You Saved Me | Gyuricky

Reminder Of you | 3

"Sometimes I think about what if this never happened. What if that guy wasn't behind the wheel, and what if Ricky was awake right now? What would we be doing?"

Gyuvin paused, looking at the sleeping blonde. The two made their way to the hospital and briefly saw that cat outside.

"I'd take Ricky to the new cafe downtown, it has really good matcha drinks; and then I think I'd take him to play basketball at the park like old times."

Jiwoong squeezed Gyuvin's hand. "Come on, let's head out before it's too late. Say good-bye."

"I'll be back later Ricky, wait for me."

"Are you fucking with me?" Gyuvin gasped

"Uh, I think that it might be an alien in disguise."

The two walked outside to see the cat again. At this point, it wasn't even funny anymore; this wasn't a coincidence. How could that cat show up where ever Gyuvin was for the past 3 days?

Jiwoong knelt down to pat the kitten. "Mmh, if you've been seeing this same cat for the past three days, maybe you should take it in. I think it'll be good for you, plus I don't see a collar."

"A cat? Seriously hyung?"

Jiwoong picked it up, and the two started walking again. "Like this can't be by accident anymore, I think it's following you. It can keep you company when we can't."

Jiwoong sighed before continuing. "Even you told me yourself that the cat reminds you of Ricky. I think you should take it to the vet first and then adopt it. You may be a dog person, but just think of the cat as ricky."

"I guess so.."

"Come on, let's drop it off at the vet, then we can go shopping and come back to pick him up later."

Gyuvin, who was now sitting in the dark while the cat explored Gyuvin's residence, sighed. He would've never imagined himself adopting a cat. Thankfully, the cat was in perfect health, so Gyuvin was able to take it home.

Gyuvin was lost in thought when he felt little paws step up on his lap and purl up. Out of instinct, Gyuvin started to stroke the cat to sleep, like he used to do with Ricky.

Ricky struggled with insomnia during high school, and it was something Zhanghao wasn't even aware of. It was something Ricky only trusted Gyuvin with.

Ricky would come to Gyuvin's house in the middle of the night if he couldn't fall asleep, and every time without fail, Gyuvin opened the door despite being half asleep.

The two would sit in Gyuvin's bed with Ricky on his lap. Gyuvin would play with Ricky's hair until he fell asleep himself or Ricky fell asleep. (It was mostly Gyuvin who went to sleep first.) Gyuvin wished he could go back in time and have Ricky on his lap one last time. He wished he could've told Ricky his feelings.

Gyuvin held the cat close, scared of losing it too. And to no surprise, Gyuvin cried himself to sleep that night.

The next day for Gyuvin was uneventful. He didn't even go visit Ricky that day; it was so bad. He was too tired, too depressed, and too broken to get up. He was basically a dead corpse lying on his couch. The only thing that seemed alive was the cat, who stayed by Gyuvin's side, never leaving.

Gyuvin wanted to go see Ricky; he really did, but his body wouldn't move. He couldn't bring himself to it.

He did feel a bit better having company next to him, but he was just missing his other half.

For the first time today, Gyuvin spoke up, his voice quiet. "Why are you here, kitty? Why be locked up in an apartment when you could be outside, free?"

Meow.

"Are you really gonna stay with me? Are you going to leave me like Ricky did?"

Meow.

Gyuvin huffed and brought the cat close to cuddle. "Alright, but you can't leave, okay? I can't afford to lose anyone else again. Tomorrow we can go visit Ricky, I promise."

And for hours and hours, Gyuvin looked through his camera roll of old pictures of Ricky, something he did often to help him feel better. No antidepressant or amount of therapy made Gyuvin feel better; only Ricky could.

And for the first time in two years, Gyuvin fell asleep without crying.

Maybe having the cat would be worth it.

Gyuvin felt sluggish when he woke up. Since he didn't do anything yesterday, his body ached from the lack of movement, but he got up early to get ready for Ricky.

When the two got to the hospital, one of the familiar nurses stopped Gyuvin before he could enter Ricky's room.

"Gyuvin! You didn't come by yesterday? Is everything alright?"

"Oh yeah, sorry. I was really busy, but I'm here now." Gyuvin lied.

The nurse nodded. "Well, we did a brain scan yesterday and nothing out of the ordinary, but no positive signs either."

"Ah, I see thank you."

The nurse smiled before heading down the hallway.

"Hey Ricky, sorry for not coming yesterday; you were probably lonely, huh?" Gyuvin sat down in his usual chair, but he brought it closer to Ricky's bed.

Gyuvin went on with his story time, catching Ricky up with events. "Jiwoong persuaded me to adopt the cat I brought over last time, he says it might help me, but I think you're the only one who could fix me. Even Zhanghao joked that your spirit was in here, and I'm starting to believe that myself. It acts and looks like you see?"

Gyuvin faced the cat to ricky. Maybe Gyuvin was slowly going crazy, but Gyuvin swears he saw the faintest smile on Ricky's face.

And that's what Gyuvin's routine was like. A depressed, lonely 19-year-old who spent his time in the hospital every day with the occasional lazy day at home.

Slowly, Gyuvin bonded more with the cat, whom he even named Strawberry in honour of Ricky's favourite fruit. And slowly, Gyuvin's heart started to heal.

He found himself a little less gloomy but still had not moved on. He didn't think his feelings for Ricky would ever go away. His friends tried to set him up with dates too, but no one was like his true love. No one could compare to him.

Gyuvin's little uplift in mood didn't last long when he was brought with bad news.

Gyuvin left Strawberry at home while his friends went out for dinner. Matthew and Jiwoong proposed a dinner night between all 8 of them.

"Gyuvin!"

"Hey yujin!" Gyuvin pinched his cheeks.

Gyuvin took a seat between Yujin and Taerae. The atmosphere of the restaurant was nice and cozy, and it was run by a sweet old couple. It was a local favourite, and it was their favourite too.

"It's been a while since we've gone out like this, huh?" Gunwook said

"Actually we brought you guys out for a reason.." Matthew replied.

Everyone was expecting something shocking, and Gyuvin assumed they were going to announce their engagement, but, oh god, was he far off.