It’s the sound I wake up to every morning before the nurses come to check up on me. All I could do was peek out my window but I never could see who the owner of the beautiful voice was.

He sings during sunrise, waking me up from my cold slumber. He sits on the swings in the hospital playground, facing away from my window. I asked about him to the nurses, they said his name was Sungjong and he had lung cancer.

It’s as if he was striving his best to fight the cancer by singing. Even though his lungs are weak, he’s always singing every morning. As if he denied the cancer, going against it. There’s a certain beauty in it.

One of those days I was determined to wake up earlier than him to go and finally meet him. That morning when I was set to go to the playground my illness kicked in. I out as the nurses came piling in. When I woke up it was already sunset and I had missed my chance.

The next day, I was once again woken up by the sound of his voice. I asked the nurses if I could get out of bed anytime soon, I should be up and running by the end of the week.

I kept asking the nurses if I was stable enough to be up and around yet from that point on. I’m pretty sure they’re agitated by now. I couldn’t help it, I just had to ask and ask and ask because that boy and his voice are what keep me alive. All these medicines and treatments would mean nothing if I didn’t have the will to live. And he’s my will to live.

The only thing I could do was lie in my hospital bed, counting the minutes until the end of the week.

At the end of the week I made sure to be up before sunrise. My condition was already stable and I was well enough to be out of bed. I took that chance to go to the hospital playground.

He was already seated on a swing when I arrived; he was overlooking the horizon, waiting for sunrise. “Hello,” I said, rather awkwardly as I took a seat on the swing next to her. He flashed me a smile with a kind greeting. “I’m Myungsoo,” I said, offering her my hand. “The bright river.” He nodded, sounding impressed. “I’m Sungjong, it means complete offspring.” He took my hands in his, shaking it gently.

“Sungjong.” I echoed. He nodded again, his smile never leaving his face. “What brings you to the playground Myungsoo?” I couldn’t tell him that I came to meet him; it would make me seem so pathetic. I had to lie, “I thought I’d see the sunrise, I never got a chance to actually see it before.”

“It’s very beautiful,” he said, looking ahead. “The sunrise, that is.”

On cue, the rays of sunlight came peeking out from the gaps between the trees and Sungjong took a deep breath. He started singing; it was the same song I woke up to every morning, now that I’m next to him I realize that it was sung in a different language, one that I couldn’t understand.

The rays of sunlight kissed his crown and highlighted every perfect imperfection. His brown hair glimmers under the light, short, wavy, and all tangled up. His long lashes, his pale, untouched complexion and deep dark eyes, slender fingers that grip the rail of the swing, feet that barely reached the ground, his every beauty.

A soothing feeling washed over me as he sung. I couldn’t understand a single word he sings but it brings me peace, it calms me down, even with the melancholy in his eyes.

That easily, I fell in love with him, that easily.

“That was amazing.” Gazing into his eyes, I paid no mind to the risen sun just as he paid no mind to my comment. “Tell me, Myungsoo, when can I see you again?” I was thrilled; he had asked to meet me once more. “Tomorrow.” I promised.

Sungjong hopped off his swing and spun to meet me, “Tomorrow it is.” He smiled before walking back to the hospital doors, wheeling his tank behind him.

I stayed still, staring toward the direction he had left. My breathing was caught in my throat, my hands frozen in place, my heart pounding louder than ever before.

So this is love.

I stayed on the swings, looking up towards the sun, leaving when children started to run outside to play. “Good morning Myungsoo, you’re up early.” A passing nurse said. “Oh my, you’re red! Are you okay?” My hands went up to my cheeks; there was a burning sensation in it. “I think the sun is getting to me.”

Eager to see him again, I tried to sleep when I returned to my room, praying that when I wake up it would be sunrise. I woke up every few minutes.

My parents and sisters stopped by before lunchtime with pizza and lasagna. My mother has this thing where every meal of the day has to have a theme so that their taste won’t clash even though I have no problem eating pizza and French fries.

I ate my share of pizza silently, listening to my sisters talk about their perfectly healthy and normal lives. I have three sisters, the oldest one a sophomore university, the second one is a senior in high school, and the youngest one is a freshman in junior high. My second sister, Jiae, is my twin sister so I should be a senior right now if I weren’t homeschooled.

Jiae and I get along to some extent. We don’t have twin telepathy or anything but she leaves me alone without particularly hating me, I like that about her. She probably just feels sorry about me. A lot of people do.

“Myungsoo, you’d take me to senior prom right? You promised.” Senior prom was a week away, she had asked me to take her months ago and I said I would. I nodded my head, mouth full of pizza.

“How exciting!” My mother practically gleamed, the excitement in her voice obvious. “Do you two know what to wear?” Jiae nodded, grinning and so did I. I could use my death suit.

My mother went on and on about how amazing everything will be, how proud she is of her twins. All I could do was smile, agree, and wait for another day.

They left after dinner time, my mother kissed my forehead, my father left my PSP on the bedside, and my sisters chorused their goodbyes and see you tomorrows. I waved at them from my spot in bed.

Easing to my pillow, I stared into the light bulb until multiple dotted shadows form in my vision. My eyes closed, drifting off to a dream.

Once more, before the rising sun arrives, I rushed to the playground. Sungjong was already waiting for me on the swing. I greeted him before sitting on the swing next to him. The gap between us filled with a peaceful silence.

“I’ve got a week to live.” I stared at him, unable to look away. I just met him, just started to fall in love with him, and he has a week to live. 1 week, 7 days, 168 hours, 10080 minutes, 604800 seconds. His very limited time left in this world.

“Sungjong I—” he began to sing as the sun rose, cutting me off in mid sentence. Tears stream down on his face as he sung. I swung wordlessly next to him.

He stopped singing at the exact moment she does every morning. “Myungsoo, do you know what ‘aubade’ means?” I shook my head in response. “Une chanson à l'aube.” He said, as if it was only natural that I could understand his words. Wiping the tears out of his eyes, he stood up. “Thank you for listening to my aubade.” He bowed his head and left.