Jongwoon and Kyuhyun never get to talk after choir practice.

After practicing together for their duet competition, Ryeowook, Jongwoon, and Kyuhyun were also called for their practice for the group competition. They sang several pieces, to see which would best fit all of them, and when Maestro Jang finally chose three pieces that they’ll practice and sing for the group competition, they finally called it a night.

“Hyung, do you want something to drink? I’m going to get something,” Kyuhyun says.

“Let’s get something together,” Jongwoon offers.

“No, it’s okay, hyung,” Kyuhyun insists, smiling. “You want to talk, right? Let’s just talk here after everyone’s left.”

Jongwoon is a little uncertain. He doesn’t know why but after seeing men in black (He remembers men in black really, really badly.) following Kyuhyun, he’s not sure he wants Kyuhyun out of his sight. Although after that time when Kyuhyun in wondering around their place with those people following him, there hasn’t been anything else that happened but Jongwoon doesn’t want to take chances, especially when he’s sure Kyuhyun doesn’t even know what’s going on.

But even so, Jongwoon nods and smiles back at Kyuhyun. “I’ll wait for you here, Kyu.”

Jongwoon waits for Kyuhyun for a couple of minutes. He’s sure that Kyuhyun will not go all the way out of the university to get something to drink. He’ll probably get two bottles of water in the vending machine on the first floor of the building. He reads over the lyrics of their song while waiting for Kyuhyun and tries practicing his parts over and over again when he notices that Kyuhyun hasn’t come back, yet. He checks the time and he is definite it’s been over twenty minutes since Kyuhyun left to get something to drink. That’s a little way over the time someone needs to get something to drink, on the first floor of the building, when they’re only on the third.

He knows he could be just paranoid, especially when it comes to Kyuhyun, mostly when it comes to Kyuhyun, but Jongwoon has a bad feeling about this. He grabs his and Kyuhyun’s bags and runs out of the room. When Jongwoon reaches the vending machine on the first floor, he sees nothing but two bottles of water on the floor.

Kyuhyun.

Jongwoon’s brain is practically racing with thoughts. He knows it’s bad for him, especially for his health, to stress over things, to overthink and overanalyze, but he’s not simply stressing, overthinking, and overanalyzing when he thinks of what his parents could do to Kyuhyun.

They don’t know anything. They don’t understand anything.

Jongwoon runs out of the university and hopes against all hopes that he’ll find his parents and Kyuhyun at home.

I’m so sorry, noona. But this time, I’m going have to tell them everything. I’m sorry.

Jongwoon knows he promised Hyesung. He promised her that he’ll never tell their parents, because that would break their hearts and that would mean the world shattering for them. But it’s time.

“Woonie,” Jongwoon hears the faint voice of his older sister calling him. In their house, it has always been quiet, especially when they discovered that Hyesung’s sickness recurred, but for some reason, whenever Jongwoon is, when his older sister calls him, he always hears her.

He runs to Hyesung’s room and finds that Hyesung’s nose is bleeding and she looks extremely paler than normal, considering that she’s already pale because of her sickness. Jongwoon gets tissue and wipes the fresh blood out of Hyesung’s face without talking. Although blood seems to be pouring out of Hyesung’s nose like raindrops, Jongwoon keeps on wiping them until Hyesung’s face is clean again.

Jongwoon checks Hyesung’s back and realizes that she’s sweating profusely despite the air condition in her room. He gets a new, clean towel and wipes the sweat off Hyesung’s back, too.

“Are you in pain, noona?” Jongwoon finally asks, washing the towel he used to wipe sweat off his older sister’s back and hanging it on Hyesung’s bathroom.

“Pain?” Hyesung repeats, lying on her back again after Jongwoon finished putting some powder to cool her back. She turns to Jongwoon and smiles at him, “I’ve been in pain all my life, Woonie-ah.”

Jongwoon stares at her for a moment and then, he takes her hand. “It’s okay, noona. It’s okay. Eomma said your surgery is scheduled for next week already. You’ll have my kidney, noona. You’ll be okay. You’re going to be okay.”

Hyesung can’t hold back her tears. All her life, she’s been putting Jongwoon’s life in danger as well. All her life, it’s been like Jongwoon is living to make her live. She knows she can’t do this to her younger brother. More than anything in the world, Jongwoon is the most important person for her. And yet, she’s the one hurting him.

She smiles endearingly at Jongwoon, “Woonie-ah, I have a favor to ask you.”

Jongwoon looks uncertainly at Hyesung and listen to his sister’s favor. His eyes widens when he hears what Hyesung is trying to ask of him. He loves his older sister. Even though it starts as involuntary, everything he’s done for his sister, Jongwoon will gladly do it. He’ll give his kidney to her, even though it might mean he can’t do some things in the future, like have a child of his own or bungee jump or play soccer and basketball. He’ll still give Hyesung his kidney, his bone marrow, his blood. He loves his older sister.

“You can release me, Woonie-ah,” Hyesung says with a smile, although there are tears on her eyes.

“No… No, noona,” Jongwoon whimpers, looking down and biting his lower lips to stop himself from crying, although his entire body is already trembling. “You can have my kidney. You’ll be okay, noona.”

“You’ve already done so much, Woonie-ah,” Hyesung answers, reaching to hold Jongwoon’s chin up so he’ll be meeting her eyes. When he does, he smiles again and through tears, she says, “It’s time.”

It’s time, Jongwoon finally thinks.