Fic: Family Arc II - 25B
Title: Family Arc II - 25B
Author: vic_sim
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot. I apologise for any incorrect portrayal of people or any inaccurate details mentioned in my story.
Pairing: None at the moment.
Category: Angst
Rating: NC-16 (just to be safe)
Summary: The visit to the paediatric ward.
Arc I Arc II
Sungmin walked down the corridor to the lift to wait for Eeteuk there. He needed to sort out his feelings. Sungmin still could not figure out why he had said that to Kyuhyun. He was disappointed, but not to the point that he felt that Kyuhyun was not committed enough to Super Junior. Sungmin knew how hard Kyuhyun had worked since joining Super Junior with his vocal training and dance training, especially since the incident that had scared all of them. Sungmin could not understand how he could have doubted Kyuhyun’s dedication towards them. He was so disappointed that he could not think straight. I’ll be just like his mother if I don’t do anything about it.
Sungmin knew that he had to apologise and he had to try; no he had to convince Kyuhyun that he did not mean it. Sungmin was so absorbed in his self-reproaching that he did not notice Eeteuk walking up towards him from the bench outside the doctor’s room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eeteuk sat on the chair, wondering about what he was going to do next with Kyuhyun. He had suspected - they all had - that Kyuhyun was seriously neglected at home. It was just that Eeteuk had not suspected that it began at such a young age. To learn that his parents divorced when he was seven was also startling. Hearing from the doctor about some of the things Kyuhyun did when he was younger made Eeteuk really mad at his parents and those who had bullied Kyuhyun.
It made Kyuhyun who he was today - a brilliant and polite singer who was totally in need of love from his family; someone who doubted his ability, who doubted his place with anyone, who was always cautious about others’ reaction which made him such an empathetic person, who did not place his trust in others, protecting himself at a distance from everyone.
Eeteuk wanted to rectify all that, he wanted Kyuhyun to know his own value, to know that he was appreciated and that he belonged. Eeteuk agreed with the doctor. It was time to make a move, instead of waiting for Kyuhyun to open up to them. That was their job as Kyuhyun’s hyungs. And they were going to do a brilliant job at it. Eeteuk stood up and nodded to himself. He needed to involve others in his plan and he would explain to everyone later tonight.
Eeteuk headed to the physiotherapy room to find Sungmin and Kyuhyun. Spotting Sungmin by the lifts, Eeteuk walked up to him.
“Minnie ah, what are you doing here?” Eeteuk asked when he was next to Sungmin.
When he received no answer, Eeteuk asked again, this time waving a hand across Sungmin’s face.
“Sungmin?”
“Huh?” Recognition appeared in Sungmin’s eyes. “Oh Eeteuk-hyung, you’re here.”
“What had you so absorbed in?”
“Nothing, I was just thinking. Oh, Kyuhyun asked us to bring these gifts to the paediatric ward to give out to the children there.”
Sungmin quickly denied anything, instead turning the attention to the gifts in the bag.
Eeteuk didn’t look like he believed Sungmin but let it go for the moment.
“Paediatric ward? How did Kyu know the children there?”
Sungmin shook his head. “I don’t know. He just told me to bring them there and wait for him there.”
Eeteuk nodded. “Let’s go then.”
Eeteuk and Sungmin entered the lift. Arriving at the paediatric ward, Eeteuk approached one of the nurses.
“Excuse me Miss.”
The nurse paused from her game with a child.
“Yes? How can I help you?”
“Erm, we have a bag of gifts here that our friend asked us to give to the children.”
“Friend?”
“Yes, his name is Kyuhyun. Cho Kyuhyun. Do you know him?”
“Oh, Kyuhyun-sshi. I know him.” The nurse’s eyes lit up with recognition at Kyuhyun’s name.
“May I ask how you know him?”
“Kyuhyun-sshi visited the children often during his stay in the hospital. He played with the children and sang for them. They all loved him. He really brightened up the kids’ stay at the hospital. Hold down for a moment while I gather the children.”
Eeteuk and Sungmin nodded.
“Children, listen up. These two nice hyungs here have brought you presents. Can you guess who they’re from?”
The children all looked up from their respective spots. The nurses who were playing with the children did as well.
“Kyu-hyung gave them to you.”
“Kyu-hyung?”
Immediately, almost all the children rushed towards Eeteuk and Sungmin, almost creating a stampede. Only a few children remained behind not understanding what the whole excitement was about. Eeteuk and Sungmin had no clue what to do when they saw all the children rushing towards them. The nurse stood in front of the two, raising her hand.
“Hold on, let the hyungs give them out to you okay?”
The kids halted in front of them, listening to the nurse. Eeteuk shook himself and bent down. Sungmin followed.
“Hi. I’m Eeteuk. You are?”
