--------Three Months Later---------

Your junior year at SM High has been interesting, with Key constantly spying, and well the fact you’re married in high school is pretty abnormal too. It’s finals week, and you and Kai have been studying together constantly. Kai is really smart, and always willing to help you. Your marriage is perfect and you couldn’t imagine a better husband. There’s some times where comes home from visiting EXO and seems a little down, but he never mentions that anything is going on. He and Taemin have grown even closer, and besides the rest of EXO, Taemin is Kai’s best friend and one of your best guy friends.

Taemin had grown a lot over the past few months, and many girls were starting to notice his good looks. You laugh, forever remembering he loving, banana milk cutie who’d hid in fruit to spy on you.

You’re sitting in your last class, ready to take your math final, when Kai’s phone goes off. You expect the teacher to get mad, but instead she nods at Kai and he leaves the room without a glance in your direction. You’re puzzled, and find it difficult to work on your test. Your thoughts keep drifting to Kai and wondering what’s going on. You decide to go talk to EXO.

Suho sees you approaching and smiles. “Annyeong, ______-ah! How are you?”  You greet him quickly, and get straight to the issue at hand.

“What’s going on with Kai?” you demand.

“W…what?” Suho asks, and D.O comes up behind him.

“Is everything okay?” D.O asks. You know D.O is probably the worst liar in the world, so you ask him.

“You tell me. Why did Kai just leave class in the middle of a final when his phone rang???”

They stare.  D.O looks worried and Suho looks confused.

“Uh…he didn’t tell you, did he?” Suho asks. D.O promptly punches Suho in the gut.

“Yah!”

“What’s going on?” you demand again.

“Uh…I don’t know,” lies D.O.

Suho groans. “Look, _________, we really aren’t the ones to be talking to you about this. I suggest you ask him yourself.”

“I WOULD,” you say, “but he won’t tell me anything cuz he doesn’t want to worry me or something. I don’t know what to do…He kind of snapped at me a while ago when I tried to make him tell me. Plus, he always comes back from seeing you and looks really tired and depressed. Is everything okay with all of you?” you ask, trying to find answers.

Suho looks really really uncomfortable, and D.O stares at his shoes.

“Um, yeah all of us are cool and stuff, but…” Suho trails off.

“But what?”

“Well…he hasn’t exactly been coming to see us…” D.O seems to have found a really interesting thing on his shoe to look at, because he won’t look you in the eye.

“Well,” you say frustrated that Kai’s been lying to you. “What do you mean he HASN’T been coming to see you? You’re telling me my husband’s lying to me?”

“He just doesn’t want you to worry…” says Suho desperately.

“HI GUYS!” Chanyeol bounces up to you with a huge grin on his face, as usual.

“Chanyeol has Kai been lying to me..?”

Chanyeol’s smile instantly wavers.

“I uh…I have to go!” he leaves as quickly as he had teleported over in the first place.

“Guys. What. Is. Happening?” you ask, in a deadly voice.

“He…He’s been going to the hospital,” says Suho lamely.

“HOSPITAL? WHY?” you ask, shocked and feeling like your insides had just been frozen and shattered.

“His…heart,” D.O tells you, still not looking up.

“What’s wrong with his heart…?” you choke up, remembering the feeling you’d had in the hospital when his heart stopped. You refuse to cry. D.O and Suho exchange knowing looks.

“Look, ___________, we’re not in the position to be talking to you about this. Ask him when he gets home,” says Suho firmly.

“But…He won’t tell me anything!!!” you yell at him. Suho blinks a few times.

“I’m sorry, __________-ah. Just try.” They walk away, like two wounded dogs.

You go to your car and wonder how Kai had possibly gotten to the HOSPITAL without a car.

You angrily bang your head against the wheel, and start to cry. You’d been so stupid to believe his lies. What else was he lying about? Did he lie about his love?

No, you think, that’s one thing I know he wouldn’t lie about.

You just feel stupid for believing is “I’m fine” lies. Ugh. You’re about to drive away when you notice Taemin the car next to you, looking sad. You roll down your window.

“Taemin-ah!” you say, “are you okay?” He looks up at you and smiles sadly.

“Yeah I think I will be,” he says. “It’s nothing big, I just don’t think I did very well on my final exams and I really want to go to a certain school and I can’t unless I get good grades. I’m scared.” You look at him understandingly.

“I’m not having a great day either,” you say. “How about we go get ice cream?” Taemin’s face lights up as he agrees, and you both take off to get some ice cream. You wanted to distract yourself. You find yourself really enjoying your time with your friend, but you can’t shake your concern for Kai.

“Taemin-ah,” you start, “have you heard anything about Kai?” Taemin looks a little sad.

“Yeah... He’s been going to the hospital and they’re still trying to fix him. He didn’t want you to know, though.” Taemin his ice cream thoughtfully.

“Yeah. I realized that today,” you mutter bitterly.

“OH, aniyo, __________! It’s not like that. He doesn’t want you to know because he loves you and doesn’t want you to be scared for him. It’s not selfish. Kai-hyung is incapable of being selfish.”

You let Taemin’s words sink in and you decide to head home and you pray for patience and understanding.

You push open the door, and find Kai lying down, in the black T-Shirt you love so much on him. 

“Hey babe,” he greets you as you walk in. “How was your day?”

“I don’t know. Depends how long you’re gonna lie to me,” you say calmly. He looks worried.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t feel good and I came home…” he says. He knows he’s been caught by the look on your face. “Okay…I’m sorry. I’m really and truly sorry. How much did they tell you?” he asks, sheepishly.

“Not enough.”

“Okay, ___________, okay. I really am sorry for lying. I just didn’t want to make you worry about me, because you have so much more to do with your life than worry about small things like this…” he says trailing off trying to find the right words.

“But Jongin, I don’t know if you realize this, but you’re not a ‘small thing.’ You ARE part of my life and you are my everything. I want to be able to know what’s going on if you’re hurt,” you tell him. He stands up and walks to you, giving you the hug you’ve been wanting all day. He holds you close and sniffs your sweet smelling hair. You hear his heart beat against your body and his chest rise and fall with each breath.

“I need a heart transplant,” he says quietly. “I need one soon.”