After school when she went back to the hospital, Luhan was there again. This time back at the placard where she'd first seen him.

 

"Ward number 91." He spoke emotionlessly as she approached him. She didn't inquire into it because she knew he'd offer an explanation. "They turned off the life support...she's the fourth...in my time here."

 

That was a lot considering this was a wing for people who had bought out hospital wards. They were rich so life support wasn't turned off unless doctors were convinced the patient wouldn't wake.

 

Jaehee didn't respond but she meekly poked her head in the direction of ward 91, noticing the muffled crying from people who were carrying out belongings from the room. She shook her head, not wanting to think about her ever being in that situation. Chanyeol would wake up. The promise ring on her finger was enough evidence to attest to it.

 

She spun the ring on her finger and stared at the placard. She really hated it.

 

Luhan finally turned to her, "I'm heading out to grab some food. I can't stand this hospital food, no idea how Nam stomachs it. Can I get you anything?"

 

Jaehee chuckled at how similar they were before shaking her head, not wanting to trouble the boy. She found it hard enough to accept kind gestures from people she knew, let alone strangers. He smiled before heading back the way she had just come. Jaehee headed off to Chanyeol's room, placing her bag down before starting with the decorations she had bought.

 

Finally satisfied with the result, she pulled out a cake that she had tailored to read 'Happy 4 and a half year anniversary' and placed it on the wheelie table, pushing it so that it was in front of him. The cake was red velvet. That had always been his favourite and she had made it herself just as he'd always insisted. Jaehee wasn't the best chef in the world, in Kyungsoo's words 'she cooked like a caveman', but Chanyeol refused to accept any cake she hadn't baked herself. It was odd how he only needed one bite to determine if she had or not.

 

She stared at the cake and then towards her comatose boyfriend.

 

"Baby," She called, her voice shaky from emotion, "Happy anniversary. I know you always liked to celebrate half years so...since you can't make a fuss this year I thought I'd do it for you." She took out a small butterknife and placed his limp hand under hers to cut the cake.

 

She hadn't realised tears were streaming down her face until felt them roll off of her chin. Quickly putting the knife down on the table, Jaehee stepped back to palm her wet face.

 

God I miss you.

 

When she turned, she finally noticed Luhan and Nam who were standing at the door. She felt her cheeks flame in embarrassment but Luhan cheekily held up a take away bag and a box of pizza.

 

 

 

 

 

"So its been 4 and a half years huh?" Luhan asked, placing another piece of pizza on her plate.

 

The three of them were all in Chanyeol's large ward, Nam playing on Chanyeol's old remote control car that Baekhyun had brought in case he woke up and decided he was bored.

 

Jaehee watched the boy wistfully before turning to Luhan and nodding.

 

"Well I'm glad Nam insisted we came to see you then. Celebrating alone is never as fun."

 

She had to admit that she agreed. Chanyeol would have been happy that other people were celebrating their relationship. He'd always loved bragging to other about it.

 

"How long has it been for you and Lavender?" Jaehee asked, mostly out of politeness but she had to admit she was curious too. They had to have been together for quite a while if he was still waiting on her after a year.

 

"6 years." He revealed.

 

"How old are you?" Jaehee suddenly asked. He didn't look older than herself so 6 years was quite an accomplishment. She'd started dating Chanyeol when she was 13 which was rather young. She couldn't imagine Luhan dating at any younger.

 

"I'm 19. Why? How old did you think I was?" He laughed, noticing her suspended jaw.

 

She formed a perfect 'o' of comprehension, "I don't know. Does that mean you're in university?"

 

"Yeah, Hyung studied in Korea but he's from China. He was in university at China but he came back all the way here because my Noona was sick." Nam stated in his usual loud voice, finally deciding to join the table so that he could get some pizza.

 

Luhan grew red with embarrassment but Jaehee couldn't help but stare at him in awe. He'd sacrificed so much for her. She looked over at Chanyeol who was still as always. She was so selfish. She walked over to the bed, lacing her fingers through his and brushing her lips over his knuckles. I'm sorry Chanyeol. I'll do better, I promise.

 

When she turned back, still seated on the bed with Chanyeol's hand in hers, Luhan was staring at her. "Nam made the story sound so much more dramatic than it was. Basically I met Lav when I was studying here on exchange. We hit it off and you know. I had to head back to Beijing for university but when...well...yeah, I requested for a transfer to Seoul university so I could be near her and help out her mother and this runt." He kicked his foot in Nam's direction playfully and the boy latched onto it, having a wrestle with his foot.

 

She nodded understandingly. It was still rather dramatic and inspiring.

