Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.

The sound of the clock is loud enough to wake you up. You open your eyes and see Taehyun there, sitting on the couch and looking at you with his sad eyes. You grin, tell him to come back to sleep, but he just shakes his head and stands up, murmuring something that you can't hear.

"You have to go again?" You ask, though the answer is as clear as day.

He nods, smiles at you, standing there, waiting for you to sleep. He only leaves when you're already asleep.

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"You don't want to eat it?" Seungyoon asks as he watches you cut your piece of cake into half, and put one into the fridge.

"Well, no, but I think he would like to eat this when he comes back." You smile, but notice Seungyoon looking a bit shocked. He tries to tell something. However, you could see Jinwoo throw him a deadly glare, and your leader just smiles and says nothing. Seunghoon pats your shoulder, but his eyes also have a hint of sadness.

They're all your best friends, but there're times when you couldn't understand them at all.

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You're on the stage again, singing Empty with your band members, except for Taehyun. Jinwoo sings his part instead, you could see tears pouring down his face, and all your fans are crying along with him.Seunghoon comes closer and hugs him tightly, while Seungyoon lowers his eyes to the ground, his voice shaking a bit.

You don't know why they're crying like this. Maybe because this song brings so much memories which makes them burst into tears.

The next song is Taehyun's solo one: Confession. You hope that he would go up there and sing it on the stage, however, he only sitting on an audience seat, smiling at you.

The fans cry again, and you have no idea why they couldn't see him sitting there, between them like this.

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You come back to your room after a long day. 2 a.m and Taehyun is still awake, waiting for you to come home. He gives you his sweetest smile and comes closer, trying to touch your hair, but the touch is so light you couldn't even feel his hand. However, you don't care about that. You love him, and the feeling is mutual. As long as he's here, then everything's fine.

"I'm tired, so I think I should sleep now." He nods, and lies beside you.

"Goodnight, sweetheart"

You could see him murmur "goodnight" to you.

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You open your eyes, and he has already gone. Your maknae always leaves in the early morning, and comes back when the night comes. You have asked him about this before, but he just shrugs it off, so you thought it's better not to mention that anymore.

You sit up, realizing that his fresh and sweet scent still lingers on your pillow, and all over your sheet. You take a deep breath, remembering all the times you shared with him. Taehyun's not a morning person, so you often wake up before him, watching him sleeping peacefully beside. But now, it's not like that anymore. You couldn't see him like that, and couldn't give him a morning kiss like before.

Somehow, you kind of miss the old days. Taehyun's always shy and aware of all people around him, but that's what makes you fall for him deeper and deeper. You love the way he shyly holds your hand when no one is looking, and immediately coming back to his sassy, diva attitude when other people are around. You love how he confesses to you with his song, using his soft and beautiful voice to express his love since he's too embarrassed to say it himself. You also love how he always laughs at your joke, and pats your shoulder when you feel down.

And his voice is what you miss the most, since he hasn't talked to you for so long. You haven't known why, but you don't want to ask.

As long as he's still there beside you, then nothing should make you worry.

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Going to the kitchen, you could see the other three sitting there, waiting for you. Jinwoo smiles and gives you a bowl of soup that Seunghoon just cooked, while Seungyoon is reading the daily newspaper. Taehyun's picture is shown on the first page, and you could read some words like "talented singer", "beautiful voice", and some other compliments about him. There's no bad rumor and no hate comments anymore. It's just like people suddenly stopped hurting him, and you're kind of glad they did this. You couldn't bear the thought of Taehyun being hurt anymore.

"How's your day?" Seunghoon asks and sits beside you, the smell of café spreading through the room that makes you feel so relaxed. Taehyun always loves this scent, and he'd smile at you so brightly when you make him a cup of coffee. However, you always ended up making a big mess in the kitchen.

"I'm fine." You smile at him, but still notice that familiar sorrow in his eyes."Where's Taehyun anyway? Why didn't he come and eat with us?"

