Wild cheering and chants were heard from the background as the basketball players positioned themselves to their designated places. For the first half of the game, Luhan, Chanyeol, Suho, Tao and Lay will be playing against Kyuhyun, Yunho, Shindong, Donghae and Siwon. A whistle was heard, their gazes concentrated on the ball that was now up in the air. As gravity pulled the ball down Luhan reached as far as he can to be able to reach it. Smirking, Luhan snatched the ball away from Kyuhyun as what he had remembered in his past life. ‘Good thing I changed my tactic or else he would’ve snatched it away instead.’ As Luhan reminisced his past mistakes, he shoved it away and continued to defend the ball.

“Why so greedy with the ball Luhan-ssi? C’mon, you have team mates too you know? Don’t make them feel useless.” Donghae provoked as he tried to snatch the ball away from Luhan’s hands.

“You’ve got no right to tell me what to do. But thanks for the advice.” Luhan smiled and looked at Donghae straight in the eye. Donghae felt invaded and lost his grip, expertly remembering and memorising his mishaps before, Luhan cunningly passed the ball to Chanyeol, distracting the opponent in front of him. “It’s too bad Donghae, you can’t remember the past.” he ran away to help his other members leaving Donghae dumbstrucked. ‘Crazy.’ he shook his head and looked at Siwon.

‘My cue.’ He smirked and marked Luhan to prevent him from getting the ball. Siwon spread his arms wide, his back facing Luhan’s face. “Try and get the ball shorty.”

“Hey, aren’t you too close?” Luhan tried to escape from him but Siwon followed him everywhere. ‘Damn you mom and dad for being short.’ He uttered silently. ‘Looks like I have to be careful of this Siwon guy, I almost forgot that I never played with him. Why on Earth would there be another player? I thought this life was only a replica of the past one? Sure, there’s some changes but only because I changed it myself. But what’s this Siwon guy doing here?’ he ran to the other court as he successfully snatched the ball away from Yunho. Luhan ran to their home ring and stopped for a moment. He expertly threw the ball to the ring and the score beeped showing a 2 points sign on the score board for Seoul National High School. Loud cheering was heard as the backup teams fisted the air in joy. Luhan gave them a thumbs up and waved at the crowd who screamed ‘Go Luhan!’

The game continued for several minutes. Their scores went neck and neck, the screams from the audience clearly suggested that the game was heating up. Few more seconds and the first half of the game was going to end. Chanyeol ran with all his might and passed the ball to Tao. He swung the ball in between his legs back and forward before passing it to Lay. Feeling the opponents distraction, Lay pretended to pass the ball to the right where Luhan was but passed it Suho instead who was in the left, adjacent to their goal. The clock read 15 seconds, Suho was now unsure, panic was already bringing him down, he was near to the goal yet the opponent team was blocking him. 10…9…8… Suho jumped high, 5…4… then passed it to Luhan. Startled, Luhan came to his senses quickly. 2… Luhan threw the ball as high as he could, hoping it could reach the ring.

1…0…

2 points were added to the Seoul National High School team.

The team lifted Luhan up in the air in joy. It was just half way of the game but that was by far the best move that Luhan ever did. ‘Woah. I totally didn’t expect that, I guess this game is different from the past. Oh well, everything’s going to be fine right?’ he assured himself and went to the benches to relax and wait for the game to start again.

“OMG! That was so cool!” Hwa Young shrieked as she shook Hyun Ae in excitement.

“Definitely. Luhan sunbaenim is the best. He’s really cool.” Hyun Ae blushed and stared at where Luhan was. He was drenched in sweat yet he still managed to look handsome with that smile of his.

Luhan suddenly sensed the feeling of being watched. Curious, he looked up and there he saw the woman he could never ever forget. Their eyes met, it was as if the sounds of the crowd were eliminated. Hyun Ae never looked away instead she smiled and raised a fist. She mouthed a ‘fighting’ and gave him a thumbs up and with just that Luhan was contented. She was really his strength, even from before…

“Luhan fighting! Luhan fighting! Luhan fighting!” Hyun Ae’s screams only rose as he neared the goal. She cheered every time Luhan scored and cheered him even more when he didn’t. She was the best girlfriend he could ever have. She was perfect, everything that he could wish for. His strength and motivation to win this game. Luhan concentrated on the ring, the ball moving along with him in his hands.

