Sehun's POV

Another seemingly endless week has gone by, and I can't wait to see her again, the girl I came to like. Sitting in the van, my thoughts drift away all the time, they are already with Mirae and her smile.  It must be readable from my expression.

"Here he goes off to dream world again" Kai teases behind me, pulling on a strand of my hair, ending my daydreams.

"I'm not!" I lean forward in my seat, so that his stupid hands can't reach me anymore. I like and respect Kai hyung, but in moments like this, I just want him to let me be.

"But you seem to be thinking a lot, Sehun-ah." Leader Suho declares beside me without looking at me.

"Is that wrong? I have something called privacy, too!"

"Yah, respect you elders!" Kai laughs, trying to annoy me again. I need to refrain from sticking out my tongue at him. I then pretend to go to sleep so that they don't converse with me anymore. We're on our way back to the dorm, and I promised to take Luhan with me to see Mirae today. And to bring her her beloved tulips.

***

"So, isn't the hospital in the opposite direction?" Luhan asks curiously, nevertheless following me. He is wearing a cap combined with sunglasses while I only decided to wear my favorite hoodie. Hyung actually paid a lot of attention to not being exposed as EXO members. Probably that was a good thing, because we manage to stay unnoticed.

"I need to get something before we go meet her." Luhan laughs heartily.

"You're so romantic. I bet that girl is already head over heels in love with you. " I believe he even means what he says for once.

"It's not that. You wouldn't understand." The two of us enter the flower store I use to get colorful tulips from. The female employee knows me already. She greets us warmly, a cheeky smile on her lips.

"Oh, the tulip boy again! Is it the usual?" I nod while Luhan takes a look around. He seems amazed at the huge variety of flowers stuffed into the small room. So amazed that he doesn't even continue questioning me. Only when the employee returns with a bunch of white tulips in her hands he regains his voice.

"Tulpis? Why tulips? Don't you think they're kinda boring?" Not long ago, I thought the same way, so it makes me smile.

"They aren't boring to her." I explain as the employee reaches us.

"Ah, I'm terribly sorry, but we only got white ones today. Is this okay with you?" I gaze at the white flowers, they look innocent and beautiful in their simplicity. Just like Mirae.

"Yes, that's all right." I pay, giving the woman a smile, and we leave quickly. Beside me, Luhan chuckles. I give him an angry look.

"Hunnie, you seem to have matured. This girl must mean a lot to you. I'm looking forward to meeting her face to face." The seriousness in his voice makes it even more sound like a compliment. I shyly avert my glance.

"Not at all." If I had to call one person mature, it would be Mirae. For her ability to stay strong in the hardest times because her sister needs her.

***

Soon after, a great disappointment follows.  The two of us are just about to reach her room, when a nurse notices and approaches us, an excusing look on her face.

"Are you here to see Chaerin?" I'm about to say no, to explain that I want to see her sister, but the nurse already goes on. "I can't let you in right now, her condition has worsened noticeably, and she needs a lot of rest. Only very close family members are allowed to see her." She gives Luhan and me a glance. "And I suppose you two aren't. But if you were her boyfriend-"

"No! It's okay, I'll just try sometime else." I exclaim, not wanting the nurse to get it wrong.

"Oh, I get it, I get it." Her look find the flowers in my hands. "I can give her those for you, if you don't mind." Though my intention was to get them for Mirae, I can't say no. I feel like I should at least show my solicitousness.

"That would be very nice." I say, bowing, and Luhan follows my example. I hand over the flowers, feeling bad all of a sudden.

"Then, if you'd excuse me..." The nurse opens the door and slips into the room, but I can't even take a glance in it. An excusing look on my face, I turn towards Luhan hyung.

"Sorry." He shrugs.

"How should you know? Too bad thought. Couldn't she just have come out or something?" His statement makes me think. Right, she could've, couldn't she? It would have felt like intruding though. Who knows how long Mirae's sister will be there for her?

"Guess we'll just return to the dorm then." Luhan grabs my shoulder and leads me towards the exit. Something tells me I shouldn't go. I should barge into the room to see her. I don't.

Chaerin's POV

The state I'm in can't be described. It is a mixture of being awake and asleep, with faces rushing by in front of me. Most of the time it's my mom, looking at me in sorrow, and I reach out to her and her cheek. See, I'm okay?  And in the next second, there's darkness surrounding me. My body is fighting, and I should be in pain, but the medicaments keep it away. So my whole body only feels a little numb, but it's bearable. My headache is gone as well. See that, tumor? You can't take over my life... And then, sometimes, there are moments where my mind is sharp and clear again.

"Chaerin-ah." The voice of my mom reaches me in my slumber.

"Hn?" I slightly open my eyes, seeing her relieved face. In her hands, there's a bunch of  flowers of a pure white. Are they tulips? My vision is blurry, I can't make them out that well. But the smell- I can smell them. A smile sneaks on my lips.

"Has dad brought them?" I ask, before realizing that I'm talking crap. Dad is gone.

"Dear, a boy brought them." I don't need to ask for his name. Sehun-ah? It has to be him. My smile grows wider.

"Give them to me." I demand, taking the flowers, positioning them on my chest so I can inhale their sweet scent. It only reminds me of good things, such as dad, beautiful summer days, and... Sehun.

"I want to see him, mom..." I mutter, a tear forming in the corner of my eye, even though I told myself not to cry. All this time I didn't expect it to end like this. I'm not ready. I can't leave this world yet, now that I found Sehun.

"Who do you want to see?" My mom questions, taking my hand and holding onto it tightly, but I am too tired to give an exact answer.

"The boy with the flowers..." I breathe heavily. "He doesn't even know who I am..."

***

Nobody's POV

The woman watches her daughter fade away into a deep slumber and gradually releases her hand. Sleeping, Chaerin seems so peaceful. She can't imagine how many hardships the girl faces right now. If only she could take some of them away from her, do her a small favor, brighten her mood. But what could she do, as a mother? Bound to watch her precious daughter grow weaker day by day, she feels helpless. And it takes away her energy as well. With a sigh, she stands up, deciding to take a walk and to get some fresh air. Once Chaerin was asleep, it took long for her to wake again. The mother is afraid that she won't wake up one day. The boy with the flowers. What did she mean by that? Was it someone she didn't know of? Maybe her daughter hadn't told her everything after all, but she wished that she did. The look in Chaerin's eyes when she mentioned the boy- it had been heartbreaking. He doesn't even know who I am. It doesn't make sense. If he doesn't know, how come he brought flowers? The mother decides to investigate further. Because one thing is clear to her - Chaerin needs to see him at least one last time.

"Excuse me- there must be a boy that visits Choi Chaerin often. Do you know anything...?" She asks the woman at the front desk, and the woman excuses herself, saying that she needs to look it up. Meanwhile, the mother prays that her search won't be fruitless.

"Actually there has been a boy visiting her over the past month, but he never left his- oh." The woman interrupted herself. "He did leave his name. His brother is in treatment here. Oh Shin. So you're probably looking for the older brother, Oh Sehun?" The mother nods.

"I suppose..."

"Nice young boy, he is. But there's no contact information here." She looks up, disappointed and a bit desperate.

"Please look again, there must be something, it's really important..." The front desk woman frowns. She seems to get annoyed.

"If it's that important, he uses to come here sometimes, accompanying his brother. Maybe you could catch him sometime. I'm sorry, but I really can't do more for you."

"Thank you very much!" With those hasty words being said, the mother hurries back to her daughters room, determined to get a hold of that Oh Sehun.

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Only one chapter + epilogue to go! Yush!