A week.
A week since Ren had left.
A week since Arin had watched the apartment door close behind him.
A week of silence.
No calls.
No messages.
Nothing.
After Ren came to Kael's apartment, Kael watched him every day.
At first, Kael told himself to stay out of it.
The breakup wasn't his business.
If Ren wanted distance, then Kael should respect that.
That was what friends were supposed to do.
Right?
But every time he looked at Ren, the guilt grew worse.
Ren was working longer hours than before.
Sleeping less.
Eating less.
Pretending everything was fine.
And every day, he looked weaker.
Paler.
More exhausted.
Kael knew exactly why.
Because Ren was trying to outrun something that couldn't be outrun.
The cancer.
The word itself was enough to make Kael's chest tighten.
He still remembered the day Ren had finally told him.
The fear in his friend's eyes.
The quiet request not to tell Arin.
And Kael had promised.
Even though every part of him wanted to tell Arin the truth, he had kept his promise.
But watching Ren destroy himself like this was becoming unbearable.
The worst part?
Ren still talked about Arin.
Not directly.
Never directly.
But in little ways.
"Arin used to hate this brand."
"Arin always forgot his umbrella."
"Arin would've laughed at that."
The words slipped out without him realizing.
And every single time—
His face would fall afterward.
Kael hated it.
Hated watching his friend suffer.
Hated watching him pretend.
Hated knowing that neither of them knew the whole truth.
By the fourth day, Kael couldn't take it anymore.
"Where are you going?"
Ren looked up from the table.
Kael was already putting on his jacket.
"Out."
"Helpful answer."
Kael ignored him.
"Kael."
The serious tone made him pause.
Ren frowned slightly.
"...You're not going to see him, are you?"
Silence.
That was answer enough.
"Kael."
"Someone has to talk to him."
"No."
The response came instantly.
Too quickly.
Too desperately.
Kael's expression softened.
"Ren—"
"I said no."
For a second, neither of them moved.
Then Ren looked away.
"...Please."
The word was quiet.
Almost fragile.
Kael felt something twist painfully in his chest.
"You still love him."
Ren laughed bitterly.
"That's exactly why you shouldn't go."
And that was the problem.
Because Kael knew Ren was right.
But he also knew something else.
Neither of them were being honest.
And people got hurt when things were left unsaid.
So he left anyway.
The entire day then two more days was spent searching.
It wasn't easy.
Arin's family was wealthy.
Influential.
Private.
But eventually, after asking enough questions and following enough leads, Kael found him.
A corporate building in the center of the city.
Tall.
Modern.
Expensive.
It suited Arin far more than the tiny apartment ever had.
For a moment, Kael simply stared at it.
"So this is where you are."
Then he crossed the street and waited.
Hours passed.
Employees entered and left.
Cars came and went.
The sun slowly drifted toward the horizon.
And still—
Kael waited.
Until finally—
The glass doors opened.
A familiar figure stepped outside.
Kael immediately straightened.
Arin.
For a second, relief washed over him.
Then it disappeared.
Arin looked terrible.
Not in the obvious way.
His clothes were immaculate.
His posture was straight.
His expression composed.
But there was something underneath it.
Dark circles beneath his eyes.
Tension in every movement.
The slight sway in his step.
The way he rubbed his temples like even standing hurt.
"...What happened to you?"
Kael frowned.
Arin looked exhausted.
Not tired.
Exhausted.
Like someone who hadn't properly rested in days.
Like someone running purely on stubbornness.
Arin began walking down the sidewalk.
Kael immediately followed.
"Arin."
The name stopped him instantly.
Arin turned.
The moment he recognized Kael, his expression hardened.
"...You."
Kael crossed his arms.
"Nice to see you too."
"I don't have time for this."
Arin turned away again.
But Kael wasn't about to let him leave.
"Then make time."
"No."
Simple.
Cold.
Immediate.
Arin kept walking.
Kael followed.
"We need to talk."
"No, we don't."
"Actually, we do."
"Go home, Kael."
The irritation in Arin's voice was becoming more obvious.
"I didn't spend four days tracking you down just to leave."
That made Arin stop.
Slowly, he turned back.
".... Three days?"
"Yes."
Silence.
Then Arin sighed heavily.
"You should've saved yourself the trouble."
Kael's patience was rapidly disappearing.
"Would you stop acting like this?"
"Acting like what?"
"Like none of this matters."
Something flickered across Arin's face.
Gone almost instantly.
"It doesn't."
"Liar."
The word landed harder than expected.
For a moment—
Neither of them spoke.
Then Arin laughed.
A short, humorless laugh.
"You're here because of Ren."
It wasn't a question.
Kael nodded.
"Obviously."
Arin looked away.
The brief reaction was enough.
Kael saw it.
The hurt.
The disappointment.
The anger.
All carefully hidden beneath layers of pride.
"Then go back."
"No."
"Kael—"
"No."
This time, Kael stepped forward.
"You're both idiots."
Arin's jaw tightened.
"Congratulations. Is that all?"
"No."
Kael's voice became serious.
"You're hurting him."
Arin's expression changed.
"He made his choice."
"That's not—"
"He left."
The bitterness in his voice surprised even him.
"He walked away."
Kael stared.
For the first time—
He realized just how much Arin had been carrying.
The anger wasn't real.
The hurt was.
"Arin."
"Don't."
His voice sounded tired now.
So tired.
"I don't want to hear excuses."
"Then hear the truth."
Arin laughed weakly.
"The truth?"
Kael frowned.
Arin rubbed a hand across his face.
For a brief moment, he looked unsteady.
Then steadied himself again.
"You should leave."
"No."
"Kael."
"No."
The argument continued.
