--Taemin's POV--

"You have a con heart disease."

His words echoed -- no, trembled -- through my ears. Heart disease. Heart disease. I have heart disease. Those words reverberated through me as if they couldn't stop. It felt like dominoes tumbling downwards. It felt like birds dropping down the sky. Like a mirror shattering into pieces and cutting me into nothingness. That's how it felt to know.

"Is it. . . bad?" I asked. I didn't know how long I'd been sitting there silently. My doctor paused at my question. When he didn't reply, I looked up to see him nodding at me sorrowfully. Dread hit me in the chest like a rock as I stared at him never endlessly. "How long do I have?" My voice sounded hoarse.

"A month or so," he replied tenderly, looking at his papers. He seemed to regain his composure. "A thorough examination of your body showed that you have about a month left. The symptoms should sink into your system pretty soon."

His answer didn't help me feel much better. I guess he wasn't going to hide anything else from me to any further extent. "Deadly symptoms?" I asked.

". . . Yes."

~ ~ ~

When I left the hospital, Minri was waiting for me outside, sitting at a bench and looking at the flowers in the grass with keen interest. I was surprised to see her here. I had asked Key hyung to walk her to school to make sure she was safe and sound. When she saw me coming her way, Minri grinned brightly and stood up.

"How was the check-up?" she asked.

"...It was fine."

She frowned at me like she could read my mind. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said. "I'm just a little tired. What are you doing here?"

She seemed to believe my poor excuse and decided to ignore my depressing aura. With a sheepish smile, she giggled. "Well, I wanted to pick you up. It's lunch time, anyway. Besides, you made Key bring me to school. I decided to do you the same favor."

"Thanks," I replied.

"Sure."

We walked down the road and headed back to school together. It was a quiet walk as usual, but my mind was too distracted to make any sort of conversation with her. I thought about what my doctor had told me at the hospital.

"I looked through your family's health history," he said. "In the past, your mother seemed to be an alcoholic, based on her check-ups. Con heart disease can occur if a pregnant woman drinks alcohol during her pregnancy. Did you know about your mother's drinking habits?"

I shook my head. "...No. Growing up, I never remembered seeing her drink too often."

"Then maybe she quit drinking after you were born," he suggested. "However, that doesn't change the fact that she may have drank during the time she was pregnant with you.  That could have been the cause of your heart disease. But I also have to notify you that your father had con heart defect. This could also have been a reason for your disease."

I buried my head into my hands as I mentally groaned. My mother had drinking problems that I didn't know about. My father had con heart defect that I didn't know about. I had con heart disease that I didn't know about. And now I was going to die from it. How can it be like this? How can my life go from bad to worse? Just when I thought things were turning around, why did this have to happen?

After the check-up, my doctor had apologized for not knowing about it until it was too late. He'd figured that my strange heart rate was due to my youth. He'd thought wrong. All I wanted to do was scream out my frustration into the ocean and bury all of it into the ground.

"Minri-ah," I called.

She turned around and pouted when she saw that I had stopped in my tracks. "Hmm? What's wrong?"

"If you had a ticking time bomb laying on your head, what would you do?"

She gave me a confused look. "Umm. . . I would dismantle the bomb?"

"You would?" I asked, a little shocked. "What if it blew up before you could save yourself?" I asked.

"I would rather sacrifice one life than let it hurt anyone else's," Minri replied.

"You wouldn't throw it into the ocean?"

She shook her head at me. "Of course not, Taemin. Then all the creatures underwater would be hurt."

I laughed humorlessly. She always thought of everyone else first. Even animals. I guess that was what I loved most about her. "I guess you're right. But...what if you couldn't dismantle the bomb? What if there was just no way out?"

She seemed to ponder on my question for a while. I walked along beside her while she continued to think to herself. Watching her, I wondered what she was thinking. And I wondered if I should let her know. Minri turned her face toward me as she found her answer pleasantly.

"I would live the last of my life as happily as possible."

Hearing her words, there was only one thought in my mind at her response: She never fails to impress me with her answers.

~ ~ ~

--Minri's POV--

After our walk back to school, lunch was coming to an end. In the hallways, people were still gossiping about Heena's suspension. After being sent to the principal's office, she hadn't returned to class. A few students had spotted her walking out of the school, which led to their conclusion that she had been suspended. No one knew for how long, but I knew she probably wouldn't be allowed to enter the competition anymore with suspension hanging over her head. Even if she was allowed to, I doubted she would come. Heena was the type of girl to keep up a positive image of herself. After her absence from school, I wondered if her reputation at school would ever be the same.

From then on, Vivien and Senni were always at my side. During lunch, they would pull me along with them to the cafeteria to sit, talking about the most random things. I got to know them pretty well. The closer we became, the more I liked them.

Vivien was outgoing and always bold. She was not the type to think before leaping, which made me understand why she had been so obedient to Heena. Vivien always surprised me with her witty conversations. She was always first with the latest gossip and knew almost everything about everyone.

