‘Sulli is dying. Sulli is ing dying.’ Taemin thought, over and over again.

A single tear fell, and then another, and soon, tears were flowing freely out of his eyes. He stood there numbly, as he stared at thin air. His eyes, once full of life, were now blank and void of any emotions.

The nurse squeezes his shoulders sympathetically, before walking off. She was used to delivering bad news, telling others that their love ones would die soon. No longer does she feel guilty and depress when she deliver such news, and to her, death was something that she had long accepted.

But that wasn’t the case for Taemin. As his shock slowly faded away, his emotions came crashing back to him. Red hot anger blaze inside him, and his eyes narrowed into a glare. He hates the world, he hates fate, he hates the ing doctors, and most of all he hates himself.

Sulli… his girlfriend was terminally ill for 4 ing years, and he didn’t even know. If he could have just paid more attention to her every action, he would have seen the slightest hesitations she made. If he were to be more observant, he would have seen that she was getting paler, weaker each day. She was obviously not well.

At this moment, Taemin felt absolutely disgusted with himself. And even more so, when he thought back to how he had harshly left her two years ago. She needed him, and he left.

He didn’t want to see her anymore, for he simply just can’t face her. How can he, when he had put her through so much pain?

“Young man.” A old lady said, tapping his arm to get his attention.

Wiping his tears, he hurriedly turned to face her. He was taught to respect the elders, and though he was in no mood to talk to anyone, he could not simply ignore her.

“You shouldn’t be here.” The old lady continued, staring at him straight in the eyes. Her tone was sharp, and Taemin felt rather intimidated under her gaze. But feeling rather bewildered at the same time, he just looked at her in confusion.

“You shouldn’t be here.” The old lady repeated, more firmly this time, as she took hold of his hand, holding it tightly.

“Wha-“

He suddenly stopped, as his eyes became blurry. He finally knew what she was trying to tell him.

“Together…” she whispered, as her eyes left him. Her eyes became unfocused, as a certain memory hit her.

“Together…” Taemin whispered back. She was right. He shouldn’t be here.

“Sulli…”

As he breathed out that one word, he realized how foolish he had been. No amount of regret can heal Sulli. She needed him, and together, they could overcome this.

“Thank you…” he said sincerely. All doubts of seeing her left his mind.

‘Sulli, I’m coming for you. We belong together, and we are overcoming this together. Nothing, nothing is taking me away from you now.’

A girl quietly sits on the bed, reading a book. As the door opened, she did not bother looking up to see who it was. It was probably just the usual nurse, or maybe one of the few doctors the place has.

But when no one approached her, she grew puzzle. Putting down her book, she looked up.

And then her eyes widened, and her heart quickened. Shock and disbelief rushed through her, and after awhile she realized that she was crying.

“Taemin…” she mouthed, her vision becoming blurry. He was back. After two years, he came back.

He approached her, and soon, she felt a pair of arms wrapped around her. She smiled in content, and slowly, her arms wrapped around him as well. She needs to confirm that he was real, and she let out a sigh of content when she realized that she wasn’t dreaming. Too often had she wake up to realize that it was all a dream, and not long after, dreams and reality had became a tangled mess, and it was getting hard to tell them apart.

But as the familiar smell of him hit her, she knew everything was not a dream. Finally, she was back in his arms. For the first time in two years, she felt happy and safe.

And as for Taemin, no words could describe his feelings. He was finally back where he belonged, and at this moment, he knew that they were meant for each other. They were each other’s half, and only together, are they whole. As he hugged her tighter, the tears came back once again. It felt so good and right, being with her again.

But something was off. As he whispered ‘I love yous’ and other words into her ear, there was no reaction, no response. For a moment, he was afraid that she was angry at him. He broke the hug, and stared at her worriedly. He was about to open and seek for forgiveness, when Sulli shook her head and smiled at him sadly.

And then, it hit him.

She was deaf.

Thank you Swiftie & sullifan1 for commenting :)