Word Count: 1,974

Death.

A word that most people are irked to hear or even mention; a taboo that no one dared to bring up. Death is merely a passing cycle in life and we will all end up there anyway.

This was his belief; a young man in the middle of his 20’s, Sunggyu never cared if the word was spoken freely or not. He is not satanic, a devout Christian to be exact, but death is a causal thing that he learned to deal with; being a medical student has its own effects on his psychological well being. He faced corpse day in and out of Med School; cadavers of young men to murder victims, he’d seen them all. He faced death quite numerous times to care anymore.

Kim Sunggyu was a strong kid who pursued this career because he wanted to help victims of diseases. His roots run deep as his own mother succumbed to cancer, his aunt died of Leukemia and his own brother died of brain aneurysm 3 years back. He was determined to battle death, and the only way to do so is to face them head on.

He was so sure that death has its own rules, like final destination which has patterns and premonitions. Because he believed in death, he learned to respect it. And no, he’ll not do anything to stop death on its tracks for good, but slow him down a little bit to give others a chance to enjoy life for the time being. The balance between life and death has been clear with Sunggyu; frankly speaking, he had always believed that every birth has its equivalent death, though the rate wasn’t exactly 1:1.

But who knew he’ll came face to face with death on a more personal level? Who would have thought that he’ll wander realms he though never existed? Who knew Kim Sunggyu would find love in death.

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“Kim Sunggyu” The name buzzed from the speakers and the intern walked towards the nurses’ station. “Yes?” He said and the kind nurse on duty handed him his itinerary for the day. “Children’s ward, Cancer Ward then ICU. You’ll be touring with our intern nurse Myungsoo.” The nurse said as she introduced a handsome young man. The intern doctor shook hands with the intern nurse, placid smiles on their faces. “Nice to meet you Myungsoo.” He said casually. “Same here Sunggyu-ssi” the younger replied bashfully. “Hey, call me hyung.” Sunggyu remarked and then made their way to the Children’s ward.

The kids were bubbly despite the illnesses though some were really a pity to look at; a girl suffering from Dengue fever was very silent and pale. Myungsoo knelt in front of her and smiled. “How are you my angel?” HE asked with a voice sweet and dear. “Fine I guess.” She replied softly. “You’ll feel better don’t worry.” Myungsoo reassured her then placed his hand on her head. The two then left her to rest.

“You seemed to like her.” Sunggyu asked as they stepped out of the ward to continue their iterenary for the day. “I adore kids, they are very lovely.” Myungsoo replied with a small smile; Sunggyu noticed how charming the younger was. “Well, that’s very precious.” Sunggyu commented and the two went to their next stop.

The cancer ward was rather gloomy, with kids and adults all in their saddest state: this broke Sunggyu’s heart; reminiscing how the dreaded disease took hold of his mother and aunt’s life.  Myungsoo wore a bright but shy smile on his handsome face as he approached a kid with leukemia, the disease very common to Koreans. “Hey, how are you buddy?” Myungsoo asked and the kid nodded meekly. “I’m Myungsoo, you can call me hyung.” He introduced himself and the kid smiled a little. “Oh, Myungsoo right?” A bubbly male interrupted him and introduced himself as Sungyeol, he was assigned at the ward. “May I know his name?” Myungsoo asked and the nurse smiled. “It’s Kwangmin. He has an older twin who is very healthy. Apparently, their mom didn’t know she had twins and the younger here ended up very fragile and sickly.” Sungyeol said and the two intern nodded. “It’s a common sight; one of the twins will always be inferior, though his case was an extreme.” Sunggyu explained then introduced himself to the nurse. “He’ll be fine.” Myungsoo said then brushed the kid’s hair. “You’ll be ok buddy, I promise.” He said with a smile before joining the two in their round.