Story Line: Forever and Always - Parachute

Pairing: Daejong

 

Daehyun sat at the table in the kitchen, tapping his foot lightly to the serene music that filled up their home. He sighed, pulling out his phone once again to check the time. 11:30. He said to meet him at 9 sharp, he was late. He chewed on his lip, his lover was never later, ever. Glancing out the window once again, he hoped to see a car in the drive way. Like the other times, nothing was spotted, not even a trace that his vehicle had been there, only his silver Toyota was left. He had sent the other multiple of texts, however, never receiving any replies. He had also called the latter's relatives, hoping that maybe his lover had something important to do other than being by his side. He gave a soft sigh as they all replied with the same answers.

 

"We haven't seen Jongup anywhere."

 

And this makes Daehyun even more anxious. If something important had shown up, Jongup would have informed him. He was sure. He heart thumped, racing quickly as worry started to fill him. Panic rose, his eyes closing. He didn't want to think about the possible accidents that could happen. If he was lucky, Jongup would come home late, Daehyun would get a bit mad, and Jongup would make it up to him like he always would. That was better than the things going on his mind as of now.

 

He peered out the window once again, anxiety filling him up as he waited for his lover. He foot stopped tapping as he heard the sound he had been waiting all this while, his face immediately lighting up. He briskly walked towards the phone, quickly picking up the phone.

 

"Jongup?" he spoke softly, his voice hinting in relief.

 

"Is this Jung Daehyun?" a voice replied. Daehyun let out a sigh, feeling stupid as he hoped that the phone call has been from his young lover, or as of a few months ago, fiancé.

 

"This is Daehyun, how may I help you?" He rushed the words, hoping to end this phone call quickly so he could once again wait for Jongup.

 

"This is about Moon Jongup," Daehyun's heart froze at that moment, worry once again taking over his mind as he tried to think of a reason why someone would call on the other's behalf.

 

"Who's this?" he whispered quietly, however, the other could somehow hear him. 

 

"Ah, this is nurse Seo Ae Cha at Seoul Paik Hospital. Please come as soon as you can, Jongup wants to see you." With that, a click was heard, the nurse had hung up. Daehyun's body shook, tears threatening to spill. Jongup at the hospital? Why? Without another thought, he grabbed his keys and wallet, slamming the door shut and ran to the car. After several attempts due to his shaking hands, he managed to unlock the door and turn the key, starting up the car before speeding out of the driveway. He tried his best to keep under the speed limit, exceeding it at time because it was Jongup that was in the hospital. His Jongup, and he couldn't bare with the thought. He brought a hand up, wiping the unshed tears.

 

As he drives the the damn place with sullen white walls, the building reminds him of snow. December, wasn't it? That was the day he proposed, in December right on Christmas day. Of course Daehyun remembers every single detail of that special moment, where it felt like there were only the two of them.

 

The morning was filled with snuggling and breakfast, resulting into a make out session after Jongup had offered to feed him with his mouth. After a couple of whines and smacks to the head, they finally leave the house, bundled up with coats and scarves, along with gloves so that their hands wouldn't be frost bitten from the snow. It ends with a snow ball fight, Daehyun tackling down his lover and rolling around on the snow for what seems like hours. They stop, pants escaping their lips and Jongup finally speaks up, nuzzling their noses together and whispers that he has a surprise for him. After an hour in the car, they finally arrive at a deserted lake, of course it's now frozen due to the temperature and he finally realizes why they brought skate. They slip on the skates and carefully make their way to the sheet of ice and once they're on, they stumble with laughter. Happiness is the only word to describe the image despite the slight teasing and the occasional pushing on the ice. Sometimes, they fall but the other just helps them back up before skating away. Jongup manages to catch Daehyun, picking him up by the waist and spinning him around while the other squeaks in surprise, loud laughter escaping him as he places his hands on his lover's for some sort of balance. They spin around for a bit more before they grow dizzy and slowly stop until they're on the snow, panting softly as the white powder falls on their faces. It's soothing in a way, Daehyun thinks as he turns his head to look at Jongup. To his surprise, his lover is already looking at him with a bright smile graced on his lips, and it makes him blush slightly. Jongup finally stands up, pulling Daehyun along with him. He shuffles for a moment, stuffing his hand in his pocket and before Daehyun can comprehend why the latter even needs to go through his pockets, he's already on his knees and an open box in his hand, revealing a beautiful diamond necklace that shines with the few lights that glistens through the foggy skies. Of course he says yes and he pulls the male up and into a crushing hug.

