Author's POV || 2010. 04. 20

"Taehyung, can you pass that to me?" Jungkook asked Taehyung who nodded, trying to fetch the guitar from the shelf. As he tried to jump higher and pull it down, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He immediately collapsed down and held his head. Jungkook who was in the room with him gasped and ran towards him.
"Hey, you okay?!" He asked, frowning. Taehyung held his head tightly and shut his eyes, feeling the pain increase. He couldn't even talk.
"Headache?" Jungkook asked. He quickly looked around for something but sighed not finding anything or anyone. He patted Taehyung's back and looked at him tensed. 

Almost 5 minutes passed and Taehyung's groaning lessened. Jungkook called Jimin who came to the room and quickly assisted Jungkook in taking Taehyung to the infirmary. The nurse checked him and asked if he had this chest pain often. He nodded and she sighed.
"Maybe you should check a doctor. A severe headache shouldn't be ignored." Taehyung looked down, not wanting to hear anything more. He was trying not to overthink the things happening to him for a few months now. 

Suddenly, he heard footsteps and saw you and Mina rushing inside the infirmary. You quickly crouched in front of him with a worried face, "Taehyung!" 
"Y/N..." He said, looking at you. You swallowed the lump in your throat and cupped his cheeks immediately, "Are you okay? How did you collapse? Is the pain gone now?" 
He just stared at you, nodding. 
"Don't you have class?" He asked. You shrugged, "Nobody cares about that. Are you really fine now?" 
He smiled a little and nodded. Jimin and Jungkook smiled at you both as they along with Mina went out of the infirmary. 

"I was worried..." You said, looking at him. He smiled and shook his head, "Just a little pain."
"You had head pain before too. Does it happen often?"
"Kind of."
"Did you see a doctor?"
"No.."
"Why? Make sure to go to the doctor this weekend, okay? I'll accompany you if needed." He chuckled a little but it looked pained. 
"Stop acting like that, it's too... warming." 

You smiled a little and brushed his hair with your fingers. 
"Jimin was being so dramatic over the phone. I thought you fainted..." You sighed. He looked at the concern in your eyes and smiled a little. He held your cheeks saying, "I'm really okay. It's just some health problems I think." 
You smiled and said, "You have to be okay." 
He was about to place a kiss on your lips but you both got interrupted by the nurse. She eyed you both as you sighed. 
"Right... anyway." Taehyung grinned a little as you both went out of the infirmary.

"Make sure not to stress a lot. Rest enough and also go to the doctor, okay?" You said as he nodded, holding your hand. You smiled as he turned you around, placing a kiss on your lips once you both were outside the building. The others were standing there waiting for you both.

A few days passed by and you were at the end of finishing your art piece. This one was definitely going to be shown to your father. And hopefully, he'd know what you were capable of. 

You sighed and looked at the time, 3:50 pm. Taehyung was supposed to go to the doctor today but Taewoo had taekwondo classes so he was on duty. He also had to help his mother bring sweets to his aunt who lived quite far from his house so he decided to go the next weekend. You wanted to oppose but couldn't. It was his family affair, you had no say. 

2010. 05. 06

"Are you sure we're going tomorrow?"
"Yes, a hundred per cent sure." 
"Did you have any other pain or anything?" You asked. He shook his head, remembering all the blood he coughed out, all the times he became dizzy and his chest hurt and how he had trouble breathing and laughing these days because of sudden headaches.
"Why are you so worried?" He asked.
"Of course, I am... you're literally my best friend, boyfriend... I don't want to see you sick. You're the best friend I have." You sounded sad. He smiled and said, "I'm not sick, Y/N. I'm fine..." 
"Yeah... but... I want you to be healthy." You smiled. 

He placed a kiss on your nose and hugged you as you both sat on the bench, staring at the sky. You could smell the fresh flowers and grass of the field. It was nice, being with him. It felt wonderful. 

--Next day 

"Any more symptoms?" The doctor asked as Taehyung shook his head. 
"Only these..." He said, swallowing the lump in his throat as he stared at the paper of symptoms. His mom looked concerned but she didn't say anything. The doctor looked at Taehyung and nodded.
"So... the reports of the tests we did today will come tomorrow." 
"Okay, doctor." His mom said as they both got up. As they were in the taxi, Taehyung couldn't help but see how worried his mom looked. The frown on her face scared him. 

He gulped and looked away, trying not to feel pressured. 

That night, he talked with you for hours on the phone and could feel his worries go away. He loved talking to you. When you tried to crack jokes and expressed your feelings, he found himself melting. You were so more outgoing now, you learnt how to talk better, express yourself, smile and laugh freely. And he knew it was for him. And that made him the happiest. 

"Goodnight, Tae.."
"Goodnight, Y/N." 

"Tae." He heard you and frowned, "Yes?" 
"Can I say something? I don't know... I... I really wanted to say this for a long time now but... I..." You trailed off and he could feel his heart pounding.
"Yes?" He asked. He was feeling his heart twisting in his chest as you uttered the next words, "Tae... I really want you to know that... I love you. I mean, we never shared these words... it's okay if you don't say it back. It's just how I feel. I don't simply feel attracted to you mildly... I love you deeply. You're the bestest friend I have, you know. And no one can ever replace you." 
"Y/N..." He was about to speak but frowned when he heard some noise from your side.
"Ah... mom's calling. Bye! Goodnight." 