"You don't want to remember, do you? Have you forgotten that accident? " Seungyoon look at you and his voice is so serious. But you still don't even know what he's talking about.

"That's enough," Jinwoo says, and you could see him about to cry. "It's enough, Seungyoon. Please don't mention about that accident anymore."

"But...." Seungyoon tries to say something, but Jinwoo has just run out of the room. You could see Seungyoon's eyes fixed on you, and then he follows Jinwoo, leaving you standing in the kitchen alone, completely confused.

You couldn't even know what was wrong with them.

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The smell of blood.The screams from your friends.The pain that spread through your body. Everything is so real it makes you feel sick.

You look beside you, and seeing Taehyun there, blood streaming down his face and staining his white shirt. His hand, which is still holding onto yours tightly, is so cold it makes you extremely panicked.

"Taehyun, wake up." Your hand is also covered in blood, but you don't even care. You touch his face slightly, growing more and more anxious as you realize the wound on his forehead just keeps bleeding nonstop.

"Taehyun-ah, Taehyun-ah!" Tears well up in your eyes, and your vision becomes blurred. You call his name, again and again, but he still doesn't move.

"Please wake up, please, Taehyun, please wake up." No matter how many times you call his name, the only thing you receive is just the deadly silence.

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You shot up straight in bed, your body covered in sweat and you're breathing heavily. Taehyun looks at you, his eyes are full of concern, and it somehow calms you down.

"It's that nightmare, again,"you said, body still shivering."You looked so...lifeless. I tried to call you, but you didn't wake up."

He sits beside you and tilts his head, waiting for you to continue speaking.

"I'm scared, Taehyun"

He nods, and pats your shoulder. But you couldn't feel his hand at all.

"I'm scared that you'd leave me alone in this world."

He shakes his head, and you could hear him whisper.

"I'll always be there for you."

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"Mino, what's wrong? I heard you screaming this morning. Something happened?" Seunghoon asks, giving you a cup of coffee. You smile, and place it on the table, in front of Taehyun's seat. It's rare to see him eating together with them like that.

"I had a nightmare. We were trapped in a car crash, Taehyun was bleeding all over and I was so scared. Luckily , I woke up and Taehyun was already there to comfort me." You grin, and give your maknae a thankful look. However, the other three are just standing there and looking at you with those sorrowful eyes, Jinwoo even bursting into tears.

"Listen, Mino, it's not a nightmare..." Seungyoon gulps, and grabs your shoulder.

"What do you mean?" You look at him curiously. You have no idea what's going on.

"It's not a nightmare. It's real." Seungyoon tightens his grip on you, and tears somehow well up in his eyes too.

"I don't know what you're talking about." You force a smile, and look around. Jinwoo is hugging Seunghoon and crying his heart out, his sobbing noise echoing throughout the room.

"Please face the truth, Mino­ –" You could hear his voice is cracking. "– Taehyun's not here with us, he can't be here anymore."

"What the hell are you talking about?" He's beginning to piss you off. "He's sitting right here, can't you see him?"

You point at an empty chair, and notice that the maknae is gone.

"Please, Mino." He's crying now, and his grip is so tight it hurts you.

"He's dead in that car crash."

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"They're liars. All of them." You sit in your room and sigh. "I can't believe they even made all of this up."

You look at the window. That familiar figure would always be there, leaning on the wall while looking out the window.

"They said that you're gone."

Your vision becomes blurred again, and you have to take in a deep breath, trying your best to hold in your tears.

"They said that you're dead. They said that I should move on and forget about you."

The blood. The scream. The coldness of his body. You could remember it so vividly now.

"It's all a lie. You're always beside me, right? You will never leave me, right?"

You cry, and your whole body's shaking.

"Please answer me, Taehyun."

You wipe your eyes, and look around the room.

"Taehyun-ah."

You're crying, and talking to an empty space.

He's not there anymore.