 

He arrived at the hospital after a few minutes, which would have taken twenty minutes if Daehyun had not went over the speed limit near the end of the trip. He strode up to the front desk, his steps steady and paced as if he wasn't in a rush. It was all a cover up, he didn't want anyone to know how fear was slowly eating him away. He hoped that Jongup was okay, that's all he wished for really. Reaching there, he let out a deep breath, pressing the top of the bell to catch the other's attention. When the nurse looked up, he flashed her a small smile, "This is Daehyun."

 

The nurse stared at him for a bit more before recognizing him. She gave him a small smile, as if to reassure him that everything was going to fine. "Right this way Mr. Jung."

 

He gave her back the smallest of smiles, one that you could even barely call a grin. He wanted to tell her not to call him Mr. Jung, he was used to being called Mr. Moon by now, his parents and soon-to-be in-laws always teasing him about it. Jongup would laugh it off, wrapping his arms around his waist to comfort the blushing boy.

 

All the memories of them together flooded his mind, his stomach flipping around. It's wasn't the good butterflies in your stomach kind though. No, it was ones that he always had when he dreaded something.

 

Daehyun's body started to shake more, his breath become slightly more erratic as he tried to calm himself down. He was zoned out, not listening to the words of the nurses anymore as she explained the situation. He caught a few words: car crash, impaled, liver, severe damage, shards of glass. The rest has completely been blocked out by Daehyun, he didn't want to hear anymore. He was pretty sure he had an image of what had happened and it was a horrible thought. He looked around the hallways instead, noticing the pale, white walls stretching on. It was as if it would never stop, the turns and twists making him feel as if he had walked through millions of hallways, passed through billions of doors that would lead to nowhere. This was all a maze to him, he never thought he would ever in his life be walking through these lifeless halls. When would he get to see Jongup?

 

As if someone was reading his mind, they finally stop. Daehyun almost ran into the nurse, luckily he caught himself before he could. He takes in his twentieth deep breath, he nerves finally exploding. He reaches out for the knob, gripping it tightly. Half of him wanted to walk in, to see Jongup once again and the other wanted to run away, too scared of what the sight could possibly be. But always giving into the other's wishes, he turns the knob slowly, letting the door swing open by itself once the dead latch left the strike place.

 

He wanted to run away.

 

There he saw Jongup, laying peacefully on the bed with his eyes closed. White bandages were wrapped tightly around his head, seeing the red splotches bleeding through the wrap. He wanted to break down, to let everything to go. His stomach churned, he had always had a weak stomach. Luckily, the rest of Jongup's body was covered with a blanket. He breaths have become more erratic as he walks in, trying to cover up his sobs by biting his lips. He sniffles a few time before reaching the other, his face pale but showing no emotion. He's trying his best to keep everything, knowing that the nurse was watching from the door. When he hears the door shut close, he reaches for Jongup's hand, lacing their fingers and squeezing it tightly. This awakens Jongup, wincing from the tight grip as his body was still weak from the crash.

 

"Jongup? Are you okay?" he asks, cursing himself for asking such a stupid question and for his voice barely coming out as a whisper. However, the room is so quiet that it manages to echo off the walls, or so Daehyun thinks, and Jongup can hear him.

 

"I'm fine long as you're with me," Jongup gives him a weak smile. Daehyun manages to give a small laugh at the response though, slightly loosening his grip on the other's hand. He was scared that if he let his hand go, Jongup would slip away. He definitely wouldn't have that happening. Jongup has always been a person who was able to read the situation and mood, or maybe it was because he knew Daehyun inside and out and the next words leave Daehyun unsure whether to believe them or not.

