Meet Me Here

Chapter 12: Warrior

"Saeng-il chukha hamnida. Saeng-il chukha hamnida..."

Family and friends were gathered in Hyun Bin's backyard, celebrating another milestone in his life. It was a wholly melancholic event for those who knew about his condition but to most of their guests, this was simply another birthday celebration.

To the guests, this was one celebration out of the many to come since they firmly believed that he would live a long life ahead. They were here to offer him their well-wishes to live a life filled with happy memories.

On the other side of the coin, his family was cherishing every moment they could with Hyun Bin now that time was against them. They didn't wish to accept it but they never know what would happen in the near future. They were here to fill his life with happy memories while he fights for his life and hopefully, that would be all the hope he needs to fight on.

Ye Jin's case was special. Hyun Bin's birthday celebration was one she has been planning for weeks now. That part of her was excited to see her boyfriend enjoying the celebration.

But a part of her recognised the trickling time that was part of her boyfriend's hourglass despite not knowing what he was truly experiencing. That part of her felt that heavy shift in the air when Hyun Bin took a good minute making his wish before he blew out the candles.

Vacillating between two extremes, Ye Jin was simply numb to happiness and sadness. All that mattered was Hyun Bin. As long as he was happy, she would be content too.

It has been weeks since they sat there on the bleachers, crying for each other. Since then, there have been many changes to their lives. For starters, Hyun Bin would disappear from school weeks at a time. Sometimes he would come back looking weaker than before, other times, he would be fine. Ye Jin suspected then that her boyfriend must be sick but kept to her promise not to pry.

It doesn't mean that she wasn't worried about him. Rather, how she showed her worry was different. Ye Jin started to learn how to make soup from her mother in hopes of chasing away whatever sickness Hyun Bin might be feeling.

On the days he went to school, she was the one matching his pace and strides since her boyfriend has slowed a great deal in terms of speed and stamina.

She reminded him to drink and eat whenever she could, even going as far as buying a bottle of Pocari Sweat from their canteen and secretly giving it to him in a vacuum flask without their teacher knowing. This would probably be the only time the class president would be seen breaking a rule and it was all for her boyfriend.

And of course, she would collect his homework for him and teach him the class materials whenever they do have their study sessions together. During those days, she would patiently run him through the materials, only to reward him with a long snuggle and a movie night after their study sessions.

They stopped going out as much because Ye Jin worried that the autumn breeze would only cause whatever sickness he had to worsen. Of course, Hyun Bin wouldn't have that and would still insist on going out on dates in the park or for a simple visit to their favourite tteokbokki store.

Their life was a twisted rope now, filled with good memories that were used to replace his sad ones. That only made them determined to enjoy every moment they could together.

To Hyun Bin, the days he got to spend with Ye Jin was worth the days of pain he had to go through in his chemotherapy sessions and post-session recovery.

It truly wasn't easy. There were days he would vomit non-stop to the point he wouldn't be able to lift a finger from his weakness. Other days weren't as bad, but they were equally painful and depressing for the hospital room was now a familiar sight to him.