serendipity | kth | completed

chapter 23

"yeah usually we just, sit behind and wait for them to order us around. but now, you have to take initiative." i bend down and warily pull her out of her car seat. i bobble her in my arms and stare down at her long eyelashes. she looked just like her mom.

i kiss her forehead lovingly and look back at beom who simply watches with a small smile. "how's jane?" i ask and he hisses gently, "she's a wreck, of course. she won't get out of bed or eat, but she made sure to send me here."

it was a kind gesture of jane's, but at this moment i just wanted to be alone with kiyoung. i wasn't interested in communicating with anyone. jungkook and oc don't even know yet that y/n died, and they might only find out by a mere funeral invite.

he stands to his feet and rubs his hand down his slacks, "i should get going. give you two some alone time." i grin and follow him towards the door, "thanks for coming, beom." he nods and steps outside before shutting the door behind him.

i groan and stare down kiyoung's diaper in utter frustration and distress. i had put it on backwards again and i couldn't figure out how to properly adjust the wings.

i sigh and run a hand down my face as she wails loudly, "okay, okay i'm sorry sweetheart." i whisper and reach for another wipe making sure i got all of her accident out of uncomfortable places. i toss the wipe into the trash can that has become loaded with previous failed diapers before snatching another from the box.

my tongue is resting on the corner of my upper lip as i focus intently on putting the diaper on. i lift up her legs and lie it down the middle of her stomach, then i grab each flap at a time and stick them on their designated side. once done i raise my hands and stare at them for a moment longer to make sure they were applied correctly.

when 5 seconds goes by and the diaper doesn't magically undo itself for the nth time i can't help but beam and clap my hands. "yes! kiyoung aren't you so proud of your daddy?" i pick her up and rub my nose against her's as her beautiful laugh rings aloud.

there's another knock on the door which makes me furrow my brows and look back at kiyoung, "who could be bothering us again today?"

as i peel open the door there stands a short, slender woman with black hair that is styled into a high ponytail with bangs that fall slightly over the frames on her face. she pushes them up before she grins, "hello my name is jeong elizabeth, i was wondering if you knew y/n? she lives right across the hall from you."

her thumb points back beside her face at y/n's old apartment. i chuckle softly and take a glance at the door. "i'm y/n's fiancé, she moved in with me."

at this she claps, "great! mind if i come inside? she sent me an email about putting together and publishing some stuff but when i returned it she never responded." a small sigh falls from my lips as i stare down at the woman. how do i even break news like this to her?

"y/n she um... she died. last week." at this her entire face falls with sorrow. "she...what? how?"

"she had cancer. she was in her final stage when she'd given birth to our daughter. because of her sickness her health was at an all time low, giving birth emitted an extreme amount of damage to her organs and bones. she'd succumbed to her internal injuries sometime in the early morning hours."

i found it a lot easier to explain after some time of attempting to heal, but even thinking about the events that occurred still hurt; it pained me more to even say it out loud. "i'm... so incredibly sorry for your loss, but there is something she told me to come inside to look for."

i move to the side tentatively and watch as she rushes by me, the clicking of her heels echo throughout the house.

i stand by the door frame of our once shared bedroom and watch as she rummages through our closet. she comes back up with a brown, wooden, locked box. next she turns to the nightstand and pulls open the first drawer before snatching up a tissue box. her hand digs inside and underneath the layers of tissue before she comes up with a tiny key.

she puts the tissue box back and shuts the drawer with her knee.

she walks by me towards the front door before she pauses, "would you like to be apart of this?" i stare back at her in complete perplexity. "apart of what?"

she turns back around to face me and nods towards the box and key stacked in her arms. "these are documents y/n wrote that she wants me to put together. i haven't yet read what the book is about, but i figure you would at least be of some sort of help."

i open my mouth as i'm set on immediately telling her that that sounds like something only she and y/n would know how to do, and that i would be of no assistance. but then i remember what y/n had told me when i'd tried to sneak a look at whatever she was typing on her computer that night,

"it's a secret. it's also a gift, so don't snoop."

what was this gift she had left for me? "i would love to help."

she smiles and walks back towards the kitchen where she sets down the box and key before hanging her purse on the chair. she pulls out a big, silver laptop and sets it down on the table. finally she picks up the key and takes a gander at it as she huffs quietly. "here," she holds the tiny, silver key up to my face, "you should open it."

i timidly take the key from her hold and stick it inside the lock. i twist it, click, and slowly pull open the top. inside, there are stacks on top of stacks of papers that are all filled with words. i grab the first sheet on top and immediately my eyes are drawn to the final words on the page,

"kiyoung, my beautiful angel, take care of your father, he needs you. he is my serendipty, you are his peace. live your life, live it through me, and don't forget to smile."

"it's a memoir," i softly state and look back up at elizabeth. she shakes her head and grabs the next sheet in the box. "she always knew she wouldn't make it." i look down at the sheet that's still in my hold. i didn't know how well i'd handle this; having to read a multitude of documents that were all written by the love of my life who is no longer here with me.

"we have to do this for her. it's her final assignment for me; i just want to make her happy one last time." she scoots out a chair and props open her laptop.

i take a seat across from her and place the paper back into the box. i don't know in what ways she expected me to help, but i was absolutely ready to do anything she needed.

end.