~Third Chorus~

Luhan had never thought that he would ever willingly and voluntarily step foot into a hospital, especially not after what had happened after the car accident. And yet, here he was, his footsteps echoing down the hall as he followed a rather friendly male nurse down to the private rooms.

The only reason he had taken this step was because of Minseok. After the progress he had shown with his fear of ghosts, the smaller had suggested that he go volunteer at a hospital.

"I know that you don't like hospitals, Lu, and I know that you'll likely be surrounded by other ghosts but you've come so far. Wouldn't it be a good idea to see how you handle it now? You need to be okay in hospitals, just in case something happens." He had said, and Luhan hadn't found any way to disagree with him.

So after some pouting and whining about not wanting to, he had eventually relented and agreed to do some voluntary work at the hospital. Originally he had thought that he would have been doing some cleaning or other such menial tasks. But when he had reached the front desk and gone through all of the paperwork needed, he had been ushered away where he had met the nurse he was now following down the hall.

All he knew about him was that he was called Kyungsoo and he had the largest eyes he had ever seen. Even larger than Minseok's when he was startled. The nurse seemed to have this almost constant deer in the headlights look and it had taken him a lot of effort not to about it. He was sure that the nurse got that a lot, and it would be rather unfair for someone he had only just met to start on the teasing too. And besides... Kyungsoo seemed like a nice guy.

"We don't get patients like him often." The nurse explained, leading Luhan round a corner and down another hall. "His situation is rare yet so very sad. We don't usually need volunteers to keep patients company but that is what we need you to do for this particular patient."

"Why? Doesn't he have any family?" Luhan asked, picking up his pace so he wouldn't fall behind.

The nurse simply shook his head, giving Luhan a small yet sad smile over his shoulder. "No. He's completely alone. I've been pretty much his only company since he was admitted here. So I know he'll appreciate you taking the time to help him through these last few stages... Nobody wants to die alone after all."

Wait, what? He was there to sit with someone and keep them company while their life came to an end? That was not what he had signed up for. Luhan suddenly understood why Kyungsoo had said that this case was so rare. But it was too late to back out now. And truthfully... he knew that he needed to do this. It was the right thing to do.

"W-What is he dying of?" He asked, curiosity taking over him. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to know but he couldn't help but ask.

Thankfully though, Kyungsoo paused outside of the room he had been aiming for and after turning to face Luhan he had given him a small sad smile. "This is the cancer ward, Luhan... He... He opted not to have another round of chemotherapy and instead has chosen to make himself comfortable."

So, the patient he was going to be sitting with had chosen to give up, and let his life come to an end? "W-Why?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Why has he stopped fighting?"

Kyungsoo simply smiled at him in understanding, reaching up to place a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure he'll explain that to you." He nodded before indicating the door with a tilt of his head. "Shall we go in then?"

"Wait... How... How long until he..." Luhan began to ask, trailing off as an invisible lump got caught in his throat. He didn't even know the gentleman's name, let alone him as a person, yet he was already feeling choked up and heavy about his impending passing. Oh this was definitely going to be a lot harder than he had initially thought.

"It's hard to say. Time is something that we can't answer for definite. But he's still surprisingly strong all things considering, so I'd say a few months at minimum if not more."

Well that was just perfect. That would give him more than enough time to get attached to the patient, only to watch him die before his very eyes. Of course he could try not to get close to him, try to keep his distance, but Luhan knew that that was something he wouldn't be able to do. Especially not now with the person he had come to be. This was going to be so emotionally trying.

Luhan closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath to steady himself. "Okay." He nodded, opening his eyes to give the nurse the go ahead to open the door. "Let's go in."

---

Kim Joonmyun was an elderly gentleman with a kind smile and tired eyes. Just by looking at him, Luhan had known that he had been through a lot, and that wasn't including the cancer that plagued his body. He had wrinkle lines that showed world weariness, though he also had an aura of relaxation, like he was at peace with what was currently happening to him.

He gazed at Luhan like a father would his son, and it took everything within Luhan not to bolt from the room and refuse to do this. He was a volunteer, he could pull out at any time right? But he wouldn't. He couldn't leave this man to die alone with only a nurse for company. So he stayed.

After introductions had been made, Luhan giving the elderly man a timid smile and he returning a more relaxed one of his own, Kyungsoo had ran some checks on the gentleman's body before excusing himself. And so Luhan was left alone in the room with the patient, his body on edge and him just feeling so incredibly awkward.

"So, Mr Kim..." He started, almost desperate to break the silence between them.

"Please... call me Joonmyun. Mr Kim makes me feel old." The other replied, his smile still spread across his face as he looked upon Luhan kindly. His voice was rich and smooth, though with the tell tale crinkle of age. "I may be old in body but I'm certainly not in mind."

