𝐇𝐢 𝐃𝐚𝐝𝐚! ❣︎ 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐨 ❣︎

The last goodbye

The hospital corridors echoed with the sound of footsteps and hushed conversations. Every breath, every moment spent there, seemed to stretch on forever. Junhui and Minghao sat side by side, their eyes fixated on the small window of the ICU. Their daughter, so tiny and fragile, was still fighting for her life. The doctors had told them there was hope, but hope felt so distant, almost like a cruel promise that could be taken away at any moment.

Junhui held Minghao’s hand, his thumb gently brushing over his skin, trying to offer comfort though he felt completely hollow inside. Neither had much left to say. They had cried until their bodies could no longer produce tears. They had stared at the monitors, waiting for any sign, any change, praying silently.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the doctors informed them that Minghao had to be discharged from the hospital. It was time to leave. Time to step away from the sterile walls and the machines and return to a world that felt too bright, too loud, and too indifferent to their pain.

As they walked out, Minghao moved like a ghost. His body, still weak from the birth, swayed with exhaustion. His face was pale, eyes empty, as if life itself had been drained from him. Junhui stayed close, his arm around Minghao, guiding him with a tenderness that had become almost mechanical.

Once they were in the car, the silence between them felt suffocating. Minghao stared out of the window, his eyes glazed over, watching the world pass by without really seeing it. He wasn’t crying, though tears clung to his lashes. He simply looked… lost.

“Why me?” he muttered under his breath, the words barely audible, but they sliced through the silence like a blade. His voice was raw, heavy with despair. “Why us?”

Tears rolled down his cheeks, slow and quiet, as though he no longer had the strength to even sob. Junhui’s hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. His own emotions were a tangled mess inside him, but he had no tears left. He had cried them all out in the hospital, cried until he had nothing left to give. Now, he could only sit with the numbness, the weight of their grief pressing down on him like an unbearable burden.

As he turned a corner, still lost in thought, the sudden screech of tires ripped through the air. Junhui’s eyes widened, his reflexes kicking in as he slammed on the brakes, but it was too late. A truck barreled through the intersection, swerving wildly, and before he could even react, it smashed into their car with a deafening crash.

The world spun violently, metal crumpling and glass shattering as the car was thrown from the impact. Junhui and Minghao were tossed out like rag dolls, their bodies colliding with the hard pavement. The car skidded to a stop, smoke rising from the wreckage as the sound of the collision faded into the distance.

Junhui’s body screamed in agony, every bone, every muscle burning with pain, but it was nothing compared to the panic that gripped his heart when he saw Minghao lying just feet away. His body was twisted at an unnatural angle, his face pale, lips stained with blood.

With the last remnants of his strength, Junhui crawled towards him, gasping for breath, his vision blurring from the pain and exhaustion. Every inch forward felt like a mile, but he had to reach him. He had to hold him.

“Minghao…” Junhui whispered hoarsely, his voice trembling as he stretched out a hand.

Minghao’s eyes fluttered weakly, his chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. Blood trickled down the side of his face, and his lips were parted slightly, struggling for air.

Junhui reached him at last, his fingers brushing against Minghao’s hand. He tried to speak, but his voice was caught in his throat, choked by the overwhelming grief that consumed him.

Minghao’s gaze flickered toward Junhui, his eyes barely able to focus. His lips moved, trying to form words, but no sound came out. Tears welled in his eyes as he looked at Junhui one last time, the light in his eyes slowly fading.

Junhui’s heart shattered into a million pieces as he watched the love of his life take his final breath. He wanted to scream, to beg the universe to give him more time, but his body was broken, his soul crushed beneath the weight of it all.

Minghao’s eyes closed, his chest rising once more, then falling still.

Junhui stared at him, his vision dimming, his body giving in to the pain, to the exhaustion, to the unbearable loss. His hand still rested on Minghao’s, trembling as his own breaths became shallow, his strength fading.

And then… darkness.

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