2 metres more he’ll finally finish the game with victory beside him.

A metre more…         

A few steps and…

Luhan shook his head. ‘No Luhan, that’s not going to happen today. No… not again.’

He grabbed his water bottle to drink before sprinting to his team. The ball game continued and in no time the teams go head to head with Seoul National High School leading with 2 points. It was now on the last game and the basketball court was now heating up with excitement. As both team continued to defend their home courts, the time slowly passed leading to the last minute. Luhan and his team was now more concentrated than ever. He was waiting for the ball in the opponents team while Siwon was guarding him so he wouldn’t be able to get it once its passed.

“Hey, you like that chick right?” Siwon teasingly asked Luhan as he continued to block him. Luhan was confused at first but when he realised whom he was talking about, he glared and told him to shut up.

“I guessed right didn’t I?” Siwon asked more.

“That’s none of your business.” Luhan escaped from Siwon and ran to where his other team mate was, hopeful that he would be able to get the ball but Siwon followed Luhan and as he stretched his arms to receive the ball from Suho, Siwon grabbed it and hit Luhan’s face with his elbow. He was now losing his balance and before he knew it, he landed straight to Luhan. Luhan fell hard to the ground with his back badly hurt from the impact and Siwon’s weight pulling him down even more.

Everything was blurry and his head ached. Shadows of worried individuals crowded him but he couldn’t hold any longer. Darkness took over in an instant, his body shutting down slowly as muffled whispers turned to nothing.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Son, do you know you’re not supposed to be stressing out too much? It’s bad for your health!” Luhan’s father pleaded but Luhan was too stubborn. Since he was a kid, he had a weak immune system especially his lung. Anything to do with heavy breathing or strenuous activities was not recommended for him but basketball was his passion. It’s not that he had severe diseases but anything that had to do stress for his lungs was not a good thing.

“I know dad, I’m not even working that hard. It’s just for fun! Exercising is good for the health too you know?” Luhan said as he packed his bags for basketball practice.

“Leave him be Hyun Ki, the kid’s trying to enjoy himself. Plus it’s not that hard core, he lets Kris do everything, he practically doesn’t even do anything, he just defends and passes the ball. You could say he’s useless in the team.” His mum teased and helped Seunghyun pack his lunch.

“MUM!”

“Ok I’m sorry. But you know the truth hurts son.” She smirked and stuck her tongue out to his defensive son, a quality he got from Hyun Ki. “So carbon copy from your dad.” She whispered and Seunghyun chuckled.

“WHAT!?!” Luhan and Hyun Ki eyed the two as Seunghyun and his mother shook their head guiltily.

The scene left Luhan’s mind and in an instant, the school’s environment took place and before he knew it, it was EXO playing against the same team.

Luhan was now sweating due to concentration and pressure. His mind was fully concentrated on the ring. With an aim to score points for his team, he reached his hands out only to land on his back. Thoughts then flooded his brain, “Your lung isn’t as strong as everyone else. You have a weak immune system; anything that causes pain, especially your back is not good. Please take care of your body.”

And with that he closed his eyes and heard a crying voice, a familiar soft and heart-warming voice that he’d grown to love ever since he met her.

He thought one last time, ‘Hyun Ae’.

Then in a flash a familiar scene coveted his subconscious once again.

‘Where am I?’ Luhan said, the room was white and his hand was connected to a dextrose then it hit him, he failed the team.

‘You’re awake?’ the sound of his girlfriend’s voice made him smile right away. He turned to his right and there she was, smiling ever so brightly, with a hint of worry hidden in her eyes.

‘Did you sleep well? Thank goodness you’re awake!’ she hugged him ever so tightly while Luhan patted her hair. ‘Thankyou Hyun Ae. Thankyou for always being here. I won’t ever make you worry again.’

Luhan’s breathing fastened its pace, beads of sweat was running down his tensed forehead.

It was a memory turned into a nightmare. Memories, words and sentences he never wanted to remember.

“Luhan we have no choice.”

“You’re mine.”