 

"I'll be fine, don't worry. I still have our promise anyways."

 

Daehyun forces a tiny smile, looking at the other in the eye for the first time since he arrived, "That's right, you have to be fine won't you? You promised to get us married before we died."

 

Jongup lets a laugh slip, causing him to cough afterwards at how much his throat hurts. Daehyun pats his back, his lips forming into a thin line as he examines how weak Jongup is now. He had always been strong, nothing got the best of him and to see how he can barely move, how he's wrapped with bandages everywhere, it's utterly heartbreaking and he can't bear the sight.

 

"Hey, remember our future plans?" he whispered softly.

 

He can't help the wide grin that appears on his face as he notices how Jongup seemed to brighten up at the topic, and how the mood shifts from heavy to light.

 

"I do, we would adopt kids right? But I'm sure out of the many times, I would have gotten you pregnant," he replied back, a playful smiles tugging on his lips as he finds Daehyun's blush adorable. Daehyun thinks that if Jongup wasn't injured, he would've punch the smile off his face."

 

"Yep, and how we'd move to the country. And I would be the stay-at-home umma, while you be the appa that makes all the income," he snickered, because the future they planned entitled him to an easy life when the other had to be the family's main support.

 

And before they knew it, they start to fight about the plans and once they decided the final one, they move onto completely different topics. Of course, they didn't talk much afterwards as they knew each and every aspect of each other, they know the other's ticklish spots, they're es, their dislikes, and nothing is left out. The room is soon filled with silence, however it's comfortable and Daehyun's thumb is brushing on the back of Jongup's gently. In the midst of the silence, he had time to figure things out, to realize that what if Jongup didn't make it? What would happen then?

 

It seems rash, because nothing is prepared and they don't even have the official wedding rings, but Daehyun decided that he wants to marry Jongup as soon as possible. Life was short anyways, wasn't it? And he doesn't want to marry when Jongup's fully recovered, nor when Jongup finally gets out of the hospital, but he wants them to be wedded now because of the fear of losing the love of his life today.

 

He calls everyone in his contact, all his supportive friends and family though that would total to around twenty people, they couldn't have too much of a crowded room. The nurses decide to help him in this idea of his, calling up one of the priests from a nearby church. In one hour, everyone has arrived ; his and Jongup's family, their close friends, and even some of the nurses stop by and peek in. Also the couple next door was too, since they would be borrowing their wedding rings for the ceremony. When he tells Jongup his plan, he is pleasantly surprised by how easily he agrees and of course, it's always followed by that bright smile of his which never fails to make his heart skip a beat. 

 

The priest arrived shortly after and he speaks the vows, skipping some unnecessary lines as he could see the impactience on Daehyun's face. Both men say, "I do," and the priest happily announces them as a wedded couple, even though gay marriage is banned from Korea. The priest shuffles out of the room when the familes and friends cheer, and for some reason, tears are escaping his eyes as he kisses Jongup. He feels his lips faintly press back and it feels perfect. Almost too perfect and that's where everything goes wrong. That's when Daehyun's life turns upside-down and everything is now black. The rings had just been slipped onto their fingers and suddenly, he can see how shallow Jongup's breaths are, how beads of sweat is falling from his forehead and he just hides the pain with the smile of his.

 

And Daehyun realizes that even though Jongup seemed fine from the beginning, he really wasn't and he was trying to stay on earth enough to fulfill his promises. He hears the beeps clearly, the clear slow sounds echoing in the now silent room as everyone steps back, giving them space yet intently watches the couple. Jongup had somehow manage to lace their figures together, his smile slowly faltering with each beat of his heart but he manages to keep the smallest of smiles on his face in the end. And with his lips parted, he sings a few lines of a song that he remembers. Words that will always haunt Daehyun's mind and even though the voice is shaky and cracked, he finds it beautiful anyways.

 

"I love you forever, forever and always

Please just remember even if I'm not there

I'll always love you, forever and always."

 

Daehyun hears a flat tone afterwards and slowly, the hand that's barely holding onto his slips away and falls onto the bedding with a small 'thump,' never to be used again.