Senni, on the other hand, was a quiet person. But the more I talked to her, the more bubblier she was. She liked to keep things to herself. When I pressed questions on her, she would shyly answer them and always looked pleased to see me talk with her. She was a passive and shy girl, who could be manipulated easily if threatened.

The two of them were always talking about Key and Jonghyun. They told me they'd been crushing on them since forever and I knew they were being honest. Senni had started liking Key from the moment he greeted her in the hallway. Vivien had affections for Jonghyun when he apologized for accidentally throwing a basketball on her head in gym class a few years ago.

However, even though I loved hanging out with the Umbrella Girls (as the rest of SHINee liked to call them), they were always surrounding me each and everyday. I felt as though I was getting more and more farther away from Taemin. Taemin had been acting like a stranger again these past few weeks as well. He'd been quiet whenever we got to talk. I've tried asking him about it, but he would always have the same answer: He was tired. I knew it was more than that, but the more I pressed on, the more quieter he would become.

"Minri saeng!" a cheerful voice called.

I grinned from ear to ear. "Onew Chicken Oppa!"

He waved at me, dangling a chicken leg in front of my face. "Guess what's for lunch?"

"Chicken, obviously," I laughed.

He nodded joyfully. "Yep!"

I glanced around the cafeteria, already knowing what I wouldn't find. "Where's Taemin?"

He shrugged, frowning. "I don't know. He's been a ghost lately. I don't know what's up with him."

"I'm going to go search for him, alright?"

Onew nodded and chewed his chicken leg mirthfully. I left him alone as I sped out of the cafeteria and ran to my locker, where we occasionally sat to just talk about anything and everything. Just as I expected, he wasn't there. I longed to remember him smiling at me and joking around while we pressed our heads against the lockers.

I looked around in the school hallways, at every corner, every empty space in the halls, but he was nowhere to be seen. Finally, I went to the school courtyard, the place where we always had lunch together. There he was. Slumped down against the grassy land; his eyes were glassy again. His mouth looked dry; his skin looked pale, and his hair looked dead.

It was the same look on his face the very first time I saw him. I couldn't help but pity that face. I didn't know why he looked so lifeless. Not too long ago, he'd been completely fine. He'd been healthy and strong. He practically glowed. He had changed into a happier person. But now, there he was, looking like a shattered mess. I slowly treaded down the hall, my footsteps loud and clear. But he didn't even seem to notice.

"Taemin-ah. . ."

He slowly trained his dull eyes toward mine. "Minri...?"

I crawled down beside him, our shoulders touching. I wrapped my hand around his cold fingers. His fingers were wobbling against my touch.

"What are you doing here?" he asked feebly.

"Why aren't you having lunch with the gang?"

"I'm tired."

"You always say that!" I shouted angrily. I was tired of him lying to me. He'd been lying for too long. And I knew he trusted me. I didn't understand why he was keeping it to himself when he had so many people who loved him enough to care. "Please, Taemin! Tell me the truth. What's been happening? Why are you acting like a stranger towards me?" I knew I sounded accusing. I knew my words were harsh, but I couldn't let him continue being like this. It was too much for me to handle, seeing him as how he used to be.

I heard a shaky gasp as he turned his head to me weakly. I wondered why he looked so dreadful, emotionally and physically. His dry, colorless lips were trembling just like his fingers.

"Minri-ah. I have . . . heart disease."

At first I thought I'd heard him wrong. He had barely whispered it, but I knew I'd heard him say those words. Heart disease. Suddenly the hospital visit made sense. Suddenly his abrupt behavior made sense. And suddenly, every dark puzzle piece began to fit into a bigger picture. It seemed like my eyes immediately began to blur up. As if the tears couldn't stop themselves from escaping.

"H-Heart . . . disease?" I stammered, clutching his hand even tighter than before. My knuckles were as white as snow. "No, no. I - I don't believe you!"

His glum expression told me he was telling the truth. I couldn't believe him. I didn't want to believe him. But I did. And there was no backing out of the truth. It was my own fault for pressuring him into being honest about it. But I was glad that he had finally trusted me enough to tell me.

"It's true, Minri. I have a month left to live. . . Or less," he softly spoke.

I didn't know how to respond. As I continued to grip his hand, all I wanted to do was comfort him, let him know that everything would be okay, even if it wasn't.

"If you had a ticking time bomb laying on your head, what would you do?" I asked him gently, leaning against his shoulder while watching his eyes search mine.

He smiled dolefully and brushed his fingers through my hair. "I would live the last of my life as happily as possible."

Then he leaned toward me, his face breathing into mine. And he planted his lips against mine, touching my lips as gently as a feather. His cold lips made me shiver. His breath was cool and misty. Just like the rainy scent that he held. Our fist kiss. And maybe our last.

Thank you to all my readers and subscribers! You all probably feel the story coming to an end soon, and I'm here to tell you that you're right. This story has brought many new aspects to me. I've never written a melodrama fanfic before, so I'm impressed to hear you commenters are enjoying it. Thanks for supporting this story and its characters! No matter what happens, I hope you've enjoyed reading it. Thanks!!!