That simple sentence began the enjoyable afternoon for the two in the hospital. The children lifted their spirits, causing them to push their worries to the back of their minds. Eeteuk was just upset for not knowing what Kyuhyun did at the hospital.
Soon, Eeteuk and Sungmin were in the middle of a circle which was made up by the children, singing and dancing, thoroughly entertaining the children. That was the scene Kyuhyun and Kibum saw when they entered the room. The nurse spotted the two and was about to exclaim when Kyuhyun indicated to her to stay quiet. The nurse nodded, letting the two through. Kibum tried to sneak towards the back of Eeteuk, wanting to surprise him but they were two conspicuous. The children spotted both of them straight away. Or rather, they spotted Kyuhyun.
“Kyu-hyung!”
The exclamation caused the two performers to stop in their actions. The children surrounded Kyuhyun in a split second, each babbling about the days they had and the presents they had received from him. Kyuhyun smiled at all of them, trying his best to keep his balance with everyone fighting to hug his legs and trying to figure out exactly what each of them was saying. Luckily, Kibum was there to act as a pole for Kyuhyun to grab hold of. He was not very stable in the first place since the accident and coupled with fatigue from his physiotherapy session, Kyuhyun struggled to keep his balance. Kibum placed a hand around Kyuhyun’s waist, supporting some of his weight.
“Okay kids, move away from your Kyu-hyung. Give him some space.” Eeteuk spoke up from his position seeing how Kyuhyun wobbled with the kids around his legs.
The children nodded, all taking a couple of steps back and sitting down on the floor. Kyuhyun sent an appreciative look at Eeteuk before turning back to the children. There were a couple of new faces, but mostly old ones.
“So how have you all been?”
That question ignited a loud conversation as they all fought for Kyuhyun’s attention.
“One by one. One by one. I can’t hear all of you at the same time.” Kyuhyun laughed a little as he spoke, calming the children down.
As the three watch Kyuhyun interact with the kids from the chair, all found a side of Kyuhyun they had never known about. Being such a quiet person when he was with them, Kyuhyun did not strike any of them as being good with children. But surprisingly, Kyuhyun handled the kids very well, even if Kyuhyun still did not speak much. Kibum was glad to see the smile on Kyuhyun’s face, knowing that the children held special spots in Kyuhyun’s heart.
“Where’s Jyung Yi-sshi?” Kyuhyun asked spotting a missing person who was not mentioned by the rest.
The children immediately fell silent. A cold shiver went through Kyuhyun.
“Kyuhyun-sshi…” Kyuhyun turned to the nurse.
“Kyuhyun-sshi, Jyung Yi-sshi is in the isolation ward.”
Isolation ward?
Kyuhyun turned back to the children.
“I’m going to visit Jyung Yi-sshi now. I have a gift for him. I’ll come and visit you all again another day. Be good. And I’ll bring more hyungs next time to play with you.” Kyuhyun said, standing up with a little help from Kibum.
The children nodded.
The atmosphere was a little subdued as the children all knew that Jyung Yi was most likely not coming back.
Kyuhyun knew that something truly bad had occurred to Jyung Yi. They waved farewell to the children as they walked out with the nurse. Outside the ward, Kyuhyun turned back to the nurse. The nurse, knowing what Kyuhyun wanted, spoke.
“His leukaemia came back. This time even harder than before. The prospect of a recovery is not looking very good now. Maybe you could visit him. It’ll definitely brighten his day.”
Kyuhyun nodded, his face scrunched with worry. The nurse bowed at them before taking her leave.
The four headed to the isolation ward to see the child. There were two people standing outside the glass, staring into the room. The man had his arms around the woman, who was sniffling a little.
“Erm, sir? I’m Cho Kyuhyun. Is it possible for me to visit your son?”
The man looked up at Kyuhyun’s question, wondering what relation Kyuhyun had with his son.
“Cho Kyuhyun?”
The woman too turned to Kyuhyun when she heard her husband repeat the name.
“Are you the Kyu-hyung that my son talks about?”
Kyuhyun nodded.
“May I see him?”
The two looked at each other, torn. One part of them wanted to let their son see the hyung he had been talking about for the past month. But another part of them was not willing to expose the young man in front of them to the despair that they had felt when they saw their son lying so pale and sickly on the bed. The mother could sense that the young man - or young boy to her - in front of her was dealing with a lot of problems himself. One could call it a motherly instinct, but something about Kyuhyun simply screamed ‘Protect me!’ to the mother. But the love for her child won out instead. She wanted to let her son have his wish of seeing his hyung again. She knew that her son was dying, and she wanted her son to go peacefully without regrets. She nodded at Kyuhyun’s request, who shot a grateful look to her.
