[A/N]

i just wanna thank u guys for the comments and the love once again!!

it rlly makes me happy coz this was my first story and yall gave me some confidence to try and write more fics! (we need a minayeon college au or smtg)

also dont blame me for the spacing in this chap i kinda went with the flow

but anyway

here it is

*insert low quality nayeon kissing a teary-eyed mina's cheek pic* (nayeon would NOT let go of mina during this whole moment i cry)

"im so proud of u give me a lil kissypoo" "omg stop ur embarrassing me... and urself"

---

I will never let you fall

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all

Even if saving you sends me to heaven

-

She lifted her gloves higher. It was still winter, she made sure of it when she saw her icy breath in the air.

She was going to use her gloves to cover up the bandages on her hand. They didn't stop the bleeding, and she was sure she needed stitches, but her gloves hid everything for now. Well, almost everything. It hurt when she put them on, but she was going to manage with the pain so Mina wouldn't worry. 

She saw Mina's dad inside and chose to wait outside until he came out. She slowed down her breathing and tried to calm herself down before seeing Mina again, after the other horrific day. It still scarred her, and from the nightmares she's been having, she was sure it was going to scar her for a long time.

She heard a small click of the door and a soft "Nayeon-ah" being muttered by Mina's father. She turned to face him and a wave of pity hit her. She didn't know what was in a worser state, her hands or his eyes. It looked like he didn't sleep since the recent incident, and nor did Nayeon, but she had used an enormous amount of makeup to cover everything up. She wasn't the only one taking this badly.

"How is she?"

He didn't even try to reassure her. His dark circles seemed to be too heavy to lift up in a smile, even a forced one. So it hurt for him to move as well.

"Nayeon, I think..."

Even his raspy voice was in the same state as Nayeon's. It was like both of them have been screaming their lungs out in sorrow.

"I'm going to start preparing for a funeral."

What?

She tightly curled her knuckles, not caring about the pain. Even if it felt like the shards of glass were still there. 

"You... what?" Nayeon growled, incredulous.

It took Nayeon all the remaining strength she had to not slam him against the wall and scream at him. He was Mina's father. And Mina was right behind the door, behind the wall they were currently standing in front of. She couldn't let out her anger on him.

"She would be buried right next to her mother, Nayeon-ah," he tried to convince her. "Isn't that-"

Ah, but Nayeon did let it out on him.

She didn't let him finish his sentence as she effectively used her forearm to shove him against the wall.

This is ridiculous, she thought.

"I came back here to tell her it'll be okay," she accused in his face with a menacing stare, "and I find you, out of everybody, telling me to just... give up?"

I'm bullying an old man, she tried to stop herself. She felt her hateful mood gradually returning at every word she uttered.

"A funeral, you say?" she sneered, tightening her grip on his collar, "Maybe-"

Maybe you should prepare one for yourself.

Nayeon blinked at her sickening thought. Did she... just think that? Did she... almost threaten someone?

She didn't finish her sentence, internally scolding herself for almost saying what could've gotten her in a lot of trouble. Mina could've heard her.

"I'm sorry, Nayeon... I thought I could go through this again, but... but I can't."

Nayeon let go of his shirt, still fuming. Still waiting for an explanation. She uncurled her fists, now feeling the pain in her hands. She could see a small stain of blood on his shirt and knew her hands were bleeding. I couldn't hold it in and I haven't even seen her yet.

"They were both my reasons to live, and I... I figured this slow preparation was better... than everything hitting me at once."

She stared at her darkened gloves. She couldn't even touch Mina now that her hands were dirty. She had made a mess of herself once again. And now she soiled Mina's father as well.

"I hope you understand, I..." he started tearing up and Nayeon felt sorry for him, because she did understand. She didn't want to, but she did.

"Just," Nayeon sighed, refusing to look at him, "just don't give up yet. Please. A funeral isn't... isn't necessary."

"I just can't do this anymore..."

Nayeon didn't want to hear anymore. She didn't have any energy to comfort him, she barely had energy to comfort herself. She was tired of feeling sad, tired of feeling angry, just tired of feeling anything. He took her silence as a cue to leave her alone.

Nayeon watched as he left, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tzuyu, who was watching the whole thing. Her expression was unreadable. Nayeon didn't know if she looked concerned for Nayeon? Disappointed in her? Angry that she made a scene in the hallway?

She wasn't going to let her hands bleed out while trying to decipher Tzuyu's features, so she quickly decided to enter Mina's room. She didn't want to waste anymore time.

-

Mina was about to fall asleep when she came in. Nayeon acted as if nothing just happened, as if she didn't just push her father into the wall a few moments ago.

