For tokyogaijin + luving_apink + Girlxxx

Daisy (White Rose Finale)

The day that Hayoung was admitted to hospital was a Friday. Sehun was in the waiting area, tapping his foot on the ground feeling anxious, nervous, and slightly afraid of what would happen once his girlfriend came out of the operating theater. Ever since finding out about her cochlear implant, Sehun was in full support mode. He had read about it online, borrowed some books and even went with Hayoung to all her doctors’ consultations prior to receiving the treatment. Sehun wanted to arm himself with all the knowledge about the topic so he would know how to help her, and also have a better understanding of what she was going through after the surgery.

Three hours. That was how long he had waited in the stale, white washed hospital wing before he was allowed to see her. Her mother went in first, and he didn't want to overwhelm her, so he waited for her to spend some time with her mother before going in. He was asleep in one of the chairs, when her mother woke him up. She needed to go and mind the flower shop, and she would entrust the care of her daughter to Sehun, for now.

He walked in, and the door creaked open, causing Hayoung to whip her head to see the cause of the noise. Sehun had never seen her so frightened before. He sat down beside her, and to help her adjust to being around him in her new state, and to assure her that things hadn't changes between them, he placed his hands over her ears and then brought her head down to rest against his throat so that she could feel the vibrations of his words. Eventually, she lifted her head and then placed her hands on top of his and lowered them down. She traced the outline of his mouth, and softly, as if whispering, Sehun spoke to her.

"Annyeong, Hayoung-ah..."

She began to cry, and Sehun just hugged her tighter.

"Wae? You're disappointed that my voice isn't how you imagined it, or you didn't realise that my voice could be so charming?"

She lightly punched him on the chest but returned to his arms. She shuffled over so that he could lie on the bed too, and then he began to sing her a song, to which she fell asleep.

No I’m never gonna leave you darling
No I’m never gonna go regardless
Everything inside of me is living in your heartbeat
Even when all the lights are fading
Even then if your hope was shaking
I’m here holding on

Hayoung was allowed to go home after a couple of days, and Sehun was there again to help her transition to her house. When they got out of the hospital, Hayoung was scared of all the loud noises. The sudden banging of doors, the sound of traffic and horns beeping, the rustling of the trees, Hayoung would jump at all the noises. Her mother drove them to their apartment while Sehun kept his arms around his girlfriend and pressed her head against his chest and covered her exposed ear with his hands.

When they arrived, Hayoung's mother began to prepare food but Hayoung shook her head to say she wasn't hungry and went to her room. Hayoung's mother sent Sehun a look and he followed her upstairs and then repeated what he did for her at the hospital. This time, she didn't fall asleep, but began tracing patterns on his chest. Hayoung took Sehun's hand and traced out a sentence.

I think I can hear your heartbeat

He repeated her actions on her hands.

Really?

She nodded and snuggled further into him, as he leant his head down to kiss the top of her head.

"It's beating for you..."

"Oppa..."

"Hmmm?"

"I don't think...I can get used to this..."

Hayoung continued her sentence on his palm.

I don't like the thought of being scared, of being weak. But, I'm glad I could hear your voice, and Omma's voice.

"You're stronger than you think. I love you. I'll be here for you. If you need human ear plugs, call on me anytime...Smile, for me?"

She did her best and they fell asleep together.

Luckily, it was during school break that Hayoung had her operation. For the amount of time that Sehun spent with Hayoung at her house, it was almost as if he was living there. Sehun was happy that he was able to spend so much time with her, but he noticed that Hayoung withdrew herself into a shell and began to depend on him, more and more. He would always be there for her, but he wanted to see the strong girl that she was before her operation.

With a lot of practice, Sehun was able to get Hayoung to get used to common loud and unexpected sounds that she might hear. First, he would play the sounds on his phone, then they proceeded to watching films, and then after two weeks, he let her experience the real thing. Through this, she came to conquer many things.

The next problem that they had to overcome, was Hayoung’s paranoia with anything going near or into her ears. Hayoung had stopped using cotton buds, she began to panic after the first time she had a shower when she felt water going into her ear, and she especially flinched when Sehun tried to put on earphones so that she could listen to some music. With his help too, Hayoung eventually lessened her fear, especially after Sehun put on volume control on her iPod.

But, what Sehun found to be the most constant thing about their relationship, was the quiet bubble that they built around themselves. Their favourite way to communicate was still through writing notes, and their favourite thing to do together was to cuddle, with Hayoung settled in his arms and her head resting against his chest. He found that this made their relationship more special. Whenever she spoke, he knew that she meant what she was saying. And it was when she spoke, that he felt that they were being the most intimate.

Like the first time that she said ‘I love you’, he thought that it was his most favourite sound in the world. He knew he was selfish when he asked her to repeat it, so that he could record it. Thinking of that day makes him smile.

Hayoung had finished another round of intensive sound experiences, and she finally has learnt to stop flinching whenever she’s on the streets or roads. She thought that Sehun was taking her home, but apparently he had another thing planned. They walked to their destination, and instead of covering her eyes, he covered her ears. He walked her over to sit on the grass in the middle of the park. Slowly, he uncovered her ears. Hayoung became puzzled when she didn’t hear anything, and then fear flashed through her mind when she thought that he was trying to get her used to abrupt sounds, and her hands immediately flew to cover her ears.

Sehun smiled and then made her lower her hands and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“It’s alright…you’re not going to hear anything…that’s why I brought you here…”

“Why?”

“Because…it’s quiet…and I know that you like the quiet…”

“Thank you, Oppa…”

“Here…so that you would be even more grateful to me…”

He plucked a daisy and then gave it to her. She began to pluck the petals off of the flower, and before she picked the last one, Sehun whispers into her ear, “he loves you…very much so…”

Hayoung then picked another daisy and handed it to him, urging him to do what she had done. When he picked off the last petal, she leaned up to his ear, before planting a kiss on his neck.

“And she loves you too…”

A kiss on his cheek takes him out of his reverie.

“What is Oppa thinking about?”

“You…”

“Ahrasso…let’s go…”

“Where?”

“We have a date at the park, remember?”