FLASHBACK

“Can I ask why?” Dasom added, making Soojung look at her “What?”

“Can I ask … why you’re doing this?”

“O-oh …”

Soojung thought things through for a while. She was still really very hesitant about this topic. But she trusted Dasom! She’s the only girl bestfriend she has!

But still! She worked so, so hard on keeping it a secret! What makes her so sure that this is the time to be revealing it to anyone?

A few more minutes of internal conflict later, Soojung took a deep breath before starting.

“…”

“… it’s because I’m sick, Dasom-ah”

Dasom, who was about to put a piece of pancake in , stopped and looked at Soojung with wide eyes “W-what? …”

“I’m sick. I can’t be healed …”

“What? W-what did-- What are you saying?” Dasom sounded panicky. Soojung just looked at her and gave her a small smile.

“Doctors found out about it the minute I was born” Soojung explained “… I don’t even remember the name of this disease but they said it’s like a time bomb inside of my body. That when this ‘thing’ inside me matures enough, it’ll take over everything; and the host would be consumed in one blow” her voice faltered for a bit as she bit back a few tears that were threatening to come out “… t-they said I won’t make it past mid-20”

“T-this … H-How on earth …??” Dasom gulped ”…. i-it can be cured, right? … tell me it can be healed!”

Soojung just shook her head “The cure is said to still be in the experimental stage. Plus, the components needed for it are very rare. I wouldn’t count on it …”

“But that’s just--“

“I’m dying and that’s that, Dasom-ah … I’ve accepted this fate long ago. You’re the first apart from my parents to know”

Dasom gasped in shock, dropping her fork with a clang on the plate.
 

Silence filled the air for a while.

…

Soojung gave out a short, dry laugh “So you see … even if I wanted to …” a tear fell “… even if I wanted to with EVERYTHING I had …” she sobbed

“… I CAN’T love Baekhyun.”

FLASHBACK

“Baek … I-I’m sorry …” was Soojung reply to his very first proposal.

Baekhyun swallowed hard and tried to find his voice before speaking again. The words ‘I’m sorry’ have never sounded so hurtful and scary. “i-it’s okay … w-we’re still young, after all. I-it’s my fault for rushing”

“N-no … you don’t understand. I--“

“It’s ok, Soojung-ah …” Baekhyun tried to smile “… I can wait”

---

“Baekhyun, if you would just listen!!” Soojung tried to reason out after Baekhyun proposed once again and got rejected once again as well.

“No, it’s ok. I guess it’s still too early. I’m so impatient” he laughed dryly and looked away, hurt evident in his eyes.

“Listen … B-baek, its not … we’re not …” Soojung struggled to find the right words without giving away her secret but she felt weak and confused whenever she met his pained eyes.

“I’ll wait some more, Soojung. I mean, we’re still in highschool, right? Plenty of time” he smiled sadly.

---

“Hey, Love …” B