[✔] lightbulb » lee taeyong & na jaemin

ch. 49 (final ch.)

ascian: a person who has no shadow

» author's pov // present »

it was the middle of the night when a crash was heard in the kitchen.

miyeon's eyes fluttered open, and when she saw ara wasn't beside her, adrenaline filled her body. she immediately threw her covers off and ran into the kitchen.

"ara! ara, where are you?" she shouted, not caring about who heard and who would wake up.

the scene before her made her choke back a sob. ara was on the ground, with broken bottles of alcohol and glass surrounding her. miyeon ran over and knelt.

"ara, stay with me," she cried, but then shouted, "JAEMIN! wake up now!"

blood was seeping from in between ara's legs, and chills went down miyeon's spine. god, no. jaemin rushed outside, taking in a sharp breath.

"call–"

"done."

she held onto ara's hand, murmuring useless prayers that she didn't believe worked as she answered the emergency responder's questions. jaemin squatted beside her, rubbing ara's forearm. when the ambulance arrived, miyeon and jaemin quickly got into a car and followed behind, since they weren't allowed in the ambulance.

"please," miyeon murmured to herself, "please don't make me lose somebody who doesn't deserve it."

——

» author's pov // present »

"the babies are gone," the doctor said drily to ara, yawning.

she stared at him confused. she had woken up on a hospital bed in a blue gown, disoriented. "but the baby is right here. and it's one, not two," she corrected, patting her tummy.

the doctor knew she was in shock but refused to care. he had almost finished a long 48-hour shift, and his patience was running thin. "no, darling. twins. a female and a male. they were removed from you during the emergency surgery. they unfortunately bled to death, and their bodies have been–"

"SHUT UP!" miyeon yelled, covering ara's ears who still looked confused.

the doctor shrugged. "she'll have to accept the truth." he left right after.

ara removed miyeon's hands from her ears and looked up expectantly at miyeon.

"ara? can you hear me?" miyeon said, speaking slowly and clearly.

ara nodded. "yes, miyeon, i can."

"your babies were twins, according to the doctor. do you understand?"

ara's face lit up. "twins! i'm so happy." her voice was soft and frail, like a small child's.

"they're gone, ara. but not completely gone. they're with taeyong now. do you understand?" miyeon said, speaking even slower.

ara whimpered. "no...not again."

miyeon hugged her tightly. "it's going to be okay."

ara teared up. "i just wanted to forget...just for a little bit. i miss taeyong. i'm sorry."

"don't be sorry." miyeon kissed ara's forehead. "we'll do this together."

ara bursted into tears and cried until she fell asleep.

——

» author's pov // present »

miyeon took her home. ara was distressed, even in her sleep, and it was obvious that when she wasn't sleeping, she was crying. miyeon decided to keep sleeping with ara, and to lock the door from the inside as well.

she knew it was bothering ara–this lack of privacy and independence–but she couldn't risk ara getting hurt again. she still let ara have fun, but she always had an eye on her.

one night, when miyeon had fallen into a deep sleep, ara had woken up with too many thoughts in her head. she decided to go into what would have been the baby's room. inside, she saw jaemin sitting at the desk inside.

she went over to sit beside him on the extra chair, and jaemin gave her a side hug. they stayed in silence.

"would you love them like your own?" she asked suddenly.

he knew she was talking about the babies.

"yes. if you loved them, i would love them too."

she melted at those words and turned her head to kiss him on the cheek.

——

» author's pov // present »

ara had been sleeping all day, but when she woke up to jaemin asking for a date later, she felt upbeat all day.

when she woke up from her nap at five in the afternoon, she could already smell the food jaemin had prepared.

she went outside and was peppered with kisses from jaemin.

"hey," he said breathlessly.

"hi," she replied stupidly.

he "escorted" her to the table, and she laughed at how much effort he put into this date. all her favorite safe foods were on the table, flowers decorated the whole room, and her comfort movie was playing on the big screen.

she sat down across from him and they began to eat. she, for the first time in her life, felt real, requited romantic love.

she loved him. from when they were a child to when she got a boyfriend to when she lost her babies. he was there for everything, and he would stay.

this lightbulb would stay on forever.

THE END.