are still here." His voice was pained and hoarse from crying, and Kangin soothed his back with warm gentle .

"Why aren't you with Min, Kangin?"

Kangin shrugged his shoulders. "When I was with him, he just cried and lay very still. But then Leeteuk visited him when I was in the bathroom and they were hugging and talking together. So I just came here."

 

Yesung appeared at that moment, carrying a tray of hot drinks. He handed one to Ryeowook, and helped the boy to take sips of the liquid. 

"Try and drink some too Kangin." 

Soon they were all drinking the hot tea, and sitting silently together. Yesung nodded at Kangin gratefully, before pulling Ryeowook into his arms and holding him close. Kangin smiled at the pair, watching Yesung gaze lovingly at his boyfriend and press soft kisses to his skin. 

"You two should get some sleep. I'll stay with Sungmin and I'll phone the dorm if anything happens." 

Wook looked as though he was going to disagree, but Yesung nodded and helped the younger boy to stand up. Weak from crying, Wook leaned against Yesung as they stood.

"Okay Kangin, take good care of Min." They hugged him tightly and left the waiting room.

 

Going back to Sungmin's room, he bumped into Leeteuk in the corridor. 

"Sorry hyung" he said, helping the older man to stand up again. "I was just going to see Min."

Leeteuk put a hand on his shoulder, and looked him deeply in the eye. "What do you think of Sungmin?"

Kangin was shocked at the question. "I love him hyung, you know I love him. Why are you asking?"

Leeteuk looked at the floor before answering. "Sungmin is worried about his scars. Worried that you might find them ugly, worried that you might leave him for someone else.."

Kangin's eyes opened wide. "I would never do that!" He felt tears well up in his eyes, did Sungmin really think that he was that shallow and cruel?

Leeteuk quickly soothed him. "I know you wouldn't Kangin, and Sungmin knows it too. But today's been hard for him, and he's feeling really nervous about everything. I think it would be good for you to go in and see him, just to hold him and comfort him."

 

Nodding gently, Kangin pushed open the door to Sungmin's room and peeked inside. The smaller boy was lying back against the pillows with tears in his eyes. Kangin went over to comfort him, running a gentle hand over his smooth chest and kissing his cheek.

"Kangin, please don't.."

"Why?"

"I don't want you to see me.." Sungmin pulled at the blankets, desperate to hide his body.

Kangin climbed into bed next to him, and looked at the boy next to him. His own boyfriend, too scared to show his skin for fear of being abandoned.

He reached up a hand and gently ran the tips of his fingers along the puckered skin of his cheek. There was a large red mark, that would slowly fade. Kangin pressed his lips against it, and then moved to Sungmin's lips. This time Sungmin kissed back, with gentle movements against Kangin's lips. 

Kangin didn't think that the scars were ugly, they were part of Sungmin and that made them beautiful. He ran his fingers over them, pressing kisses to every one. Sungmin blushed and kissed Kangin back. 

Sungmin knew that the scars would heal wih time, slowly fading. And, as he lay safe in Kangin's arms, he knew that they had all the time in the world.