A/N: If you have yet to cry over the previous chapter, this chapter will really hit those tear ducts. Hugs in advance everyone!
☼ ☼ ☼
A week later
The wash of new light greeted the childhood sweethearts that morning in the dreary, familiar grey of the hospital room. Under the golden sunrise, Ye Jin's beautiful face, highlighted by the gentle orange-gold, reminded Hyun Bin of an old photograph, nostalgic yet beautiful and irreplaceable.
The nostalgia only hit harder when Hyun Bin realised what the day meant for them.
Lips pressed firmly with unease, Hyun Bin naturally sought comfort from his girlfriend, tightening his hold on her hand that was still tightly laced with his.
Ever since he woke up after that scare, they have been inseparable. There were tears, frustrated shouts, fear but there was also love. But now that his departure was right around the corner, Hyun Bin was beginning to feel uneasy once again.
The things he would do just to get an extra moment with Ye Jin, yet, he was leaving.
Moments later, Ye Jin peeled her eyes open, stretching languidly with the gentle heat brushing her back. As with all mornings, she smiled, lighting up the grey world that they lived in with the most beautiful shades of gold. Hyun Bin relaxed then, an innate reaction to the solace that he often sought from his girlfriend.
"Good morning, Binnie."
"Good morning, Jinnie."
Silently, the boy watched as Ye Jin stretched her neck. Clearly, sleeping in that odd position the whole night hadn't been kind to her neck and Hyun Bin's heart ached immediately.
"Aish...I told you to sleep in the bed with me. I feel bad that your neck is tense again because of me." Hyun Bin sighed, reaching over to massage her neck.
"I'm fine, Binnie. I've only been neglecting my daily stretching. What do you want for breakfast? I'll go get it." Ye Jin spoke with an impish grin.
Turning his eyes to the window, Hyun Bin thought hard about it before he shook his head. "I have a better idea."
Curiosity piqued, Ye Jin sat up straighter as he leaned over to whisper in her ear. Seconds later, a smile wormed its way onto both their faces as they exchanged a small nod.
☼ ☼ ☼
"We can still text, right?" Ye Jin spoke after she swallowed another mouthful of tteokbokki from their favourite food truck.
"Of course." Hyun Bin nodded, chuckling as Ye Jin ate with gusto.
One would think that Ye Jin was being rather casual about Hyun Bin's departure but he knew better. In the face of hurt, Ye Jin only smiled wider. For all the years that they have grown together, Ye Jin has always been the type to make the best of the worst deal. When she was sad, she smiled. It was her philosophy to face everything head-on with a smile.
If anything, her smiles only made his heart ache more because he understood the true meaning behind those smiles.
Drawing Ye Jin closer to him, Hyun Bin evidently sighed as they looked into the distance. It was with a heavy heart that Ye Jin snuggled impossibly closer to him, savouring the precious seconds that were ticking by bit by bit.
"This isn't goodbye, Binnie. I refuse to think that I won't ever see you again." Ye Jin gave him a pained smile as she tightened her hold around him.
Shifting slightly to study her, the young man nodded his head, for that was what he believed too.
This wasn't goodbye. It couldn't be.
"You know what? Let's make a deal." Hyun Bin said softly.
Brushing Ye Jin's hair back tenderly, Hyun Bin's eyes never once left hers as he uttered his next words; a promise that they would see each other again.
"Every year, when the leaves turn gold, let's meet here at this bench, regardless of where we are and where we go. Will you meet me here, Jinnie?"
"When the leaves turn gold, I'll meet you here, every single year. I promise, Binnie. I'll always wait for you."
Unshed tears sparkled in their eyes as the childhood sweethearts catalogued everything they could about each other, knowing that this could perhaps be the very last they could see of each other.
No. They shouldn't welcome such pessimistic thoughts. This wasn't goodbye.
In whatever shape, whatever form, whatever colour, they would meet again at this very bench that held the memories of their childhood and love.
Wordlessly, their hearts were screaming for the other to "meet me here" again soon.
"I have something for you." Hyun Bin choked through the gripping pain in his chest. "Close your eyes."
Naturally, Ye Jin closed her eyes, waiting for her cue to open them again so that she could remember everything about their final moment together with her naked eyes.
Effortlessly, Hyun Bin fished a necklace from his pocket, his hands trembling ever so slightly as he clasped it around Ye Jin's slender neck. He had splurged most of his savings to get her the little autumn leaf, but he wanted to get Ye Jin a gift before it was too late.
