“Have you talked to Suzy?”

Jongin’s question came in a whisper as he sat on the bench with Sehun. They watched as Hana and Suzy laughed and played with the other kids in the park, throwing snow balls at each other. They were also sharing a cup of ramyun to battle the cold that the winter brought.

“We did more than the talking,” Sehun answered after chewing the noodles and giving back the cup to Jongin. “She hit me a lot of times.”

“Hormones,” Jongin mumbled.

At that word, Sehun turned to him, wide-eyed as he asked, “You know already?”

Jongin nodded in reply with a smirk plastered on his face making Sehun huff in frustration. He chuckled as he drank the remaining soup, putting the empty cup between them as he said,

“You should return to your house. I bet Suzy’s feeling lonely. I might take the responsibility and live with her if you wouldn’t.”

Sehun chuckled because the words did not sound as a threat anymore but a mere joke. But then, Jongin looked on the ground and his gaze turned sad as he added, “Don’t let make her feel lonely. Loneliness is an empty emotion.”

The sound of Jongin’s voice told Sehun that he was speaking from his own experience. He sighed before smiling as he offered, “Then, come live with us.”

Having that said, Jongin raised his gaze and met Sehun’s who just gave him a warm smile. He took it as a joke and chuckled as he said, “It will be too weird for other people.”

“You won’t be happy if you always worry about what others say,” Sehun replied.

Jongin let out a scoff before answering, “You just twisted my words.”

Sehun let out a soft yet short chuckle before sighing in contentment. His gaze travelled back to Hana and Suzy as he added, “Way back when we were spending our youth in the apartment, I wished our days together would never end.”

“All good things come to an end,” Jongin whispered.

“Not all,” Sehun shook his head with a small smile. “Some stop for a moment, waiting to be continued at another time.”

Jongin and Sehun then started laughing at the butter-coated words he picked, but when their chuckles died down, realizations of yearning to be together struck both of them.

The latter then added, “Then, we don’t have to think where Hana should live or whom she should live with. I want you to experience how to be a father and I also want you to know how Suzy is like when pregnant.”

After their chuckles, a long silence followed before Sehun added in a whisper,

“Give it a chance. Let’s grow old together.”

The warm atmosphere that has been created was interrupted as they felt snow balls land on their faces. They brushed off the snow before turning to find Suzy and Hana laughing at them. Sehun and Jongin looked at each other before smiling mischievously. They then stood up and gathered snow in their hands as they ran for Hana and Suzy while the girls giggled and screamed as they ran off. They were back to creating memories with each other but now, with no burden of hiding anything

The four threw snow balls and ran for each other until they decided to have a snow man building competition. It was Team Sehun and Suzy versus Team Jongin and Hana for the biggest snow man. Hana was so enthusiastic at winning that she requested for Jongin to gather snow at the other side where it piled up. She was happily dragging her father across the field and when they were near enough, she broke free from his grasp and ran. He was about to follow Hana but even before he could walk all the way to the snow pile, Jongin had collapsed with his face flat on the snow. The other three thought that he just slipped but when Jongin didn’t stand up any soon, they started running towards him.

Everything in Jongin’s mind was hazy. He was very happy just now but then his heart started clenching. He could still see the panic and devastation in the three’s faces but everything had become blurry and he could hear nothing but his staggered breathing and the slow beats that his heart struggled to make. Jongin felt that Sehun has lifted his body and he watched as Suzy mouthed ‘stay with us’ but then he started closing his eyes.

“Mr. Kim, you have a heart complication. You can’t qualify to be Hana’s donor,” Dr. Lee said.

“But is my bone marrow a match with her?” Jongin asked.

“It is,” Dr. Lee said with his stare at him unwavering. “It is a hundred percent match.”

“Then, I’ll do it,” Jongin said without hesitation.

“Do you know what you are saying?” Dr. Lee asked back. “Your records say that your heart transplant was already a miracle and I don’t think that you will get another one if you’ll donate your marrow. A bone marrow transplant would only exacerbate your heart’s condition. There would be no way to help you when the time comes.”

Jongin smiled as he said, “I am fully aware but I would want my daughter to live than me.”

Dr. Lee sighed as he added, “Once it’s done, there would be no turning back.”

“I know,” Jongin nodded and asked back, “Didn’t you promise that you would do everything for Hana to get well?”

“But I don’t mean to sacrifice a life for it,” Dr. Lee answered seriously.

“Don’t worry,” Jongin assured him with a smile once more. “It was not your decision to make. It was mine.”

Jongin’s eyes fluttered open and he saw his mother’s teary face. He smiled at her before he whispered, “Why are you crying? I’m not yet dead.”

“You almost died,” his mother complained.

“I’ve been hearing that often,” Jongin said. “But I’m still alive.”

“But,” his mother sobbed. “The doctor has already told us that you don’t have much time left.”

“The doctors have also told you that I would die before I turn twenty,” Jongin chuckled weakly. “And we’ve already bargained six years, omma.”

“I don’t want to lose you,” Mrs. Kim cried as she kissed his hand. “You’re the only one I have left.”

“The latter’s a lie,” Jongin said. “You already have Hana now. I know that you would take care of each other. You won’t be alone anymore, omma.”

“Jongin,” Mrs. Kim whispered his name longingly.

“There will always come a time when you could do nothing but let go,” Jongin told her with a sad smile. “This is inevitable.”

“I wanted nothing but for you to live,” she replied in a whisper.

“Ani,” Jongin answer. “You wanted nothing but my happiness… and you don’t have to worry anymore, omma. I have been forgiven and I have been loved. I am happy.”

Mrs. Kim nodded but tears continued to flood down her face and Jongin slowly reached to brush them away as he said, “When I was young, I wished that I could choose my parents and I wouldn’t choose you because I didn’t want to see you suffer by having a weak child like me.”

“Don’t say that,” Mrs. Kim complained. “I wouldn’t choose a child other than you. I love you, Jongin.”

Jongin nodded as he also felt his eyes b with tears. He then added, “I know. You’ve been showing that love since the day I was born. You might have made wrong decisions while raising me but I am grateful. I could have not asked for a more loving and caring mother than you and I wouldn’t miss a chance again. I wouldn’t miss this chance of saying how thankful I am to you. I love you, omma.”

Mrs. Kim nodded once more, crying and smiling at the same time. Jongin gathered every energy he had in him to sit up and hug her. He wanted to comfort her and be her strength for now because the next time that his mom would cry- he might not be there anymore.