Genre: Sad
Loosely based on the song & music video of 'Beautiful' by Bazzi ft. Camila Cabello.
***
This story is entirely fictional.
***
5 April 2017
You sighed dreamily as you looked into a crystal ball... while you were in heaven.
Kim Mingyu, had his eyes fixated precisely onto the canvas in front of him. His hands that were holding painting brushes, moved to paint some colors into the final draft of the sketch that he had drawn onto the canvas.
After he was done, a smile carved without hesitation on his lips, and he let out a satisfied sigh and wiped his forehead using the back of his arm.
"How adorable~ finally, you're done! You worked really hard," you clapped happily and spoke to him, as if he could hear you.
Before you knew it, a woman cleared her throat from behind you, startling you.
You jumped slightly from the sudden noise and you clutched your chest. However, it took you less than five seconds to calm down, as you knew who was it that made the noise.
"Grandma, you scared me," you blurted to the woman standing at the doorway of your room.
"Are you watching that boy that you saved again, ____?" asked your grandmother with her arms crossed.
You gasped, not being able to hide the discomfort you felt when heard the way your grandmother mentioned him.
"G-Grandma, I-... h-he's not... that bad," you denied her accusation.
"He's such a sweet boy, you see! Tomorrow on Earth time is his birthday, and instead of getting any gifts from his parents, he told them that he wanted to give them gifts instead. I just watched him finish his painting for his mom. He's-he's an angel!"
Your grandmother scoffed. "You are the angel here, ____. You gave your heart to him for him to live."
"I did, Grandma," I nodded.
"And he still doesn't know who you are," your grandma spoke bluntly again, which made you hung your head low in sadness.
You decided to erase the tense in the atmosphere that your grandma created, by cracking a lame joke, "You're basically calling me an angel when we're already in heaven and the angels surround us."
However, your grandma, who never approved of the decision you made to give your heart for real to Mingyu, had other words to say instead of entertaining your humor. "You could have lived a great life, _____. Instead, you decided to donate your heart to him, anonymously. Now you're watching him over from heaven, living his best life with another girl when you could have courted him when you were still alive."
You bit your lip, as you swallowed and digested your grandma's harsh words.
Yes, after the successful heart transplant operation that the doctors performed for Mingyu, he became really happy... until he had the strength and confidence to court his long-time crush, which was a family friend of his. You remember watching his proposal to her. Now that they are done with school, they are engaged, soon to be married.
"That girl doesn't love him," you retorted. "At least not as much as I do..."
You didn't know why, but you continued speaking to your grandma to get rid the problems on your shoulder, "I've been watching her too, and she's been going on Tinder dates and later rejecting the guys. He knows, but he couldn't let her go, because he loves her so much."
A tear unwillingly escaped your eye.
"Sweetheart, don't cry!" your grandma sighed, and this unwillingly escaped her mouth, "You're in heaven, yet you are so miserable. What am I going to do with you, oh, sweetheart?"
Upon hearing your grandma, you suddenly agreed with her, although it hurt you to do so, "You are right, grandma. I should've stayed in Earth and be by his side instead."
As you cried and more tears fell down your cheeks, your grandma thought of how to cheer you up.
"Tomorrow is his birthday, right?" she clarified.
"Yes, grandma," you replied.
"I have an idea," your grandma spoke, and before you know it, you were jumping ecstatically in joy.
***
6 April 2017
As more people entered his mansion for his grand 21st birthday party, Mingyu had hoped that one of them would at least confess that a family member of them donated their heart.
For his birthday that year, he just wanted to know who donated her heart to him. Who willingly did that. He wanted to speak with the deceased's family members and he wanted to know why. That's all he wanted as a birthday gift.
Unfortunately, none of them admitted that a family member of theirs donated their heart to him.
He asked the hospital about it, but they said the information was confidential, and the patient strictly forbid her name to not be disclosed.
He only knew she was a girl; but even that was because it slipped out of the doctor's tongue. He knew nothing else.
He really wanted to know who she was. Did she love him? Is that why she gave her heart to him?
He was a popular boy in school, indeed. When he was in high school, he was a skilled football player who has got girls swooning over him, but... when it comes to life and death matters, would any of them actually donate his heart to him?
These questions haunted him for the rest of his life, ever since he found out his heart transplant operation was successful.
"Why are you so tense today? You should relax, it's your birthday," one of his favorite hyungs, Wonwoo, spoke to him. He was sitting beside Mingyu on the main dinner table. They were really close.
"Remember what I said - that you look a thousand times scarier and older when you frown like that," he added, chuckling and later patting Mingyu's back.
Wonwoo knew how much Mingyu wanted to know who donated her heart to him, and he understood perfectly why the latter was acting such ways during his birthday. That poor boy was just curious.
Eagle-eyed Wonwoo then spotted a girl around Mingyu's age running towards the table. "There's Areum. I hope she can cheer you up."
Mingyu looked at where Wonwoo was looking at, and that's when he saw his fiancé, Areum, running towards him.
"Mingyu baby!" she yelled when she was in front of Mingyu, since the music was so loud, and also because she wanted to show her affection towards him. "I'm so sorry for being late, my dear. Traffic was crazy!"
"Are you sure it's the traffic and you didn't went out on another Tinder date?" Mingyu spoke bluntly. Each time Areum went out on a Tinder date, his patience to his fiancé was thinning tremendously.
"Of course, I would never lie to you! I swear! I uninstalled Tinder already."
Mingyu sighed. "I'm sorry, Areum, but I was told that you were in Hongdae with another man just now."
"What?!"
He shrugged and stood up. "You heard me. I'm done. I'm out."
