Thursday 20^th May 20XX

It was still dead of night. As people continued to dream, the two men continued to stare at each other. Minho was the first to break their silence with a sigh. He didn’t want to argue with an exhausted Kim Sunggyu. Even a blind man could tell how tired Sunggyu was. He wondered how long it’s been since the man has had a proper night’s sleep. Forget days, it was more like since the day she disappeared.

“It’s late. I won’t be able to take you tonight unless all you want to see is a sleeping figure. I suggest you go to bed and get some sleep. You look like .  Freshen up will you? I don’t want her to have a bad impression of you.” Sunggyu nodded along stupidly, muttering Minho’s words back like a chant. Even Sunggyu had to admit he looked terrible.

“Right, right. Freshen up. I need to take a shower, maybe get a haircut? Sleep, sleep is important if I don’t want to look half dead. Right, right. What else? Food? I need to eat…” Minho couldn’t help but laugh at his Hyung. Seeing the man pace up and down his stairs was amusing and a little cute if the dongsaeng could say so himself. It was the first time he had seen his Hyung act like that in a long time. It bought a smile to his face.

“Yes, yes. But first, you should really get to bed. It’s ready nearly 3am. I’ll wake you up at 9am and we’ll see ‘her’ at 12, alright? I hear Lunch time is the best for sightseeing.” Minho said with a laugh.

“What?” Before Sunggyu could question any further, Minho pushed him into the bathroom, leaving him in there while he went to retrieve Sunggyu’s sleeping wear from his room.

“Brush your teeth and wash your face. Sleep is what you need the most so sleep is first priority! Everything will be explained tomorrow, Okay?”

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It had been a long time since Sunggyu was able to sleep without a nightmare from that day. He woke up, the light shined through his white curtains almost blinding him. It was the same as the days before. Only difference was today, he didn’t mind the light. In fact, he welcomed it with his arms wide open. Warmth spread through his body, making him shiver in pleasure.

“Minho?” Sunggyu called, looking at his clock while wondering where Minho was. The other had promised to wake him up but he was nowhere to be seen. The clock showed 8:45am, 15 minutes earlier than Minho’s promised time. No wonder he wasn’t here. Deciding there was no point in sleeping again, Sunggyu leapt up from his bed, feeling the cold floor beneath his feet. He made his way to the bathroom downstairs while running his hand through his greasy hair and feeling the back of his sweaty neck. He definitely needed to shower.

He walked to the bathroom, peeling the layers of his body one by one and throwing it one the floor. By the time he reached his shower cubicle, all that was left on his body was his pale bare skin. Sunggyu hopped into the shower, letting the warm water hit his skin. A relieved sigh escaped his lips as the tensing of his muscles began to unwind itself. It was only then when he realised how badly he was in need of one. As per usual, he washed his hair, face and body before coming out of the shower to brush his teeth. Once he had finished, he looked up to the mirror that hung above his sink. The sight was something he was not proud of. Sunggyu’s red hair had grown out of shape. His eye bags though better than yesterday was still very visible and he was literally skin and bones. Part of him wondered how he still manages to get hit on looking like this but for most parts, he didn’t care. However, now that he was going to see her, he wishes he had taken better care of himself. With a towel wrapped around his waist and a smaller one drying his hair, he left the bathroom.

“WOAH!” Sunggyu shouted, startled when he saw Minho staring back at him from the sofa.

“I was going to wake you up.” The younger said. Sunggyu looked at the clock. It was now 9:07am, 7 minutes over the promised time.

“Yeah, I woke up about 20 minutes ago and decided to take a shower.” Minho walked up to Sunggyu, a set of clothes in his hands as he continued to stare at the elder’s face.

“Good, you look better. Not amazing but still an improvement.” He said as he looked Sunggyu up and down.

“Here, I checked out your wardrobe last night while you were sleeping. Thanks to your drastic weight loss, nothing fits you anymore. I looked around and found some stuff.” Sunggyu wondered how Minho managed to get the clothes as no clothing store in South Korea would be open during that time.

“Geez, you really know how to lift a guy up only to throw them down straight away with your comments.” He grabbed the clothes and unfolded them, making eye to give them a good look before he put them on.

“I only speak the truth.”

“Whatever.” The elder rolled his eyes before going back into the bathroom to change his clothes. He came out looking like a new doll, freshly made and in new clothes. His body was clothed by a simple white low V t-shirt with a white and baby blue striped cardigan buttoned to his waist before topping it off with a baby blue blazer folded just below his elbows. The look was finished off with skinny jeans, a medium thick belt and sneakers, all of the colour white. The cold toned colours only made his warm red hair stand out even more, something he refused to do before he met her.

“I knew I would do well.” Minho laughed while giving himself a pat on the back.

“Now, we are off to the salon. Hopefully they’ll be able to do something about that bird’s nest that’s sitting on top of your head.” The two made it to Sunggyu’s local hairdressers by car which took around 20 minutes. Minho took the wheel since he didn’t trust the other to drive. It was a small place. Slightly run down but still having a warm, cosy atmosphere.

“Hey Taemin.” Minho greeted as he walked in the door with Sunggyu following behind. The elder raised an eyebrow, wondering how Minho could know another human on earth other than him. The raven could see from the corner of his eye the look his hyung was giving him but chose to ignore it. Sure it wasn’t normal for an Angel to know a human by first name basis but Minho was someone who was not normal. Explaining it to the other was just something he couldn’t be bothered to do, at least not in this very moment.

