Vicissitudes of life don't come knocking at doors. Rather, they burst forth without even asking for your permission. They enter without warning, stealing your joy in trade of heartaches.

And that's what happened after a few weeks. It was during the time when Eunhae had just received a letter stating that she passed the audition for the grand recital. Right after her dismissal, she got a call from Mrs. Lee.

"Mom?"

"Eunhae? Sweetie, where are you?"

"I just got out from my class. Why?"

Sensing that the voice from the other line was tensed, her heart beat nervously. "Mom? Is something wrong?"

"It's...it's Chanyeol."

"Ch—Chanyeol? Why? What happened?"

"Mrs. Park called a while ago and said that Chanyeol was in pain." She explained. "He collapsed and was admitted to the hospital."

Just by hearing that he was in pain, Eunhae felt suffocated. "Mom, where? What hospital?"

"I'm outside your school. We'll go there together."

Right after she ended the call, Eunhae dashed outside of the building as she struggled to fight the nervousness inside her heart.

During their ride to the hospital, Mrs. Lee talked yet Eunhae was too nervous to understand what she’s saying. She just sat there, trying to steady her breathing as she clutched her chest.

As soon as they got inside, the smell of antiseptics entered their nostrils yet Eunhae was so much in a hurry that she didn't have time to notice them.

Chanyeol's parents were outside the Emergency Room when they arrived. Mr. Park's face was flushed, obvious that he was fighting his tears while embracing his wife who keeps on sobbing.

"Auntie!" Eunhae said as they arrived. There were so much worry and despair all over her face.

"Oh, Eunhae." Mrs. Park sobbed and hugged the girl along with her mom.

"W—where's Chanyeol?" Eunhae asked.

"He's inside." Mr. Park said. His voice was gruff—obvious that he's stressed out.

"Minji, what happened?" Mrs. Lee asked Chanyeol's mom as she gently rubbed her back.

"I was washing dishes that time when he called me from his room. I knew there's something wrong just by listening at the sound of his voice and then when I walked inside…" She started to sob once again. "…h—he was crying and...and there were patches of blood on the bed sheets…and he was puking again and again."

Eunhae's lips trembled and tears flowed from her eyes just by hearing her explanation. She couldn't bring herself to imagine what just happened to Chanyeol.

"Oh I was so scared and I didn't know what to do…then I called the ambulance and…and Jinho."

"Oh dear," Mrs. Lee mumbled as she empathized with her friend.

"Honey, it's alright." Mr. Park said as he hugged her once again. "He'll be alright."

"Oh Chanyeol, my poor Chanyeol," Minji wept as her husband's shirt got soaked with her tears. "It's much worse than what happened two years ago...our boy's in so much pain."

"Shh,"

"Why does it have to come back...w—why does his sickness have to come back..." She sobbed. "I'm not ready to let him go, Jinho…I don't think I'll ever be."

Hearing her cry of despair, Mr. Park took a deep breath as he tried to comfort his wife although he knew that deep down, he was afraid too.

"Chanyeol..." Eunhae cried as she felt her heart got overwhelmed with fear while Mrs. Lee embraced her child.

~:~

It was already ten in the evening and Chanyeol was still unconscious. The doctor had already explained that he's now out of danger and all they have to do was to wait for the test results.

The four of them were settled on the chairs. Their eyes were swollen and it was obvious that they were completely weary.

Then, Mrs. Lee invited them to say a prayer that moment for Chanyeol.

After a while, Mrs. Lee ached at the sight of her daughter worried and tired so she rubbed her back. "Eunhae, let's go home. You should take a rest."

"But mom, I...I want to stay here."

"Look, you could come back here tomorrow but for now, you have to take a rest."

"But..."

Mrs. Park held the girl's hand. "Lucy's right, Eunhae. You should sleep. Jinho and I could manage."

"Yeah," Mr. Park nodded. "Don't worry, Eunhae. The doctor already said that Chanyeol's out of danger. We're just waiting for the results of his examination. You could come back here tomorrow."

Hearing their statements, Eunhae knew that she couldn't protest any longer so in the end, she nodded and went home along with her mother.

~:~

For Eunhae, that night was probably the most agonizing long night that she had encountered. She was lying on her bed and was staring at her room's ceiling.