 

"That's nice of you. Does she not have a father?"

 

"Died young. What about your boyfriend? I don't think I've seen any adults around."

 

Jaehee frowned but made good not to get offended by that comment. She wasn't a chid but it didn't matter what he thought.

 

"His mother died young and his father is...well, career-focused." She worded nicely. She didn't dislike Chanyeol's father, in fact he had a personality that she rather liked. It was just his priorities that flawed him. He was very much career focused and although he had a company to run, she still wished he'd have come to visit Chanyeol more often than once a month.

 

Luhan frowned as if the thought wasn't foreign to him. She assumed he had a similar background. It kind of made her feel bad. Her had parents that were always around and yet she rarely saw them because she was always at the hospital. Chanyeol used to remind her it was a blessing and that she should be grateful for it but she just didn't find the need to depend on her parents. He had called it the 'middle child syndrome'.

 

After eating majority of the cake together, Luhan and Nam headed back to their rooms, leaving Jaehee with Chanyeol. She looked at his distilled body, frowning at how serene he looked. It was an odd image on the usually hyperactive Chanyeol. She had never seen him so quiet.

 

Jaehee sighed, carefully moving some of his wires to the other so she could squeeze herself into the crook of his arm. She was always ensured she wasn't lying on him as she used to do, just as a precaution and simply curled into the gap between his arm and ribs. It was a habit she'd developed to cope with the longing. He smelt good. Sometimes she was glad that Chanyeol's father could afford to keep him in hospital where nurses had the duty of changing, bathing and cleaning up after him. She felt guilty because she couldn't do that much for him but at the same time she knew he'd never be able to face her if he found out she had. She placed a soft kiss against his bicep, feeling the tears fall from her eyes once more as she slept.

 

 

 

 

 

"I heard the nightmares have disappeared." Baekhyun smiled, helping Jaehee ease out of her position without hurting Chanyeol.

 

She stretched her limbs that had struggled through the night from her curling in such an uncomfortable way to squeeze onto his bed.  She nodded numbly to Baekhyun. He didn't often visit in the mornings so it was an odd surprise.

 

Jaehee had asked for him to stop at her house before they headed to her school. She really wanted to take a shower even though she had taken one yesterday after school. She'd always been someone who'd showered twice, sometimes thrice, on a daily basis so it was hard to get used to showering once a day.

 

When she was ready the two headed to school. As soon as they'd walked through the gates she'd known that the ballots had been counted because everyone was alight with excitement. She in a breath and approached the twins who both sported matching grins.

 

"Don't tell me..."

 

"You're captain!" Mihye beamed, not noticing the way Jaehee's face had fallen. She hadn't wanted this. Mihye was also the captain of her team but Jaehee couldn't find it in her to be excited. Monday just wouldn't be the same without Chanyeol not there to cheer her on.

 

Jaehee pushed away from the girls to check the notice herself. She felt her shoulders sag when the sight confirmed her name in thick letters. Mihye was the grey team leader and the white was a girl by the name of Jinri. Her eyes skimmed over to the boys section. She almost laughed when she noted they were all Chanyeol's friends. The students at this school could be so blinded by looks at times. Kai was representing grey, Suho was representing white and surprisingly, Baekhyun was representing black. She could have sworn Sehun would have won. Behind Chanyeol, Jaehee secretly thought he was the next best looking.

 

"Looks like we're going to have to lead the cheer off." Baekhyun sighed from beside her. Jaehee smiled slightly. She knew what he was thinking about because she shared the thought. Chanyeol would have been amazing with at the cheer off.

 

She grinned and placed a hand on his shoulder. Sometimes she forgot that she wasn't the only one grieving. "We should do our best then in his absence."

 

He stared at her for a moment before grinning back, "Yeah."

 

 

 

Jaehee was rather pleased that the weekend had come. School had become such a chore and it felt good to be able sleep in with out an alarm.

 

Baekhyun had decided to stay the night so after a brief visit to see her boyfriend, she headed home. It was weird to be at home and that disappointed her. She didn't like the fact that she was getting used to the hospital.

 

Her parents were glad to see her but she could tell they hadn't been the same around her ever since the accident. She knew it was her fault because they were disappointed she had chosen Chanyeol over them but she couldn't do anything about it. In the end he was the one lying helplessly in a hospital bed. She knew there would be complications with Chanyeol's state and after hearing Luhan's story, she felt the motivation to get through it.

 

Jaehee woke up bright and early the following day excited to see Chanyeol and even Luhan and Nam. She hadn't seen them since the 4 and a half year celebration.