He opened his mouth to reply but you had hung up. He sighed and held his chest, a grin forming on his lips. He was teary. You confessed to him. You loved him. 
He couldn't be happier. He wiped the tear from his eyes, "I love you too, Y/N. I love you the most." 

---Next day 

Taehyung took the reports from the doctor and walked on his way home. As soon as he entered his house, he showed the report to his mother. She hugged him immediately, "Son... it's okay..." 
"It's not okay, mom." He whispered, closing his eyes. He felt his heart tearing apart as his mother cried loudly, holding him closer. 

Not much later, he was in his room, holding the little teddy bear you gifted him and he stared at it. He wanted anything but this to happen. He prayed for nights that his suspicion wouldn't come true but maybe... things weren't going as planned this time. 

He started crying, holding the teddy bear closer. He really felt desperate, miserable, and vulnerable. 

He wished he were dreaming. But he wasn't. 

--Flashback

"Mr Taehyung..." The doctor trailed off as Taehyung looked at him with an anxious look.
"Yes... I'm not sick, right?" He asked, his voice breaking at the end. The doctor looked down and sighed, "I'm sorry..."
"Why though?" He asked with his red teary eyes. The doctor sighed and said, "Brain tumour... and you will be able to get surgery but because of the place this tumour is in... that's very risky. You might faint often... I'm so sorry." 

He nodded and looked down, "Can't I be cured?" 
"No..." 
"How long have I been having this?"
"Based on the size of the tumour, maybe... 4 months."

"Okay..."
"Have hope... miracles happen." The doctor smiled faintly as he got up, greeting him.

---End of Flashback

Taehyung cried harder, not knowing what to do. Knowing this thing inside him was growing bigger, destroying everything in him... he couldn't help himself from breaking even more. 
Thoughts about his death, how to face his friends, how to tell you about it... everyone's reaction, the possibilities...

Everything haunted him. He let himself sink into the darkness of the truth.

2010. 05. 16

"Where is Taehyung? He's skipping University for a week now." Jungkook frowned. Jimin sighed and said, "God knows. He picked up my call once in between."
"Do you know about him, Y/N?"
"No... I don't... should we visit him?" 
"We should. Let's go today." 

You all went to Taehyung's house after University. But found no one home. There was only Taewoo. He said they all went to an aunt's house. He seemed unsure of himself as well. You all spent some time with Taewoo until only his mother came back. 

"Aunt, where's Taehyung? Why is he skipping?" Jimin asked. She looked at all of you and sighed, smiling.
"Just... busy. He's kinda sick so..."
"But Taewoo said you went to an aunt's..." Mina frowned.
"Is he back too?" You asked. She looked at you and smiled, shaking her head. Her smile was so painful to watch for some reason. 

She walked away and you all looked at one another, confused. 

---Time skip

You called Taehyung but he didn't pick up. You had no idea what to do. You were worried. 10 days without any contact. Was he even okay? Where was he? 

You tried to contact his mom again and ask her but she refused to tell. It was confusing. 

The next day, you received a call from Taehyung. He asked to meet up and you were so relieved he was fine. You looked at him, sitting at one corner of the cafe, sipping the drink as he looked at you with a smile.
"Tae!" You said, grinning. You immediately hugged him as he hugged you back, kissing your head. 

"How are you?" He stared at you for a while before nodding, "I missed you..."
"I missed you a lot. we even went to your house. Come on, you didn't answer any questions on the call. Where were you?" 
"Aunt's house."
"God... that's too much of a vacation!" You frowned. He nodded and said, "That's why I'm here." 
"I missed you... I really missed you." You said. He nodded and smiled. 

He looked at the drink and forwarded it to you, "Here... have this. It's good." 
"I know right." You grinned. You looked at him and frowned, "Why do you look so pale? You lost weight... I've been noticing this for a few weeks... I thought you were just working out but why are you losing so much weight? Come on, stop working out now!" 
"It's good to work out." He smiled. You sighed and said, "Eat well too, then." 

How could he eat properly knowing he wasn't even going to live for long?

You ordered a pastry for both of you and came back to him to see his sad frown. 
"Anything wrong? You seem down."
"OH... no, nothing's wrong." He smiled. 

As you both spent some time talking and chatting, you saw him coughing again and again. 
"Are you really okay? You look sick..." 
"I'm fine... by the way, I had a question." He said. 
"Yeah?" 
"How long do you think you'll like me?" 

He saw your confused face and thought you wouldn't answer, given your personality. But you smiled and said, "I don't know... but... I want to like you for a long time. You know, I told you I don't just like you anymore. I really love you. You're special to me. Maybe... forever? If that's possible." 

He saw the genuine excitement and sincerity in your eyes and felt a pang in his heart. He swallowed a lump but the next words that left your mouth broke his heart, 

"Hmm... I want to be with someone who'd be there forever. Unlike many people who leave early. I think you're that someone. I'm sure... of it."