She tried to recall her moments with him yet every once in a while, she would imagine him crying and puking blood on his bed sheets.

It was hard it was for her to think of Chanyeol; the one who's so buoyant and funny, crying in pain.

It felt so complex to her. How could someone be so strong amidst the fact that death was just around the corner?

Eunhae felt how tired she was yet she couldn't bring herself to sleep. Instead, she just stared at the ceiling as she listened to the abrupt beat of her scared heart. Oh how she badly wanted to take away every pain and lock it in a Pandora's box. She wanted to take down time and scream at its face to stop yet she knew that it was impossible, because life doesn't turn out according to what she wants to happen.

Throughout the watches of night, Eunhae kept on weaving tears as she listened to her aching heart.

~:~

It was 8AM in the morning when Mrs. Lee drove Eunhae to the hospital. Along the way, they bought a basket of fruits to give to the Parks. Mrs. Lee wasn't able to drop by any longer because of work so it was only Eunhae who went to check on Chanyeol.

"Greet Minji and Jinho for me, dear."

"I will mom."

Just before Eunhae could close the door, Mrs. Lee called her.

"Yeah?"

Her mom tried to smile even though she could clearly see the tiredness on her daughter's face. "Courage, alright?"

Eunhae gave a smile as she nodded.

"I'll see you later. Love you, sweetie."

"Bye mom, I love you too."

Eunhae watched as the car slowly shrunk in size from afar and when it was finally nowhere to be seen, she took a deep breath and walked inside.

After knowing his room number from the reception, Eunhae made her way through the hallway.

From afar, Eunhae saw Chanyeol's parents from outside, talking. She could clearly see that Mrs. Park was crying, and just by seeing how weariness engulfed the both of them, she braced herself.

"Good morning," She croaked and received a weak smile from Mr. Park.

"Hello, Eunhae." He greeted while his wife gave the girl an embrace.

"I uhh, mom and I brought some fruits." She said as she showed the basket that she was holding.

"Thank you, dear." Mrs. Park gave the basket to her husband and Eunhae watched him walked inside the room.

"So uhh, what did the doctor say?" She asked as she tightened her grip around the strap of her bag. "Did they already give any updates?"

Hearing her question, Mrs. Park tried to smile and led her to a line of chairs.

Right after they sat, Eunhae felt afraid as she looked at how the woman wiped her tears.

"The doctor already talked to us."

"What...what did they say?"

Mrs. Park looked up as she took a breath and Eunhae knew that she was trying to contain her tears.

"Aunt Minji?" Eunhae rubbed the older one's arm.

Then, Mrs. Park began to sob which made Eunhae even more afraid.

"F—five…" Mrs. Park said between her sobs. "Five months...o—or less."

Eunhae didn't have to ask for explanation because she knew what Mrs. Park meant.

"Does Chanyeol...already know?"

The older one nodded.

Eunhae knew that her heart clenched just by hearing the number of months, so she took in a deep breath to suppress her tears and hugged Mrs. Park.

After a while, Eunhae excused herself to go to the restroom but right after she turned to the next empty hallway, tears started to flow from her eyes.

As she felt the cold wall against her back, Eunhae covered her face with her palms and sobbed quietly.

Agony engulfed her heart that Eunhae felt like there wasn't enough oxygen in the room for her to breathe. Slowly, as her knees started to wobble, she slouched on the tiled floor.

Of course, from the beginning, Eunhae knew that this day would come yet she didn't realize that it would hurt her so much to the point as if her heart was being literally torn apart.

She stayed there for a while; weeping quietly as her hand tightly clutched her chest as if it's the only way to keep the pieces of her heart together.

Eunhae didn't go to Chanyeol's room after that. Instead, she went to the restroom to wash her face although it wasn't enough to obscure her swollen eyes. Then, she headed straight to the lobby.

There weren't any people that time which made her comfortable. She settled herself on one of the chairs at the last row.

Eunhae was idly fiddling the keychain of her bag as she stared at the floor. She knew that she still doesn't have the strength to face Chanyeol that moment. Just by catching a glimpse of his face, she knew that she'll end up crying her heart out; and she doesn't want that because it might worry Chanyeol.