With her eyes still closed, Ye Jin felt the weight of the chain around her neck and smiled. "Did you get me a necklace, Binnie?"
"You got me. Open your eyes, Jinnie."
Eagerly, Ye Jin looked down to study the little autumn leaf. "It's beautiful." She gasped while twirling it with her fingers.
"I did promise you a truckload of tteokbokki. But since I can't get you that so soon, I brought this for you instead." Hyun Bin's dimples deepened. "It reminded me of you, Jinnie."
"How so?" Ye Jin peeked up at him curiously.
"Autumn shows us how life is impermanent. When the leaves fall to welcome a new season, it reminds us that change is a constant." Hyun Bin started quietly. "It's why it's vital to embrace every day; to savour the little things before they disappear. You remind me to do that every single day, Jinnie. Every moment with you I cherish because it's you."
"That has got to be the most poetic thing anyone has said to me, Binnie. Gomawo. I'll cherish your autumn leaf just like I cherish you." Ye Jin uttered softly.
A comforting silence passed between the childhood sweethearts before Ye Jin started to unwrap the beige scarf around her neck. Gently, she wrapped her scarf, still flowered by her sweet scent, around her boyfriend's neck. Her warmth was still present in her impromptu parting gift to him, and Hyun Bin numbly held onto the scarf.
"Take this." Ye Jin bit her lips unsurely. "Whenever you get cold, just put it on and remember me."
Remember me.
Without a doubt, that would be exactly what they would be doing until they meet again.
"Gomawo, Jinnie. You're truly amazing." Hyun Bin's voice was raw and thick with unspoken emotions.
"I have to go, Jinnie."
"Meet me here when the leaves turn gold, arasseo?" Ye Jin reminded her boyfriend gently, suppressing the tinge of desperation in her voice as she let go of his hand.
"I will. I love you, Jinnie, so so much."
"I love you too, Binnie. Please, come back to me soon."
Just like that, Hyun Bin was walking away from the bench, towards the car waiting for him at the corner of the street. Ye Jin's eyes followed him, her eyes tearing up more with every step he took away from her. He was in tears too, for every step away from his future felt heavier and heavier to the young man.
It was crazy how things have changed. If they had seen the signs, would things have turned out differently? Perhaps they had been too busy laughing and crying in the past, too busy chasing the skies and stars, that they inevitably forgot to cherish the shelter that they provided each other through the harshest winds and the heaviest downpours.
Now, their hearts recognised the truth. They were each other's happiness, a happiness that they wished could dwell in their hearts forever. They love each other closely, selflessly and with sincerity so incorruptible that it was clear they were willing to withstand anything for each other.
To meet each other was happiness.
To lose each other was torment.
This was a parting that would be ingrained in their hearts forever.
So as the little black car started to retreat into the distance, Ye Jin got up and ran. She screamed for Hyun Bin, letting her tears fall freely down her face as she ran after her future.
In the car, Hyun Bin thought he could hear Ye Jin's sweet voice calling out to him – distant as he felt – and he turned his head then.
The sight only broke his heart further and he quickly shouted. "Stop!"
The car came to a halt abruptly and Hyun Bin got out of the car. He caught Ye Jin right on time as his girlfriend collapsed right into his arms, heaving hard from her open-mouthed sobs as she clung to his coat.
"Binnie." Ye Jin sobbed.
I don't want you to leave...
"Binnie..." Ye Jin whispered over and over again because the things left unsaid would only make their parting more difficult and more painful.
She didn't wish to add on to his pain.
Little did she know, he knew.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The tears fell relentlessly from Hyun Bin's face as he tightened his arms around Ye Jin, breaking down all over again with her.
The autumn leaves blew around them as the childhood sweethearts cried in the middle of the empty road. One by one, the leaves drifted to the ground as the lovers fell to the ground together in an emotional heap.
"You have to get better soon. You have to come back." Ye Jin trembled helplessly.
"I will. I'll fight. You were my best for years. How can I leave you behind so easily?" Hyun Bin cried.
"G...go." Ye Jin finally summoned the remaining bits of her willpower to let him go.
Yet, Hyun Bin had different ideas as he crashed her lips to his. Their kiss was salty from their tears, holding desperation, yearning, but most importantly, love. From the kiss, Ye Jin was begging him to come home soon. From the kiss, Hyun Bin was conveying his will to fight so that he could return home soon.
Home was in one another and though they couldn't change the present, it didn't mean they couldn't change their future.
Drawing back from the kiss, Hyun Bin's calloused thumbs wiped the tears off Ye Jin's face before he placed another feather-light kiss on Ye Jin's forehead.