This encouraged an amused and much more relaxed chuckle to fall from Luhan's lips, and he nodded softly to show his understanding. "Okay, Joonmyun then... I'm Luhan, and I'll be helping you and keeping you company for a while."

"Ah..." The elderly man nodded, his tone somewhat insightful. "Kyungsoo's reinforcement." There was a playful twinkle in his aged eyes that caused Luhan to chuckle again before he replied.

"I guess you could put it that way."

"Well, I'm glad to see you then." The older male replied, his expression softening. "Not for my sake, but for his. Kyungsoo is a sweet kid, and he shouldn't have to look after me on his own. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful."

Kid? From the brief time Luhan had spent with the nurse he knew that the other was not a kid. The way the nurse carried himself was that of someone even older than he himself was. And if he had had to guess, he would have estimated Kyungsoo's age to be in his early forties. But then he had to remember... Joonmyun was much older than even Kyungsoo so everybody would seem like a kid to him.

"He is very dedicated. He seems to care about you a lot, sir." Luhan smiled.

"He's been my only company for a long time. He's more like my dear friend now, rather than my care-giver." Joonmyun explained, his expression turning affectionate for a moment. "So I'm glad to see that he's going to have some help."

"Well, I'll try to be the best help that I can be, to both you and Kyungsoo." Luhan nodded, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.

The elderly man hummed, his frail hand patting one of Luhan's. "I'm sure you'll do a fantastic job. You've got the build and frame for it."

Luhan couldn't help but laugh softly as he shook his head. "I'm no nurse, Mr Kim. So I really doubt that I would be any good at it at all. I'm a dancer though."

"Ah, that would have been my second guess. And I told you... call me Joonmyun."

"Sorry sir." Luhan said, ducking his head as a sheepish smile spread across his face. He found that his hand was patted again and he looked up to find Joonmyun directing a warm and affectionate gaze at him.

"Joonmyun." He repeated, before pulling his hand back to rest across his chest as he settled back into the bed. "Now Luhan... why don't you tell me some more about this dancing business that you do?"

---

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Luhan asked, making his way towards Joonmyun's hospital room once more. Minseok was following along behind him and was the one who Luhan had been speaking to before.

"It will be fine." Minseok said, reassuring him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "As long as you remember not to talk to me. You're the only one who can see me after all, aside from other ghosts anyway."

"Yeah, and I really don't want to be seen as insane, not here." Luhan sighed, running a hand through his hair before he glanced back at the ghost, worry shining in his eyes.

Minseok gave him a gentle smile, trying to reassure him once again. "You won't be. As long as you don't talk to me when others are around."

Nodding gently, Luhan returned Minseok's smile with a small unsure one of his own. He really wasn't sure if the ghost coming with him was such a good idea. He was still real to him after all, and after talking to him normally for so long, it was almost habit now. But he would have to make a conscious effort not to. He really didn't want to have to answer any incredibly awkward questions about who he was talking to. Though ignoring his boyfriend's presence was going to be hard.

Once they reached the door, he glanced back at Minseok once more before he knocked gently and eased the door open. Stepping in he immediately saw the elderly gentleman led out weakly in the bed as Kyungsoo scurried about him, hooking a nutrients bag onto the IV stand. Ah... he wasn't having a good day then. Good thing it was a volunteering day. Luhan could distract him from how horrible he felt, and he had even brought along some crossword puzzles for them to do. Joonmyun had mentioned about how he had enjoyed doing them before during one of their talks so Luhan had immediately gone out and bought some for him.

As soon as the old man had spotted Luhan he had given a warm though pain-filled smile. "Ah, there he is." He said, his voice tired yet full of the affection that was mirrored in his eyes. "I wasn't sure if you were coming today."

"Of course I was. I promised you didn't I?" Luhan replied, smiling warmly at the patient as he walked over to the chair he had come to know as his own and set his backpack down next to it. "And I never break my promises."

"It is also one of his scheduled volunteering days, so he has no choice." Kyungsoo piped up from the other side of the bed. His hands double checking that the bag was in place before he continued to flit around the man in bed, tucking him in and making sure he was comfortable.

"Hey, I still would have come today even if I wasn't scheduled, Kyungsoo." Luhan replied, poking his tongue out at the nurse in a childish manner. He heard an amused chuckling from behind him, meaning that Minseok was watching the whole exchange.

"Now, now, children. No need to fight." Joonmyun said, playfully scolding them with a small smile on his lips.

Luhan knew that he didn't really mind their banter. He had let slip that it actually made him feel like he was surrounded by family, which was something that they had been aiming for. And the smile that Kyungsoo directed at him, proved that he knew that too.

