Hours had passed and the friends were sitting beside the runway, waiting for Yunho to come. The first competitors had already crossed the finish line but Mingi tried to calm himself down by continually repeating that a good place isn't the most important.

He has to get here all good and well, that's what matters.

,,How long does it usually take to run 23 kilometers?" Wooyoung asked, once again checking his watch.

,,Faster ones run it with an hour but usually two-three, maybe even four hours." Hongjoong answered.

,,Oh god." Wooyoung whined and rested his head on San's lap. ,,Wake me up when he gets here." And he closed his eyes.

Yeosang was staring at Mingi the whole time who was the only one still standing. He understood his worry. It was normal to care about the person you loved.

Mingi tapped the iron pole what bordered the track nervously.

It has only been two hours, calm down.

,,Where do you think he is by now?" Seonghwa, who had come beside him, asked.

,,I don't know, maybe three quarters of this is done?"

,,That would be great. His time would be good then."

,,Yeah..." Mingi smiled weakly and Seonghwa felt successful.

,,He trained a lot for this. He's okay." He continued, trying to make himself believe it.

,,Of course." Seonghwa agreed. ,,We all know he's strong." He patted the younger on back and gave him a reassuring smile.

,,Thanks."

,,Always."

They watched how some other runners victoriously finished and Mingi calmed down a bit.

,,Hey, we there thought that we should go and get something to eat, maybe ice cream and then just walk around, chill. You wanna join us?" The eldest of the group of friends asked.

,,I think I'll stay here, but can you bring me something too?"

,,Sure." Seonghwa smiled warmly, then turned to the others and said, ,,Who wants to eat and chill, come with me!" Wide smiles appeared on all of their faces and they walked away happily, telling each other what ice cream they want. Mingi's eyes followed them until they disappeared to the distance and he couldn't help but chuckle.

Then his eyes trailed back to the runway and he saw a few other people finishing, totally out of breath but smiles were still painted on their faces. They were welcomed by girls who put golden medals around their necks and said 'Good job!'. Next were the competitors families and friends who greeted them with big hugs and sayings like 'I'm proud of you' or 'Oh my gosh, you did it!'. Mingi's heart became warm when he saw things like this. He wanted to welcome Yunho the same way when he once gets here.

He yawned; standing for two hours was a little tiring.

Then, suddenly, he noticed someone tall with brown hair among the other runners and his senses enlivened.

Yunho?

He walked closer and was about to cheer in happiness when saw that it was just a some other teenager. He was disappointed but nerves were tensed up.

Come on, where is he?

His look shot down and when it came back up-

A young boy, tall, brown hair...

...braid.

,,Yunho!" Mingi yelled and waved with his hands while backing towards the finish line. ,,Oh my gosh, come, run! You can do this!" He started smiling wider than ever. It was such a relief to see the other all good and healthy after that distance.

Yunho spotted him and a weak but wide smile appeared on his face. He wanted to speed up but couldn't; all of his energy was gone and he started panting as soon as sped up the most he could. Mingi's heart was beating like crazy watching Yunho getting closer to the end.

He crossed it.

He finished!

Mingi jumped up and down in excitement but also because he was very proud of the other. And he was okay. He kept repeating that in his head.

He's fine, he did it. He's okay.

Yunho dragged himself to the medal girl, barely able to breath.

,,Good job!" She said while putting the beautiful golden medal around his neck. Yunho smiled back. He kept walking but everything was blurry and he shook his head to get his vision back.

Then something went wrong and he collapsed on the ground.

Mingi's heart skipped a beat when he saw his body crash with the hard ground and the world stopped for a second.

No.

,,Yunho!"

He jumped over the border, running to his friend and falling on knees beside him.

,,Yunho! Can you hear me? What's wrong? Yunho, answer me, please!"

No, no, no! This can't be happening!!

The other's eyes were barely open. His eyelids felt heavy.

People had started yelling for help and running around.

,,Does something hurt? Can you see and hear me? What-"

Yunho took his hand, grip almost non-existent and Mingi's heart skipped a beat again and he stopped for a second and looking at him. Everything else around him shut down; he was only focused on Yunho whose eyes were about to close, body was sweaty and weak and hands trembled a bit.

,,Did I do it?" He asked, voice barely audible.

It was like a stung to the younger's heart.

It was so painful.

,,Yes, yes you did..." Mingi whispered, soft, encouraging smile making its way to his lips while tears formed in his eyes.

Yunho nodded...

...and then his eyes closed, head falling to the side. He let go of Mingi's hand and his arm dropped to the ground.

Tears started streaming down Mingi's face and he couldn't even think not to talk about doing something when a pair of strong hands pulled him up and away.

,,No, please! Let me go!" He screamed to the guard and trashed around to break free but the man just ignored him.

Tears streamed down on his face while he saw people gathering around Yunho and heard ambulance in the distance. Heard because he couldn't see anything since everything was blurry from sad tears.

,,Mingi! Mingi!" He heard his name being yelled and fell into whoever's lap when the guard let him go, crying inconsolably. A pair of hands wrapped around him and started rocking him back and forth.

,,Shhh, shhh..." It was Yeosang. They sat on the ground when the others arrived running. Seonghwa saw how the borders were removed for the ambulance to drive in and gave a look to Hongjoong whose eyes widened in realization. Everyone else just stared at their friend sobbing his heart out in Yeosang's embrace and Jongho glanced down at the food what he was holding what they had brought to him. He obviously didn't want it anymore...

Crying with small hiccups and breath hitching in his throat, Mingi felt his world collapse like the person he cared about the most before...He had been right; everything went wrong in seconds...

He felt everything fade slowly; the voices, sounds, feeling of Yeosang's hands around him, the swinging...

...and then everything went black.