Nayeon didn't want to bother her for long. Her hands were hurting, and her heart was hurting from seeing Mina having trouble even keeping her eyes open. She came closer to Mina, hiding her hands behind her back.

"Hey," she whispered with a smile. Nayeon wanted to hug her tightly, cry into her arms, cherish the fact that she was here. Alive. Her hands twitched behind her. She had to hold back for now, because Mina had to sleep. 

"It's okay," she continued softly, smile still on her face, when she saw Mina about to answer back, "Rest for now. I'll come see you later, alright?"

Mina lightly smiled back and her eyes came to a close. Her bangs were in her face, and Nayeon subconsciously lifted her hand to fix them, but had to stop herself. Mina's forehead didn't need a mark of blood on it. She quietly inhaled and retreated back, in pain.

All she could do was stare, until she heard a soft knock on the door. She turned to see Tzuyu gesturing for Nayeon to come out. She relunctantly left Mina alone to rest.

"Miss Im, I can't have you staining this hospital with unsanitary blood everywhere," Tzuyu said as soon as she closed the door. "You left a mark on the doorknob already."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Tzuyu sighed. She was also in a very tense mood lately. And she also needed to talk to Nayeon.

"Miss Im, I know we all had a rough couple of days, but I would prefer if you didn't lose your hands to an infection as well."

-

Nayeon didn't even wait until her wounds were completely patched up before quickly stomping out of the hospital enraged. She couldn't believe the nerve of Tzuyu, of even Mina's own father. Whose side are they on?

"Yah! Nayeon!"

She turned to the side to see Jihyo and Jeongyeon slightly jogging towards her. Tzuyu must have called them. To help her. Again. To be accompanied once again. She inwardly scoffed. She wasn't a child.

"Where are you going-"

"You know what she told me? What her doctor told me to do? She told to keep waiting." Nayeon interrupted through her gritted teeth, pointing towards the hospital. "She told me just to sit there while Mina is dying and just wait. What... does she want me to wait for another attack to happen again?!"

Jeongyeon and Jihyo let her speak. They preferred Nayeon verbally letting out her anger here, in public, rather than going back home and destroying it once again. They had seen the aftermath of what has become of her house. They were heartbroken to see Nayeon acting like this, but they couldn't blame her.

"How could she just tell me to do what I have been doing for the past year, and expect some small hint of good to come out of it? How could she tell me that, when the last time I waited like this, Mina literally died? That bitc-"

"Nayeon!" Jihyo warned her before Nayeon went on cursing someone who was doing her job.

"And want to know the worst part of it all? Her father doesn't even care either," she ridiculed. "You know what he told me? He was already preparing for her funeral. Her fu-ne-ral! How... how can he run out of hope like that? How could he give up before I did?"

She laughed bitterly.

"Is Mina dead in their eyes already? Am I the only one who is wishing for a bright future for her? Huh?! Or... Am I being delusional and... and just clinging unto false hope?"

Nayeon hated this feeling. She hated thinking she was wishing for something that wasn't going to happen. She hated thinking Mina didn't have a chance.

She let out a loud grunt of rage, hoping that the rest of her frustrated mood would seep out as well. 

She couldn't even cry her way out of this feeling.

She was just... angry.

-

Nayeon slept over Jihyo's place that day. Jihyo was scared of what Nayeon would do if she went home alone. They were still cleaning up after everything was left in shambles.

Jihyo saw that Nayeon didn't get an ounce of sleep that night. Nayeon had been on her phone the whole time. She figured it was better if she was distracted so she didn't say anything.

But what Jihyo didn't know was why Nayeon was suddenly acting strange in the morning. It was as if her outburst from yesterday hadn't happened. The reckless Nayeon she knew wouldn't have calmed down in just one night.

What Jihyo didn't know was that Nayeon had discovered something that could change everything. Something that Tzuyu left out during all their appointments. 

Something that seemed to give Nayeon hope, but why was Nayeon's behaviour scaring Jihyo instead?

-

"What about a heart transplant?"

Nayeon's direct question took Tzuyu aback. So Nayeon had done her research. It was the one solution Tzuyu tried her best to hide from Nayeon, but she shouldn't have expected anything less from her finding out about it.

"Miss Im, while a heart transplant is a considerable option for treatment, the chances of her getting a donor depends on the urgency of her situation, the size of her heart, her blood type, and even the region we currently live in. Not to mention the already limited amount of donors available."

"So what does that mean in the end?"

"Basically, we can put her in the waiting list, but I cannot guarantee she will get one in less than 6 months. And you and I both know that that is too long of a wait for her current condition."

Tzuyu saw something in Nayeon's eyes. There was a reason why she hid this tr