"Anyway..." Luhan continued, taking his seat and leaning down to his bag. "I brought some crossword puzzles for us to work on. I thought it would be fun for us to solve them together." He commented, rummaging around in his backpack before he finally found the book he had been looking for. Straightening back up he placed it into the old man's hand and watched as his smile turned affectionate.

"How thoughtful." Joonmyun smiled, reaching out to pat Luhan's own hand gently. "Such a good boy. You remind me so much of my son at times... though taller. My boy wasn't known for his height."

"You have a son, Mr Kim?"

"Joonmyun." The older man scolded, playfully swatting at Luhan who managed to duck away with a laugh. "And I had a son. He died a long time ago."

"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't know." Luhan replied, beginning to blush a little in embarrassment. He had just completely put his foot in it. And Minseok had been there to witness the whole thing. He could feel the ghost lurking around behind him, his hand occasionally squeezing his shoulder to let him know that he was there.

"Well of course you didn't. I hadn't told you yet and I trust Kyungsoo not to talk about me behind my back." The elderly man chuckled, before having to grab onto the nurse's hand as a harsh round of coughs wracked his body. It took around a minute for the coughs to die down and once they did he gave everyone in the room an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay, Hyung. We know you can't help it." Kyungsoo said, smiling softly as he set about re-making the patient comfortable.

The elderly gentleman nodded softly before humming in thought. "Anyway, where was I... Ah yes, my son. He was a good boy. Kind, caring... He made me so incredibly proud. And I still am proud of him, even though he's been gone from this earth for a long time now."

Minseok stirred from behind him, the sound of his shuffling only audible to Luhan's ears and he had to restrain himself from turning to check on him. He couldn't make any indication towards him, not with the other two in the room. He just had to trust that he was okay. "I'm really sorry for your loss, Joonmyun." He said instead, giving the patient a gentle sympathetic smile.

"It's okay. It happened so long ago that I've more than come to terms with his death now. I mean I still miss him every day, and I often wonder just what he would look and be like nowadays if he was still alive. But I've accepted the fact that he's not here." Joonmyun said, a rasp of age and weariness in his voice, though he still remained smiling. That was something that Luhan had come to know as a Joonmyun trait. His ability to always smile and be at ease.

Kyungsoo was humming quietly to himself, letting the other two talk as he began to busy himself updating the patient's notes. Luhan glanced at him in amusement before he continued to speak, focusing on Joonmyun once more. "Well if he was anything like you then he would have been a very handsome man."

"Thank you for the compliment, Luhan." The elderly man smiled before he shook his head softly. "But he didn't look like me at all. He took after his mother in the look's department. Though I'm not sure he really liked that, growing up."

An amused smile spread over Luhan's lips as he chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "No young boy likes to be told that they look feminine. I still get told that even now and I object strongly to it." He admitted, hearing another chuckle from behind him courtesy of Minseok and noticing Kyungsoo nodding his head in agreement.

"Well you are a very pretty young man, Luhan." Joonmyun said, a playful glint in his eye and an almost cheeky smile dancing across his lips.

Luhan simply flushed in embarrassment, puffing his cheeks out with air in disagreement as his lips formed a petulant pout. "I am not." He disagreed, shaking his head childishly again before he decided that maybe changing the subject was the best idea. Otherwise he had a feeling that he would be the main topic of teasing for a while. So clearing his throat, he shuffled in his seat before continuing in a rather obvious and loud voice. "So how about those crossword puzzles..."

---

It was hard for Luhan, watching Joonmyun steadily getting worse. Every time he entered his hospital room the elderly man looked one step closer to death. He slowly lost his colour, his skin becoming sickly pale, almost translucent. His face was becoming gaunt, and there was deep bags under his eyes. He had never had any hair, the after effects of the chemotherapy he had been through before, but Luhan had never noticed that until the rest of his body began to degrade. It was just so sad to see such a strong and lovable man slowly begin to wither away before his eyes.

He didn't want to think about it, but Luhan knew that the other's end wasn't that far off now. It was clear in the way that Joonmyun sometimes struggled to breath properly, often having to rely on the machines to pump oxygen into his nose. It was clear in the way that he didn't eat any more, he only got the nutrients and things needed for his body through an IV line. It was clear in the way that he was sleeping a lot more, causing Luhan to sit and read silently by his bedside often during his visits. It was clear in the way that his eyes seemed to be saying goodbye to everyone around him every time he looked at them.

And just as he had expected, Luhan didn't want to say goodbye to him, not yet. He was only 76, there was still plenty of years left ahead for him to live. But Joonmyun had made his choice and had decided that it was time. And though he didn't personally agree, it was the elderly man's decision to make.

