“But, in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer.

Depression is a side effect of dying,”

– John Green

Soundtrack: (x)

She peered down from the corner of the rooftop of the hospital, letting the faint sounds of the busy morning traffic linger in her ears. Mina missed all of that- she missed walking to class and making random stops at the convenience store. She missed having ‘patbingsu’ and peach tea with her friends. Heck, she even missed her difficult boss back at the fried chicken store she used to work at. Mina missed her life back then, back when there was nothing to worry about. She missed being healthy.

It all started when she woke up with a coughing fit- it was that time of the year where the heat was just unbearable, and she thought it would be natural to occasionally end up with a dry throat. Amidst her grogginess, she then saw a spot of alarming red on her palms- it was none other than blood. Too scared to tell her parents, she kept solemn about it, hoping that that was just a one time affair. It got worse for Mina when she started getting high fevers and infections at least once every other day. Those fevers then turned into rapid weight loss and a whole lot of other problems. It was getting difficult trying to hide it from her parents, and if it weren’t for her father discovering her vomiting blood in the middle of the night, her secret would’ve been kept safe.

She first heard the term Acute Myelogenous Leukemia a few days after that fateful night. It landed on her like a ton of bricks- she didn’t know how to react, and she definitely did not know what will be her life after this. Seeing her mother bawling hysterically and her father trying his best to suppress his own tears was enough for her. Lee Mina then knew that she was a mere waste of space- a nuisance, a flaw in the existence of mankind, someone who should not even exist in this cruel place.

Her thoughts were then interrupted by the sound of a blare of the honk- Mina blinked once or maybe twice before she leaned down again. She could feel her legs dangling off the concrete floor as she leaned further down, letting the cold wind blow right through her. It was to her amazement that cancer made her somewhat braver- back then, she couldn’t even look out to the window from her room. Her fear of heights overpowered her every single time- it was funny how the idea of dying played with her. She could even walk along the ledge of the roof if she tried. In fact, Mina was already considering it when she tried placing her foot on top of the ledge.

She was dying already, so what’s the harm of playing with death?

Apparently, someone else didn’t think so- someone who managed to pull her off just in time for her to pull her second leg off the concrete ground and on top of the ledge.

It was Chanyeol’s first day volunteering at the hospital, and Chanyeol wasn’t sure what to make of it. His day started out fine- at nine; he was already at the lobby of the local hospital, reporting for the volunteering program. Within the next three hours, he was already introduced to so many people, patients and doctors alike, and Chanyeol wasn’t sure how to remember all the names he heard today. It was already twelve, and his stomach was already demanding to be filled.

He didn’t feel like having lunch at the cafeteria, not when he knew the group of nurses who have been eyeing him up and down like he’s meat would be lunching there as well. Chanyeol sighed, pouting in frustration. He really needed to swallow down the lunch box his mother has duly prepared for him, and he was growing impatient. Making a rash decision, Chanyeol turned towards the elevators, pushing the buttons as he clutched onto his lunch box.

He took a satisfied inhale of breath as he finally reached his destination- the rooftop. It wasn’t a hard decision to begin with- why would it be? There was no one at the rooftop, and no one that would ogle at him uncomfortably. He would be able to eat his lunch in peace and even have some time to ponder on his thoughts.

Chanyeol walked towards one corner of the space in long strides when the corner of his eye caught a little detail from the other end- or more of a figure. His eyes widened alarmingly when it finally registered in his mind. It was a girl in a hospital robe, climbing over the rooftop, doing that one thing that came into his mind. He didn’t take any cautious steps- Chanyeol went for it. He broke into a hurried run, arms already extended.

“Yah, what do you think you’re doing!! Excuse me, what do you think-”

Chanyeol didn’t have the time to finish his words when his arms automatically wrapped around her abdomen and pulled her away from the ledge, landing them both painfully on his back.

Mina was shocked, to say the least. It wasn’t every day a stranger hugged her from behind and pulled her away. Her first instinct was to scream, shove and kick her assaulter, and so s