paris ➳ 이주연

𖥻 chapter twenty three

she chuckled, which came out as a weak whisper, as she led her finger tap on the many photos, her eyes stinging from not being able to sleep, yet she oh so much wanted to see her friends' succesful designs, that she forgot how to breath.

but in fact, she couldn't breath.

"I am scared juyeon." eric mumbled, after the two excused themselves, leaving the girls alone in the hospital room, while they walked to the cafeteria to grab some water. the older looked at the short boy walking by his side, furrowing hiw brows. "why? doctors said she'll be fine by a week or two."

eric side-eyed him, before he fully looked at him while huffing. juyeon saw the tears coming, yet didn't stop them. he seemed so in need to let them out this time, that nothing could stop him, not even his best comfort.

"screw whatever they say hyung, yuqi is getting weaker day by day, and her coughs are so loud and constant, to the point that she's also coughing blood! she wakes up at night and complains that she can't breath properly."

he stopped for a while, glancing on the outside while gulping down some water. "yesterday she asked me to bring her some flowers from our front yard and call the priest. when I asked her why, she said that she wanted to leave this world with the memory of us getting married."

juyeon attentively listened, as he nodded for the boy to continue. eric heaved a deep sigh, as he spoke the next words. "in the end, it happened." he raised his right hand and showed the small, shiny that shown on his ring finger. juyeon smiled, seeing how happiness danced on his eyes.

"I'm happy for you." that was what he found to say, as eric nodded while wiping a few tears with the hem of his sleeve, now leaning closer to juyeon. the raven didn't hesitate to welcome him into his embrace, him already vibrating from the sobs escaping his mouth.

"it's the end hyung." he said, as juyeon ran his hand through his hair in the most comforting way possible, shushing his friend while biting his bottom lip, trying to keep in his own sobs.

he could feel eric in the most painful way, besides he had also lost his own girlfriend. just with the difference that, juyeon never expected it, there wasn't a doctor to give him hope, or a friend he could lean on.

eric would lose yuqi slowly and painfully, knowing that this would come. they would be fast enough to create memories, so that the boy could reminisce and smile. on the other hand, juyeon lost soyeon in a snap of the fingers, so anything planned would get canceled by the moment she was placed on the coffin. dead.

it was past midnight, mia leaning her head on juyeon's shoulder and faintly closing her eyes from time to time, just to open them once again by tha small sobs coming from the boy on the chair across them.

"babe, we need to go." juyeon mumbled, patting mia's thigh as eric slammed his hands on his knees and got up. "he's right, you both have work tomorrow and you need to rest." he said, yet mia shook her head.

she had a feeling, that something would change, this 16th of april.

and she was right, the deafening sound of the ecg going off made all of them jerk up, eric looking through the window to see the nurse besides yuqi standing up and running out of the room, calling for the head doctor to come in.

mia didn't realise how time passed this quickly, how eric was found on his knees, gripping on his hair while desperate screams left her mouth, how juyeon ke[t trying to hold him at one place, and how she had her eyes glued on the girl bouncing on the bed, as the nurses tried to bring her back in life.

but no, yuqi never came back, and so did eric's smile, genuine smile.

"rest in peace song yuqi, may you never be forgotten." the rose her and eric were holding had the pure colour of white, as yuqi's attire and coffin did, for being young and innocent, for leaving this world at a young age.

mia threw the rose inside the hole that counted six feet under the human world, as eric was held back from jumping in by juyeon and hyunsuk. the two boys tried hard enough to not let their desperate friend do something he'd regret, as mia felt everything around her spinning.

how could their reality get ruined this way? how could god punish eric in the most painful way, for being the nicest human being she've met? then again, was that even a punishment, or maybe a challenge?

whatever was it, it hurt many people this sunday morning, with the most amount of pain and sorrow taking over eric. the boy was silently lead out of the graveyard, followed by hyunsuk and brian. wait, brian?

mia furrowed her brows, as she searched for her tall boyfriend around the ocean of black (and it was even more difficult, with him having matching hair). yet, his unique trait was being tall, way too much that it helped her spot him in front of a tomb.

mia walked closer, seeing how he didn't even spare a look at the sound of steps nearing him. she stood next to him, and found how his eyes were glued on the specific tomb before them, her reading the name out loud.

"who's jeon soyeon?" she asked, as juyeon stifled a sob, sadly smiling (keyword: sadly) at the girl next to him. he wiped off the tears blurring his vision, as mia found her heart clenching at the words following.

"she was...she was my ex."