Final
Loving Winter
Daehyun dropped his phone on the ground. He did not care whether it would break or not. He was in shock, his train thoughts suddenly stopped. He was not prepared for this, and never would he be.
He needed to get there, get to her.
He snapped out of his trance and bolted to his closet, pulling out a random jacket and other thick clothing that would keep him warm in this merciless weather. Leaving his house in a cluttered mess, he flung his door open and slammed it shut after he got from his house. He did not care about his messy house, neither if the neighbours were watching him as if he was a nutcase.
He did not care about anything, anything but her.
He dashed across the streets, snowflakes fell on his body which soon became droplets of water. Blankets of snow were everywhere - on the streets, benches, stores, houses, everywhere. The once lukewarm and flowing water of the fountain and pond nearby were frozen into solid ice. Kids were wrapped with mountains of clothing, all thanks to their parents. Giggling and laughing in joy, they played in the snow. From snowball fights to ice-skating, they were doing any possible winter activity, making full use of this season.
However, Daehyun was feeling completely opposite from the little bundles of joy people called kids.
Not stopping at all, he continued to run and run and run. He shoved into many people along the way, earning him a few swearing, scolding and grunts. However, he was not fazed by anything as there was only one thing on his mind.
He passed by a specific park bench that was now covered in snow.
"Let's take a rest," Daehyun said, worried plastered all over his face as he led Hyesung to the bench.
As it was covered in snow, Daehyun dusted all of it away so that they would be able to sit on it. Daehyun, being the gentleman he was, let Hyesung sit on the bench first. After she did so, he took a seat beside her.
She looked towards him and he looked towards her. She gave a heart-warming smile that sent Daehyun's heart pumping furiously, his face flushed as he looked away. In response to what he did, she chuckled.
Even though it was winter where it was suppose to be cold, those little things she did certainly did warmed Daehyun up.
He was trying to stay strong. He had to see it to believe it.
Finally, he reached the yard of Hyesung's house. He pushed open the fence and sprinted across her front yard.
"Aww, the poor thing's cold," Hyesung whimpered as she scooped up the little Golden Retriever puppy into her arms.
It was shivering furiously, whining almost every now and then. The little pup looked lost, helpless and so vulnerable. Being an extreme animal lover, seeing this shattered her heart into a million pieces. She dusted off the fallen snow off of its head.
Daehyun stood there dumbfounded. He did not know what to do. He had no experience with animals, especially dogs. The only time he probably encountered one was when the dog was barking at him, behind a fence, in a house that was across from where he was standing. He looked at Hyesung cuddling the pup as if it was her own. Unnoticeably, the ends of his lips twitched upwards as he watched her took care of the pup, bringing it into her home for warmth and giving it food.
Snow slowly fell on him as he watched her with a smile on his face from outside her house, in her front yard.
It seemed like it was always during the winter he found himself helplessly falling in love with her more and more.
Daehyun pushed the front door opened, not even closing it properly after he stepped into the house. He ran towards her bedroom, hearing sobs and cries of her fellow relatives. Daehyun bit his lips as he approached her door. He opened it slowly, afraid of what he would see.
He was terrified.
Finally, fully opening the door, he stood rooted to the ground by the door frame.
Hyesung let her legs swung freely as she grabbed on the playground swing's handles. Her swing was rocking back and forth lightly, with Daehyun doing like so in the swing beside hers.
"Don't you love winter, Dae?" she looked forward with a gentle smile on her face.
Daehyun cocked an eyebrow up as he stared at her, "No, it's so cold. It makes me feel weak and solemn."
"Ah, that's sad then because I, for one, love it," she grinned as a snowflake fell on her nose bridge.
"You're weird. Many people dislike the cold season whereas you like it," chuckled Daehyun.
She kept silent for awhile as she continued rocking back and forth.
"Don't you ever feel like you're all alone, as if the world beneath your feet was crumbling down and suddenly, everything turns dark?" she said with no readable expression on her face.
Daehyun was lost for words. He did not know how to answer that. He knew what she was talking about. That one thing that prevented her from her dreams.
Leukaemia.
She had that illness and currently, she was at a stage where it was hard to cure. It was either she took a very risky surgery or just await her death. She picked the latter. She lamented the fact she had that illness.
"I felt that all the time. It all turns worse when I see people giving me pitiful looks and when I imagine myself like every normal human being, able to do many things," she continued.
"Hyesung..." Daehyun said softly, a feeling of remorse aroused in him.
He was guilty and angry at himself for not being able to cure of her problems. It hurt him seeing her depressed, it really did.
He felt his body shook as he staggered towards her almost lifeless body on her single-sized bed. Her face was skinny, sunken in. Eyes losing the spark she had every time. Her hair was of a pale brown colour. He felt a pang in his heart, seeing her like this. He needed to stay strong in front of her. He used all his might to control his tears which were threatening to fall. He bent beside her bed, body facing her lifeless one. She weakly turned to him and gave him a smile.
"The reason why I love winter is because it shows that good things are about to come. Winter is like the obstacles we face in life, and after that comes summer which represents the wonderful things," Hyesung said with full of passion, her face contorted into a smile.
Daehyun remained speechless. He knew what she was referring to. Winter to her illness and summer...
Summer to heaven.
He thought she always hated this illness, but she was now welcoming it.
"Daehyun, being in the state I am in now has made me realise many things. Things that I can or cannot control. It made me cherish the people around me," she turned to him. "It also made me realise how great a boyfriend you had been to me. Even though winter is cold and merciless like everyone says but I believe that with you around, it doesn't seem so bad anymore. Thank you for always being there for me."
She used all the strength she had and lifted her hand towards Daehyun's cheek. A tear had uncontrollably slipped out from one of his eye as he stared at her.
"Daehyun, thank you and I love you," she whispered due to the lack of energy as her hand fell and eyes fluttered close. "Your summer will c-come."
Daehyun watched her sunk into her bed like a ragged doll. He could not take it anymore. It was too much to handle.
All the tears he had been holding back were now trickling down his cheeks as he watched his girlfriend disappear, not physically at the moment but mentally. He was not expecting it to be so soon. He dreaded this day. Even though he knew it would someday come, but he could never be prepared for it, no matter how much he tried.
Why did it happen to her? Why did this happen to him? Why?
There were many things he wanted to do with her. He wanted to travel the world with her, discover new things with her and most importantly, start a family with her.
But they could not be accomplished anymore.
Her family members burst out crying even more as Daehyun sobbed silently, holding her cold hand into his. He felt like his world was crashing down in a speed of light and there was nothing he could do to stop it. His heart wrenched even more, looking at his girlfriend's peaceful face. She had gone to a better place while he was left here, weeping and hoping she would come back.
He had everything he wanted, everything but her.
He placed a soft kiss on her forehead before muttering, "I love you."
*
Walking out from her front yard, he stuck out his hand, palm facing upwards as the snow fell on it. Losing her was his obstacle, his winter.
And hopefully, like she said, his summer would come.
Oh my God, yay. Hope it's good. ^^;; And I know nothing of Leukaemia, really. I researched that it's curable for some types but since I needed it to be fatal here... so yeah. :D
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