The four walked towards the door and entered the room. A nurse stopped them, telling that only one of them could enter the isolation ward at a time and that the one entering had to suit up. Kyuhyun nodded and went to suit up. The rest did not say anything even though they wanted someone to accompany Kyuhyun into the room. It had took a while for them to reach the isolation ward as Kyuhyun was tired from the physiotherapy session and his legs were not going to hold his weight for much longer. The three stood from the nurse’s station and watched as Kyuhyun walked slowly to the bed.
Kyuhyun took a seat on the chair next to the bed.
“Jyung Yi ah, guess who’s here?”
The little boy, who was giving the blanket a fight of who was whiter, turned towards Kyuhyun.
“It’s me, Kyuhyun.”
A smile lit up the boy’s face.
“You’ve came Kyu-hyung. Do you know that I’ve been waiting for you to come?”
Kyuhyun nodded. “I’m sorry it took me so long to come. Here I have something for you as an apology.”
Kyuhyun kept his smile despite being shocked by Jyung Yi’s appearance. He took out the toy car from his bag and handed it to Jyung Yi. The boy was so weak that he was unable to support the weight of the car. Kyuhyun wrapped the boy’s hands around the car, helping him support it.
“It’s the car I saw on the magazine that day. Kyu-hyung, you didn’t forget about it.”
Kyuhyun shook his head at that.
“But I won’t be able to play with it for long.”
“Don’t say that. You’ll recover soon and be back with the rest. Then you’ll be able to play with the car.”
“Kyu-hyung, I’m eleven, not four. I know what is happening. I know I’m going to die soon. There’s no need to bluff me.” Jyung Yi said matter-of-factly to Kyuhyun.
Kyuhyun didn’t know what to say to that, except hold the hands even tighter.
“Umma says that when people die, they’ll go to heaven. And there are angels up there. Umma says that the angels are all very beautiful and kind. Kyu-hyung, have you seen any? Do you think they’ll be kind to me as well?”
Jyung Yi turned the subject, not allowing Kyuhyun to dwell much on his death.
“Have I seen angels?” Kyuhyun asked, wanting some time to compose himself at an eleven-year-old kid’s question.
Jyung Yi nodded, looking expectantly at Kyuhyun.
“I’ve seen angels. They come in all shapes and sizes, and many different personalities as well. Some are brilliant at cooking, while others are like children always mischievous and throwing pranks. There are those who act like Ummas and Appas and others like Oppas. But they all have one thing in common. And that is, they are all very kind and caring.”
“Do you know any?”
Kyuhyun nodded.
“I do. I know twelve of them. In fact, there are three standing outside right now. See?”
Kyuhyun pointed to the glass where Eeteuk, Sungmin and Kibum were standing at.
“Wave to them, Jyung Yi.”
With Kyuhyun’s help, Jyung Yi was able to wave to the three, getting a wave back from them as well.
“Are they really angels, Kyu-hyung?”
“They are my angels.” Kyuhyun truly believed that his hyungs were heaven-sent gifts to him.
Jyung Yi turned back to Kyuhyun with twinkling eyes.
“They are really pretty and handsome.”
Kyuhyun smiled at Jyung Yi.
“Do you think I’ll see kind angels in heaven?” Jyung Yi repeated his unanswered question.
Kyuhyun was puzzled. He did not see the significance of the question.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because I’m bad.”
“Bad?”
Kyuhyun didn’t get it.
“Because I’m going to leave my Appa and Umma behind. That makes me bad ‘cos they would not have people to take care of them next time. ‘Cos I’m leaving them behind for a new life.”
Kyuhyun felt tears forming in his eyes. It was such a mature and yet innocent thought that simply screamed at Kyuhyun that Jyung Yi was just an eleven-year-old child whose life was tragically shortened by cancer. He took the toy car from Jyung Yi’s hands, placing it on the table. He held on to Jyung Yi’s hands again, rubbing them together.
“They will be kind to you. Because you’re leaving for a new life not because you chose to, not because you wanted to. But because your life is simply taken away from you. They will be kind because they know how much you care for your Appa and Umma, because they know that you don’t want to leave them. And they will be kind to you, if not, Kyu-hyung will go up there personally to make sure they do.”
Kyuhyun’s tears fell silently as he spoke, his voice hitching at times. He smiled a little at the end, trying to inject some humour, but failing terribly. Jyung Yi smiled at Kyuhyun’s words.
“Kyu-hyung, don’t cry. Angels aren’t supposed to cry. Umma says that it’ll rain when an angel cries. I don’t like rain. So don’t cry. Kyu-hyung, you’re not allowed to go up there to do that. You’re to stay here. Although I say you’re an angel, you don’t belong there. You belong to your twelve angels who are down here with you. You don’t belong to me. I’ll find my own angels when I’m in heaven.”
Jyung Yi spoke with innocence and wisdom that he should not possess. It only made Kyuhyun cry even harder.
“Thank you Kyu-hyung for coming. I’m a little tired now. Could you send my parents in? I want to see them one last time.”
