A/N: Hello, guys! :) This chapter begins my six-chapter update. Sort of a makeup (for not updating frequently) and thank-you (for staying with me up to this point xD) gift. It’s also my Christmas-New Year gift all rolled into this six-chapter update. I hope you’ll like it.

Comments – especially those every chapter and long ones (I sincerely love reading comments) – are so loved and appreciated. Thank you very much! – Elle Kim

Kyuhyun is walking through the university in the speed of light. Okay, that’s exaggerating it since Kyuhyun is no Superman and is not even near any super hero as of the moment but figuratively, he really is flying because he doesn’t have much vacant period that day and he needs to see Jongwoon. So far, he’s already checked the cafeteria, checked with Ryeowook if he’s seen Jongwoon, the botanical garden, the library, the basketball court and practically the entire university building but Jongwoon is nowhere to be found.

It’s only this time that Kyuhyun realizes he doesn’t even have Jongwoon’s number even though there are already a lot of things that he and Jongwoon have gone through together – the incident in the cafeteria, the obligatory detention, the basketball tryouts and trainings, and now helping Sooyeon. It’s kind of odd that he is yet to know Jongwoon’s number. If he has Jongwoon’s number, he can just call the older and ask where he is at the moment because he needs to see him.

Kyuhyun sighs. There’s no helping it. He only has less than ten minutes before his next period. After this vacant period, which by the way, is only his lunch period, he’ll be stuck in class until choir practice and basketball practice. He doesn’t realize his schedule has become more hectic than usual since he joined the basketball team. He can’t give up the choir, though, since well, that’s more time to be spent with Jongwoon.

He turns his sneakers to the opposite direction and with his head down like something so depressing just happened to him, he starts walking to his next class. He only wanted to see Jongwoon to ask him if he has other illnesses other than his con heart disease. He knows Jung Soojin, Sooyeon’s auntie, is an oncologist and that’s an expert in cancer. He wants to know if Jongwoon’s alright. He’s worried, yes. He’s concerned, yes. But Jongwoon is freaking nowhere to be found. Plus, he wants to tell Jongwoon that Sooyeon’s father will go back to Korea for Sooyeon. He knows Jongwoon’s heart is pure and he really wants to help Sooyeon. He wants to assure him that they did great because Sooyeon’s father will come back to Korea and hopefully, knock some sense to Sooyeon’s mother. He just wants to talk to Jongwoon.

Kyuhyun breathes another deep sigh.

“Kyu?”

Kyuhyun almost bangs himself in the wall he’s holding and slightly leaning into as he walks because he’s so depressed like that that he can’t find and talk to Jongwoon. He thinks he’s hearing things now because he’s so desperate to see Jongwoon. Not convinced that he did hear Jongwoon’s voice, his head remained hung low and he continued walking.

“Kyu, are you alright?”

This time, Kyuhyun did bang his head on the wall. He’s seriously going crazy because it’s not even that long since he last talked to Jongwoon and not finding the older man now is making him so depressed. In Kyuhyun’s defense, there’s just lots of things that’s going on his life and he’s not sure if he can handle them all alone. Yesung hasn’t contacted him again, yet and he’s worried that the news that he’s already with Yoona might have reached him. Speaking of the devilish Yoona, there date is tonight. So Kyuhyun does have some right to go crazy, right?

“Hey, Kyu! What the hell are you doing?”

As if the frantic and worried shriek coming from Jongwoon isn’t enough to bring Kyuhyun back on earth, the younger continues walking, with his head still down and muttering things like, “Where the hell are you, Jongwoon-hyung?”

“Cho Kyuhyun, you face me now or you won’t see me ever again!”

Now, trust Jongwoon. He doesn’t mean to say it like that like he’s giving Kyuhyun a very hard choice that if he won’t face him, he’ll seriously disappear from Kyuhyun’s life. Truth be told, he can’t. So even though he’s saying that, he’ll still stalk Kyuhyun and check if the younger is doing alright with his life. And second, it’s not like Kyuhyun will stop him if ever he really does decide to disappear from Kyuhyun’s life. Who is he for Kyuhyun, anyway? He’s just a hyung, right?

Fortunately, for both of them, Kyuhyun turns around and faces Jongwoon who he completely ignores a few seconds ago. Hurt and worriedness are drawn in Jongwoon’s face and his hyung’s lips are quivering.

“Why are you ignoring me, Kyu? Did I do something wrong?”

That’s the time when Kyuhyun really wants to bang his head and bury it on the wall. What the hell? Jongwoon’s been talking to him for the past two minutes and he was ignoring Jongwoon? Now he lost two minutes that he could have talked to Jongwoon.

