In Your Dreams (A DahMo Fanfic)

23: The only way

Just as Dr. Soon expected, it was only temporary. The accident had been nothing but a false sense of security. The universe had decided to stop pissing on us, only to drop its pants and take a massive dump.

"Yeobo, please you have to eat something," I plead, trying to get Dahyun to open her mouth. She winces and turns her head away from the spoon.

"I told you, it doesn't have any taste!" Dahyun slaps the jokbal I bought for her—the same one we got when we told each other "I love you", the same jokbal she couldn't get enough of.

"Umma, who's this woman and why does she keep forcing me to eat tasteless dishes?!" Dahyun hugs her mom and cries, as if I was a bully chasing her. Mrs. Kim mouths an apology as she waves her hand at me.

"Get some fresh air first, Momo-ssi," Mrs. Kim whispers. I look at Dahyun, burrowing her face into her mother's sweater, before heading out.

***

I've always loved walking around during fall season. The leaves crunching with every step, the cold wind blowing on my face—it gives me peace as the world around me turns into a beautiful mix of red, orange, and brown. It also reminds me that my birthday is coming up.

Maybe the best birthday gift would be going back to the past and meeting Dahyun under different circumstances—no hyper dreaming, just the two of us having a regular, cliché meet-cute. I'd forego dancing with the stars, fighting beasts, creating worlds...just to even hold her hand as we walk under the falling leaves. Something as mundane as that would be extraordinary for me—as long as it's with her.

My hand catches the healthiest cherry blossom I've ever seen and it immediately reminds me of Dahyun—how something so strong and pretty would fall ahead of its time.

"Can she at least greet me a happy birthday?" I whisper into the flower and seal my wish with a kiss. That's all I'm asking, surely they can grant me that, right?

***

"Nico nico niiiii," I tell her, performing the gesture that started our real-life love story. She smiles at me, her hands trying to imitate the appropriate symbol but failing.

"Like this, yeobo," I say, helping Dahyun form the hand symbol and putting it over my head, causing her to giggle like a toddler because...that's what she's like now. Dahyun has the brain of a three year-old now, to put it simply. Actually, toddlers perform even better than her—at least they could walk or feel things.

Mrs. Kim and I had to take some time to distinguish Dahyun's whims, like what she'll do or say when she wants something. It could be something like incomprehensible shouting, or hitting the table.

Looks like I'm not getting that birthday wish after all.

"Momo-ssi, could I ask you for a huge favor?" Mrs. Kim calls out from the kitchen.

"Of course, imo-ssi. Anything. What do you need?"

Mrs. Kim hesitates, circling her finger against the kitchen counter. "I want to know how my Dahyunie is doing." With a look, I instantly get what she means.

"Are you sure? Wouldn't that be bad for her?" We've made an agreement to not involve Dahyun in hyper dreaming anymore, just to slow the inevitability of her brain shutting down.

She sniffs, letting out a long sigh afterward. "Let's face it—she's not with us anymore...at least here," she states, waving her hand around the kitchen.

My stomach still drops at the thought of Dahyun ceasing to exist, as if the world decided to just snuff out one shining light. Dahyun—my shining light. Curling my lips inside, I nod.

"Oh, just one last thing," Mrs. Kim says, approaching me. She hands out a note. "Can you please relay this message to her?"

***

"Was I difficult today?" Dahyun asks, running her hand in the rainbow river. Among the three of us, she was the one who accepted her fate the easiest. When she found that her brain was shrinking at an alarming rate, she simply shrugged like it was nothing. At first, I was livid that she didn't care that she had two people who are trying to prevent her demise, but we eventually accepted the fact that she would suffer the same fate eventually.

"No, you were smiling a lot today, yeobo," I answer, shaking my head. "We even did the 'nico nico niii' today, and you giggled at me."

Dahyun winces and groans. "Nooo, I'm still not over how embarrassing that was for me," she exclaims, sprinkling water at me. She plops on the grass. "We must've looked like idiots. I hope umma didn't see that."

"Oh, don't worry—she saw everything," I remark with a chuckle, squishing her pretty face.

"By the way, your mother wanted to tell you something." She rolls over sideways, looking at me, with a quarter of her face hidden by the grass. "She wanted to let you know that she loves you very much—that she would have no other daughter in this world."

My eyes meet Dahyun's. Despite the tears watering the grass beneath her, she keeps that lovely smile of hers.

"Lastly, she wants to tell you that, when you finally meet your father in heaven, smack him in the head for leaving her so soon," I add. Dahyun chuckles, which gradually transitions to sobbing.

I don't know if it was Mrs. Kim's message, Dahyun crying, Dahyun dying, or even the wish that I have a mother like hers, but I cry with my love—maybe it's all of it.

***

We walk by the meadow, with the sun reflecting against the water. We promised each other that, to preserve whatever little time we had left, we wouldn't be doing any crazy manifestations.

"Yeobo, when I die," Dahyun pauses, looking at me, seeing if I'm comfortable with the discussion. "When I die, please don't put me in a casket for people to see. Just cremate me, okay?" I nod, seeing that I'll probably make the same request if I were in her shoes. Besides, even with all her beauty, my heart wouldn't be able to handle seeing her lying in a wooden box like that.

"Do you have...any regrets?"

Dahyun shakes her head. "Nope. I've lived more than I should, and I met someone like you. What more could I ask for?" Her words, yet again, bring me to tears. Why couldn't we have more of these moments? Why will something this precious fade away to oblivion?

After patting my head, she stops. "Oh, wait! There's one, after all."

"Really? What?" I ask, wiping my snot with the back of my hand.

She looks up at the sky and hums. "My only regret probably is I'll never experience getting married. How women perpetually fussed about it always intrigued me..."

Huh...I never expected such a simple response from such a complex person.

"Yeobo," I call out to her. She turns to me, as I'm kneeling on the ground. "If you're okay that it won't be like the real thing, maybe it'll be better, maybe worse," I utter, manifesting a white gold ring, with a pink diamond on top.

"Then...will you marry me?"