Kyuhyun wanted to say no, he wanted Jyung Yi to continue fighting that one more bit. But no words came to his mouth. Kyuhyun turned to the glass, waving to Jyung Yi’s parents to come in. The two immediately rushed to suit up. Jyung Yi had his eyes closed while facing the door. Kyuhyun watched as tears continued to flow. Eeteuk, Sungmin and Kibum looked on from outside, all wishing that they could be inside with Kyuhyun right now. They all saw the little child’s strength as he had not cried a single moment since Kyuhyun entered, a smile permanently on his face, despite the fact that death was staring at his face. As the parents rushed in, Kyuhyun stood up from his seat, backing away from the two parents. Kyuhyun could not stand watching the scene and heading out of the room.
Eeteuk and Sungmin helped him to take off the cap, gown and mask as Kyuhyun leaned a little on Kibum. They were about to leave the room when the mother screamed. Kyuhyun spun back, losing his balance but was caught by Sungmin’s quick reflexes. They saw the mother screaming hysterically at her son while the father tried to shake his son awake. Kyuhyun knew as the doctor arrived that Jyung Yi had succumbed to leukaemia. Kyuhyun gave no notice of the tears that flowed relentlessly down his face. Eeteuk, Sungmin and Kibum all had tears in their eyes.
By the time the doctor announced the time of death, the parents had calmed down. They had already accepted the knowledge that their son was dying and that it was a miracle that he had held on for so long. As they left the room, silently supporting each other, Eeteuk, Sungmin, Kibum and Kyuhyun bowed, offering their condolences.
Kyuhyun was not really in shock as he anticipated it from Jyung Yi’s words. But the death was still shocking, considering he had just spoken with the child.
“Thank you for visiting him. He’s been waiting for your visit. And I was almost afraid that he could not hold on till he met you again.”
The father thanked Kyuhyun for not letting his son leave with regrets.
Kyuhyun shook his head. His visit was not worth that much.
Eeteuk saw Kyuhyun’s pale face which was a combination of the physiotherapy and the shock of Jyung Yi’s death in addition to something that happened between Kyuhyun, Sungmin and Kibum. It was time for them to head home. They bid their farewell to Jyung Yi’s parents, Kyuhyun with tears still falling.
Kyuhyun leaned heavily on Kibum as his energy was sapped from the emotionally draining farewell with Jyung Yi. Sungmin walked on the other side of Kyuhyun, helping Kibum support Kyuhyun. Eeteuk bowed again to the parents and turned to leave.
“Wait.”
The mother’s voice stopped him.
“Please take care of Kyuhyun-sshi. I can tell that he’s been through a lot. He’s special to my son. Thus he’s special to us. Please help us take care of him for Jyung Yi.”
Eeteuk nodded, bowing once again. As he turned to follow the three, Eeteuk wiped the tears away from his face. Tears were for another day. Today he needed to be strong to support Kyuhyun. Eeteuk easily caught up with rest.
They headed for the taxi stand which luckily had no queue. They boarded the taxi and headed home. On the taxi, all three kept shooting Kyuhyun concerned looks as the tears did not seem to stop, but Kyuhyun was not making any noise.
“He asked me if the angels in heaven would be kind to him.” Kyuhyun suddenly spoke, causing all three to focus more intently on him.
“I said that they would be kind to him, if not, I’ll go up there personally to make sure that they are.”
The words shocked the rest. Is he…?
“He told me that angels aren’t supposed to cry. That his mother told him that it’ll rain when an angel cries. That he doesn’t like rain. So I shouldn’t cry.”
Kyuhyun paused a little as he reached up to wipe away the tears, which continued to fall non-stop.
“He told me that I’m not allowed to go up there to help him. That I don’t belong there. That I don’t belong to him.”
Kibum was about to say something when Kyuhyun continued.
“He said that I belong to my twelve angels who are with me.”
Kyuhyun turned to the window.
The car was silent, except for the sound of water beating down on the car.
It was raining.
Hi, I'm sorry for my late post after four days of absence. I present to you chapter 25 in two parts, as lj doesnt let me post in one again. hmph. It's the longest chapter I've written to date about 6500+ words long. I hope that you don't feel that I've rushed through the chapter as quite a few things have occurred in this chapter.
I've prepared some boxes of tissue if anyone needs any. Oh and my conclusion from the mini poll I did for the next chapter is that the father will be staging a comeback to my fic. Although not any time soon.
To music_loner: thank you for posting that fic that inspired me this afternoon as i was typing my chapter. I know that I've already said that in my comment, but I just wanted to thank you again.
To all my readers, sorry for not being able to name all of you right now being 3.58am my brain is officially dead,. Thank you for waiting patiently for me to post the next chapter and not abandon me at least i hope that none had. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. To those who are looking for Hankyung, he will be back in the next chapter. i know there are a few people out there waiting for hankyung to appear again.