So instead, she stayed first at the lobby, trying to find out if there's still a hint of courage left inside her.

"Don't lose hope, dear."

The girl turned her head and saw an old woman seated beside her. The color of her short hair that has curly locks reminds her of winter. Wrinkles were written on her face which made Eunhae assume that she was already in the stage of Late Adulthood.

As Eunhae stared at the older one's warm smile, she almost broke into tears. "Thank you..."

"Why are you downcast?"

"It's just that...I feel so weak and hopeless." Eunhae murmured. "I feel like I'm surrounded by walls of despair and there's no way out."

"Dear, there's no wall of despair too great for hope to come forth."

Seeing the gentleness and assurance in the older one's eyes, Eunhae tried to smile despite her pain.

"Would it be okay if I pray for you?" The old woman asked as she placed her wrinkled hand on top of Eunhae's.

"Yes, please, I need that." Eunhae replied. Then, the both of them bowed their heads to pray.

~:~

It took Eunhae more than an hour before she mustered up some courage and decided to enter Chanyeol's room.

Just before Eunhae could turn the knob, the door opened, revealing Mrs. Park.

"Eunhae, where have you been?"

"I'm sorry. I needed some fresh air."

Hearing the girl's reply, the woman gave a sad smile. "It's alright. I understand."

"Is there anyone inside?"

"Just Chanyeol. Jinho went away just a few minutes ago to get some clothes."

"Oh…alright."

"Go on, you should go inside." Mrs. Park said. "I'll just settle some fees."

"Okay," Eunhae replied and received a hug from the older one.

Then, just before she entered, she took a deep breath and tried to paint courage on her face.

Chanyeol was seated on the bed when Eunhae entered. From a few centimeters away, she could clearly see how he looked pale. His eyes brightened up as soon as he saw her. "Hey there, beautiful."

Not a minute after, all the strength that Eunhae had gathered suddenly faded away just by seeing Chanyeol. Her lips started to tremble and before she could even make her first step, tears were already flowing from her eyes.

"Baby, hey," he said with his weak voice, "come here."

Without any hesitation, Eunhae walked towards him and gave him an embrace. Oh how it felt good for her to hear his breath assuring her that he's still there.

"Where have you been?" He asked as Eunhae sat on the chair beside him. His voice sounded so weak and fragile.

"Hm?"

"Mom told me that you were already here an hour ago." He explained, almost registered to a whisper. "Why did it take you so long to come inside?"

"Oh, that," she sneezed on her handkerchief that she retrieved from her bag. "I just got some fresh air."

"You've been crying, aren't you?"

"What..no..."

"Oh Eunhae," Chanyeol chuckled weakly and reached out his hand to wipe her cheeks. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're not good at lying?"

"Well, Inna did."

They both laughed despite their heartaches. Then, Eunhae interlaced her fingers with Chanyeol's as silence wrapped the both of them. She knew that beneath the surface, she feels afraid, yet that moment, as she looked at Chanyeol, she realized that his eyes were glimmering with hope that managed to comfort her.

"Are you...afraid?" Eunhae asked.

"Of death?"

She nodded.

"No,"

Chanyeol said it with so much assurance that it astounded Eunhae; there wasn't any hint of disdain on his face. Rather, he looked so calm and gentle.

"I haven't told you my favorite quote, right?"

"Not yet,"

"Perfect love casts out fear."

Hearing his answer, Eunhae tried to smile.

"Perfect love casts out fear." He repeated and glanced at the window that revealed the sky.

"You know, I have realized that I shouldn't be afraid...I mean, I am secured at the truth that God dearly loves me as His and that He has a plan for me that is far more greater." He took a deep breath as a smile slowly made its way on his lips. "So I shouldn't be scared of what lies ahead, because He loves me with a Love so perfect and it is enough to assure me that He will take care of me."

He said those words with so much clarity and assurance; and it amazed Eunhae to see how Chanyeol was securely anchored to his Hope.

"Perfect Love casts out fear." She said.

Chanyeol smiled. "Yes, perfect Love casts out fear."

As their words roamed around the room, they felt comfort in their heart as if they've been wrapped by a blanket that gave so much warmth, scaring the coldness away.