Mingyu was a gentleman indeed, he didn't want to embarrass his ex-girl in front of his party guests, therefore, he leaned down and whispered to her, "You can keep the ring," before storming out of the party, not hearing Areum's pleas for him to wait and listen to her.
Frustrated, Mingyu left his own birthday party that his parents had set up for him. Besides, the party was almost ending, anyway.
He was still wearing his suit when he left, and drove to a place where he could clear his mind.
The beach had always been his go-to place to calm down and relax, when everything else was hopeless.
Without knowing, he was being followed by a cab, who stopped at the same destination as him.
When he stopped his car by the beach, he was surprised to see the cab pull in behind his car.
"Areum, I swear-,"
He wanted to continue when he was beyond speechless when a girl wearing an elegant pink off-shoulder gown, with a baby blue masquerade mask came out of the cab. The edges of her brown hair was permed beautifully, decorated in such a magical way. She looked like the princess of a fairytale, maybe even better than that.
Then, the cab drove away.
"You're not Areum," came out of Mingyu's mouth, mesmerized by her beauty. Her face was partly hidden by her large mask, but, she was still glowing. Her beauty was ethereal, out of this world, enchanting. It captivated Mingyu, until he forgot how to speak.
"Hi," she waved awkwardly at Mingyu as he stared at her with his mouth opened.
"W-Who are you?" asked Mingyu, after he finally gained control over his senses once again, blinking.
The girl let out a small laugh. "My grandma called me an angel yesterday... but the truth is... I'm just... a donor."
Mingyu's jaw dropped. He wanted to believe her, he did, but instead this came out of his mouth - "Please, I've had enough of people pretending to be the donor of my heart. You are alive and breathing, how could you even say something like that? You're beautiful, yes, but the words you speak just revealed your true intentions and how ugly your heart is."
The girl's jaw dropped, but she replied confidently. "I'm telling the truth, Mingyu. I've been watching you from heaven, and I know that you've been looking for me. Today is your birthday, so I decided to let you know... that I'm your donor."
Mingyu blinked.
"I'm telling the truth, I swear," she spoke. "If you don't believe me, it's up to you, but I only have a few Earth minutes to explain everything to you. So, feel free to ask me anything."
Mingyu walked towards the beautiful girl right in front of him. He could feel his heartbeat increase, as he neared the girl; who owns the heart that's stitched on his chest. He wasn't sure if his heartbeat increased upon seeing the real owner of it, or because... he finally felt alive, or because he was in love.
Maybe it was all three, he figured.
He gazed into her eyes as he asked permission to remove her mask softly, so that he could see her face clearly. "Can I?"
The girl was beyond happy, so she nodded.
And so, Mingyu removed the mask on her face, and he was in for a shock - the girl was none other than one of his previous schoolmates, ______.
"I-I know you..." he spoke.
A sudden feeling of nostalgic filled both of their hearts. "I never heard you speak... but I have always wanted to."
"You're _____ from the next class."
The girl nodded. "It is I, indeed."
"W-Why?" he spoke. "Why'd you give your heart to me? How did you do it? Didn't your parents object?"
"I never talked to anyone back in school, you know. I have always felt like an outcast, because I didn't have parents. I was miserable back then. Coming to school everyday felt like a chore, especially when I was bullied back in the orphanage too..."
"Y-You're an orphan?"
The girl slowly nodded. "I didn't need anyone's consent, except for my warden. She was the only one who cared for me throughout the whole time I was alive. I was very miserable, but, whenever I saw you, Mingyu, my tired heart just warms up, and I just feel like there is a life worth living. However, I was devastated when I heard the news that you were sick, and you needed a donor for your heart in replacement of your weak and dying one. So, I decided to literally give you mine... because... I..."
"...You loved me."
She nodded, "Yes, and I still do."
Mingyu bit his lip. He felt so touched, he wanted to cry. "I'm sorry that I didn't talk to you back then... I really wanted to, but..."
"We lived different lives, even though we attend the same school," she replied. "I know, I understand."
"You just stopped attending school after the CSATs, there was a rumor that said you got into a prestigious university in the States, but, that's not true... right?"
"I received an offer, but I didn't go," she replied sadly. "I decided to donate my heart to you, because I think you deserve it. You're a guy with a bright future, loved by everyone. You need it more than I do, and I also wanted to give it... because... this is embarrassing, but, it's a symbol for my love to you."
Mingyu's tears rolled down. He didn't care that he appeared unmanly anymore, he had too much feelings at that moment.
"What can I do for you, ______? How can I ever repay you?"
"Living your life to the fullest already makes me happy enough," she flashed him a bright smile.
He nodded. "Okay, I will."
"I will wait for you in heaven, Mingyu," she replied. "Don't be sad or miserable like I was anymore, you've got your answer. You've seen me now, and... with that, I must go."
"No, _____. You won't leave me," he replied and shook his head, forbidding her to go anywhere.
"Mingyu, you've already got your answer, so I shall now return to heaven. You've seen me, and I've talked to you. I will forever remember this moment-," she didn't have a chance to complete her sentences as Mingyu locked his lips onto hers.
They pulled away seconds later, being out of breath.
"I love you, Mingyu," she spoke. "I truly do. I will always be watching you. See you in heaven. We'll meet again one day, I promise."
"Goodbye for now," she bid him sadly, as she placed her palm over Mingyu's eyes, but once she removed them from covering his eyes, she disappeared.
A smile involuntarily carved on his lips, as he triumphed because he finally knew the identity of his donor, and he was none other than the girl he wanted to talk to.
The girl, who turns out to be the girl he eventually loves.
You.