Sitting next to his bed, Luhan was silently reading the book he had brought with him, Minseok reading over his shoulder. He had told him not to do that many times before but the ghost had always argued that he got bored otherwise and since Luhan couldn't risk talking to him, he had to allow him to read over his shoulder instead.

Occasionally Luhan would glance up to check on the sleeping patient before returning his attention to his book. He had just turned another page when a scratchy quiet voice reached his ears.

"What are you reading?"

Luhan's head shot up quickly, his eyes locking onto Joonmyun's tired ones. He gave him a warm smile, marking his page and lifting the book so the older man could see the cover. "It's a fantasy book. I love being able to lose myself to other worlds with other races and magic and dragons and stuff." He admitted, his smile turning somewhat sheepish.

"Everyone likes to escape from reality sometimes." The elderly man smiled, shuffling in the bed slightly so he could look over at Luhan easier. "Is it good?"

The younger nodded, slipping the book back into his bag. "Yeah. I'm really enjoying it. The language isn't the most eloquent, but that just makes it easy to read. I've already got the next one in the series ready to start once I've finished this one."

"No harm in being prepared." Joonmyun agreed, his smile becoming tinged with affection.

"My thoughts exactly." Luhan chuckled, before his own smile softened, worry beginning to seep into his expression. "How are you feeling?"

The old man shuffled in the bed again, a grimace of pain spreading over his features for a moment before he settled. "Oh, just dandy. In fact I'm right as rain! I might as well get up out of this bed and leave the hospital!"

Luhan couldn't help but roll his eyes slightly as he smiled at the other in amusement. "Joonmyun..." He said, his voice playfully scolding.

"I know, I know. I shouldn't joke about this. Sorry." He apologised. "Truthfully, I don't feel any better at all. I'm just so... tired."

"Do you want me to go find Kyungsoo?"

Joonmyun just shook his head in answer, his usual, though now slowly dimming, smile back on his lips. "No, it's okay. There's nothing he can do for me anyway."

The younger nodded softly, leaning back into his chair. He had moved forward, ready to stand, when he had made the offer before but since there was no need he just settled back into his original position. "So..." He started, chewing on his lip unsurely for a moment before continuing. "You said last time that you had ended up raising your son on your own?"

He wasn't sure that bringing up what he was sure was a sore subject with the dying man was really a good idea. But after the things that Joonmyun had told him already, his curiosity had grown until he couldn't help himself but to ask the elderly gentleman questions. And the other had answered every single one, no matter how inappropriate they might have been in his current situation, or how painful the subjects were.

Even this time, though his expression became sad, Joonmyun nodded, folding his hands across his stomach as he exhaled a quiet sigh. "Yes, that's right. His mother left when he was barely old enough to walk."

Chewing his lip, Luhan mentally debated with himself again before he found the words slipping past his lips. "What... happened? If you don't mind me asking. Did she die?"

"No." The elderly man said, shaking his head softly. "No, she didn't die. She just realised that she didn't love me as much as I loved her. She never really wanted to be a mother either, so... she left. She said it was so me and our son could move on and live a happy life without her, free of lies and resentment. Which we did, and I tried to always make sure that my boy never hated his mother."

Luhan nodded softly in understanding again, chewing his lip silently as he listened. "But what about you?"

"I never hated her either. Even if she did end up breaking my heart." The old man looked so small and sad. The image alone was heart breaking to Luhan, let alone the words coming out of Joonmyun's mouth. "She was the love of my life. And though I don't regret loving her... I do regret not being enough for her."

"If you don't mind me saying so, sir... It's her loss." Luhan said, shaking his head as he shrugged softly. Joonmyun was such a lovely guy and he couldn't quite understand how his ex-partner could just walk out on him like that. Especially since they had a son together too. Was that bond worth nothing? True, his own relationship with his parents wasn't the strongest, but he still loved them enough to check in with them frequently. So for a mother to walk out on her son and never speak to him again... It didn't make any sense.

The elderly gentleman chuckled gently, barely an exhale of air more than anything. His ability to laugh properly had all been wiped away with his troublesome breathing. Yet Joonmyun still managed to express his amusement in his own way. "Thank you for saying so, but it's okay. It happened a very long time ago and I've had more than enough time to accept it. I might not have moved on from her, but I accept what happened."

Shaking his head softly again, Luhan sighed gently before he gave the patient a warm smile. "You're a good man, Joonmyun."

The older male simply shook his head too, his own warm smile spreading across his aged lips. "No. I'm just a man."

Luhan let out a quiet laugh as he leant back against the back of his chair. He felt Minseok's hand come to land on his shoulder and he smiled softly at the familiar squeeze. "I have to disagree. You are kind, humble, warm, loving, caring... You must be a saint or something, Joonmyun."

"I'm certainly not a saint... but my son did used to call me a Guardian Angel."