After losing someone precious, we travel through waves of grief and emotional storms to cope with our sadness. We are born to love and suffer because without its balance, life wouldn't be so interesting neither would it have a meaning.
Ivy knew that as soon as she gained a person she grew to love, something bad was meant to happen sooner or later.
What she didn't expect was, the loss of her best friend.
Heart drenched by fear, she sat on her hospital bed, shaking her head in disbelief. She wasn't prepared for what's to come. She didn't want to hear "Yeji didn't make it, I'm sorry" from her friends and Professors.
She was traumatised after witnessing her own best friend's death. She imagined Yeji trapped, surrounded by nothing but fire, ready to give up on her youth.
The magnitude of despair was enormous in her eyes. Despite the depressed mood, the sun shone brilliantly and the snow seemed to be melting down from its heat. The world went on without Yeji but Ivy knew she couldn't. She wanted everything to be gray, foggy and dark just like her emotions. Despite all that, the birds sang louder than usual.
She tried to hold back her grief. Nothing worked as tears started to stream down her face while she refused to release any painful sobs to alert anyone.
That didn't work when Na Jaemin walked in with a bouquet of red roses in his hands. He immediately dropped his gift as soon his eyes met her bloodshot ones and hurried to ask her what was wrong.
Jaemin's best guess was, 'she must be on her period. Should've gotten chocolate instead.'
"I've never comforted a crying girl before so I have no clue how to do this..." He mumbled, awkwardly pulling his girl into a hug as she started to cry even louder. "Why are you crying, Zhong?"
"Life is so unfair!!!" She pulled away to meet his confused eyes. "Life is a big fat loser!!!!!"
"I agree."
"She was nineteen when death took her precious life. She was an innocent light with so much joy bundled in her. She acted like my boyfriend and I would've dated her if I could-"
"What?"
"Shut up, Na! As I was saying, The lack of her presence is taking a huge toll on me and I feel like I'm never going to smile again. Do you see how much pain I'm in? Do you know how much it hurts to admit that she's gone?!"
"Shhh, calm down." Jaemin cupped her cheeks and wiped her tears with his thumbs. He leaned closer to place a soft kiss on her nose, which immediately stopped her sobs. "Tell me. I'm all yours now and I will listen to your rants. Who are you worried about? Why are you in pain? Tell me everything about it because it hurts me to see you like this."
"You're being an asshole, Jaemin. Stop pretending like you don't know." Ivy cried, confusing him further. "I know you're trying to hide the fact that yeji died in the fire! I know it, so stop pitying me."
Jaemin laughed.
Deadass.
"Hey! This isn't funny." Ivy glared, hands reaching to slap his body to release her anger. He only laughed louder and louder until he fell on her bed, unable to control himself.
"It's a funny sight to see you crying about useless things."
Ivy growled. He crossed the line and she was ready to murder him right then and there. But before she could do so, he stood up and walked towards the nearest bed next to Ivy's, which was surrounded by white curtains.
As soon as he opened them, Ivy's eyes almost fell out of her sockets.
Yeji was sleeping peacefully on her bed.
"I cried for...nothing?"
"Pretty much yes."
"Oh my goodness." She whispered, tears of joy rolling out and staining her cheeks while her hands reached out for Yeji's. "How?"
"Thank Jeno. He stole Mark's floo powder to sneak into our Dormitory and found Yeji unconscious on the floor. He brought her back just in time and warned the whole school about the fire. Minutes later, I ran towards the entrance and found you unconscious as well." Jaemin explained, dropping his arms to his sides and looking at her with fear twinkling in his eyes. "For a moment, I thought I had lost you. You were on the floor, laying there as if there was no life left in you and I panicked. I-"
"A fire can't kill me that easily, Na. It's not possible when I have you." Ivy slid a joke in her sentence before pulling Jaemin into a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck while her legs hugged his torso. "Thank you for saving me. You risked yourself in that dungeon. Walking in there was a risk itself."
Jaemin hugged back, laying down on Ivy's bed comfortably as she refused to unglue herself away from him. At this point, she didn't care if anyone sees her.
"I was genuinely scared that I lost Yeji." She whispered, her hot breath fanning against his pale skin. "I thought she really was...you know, dead."
"To the point you admitted that you would've dated her." Ivy could hear the jealousy in his voice, as if he had competition.
She raised her head, just enough to look him in the eyes. Then, she smirked. "Now that you've mentioned it, maybe I should ask her out."
"What-"
"She's pretty, smart, badass, can dance really well, dresses nicely, makes great jokes, makes me feel happy-"
"What about me?" Insecurity hit him suddenly and it didn't go unnoticed.
"I love her, like a best friend. Sometimes I imagine her as my twin sister. The one everyone wants in their life." Ivy smiled warmly, placing a chaste kiss on his forehead. She took a deep breath before speaking her next few words out loud.
"But you, Na Jaemin, you're completely different. You're the reason why cheesy pickup lines exist and I..."
"And you?"
"I love-"
"THE FIRE? WHAT HAPPENED? AM I IN HEAVEN? IS THAT WHY IVY'S HOVERING OVER JAEMIN? AM I DEAD?!!!!!!"
Just like that Ivy was cut off completely by her awoken bestfriend, who started to panic and needed to be calmed down.
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Y'all thought I killed Yeji didn't you? Hah gotcha!