Taehyun's POV
The first time Taehyun notices him, he's sitting by the window.
Alone. Pale fingers curled around a mug that looks too big for his hands. A sketchbook balanced on his knee, pencil hovering above the page like it doesn't quite know where to land.
He's not like the usual café crowd—no laptop, no phone, no forced laughter.
Just silence.
And stillness.
Taehyun doesn't know why he keeps glancing over. Maybe it's the way the boy watches the world outside like it's always slipping away. Or maybe it's the quiet heaviness in his eyes, like he's already preparing to leave something behind.
Whatever it is—it lingers.
By the time Taehyun finishes his shift behind the counter and wipes down the last table, the boy is gone.
But the corner of his napkin is torn and folded into the shape of a paper star.
And Taehyun finds himself waiting for him the next day.
_____
Beomgyu's POV
He's used to people staring.
They either look too long or not at all. Either way, he knows what they're thinking.
Sick.
Fragile.
Dying.
He can feel it in his bones—the way people shrink their words around him. The way their eyes flick to his thin wrists, the dark circles, the way he sometimes stumbles when he stands up too fast.
He hates it.
So he sits by the window, where the light feels less like a spotlight and more like a shield. He draws—not anything in particular. Just shapes. Scribbles. Shadows.
It keeps his hands busy. And quiets the fear that's always humming in his chest.
Today, the barista is new.
Younger. Bright-eyed.
Cute.
Beomgyu ignores him.
Mostly.
But when he glances up mid-sketch, he catches the boy looking at him—not curious, not pitying. Just... noticing.
And for some reason, that unsettles him more than being invisible.
When he leaves, he folds his napkin without thinking.
A habit he's had since the hospital stays. Something to do with idle hands.
He leaves it behind without looking back.
But for the first time in a long time, a part of him wants to be remembered.
Even just by a stranger.
YOU ARE READING
Don't Forget to Breathe | Taegyu
FanfictionBeomgyu is dying. Taehyun never expected to fall in love with someone already fading. A quiet story about love that arrives too late-and still means everything. Inspired by: "Panic" - Beomgyu Genre: Angst · Romance · Tragedy Warnings: Terminal illne...