 

Baekhyun left almost as soon as she arrived. It made her chuckle. Chanyeol used to tell her stories of how Baekhyun hated sleeping anywhere except his room. It was rather touching to see him sacrifice that for his best friend. It made her wish she had a friend like that but her best friend had always been Chanyeol as well-even before they had become an item.

 

Jaehee grinned down at her boyfriend, planting a kiss against his cheek before taking down the anniversary decorations she had been too tired to take down before. She had thought about leaving them up but decided that it wouldn't make it as special then.

 

"Need help?"

 

She didn't have to turn around to know that it was Luhan. He had an easily distinguishable voice- not as much as Chanyeol- but still distinguishable.  Luhan didn't wait for the response and stood at the other end of the banner, helping to detach it.

 

They managed to finish the job double pace together.

 

"Well I need to go to the shops so I'll see you later?"

 

Jaehee was about to agree when a sudden thought swept over her. She looked over to Chanyeol for some encouragement, "Is it alright if I come?"

 

Luhan tilted his head as if he were trying to read her then nodded, "Sure."

 

 

 

 

Jaehee smiled, feeling the wind blow against her face. She couldn't remember the last time she had headed out like this. The only times she headed to the shops was when she needed food and even then she'd often just not bother. Chanyeol hadn't been the only one who'd lost weight.

 

Luhan stopped in front of a flower shop and looked at her before nudging his chin towards the shop. Jaehee understood the gesture and stepped into the shop. There was so many beautiful flowers. The shop wasn't too far from the hospital so she could only imagine the profit they'd make. Luhan had headed to the desk, waiting for them to prepare his lavenders so Jaehee took the liberty of wandering around the store.

 

She had never bought flowers for anyone before. It suddenly occurred to her. She'd received flowers from Chanyeol on numerous occasions and although it was only natural as a girl to not buy flowers for anyone, Jaehee felt the sudden urge to do so.

 

She walked past the rows of flowers, pausing as she reached the roses. They had always been her favourite. They were so simple and romantic. Before she could get too deep in the memories she quickly jolted forward towards the sunflowers. They were so bright and alive. Just looking at them made her smile. She pulled out a ready-wrapped bunch and headed to the desk.

 

Luhan had just paid for the lavenders when he noticed her.

 

"Sunflowers?" He arched a brow questioningly.

 

"They remind me of him." She murmured with a shy smile.

 

Luhan moved aside, gesturing for her to go ahead and she knew he didn't think it was weird at all. She appreciated that.

 

 

 

Jaehee had run back to the hospital ahead of Luhan, excited to show her boyfriend what she'd got for him. Unfortunately, Kai, Baekhyun and Sehun had been waiting too and they didn't bother hiding their amusement. Sehun and Kai were in knots from laughter but Baekhyun managed to bite his tongue, not wanting to embarrass her. It was kind of fruitless, considering the fact that she was mortified.

 

"What's so odd about buying someone you love flowers?" Luhan smirked.

 

Jaehee spun around, finally noticing his presence.

 

The three boys straightened, losing their amusement at the sight of the stranger. Jaehee headed to Chanyeol's bed, setting the flowers in a vase she'd nicked from the front desk.

 

"These are our friends, Baekhyun, Sehun and Kai." She explained, pointing to them respectively, "and this is Luhan."

 

The boys stared at Luhan suspiciously but he didn't seem fazed by it.

 

"My girlfriend's in ward 85." He grinned as an obvious relief swept over the boys. It was clear they were concerned about Luhan hitting on her.

 

"Nice to meet you and our condolences for your girlfriend." Kai murmured.

 

Jaehee exchanged a secret look of amusement with Luhan. They had just been discussing how annoying it was when people offered condolences. They weren't dead. Luhan shrugged it off and tapped the lavenders, "Well you know where I'll be." He chuckled, disappearing into the doorway.

 

Jaehee jumped, immediately feeling 3 pairs of eyes zero in on her. "What?" She squeaked, sitting beside Chanyeol. She always went to him for protection- even now when he was paralysed and unable to move.

 

"So how'd you meet this...Luhan?" Kai smirked, leaning in towards her.

 

Jaehee lightly smacked his face backwards, "I'm here for majority of my day. Wouldn't it be weirder if I hadn't seen other visitors?"

 

"And we've never seen him before?"  Sehun continued, following Kai's actions.

 

Jaehee rolled her eyes, "He's down the corridor. See him whenever."

 

Baekhyun chuckled as the three youngest got into a lame banter, turning to his best friend before looking over at Jaehee. Chanyeol give me a sign. I don't know if I should push for her to wait for you or...is it time for her to move on?