The café was crowded, so they were all squeezed into a booth at the back, the sticky tabletop cluttered with drinks of various sizes and flavors. Kyungsoo was on one of the benches, squeezed between Jongin and Seoyun.

Across from them were Luhan, Sehun, and Yixing. Luhan had a notebook open in front of him, where he was making notes.

“I don’t see why we need to have a party planning meeting,” Yixing complained, slurping what was left of his caramel macchiato through his chewed up straw. “We have a birthday party for you losers every year. What makes this year so special?”

Sehun smacked him upside the head, making him choke on what he’d just drunk. “Because this is the first party we’ll be having at mine and Luhan’s apartment. That makes it special. Dummy.”

Seoyun giggled nervously. “I just hope that this party doesn’t devolve into an or something.”

Sehun waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. “Are you saying you want to have an with us, Seoyun? I mean, I don’t usually do girls, but, for you, I’d make an exception.”

Then it was Yixing’s turn to hit Sehun. “Hey, don’t go putting words in . She specifically said she didn’t want an .”

Luhan wrinkled his nose. “Can we please stop all the violence? We’re here to talk about the party, you know.”

Jongin slurped at his drink. “So talk already. What do you need all of us here for?”

They’d already been at the café for an hour, their drinks mostly gone, and they hadn’t gotten further than discussing what sort of snacks they should get because nobody besides Kyungsoo and Luhan could pay attention for more than a few minutes at a time.

They were still playfully bickering when Kyungsoo’s phone went off. He apologized profusely for disrupting the meeting while digging his phone out of his pocket – the booth was only made for four people so they really were quite squished. His tight jeans didn’t exactly help.

Eventually he extracted the phone and glanced at the caller ID. It was Junmyeon. “Hi hyung,” he answered cheerfully.

But Junmyeon cut him off. “Kyungsoo,” he said, and the grave note in his voice alerted Kyungsoo that something was wrong. “There’s been an accident.”

Kyungsoo felt his heart drop somewhere in the vicinity of his toes. “What? What’s happened?”

The others at the table noted how alarmed he suddenly was and they all fell silent, worried and curious.

“It’s Taemin,” Junmyeon said grimly. “He’s been in a car accident.”

Kyungsoo could barely make his voice work but he forced out, “Is he…?” He couldn’t say the word dead.

“He’s alive, but it’s not looking good,” Junmyeon muttered. “He was going to visit his parents for the weekend when his car was hit head on by an intoxicated driver. Taemin’s driver didn’t make it, but he was in the back seat so I guess maybe he was a little bit more protected. They’re not sure what’s going to happen. Apparently there was a lot of internal bleeding, so he’s in surgery now.”

Kyungsoo stood up without really realizing it. “What hospital is he at? I’m on my way now.”

“What the hell is going on?” Jongin demanded when Kyungsoo had hung up the phone. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s Taemin,” Kyungsoo muttered, willing himself not to cry right there in the café. “He’s been in a car accident. Things aren’t looking good…” He swallowed the thick lump in his throat. “I’m going to the hospital.”

“I’ve got my car,” Yixing offered as they all poured out of the booth, the frivolity of their meeting forgotten. “I’ll drive.”

“Y-you don’t have to come,” Kyungsoo said.

Seoyun gently took his hand. “Taemin is our friend too, Kyunggie,” she told him. “We want to be there.”

He forced a weak smile. “He’s at the hospital near Seonbi.”

“Then we’d better get a move on,” Yixing said grimly.

Yixing wasn’t parked all that far from the café, so the six of them piled in – another tight squeeze and probably not altogether legal – and headed for the hospital. It was a bit of a drive, so Kyungsoo was left with ample time to think and to imagine how horrible the situation could become.

Taemin had always been like a little brother to him, he thought miserably. Sure he could be annoying and bratty and immature sometimes, but Kyungsoo had always thought of him as a constant in his life. Kyungsoo had never had a friend die before. He wasn’t sure if he could deal with the emotions. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what Jinki or Minho were going through at the moment.

When they arrived at the hospital, Yixing parked his car in the garage and they all piled out, walking briskly towards an information desk to find out where Taemin was and if he was out of surgery yet. The uniformed nurse at the desk informed them that he was still in surgery, but she directed them to a waiting room near his assigned room.

That was where they found everyone else: Jinki and his parents, Minho, Junmyeon, Jonghyun and Kibum. Everyone looked as worried and distraught as Kyungsoo felt.

Junmyeon came over and wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo, his whole body trembling. “Thanks for coming,” he said. Then, lowering his voice, he added, “Things don’t look good. The doctors aren’t optimistic about him pulling through this surgery.”

The lump in Kyungsoo’s throat grew even bigger, so he had no words with which to answer Junmyeon.

Mrs. Lee came over. It was the first time Kyungsoo had ever seen her. Though he’d always heard everyone talk about her as though she cared more about appearances and politics than her children, she was clearly distressed. “You’re Kyungsoo?” she asked, surprising him.

He forced the words out with a great amount of difficulty. “Yes ma’am.”

What surprised him more was the way she pulled him in for a hug. “He always spoke so highly of you,” she said, her voice cracking. “He said you were a good friend to him. Thank you.”

“So what are the doctors saying?” Jongin asked in a low voice.

Kibum shook his head. “It’s pretty bad,” he said. “He broke his arm and his leg, but those are the easy injuries. He also shattered some ribs, which punctured several of his internal organs. One even pierced his heart. The doctors are doing everything they can, but they’re pretty much having to choose which of his vital organs to save.”

Kyungsoo felt a sort of numbness. “So there’s no chance, basically.”

“They didn’t say that,” Kibum argued, but it was so half-hearted that Kyungsoo could tell he didn’t really believe it.

Time ticked by. There was a television mounted in the corner of the room that was quietly playing some variety show, the staged laughter and annoying comedians adding a weird sort of surreal atmosphere. There was a vending machine in the corner and Mr. Lee kept buy snacks and drinks for everyone, but nobody really had the stomach for them.

Kyungsoo wasn’t really sure how long they were there, but eventually a nurse appeared in the doorway to update them.

Mrs. Lee leaped to her feet, her high heels forgotten beside her purse. “How is he?” she demanded, her voice choked. “What’s happening?”

“He’s as stable as can be expected,” the nurse assured them. “The doctors have patched the hole in his heart, but there’s so much stress on his body that they want to give him a little time to regain strength before they open him up again.”

At the news that her son was still alive, Mrs. Lee sank down heavily in her chair, a hand pressed over her heart.

“His lungs are very badly damaged and he can’t breathe on his own,” the nurse continued. “He’s on a ventilator for the time being, which is helping him breathe. The doctor is going to give it a few days to allow him to regain a little bit of strength, and then he’ll have another surgery to work on his lungs. He’s been unconscious since he came in, though, so we’re not sure the extent of brain injury, if any, he’s sustained. We’re going to monitor him closely, but there is a possibility that he will have suffered some serious brain trauma that, even if he survives the remaining surgeries, will affect him for the rest of his life.”

But he was alive, and that was all anyone cared about at the moment. Kyungsoo actually found himself crying as Junmyeon hugged him.  

I know, I know. You guys probably thought I died and then I come back with this crappy short chapter. I'm really sorry!

Things have been so, so hectic since I last posted. My job finished up and I moved houses. I had to have a quick little surgery that was ridiculously painful. Then I came back to America to get ready for the wedding, which is in 20 days. 

So, since I'm getting married in 20 days (OMGOMGOMG) I will most likely not post anything until after it (and the honeymoon). So please wait for me my lovelies and I'll be back soon I promise!