Author: vic_sim
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot. I apologise for any incorrect portrayal of people or any inaccurate details mentioned in my story.
Pairing: None at the moment.
Category: Angst
Rating: NC-16 (just to be safe)
Summary: The visit to the paediatric ward.
Arc I Arc II
Sungmin walked down the corridor to the lift to wait for Eeteuk there. He needed to sort out his feelings. Sungmin still could not figure out why he had said that to Kyuhyun. He was disappointed, but not to the point that he felt that Kyuhyun was not committed enough to Super Junior. Sungmin knew how hard Kyuhyun had worked since joining Super Junior with his vocal training and dance training, especially since the incident that had scared all of them. Sungmin could not understand how he could have doubted Kyuhyun’s dedication towards them. He was so disappointed that he could not think straight. I’ll be just like his mother if I don’t do anything about it.
Sungmin knew that he had to apologise and he had to try; no he had to convince Kyuhyun that he did not mean it. Sungmin was so absorbed in his self-reproaching that he did not notice Eeteuk walking up towards him from the bench outside the doctor’s room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eeteuk sat on the chair, wondering about what he was going to do next with Kyuhyun. He had suspected - they all had - that Kyuhyun was seriously neglected at home. It was just that Eeteuk had not suspected that it began at such a young age. To learn that his parents divorced when he was seven was also startling. Hearing from the doctor about some of the things Kyuhyun did when he was younger made Eeteuk really mad at his parents and those who had bullied Kyuhyun.
It made Kyuhyun who he was today - a brilliant and polite singer who was totally in need of love from his family; someone who doubted his ability, who doubted his place with anyone, who was always cautious about others’ reaction which made him such an empathetic person, who did not place his trust in others, protecting himself at a distance from everyone.
Eeteuk wanted to rectify all that, he wanted Kyuhyun to know his own value, to know that he was appreciated and that he belonged. Eeteuk agreed with the doctor. It was time to make a move, instead of waiting for Kyuhyun to open up to them. That was their job as Kyuhyun’s hyungs. And they were going to do a brilliant job at it. Eeteuk stood up and nodded to himself. He needed to involve others in his plan and he would explain to everyone later tonight.
Eeteuk headed to the physiotherapy room to find Sungmin and Kyuhyun. Spotting Sungmin by the lifts, Eeteuk walked up to him.
“Minnie ah, what are you doing here?” Eeteuk asked when he was next to Sungmin.
When he received no answer, Eeteuk asked again, this time waving a hand across Sungmin’s face.
“Sungmin?”
“Huh?” Recognition appeared in Sungmin’s eyes. “Oh Eeteuk-hyung, you’re here.”
“What had you so absorbed in?”
“Nothing, I was just thinking. Oh, Kyuhyun asked us to bring these gifts to the paediatric ward to give out to the children there.”
Sungmin quickly denied anything, instead turning the attention to the gifts in the bag.
Eeteuk didn’t look like he believed Sungmin but let it go for the moment.
“Paediatric ward? How did Kyu know the children there?”
Sungmin shook his head. “I don’t know. He just told me to bring them there and wait for him there.”
Eeteuk nodded. “Let’s go then.”
Eeteuk and Sungmin entered the lift. Arriving at the paediatric ward, Eeteuk approached one of the nurses.
“Excuse me Miss.”
The nurse paused from her game with a child.
“Yes? How can I help you?”
“Erm, we have a bag of gifts here that our friend asked us to give to the children.”
“Friend?”
“Yes, his name is Kyuhyun. Cho Kyuhyun. Do you know him?”
“Oh, Kyuhyun-sshi. I know him.” The nurse’s eyes lit up with recognition at Kyuhyun’s name.
“May I ask how you know him?”
“Kyuhyun-sshi visited the children often during his stay in the hospital. He played with the children and sang for them. They all loved him. He really brightened up the kids’ stay at the hospital. Hold down for a moment while I gather the children.”
Eeteuk and Sungmin nodded.
“Children, listen up. These two nice hyungs here have brought you presents. Can you guess who they’re from?”
The children all looked up from their respective spots. The nurses who were playing with the children did as well.
“Kyu-hyung gave them to you.”
“Kyu-hyung?”
Immediately, almost all the children rushed towards Eeteuk and Sungmin, almost creating a stampede. Only a few children remained behind not understanding what the whole excitement was about. Eeteuk and Sungmin had no clue what to do when they saw all the children rushing towards them. The nurse stood in front of the two, raising her hand.
“Hold on, let the hyungs give them out to you okay?”
The kids halted in front of them, listening to the nurse. Eeteuk shook himself and bent down. Sungmin followed.
“Hi. I’m Eeteuk. You are?”
That simple sentence began the enjoyable afternoon for the two in the hospital. The children lifted their spirits, causing them to push their worries to the back of their minds. Eeteuk was just upset for not knowing what Kyuhyun did at the hospital.
