"Please don’t leave.” Heechul begged, grabbing onto the other’s hand.

Hangeng shook away his grasp and glared at him, “Stop it, Heechul.” 

"But why? I--"

“You are wasting my time. All that you’ve done is create greater burdens.”   

“Hangeng…”

“Stay away from me.” 

“But--”

“Shut up!” He yelled in anger, before calming down a little, “Just stay out of my life.” He continued coldly, before walking away, ignoring the pleas and cries of the latter.

"Hangeng!" Heechul screamed again as he watched the figure slowly disappear into the trees.

"NO!"

He woke up covered in sweat, breathing heavily as he looked around in his dimly lit room before letting out a relieved sigh. 

“Just a dream.” He muttered, “Thank God it’s just a dream.” 

"Wait, why am I even mentioning God now?" He asked as the goofy smile on his face disappeared, only to reappear mere seconds later. He stood up after a few moments of simply dreaming about a certain someone and his handsome face and headed to the washroom to freshen up.

After all, he HAD to look presentable. 

Heechul headed down the stairs, whistling a tune as he turned to the guest room, and frowning when he saw an empty room. His heart starting beating a little faster, when he remembered- he had never told the other about his spare room.

“Aish, you idiot.” He whispered to himself, before walking to the kitchen, where he had expected Hangeng to be. "Look, I'm sorry I forgot to tell you I had a spare room, but--"

He looked around, scanning the room quickly, “Hangeng?” He asked, suddenly feeling somewhat nervous. 

"Hangeng?" He asked as he left the kitchen, heading to the living room. Who knew? Maybe Hangeng was in the bathroom? He didn't seem like the type to sleep in.

After checking through the only other washroom in his house, Heechul concluded that Hangeng wasn't in there.

"Where the hell IS he?!" Heechul grumbled frustratedly as he sat himself down on the sofa, running a hand through his red hair. "He said he'd stay!"

"But no, he decided he'd just ditch and run!"

"And he didn't even tell me!"

"Ugh irresponsible jerk!"

"He's so dead."

"I'm killing him the next time I see him."

"UGH WHERE IS HE?!"

"Why didn't he tell me?!"

"Unless..."

"Wait." Heechul suddenly stopped ranting, as his eyes grew wide. "Unless... No, they couldn't have caught him, could they?"

His mind flashed back to his meeting with the two hunters across the bridge. 

"No, no no." Heechul shook his head, trying to forget the horrible image being placed in his mind. "They couldn't have crossed over."

“No, don’t be stupid, they can’t cross over. Only hunteds can…”

His brows furrowed, “Only Hunteds can cross over. What if… No, it can’t be… right?”

By now, his heart was hammering out of his chest, and everything seemed to crash down on him.

Hangeng had left.

He was gone.

Possibly never coming back.

This couldn’t be happening, he thought, he promised. Why would he break the promise? 

For the first time in his life, Heechul felt lost, confused, and betrayed. He felt numb and his legs soon gave in, making him fall onto the ground.

Why did he feel so much pain towards one person?

He couldn’t even answer that himself.

But one thing was for sure, Heechul felt empty and lonely.

And of course, Heechul was pissed off.

Very much so.

"Stupid idiot. How could he just LEAVE?! He could've at least SAID something! Or even left a note! But nooo, he just left! Just like that! What's wrong with him?!" Heechul glared as he punched the nearest wall, trying to calm himself down. 

"Forget about him, I don't care anymore." Heechul seethed as he stormed over to the door, deciding to take a walk to calm himself down, all the while trying to ignore the voice in his head that served as a reminder of how he'd never be able to bring himself to forget Hangeng. "He can leave for all I care."

As he swung open the front door, Heechul was met with a bouquet of kinds of flowers, along with a little note.

I’m sorry…

Heechul snorted, “Like hell, you’re sorry.” He muttered bitterly, however continued to read the rest of the content.

I know you probably won't forgive me, and well, I guess I have no right to ask for it.

"No, you don't." Heechul smirked.

But the thing is, I had my reasons. I know you want to help me, but this is a battle I have to fight alone. You mean well, I get that. But I can't risk having someone else be put in danger because of me, especially if it’s someone as special to me as you. Call me selfish, but I can't deal with that. Once is already more than enough. And I don’t want to go through that torture anymore.

I really do like you Heechul, and if I had a choice, I would never leave you. Maybe in the future we’d meet again. But right now, I think it’s best if we parted like unlikely friends. I want to see you again, but at the same time, I know what's going to happen.

Maybe it was fated for me to say goodbye someday.

Maybe it was fated that we should never meet again.

Maybe it was fated for us to have even met.

But the only sure thing is, I'm glad it happened. This might sound cheesy but it's true. You're one of the only people I know who doesn't judge me for who I am, and I'm grateful for that. 

Till next time then.

If there ever is a next time.

I hope you'll like the flowers, I'll uphold that promise to replace the one I broke. I'll give you flowers, every time they wilt.

Goodbye Heechul, and thank you. 

-- Hangeng

Heechul glanced at the paper in his shaking hands as he leaned against the wall. He didn't know what to say, what to feel. He only had questions, questions left unanswered by the silence in the room.

Soooo (this is a very late update and I know it, forgive us we were busy XD) well, better late than never, right? So so sorry guys, sincere apologies to all who are still reading this fic! Hope you enjoyed the update! (It's hanchul, I think that's good enough to repay you guys XD)