 “Luhan do you want to die!?!”

““Unfortunately, you’ve been diagnosed to lung cancer. It’s at its highest stage now. You’ve only got a year left to live.”

128:04:07:59…58…57

He woke up, staring into space. His heartbeat started to slow down. ‘It can’t be happening again.’

“Luhan! You’re awake!”

His senses turned to the familiar girl on his right. Unlike the dream, the reality was far from the happy sensation he felt when he slept. Luhan wasn’t surprised at the atmosphere. He knew exactly where he was.

“Did you sleep well? Thank goodness you’re awake!”

Same lines, same environment yet so different from the feelings of contentment like how it was in the dream.

He could only stare at the girl with empty feelings. ‘Fate didn’t ever change. Same scenarios yet different people.’ Luhan managed to think and unknowingly he felt a tight hug. ‘Same actions, yet different feelings.’ He continued to stare at his right, not wanting to replay the same actions he did. This girl didn’t deserve it.

“Get away from me.” He answered coldly as he felt the girl stiffened. Her hug became a loose one, clearly disappointed with his response.

“Get away from me Im Yoona.” He said once again. Yoona retreated harshly, he could see the tears in her eyes. She went out and slammed the door before her.

No matter how much he wanted to change everything that ever happened in his past life, one thing was for certain. His feelings for Hyun Ae will never change.

‘If that is so Luhan, what have you been doing all this while? Why aren’t you listening to your heart?’ Leeteuk consoled Luhan like he always did when he was in deep thoughts.

‘Because if I listened, I’ll do exactly as I did in the past. It’s already happening again. The hospital alone is a sign that I’ll go back to that death bed again. I don’t want to see her in pain!’ Luhan talked back.

‘You haven’t even looked at the result of your CT scan yet. Why are you talking like you know everything? Just because everything that’s happening right now is similar to your past life doesn’t mean it’s going to remain like that forever. It’s all about your choices Luhan. But, one thing that you should know, you live because of Hyun Ae. It’s up to you to figure out why you exist because of her, and why you need to exist. I want to tell you but if I do, everything will go back to square one.’ And with that Leeteuk left his subconscious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The EXO members were waiting patiently outside after Yoona harshly told them that Luhan needed space to breath and he didn’t need 11 other idiots for him to survive.

“Who the hell does she think she is?” Sehun cursed and imagined torturing Yoona afterwards.

“Apparently, she’s the girlfriend.” Xiumin snorted in mock, “Please, for all we know she was just joking.”

Kris stared and remained silent but his eyes suddenly darted to the door where Yoona was. She slammed it hard, looked at them fiercely and stormed away from them. “She’s gone, we can go in now.” Kris directed.

“Knock knock!” Tao peeped from the door. He could see Luhan smiling brightly and signalling him to come in.

“Oh, you’re awake!” Chanyeol said, “This person! Did you know everyone was going crazy when you suddenly collapsed? Are trying to give everyone a heart attack!?!” he said with exaggerating actions and Baekhyun snapped him out of it.

Luhan frowned suddenly realising that he had let the team down…again. “Sorry guys, we lost because of me.”

All the boys started to laugh calling him a fool. “Don’t say sorry, in fact we’re here to say thank you.” Kai patted him in the back and offered him a hug. “WE WON DUDE!”

“What?”

“I said we WON!” Kai exclaimed in happiness, “If you didn’t get knocked out we wouldn’t have won! Thanks hyung!”

“Wow, I’m so touched.” Luhan said sarcastically. “It’s basically thanking me for getting knocked out. I feel the love Jongin. I feel the love.” He frowned again then burst into laughter along with the members.

“You should’ve seen how they got booed for it. It was SO good! Siwon’s face was priceless! It’s a good thing our fans captured how he purposely knocked you down. After they showed the picture, everyone wanted them to forfeit, even their fans were ashamed of their actions. They forfeited in the end.” Suho explained every detail and the members kept nodding in agreement. Luhan himself was relieved. ‘I thought we would lose again. Shame on those jerks.’

The room went quiet after a while but D.O suddenly broke it when he uttered the name Yoona. Luhan’s anger suddenly came again but he managed to stay calmed and asked D.O about it.