“No, hyung!” Kyuhyun immediately says, talking faster than he has ever done in his entire life. “I’m just… Well, I’m looking for you and I can’t find you and I really want to talk to you and I can’t find you and there are things I need to tell you and I can’t find you and I don’t have any vacant period after this and I still can’t find you and I realize I don’t even have your number, hyung, and it’s freaking frustrating me that I don’t have it and I think I’m hearing things now and…”

Jongwoon’s only staring at Kyuhyun, his mouth is wide-opened, like he’s thinking, what the hell are you saying, Kyuhyun?

Kyuhyun finally takes a deep breath and looks sincerely at Jongwoon. “I’m not ignoring you, hyung,” he says calmly, smiling. Why would I?

Jongwoon smiles back. “You crazy kid.” You worried me.

Just then, the first bell for the next period rings and Kyuhyun grimaces. How can Jongwoon appear in front of him now when he needs to run to his next period if he doesn’t want to be late?

“Hyung, I need to go. I have class next period,” Kyuhyun says, obviously not too pleased with the idea that he needs to go.

“You don’t have any vacant period after this?”

“Yeah, hyung.”

“But you’re attending choir practice and basketball practice, right?”

“Yeah, hyung.”

“Talk to me then,” Jongwoon says with a smile.

“But we’ll be practicing, hyung,” Kyuhyun says with another grimace, like Jongwoon can’t think of something simple like that and Kyuhyun needs to say it. “We won’t have any chance to talk.”

“We will,” Jongwoon replies, “if we want to.”

Kyuhyun pauses and smiles at that. “I need to go, hyung,” he says. “We’ll talk later?”

Jongwoon nods his head and smiles back at Kyuhyun. “We will.”

Sure enough, Kyuhyun’s afternoon is very, very hectic. Not only is he trying to catch up with most of his classes because he’s been distracted this past few days but Kyuhyun would, of course, say that it doesn’t take more than one meeting for a genius like him to catch up on his subjects, he needs to do well on his choir practice and basketball practice as well. Winter Cup is coming up and he knows that at least once a year, there’s also an inter-university competition that the university choir is joining. He’s not a usual extra-curricular student but singing has been a very important thing for him and now, so is basketball.

Eleventh and twelfth periods are for their choir practice.

Thirteenth to fifteenth periods are for their basketball practice.

And yes, Kyuhyun is now spending time at the university until its closing but it’s not just him. It’s also Jongwoon. Fortunately for Kyuhyun that he’s living at the university dormitory but for Jongwoon who’s living quite a ride away from school, it’s not a very good idea, especially since he’s parents don’t know, yet, the reason behind their son coming home late these past few days and the person that he’s spending most of his time now is named Cho Kyuhyun.

“Hyung, what the hell are we doing inside the closet?” That’s Kyuhyun’s question when in between their choir practice and basketball practice, he finds himself being dragged inside a closet by Jongwoon. How the hell did they, two grown-up men, fit in their together, Kyuhyun doesn’t have the tiniest idea.

Kyuhyun sees Jongwoon’s smile in the darkness of the closet and he finds his heart smiling, too. “You wanted to talk, didn’t you?”

“But seriously, hyung,” Kyuhyun says, laughing. “Here?”

Jongwoon struggles to hit Kyuhyun’s arm lightly. “You have a better idea?”

Kyuhyun laughs again. “You’re so cute, hyung.”

Thankfully for the darkness of the closet, the blush that crept on Jongwoon’s face isn’t too obvious. Kyuhyun finally stops laughing when Jongwoon isn’t saying anything, thinking that he got Jongwoon pissed off. “I mean,” Kyuhyun stammers. “This is a cute idea, hyung… Not that…”

“I understand, silly,” Jongwoon says through another smile. “Why are you looking for me, anyway?”

“Hyung,” Kyuhyun says excitedly and unconsciously reaches down for Jongwoon’s hand in that tiny space between them. Okay, let’s not think about the possible places where Kyuhyun’s hands fell before finding Jongwoon’s hands but upon finding them, he held them together with his. “Uncle is coming home.”

“Really?” Jongwoon asks happily, as excited as Kyuhyun, though he’s trying to brush the thought that between their bodies cramped together inside that closet, Kyuhyun is holding his hands. “That’s great, Kyuhyun!”

Jongwoon looks at Kyuhyun’s eyes and he can see happiness therein. If he can only be that same source of happiness for Kyuhyun all his life, then there’s something or rather, there’s someone Jongwoon can actually live for and he can keep his promise to his noona that he’ll live. Jongwoon smiles because even if Kyuhyun doesn’t know it, even if Kyuhyun doesn’t allow it, he’s really that one reason Jongwoon is living and smiling now.