Soon, Eeteuk and Sungmin were in the middle of a circle which was made up by the children, singing and dancing, thoroughly entertaining the children. That was the scene Kyuhyun and Kibum saw when they entered the room. The nurse spotted the two and was about to exclaim when Kyuhyun indicated to her to stay quiet. The nurse nodded, letting the two through. Kibum tried to sneak towards the back of Eeteuk, wanting to surprise him but they were two conspicuous. The children spotted both of them straight away. Or rather, they spotted Kyuhyun.
“Kyu-hyung!”
The exclamation caused the two performers to stop in their actions. The children surrounded Kyuhyun in a split second, each babbling about the days they had and the presents they had received from him. Kyuhyun smiled at all of them, trying his best to keep his balance with everyone fighting to hug his legs and trying to figure out exactly what each of them was saying. Luckily, Kibum was there to act as a pole for Kyuhyun to grab hold of. He was not very stable in the first place since the accident and coupled with fatigue from his physiotherapy session, Kyuhyun struggled to keep his balance. Kibum placed a hand around Kyuhyun’s waist, supporting some of his weight.
“Okay kids, move away from your Kyu-hyung. Give him some space.” Eeteuk spoke up from his position seeing how Kyuhyun wobbled with the kids around his legs.
The children nodded, all taking a couple of steps back and sitting down on the floor. Kyuhyun sent an appreciative look at Eeteuk before turning back to the children. There were a couple of new faces, but mostly old ones.
“So how have you all been?”
That question ignited a loud conversation as they all fought for Kyuhyun’s attention.
“One by one. One by one. I can’t hear all of you at the same time.” Kyuhyun laughed a little as he spoke, calming the children down.
As the three watch Kyuhyun interact with the kids from the chair, all found a side of Kyuhyun they had never known about. Being such a quiet person when he was with them, Kyuhyun did not strike any of them as being good with children. But surprisingly, Kyuhyun handled the kids very well, even if Kyuhyun still did not speak much. Kibum was glad to see the smile on Kyuhyun’s face, knowing that the children held special spots in Kyuhyun’s heart.
“Where’s Jyung Yi-sshi?” Kyuhyun asked spotting a missing person who was not mentioned by the rest.
The children immediately fell silent. A cold shiver went through Kyuhyun.
“Kyuhyun-sshi…” Kyuhyun turned to the nurse.
“Kyuhyun-sshi, Jyung Yi-sshi is in the isolation ward.”
Isolation ward?
Kyuhyun turned back to the children.
“I’m going to visit Jyung Yi-sshi now. I have a gift for him. I’ll come and visit you all again another day. Be good. And I’ll bring more hyungs next time to play with you.” Kyuhyun said, standing up with a little help from Kibum.
The children nodded.
The atmosphere was a little subdued as the children all knew that Jyung Yi was most likely not coming back.
Kyuhyun knew that something truly bad had occurred to Jyung Yi. They waved farewell to the children as they walked out with the nurse. Outside the ward, Kyuhyun turned back to the nurse. The nurse, knowing what Kyuhyun wanted, spoke.
“His leukaemia came back. This time even harder than before. The prospect of a recovery is not looking very good now. Maybe you could visit him. It’ll definitely brighten his day.”
Kyuhyun nodded, his face scrunched with worry. The nurse bowed at them before taking her leave.
The four headed to the isolation ward to see the child. There were two people standing outside the glass, staring into the room. The man had his arms around the woman, who was sniffling a little.
“Erm, sir? I’m Cho Kyuhyun. Is it possible for me to visit your son?”
The man looked up at Kyuhyun’s question, wondering what relation Kyuhyun had with his son.
“Cho Kyuhyun?”
The woman too turned to Kyuhyun when she heard her husband repeat the name.
“Are you the Kyu-hyung that my son talks about?”
Kyuhyun nodded.
“May I see him?”
The two looked at each other, torn. One part of them wanted to let their son see the hyung he had been talking about for the past month. But another part of them was not willing to expose the young man in front of them to the despair that they had felt when they saw their son lying so pale and sickly on the bed. The mother could sense that the young man - or young boy to her - in front of her was dealing with a lot of problems himself. One could call it a motherly instinct, but something about Kyuhyun simply screamed ‘Protect me!’ to the mother. But the love for her child won out instead. She wanted to let her son have his wish of seeing his hyung again. She knew that her son was dying, and she wanted her son to go peacefully without regrets. She nodded at Kyuhyun’s request, who shot a grateful look to her.
The four walked towards the door and entered the room. A nurse stopped them, telling that only one of them could enter the isolation ward at a time and that the one entering had to suit up. Kyuhyun nodded and went to suit up. The rest did not say anything even though they wanted someone to accompany Kyuhyun into the room. It had took a while for them to reach the isolation ward as Kyuhyun was tired from the physiotherapy session and his legs were not going to hold his weight for much longer. The three stood from the nurse’s station and watched as Kyuhyun walked slowly to the bed.