“She suddenly went to your rescue, oh! Actually, it was Hyun Ae who rescued you first, then we came afterwards but then Yoona pushed us all away saying it was only right for her to rescue you since she was your girlfriend.”

Luhan froze in that instant.

“Is it true hyung?” Chen asked, afraid that the answer would be yes.

“Yes.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hyun Ae immediately ran towards the heavy crowd. She ran down the stairs and sprinted to the court where Luhan laid still in pain. Unknowingly tears started to fall from her eyes, she could see the hurt in Luhan’s face. “Luhan wake up! Wake up!” she patted his face and hugged him close. All eyes were on them now, one by one, they crowded into a circle. “Help!” she cried, she saw all of the members, running to rescue Luhan.

“Move away!” A scream of anger was heard from a familiar person. “Get away from him!” she finally reached where Hyun Ae was. “What are you doing here Yoona?” Hyun Ae asked in tears, mixed with anger and sadness. Yoona pushed her away and said, “Of course I would be here. I’m his girlfriend, it’s only right to save him!” Kris immediately came to Hyun Ae and hugged her tight, trying to comfort her and wiped away her tears. Hyun Ae wanted to go back to Luhan but her body was frozen as Yoona looked at her while hugging Luhan and immediately followed him to the hospital after being rescued.

Why did she run to Luhan in the first place? She didn’t know.

The constant ringing from her phone didn’t urge her to pick it up. Hyun Ae was crying in her bed while replaying the scenes that took place earlier in the morning. She was supposed to be at school right now but her mind and body wasn’t in the condition to go on for the rest of the day. Hugging the pillow tight, she let her emotions flow in remorse, alone in her worn down apartment space. The constant calls from Kris didn’t bother her; it was too hurtful to talk to him right now, especially after he witnessed her hugging Luhan instead of him, her boyfriend.

Was sadness really her end path? When will there ever be a day when she’s not in pain?

She only wanted to love and to be loved.

Kris loved her but why wasn’t it enough? She felt suffocated and hurt.

She hated pretending she was fine. Every day was a struggle for her; of course she knew the reason why it hurt.

She still loved Luhan.

She loves Luhan but why is it that she only received pain from him? Why does she still love him even when all she receives is a simple hi and hello while Yoona receives so much more. Why can’t she get over the fact that Luhan just isn’t for her?

That he’s taken and maybe she should just be content with it and be happy with Kris?

Hyun Ae sat down and reached for a red velvety box that contained the precious memories she had with him. The box contained candy wrappers, a handkerchief and a picture of the two of them, enjoying an ice cream. These were the days when they only hanged out and had fun, the early stages of their friendship. However, Hyun Ae recalled that it all started becoming awkward on that very day when Luhan suddenly said he had something to tell her but somehow only ended up thanking her for the bento box.

Hyun Ae thought it was a bit weird and that there was something else that he wanted to say. That day she could see the tense look on his face. She knew something was definitely off but she shrugged it off. She couldn’t believe that just like that, Luhan became awkward with her and suddenly kept his distance, and that kiss.

Hyun Ae didn’t want to think about what happened in Busan but it was all too confusing.

Whatever it was, she wanted to confront him again. Although she tried her hardest to confront him on the beach, she needed to try harder.

Something tells her deep inside that Luhan was hiding something.

‘Good going Hyun Ae, finally some sense in you.’ her inner self told her.

*NO GLOSSARY*

HI EVERYONE!!!

This is the new update! A bit late right? Sorry, I have been out all day but here it is! Firstly, I'd like to say I'm sorry again for dragging this story far too long and updating so slow as well, and maybe you dont even remember this story anymore ahaha... but to all who still come here and see if this had been finally updated, you all know who u are and thankyou so much for the loyalty!

This story means so much to me and I want to make this a lot better so i hope you stick with me to the end and hopefully you wont get disappointed with the coming chapters. I understand that a lot of you might find it really good and others may really find its pace too slow but pls do understand that I'm still improving and is working hard to make this story more unique..

Haha that's all! I hope u like it despite the lllllooooooonnnngggg waaaaiiiitttt! 

Love you all!,

~lovelyndgrey2230
30/12/14