"They said- the doctor said I can leave next week," came the soft but warm voice from inside the room.

"That's good, Hyungwonnie," a smooth voice responded. "You've done such a great job."

"Do you really think so?"

"I know so, hyung. I'm proud of you."

"You are?"

"I am." The creaking of a chair as someone stood up. "I have to go now, hyung, but I'll see you when you get out next week, okay?"

"Do you have to go so soon?" Hyungwon's voice turned thin and needy.

"I'm sorry, hyung, I do. But I'll see you next week, okay?"

"Okay." A pause. "Thank you for coming to see me."

"Of course."

The door marked 119W, Chae Hyungwon opened, and a thin figure stepped out, shutting the door softly behind himself before turning to find five pairs of eyes on him.

"We're...Hyungwon's friends," Changkyun said, stepping forward and nodding his head forward respectfully. "We were hoping that we could visit him."

The boy stared at them with unreadable eyes. He was similar to Hyungwon in many ways; like the other boy, he had a tall, lanky frame, and he seemed to possess a quiet, contemplative demeanor. "Chae Kyungwon," he responded after a moment. "Hyungwon is my older brother."

Changkyun gave a tight smile. "It's nice to meet you, Kyungwon-ah."

Kyungwon stared at Changkyun for a long moment. "You're Changkyun, yes?"

Changkyun blinked, somewhat startled. "I- yes, I'm Changkyun."

Kyungwon slowly turned to scan the others, imprinting their faces into his memory. "And you must be Jooheon," he addressed next. "Hoseok. Minhyuk. Shownu."

They all nodded, surprised.

"He talks about you all sometimes," Kyungwon said, but as before, his face showed little to no expression. "And another one. Kihyun. But he's not here, is here?"

Changkyun swallowed, unsure as to how much Kyungwon knew, and he decided to play it safe by diverting the topic. "How is Hyungwon doing?"

Kyungwon thought for a second before shrugging. "I'm sure you understand why it can be hard to tell."

"He said he was being released next week though, right? That's a good sign, isn't it?"

Kyungwon stared at Changkyun for a long time before nodding slowly. "Maybe you think of it that way."

Changkyun hesitated, unsure exactly how to approach this cold stranger. "Um, well...can we see him? We've tried visiting earlier, but they said his room was only accessible to family until now, so-"

"You're the one who admitted him, right?" Kyungwon interrupted, and Changkyun stopped speaking, somewhat shocked.

"I- yes, yes, I...I asked that they accept him into their program," Changkyun admitted slowly before he felt the need to justify his actions. "He wasn't doing well, Kyungwon. We weren't able to help him. He just kept getting worse, and...we just didn't have any other options."

Kyungwon was quiet for a bit. "You know, our parents still think he's at the other institution. They still send a check every month."

Changkyun opened his mouth but had no response.

"Are you the one paying for him to be here?" Kyungwon asked directly, and Changkyun paused before nodding.

"Yes, we all pitch in and-"

"You can stop doing that."

Changkyun tensed, standing up a bit taller. "Kyungwon, please, you might not understand, but Hyungwon really does need help that only trained medical staff can-"

"I didn't say I was having him removed. I'll pay for his treatment. I'm his blood," Kyungwon said.

Changkyun thought briefly of the blood that tied them all together but said nothing of it. "All right. Thank you, Kyungwon."

Kyungwon nodded before shifting slightly, and Changkyun sensed that the conversation was almost over. "His visiting hours are over for today. I'm afraid you can't see him."

"Oh," Changkyun responded, trying to mask his disappointment from Kyungwon, who gave no reaction.

"You should come next week," Kyungwon suggested instead. "10:00 AM. His visiting hours end at noon. That should be enough time, yes?"

Changkyun hesitated before nodding. "Yes, that's- thank you, Kyungwon."

"I haven't done anything," Kyungwon said, looking down, and for the first time in the conversation, Changkyun wondered if he was speaking of something else, something more. But then he looked up with his emotionless eyes and nodded at them before turning and walking down the hallway, even, measured steps, not too fast, not too slow. Changkyun sensed that Kyungwon knew they were watching him but that he didn't care either way.

When at last he disappeared, Changkyun turned to the others behind him who had remained quiet. "One more week. One more week until we get to see Hyungwon again."

***

9:45 AM the following week, the five of them lined the hallway once more, waiting for Kyungwon to appear.

At 9:58, said boy approached, strolling down the hallway with familiarity only earned with time and repetition. It was clear to Changkyun that the boy made weekly visits, but given his somewhat cold demeanor, Changkyun couldn't exactly figure out why.

Kyungwon stopped in front of Changkyun and stared at him for a moment before nodding and, without addressing them, moving to the door. He opened it softly and entered the room, leaving it open behind him, and Changkyun hesitated before following, the others entering behind him. Shownu was last, but he hesitated at the threshold, nodded respectfully toward Changkyun, and closed the door, choosing to remain outside.

Changkyun thought he knew why, but he'd been hoping that Shownu would have forgiven himself by this point. It had been several months since Hyungwon had been admitted into the new institution, and he'd thought that Shownu coming at all had been a sign. He'd been wrong.

Changkyun turned his head to look back at the room's sole occupant only to find that he'd been looking at Changkyun.

