The next time Seungyoun came over, it was evening. Wooyoung would be discharged in three days, so there was no need for Seungyoun to even drop by anymore, but Wooyoung appreciated his efforts. The hospital could get lonely with no one else to talk to but his therapist, who explored Wooyoung's dark mind spaces.

"I brought your spice from Babylon," Seungyoun gushed right away as he sat down on his beloved chair. He pulled a spice jar out of his bag and set it down in front of Wooyoung ceremoniously.

"Don't knock it over, it was expensive!"

Wooyoung read the label of the very modern-looking glass and rose a brow. It was his arm's last day in its sling, but still used the hand to hold things.

"Cinnamon?"

"No, dumbass, I just had to put it somewhere that wasn't a folded piece of paper." Seungyoun leaned back triumphantly as they eyed the red strings in the tin.

"It's saffron. Not that you couldn't find it today with some effort, but I'm sure this old version carries an even more distinct taste. It's been two thousand years. This is the realest it gets."

Wooyoung cradled his fake cinnamon with awe.

"Thanks. It's precious." Wooyoung bet it carried the unique smell of Babylon's bazaar, but he didn't want to open it here and risk spilling it over his sheets. Not that the nurse would be mad at him if she saw Seungyoun was here.

"Want to try it out? I brought some goods." Seungyoun looked left and right before he showed Wooyoung the inside of his bag. Like some shady drug dealer, he carried other spices, a package of rice, various vegetables, and even some chicken around. When Wooyoung stared into the bag disbelievingly, Seungyoun giggled.

"We can hijack the hospital kitchen. One bat of my eyelashes and they won't be able to resist," Seungyoun whispered. His conspiring had Wooyoung lean closer to add to the secrecy between them in the otherwise empty room.

"You think you can do it?"

"Watch me. I just have to convince them to let me stay after visiting times, then the kitchens will be ours." Seungyoun winked at Wooyoung before he left his bag at the side of the bed and got to his feet. While he slipped outside, Wooyoung carefully placed his saffron back into the bag as well, so it was at the right place once it was needed.

Wooyoung got to idle around some and used the time to type a message to his mom, who had been worried endlessly about his condition since he confessed to her he got shot with a bullet used in the wars. She had nearly fainted when she had heard about it. He could convince her not to come to Prague right away to coddle her precious son, assuring that Seungyoun took good care of him. She had let go of the frantic need to pack her things after a while, but still demanded daily updates.

With his restricted fingers and his left hand trying to type, Wooyoung hit send and waited for Seungyoun.

The man didn't need long to return. The big grin on his face spoke of his success. He was up to no good, as usual.

"Got it," he hummed as he showed off the key dangling from his finger. Scoffing, Wooyoung slid out of the bed and into his slippers while Seungyoun picked up the bag.

"How, what did you promise her?"

"Nothing your virgin ears need to know of," Seungyoun promised. When Wooyoung grimaced, Seungyoun broke out in more laughter.

"Somehow, the thought of you banging my nurse makes me uncomfortable. That's an unforeseen power you have there."

"Better obey my every command or else I will have her mix poison in your meds."

The two of them giggled as they walked down the corridor. They respectfully sidestepped people in wheelchairs and patients taking walks with their infusions held by rolling metal stands. Since it was late, the usual visiting hours ended and people got ready to settle down. The two boys with their mischievous plans ran in no trouble as they snuck into the kitchens.

The two service workers in the room gave the duo fleeting glances, but they seemed to have been informed. After leaving their aprons on the counter conveniently, they took off.

Seungyoun put his bag down and got right to opening cabinets to find his way around. Whichever items he drew out, Wooyoung took them from him to put them down on the countertop. Several pots, spatulas and a spoon later, they were ready to start their experiment.

Wooyoung had cooked Babylonian food before, so he was prepared as he pulled out his phone to find a recipe. Seungyoun rolled up his sleeves and snatched the cutting board, bracing for orders.

A few minutes later, Wooyoung was ready to go. He ordered Seungyoun to cut the vegetables first. While the other man hacked away, Wooyoung got to sit on the side prettily and hummed under his breath. He didn't put on music since he didn't want to overexert their welcome. The occasional employees of the hospital that dropped by to get snacks for themselves and for patients already threw them wary glances.

Fully invested in their cooking, the two men put together a wonderful mix with vegetables, meat and all the spices that the Babylonians liked to use. The scent that filled the air and had Wooyoung's mouth water was much closer to the real one than last time.

Excited, Wooyoung slipped from the counter he was leaning against when the rice was done. Seungyoun poured their food together in one big bowl he had brought. His tongue was tucked between his lips as he finished and wiped away the drops they had spilt.

While Seungyoun did the dishes, Wooyoung wiped off the counter and the stove to leave the kitchen as squeaky clean as they had entered it. He cradled their food bowl close, claiming to keep it warm when, really, he inhaled its scent like a starving man. He knew eating less in the afternoon would be worth it.

With their festive meal done, Wooyoung and Seungyoun raced back to Wooyoung's room. Seungyoun had snatched two spoons for each of them.

As they sat down together on Wooyoung's bed until their thighs squeezed between the low railing of the bed, Seungyoun pulled a bottle of grape juice from his bag.