Neither willing to back down.
But as the minutes passed—
Arin seemed to grow paler.
His breathing became uneven.
His focus drifted.
"...Arin."
No response.
"Arin."
Still nothing.
Kael stepped closer.
And suddenly realized—
Arin wasn't looking at him anymore.
His eyes seemed unfocused.
He was staring somewhere across the road.
"Hey..."
Arin wasn't listening anymore.
His eyes remained fixed on the opposite side of the street.
Then—
The café door opened.
A familiar figure stepped outside.
Ren.
Kael's heart dropped.
For a second, everything seemed to stop.
Even from a distance, he could tell something was wrong.
Ren looked pale.
Far paler than he had that morning.
His movements were slow.
Unsteady.
Like every step required effort.
Kael immediately forgot about the argument.
"Ren..."
Arin frowned.
He followed Kael's gaze.
For a week, he had tried not to think about Ren.
Tried to convince himself that Ren was fine.
That leaving had been his choice.
That he should respect it.
But seeing him now—
Something felt terribly wrong.
A week.
It had only been a week.
Yet somehow Ren looked different.
Smaller.
Thinner.
Tired.
So incredibly tired.
Arin felt something painful tighten in his chest.
Across the street, Ren hadn't noticed either of them.
His attention remained fixed on the ground as he slowly walked away from the café.
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
Kael watched him carefully.
His heart was pounding.
He knew Ren's condition.
He knew what Ren had been hiding.
And he knew how dangerous it was for him to keep pushing himself.
"Something's wrong," Kael whispered.
Arin was already looking at Ren.
"What?"
Kael didn't answer.
His eyes never left Ren.
Ren suddenly slowed.
His hand briefly reached for the wall beside him.
Kael's stomach dropped.
"Ren..."
Arin noticed it too.
"What's wrong with him?"
Kael's face tightened.
"I don't know."
It was a lie.
He knew.
He just couldn't tell Arin.
Not here.
Not like this.
Ren continued walking.
Then suddenly—
He stopped.
For one brief moment, he simply stood there.
Frozen.
Still.
Like his body had forgotten what it was supposed to do next.
Kael's stomach dropped.
"Ren!"
The distance was too great.
The traffic too loud.
Ren didn't hear him.
Or maybe he couldn't.
His knees wavered.
His body swayed slightly.
Then—
Everything happened at once.
Ren collapsed.
The world seemed to slow.
People nearby gasped.
Someone shouted.
A bag slipped from Ren's hand and hit the pavement.
Kael felt the blood drain from his face.
"REN!"
He ran.
Arin followed immediately.
Cars passed between them.
People moved around them without noticing the growing panic in their expressions.
Across the road, Ren lay still on the pavement.
By the time they reached him, a crowd was already beginning to gather.
Kael dropped to his knees.
"Ren!"
No response.
His face was frighteningly pale.
His eyes remained closed.
Kael's hands trembled.
He had seen Ren exhausted before.
He had seen him in pain.
But this—
This was different.
And Kael knew exactly what terrified him most.
This wasn't simply exhaustion.
Ren was sick.
Seriously sick.
"Ren, please wake up."
Nothing.
Arin knelt beside him.
For a moment, he couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
Seeing Ren like this felt wrong.
Terrifyingly wrong.
The person who had always been strong.
Always stubborn.
Always moving.
Now looked fragile.
Breakable.
As if he might disappear at any moment.
"Call an ambulance!" Kael shouted.
Several people immediately pulled out their phones.
Arin barely heard them.
His attention remained entirely on Ren.
"Ren..."
The name came out quietly.
Almost helplessly.
No response.
The sight made panic crawl through his chest.
Why wasn't he waking up?
What happened?
Was he hurt?
Was he sick?
Questions flooded his mind faster than he could process them.
None of them had answers.
Except Kael.
Kael knew there was something seriously wrong.
And as he watched Ren lying unconscious in front of him, one terrifying thought repeated inside his head.
Please don't let it be getting worse.
Minutes later, the ambulance arrived.
Everything became chaos.
Paramedics.
Questions.
Movement.
Voices.
A stretcher.
Kael answered what he could.
"He's been extremely weak lately," Kael said, his voice trembling. "He hasn't been eating properly. He's been working too much."
The paramedic nodded and continued checking Ren.
Arin stood nearby, feeling completely useless.
He didn't understand.
He didn't know what was happening.
And somehow, that frightened him even more.
"What happened to him?" Arin asked.
Kael looked at him.
For a moment, the truth almost escaped his lips.
Almost.
But he remembered Ren's promise.
Don't tell him.
So Kael looked away.
"I don't know."
Arin stared at him.
He didn't believe him.
But before he could ask again, the paramedics began moving Ren toward the ambulance.
Kael immediately climbed in after him.
Then paused.
Looking back toward Arin.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Kael sighed.
"Are you coming or not?"
Arin didn't hesitate.
A second later, he was inside too.
The doors slammed shut.
The siren began.
And as the city blurred past outside the windows, both men sat beside Ren in silence.
Kael watched Ren with fear hidden behind his eyes.
He knew the truth.
He knew this wasn't just exhaustion.
He knew Ren was fighting something much bigger than either of them had admitted.
Across from him, Arin stared at Ren.
Confused.
Terrified.
Unaware of the truth.
He didn't know about the cancer.
He didn't know how long Ren had been suffering.
He didn't know why Ren had pushed him away.
He didn't know why his ex-boyfriend had been slowly falling apart right in front of him.
But as he watched Ren lying unconscious beneath the harsh ambulance lights—
One thing became painfully clear.
He wasn't ready to lose him.
Not again.
And neither of them was prepared for what the doctors were about to tell them.