After taking her last exam for finals, Eunhae went to La Grazia to practice for the upcoming grand recital. Miss Yang was ever so grateful for the girl in accepting her offer despite her busy schedule in school. Fortunately, her fall semester was about to end. After practicing for hours, Eunhae headed back to the locker room to change.

"I'm excited for our grand recital!" Suzy, her friend, who's one of the ballerinas that got accepted in the auditions, exclaimed.

"Yeah, me too!" Another ballerina joined her cheer.

"I mean, we're gonna perform in the town's main theater so it's worth anticipating for."

"Absolutely!"

Hearing their conversation, Eunhae smiled as she removed her pointe shoes.

"How about you, Eunhae?" Suzy asked. "Will your family be there?"

"Yes," Eunhae replied. "Mom and Inna will attend."

"Aww, how about Chanyeol?"

Eunhae stopped massaging her feet upon hearing her question. "I...I don't know."

After getting her reply, Suzy remembered her conversation with Eunhae a few weeks ago wherein she told Chanyeol's condition. "Ohh...right. I'm—I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." Eunhae smiled and proceeded to change her clothes.

~:~

The noon sky was a pumpkin shade when Eunhae walked at the quiet street near Chanyeol's subdivision. Her eyes were fixated on her steps as she found herself thinking. She still hadn't told Chanyeol that she passed the audition and she's been practicing already for the event. And it bothered her because just beneath the surface, she knew that she can't bring herself to tell the news to Chanyeol.

Weeks already passed and all of them knew that Chanyeol's slowly deteriorating.

Of course, it greatly bothered Eunhae and she hated herself for thinking that by the time of their ballet recital, Chanyeol will probably be gone.

With a troubled mind, Eunhae sighed and stared at the vast orange sky, noticing a group of birds in V-shaped position.

Her heartbeat drummed along with her footsteps as Eunhae let herself got engulfed by her thoughts.

From the very beginning, she knew that the end will soon come and death is just around the corner.

She's been preparing herself for that day already, she thought. And as days wore on and Chanyeol's condition became visibly worse, Eunhae knew that there's not much time left.

She then broke out from her trance when she felt something cold hit her cheeks and before she knew it, a drizzle started.

After knocking, the door was opened by Mrs. Park whose face was flushed. Her eyes were swollen too.

"Is everything alright?" The girl asked, feeling the sudden rush of blood in her veins as she studied the older one's face.

"He's okay. Chanyeol's okay." Mrs. Park said and gave the girl a hug right after she entered.

Eunhae saw Chanyeol's dad at the living room with the nurse that was assigned for Chanyeol's hospice.

After seeing Eunhae, Mr. Park gave a nod along with a weak smile. He used to come home during weekends only yet because of the situation, he decided to come home from work every day despite the distance.

"Chanyeol's in pain a while ago." Mrs. Park murmured.

"What?"

"Actually it happened between five and six o'clock in the morning." The older one informed. "It…it went on for hours you see. Fortunately the hospice manage to control the situation...I'm sorry I didn't call you. It's just that I know that it's your exam day…but don't worry, Eunhae. He's okay now. He took a long rest."

"I see..." Eunhae nodded and held Mrs. Park's hands. "It's alright…thank you."

"Don't stress yourself out too much okay, dear?"

"You too, auntie." She smiled. "So uhh...is he awake now?"

"Yes yes...he just woke up."

"Alright, I'm gonna go."

"Sure, dear. The door's open."

After leaving a smile, Eunhae went straight to Chanyeol's room.

He was seated on his bed when she got inside. His back was against the headboard.

As soon as he saw her, Chanyeol smiled although everything inside him felt weak.

"Hey," He managed to speak.

"Hi, love."

"Did you get wet? It's drizzling."

"I brought an umbrella."

"Good," Chanyeol said as he felt her kiss on his forehead.

After settling herself, Eunhae looked at him, taking note of his cheerfulness despite of what happened that morning.

"Tough day is it?"

"Hm?"

"Your mom told me that you were in pain this morning." She replied and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, that," He tried to smile. "Yeah, my back's been hurting so much lately. But I feel okay now."

"Sure?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Hearing the assurance in his tone, Eunhae nodded although worry basked her face. "Alright,"

"How's the last day of your exam?"

"It's okay I guess. Thank God it wasn't very hard."

Chanyeol chuckled. It was evident that he's having a difficult time to steady his breathing. "That's my girl."

Hearing his statement, Eunhae smiled as she interlaced her fingers with his.

"Look at those raindrops." The boy said after averting his gaze to the window.

The sidewalk from outside was visibly wet and countless raindrops painted the window like glued crystals.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" He said. "When I was a kid, I used to drench myself in rain along with the kids in the neighborhood."

Eunhae smiled as she studied Chanyeol and listened at his story. Sometimes he would chuckle between his words then smile, the kind of smile that was somehow an offspring of joy and longing.

"Do you know that you're beautiful, too?" Eunhae asked when Chanyeol stopped talking.

"Hm?"

"The way how your eyes sparkled with so much optimism in every circumstance," she explained, "You're like a container, you see...filled with everything bright. Calmness, joy, courage, hope...that even when thrown in the dark or tossed by waves, you still shine with faith for greater things ahead."

