Wooyoung lifted his head when a knock on the door interrupted his reading. He lowered Lady Death to his lap and glanced at the clock on his bedside table.

It was still early for the nurses to come through with food.

"Come in," he called, marking the page he had left off on with his Shakespeare quote bookmark. Just as he put the book aside, Seungyoun peeked his head into the room. His big grin had Wooyoung roll his eyes when he copied it on reflex.

"Oh, not you again," Wooyoung pretended to be annoyed. His dismissive hand gesture got ignored as Seungyoun opened the door further to show a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates tucked into his other hand. He gave Wooyoung the best puppy eyes. Defeated, Wooyoung allowed him in.

"Here I am, yet again checking on the hero of the department," Seungyoun sing-sang as he strode inside. He closed the door behind him and put the flowers into the vase to exchange them with the old ones.

It was already his third visit.

"Please, I'm only here because I got the damn lead poisoning. If they had just fixed me up, I would have been in and out in a flash." Wooyoung pouted to himself. Modern medicines healed deep wounds like his in a few days, but the doctors couldn't use that method on him since closing the wound would seal in the infection. After surgery, he had been ordered to stay in the hospital for two weeks until the doctors could be sure he didn't die of the gruesome German bullet he had caught in his shoulder. Before the infection wasn't gone, nobody would fix up his bone and nobody would seal his wound. Wooyoung was high on painkillers 24/7 and he was irritable about it.

"That was entirely on you, you get no pity from me. Yongguk still didn't come by? Or was he too prideful for flowers?" Seungyoun put the old flowers in his bag to get rid of them outside. He left the chocolates on the table and smiled at Wooyoung's book before he pulled a chair over to sit at Wooyoung's side.

Huffing, Wooyoung fluffed up a pillow to hold it on his lap. His right arm was still in a sling and Wooyoung's left-handed coordination had become superior in the past week.

"He's been punishing me with silence. Not that I don't deserve it, but he's being mean."

Seungyoun grinned at Wooyoung.

"No, I absolutely agree. You had him worried sick, and you know how he can be. As much as he acts as your colleague, he is also your friend. He was all over the place because of you. And I am also still mad, but not mad enough not to visit you. Who else would bring you books?" Upon the reminder, Seungyoun pulled his bag onto his lap and got out the two books Wooyoung had requested. His favourite historical romance novels.

Wooyoung winced, but accepted his books with a mumble of gratitude.

"I know, and I also messaged him I am sorry for troubling him. I'm not sorry about saving San, though. Even if I can't know if it worked." Wooyoung bit his lip. The thought still plagued him at the lonely hours of the night. San could have died right after Wooyoung had left and it would get harder to track him since he wasn't in the army records then. Wooyoung prayed to every deity that came to mind each night - including Mingi's - but he got no updates.

"Yongguk understands that. I'm sure once he's less busy, he misses you as well and drops by, even just to look good as a boss. Will you go to Munich again after you are back on your legs?"

Wooyoung nodded ruefully. Yongguk would hate if he proposed going back to the grim wartime again that left Wooyoung with nightmares and the images of bodies littered on the ground in his brain. It was the last test. If he didn't show up there, Wooyoung would have to give it up. He couldn't chase a life that was over. The only other option was doing his honours. It would take years, but Wooyoung was sure he would love San even after time passed.

Just how San had continued loving him through so many years.

"I want to check. Even if a final disillusionment might knock me off my feet for a while, but I will use my leftover sick days. I can just be out of commission for a while."

Seungyoun's eyes turned sad even as he nodded. His overgrown hair fell into his face as he adjusted his position.

"I would like it if you wouldn't have to go through that again. But I can imagine that meeting him and seeing a more recent version of him than the London one alive fuelled your hopes once more. I wish you find happiness and peace with it. Whether or not he is in the picture."

Wooyoung smiled at his lap, thankful for Seungyoun's kind words, but his grin felt painted on.

He feared what would be if San wasn't in the picture. Wooyoung had been down badly last time, but he doubted that bottling up his pain would bode well for him long-term. One day it would crash down on him thrice as violently and he wouldn't know how to help himself. The institute had enrolled him in therapy sessions twice a week, right upon his return. They helped him cope, but some things would always gnaw on his heart.

"Yongguk suggested I could confirm Munich for you, too. To see if San was there and if your sacrifice wasn't in vain," Seungyoun continued when Wooyoung found no words to reply with. Curiously, Wooyoung looked at him again. His hand played with his pillow, venting his anxiety by squishing it.

"I told him I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. Not to mention San might get worried about not seeing you since the last time he heard of you was you getting shot."

Wooyoung conceded to that. He was sorry for putting San through a similar uncertainty about Wooyoung's well-being as San had done to him by accident. San had to wait even longer to get answers, and Wooyoung hoped he trusted Wooyoung's farewell words. After everything San had heard from their modern world, he could probably believe Wooyoung when he said their medical care was good.

If he hadn't got shot, Wooyoung may have stayed longer to make the rest of the time between them less frustrating for San. But he couldn't.

"Thank you for looking out for us. I agree. If anyone goes, it should be me. It's my private matter."

