For skywriterV + missa14 + alicia5699 + luving_apink

Hydrangea (White Rose Pt. 2)

After running from the gym, Hayoung went straight to her favorite place in the school's gardens. It was lunch. She would have one whole hour to forget the last half hour of her life. She would eat, she would review some of her work for the last two periods of school, then she would text her mom to see how her day was going. She would forget about the boy who wanted to be her friend. She took out her lunch box that her mother had packed and began to nibble on the rice. Her phone vibrated in her pocket.

Hayoung-ah? I'm so happy for you! You made a friend today? He seems like such a lovely boy. You're in the gardens right now, right? Hopefully you are because I sent him to find you.

Just like what she said, the next think that Hayoung saw was that blonde haired boy anxiously tapping his foot against the ground with his hands in his pockets. When she didn't make a move, he sat down in front of her again, like he had done in the gym. He took out the piece of paper that she handed to him and then smiled, before flipping it over.

Your mother seems like a very nice woman. Now I know why you're a really nice girl. You didn't have to run away from me earlier. I usually ask questions when someone hands me something.

Hayoung began to scratch the ground in front of her and play with the fallen leaves. She didn't know what to do so she just kept her eyes fixed on the ground. She saw him push his little notebook in front of her.

Hayoung-ah, if you're still wondering...I meant what I said. I want to be your friend. 

And she let herself believe him and his words. She took out her sharpie and wrote down a reply.

Okay.

Hayoung finally looked up from her spot and she saw him beam a smile at her.

And just like that, Hayoung and Sehun became friends. She was introduced into his circle, his friends from the basketball team, their girlfriends and a few other close friends. It was unspoken, but they all seemed to know her condition. She could tell. When she sat with them sometimes for lunch, they would all make an effort to speak slowly, made eye contact with her, and once in a while, wrote things down for her. Through it all, Sehun had stayed by her side. He would walk her to and from classes, eat lunch with her in the gardens when she wanted to be away from large crowds, and he would hold her hand and wait for her when he picked her up and dropped her home from school.

On one of the days that he had walked her home, he kissed her. Both of them were shocked, but then Sehun gave Hayoung that smile and she melted. He took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, and when he tried to smooth out the creases so that he could show it to her, it crumbled and some of the writing had faded. It had been in his jeans for too long. He was busy searching for a pen in his pocket when he heard Hayoung chuckle, and then hand him her sharpie and a notepad.

Will you be my girlfriend?

His smile faltered when he saw her reaction. He saw her begin to shake her head, but he placed his two fingers under her chin, so that she would look at him. He saw something in her eyes. He just couldn’t identify what it was. Fear? Or hope? Sadness? Longing? He quickly scribbled down a message.

Don’t say no just yet. At least, think about it.

I don’t need to think about it. I think we should just be friends. I’ve never had a friend before. And I don’t want to lose my friend.

You won’t ever lose me as a friend.

How will I know that?

He could tell that she was scared, so he pulled her into his arms, and then put her head above his heart, and then covered her exposed ear with his hand and just stayed there in that position for five minutes. Hayoung snuggled closer to him, and he believed that he was finally getting through to her.

Hayoung felt his heartbeat. It matched her own. It would speed up whenever they were around each other. His hands were warm. She felt him slowly pull away and then pull her back into his embrace, but this time, he put her ear against his throat as he leaned his head back. Sehun began to speak, and although she couldn’t hear what he was saying, she felt comforted by it.

“I know you can’t hear me, but what I’m saying is for you. You can be yourself around me. You can laugh around me. I know that you always try to hold back your laughter because you don’t know how you sound. Honestly, I’ve heard you speak once, on the rooftop. Your voice is beautiful, just like you. You won’t ever lose me as a friend. I’ll always be there to protect you. Hear these words, Hayoung-ah. Not with your ears, but with your heart…”

Sehun felt her pull away from him, and then look into his eyes. For a minute, he got lost in them, and was surprised when she raised his hand, palm up, to rest between them. She traced her answer on his palm.

Y.

E.

S.

Nothing much changed after Sehun and Hayoung got together. It was exactly the same as when they were friends. The only difference now, was that Sehun got to sneak in a few kisses, and sly hugs every once in a while. Hayoung enjoyed going to school every day, and Sehun did too. He became worried when she didn’t show up one day. He couldn’t focus in class, and although he would never skip class, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something wrong with her. He left during lunch.

He called her mother in advance and although she gave him a stern warning never to miss class, she let him see her daughter. He made her way up to her room, and found her in a foetal position in her bed, facing away from him. He sat down beside her and placed a kiss on her cheek to wake her up. She immediately broke down when she saw him, and he pulled her into his arms and began to whisper things to her, so that she could feel the vibrations on his throat.

“It’s okay. I’m here now…”

When Hayoung finally calmed down, she wrote down something on her notebook, before Sehun heard her voice.

“Sehun…I’m scared…”

Her voice cracked, and so he rocked her back and forth, trying to pacify her. Within a few minutes, he felt her slump in his arms, and he saw that she had fallen asleep. He laid her down on her bed and retrieved her notebook and read what she had written down.

Hayoung was going to get a cochlear implant.