“Minho hyung! Long-time no see. Are you looking for Key hyung?” The salon’s walls were all yellow, giving an uplifting and warm feel. It made Sunggyu’s mood especially, lighten up. It was her favourite colour. He thought.

“Sorry, I was out of the country for a bit.” Sunggyu rolled his eyes. Out of the country? You weren’t even on Planet Earth.

“Yeah, where is he?”

“Cool! You have to tell me out it sometime okay? He’s just round the back.” Minho gave the young worker a smile while ruffling his hair. He nodded before making his way to this person named Key.

“So…” The ex-archangel spoke.

“Mention a word and I’ll never let you see the light of day.” Before Sunggyu could finish talking, Minho shot him a few words that made him complete stop mid-sentence. It would take a dead person to not feel the deadly aura Minho was giving out. They were met by a shock blond man at the inner counter of the salon. He was looking down on his phone just moments before Minho got closer. The man was skinny, donning all black attire that hugged his figure perfectly. Sunggyu coughed, embarrassed at himself for looking at the man for way too long.

“Min!” The blond man shouted, jumping up from his seat before running over to the angel with his arms stretched wide open. Minho patted Key’s back awkwardly as his body was engulfed by the skinny man.

“Hey Key hyung.” Minho managed to say as his body was being squeezed out. For a skinny man, Key had a lot of strength, especially in his hugs.

“What are you doing here?! I haven’t seen you in ages!” Key released Minho from his grip before ‘playfully’ punching the other on the right side shoulder. He didn’t let out any painful noises but Sunggyu could tell the punch hurt.

“I’m here with my hyung to get his hair cut.” Right as he said that, he pushed the red head forward, presenting him like a present to the hair stylist.

“Here. Do what you must.” Key had his arms crossed in front of his chest as he stared at Sunggyu. The red head did his best not to move, not even breath as he felt the pair of eyes linger around his body. Maybe it was a special day for him but he had never had some many guys look at him from head to toe in that way. It made him feel unnerving.

“Seeing a girlfriend?” Sunggyu was about to answer when Minho spoke first.

“Sort of.” Key lifted an eye brow at the Angel’s words but didn’t pry on the matter. Who knew what the youngsters (though technically neither Minho nor Sunggyu were young) up to these days.

“Well then, let’s make you look good.”

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Having a haircut had never been so exhausting. Somehow, Sunggyu had managed to come out of the salon looking good and alive. He swore to never go back there again but he knew it was a promise he wouldn’t be able to keep. Sure, Key was a little on the loud side and his moods went up and down quicker and a theme park ride but he was indeed, good at his job. Sunggyu respected that.

Time had gone by ever so slowly. By the time they had come out of the salon, it was only 10am. They two of them decided to waste some time by going to the local arcade. Call them what you want, no one turns down an invitation to the arcade, ever. They played continuously for 2 hours starting from the back of the arcade to the front to see how many they could play through. Of course this was done while battling each other. By times us, they had completed well over 60 rounds of 30 different games. The winner was, as anyone would guess, Minho.

“How did you get so good?”

“You just got old.” Sunggyu didn’t say a word as he didn’t want to add more oil to the fire he was feeling (more like he wanted to be the bigger man by not starting an argument). They had left the arcade approximately 10 minutes ago. Minho looked down at his watch, 12:11pm.

“It’s a little later than I would have liked it to be. Let’s hope we manage to get seats.” He red head followed his friend as they continued to walk. He watched his friend’s emotionless face as they came closer (or Sunggyu hoped as he had no idea where they were going) to the place. It was lunch time and the two of them had yet to eat. Maybe she works at a restaurant or something?

“Are we there yet?” Sunggyu whined.

“Yeah.” It was not an answer Sunggyu had expected. That one word made his stomach twist in weird ways. Part of him even wanted to throw up as the thought of seeing her again was finally coming true. They stepped inside, Minho taking the lead. A tall male with hair the colour of dark chocolate greeted them.

“How many please?” He asked with a smile and a bow.

“Table for two please.” Minho spoke. The waiter guided them in before moving back to the door to greet the guests that were behind them. It was only the beginning of lunch yet the café was already jam packed. They were incredibly lucky. Sunggyu looked around, taking in the aura of the café. His thoughts weren’t fast enough to process everything before Minho kicked his hyung’s leg, signalling for him to look at the menu.

“Right.” He muttered. The front of the menu had the word ‘Libera’ diagonally spread across the front in gold in a fancy font. Sunggyu was too occupied to notice the name before they came into the café so he made sure to remember it now that he’s got it. He opened the page, scanning through each and every dish. Without realising it, someone came up next to them in their usual waiter outfit, a black notebook and pen with them.

“Hello and welcome to Libera. What can I get for you today?” Sunggyu froze as the waiter finished speaking, the menu slipping out of his hand and falling onto the table. Minho kept his head down, not wanting to see how the next events were about to unfold. All he could feel, was regret.

Sunggyu looked up, slowly and carefully, not believing his ears. He eyes widened, significantly. A lump stuck in his throat as he managed to choke his way into saying the next word words.

“It’s you.”