10.

Sungmin woke Kyuhyun up.

His eyes were glimmering, but it took a really long time until the younger realized that his closeness wasn’t the reason.

Before Kyuhyun had the chance to pull the other down to him, Sungmin had stood up again and asked him to come with him to the hospital.

Yesterday’s events were still clear in his mind, and although he was glad they stopped the madness, he wasn’t so happy knowing that he had experienced it.

It was frightening having to do with the police.

But Sungmin’s gaze when he realized that he almost gave Kyuhyun a peck on the cheek that same morning was heart breaking.

Kyuhyun had slept for three hours, but he still came with his friend to the hospital to see his mother. Even he was worried – not as much as Sungmin though – and he definitely wanted to be there for Sungmin.

Sungmin’s mother was sleeping when they arrived.

“You can wake her up if you want to”, the doctor said, pushing on his glasses.

“How is she?”

Sungmin looked hopefully at the doctor, “Tell me everything.”

“The bruises indicate that she’s been beaten regularly. There is nothing too severe, so you don’t have to worry. However, tests show that she has been consuming alcohol regularly. I’m sorry to say this, but she might be an alcoholic.”

Kyuhyun Sungmin’s back as the latter shook his head in sadness and denial.

It was the tough truth, but perhaps that meant that his mother never acted like who she was through phone.

“Taking her to rehabilitation or urging her to go to AA meetings would be the best choices.”

Sungmin merely nodded before everyone felt that the conversation was over. The raven head stared at the hospital bed from the threshold.

His mother lay sound asleep; her hair still in a mess but over all she looked calm.

Kyuhyun hesitated to do anything, waiting for Sungmin to make his move. He walked over to his mother and put his hand on her shoulder, shaking it slightly.

“Mom…” Sungmin wheezed out. “Mom…”

When she finally woke up, she gagged. Kyuhyun turned the other way as she spilt her stomach’s contents over the floor and he could hear Sungmin yelp in shock.

When Sungmin asked her if she was okay, she grumbled in response.

When staff came to clean it up – and have Sungmin and Kyuhyun waiting – she barely kept her eyes open.

But when they were alone, and Sungmin cried once again, her conscience seemed to steam to an entirely different level.

Kyuhyun stood in the corner while Sungmin forced out the feelings of his mother.

Sungmin threw glances at Kyuhyun whenever he felt overwhelmed.

Kyuhyun knew that he strengthened Sungmin, and that he strengthened him back.

It hurt.

“You’ve got a scar on your hand.”

“I know.”

Kyuhyun peeked through the corner of his eye at Ryeowook, who stood beside him. The maknae had just gone out of his room to fetch a glass of water, and honestly that was the only thing he wanted to do.

He didn’t want to think.

Ryeowook tilted his head and observed the other’s wrinkly features and furrowed brows.

“Are you upset?”

Kyuhyun quickly mumbled back, “Yes.”

As much as Ryeowook looked curious, he also seemed worried.

The last day’s happenings had seemed like an eye-opener to him; suddenly Kyuhyun felt like he had gotten his best friend back like nothing had happened, although right this moment he was the one shutting Ryeowook out.

Truthfully, he didn’t know why.

Ryeowook hadn’t done anything wrong.

No one had done anything wrong.

Kyuhyun hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Why?”

Kyuhyun widened his eyes.

His own breath tickled his parted lips on its way out.

The glass of water had halted halfway to his mouth.

“I don’t know.”

Without throwing a further glance towards the other, Kyuhyun walked off.

If he wanted to find a solution to the commotion in his heart, acting stupid towards Ryeowook wasn’t going to help.

Would doing the opposite help, anyway?

Sungmin. He thought about Sungmin; cleaned away everything in his brain to keep the raven head’s memory clear.

He had made him happy.

He had been there as much as he could during Kyuhyun’s toughest moments.

He was able to make Kyuhyun laugh, to in the next second falter enough to break down.

He could make Kyuhyun miss him so, so much, to then appear before him and crush his expectations entirely, just by doing nothing.

That was Sungmin. That was Lee Sungmin and Kyuhyun’s Lee Sungmin, someone who he would never let go of; for all he was that was his promise.

Then there was Kim Ryeowook, who stood below that as well.