“세월은 그렇게 흘러

여기까지 왔는데,

인생은 그렇게 흘러

황혼에 기우는데...”

[“The years that flowed by

Have brought us this far,

The life that has flowed by

Is nearing its end...”]

When they had first met all those years ago, Jongin had been an innocent youth floating between adolescence and adulthood. He himself had only been a mere 24 years old. But despite their young age, Yifan had known from the moment he had laid eyes on Jongin that the youth with beautifully tanned skin and thick lips was undoubtedly the one.

That point in their lives had been a time when passion and spontaneity reigned supreme. Because they had been young and in love, and as two boys just into their twenties, they had been invincible. Back then they had had the energy to stay out all night and run away to random places together, to experience the world and everything it had to offer them.

At first, neither of them had realized anything was wrong at all, until their youngest daughter had come down from Seoul to visit and dragged both of them to the hospital for a check up. That was when Yifan’s world had fallen apart.

The doctor had explained to them that even though Jongin was exceptionally healthy for a man of 72 years old, the tumor in his prostate, and his symptoms of Alzheimer's, would require immediate attention. So, after a lot of crying and discussing their options, they decided to fight back against the diseases trying to steal Jongin's life and memories away.

And for awhile, the drugs and chemotherapy had worked. Until they didn’t anymore because the cancer had spread to other organs and the Alzheimer's had progressed to a point where drugs no longer helped. And then all the doctors could do was provide Jongin with medicine to keep him comfortable at home while they prepared for the inevitable.

After six decades together, time and illness had finally caught up to them.

Now, at 85 years old, Wu Yifan finds himself preparing to say goodbye to the man to whom he had spent his entire youth devoted. The man who has been the single greatest bright spot in his life for the better part of 60 years, who has given him five beautiful children and a lifetime of wonderful memories. The man who now depends upon machines to tell his family that he is still alive.

Sitting next to Jongin’s hospital bed and listening to the quiet, steady beep of the heart monitor telling the world that there was still some semblance of life left in the loving father of five, Yifan finally understands what it means to be scared. For the first time in his life, Wu Yifan is scared because he has never known a life without Kim Jongin and his absurd amounts of energy.

But as his eldest daughter wraps her slender arms around his shoulders and presses a tender kiss to his temple, he knows that no matter how scared he is, Wu Yifan is finally going to know what it means to live a life without color. “It’s time, Baba...”

A single tear trickles down Yifan’s cheek, followed by another and another as he presses a soft kiss to the back of his husband’s wrinkled hand.

“I love you to the moon and back, Kim Jongin. Let’s meet again in our next lives, okay?”