Epilogue

"Today would be a great day."

Was the first sentence that entered Jongdae's mind the moment he opened his eyes that morning. With another person's limbs tangled around him, Jongdae slightly craned his neck up, his gaze moving past Xiumin's head that obscured his view from the clock on the bedside table.

It's five minutes past eight in the morning; the room is still dark because of the curtain covering the windows, preventing the rays of sun to invade the room.

With practiced ease, he untangled himself from Xiumin, careful not to disrupt the other's sleep. Not that Xiumin is a light-sleeper but he had been losing sleep the past weeks.

And it's mostly Jongdae's fault, not that he cannot help it though.

Jongdae cannot help suddenly waking up in the wee hours of the morning, clutching the part where his hair was shaved, feeling dizzy and nauseous. Or sometimes, he cannot help staying awake til' five in the morning, complaining about how his ears felt as if there is a giant earmold inside. Everytime Jongdae gets this 'fits', Xiumin would also be up and awake with him, even if he's tired from work.

The first time it happened, Jongdae remembers exactly when, was four weeks ago. They were getting into bed; Xiumin was fixing the mattress when Jongdae felt his body sway and he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness hitting him. The next thing he knew, Xiumin was by his side, both hands on his shoulder, and that night's dinner that was supposed to be in Jongdae's stomach was right there in front of them, occupying the place where they should be sleeping.

Xiumin guided him to the bathroom and helped him clean himself, constantly asking if he still felt like throwing up or if he's feeling alright now. After that, he told Jongdae to just rest as cleaned the mess in their room. Jongdae protested but Xiumin insisted that he should just sit down and rest. Jongdae's throbbing head made him yield to Xiumin.

When the beddings were changed, and the soiled mattress chucked in the laundry bin, they went back to bed and immediately contacted Jongdae's audiologist. The two of them felt relieved after knowing that what happened to Jongdae was just normal for people recovering from a cochlear implant surgery.

It had been ten years since Jongdae damaged his hearing. Xiumin had finally convinced him to get a Cochlear Implant. It was a long, arduous process but they believe it will all be worth it.

Now, after four weeks of recovering, Jongdae's now ready for the activation of the device. It would be a great day, he believes. He had watched some videos on Youtube, of people's experiences when their CI got activated. All made Jongdae tear up. Now, the time has come for his own activation. Jongdae did not know what to think. He wanted to expect something but to be very honest, he does not quite know what to expect. A lot of things can happen and all are jumbling in his head.

Jongdae quietly got off the bed and put on a shirt. His appointment with the audiologist isn't until one in the afternoon but he is sure he won't be able to go back to sleep. Jongdae slid out of the room and into the kitchen.

Nothing much had changed in Jongdae's house for the past ten years. It's still the same sala set and dining set. A new style of curtain was added though, and they also bought few furniture, changed the pillows, and added a new set of utensils. And through the years that passed, Xiumin's things started to fit in the house; it started with the clothes that had piled up in Jongdae's closet and ended with Xiumin himself, permanently living with Jongdae.

Jongdae was about to flip the omelette when he felt arms s around his waist, followed by a tender kiss on his temple. A small smile formed on Jongdae's lips and Xiumin hugged him tighter, pressing their warm bodies together. Jongdae flipped the omelette and looked to his side where he met Xiumin's gaze. 

"Get off, I can't move properly."

"Good morning to you, too." Xiumin chuckled as he let go of the other.

in a few hours, Jongdae thinks as he turned off the stove, he will be able to hear Xiumin's melodious laugh. He will be able to hear his voice. Jongdae cannot wait anymore. 

The two ate their breakfast and spent the remainder of the morning in their room, with the velvet curtain pushed to the side, finally allowing the rays of sun to fill the room. They talked about how Jongdae's activation and about how both their lives will change after that. They talked about how Xiiumin promised Jongdae that if he could say "I love you" a thousand times in a day, just to make up for the times that Jongdae wasn't able to hear it, then he will. 

When the hands of the clock struck twelve, when both have taken shower and dressed, they boarded Xiumin's car and collected Jungsoo from the cafe before finally heading to Jongdae's audiologist, Doctor Shin Donghee; a tall, beefy man with a light personality. 

"How are you feeling?" Doctor Donghee asked when the trio entered the activation room. It is a small room with a mahogany desk and a couple of monoblock chairs, neatly scattered inside. Beside the desk is a small rack with stacks of pamphlets and magazines about deafness and cochlear implant.

Jongdae opened his mouth to answer but no words came out. Honestly, he does not know what he is feeling at the moment. Anxious? Scared? Excited?

"Thought you would say that." Doctor Donghee added.

After what seemed like forever of explaining things (things that Jongdae did not quite catch) Donghee made Jongdae listen to the different frequencies of sounds using a hearing aid. Jongdae was thrilled when he was able to hear seven out of the ten frequencies. 

"That's good." Doctor Donghee said in high spirits. "That is a good start. I'm now going to activate your Cochlear Implant." The audiologist told them to refrain from speaking for the first five minutes. And that they did.