"I can't drink since I have another job tomorrow and you shouldn't because of your meds. I figured this was the closest to wine we get," Seungyoun grinned. He put the bottle down between them before they dug into the bowl together. Wooyoung struggled with his good arm, not moving at a wide enough rage to eat, but he had got used to it enough now.

Their meal was excellent, just as good as a Babylonian chef would have made it. Wooyoung burnt his tongue around the first bite since he was so greedy, but complimented Seungyoun on his cooking skill as soon as he had stopped breathing steam.

"This is delicious. Exactly how we needed it to be."

Seungyoun shovelled the food into his face at the pace of lightning. His hasty nod got drowned out in yet another spoon full of food that blessed him.

"A man's love goes through his stomach. You better make love to San good by cooking him this."

Giggling, Wooyoung shoved Seungyoun in his ribs. He liked how the man still saw the same ray of hope as he did. Yongguk's deliberately risen brow of doubt diminished Wooyoung's faith each time he had to see it. Hearing Seungyoun talking as if San would definitely show up one day relieved Wooyoung's stress about trying to get to San all by himself.

They ate until their stomachs were ready to burst and then Wooyoung ate some more because it was just that exquisite and he couldn't bear the thought of Seungyoun taking it away from him.

After eating like Babylonian kings, the two of them just laid on Wooyoung's bed side by side and patted their round tummies.

"I saw him, by the way," Seungyoun began after a while. Night had fallen in front of the window and Wooyoung bet that despite the deal with the nurse, the doctors would come by soon to shoo Seungyoun out of the building.

"Who?"

"San," Seungyoun muttered. His soft voice got drowned out by the obnoxiously loud shuffle of Wooyoung's pillow when Wooyoung turned to look at the man. His disbelieving eyes prompted Seungyoun to continue talking.

"We didn't talk; he passed in the distance. He was part of the court and dressed in the clothes of a concubine, so I couldn't approach him. From what I saw, he is pretty, though." Seungyoun grinned at Wooyoung's mindless nod before the thought had even caught up to him.

Suusaandar, the man with whom everything began. The one who started the vicious cycle of Wooyoung recognising San's true identity and falling in love with the deep rabbit hole that the man was.

The memory of him seemed to be centuries ago, even for Wooyoung, who had gone there only half a year back.

"I don't think he noticed another odd visitor before he got to know you."

Wooyoung stared at the end of the bed. They had put a lid on the leftover food and packed it into Seungyoun's bag. The table was out of the way and their feet kicked at each other lazily under the sheets.

"I miss him a lot," Wooyoung whispered, choked up by memories.

Seungyoun lifted an arm to wrap it around Wooyoung's shoulders to draw him close, but thought better of it when his eyes fell on the sling. Instead, he wrapped his arm around Wooyoung's back and slipped his hand under the injured arm to ensure he wouldn't compress it.

His faint half-hug helped Wooyoung calm some more, but his heart still weighed in his chest as if drowning in the ocean. Happiness was a wishful construct in the far distance; nothing he could attain.

"You did everything you could. Let's remember your memories of him with joy rather than pain." Seungyoun squeezed Wooyoung's waist. The touch was so different from San's, so much more distant and less hot. Would Wooyoung ever find anyone who could compare to him?

Wooyoung nodded before he dropped his head against Seungyoun's shoulder. They sat there in mutual silence while the minutes on the clock ticked by. Wooyoung dozed off on Seungyoun's shoulder, but the man didn't mind and just played on his phone with extra low display lightning so Wooyoung wouldn't be bothered.

When the doctor came in during the evening, he gave them a chiding gaze for the smell of food in the room and the two of them hanging around still. Wooyoung sleepily manoeuvred in the other direction, too unbothered to brush his teeth.

"Go home, young man. You can visit your boyfriend again tomorrow," the doctor told Seungyoun as he slipped into his long coat.

"Oh, we aren't boyfriends. Although I imagine you would be thrilled to meet his actual lover," Seungyoun giggled. He tied his scarf around his neck and picked up his bag before waving at Wooyoung cutely.

"I will pick you up the day you get discharged. Until then, take care."

"Have a safe trip home, don't talk to strangers," Wooyoung called after him, then Seungyoun was gone.

The last two days of Wooyoung's stay were uneventful. He finally got his shoulder fixed up after the doctors were sure that no more lead poisoned his wound. They closed his wound with the spray that motivated his skin cells to replenish with 500% more impulse as usual, giving him only a short healing period.

"The injury was deep, so you better not move that arm too much these next few days. Come back if you have any more pain or feel like something is off," the nurse had told Wooyoung while she had freed his arm from the sling. He watched it go with sadness. He had started appreciating it.

For another night, he would stay at the hospital so the doctors could watch over his progress. In the morning, his shoulder would be healed mostly and Wooyoung could return to work. If Yongguk let him, that was. From how frosty the man's silence was, Wooyoung suspected he would rather lock Wooyoung out with a forced one-month sick leave than have him around.

Wooyoung's last night at the hospital was uneventful, and he looked forward to coming back home. In his absence, he had ordered one of the long body pillows that would allow him to cuddle up to it as he would do to San.

Confident that he would sleep better with it and with a pillow that didn't crackle like an entire box of cereal each time he moved his head, Wooyoung fell asleep painless and without the influence of medication for the first time in a while.