[June 19^th, 2017]

The sun was setting early, submerging the city in a pale, gloomy shade of grey. The rainclouds above seemed heavy and depressed as they soaked the ground below in their relentless tears. Ye Seul continued to walk, this time entering a deserted alley, as she tried to remember the way to the beach. Her mind was distorted to the extreme, and she was no longer herself. Everything around her was unfamiliar; her mind was, simply put, a blur. Her pale, bare feet softly hit the smooth surface of the cold stones that lined the pathway of the alley with each step. She held one arm above her head in a measly attempt to block out the rain as she continued to move forward. Then she slipped, causing her body to come crashing to the ground. She gave a small yelp of surprise as looked at the red blood that drizzled from the fresh wound on her kneecap. Then, all of a sudden, she broke out into an ugly sob. The stinging, tingly sensation of pain reminded her, in the brief moment, that she was still alive.

Before I leave… will I be able to see you again?

Then all of a sudden, the rain came to an abrupt stop. She gazed upward, only to see a sheet of black—under the wing of an umbrella.

“You’re going to catch a cold like that.”

Her eyes stung with tears as she couldn’t help but break into a smile.

“…Hoseok.”

They stood in the rain together for a brief moment just like that, gazing at each other. His gaze was one of anguish and pained sorrow, while hers was one of bittersweet happiness. Although he didn’t say it, he had pieced together the pieces now. He knew why Ye Seul had disappeared, and why she looked the way she did right now, in front of his eyes.

He crouched down and took her hand in his, raising her to her feet.

“Long time no see.”

She nodded meekly as she continued to gaze at him in disbelief as if she were unable to believe that it was truly him.

“I missed you.”

The umbrella then slid out of his grasp and onto the ground beneath them as he pulled her into a tight embrace.

“I missed you, Ye Seul.”

“I missed you too, Hoseok…”

Then both of them began to cry. And it began to rain even harder as if the sky itself were mourning with them.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what…?”

How could I possibly tell you?

“That you were… sick.”

“I didn’t… want to worry you.”

He hugged her even tighter before he spoke, his voice trembling and uneven.

“Can’t you get better?”

She simply shook her head slowly, side to side as she gazed at him, her eyes b with hot tears.

“Why?” his voice was barely above a whisper now.

Then she dropped to the ground, unconscious.

--

He smiled grimly as he gingerly held her hand. Her eyes were fluttered shut as her chest heaved ever so slightly. She seemed to have at least a dozen different machines hooked up to her. He was tired of crying, but he couldn’t seem to stop—the tears just continued to fall with every passing second. The sight of seeing her like this—on the verge of death—was unbearable and too surreal, yet too real at the same time. Hoseok didn’t even know where to start, where to begin the whole process of reasoning. All he knew now was that she didn’t have very long left. They were unable to tell him if it were days that she had left… or something even shorter. All he knew was that he was in love with someone who would be leaving this world very soon.

All he knew was that life was unfair.

He chuckled softly as he pressed his other hand atop hers, holding her hand with both of his now.

“You know… it’s funny but I kind of believe in love at first sight now.”

There was silence.

“I… just really like you, Ye Seul. A lot…”

I think I love you.

He gave a shaky breath as he tried to manage a smile. Another tear rolled down his cheek.

“Every time I was with you… I was beyond happy. You brought color into my life…”

He bowed his head as he squeezed her hand even tighter.

He couldn’t stop the onslaught of memories that ran through his hand. He wanted to see her smile at him one last time… Her smile back then had been so beautiful—it had been one of genuine happiness. But perhaps she had always been hurting, always hiding the pain. And he had never known… until it was too late.

“Don’t leave…”

Please. 

Then his eyes fluttered shut as he finally gave into exhaustion, his hands still wrapped around hers.

--

[June 20th, Morning Of]

And when he finally woke, he was alone. And now he was running again, towards the beach. To say his final goodbyes.

--

“Say, hyung, do you—” Another sip of his drink. “Believe in mermaids?” Jungkook raised his left hand into the air and mimicked the motions of a swimming tail.

“Hyung?” He spoke again, this time in a louder tone.

Hoseok blinked and shook his head, snapping back into reality.

Jungkook frowned.

“Hyung, are you okay?”

Hoseok blinked again as he stared at the young boy that sat in front of him.

Jungkook laughed and repeated his question.

“Hyung, do you believe in mermaids?”

The question made his heart ache immensely as if he was forgetting something that he couldn’t afford to forget.

Hoseok slowly nodded. “Yeah… I do.”

----

A/N: The story is now complete~ I hope you guys enjoyed it! Please leave some feedback, I want to hear your thoughts~ Thanks for reading!