EMPTINESS

Appreciated

"Sangchu is dying, Jiyeon." He repeated, calmer than the former. I opened my mouth to say something but only air came out. 

"Li-liar. You just badly don't wa-want me to ad-adopt h-him." I whispered while stuttering my own words, trying not to believe him even though his brown orbs says it all.

"Do I look like I'm lying to you right now, Jiyeon-ah?" He glued his eyes on mine, showing me that his words were not lies at all. I slowly shook my head, showing that I believe him before I faced the ground, rendering myself speechless.

I wanted to ask him 'how come?', 'since when did he knew?', 'is he that sick?', and a lot more questions going inside my head but how am I able to if I'm trying not to choke out words. 

"Sangchu's dying because of aging. He's too old to live and he was only left with less than two weeks. The hospital called for a veterinarian the same time when Mr. Wu was confined. Sangchu was supposed to be in the hands of those veterans back then, till now but the dog chose to disagree and remained on staying at this hospital without drinking or eating anything. In the end, I decided to adopt him, when no one wanted do. Who would even want to adopt a dying dog? I was always here at this hospital 24/7 anyways and Sangchu's owner was my patient so I have to do this in exchange for not being able to heal him and his owner. This is the best thing I could do for them." I faced up to meet his sad eyes that were starting to fill up with tears as he told me the story. 

"This is so cruel." I muttered then faced the ceiling and blinked repeatedly, not wanting to let a tear drop.

"I know. This is why you can't adopt him. Your sister just left you a day ago and you taking Sangchu will just hurt your wound more than it already is." He stated before reaching his hand to cup my cheek and caught a tear that managed to escape through my eye.

"See? You're already hurting." I glared at his words that pierced my heart.

"I hate you." I uttered as I hugged him tightly. I felt the vibration from his chest when he laughed at my ironic statement. I looked up to glare at him but he gave me a warm smile before returning the hug.

"You should have warned me about Sangchu." I told him, still snuggled on his arms.

"I did but you were too stubborn to obey." I pouted at his words and slightly hit his back to only have him embrace me tighter.

I felt warm and fuzzy from the hug we shared but before we had the chance to completely let go, a fake cough coming from the lady nurse earlier interrupted us and completely made both Sehun and I embarrassed.

"I'm sorry for interrupting but Dr. Kim would like to have a word with you, Dr. Oh." The nurse professionally stated but her smirk was still visible on her face. I have to take a mental note to better be careful around this nurse.

"I- I'll go see Sangchu." I stated when I pushed Sehun away and hurriedly went out of Sehun's office. I covered my palms on my face, trying to hide the warm blush emitting.

"Ughhhh. Now, she'll think I like that doctor. Ughhhh." Slumping my body on the stair railings, I ruffled my hair on different sides. I even knocked my head repeatedly for abruptly hugging him not until I saw judging stares and glances from few patients and hospital residents. Innocently standing straight, I set my hair the way it was before then made my way towards the hospital garden.

The moment Sangchu's face welcomed me, I can't help myself to feel melancholic. Sehun's words kept on appearing in my mind.

"He's dying Jiyeon."

"Sangchu is dying, Jiyeon"

"How could this big white fluffy lettuce be dying in less than two weeks?" I muttered to myself before showing a wide smile towards the dog.