This time, their grip around each other loosened and the childhood sweethearts stood up together.
"See you soon, Jinnie."
"See you soon, Binnie."
Hesitantly, Hyun Bin took a step backwards, away from Ye Jin before he forced himself to walk back to the car. The angry screech of the tires against the gravel was the final indication of the reality they were forced to accept.
Rooted to the spot, Ye Jin watched as the car grew smaller and smaller just like how Hyun Bin was watching her disappear in the car. They both lost the power to cry the minute they couldn't see each other anymore because no matter how fast their tears fell, he was leaving.
They couldn't change that.
They could only wait for the day they could meet again – when the leaves turn gold.
This wasn't a goodbye.
It couldn't be.
☼ ☼ ☼
A week later
"Ye Jin-ah! You're going to be late! School, now." Her mother shouted from the living room.
"Just a minute, eomma!" Ye Jin shouted back.
Her fingers flew across the ancient keyboard rapidly as she typed the final lines to her email before she pressed "send." Sighing, Ye Jin knew that it would be a while before her boyfriend responded to her email – their main mode of communication since texts overseas were rather expensive.
Before her mother could chastise her further, Ye Jin was out of the door, taking that familiar path to her high school. It has only been a week, but Ye Jin still felt empty whenever she thought about Hyun Bin. It was ridiculous how everywhere she turned; she saw him. That was what happens when someone who used to be present in your life, leaves.
Even now, on her way to school, she could see the visage of her boyfriend towering over her with his bag slung casually over one shoulder. It was a true pity it was all in her memories now.
Shrugging the memory away, Ye Jin comforted herself, knowing that her boyfriend was getting the treatment he needed overseas. Yet, she couldn't help but think that she misses him so.
Deep in her memories, the day passed by in a blur for Ye Jin. Drawn by her memories, Ye Jin found herself at the bleachers overlooking the field they had once rolled around in. Twiddling the autumn leaf in her hand, Ye Jin relaxed into the breeze blowing gently around her.
Even now, she could still hear the faint sound of rain settling on the fresh grass and the distant sound of the school bell ringing far away in her memories. The rhythm of the falling rain back then had been therapeutic, a perfect song to their dance in the rain together.
Ye Jin has never felt as alone as she did now. Because despite those precious memories, the fact that she couldn't hear his voice seriously calling out her name only left her feeling oddly detached from reality.
It was much easier to live in her memories, but she promised Hyun Bin she would be alright. Part of being alright was being able to carry on with her life as she waits for him.
"I miss you." She whispered.
☼ ☼ ☼
In a hospital elsewhere
"I miss her." Hyun Bin whispered, collapsing back into the hospital bed after another round of dry heaving.
Next to him, his mother quietly wet a towel, not knowing what she could say to cheer her son up. Wordlessly, she started wiping the sweat off Hyun Bin's body, praying that this would only be temporary.
It was difficult to see her son struggling so much. There were days he couldn't eat and there were days he would sleep all day. Gradually, the remnants of Hyun Bin's energy were being drained by his illness. The only reason why he was still fighting hard like an army guy was because of his family and Ye Jin.
"Better?" His mother smiled tightly once she was done.
"A little." Hyun Bin grimaced.
Thick silence punctuated the room, reminding Hyun Bin of how empty his life was without Ye Jin and her eye smiles. It was the same dreary grey yet here, he didn't have his sunshine to take him away from the gloom.
In a moment of vulnerability, Hyun Bin turned to his mother. At that moment, Hyun Bin finally noticed how frail his mother looks after months of worrying about him. The wrinkles on her forehead were more prominent now than before, evidence of a mother's undying love for her child.
"Eomma." Hyun Bin called out to her.
"What is it, adeul? Are you hurting?" His mother fussed instantly.
She only stopped fussing when Hyun Bin placed his hand over hers, stilling her movements. "Thank you for letting me be your son."
Startled yet touched by her son's words, his mother returned his gesture, stroking his sunken cheek lovingly and gently.
"Thank you for letting me be your eomma."
Nuzzling their faces close to one another, his inner demons were chased away by her mother's touch just like his mother's was chased away by his loving words.
She had to deal with his tantrums. She had to watch him go through treatment after treatment with a pained heart. She had to stay strong for him. Even though he didn't have Ye Jin by his side, there was always his mother giving him the strength that he needed.
As a son, he would forever remain indebted to his mother.
And to a mother, the only thing that mattered was seeing her son happy and healthy.
All Hyun Bin had to do for them all was get better soon.
They were all waiting.