Gary and Jihyo sat nervously in a dining room of the restaurant, waiting for their family to arrive.

Jihyo’s family came first- her parents and her younger brother. Like her, they were rarely late. Jihyo stood up to bring them in, and Gary too, stood up to greet them. Her parents eyed him curiously, but waited for Jihyo to introduce him. Jihyo made a small nod, indicating that she will wait for the other guests. Her parents understood and stayed silent.

It was as if they knew something was wrong. It wasn’t hard to tell, the silence in the room was unnerving. It was Jihyo’s brother who broke the silence.

“How are you, noona?”

Jihyo smiled a bittersweet smile. How was she? ‘Fine’ she wanted to answer, but she knew she couldn’t do it. She looked at her brother sadly, while he looked back at her in anticipation. Gary reached over and squeezed her hand.

Eventually, she said, “I missed you.” And I will miss you…

Tears formed in her eyes. She looked down, half embarrassed, and dried her tears. She was trying so hard to control herself. Her family… oh, how would they feel? How can they handle this? How can her parents handle the fact that she was dying? How could she bring herself to tell them?

Her parents looked surprised. Jihyo had never been a person to show her affection, and here she was, telling them that she missed them, and even shedding tears!

“Noona…” her brother said, shifting awkwardly at her sudden display of affection. “You can always come home to visit us if you miss us,” he suggested, trying to be helpful.

Visit them? She wished she could. Her chest tightened as tears threatened to fall once again.

It was then, Gary’s family arrived.

“Sorry we’re late,” his brother announced. Again, it brought a bittersweet smile to her. Was his family all like this? Maybe being late was in their genes.

Gary went up to greet them and the brothers hugged each other, Gary holding on for longer than normal. His parents patted him on his back.

Now that everyone was here, they started the introduction.

“She’s pretty,” Gary’s mother smiled amiably, nodding at Jihyo. She smiled back shyly.

“It’s the first time you’ve brought your girlfriend to meet us,” Gary’s brother noted. “You must be serious about her.”

Gary nodded. Then, he slipped his hands into hers. They both took a deep breath. It was time.

“We’re getting married.”

“What?!” Gary’s brother and Jihyo’s brother yelled at the same time.

They took another breath.

“We are terminally ill; we only have about half a month left now.”

Both families were stunned. Jihyo’s brother looked at his sister pleadingly, hoping that she would reveal that this is a joke, but she looked away sadly. It was then he realised. It was true… it explained her strange behaviour just now. He felt a sharp pang of pain in his heart. He stayed silent as the truth settled in.

Gary’s brother let out a forced chuckle. “No way… this is some prank right? Some hidden camera? It’s not funny, Gary…”

Then, Jihyo’s mother started laughing awkwardly too. “Jihyo-yah, I didn’t know you actually prank people. Yes, it’s not funny. We didn’t fall for it, either…”

Everyone started smiling again, but the invisible tension was still there. They knew that it wasn’t a joke, but it was the tru