Seungyoun stole one of Wooyoung's chocolates. When Wooyoung whined they had been a present, Seungyoun just grinned at him with his cute bunny front teeth, making Wooyoung forget once more what he had been mad about.

"Could you ask Yongguk something for me, though? I want to know if that other immortal is still around. I doubt it unless he hunted San on purpose, but it would soothe my mind."

No other immortals meant good news. San might have died still, but Wooyoung trusted him to be careful about natural accidents and the man healed fast.

"I can do that. As far as my work phone is concerned, I haven't heard of a different one showing up on the grit. I think if that happened, Yongguk would have told you." Seungyoun munched on his chocolate thoughtfully. When he offered the box to Wooyoung as if it wasn't Wooyoung's own gift, Wooyoung took one, too.

"Good, at least he's not vengeful," Wooyoung said. Seungyoun's face shifted into conspiracy theory mode but before he got to whisper his wild accusation at Wooyoung secretively, another knock on the door interrupted them. Disappointed, Seungyoun glanced over his shoulder while Wooyoung summoned the person to come in.

It was the nurse with her little food cart that smelled heavenly of potatoes. Instead of Wooyoung's, Seungyoun's eyes widened, and he licked his lips exaggeratedly.

"Oh wow, you get such nice smelling meals here? I might get myself shot, too," he mused as the nurse propped up the table over Wooyoung's bed. Struggling, Wooyoung sat further up to lean against his pillows and eat.

"Please don't, sir. Not that it isn't super thrilling for us to treat a patient arriving straight from the World War, but we would rather not get another one just for our food," the woman smiled at him. Awed, Seungyoun stared at the food she dished out for Wooyoung. When Wooyoung struggled to put his napkin over his lap, she helped him out with a smile. Wooyoung muttered some gratitude at her.

Jealous of the service, Seungyoun watched Wooyoung try the first bite. Wooyoung moaned excessively about it, telling the nurse to compliment the cooks and lauding her excellent service skills at the same time.

"Can I get the recipe?"

The woman giggled but beckoned Seungyoun over to stand with her in the corner and look at her phone. The man's towering body by her side seemed to become extra soft and friendly with her. Wooyoung rolled his eyes at them while she blushed from his proximity.

He enjoyed his meal while Seungyoun flirted in the corner. After Wooyoung finished, the nurse had to run off with a quick excuse that she had used up all of her break for the two boys. Wooyoung wondered if Seungyoun had just got the recipe from her, or also a number.

After the nurse was gone, Seungyoun also cast a glance out of the window.

"Seems like I will leave you to it now, too. Shall I bring a board game next time?"

Wooyoung scoffed. He had already picked up his book again to continue reading.

"By the next time you are here I hope to be halfway out of here, so no need."

"Then better not strain yourself. Don't worry, I will be your protective shield on the first day back at the institute. All tomatoes that Yongguk will throw at you will slide right off me." Heroic, Seungyoun stemmed his hands into his hips as if he had a flying cape behind him. When he bent to pick up his bag, Wooyoung sighed.

"Thanks. I will figure out another apology towards Yongguk that doesn't sound too triumphant for my success. Not the point, especially if it failed after all."

Seungyoun grinned at him and patted Wooyoung's good shoulder in consolidation before he stepped out of the room. Left alone for the evening, Wooyoung cosied up in his pillows and read some more before he inevitably had to go to sleep. Now that the doctors and nurses watched over his peculiar condition like hawks, Wooyoung had a hard time missing sleep. He didn't want the plaguing worries and the nightmares that came with it, but the nurses were ruthless, sometimes even threatening to take his books away if he didn't allow his body the rest it needed.

Wooyoung always obeyed begrudgingly after he finished his chapter. Usually, he was awake during another checkup for the night when his mind kept him up with horrific paranoia while he tried to rest. He blamed his slow recovery on his stress rather than the actual circumstances of his wound.

At least he would be back on his feet quickly after this ordeal ended. As soon as he was, he would have to convince Yongguk that he was worthy of going to Munich once more. Hopefully, this time, he would find answers. If San still didn't show up, Wooyoung might foolishly hope until all eternity, but leaving the story open might be a better ending for his poorly mended heart than the actual data of San's death.

With how much Wooyoung had messed with that single day in France, Wooyoung wondered if Hongjoong could still place him, or if he found him doubtful now. Just thinking about the poor man's confusion had Wooyoung chuckle into his pillow that made distracting rustling noises under his ear.

After the nurse had checked in with him once more and made sure he had enough painkillers through the night, Wooyoung found some exhausted sleep.

When Seungyoun came by next time, he brought Monopoly. In his words, it would raise Wooyoung's spirits and get his competitive capitalist mindset back that was needed for work.

Wooyoung had called him an idiot, but they had played, anyway. Seungyoun's tales about the job in Babylon he got - before Mingi became part of the royal court - entertained Wooyoung's lonely afternoon. He gave Seungyoun tourist trips and asked him to look for a certain spice for Wooyoung as an exchange for the trinkets he had brought Seungyoun before. The man called it a deal and promised to drop by again soon.

If San returned, Wooyoung would for sure make him the best meal he had eaten in a long time. He hoped he could.