Luhan was only sixteen when he was diagnosed with . At first they thought it was just because of him being stressed with all the school works that's why he suddenly felt weak.

He felt really weak at one point and couldn't move his body. His mother decided to get him to the hospital since he was being very stiff and he couldn't feel his body anymore.

That was when his greatest nightmare happened. 

He was diagnosed with expressive aphasia. It was a sickness that made him uncapable of conveying his thoughts into verbal communication. He was often bullied because he couldn't answer them properly and he was always stuttering.

People saw him as a wallflower, a nobody who doesn't deserve their attention.

Luhan saw himself as a useless human being. He couldn't even talk to his mom and tell her that he loves her properly. 

He grew hopeless and tired of everything. The only pinch of hope that he had left was his mother who takes good care of him and accepted him despite his pitiful state. He feels sorry for her because he was a very useless son.

"Luhan you are not a burden" Mrs. Lu quietly said for the nth time. Luhan was more on the writing type rather than the speaking type. He often uses paper and pen to write messages that he wanted the people who are close to his heart know what he feels - which is in this case, his mother.

"I-I..use..l-less" He tried his hard to pronounce that one phrase that had been etched in his mind forever. I'm useless. It pained Mrs. Lu that Luhan had to feel this way. Mrs. Lu was preventing herself from sobbing in front of his son. No, she couldn't cry, not when she was his only strength.

Even though Luhan had issues with comprehension, he still knew that his mother was in the verge of crying. Luhan was a smart kid actually, he's just not gifted with the mouth to match his intelligence.

"Sss" Luhan was shaking, he kept trying to tell her mom to stop crying and that he's sorry but ended up hissing like a snake instead. He let out a silent sigh as he grabbed his notepad and hurriedly jotted down a message for her.

He shoved the notepad gently into her lap. Written on the notepad was a very shaky but coherent handwriting of Luhan and the words "I'm sorry, please dont cry" on it. 

Mrs. Lu hugged the notepad and started crying softly making Luhan frown. This was not what he wanted to see. "E-eoum-ma" Luhan said and draped his weak arms lifelessly around her "Ul..jim-a" he muttered and wiped her face with his own hands.

His mother nodded and played with his hair gently. Seeing her mother cry was one of the most painful things he had to witness and wished to never see it again.

The next day, Luhan was going to school again. He wore his school uniform and went downstairs to bid farewell to his mother.

Even if his mother already talked to him about quitting school to rest, he would always insist in going because he wanted to learn. He wanted to prove to the world someday that he can be of good use, that he was worth something.

"Take care son" Mrs. Lu gave a chaste kiss on her son's forehead causing Luhan to smile widely. "Love you" Mrs. Lu waved by the time he was at the front door.

Luhan breathed in, inhaling the misty scent of nature around him before exhaling. He waited for the bus while sitting down and observing his surroundings. The bus soon came and Luhan hopped in. After a few minutes, he passed by students who were happily chatting with their friends and sat quietly at his usual seat.

"Okay class, turn your book to page 53" The teacher instructed and everyone obliged. Just as she was about to speak once again, another female teacher came inside the classroom after giving a brief knock.

"Hello class" It was the school's guidance counselor, Ms. Im. The students stood up and greeted her in respect. Ms. Im came inside with a girl trailing behind her. She had her head down and was now standing beside Ms. Im.

"She's a new transfer student from Daegu" Ms. Im started, cueing the girl for her introduction.

"Hello everyone, my name is Song Haneul from Daegu" Haneul bowed and had a tranquil expression on. She scanned everyone quietly and gave a light smile before looking down at her feet once again.

"Sit wherever you wish" The teacher smiled warmly at Haneul and the latter bowed in respect before looking around for a vacant seat. She saw a guy sitting near the window seat and it had a vacant one right beside him. 

Haneul smiled and walked over to Luhan who was just staring at the girl blankly. The girl took her seat quietly without making a single noise. 

The teacher resumed with her discussion and Haneul would occasionally steal a glance of him by eyeing him sideways. "He doesn't look like he wants to be my friend" Haneul pouted at the thought. She used to be so talkative when it comes to making new friends but she couldn't initiate for some reason.

Instead of verbally speaking to the guy beside her, Haneul wrote down a note on a scratch of paper she tore from her planner and scribbled the word "Hi" before passing it to him quietly.

Luhan stared at the piece of paper. He was actually surprised that she was initiating a conversation. Luhan took a quick glance at her before writing.

"I don't think we're allowed to write these kinds of notes during class" He wrote the words with some of the syllables far away from the others. He just hoped that she could understand and stop.

Haneul furrowed her eyebrows as she tried her very best to understand his handwriting. It looked like it was written in a hurred and trembling way. 

