He fluttered his eyes open as the sunlight kissed his beautiful, pale face, the features of his face evident with the weight loss. And here he was again, feeling and living the miserable life he has. It was the same view; the sky, the trees and the sun that rose to greet him every morning from outside the window of the dull-colored room. Lay was getting sick of it because it felt like prison more than a place people told him he could recover. He scoffed at the thought, they actually believed that he could still recover when he can’t do either therapy or surgery. But despite the miserable life, despite the loss of hope, he was able to find solace.

“Lay,” a head poked through his door. “Are you awake?”

He turned to her, a smile making its way to reach his eyes. “Yoon Ji, hi. You’re here early.”

She successfully returned a soft smile to him. “The doctor called me in early. You know,” she shrugged, “just to make sure my heart doesn’t stop beating any second now.”

It was a joke Lay came to hate, but he didn’t bother fussing over it because what’s important for him now was that she was with him.

Deep inside, Yoon Ji knows that seeing him like that made her heart weaker and hurt because she knows how much Lay despised being on a hospital bed, lying there even though all of them knew there was nothing more that could be done. And whatever pain Lay felt, Yoon Ji feels greater of it. “How are you feeling?”

He chuckled, leaving an empty echo, “still feeling a bit weak, but I’m better now.” He sat up slowly and tapped the space beside him, “join me?”

She nodded and walked towards him. It wasn’t an unfamiliar place because so many times had she been in this hospital. What’s new to her was the fact that she now had him. Yoon Ji snuggled up to him, being careful not to tangle herself with his catheter, as he placed an arm around her waist.

“Can you promise me something?” she muttered as she listened to his heartbeat.

Lay kissed her forehead, “what is it, Angel?”

“Don’t leave,” she pleaded, feeling the tears that were starting to build up in her eyes. “Don’t go anywhere, just— please, just stay with me. Because you promised you’d help me get through this.”

How many times have they been hurt with the idea of one leaving the other? How many times have they held back the tears from the thought of disappearing? How many times have they cried knowing that any minute a life could be taken away? And how many times would they still have to do so?

And yet Lay wanted to keep that promise somehow. “Always, all ways,” he answered in a way only the both of them knew.