From Past To Present, I Still Love You 123 Late Night Troubles

The three laid side by side in their sleeping bags. With the lights turned off, all of them closed their eyes, trying to fall asleep. Although Minhyun and Yoona normally slept late at night, due to playing in the water, their bodies were exhausted. Sleep easily knocked on their door and they were out the minute they laid down on the pillow. The moon shone brightly in the night sky, the crickets chirping their song. Yoona was peacefully sleeping, the delicate sounds of her breathes filling up the silence, until she heard strange noises in the middle of the night. The weird sounds were coming from the washroom. Assuming that one of the boys were using it for bodily function purposes, she ignored the sounds and focused on going back to sleep.

Ten minutes passed.

Twenty minutes passed.

The person was still in the washroom. Something felt off. Worried, Yoona completely awakened from her sleep and decided to sneak her way to the person in need. She didn't know what was going on, but the constant loud breathing made her nervous. When she looked to her side, she noticed that Minhyun was sleeping.

It was Ji-ho that was missing.

Knowing his condition, she immediately rushed to his aide. Her feet ran to the bathroom and she lightly knocked on the door. The light was shining from underneath.

"Hey," she whispered, not wanting to wake Minhyun up. After all, it would've been a while since he had this good of a sleep. "Are you okay?"

The sound of coughs followed her question, before a small voice croaked. "I'm fine. This is normal. My bodies just acting up."

Yoona didn't believe a single word he said. There was clearly something wrong if he was staying in the washroom for this long. She wasn't going to just accept what he was saying. "Let's go to the hospital."

"No. You're not my mom."

Her eyes narrowed. She understood his position, after all, he must feel burdened and embarrassed to display weakness in front of her. There was possible that he had been hiding his pain throughout the day. He didn't want them worried. But she couldn't leave him alone.

"Don't get all sassy with me you twerp. Let me in."

"No."

"Ji-ho," she said firmly. Although she understood that he didn't want her to interfere, as an older sister and guardian, she needed to check if he was truly okay. She cared for him. "Let. Me. In."

Ji-ho let out a groan. "I don't want to though..."

"Please. I care about you okay? I really need to make sure your alright, especially since you're an important person to me. Please once again?"

There was a moment of silence. After a sigh, the door slowly opened. In the middle of the bright-lit room, Ji-ho was standing in front of the sink. His eyes were slightly sunken and his skin was deathly pale, much lighter than his usual skin tone. Seeing his terrible state, Yoona gasped before placing her hand on his cheek.

"It must've been so painful..."

She embraced him in a hug. Embarrassed, Ji-ho hid his face in her shoulder. Out of all people why did she have to come in? While she was hugging him, she noticed that there was something strange on the toilet to her left. Although very minuscule, against the white toilet seat, the red was too bright to ignore. There was a single drop of blood. He missed a spot.

With widened eyes, she turned towards him. "Are you sure you're okay. Please be honest with me."

Ji-ho followed her gaze to the toilet seat, let out a sigh, before looking back. "It really happens all the time. I'm going to die really soon anyways. These are just the side-effects. I can't do anything about it nor can the hospital. Don't worry about it."

Frustration riled up in her chest. Was there really nothing that they could do? Minhyun was known as one of the richest men in the world, could he be able to hopefully find a cure?

It seemed as though Ji-ho read her mind because he shook his head. "Minhyun can't do anything. It's too late. We tried. The only thing he could do is provide me these energizing pain killers at this point. He actually was able to use his connections, which I would never have gotten access to, so that I would be able to move around fine before I pass away. I've been using it during the trip. It's really helpful."

Her heart torn in half. She swallowed her tears because she didn't want Ji-ho to take her sadness the wrong way. She let out a small smile. "At least there is something done."

"Yeah I guess so."

She squeezed his hand. "Are you good or do you want me to be beside of you?"

Ji-ho scrunched his nose. "You need sleep."

"And you need sleep too. I'm not sleeping until you are."

A small smile filled his lips. One more genuine than the wide ones he always displayed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He was not alone.

----

The next morning was a disaster. Minhyun woke up to the loud noise of snoring right beside his ear. There was also heavy weight around his chest and over his legs. When he looked forward, he noticed an arm and a leg wrapped over him. After he turned to the side, he could confirm who the culprit was. Ji-ho was wrapped around him like a present.

Laying comfortably in this position, Ji-ho didn't have a care for the repercussions of his actions.

Minhyun grabbed the boy's arm and flung it to the other side. Then he kicked the leg away. Annoying brat.

"Ow," Yoona mumbled. Since Minhyun wasn't paying attention, Ji-ho's arms hit against her stomach. "What was that."

Minhyun widened his eyes. He immediately lifted his upper-body from the ground to check her condition. "Are you okay?"

A small laugh escaped her lips. "I'm fine. Really." There was a pause. "Is Ji-ho still sleeping?"

Minhyun looked down at the sleeping boy's face and nodded. "Yeah he is."

A smile lit on her face. "Good. He needs the sleep."

"Did something happen?" He asked while cocking his head.

Yoona let out a sad smile. "It's a secret." Minhyun could tell exactly what she was talking about. It wasn't much of a secret since he knew most of what was happening in Ji-ho's life. Nonetheless, he didn't not reply and simply smiled back.

Chapter end