She didn't write anything back and just focused on their lessons.

Soon enough it was already time for him to head back home. It was a productive day for Luhan since he aced a test earlier and it made him really happy. He ought to show his results to his mother when he arrive home.

"Luhan-ssi" He heard his name being called by a female voice. It was his new seatmate. He turned his back only to meet Haneul body who was right behind him when she was talking. She was slightly shorter than him, her head almost reaching his jaw.

Luhan gave her a questioning look, she didn't seem intimidated by him. Her calm expression never leaving her face. "I-I just want to make friends" She coughed awkwardly before raising her hand for him to shake.

He stared at her hand for about ten seconds before diverting his gaze towards her face. He had to admit that she is beautiful. He gave a light nod before wordlessly shaking her hand firmly. It made her smile that he accepted her handshake.

"Were you going home?" Haneul asked and he nodded without taking his eyes off her. "You must be on your way then, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye!" Haneul waved at Luhan and ran off to her friends. Luhan watched her retreating figure getting smaller and smaller.

Mrs. Lu opened the door when Luhan knocked. "Luhan-ah!" Mrs. Lu squealed and hugged his son tightly making Luhan grin at his mother's childlike behaviour.

Luhan handed her his results from today's test and Mrs. Lu looked at the big score that was marked in red on the top right. "Good job honey" Mrs. Lu opened her arms and Luhan hugged her back. "Let's eat?" Mrs. Lu smiled and they both ate happily.

He was now lying flat on his tummy on his bed while staring at the ceiling. He couldn't help but to think of Haneul who was the first person to actually make friends with him. He has a friend now. 'Someone wanted to be my friend' Luhan was amazed at the thought.

Nobody wanted to be friends with a sick-o like him. Everybody thought that he had a contagious disease or something. Although there were people who tried but they ended up being ignored by Luhan.

The next day, Luhan decided to have lunch in the school garden.

He sat by his usual seat which was the bench in front of the fountain and began his daily routine. 

He stared at the birds singing joyfully, the leaves swaying gracefully against the wind, the clouds moving ever so slowly..he was taking it all in. Haneul coincidentially arrived at the same place. They were only the ones who were in the garden.

Haneul didn't want to disturb Luhan because he looked very peaceful. She tried her very best not to make the slightest noise and just observed him while standing a few meters behind his back.

Luhan began humming a tone. It was a very slow and rythmic tone and it made Haneul feel at ease. 

"You have a beautiful voice, Luhan" Haneul absentmindedly said out loud. Luhan stiffened and halted his humming. He turned around after coughing a bit only to be face-to-face with his new seatmate. Luhan just blinked at her not knowing how to respond to what she just said.

"Why don't you speak more? Your voice is really soothing" Haneul complimented once again. Luhan can feel his heart thumping loudly. Someone just complimented his voice.

Luhan felt energized by her voice. He felt himself drawing closer to Haneul. Turns out, Haneul had an exuberant side to her as well where she would go all loquacious and wouldn't stop blabbering.

He wanted to inform her about his sickness too. He wanted her to know the reason as to why he doesn't speak as much as he wanted to. But he was also afraid, afraid of how she would handle it. He thought that she might get scared and leave him once she knew that he had expressive aphasia.

When he was about to tell her, he felt his head hurt so badly that he started holding onto it. He let out screams of pain that turned out to be muffled whimpers as he try to bear with it. He immediately ran away, far enough so she couldn't see him like this.

Luhan dialled his mother's phone. "E-e-omma" He stuttered, he could not think straight because of his headache. "Ah-aaa-pae..yo" He closed his eyes shut hoping it would lessen the pain. "Where are you? Luhan? Luhan-ah!" Luhan slid down and leaned against a post.

Haneul chased after Luhan and found him on the floor while leaning on a post. She noticed on how his face was so pale. Luhan was covering his ears and was screaming but no sound came out from his mouth. It was such a painful sight for Haneul.

She immediately went beside him and rubbed his back. "Are you o-okay? Was it something I said? W-where dd-oes it hurt?" Haneul can feel herself trembling. Luhan was soundlessly crying in pain. She thought of all the worst possible scenarios.

What if she didn't follow him here? Would anybody help him? How would anybody even know when they can't hear him? - Those were some of the questions she kept asking herself.

Haneul quickly dialled 119 "Hang on Luhan" she said while reporting his case to the hospital.

The ambulance came by fast and placed Luhan on a stretcher before carrying him inside. "Are you a relative?" a lady dressed in blue asked and Haneul shook her head "Friend" she mumbled and the nurse told her to come with them.

He was rushed to the ER and fortunately, Haneul was able to see