A smile spread across Hyungwon's face, small at first, but growing bit by bit until his eyes crinkled and his face was lit up. "You came," Hyungwon said before looking at the others. His smile faded slightly. "But where's Shownu-hyung?"

"He's in the hallway," Changkyun offered. "He's...not feeling well."

"Oh." Hyungwon was quiet. "And where's Kihyun?"

Changkyun hesitated longer this time. He couldn't be sure as to whether Hyungwon believed Kihyun to be alive, or if Hyungwon wanted to know where they'd buried him. "He's...in a safe place," Changkyun said. "You can meet him when you get out."

Hyungwon's face lit up once more. "That's right, did Kyungwonnie tell you?" Hyungwon tilted his head slightly, a worn but proud smile on his lips. "I can go home next week!"

"That's-" Changkyun hesitated, looking over at Kyungwon, who was staring back at him with a blank expression. "That's...that's great, Hyungwon. That's really exciting. We're so glad to hear that you're doing well."

Hyungwon nodded, looking up at Changkyun shyly. "Thank you for...for helping me get help. I feel much better."

From the side of Hyungwon's bed, Jooheon grinned. "Look at you now, looking all cute. You weren't this cute before, Skeleton. Right guys?" he asked, looking around, and the others laughed.

Changkyun had to admit, though, that Hyungwon did look much healthier when he wasn't underweight and riddled with crippling paranoia.

"And the dreams are gone," Hyungwon said, looking down with a smile smile at his clasped hands before he began twisting the bracelet on his right wrist in circles. The small text Patient: Chae Hyungwon; Age: 18; Condition: slowly vanished, replaced with more details as he continued twisting.

He looked up at Wonho, who froze before forcing a smile. "That's- that's great, Hyungwon."

"Thank you," Hyungwon said. Changkyun didn't know if Hyungwon was thanking Wonho for the compliment or for his part in making the dreams cease.

He didn't know a lot of things about Hyungwon any more.

"How is your mom doing?" he asked Minhyuk, turning to his friend with a gentle smile, eyebrows raised in sincere curiosity, and Minhyuk inhaled sharply before smiling.

He'd secretly always felt like a bad friend toward Hyungwon, but Hyungwon had some unexplainable ability to make each person feel unique and special and appreciated. "She's doing better, thanks," Minhyuk said, shuffling his feet. "But I moved out."

Hyungwon's small gasp caused Minhyuk to look up abruptly only to see a proud smile bloom on Hyungwon's face. He seemed to have plenty of smiles now. "That's amazing, Minhyuk. I always knew you could do it."

Minhyuk nodded, biting his lip, but he couldn't abandon the insecurities accompanying his decision.

"It doesn't mean that you love her any less," Hyungwon added, and Minhyuk's eyes grew large before he nodded slowly. "But you have to take care of yourself sometimes too."

Minhyuk's eyes watered, and he quickly nodded, mumbling something before looking away from Hyungwon's kind eyes.

Hyungwon continued to ask each of them about their lives; Jooheon, about how he was working to support himself and his mother, who had found a man who treated her right, even though they weren't engaged yet; Wonho, who had spent time slowly recovering his identity and eventually remembering fragments of his time in the fugue state; Changkyun, about his mom and her boyfriend (whom Changkyun still despised, but he'd realized that he wasn't a first priority for his mom now and that he might never be).

The two hours passed by altogether too quickly, but Changkyun was glad to see that Hyungwon seemed much more at peace than any time he'd seen him before.

They were all filing out of the room when Hyungwon called his name.

"Changkyun, can I talk to you for a second?"

Changkyun looked to Kyungwon for permission, and upon receiving a nod, he went to Hyungwon's bedside and waited for the boy to talk.

"I'm very grateful to you for all that you've done for me," Hyungwon said softly, looking down. "And I just want you to know that. I don't hold anything against you. You made the decisions you had to in order to look out for me, and not everyone is able to do that. And I'm sorry. I know it must have been hard for you."

Changkyun, for the first time that morning, felt tears pricking at his eyes. He was grateful that Hyungwon was still looking down. He didn't like crying, and he didn't like other people seeing him cry. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "When I forced you to swallow those pills-"

"You were trying to help me. I know that," Hyungwon said, looking up and smiling gently before lifting his unbound hands, his thumbs caressing Changkyun's tears. "I forgive you, Kyun. Not that there's anything to forgive."

Changkyun spent another minute crying before murmuring a goodbye, and then he was stepping out of Hyungwon's room and into the hallway. He sniffled before running a finger beneath both his eyes, and to their credit, none of the others called him on it.

After taking a shaky breath, he turned to Kyungwon and addressed the question that had been bugging him. "I thought he was being released today?"

Kyungwon's lips twitched before he spoke. "Come back next week," was all he said, and then as before, he strode off down the hallway.

Changkyun stared after him, lost, before turning back to the others. "We made the right decision, right? He seemed so..."

"Happy."

"Cheerful."

"Untroubled."

Shownu was quiet. He didn't know how Hyungwon had seemed, but the others' descriptions lightened his heart a bit.

Changkyun nodding, smiling to the floor before looking up at the others. "We'll meet back here next week? Sound good?"

The others nodded and went their separate ways.