Chanyeol smiled though his eyes brimmed with tears. Her grip around his hand tightened and he felt as if it's enough to not let his soul slip away.

"You're everything beautiful, Chanyeol...I hope you know that." Eunhae sniffed. "Remember the time when we climbed the Oak tree?"

He nodded.

"You told me that you're in search for the beautiful things in this imperfect world...and I thought to myself that I was actually with someone beautiful that moment."

The both of them chuckled.

"I love you,"

Eunhae brushed her other hand through his hair. "I love you too."

"You know," she continued, "if...if you can't take it anymore…you can g—"

"Not yet,"

Seeing his cheerful smile amidst his pale face, Eunhae gave him a questioning look.

"I still want to watch you dance on your grand recital."

She almost caught her breath. Eunhae looked surprised.

"I know." Chanyeol murmured. "I saw the letter pressed inside your book when you were asleep at the hospital."

Hearing his statement, Eunhae felt her lips tremble. "Oh, Chanyeol...I'm so sorry..."

"Hey," he whispered. "It's alright, love."

"I'm so sorry...it's just that I don't want to burden you..."

"Shh," He then reached out his hand to caress her cheeks that turned into crimson. "Eunhae, it's alright."

The girl pursed her lips and stared at his sincere eyes. She admitted that her heart ached with hopes to see those eyes watching her on the day of the grand recital.

"I want to see you dance." He once again said. "Count on me."

~:~

It was during a cool, crisp day of fall when Mrs. Park dwarfed the stool in front of the piano while Chanyeol was on his wheelchair, settled beside her.

They were playing music together as the smell of fried bacon wafted through the room since Mr. Park volunteered to make breakfast.

As their fingers slowly travelled through different sharps and scales, smiles were plastered on their faces.

"Do you remember when you were still a kid?” His mom asked as she made abstract sounds on the piano. “At first, you used to just listen to me when I play. Then, after a while, you wanted to learn.”

Chanyeol smiled at the memory. “Yeah…I would reason that I want to have a duet with you whenever you’d ask me why I wanted to learn.”

“Your fingers were so small back then,” Mrs. Park chuckled. “Yet it didn’t stop you from persuading me. We would sit here for hours…and before I knew it, you were able to play the piano without me guiding you by your side.”

Hearing her words, Chanyeol smiled and stared at her thin fingers that were idly pressing different scales.

“There were times when I would hear you play while I’m cooking at the kitchen. I would smile at how far you’ve come…but then I would long for the days when you would just sit beside me while I play, pushing me to teach you.”

“Aw, ma,”

Mrs. Park unconsciously wiped her eyes. “But time cannot be stopped. There will always come a day when the child will be able to do things without his mother.”

“Mom, c’mon,” Chanyeol placed his arm on her shoulder. “That doesn’t mean that you’ll stop being my mother.”

“Oh, sweetie,” She smiled, “I want you to know that I’m so proud to see what you’ve become. You’ve grown into a fine young man, sweetie—strong and kind. And I can’t believe that I’ve been given a privilege to become your mother.”

“Ma, I should be the one saying that.” Chanyeol chuckled. “You’re the most beautiful mother anyone could ever have. And I am very blessed to be your son…to be the one who was nurtured between your loving arms and gentle kisses.”

“So, thank you, mom…really.” The boy continued. Mrs. Park had stopped playing and she was just staring at her son while her eyes brimmed with tears. She cannot imagine herself playing the piano without Chanyeol by her side anymore. “Thank you for being ever so patient with me…and for being constantly there on my side through my ups and downs…and I’m sorry I’ve become a burden to you and dad…”

“No, no,” She placed her hand on top of his. “You’ve never become a burden to us, Chanyeol, never. Your dad and I would trade the whole world for you!”

The boy pursed his lips as he saw how tears trickled from his mother’s eyes. She surely was the soft-hearted one in their family. “Your dad and I will never be ashamed to pour out our love for you relentlessly, Chanyeol. And I, will never, ever get tired of being your mother.”

Chanyeol took a long, shuddering breath and blinked as he felt tears threaten to fall from his eyes. “I love you mom...I don’t know where would I be without you.”

The two of them embraced. Neither of them took notice how long they stayed in that position, but when they finally broke out from each other’s arms, Mrs. Park spoke with trembling lips.

“You know, if you can’t take it anymore…you can let go. We’ll be okay, sweetie. We don’t want you fighting over such pain any longer. If you’re tired, you can let go now. We’ll be okay.”

Then, she planted a sweet kiss on her son’s head.

Throughout the years, Chanyeol admired his parents. For they were the people he’d seen who put their love into action; the people who put others’ needs first instead of their own; and the people who made sacrifices without regretting what they’ve lost. They were the very first beautiful people he had met.

And it amazed him to know that just by looking at their eyes, he would already catch a glimpse of their great love towards him. He knew that he will never be able to grasp how wide their love is, yet it didn’t matter, for he enjoys sinking into its depth, giving him a sense of comfort that it will never run out…because children are their parents’ greatest possession.