“Hyung?”

Kyuhyun’s voice is serious and Jongwoon momentarily forgets the same happiness he felt when he saw how happy Kyuhyun is.

“Yes?”

“Are you okay?”

Jongwoon raises his brow. “What do you mean, Kyu?”

“Like, are you well?”

“Kyu, what do you mean? I don’t understand.”

“Other than your con heart disease, do you have other illness, hyung?”

That kind of stops Jongwoon, “What are you saying, Kyu? I’m fine.”

“Do you know Dr. Jung Soojin, hyung?”

That one totally stops Jongwoon but he can’t lie. There are too many lies between him and Kyuhyun enough to destroy their relationship and he can’t let another lie get in their way. He can’t. Jongwoon’s getting tired of lying now and if he can just tell Kyuhyun everything, he would, but he can’t, yet. There are too many things to consider first and he’s not even sure if Kyuhyun will take everything well if Jongwoon is to tell him the entire truth – not just Yesung, not just Hyesung but everything.

“I know her,” Jongwoon finds himself resignedly admitting the truth. “Why?”

“I… I’m just wondering if there’s something else I need to know about your health, hyung,” Kyuhyun answers even though that’s not wholly true. He feels like he needs to know something. He just doesn’t understand where those feels come from or why. “I promised I won’t let anything happen to you after all. If there’s something else…”

“Dr. Jung Soojin used to treat my older sister,” Jongwoon explains.

“Oh,” Kyuhyun says unintelligently, not knowing what to say now. “Is she alright now, hyung?”

Jongwoon pauses but after a few quick heartbeats, he smiles and answers Kyuhyun, “Yes, she’s alright now,” because that’s not a lie. Hyesung is alright now. She’s in a better place now than she ever was in this world. If there’s one word to describe Hyesung’s situation now, it’s alright. Jongwoon believes that. He would like to believe that he made the right decision.

Kyuhyun smiles and clarifies, “So you’re not sick like that, hyung?”

Jongwoon shakes his head. “I’m not. It’s just my heart, Kyu.”

“Another thing, hyung.”

“What is it, Kyu?”

“Why don’t I have your number?” Kyuhyun chuckles like he’s finding it actually funny though if you’ll look at it, it’s actually really funny. They’ve known each other for quite some time and they’ve gone through well, extraordinary times but still, Kyuhyun doesn’t have Jongwoon’s number.

“I don’t have a phone, Kyu,” Jongwoon tries to reason though that’s really a lame lie and to think that he’s trying not to lie to Kyuhyun anymore now but he doesn’t have any choice. If he gives Kyuhyun his number now, Kyuhyun will realize that it’s the same number he has of Yesung and well, if won’t take a genius by then to realize that the two are the same person.

Kyuhyun looks suspiciously at Jongwoon. “Seriously, hyung? I don’t believe you,” he says, shaking his head and looking incredulously at Jongwoon.

“Why?”

“Why?” Kyuhyun asks in disbelief. “Because hyung, if you don’t have a phone, then you’re the only person in the entire university, let alone, Seoul, who doesn’t have a phone and a number.”

“But I really don’t have a phone,” Jongwoon says, trying to stick to his lie although he knows he’s not fooling Kyuhyun.

“It’s really okay if you don’t want to give me your number, hyung,” Kyuhyun says seriously, “but you don’t need to lie to me.” Kyuhyun laughs a little, letting go of Jongwoon’s hand that both of them don’t realize are still together. “Seriously, hyung, you could have thought of a better lie.”

Kyuhyun moves to open the closet and to get out. It’s freaking hot inside that closet even though they’re in the middle of winter already but what’s more bothersome is the tension between them and as much as Kyuhyun doesn’t like getting lied right in his face, he also wouldn’t like it if he and Jongwoon would fight. Seriously, if he can’t find Jongwoon that afternoon and he’s already losing his mind, what more if he and Jongwoon will fight and they won’t see each other again like permanently? What Kyuhyun could only think now is Jongwoon has his reasons and he’ll try to understand those even if it’s not even clear what those reasons are.

Jongwoon holds Kyuhyun’s hand to stop just before he can open the closet.

“Kyu.”

“Hyung, we still need to get to the basketball practice. Coach will kill us.”

“Kyu, there are reasons why,” Jongwoon continues, completely ignoring what Kyuhyun said. “I need you to trust me.”

Kyuhyun moves to face Jongwoon again. “I told you, hyung,” he begins. “I trust you. With my life. You don’t have to lie to me.”

Jongwoon nods his head understandingly and smiles at Kyuhyun. “This will be the last, Kyu.”

“Promise me, hyung.”

“I promise.”