As soon as my father finished speaking, the door banged open, and a group of four extremely furious girls barged through. My parents hurriedly left the room. Tiffany's mouth was already open, no doubt about to reprimand me. They stopped dead as they took in the scene before them. I know I mentioned the fact that we usually work out, but all the muscle I had developed was gone, stripped away by the disease. What was left was a frail, small, vulnerable body swathed in layers of pure white blanket. I hadn't looked in the mirror for days, but I knew my dull brown hair must have been stringy, my face gaunt, and my cheeks hollowed. Instantly, the fury dissipated from all their eyes, replaced by anguish and horror.

"Tae-taeyeon..." Jessica gasped, visibly shaking as she fought back tears. Holding back tears for my sake, I realized. This is why I never had the guts to tell them. 

"MY BABY TAETAE!" The dam inside Tiffany broke as tears poured uncontrollably down her porcelain cheeks. She ran towards me and cradled my head gently. If my arms and chest hadn't looked like a Frankenstein-esque attempt to fuse me with a machine, I'm positive she would have attacked me with a bone-crushing hug.I chuckled  weakly and looked up, catching Yuri's eye. She was looking at me with so much hurt that I had to look away, guilt gnawing at my insides more than ever. 

"Why couldn't you have told us?" she asked quietly. "We're your best friends, Taeyeon. We could have done something to help you, to- to make you more comfortable or something! But you never did. We had to find out from your parents that you, our very best friend, are...that you're dying. Do you know how much it hurts for us to see you like this?" Her voice broke as she struggled to hold back tears. She was always the strongest, physically and emotionally, out of all of us. I made you cry, Yuri. I'm so sorry. I closed my eyes as tears found their way down my cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry, Yuri, everyone." I hiccuped. "Tiffany, don't glare at her like that; she's right. I was a coward and-"

"You were not!" Sunny exclaimed.

"No, I was. You guys are, and will forever be, my best friends. We don't keep secrets from one another. My disease is incredibly rare, but luckily for my family, both daughters developed it." I attempted to crack a smile. Mission failed. "Dr. Leeteuk is the best in the business, and he couldn't find out much about the disease-"

"Yuri didn't mean that," Jessica interrupted, "Sure, we're not brilliant doctors or scientists, but you always say that laughter is the best medicine. We should have spent more time with you or-"

"If I had told you early on, every time we were together, that's all you guys would worry about. How could we have enjoyed Halloween or Thanksgiving or Christmas if you guys were constantly worrying about me? You guys did help me. You protected me, you made me laugh, you made me do dorky things, you made me forget- my worries, my fears, all of it. I'm sorry I never told you, but seeing you girls this way now. It's breaking my already broken heart."  

"What if you'd... left us and we had to find out after you were gone? How would we have felt, Taeyeon?" 

I hung my head, more ashamed now than ever. "Hush, Yuri. What's done is done," Jessica was consoling the sobbing Yuri. 

"I just- she just can't leave! Taeyeon, please. Don't leave us, baby. We need you! We all need you so badly. You can't leave!"

"I'm trying," I sobbed, "I've been fighting for so long-"

Tiffany my hair, occasionally stopping to wipe her tears away, " My brave, brave Taengoo," she whispered, "You've been fighting to live for so long. It's drained all your energy, all your happiness-"

I smiled and shook my head, pressing my cheek into her trembling hand, "You guys are my happiness."

Sunny gave a loud sniff, "Alright, we'll save this mushy stuff for later. Right now, we should focus on making Taetae's last days the happiest days of her life."

I nodded. My last days, with my very best friends. It's all I could ask for.

Is this really goodbye? Taeyeon and the gang seem to think so. But maybe, just maybe, miracles can happen. But remember, in the world of medicine, everything can side effects. Therefore, I pose a question to my dear readers: Is it better to be cured but live with terrible side effects or let go of life happily? The ending is pretty much already set, but I'd like to hear for you guys c:

Until next time~