Omma! Don't leave me!

Sehun woke up in the middle of the night sweating and panting. He felt his hair stick to his forehead and his t-shirt seemed to be suffocating him. He used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat away from his face and glanced at the clock. It was three in the morning. Sehun peeled the t-shirt off of him and then threw it somewhere. He laid back down on the bed and closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing. But flashes of his nightmares appeared in his eyes and he had no choice but to open his eyes again. 

Sehun spent a few moments staring at the ceiling. It wasn't until he almost fell back asleep did he hear noises coming from across the hall. Sehun pulled the blanket off of him and put his feet on the floor. He crossed his room with few strides and opened his door. The noises were louder now, and Sehun could tell that they were coughing noises. Sehun stepped into the hallways and knocked lightly on the door to Luhan's room. 

The coughing stopped for a moment and he could hear Luhan's soft footsteps. The door creaked open to reveal Luhan with disheveled hair and a hand covering his mouth. 

"Are you okay?" Sehun asked, "I heard you coughing." 

Luhan nodded. "I'm fine," he answered. His voice sounded off and Sehun couldn't help but be concerned. 

"Well if you need anything, I'm here." 

Luhan nodded and made a move to close the door. "Thanks," he said. "And you might want to put on a shirt, it's getting colder," he added, before closing the door.  Sehun felt his cheeks heat up and he turned, going back to his own room. When he covered his body with the blanket, he heard Luhan coughing again. A breeze blew through the open window to Sehun's room and Sehun jerked upwards. 

"Maybe I should put on a shirt." 

Sehun was chewing on the eraser of his pencil when Luhan tapped him on the shoulder. Sehun pulled the eraser out of his mouth. 

"Hmm?"

"You look like you're struggling. Need help?" Luhan pulled a chair out and dragged it across the floor and sat down next to Sehun. "Let me see." Sehun pushed the book towards Luhan and Luhan pressed a finger onto the paragraph. "I take it you're not good at English?" 

Sehun shook his head. "It's the only class I'm failing in," he replied. 

"Here." Luhan took the pencil from Sehun's hand and wrote out the pronunciation of the words in hangul. "Ephemeral. Now, you try it," he said. 

Sehun stared at the words and read it in his head. "Eh-fem-er-al."

Luhan nodded. "That's right. Just practice it." He gave Sehun a smile before standing up and putting the chair back.

Sehun watched him leave the kitchen and heard Luhan's footsteps go up the stairs. He looked back at his book. "Eh-fem-er-al. Ephemeral." He had no idea what it meant, but it sounded beautiful. "Ephemeral." It sounded so much more beautiful when it came from Luhan's lips.

Sehun heard the raindrops pound against the roof and wrapped the blanket tighter around himself. The cold was getting to him and he cursed himself for wearing shorts to sleep that night. He could hear the thunder rumbling and there was a flash of lightning that brightened the room. He lied still on his bed, ignoring the thunder in the distance. After a while, the thunder stopped and the rain became steady drips instead. That was when he heard the coughing again. It was Luhan, he was sure of it, and this time, it sounded worse than before. 

Sehun contemplated getting out of bed and at least trying to help, but that meant getting his legs cold. He heard the coughing start up again and mumbled a, "Screw this," before unwrapping himself from the blanket and jumping on his toes out of his room. He knocked on the door. "Luhan?" The coughing continued and Sehun did not hear any sign of footsteps. He put his hand on the doorknob. "Luhan, are you okay?" 

"I'm fine," was the strained reply. "Go back to sleep." 

Sehun frowned. "Are you sure you're okay?" 

"Yup. I'm fine." Another round of stifled coughs. "Don't worry about it." 

"Can I come in?" 

"I'm fine, really." 

"You just said you were fine." Sehun tapped his finger on the cold metal of the doorknob. "I'm coming in." He twisted the doorknob and slowly opened the door. He heard Luhan shuffle around and then peeked his head in. The room was dimly lit. Luhan's back towards him, and Sehun saw him bent over the trash can next to the desk. "Luhan?"

Luhan waved a dismissing hand at him. "It's late, go back to sleep." 

"I can't sleep anyway." Sehun strode over to where Luhan was. "Your coughing sounded painful." His eyes zeroed in on the tissue box and he picked it up, giving it to Luhan. Luhan took one and wiped his mouth with it, throwing it into the trash can afterwards. Sehun saw a tinge of pink on it. "Are you okay?" 

Luhan nodded. "Yea, it happens a lot." 

"Why?" Sehun put the tissue box back on the desk.

Luhan gave him a weak smile and plopped down on his bed. "You really want to know?" 

The look on Luhan's face made Sehun hesitate. "Is it something contagious?" he asked. Sehun instinctively backtracked towards the door.

Luhan laughed, and then broke out into another round of coughs. "No, it's not contagious." Luhan reached to the bedside drawer and pulled out a bottle of hand sanitizer. He squirted some onto his hand and put it away. The apple scent filled the room. "I have lung cancer." 

Sehun's heart stopped. 

It's always cancer. Always...