Kyuhyun took a seat on the chair next to the bed.
“Jyung Yi ah, guess who’s here?”
The little boy, who was giving the blanket a fight of who was whiter, turned towards Kyuhyun.
“It’s me, Kyuhyun.”
A smile lit up the boy’s face.
“You’ve came Kyu-hyung. Do you know that I’ve been waiting for you to come?”
Kyuhyun nodded. “I’m sorry it took me so long to come. Here I have something for you as an apology.”
Kyuhyun kept his smile despite being shocked by Jyung Yi’s appearance. He took out the toy car from his bag and handed it to Jyung Yi. The boy was so weak that he was unable to support the weight of the car. Kyuhyun wrapped the boy’s hands around the car, helping him support it.
“It’s the car I saw on the magazine that day. Kyu-hyung, you didn’t forget about it.”
Kyuhyun shook his head at that.
“But I won’t be able to play with it for long.”
“Don’t say that. You’ll recover soon and be back with the rest. Then you’ll be able to play with the car.”
“Kyu-hyung, I’m eleven, not four. I know what is happening. I know I’m going to die soon. There’s no need to bluff me.” Jyung Yi said matter-of-factly to Kyuhyun.
Kyuhyun didn’t know what to say to that, except hold the hands even tighter.
“Umma says that when people die, they’ll go to heaven. And there are angels up there. Umma says that the angels are all very beautiful and kind. Kyu-hyung, have you seen any? Do you think they’ll be kind to me as well?”
Jyung Yi turned the subject, not allowing Kyuhyun to dwell much on his death.
“Have I seen angels?” Kyuhyun asked, wanting some time to compose himself at an eleven-year-old kid’s question.
Jyung Yi nodded, looking expectantly at Kyuhyun.
“I’ve seen angels. They come in all shapes and sizes, and many different personalities as well. Some are brilliant at cooking, while others are like children always mischievous and throwing pranks. There are those who act like Ummas and Appas and others like Oppas. But they all have one thing in common. And that is, they are all very kind and caring.”
“Do you know any?”
Kyuhyun nodded.
“I do. I know twelve of them. In fact, there are three standing outside right now. See?”
Kyuhyun pointed to the glass where Eeteuk, Sungmin and Kibum were standing at.
“Wave to them, Jyung Yi.”
With Kyuhyun’s help, Jyung Yi was able to wave to the three, getting a wave back from them as well.
“Are they really angels, Kyu-hyung?”
“They are my angels.” Kyuhyun truly believed that his hyungs were heaven-sent gifts to him.
Jyung Yi turned back to Kyuhyun with twinkling eyes.
“They are really pretty and handsome.”
Kyuhyun smiled at Jyung Yi.
“Do you think I’ll see kind angels in heaven?” Jyung Yi repeated his unanswered question.
Kyuhyun was puzzled. He did not see the significance of the question.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because I’m bad.”
“Bad?”
Kyuhyun didn’t get it.
“Because I’m going to leave my Appa and Umma behind. That makes me bad ‘cos they would not have people to take care of them next time. ‘Cos I’m leaving them behind for a new life.”
Kyuhyun felt tears forming in his eyes. It was such a mature and yet innocent thought that simply screamed at Kyuhyun that Jyung Yi was just an eleven-year-old child whose life was tragically shortened by cancer. He took the toy car from Jyung Yi’s hands, placing it on the table. He held on to Jyung Yi’s hands again, rubbing them together.
“They will be kind to you. Because you’re leaving for a new life not because you chose to, not because you wanted to. But because your life is simply taken away from you. They will be kind because they know how much you care for your Appa and Umma, because they know that you don’t want to leave them. And they will be kind to you, if not, Kyu-hyung will go up there personally to make sure they do.”
Kyuhyun’s tears fell silently as he spoke, his voice hitching at times. He smiled a little at the end, trying to inject some humour, but failing terribly. Jyung Yi smiled at Kyuhyun’s words.
“Kyu-hyung, don’t cry. Angels aren’t supposed to cry. Umma says that it’ll rain when an angel cries. I don’t like rain. So don’t cry. Kyu-hyung, you’re not allowed to go up there to do that. You’re to stay here. Although I say you’re an angel, you don’t belong there. You belong to your twelve angels who are down here with you. You don’t belong to me. I’ll find my own angels when I’m in heaven.”
Jyung Yi spoke with innocence and wisdom that he should not possess. It only made Kyuhyun cry even harder.
“Thank you Kyu-hyung for coming. I’m a little tired now. Could you send my parents in? I want to see them one last time.”
