Odyssey

are the heavens treating you well?

He looked at you, your eyes tightly shut before Haechan looked down at the guitar, his fingers moving over the strings to feel the vibration. He didn't finish the song. He sighed to notice that you were asleep, his mind reeling of where to take you next.

He'd give you a journey, someone thing you'd be able to store into your memory.

You showed him a life he had not seen and your voice was every song he had not composed.

He brought you everywhere, constant stops to hospitals on the way. Throughout the journey, he would watch as your eyes would light up at the view of an amusement park. He learned that you used to be afraid of getting touched.

He understood different parts of you. You had such small wishes. You wanted to eat ice cream, you wanted to walk on the sand by the beach. You wanted to see the sunset and you wanted to talk to children.

He was finding himself falling too hard for you. God, I love you. He'd chant it to you every time you kissed, every time you'd smile and he'd find himself completely smitten by you.

He was yours and he loved it.

Both of you were in the countryside, Haechan playing on his guitar and you were reading a book. He couldn't keep his eyes off you so he sang while you hummed along. You had a beautiful voice.

"What's your goal, Donghyuck?" you asked and Haechan thought to himself that he'd miss you calling him 'Donghyuck'. Donghyuck this, Donghyuck that.

"To be with you," he answered with no hesitation. "To be with you if not this life, then the next."

"I'll be with you in spirit," you told him and he smiled at your words. These conversations made him realize that both of you were at peace with the fact that you had little time left.

Loving you may be an island,
you may have my heart
my soul,
and everything that is true

And if it were an island,
I'd be right there with you

But time was not kind to you and Haechan could tell how sunken your cheeks were. Your eyes looked tired and he knew it was coming until it did.

You could hardly walk and on some days, your speech would become slurred. Trips to hospitals multiplied. Death was coming and the ticking time of the clock was approaching.

"Where are we going?" you asked one day, unable to look up when Haechan reached for your hand. He had a plan for you for the day. That day, he carried down from the car and you saw what it was—a wedding.

The venue was in a church, right back to where you and Haechan had met. It was a different church but it was a holy place just the same. You were put in a beautiful white dress and you beamed when makeup was applied to your face.

It would be a mock wedding but it was a wedding just the same with the person you loved with your whole heart. The people in the small town had arrived and even if you did not know them, they sat there and waited. God knows what Haechan did in order to bring them to where both of you were but your weak body was bubbling with happiness.

You then saw him walk towards you in a suit, his eyes filled with so much adoration. Haechan was a handsome man and you've always known that. But to be loved so purely by him made you realize how lucky you were.

"You look so beautiful," he said to you and you smiled, struggling to stand up from the wheelchair you both had brought from the hospital. He peppered your cheeks with small kisses before you eagerly asked what time the wedding would start.

"Not until a few people come," he told you.

What you did not expect was the fact that Haechan introduced you to the people that he had always talked so highly about. Much to your surprise, the famous Mark Lee arrived in his own tuxedo. He bowed to you politely, a hand taking yours before he squeezed it softly.

"For the bride," he said to you, giving you a bouquet of flowers. "I'm Mark."

You told him his name and his eyes twinkled before he leaned down to give you a hug.

"Thank you for making Donghyuck happy," he whispered and for a moment, it felt like a real wedding. Like you would have your whole life in front of you to spend with Haechan. "I'm Haechan's groomsman."

"Oh," you mumbled, hugging him back. You wanted your own bridesmaid, you wanted to be able to throw the bouquet of flowers into the air but you knew full well that you did not have any friends. If you did, Haechan wouldn't know. "How nice."

"What's nice?" a voice asked and you looked up to see your sister there. She had been crying and you could tell by the way her eyes were puffy. "That he has a groomsman?"

"Unnie!" you exclaimed, your sister taking in a huge breath. Haechan had worked hard for this and even if you wouldn't be able to see your sister's wedding with Jaehyun, at least you would have your own. "How did you—"

"It's my sister's wedding. I wouldn't miss it for the world," she told you and you beamed, unable to keep the happy tears from your eyes. Despite your ragged breathing, you were eager to stand up. You didn't want to get married while sitting on your wheelchair.

It was just how you imagined it, the church lighting up with bright lights and the seats covered in a white material.

A church wedding.

You were wheeled in your wheelchair as you saw Haechan standing there in all his suited glory, waiting for you to reach him. You then stood up, taking Haechan's hand as he supported your weight. You had no idea what the priest was saying because you were already staring into Haechan's eyes.

"I love you," he mouthed for the nth time that day when you finally spoke.

"I do," you said softly.

"I do," he said after you, the final words from the priest allowing him to lean forward to kiss you on the lips fully. "I do, I really do."

You could not stop yourself from crying as you kissed him back, your arms wrapped around his neck as Haechan closed his eyes. Mark stood there, clapping his hands along with the random strangers that Haechan put together. Your sister gulped and you saw Secretary Ten wipe his eyes.

It would be hard when you would leave him, Haechan thought to himself, his grip tightening around your frail body.

And it was not long until you did.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________