Afire Love [MinWon] - eng

Chapter 5 : Till We Meet Again, I Won't Forget You

I heard the doctors put your chest in pain

But then that could have been the medicine a nd now you're lying in the bed again

Either way I'll cry with the rest of them

Mingyu was there, right in front of Wonwoo's room. He just stood frozen, he didn't really do anything – even stepping inside was difficult. Mingyu honestly felt like his life had been lifted as soon as he heard the news that today Wonwoo had fallen into a coma. What he felt was hell, and Mingyu hated it because he felt hell even before he actually died.

Someone touched his shoulder and Mingyu turned to see Soonyoung right behind him – the man looked at him with sadness too. He felt sorry to have to see Mingyu go through this and sad because after all Wonwoo is his friend too.

"You wanna go inside?"

Mingyu really wanted to go inside, but he knew that even though he was in a coma, Wonwoo still didn't want to see him. Now was not the time. Wonwoo wanted to meet Kim Mingyu who had finished his medical studies. That's why Mingyu just shook his head and turned around from where his heart wanted him to be, leaving Soonyoung who watched his friend left with teary eyes.

One day, two days, ten days.

Jihoon said there was no progress whatsoever from Wonwoo's condition. He still lied in the same position every day. He's still breathing, Wonwoo's still here . Because Wonwoo is still here, Mingyu still felt that miracles could still happen. A miracle that could bring hope –as Wonwoo called it. Just like a miracle that had happened to that man.

While in a coma, Wonwoo got frequent visits. The nurses, doctors, other patients who knew him on the floor, Jihoon and Soonyoung – no Mingyu . Jihoon also often wondered if Wonwoo had a family because no family had ever visited him even though the child was at his limit. And Mingyu answered, yes, Wonwoo still had a father. The next day after Jihoon asked that, Wonwoo's father came alone. Mingyu knew that keeping a promise was one of the most difficult things in this world, and keeping a promise not to see Wonwoo was even more difficult. Jeon Seongwoo broke his promise not to see his son again and forgot about him. But Mingyu understood, after all, that man was his biological father. He should still have a heart. Seeing that person lying helplessly in a hospital bed should have meant something to him. That person wasn't just a stranger he knew just by name, that person was his own child. Jeon Seongwoo saw the child's every growth since he was born, grew into a smart child, and lived as a very special Jeon Wonwoo. Mingyu couldn't imagine how Jeon Seongwoo would feel seeing the child he had raised lying helplessly in that place. But Mingyu knew, maybe the man's regret was growing bigger. Regret that he had made the same mistake, twice . He was stupider than a donkey which didn't fall into the same hole twice.

Then what about Mingyu?

Every day Mingyu always appeared in front of Wonwoo's door. He was there for at least three hours. Just stood frozen and tried to imagine how Wonwoo's face would look beyond that door. Jihoon and Soonyoung had almost given up asking him to just go inside and see Wonwoo, because they knew what Mingyu was doing now was self-torture. But Mingyu was okay, he would rather torture himself than made Wonwoo disappointed in him. He was always waiting for Wonwoo and now Wonwoo is waiting for him. Wonwoo waited for Mingyu to appear in front of him the way he wanted. Mingyu couldn't let the boy down and broke their promise. Today, Mingyu turned his body again and walked away from the place where his heart wanted him to be.

Mingyu survived. It was the hardest month he had ever lived in his life and he was afraid that this month would be a year, ten years, until his time is over. His parents, Minji, even Jihoon and Soonyoung came to his graduation. Everyone seemed happy, Mingyu felt that if he hadn't heard that Wonwoo had been in a coma a month ago, maybe he would have been happy too. Happy that the wait was over. But everything felt different when reality whispered differently to him. Mingyu couldn't really be completely happy, he just smiled but the people closest to him knew that the smile would never reach his eyes. The graduation ceremony ended with the wearing of a doctor's scrub procession which was directly given by the dean of the Faculty. Mingyu swore he almost cried when the white gown clung to him. And maybe people would think of his tears as tears of joy, but then again... Kim Mingyu wasn't really happy right now.