Kyuhyun wanted to say no, he wanted Jyung Yi to continue fighting that one more bit. But no words came to his mouth. Kyuhyun turned to the glass, waving to Jyung Yi’s parents to come in. The two immediately rushed to suit up. Jyung Yi had his eyes closed while facing the door. Kyuhyun watched as tears continued to flow. Eeteuk, Sungmin and Kibum looked on from outside, all wishing that they could be inside with Kyuhyun right now. They all saw the little child’s strength as he had not cried a single moment since Kyuhyun entered, a smile permanently on his face, despite the fact that death was staring at his face. As the parents rushed in, Kyuhyun stood up from his seat, backing away from the two parents. Kyuhyun could not stand watching the scene and heading out of the room.
Eeteuk and Sungmin helped him to take off the cap, gown and mask as Kyuhyun leaned a little on Kibum. They were about to leave the room when the mother screamed. Kyuhyun spun back, losing his balance but was caught by Sungmin’s quick reflexes. They saw the mother screaming hysterically at her son while the father tried to shake his son awake. Kyuhyun knew as the doctor arrived that Jyung Yi had succumbed to leukaemia. Kyuhyun gave no notice of the tears that flowed relentlessly down his face. Eeteuk, Sungmin and Kibum all had tears in their eyes.
By the time the doctor announced the time of death, the parents had calmed down. They had already accepted the knowledge that their son was dying and that it was a miracle that he had held on for so long. As they left the room, silently supporting each other, Eeteuk, Sungmin, Kibum and Kyuhyun bowed, offering their condolences.
Kyuhyun was not really in shock as he anticipated it from Jyung Yi’s words. But the death was still shocking, considering he had just spoken with the child.
“Thank you for visiting him. He’s been waiting for your visit. And I was almost afraid that he could not hold on till he met you again.”
The father thanked Kyuhyun for not letting his son leave with regrets.
Kyuhyun shook his head. His visit was not worth that much.
Eeteuk saw Kyuhyun’s pale face which was a combination of the physiotherapy and the shock of Jyung Yi’s death in addition to something that happened between Kyuhyun, Sungmin and Kibum. It was time for them to head home. They bid their farewell to Jyung Yi’s parents, Kyuhyun with tears still falling.
Kyuhyun leaned heavily on Kibum as his energy was sapped from the emotionally draining farewell with Jyung Yi. Sungmin walked on the other side of Kyuhyun, helping Kibum support Kyuhyun. Eeteuk bowed again to the parents and turned to leave.
“Wait.”
The mother’s voice stopped him.
“Please take care of Kyuhyun-sshi. I can tell that he’s been through a lot. He’s special to my son. Thus he’s special to us. Please help us take care of him for Jyung Yi.”
Eeteuk nodded, bowing once again. As he turned to follow the three, Eeteuk wiped the tears away from his face. Tears were for another day. Today he needed to be strong to support Kyuhyun. Eeteuk easily caught up with rest.
They headed for the taxi stand which luckily had no queue. They boarded the taxi and headed home. On the taxi, all three kept shooting Kyuhyun concerned looks as the tears did not seem to stop, but Kyuhyun was not making any noise.
“He asked me if the angels in heaven would be kind to him.” Kyuhyun suddenly spoke, causing all three to focus more intently on him.
“I said that they would be kind to him, if not, I’ll go up there personally to make sure that they are.”
The words shocked the rest. Is he…?
“He told me that angels aren’t supposed to cry. That his mother told him that it’ll rain when an angel cries. That he doesn’t like rain. So I shouldn’t cry.”
Kyuhyun paused a little as he reached up to wipe away the tears, which continued to fall non-stop.
“He told me that I’m not allowed to go up there to help him. That I don’t belong there. That I don’t belong to him.”
Kibum was about to say something when Kyuhyun continued.
“He said that I belong to my twelve angels who are with me.”
Kyuhyun turned to the window.
The car was silent, except for the sound of water beating down on the car.
It was raining.
Hi, I'm sorry for my late post after four days of absence. I present to you chapter 25 in two parts, as lj doesnt let me post in one again. hmph. It's the longest chapter I've written to date about 6500+ words long. I hope that you don't feel that I've rushed through the chapter as quite a few things have occurred in this chapter.
I've prepared some boxes of tissue if anyone needs any. Oh and my conclusion from the mini poll I did for the next chapter is that the father will be staging a comeback to my fic. Although not any time soon.
To music_loner: thank you for posting that fic that inspired me this afternoon as i was typing my chapter. I know that I've already said that in my comment, but I just wanted to thank you again.
To all my readers, sorry for not being able to name all of you right now being 3.58am my brain is officially dead,. Thank you for waiting patiently for me to post the next chapter and not abandon me at least i hope that none had. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. To those who are looking for Hankyung, he will be back in the next chapter. i know there are a few people out there waiting for hankyung to appear again.