When the device was activated, the only sound Jongdae heard was a low buzzing sound, kind of like the sound of an AC when it is on. It went on for a couple of minutes and Jongdae felt impatient

And disappointed.

Is this it? Is this the only thing that he could hear? Is this even hearing? Doubts started to ransack Jongdae's mind and it only stopped when a screech hit his ears. Jongdae winced at the sound. The screech became louder and Jongdae felt his head throb.Thankfully, it did not go on for very long and was soon followed by a garbled noise. Doctor Donghee finally motioned for Xiumin and Jungsoo to speak. It was Xiumin who did. 

"Jongdae?." He asked tentatively but because of the garbled noise, Jongdae did not hear it. He shook his head at Xiumin, telling the other that he did not hear him calling his name, and instead just read it from Xiumin's lips.

"Just keep talking." Doctor Donghee adviced. "Use this." He reached for a pamphlet and handed it to Xiumin. "Cover your mouth and say different colors, and Jongdae, try to repeat what Xiumin will say." He instructed.

Jongdae looked uncertain because he still cannot hear anything except the garbled sounds but Xiumin reached for his hand and held it tightly, his eyes full of hope. Jongdae nodded bravely.

Xiumin covered his mouth and spoke. Jongdae remained silent. Xiumin spoke again. Silence. But Jongdae heard the garbled noise changed it's frequency a second ago. "Again." Jongdae instructed, this time, he felt a tinge of hope in s heart. 

"Gkbrr" Jongdae heard. His heart skipped a beat. He heard a faint sound mingled with the noise. He was sure that it was a word.

"Did you say clear?" Jongdae asked. 

"No, I said 'blue' and 'clear' is not even a color." Jongdae read from Xiumin's lips, and at the same time, he could hear him slightly, although unclear.

"Again."

Xiumin covered his lips again and spoke, his word much clearer this time, the noise finally reducing in volume. 

"Uhh.. Yellow?" 

Xiumin and Jungsoo looked shocked.

"You got it right." Jungsoo said and his voice was even clearer than the last. Jongdae frowned, he did not remember Jungsoo's voice to sound so robotic. 

And that was when it finally dawned on Jongdae. He could hear. The thought made a happy tear fall out of Jongdae's eyes and cascade down his cheek. 

"Why are you crying?" 

Again, Jongdae heard Xiumin asked (he also did not expect Xiumin's voice to sound so robotic, a pitch hinger than Jungsoo) and the sobs finally came, the tears now falling freely down his face. In an instant, he was in Xiumin's arms.

"Can you hear me?" He kept on asking and asking and despite how machine-like it sounded, Jongdae knew that Xiumin was frantic and thrilled. Jongdae nodded his head. 

"Oh god." Xiumin muttered and let go of Jongdae. "God, I'm... I'm so happy for you, Jongdae... Oh god... I love you so much."

A wave of emotions washed over Jongdae like a tidal wave, making him sob harder into Xiumin's arms. They stayed like that for a couple minutes more until Jongdae re-composed himself. 

"The first twenty minutes and you could already hear." Doctor Donghee chirped. "This is going really well. Don't worry about the voices, it will get tuned perfectly on our following maping sessions. What is important is you could hear now."

Jongdae remained silent, hiccuping beside Xiumin outside the activation rom. From time to time, Jongdae could hear the people talking when they pass by them. It only made Jongdae's heart swell more in happiness. 

"I knew today would be a great day." He muttered and was delighted when he heard his own voice. 

That night, as they prepare for bed, Jongdae almost did not want to take the device off. Donghae and Jongwoon did not want to stop talking to him as well when they arrived at the cafe and had told them the good news. And of course Jongdae did not forget to tell his step-brother about it as well.

Jongdae was not surprised when he received a sarcastic remark from Kwangmin. 

"Good, now you can hear people when they tell you to move." 

In the end, Kwangmin told him, "I'm happy for you." And Jongdae is also happy for Kwangmin who is now in his preferred field of expertise; photography. 

Jongdae was sitting on the bed, recalling the day's events when Xiumin hugged him from behind. Before, he would be a little startled, but he heard the slight ruffling of the sheets so he knew Xiumin was approaching. 

"I love you, I love you, I love you..." Xiumin chanted, fulfiling his promise earlier. 

"I know." Jongdae replied smugly, meeting the other's head from the side, their foreheads touching. "And I love you too." He replied before kissing him deeply. Xiumin responded immediately and they both fell onto the soft mattress. 

As their lips molded, Jongdae was sure that starting today, he would no longer be alone in silence. He had finally escaped the silent prison he was caged in from a very long time. 

From the back of mind, Jongdae could hear Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 playing. Once again, he was reminded of the freedom he had long since desired.

Eniize26; and that, people, marks the end of Chen-derella :))) Thanks for reading this!! I love you all!! 

I'm writing too much fluff!! Before I start my BaekYeol fic, I will first post a TaoRis angst that I wrote not too long ago. And guys, when I say angst, do not expect a happy ending, lol. 

Anyways, here is the epilogue! Tell me what you think, neh?