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They met when Kun was in the very same hospital, death sipping in his body. He had nothing else to ask for but for God to take all the pain away and finally take him to his final destination. He wasn't sure where it was but people always told him that good people go somewhere nice and they assured him he would too.
He was ready.
But that was until one boy with a smile brighter than the sun greeted him one day.
Sitting outside the hospital garden, basking in the golden sunlight one more time. He overheard his doctors talking to his parents earlier this morning, when they all thought he was sleeping soundly. He has a few more months, if he's lucky enough, maybe a year or two.
The warm breeze of the afternoon comforted the growing knot in his stomach. He has been preparing his mind since the morning. He kept a happy face in front of his parents. Joked with nurses like he normally would. But now that he was alone, in his thoughts, the memories of his life, his family, his friends, suddenly realizes he wasn't as ready as he thought. And he might never be.
His thoughts get interrupted by a squeaky greeting, "Hi! My name is Ten. You are?"
The hospital walls always suffocated Kun. The more he stared at the white walls, the more he inhaled the smell of the sterilizers, the more it became unbearable. His doctors and nurses always smiled at him but he knew behind those were pity, "He's so young to be in this situation."
But Ten. Sunshine Ten. He changed all of that in one day.
He now looked forward to waking up and seeing these white walls. They no longer encase him but rather, if one day he does get out, he'd miss them like he missed his own home. These white walls remind him that he'll see Ten and his wide, inviting smiles. He'd be able to hear Ten gush over the newest song his favorite singer released. He would be able to watch Ten draw his hearts out while they breathe in the cold air of the night in the garden.
He would be with Ten and suddenly everything else doesn't matter.
"Do you think we would have met if things were different?" Ten asks one night as they waited for the scheduled meteor shower. It was 2 am but Kun was wide awake; Ten's presence was enough to do that to him.
"I don't think so," Kun replies, still looking at the night sky, "I would be in China and you might still be in Thailand. It sounds impossible for us to meet."
"Then I'm glad we're here now." He can hear the contentment in Ten's voice and for some reason he felt that way too.
But there were some things he hated the most ever since meeting Ten. His scream of pain. The tear on his eyes as he tries to smile at Kun. The way he would wince whenever he told Kun that everything is alright.
But Kun knew it wasn't.
"It would be nice to live near a beautiful meadow, surrounded by flowers," Ten says as they lie down on the artificial grass, "Where you can see the beautiful, blue skies and the clouds aren't mixed with smog."
"I'd be happily living with the person I love with 2 cats of course!" Ten giggles at the thought, "But I guess we'd never escape, huh?"
Kun just nods as he imagines the things Ten described. An unsettling feeling in his stomach saying he wishes it was him with Ten in that dream.
"You're only 19."
That was the first thing they heard from their parents when they told them about their plan.
"Are you even sure about this?"
"I have never been more." Kun says as he clutches Ten's hands tighter.
The day felt like a dream. A dream Kun never wants to be awakened from. The cheers, the laughs, with Ten's smile brighter than before as a slim silver band on his finger glistened under the sun.
That same hand takes his back from his memories. The silver band now reflecting the artificial lights 2 years later.
Kun smiles. A genuine one. Because no matter what happens, he could never give a fake one to the boy who's smiling back at him as genuinely.
"I love you." Ten's voice is soft. His eyes never losing it's glimmer.
"I love you. Nothing in this world could ever measure," Kun takes Ten's hand and kisses it near the ring, "No one could ever replace."
"I do too," Ten nods slightly, closing his eyes, "I'm tired."
"I know, love. I know," Kun says after swallowing the forming lump in his throat, "Go rest. Wait for me there."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
And as the beeping slowly dies down, a part of Kun breaks with it.
"One day we'll meet in the clouds."