"the results came back. they were... inconclusive. it's nothing to be afraid of-"

see, nothing to be-

"as of now. we will need to have you come in more often- about once a month- to run some tests."

he nodded his head and his vision blurred for a moment. waves of momentary discomfort often washed over him, but it was 'nothing to be afraid of.' baekhyun drummed his fingers against the edge of the hospital bed, playing with the linen. the doctor exited the room and a nurse came in. he was tall, the scrubs making his legs seem longer than life.

"the doctor," his voice was particularly deep, baekhyun noted. "will be filling out your discharge papers. after that, youre free to go. any questions?"

"what's your name?"

"i was going for medical related questions, but okay. my name's park chanyeol, and you are byun baekhyun, if im not mistaken? i mean, you should be, if not then dont tell the staff i went to the wrong patient again."

baekhyun laughed and shook his head. "thats me."

-

it has been a month since byun baekhyun drove a mile near the hospital. now, he was inside the building, more specifically, getting blood drawn. the liquid that filled the test tubes was dark and murky. almost like rusted iron. park chanyeol, the nurse, was focusing completely on replacing tubes once they were filled, filling up eight viles. afterwards, he placed a cotton ball over the punctured vein, removing the needle as he applied pressure. then, he taped the cotton ball to baekhyun's arm and removed the turnicate. the pale skin flashed with veins and arteries for five seconds before dissappearing from sight.

"ill go send these to the lab for testing. thats it for you today baek."

"baek?"

"well, i dont want to brag, but im the doctor's nursing assistant. so, im going to assume we'll be meeting each other quite a lot."

"it sounds like youre looking forward to that."

"i am- but not- i dont mean that i want you to get... sick."

baekhyun was seeing an oncologist after his primary doctor hypothesized that these frequent headaches and fevers werent typical flu symptoms.

"hey."

"yo. i know you dont like applesauce, so i took that out for you and replaced it with strawberries."

"thanks."

"its the least i could do for my one and only-"

"jesus, youre so loud chanyeol."

the male smiled as he changed his position in the bed. he sat upright and watched as chanyeol moved over the bedside table, placing the tray of food on it.

"one of these days im going to bring you actual food."

"you said that yesterday. but here i am, still eating chicken broth with baked potatoes. what a sad life."

chanyeol grinned and sat at the edge of the hospital bed, patting baekhyun's hand carefully, avoiding the IV line that gave the smaller life. "it really is, huh? it's sad how we met under these circumstances love."

byun baekhyun was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia after the blood draw. since then, he visited the hospital three times a week for treatment. the chemo dripped through his veins, his skin growing paler. eventually, the sickness grew stronger despite his frequent visits. byun baekhyun now has stage four cancer. this is often viewed as the point of no return. for baekhyun, he would never sleep a night in his own bed again.

"hm... what if, we met at a coffee shop or under a street light-"

"baek, youre getting too cute."

"fine. uhm, how about if we were best friends in high school. you like that one huh?" the giant was smiling wide enough that it spread to baekhyun's lips as well. chanyeol was always happy to see baekhyun on days like this. most of the time, the patients he worked with were sad, depressed, or moody, all just waiting for death to swing his scythe. but baekhyun was different. he was still living even though the signs showed that he had less than a year. he wasnt giving up. and maybe, thats what made park fall for him even more.

"why do you always stare at me like that? is there chicken in my teeth?"

"no, its just. youre so amazing."

"says the one who's saving my life."

"thats the medication, not me."

"i mean that, without you, i would have stopped treatment when they told me i had stage four."

the two stared at each other for a while, the beeping of baekhyuns heart on the monitor the only sound heard until chanyeol spoke.

"out of the seven billion people in the world, why did it have to be you? why did you have to get sick? not just sick, but acute myeloid leukemia? out of all the possible cancers, the one that forms in your bone marrow and kills you in the fastest way possible?"

the room fell silent once again.

"i know the circumstances yeol, but-"

"they are way over the point of just ."

"i know, but if it wasnt for this stupid killing thing inside me, would i have met the greatest nurse ever? would i have had the first and best date at a hospital ever? no."

"but-"

"trust me, i wish we could have met under different circumstances, but life isnt fair. it's alright with me though, as long as im with you, i think ill be okay."

"youre dying. youre dying. youre dying."

"you dont have to remind me. gosh, youre so insensitive."

the most confusing part about byun baekhyun was his positivity. they told him he had eight months and he said 'hopefully i dont die on my birthday.' they tell him he has stage four cancer and he says 'at least im not a stage five.'

"im sorry."

"im sorry for dying."