Falling for Your Lies(sope)

The Loss.

Authors pov

Hoseok sat on the edge of his bed, his shoulders hunched and his head bowed, as if the weight of the world had come crashing down on him. Silent tears streamed down his face, soaking into the crumpled fabric of his shirt. His breaths were shallow, choked, the quiet sobs echoing in his empty dorm room. This couldn’t be happening—not now, not when he had fought so hard to get here. How was he going to explain this to his father? How could he face him with nothing but failure? The thought of seeing that familiar look of disappointment in his father’s eyes tore him apart.

A strangled cry escaped his lips as he lifted his head from his hands, sniffing, desperate to steady his breathing. He had to tell his father what had happened before he returned home tomorrow. Hoseok fumbled for his phone, wiping at his tears, forcing himself to pull together a steady voice. His father needed to hear it from him, not as a surprise when he showed up, broken and bruised, back home.

Taking a steadying breath, he scrolled through his contacts and hit “Dad.” The phone rang and rang, each tone stretching the silence, his heart sinking further. Nothing. The call went to voicemail. Hoseok’s shoulders sagged, a fresh pang of helplessness washing over him.

He pulled himself together and dialed Somi instead, hoping she would be with his father and could pass the phone to him. She was the one taking care of him now; she’d know what to do. After two rings, Somi’s voice came through, cheerful and light, a stark contrast to Hoseok’s trembling reply.

“Hello, Hoseok! How are you?” she greeted, her familiar warmth flooding the line.

He sniffled softly before answering, his voice rough. “Hey, Somi. I… I’ll be coming home tomorrow. It’s a long journey, but… I’ll be there.”

There was a pause, and then he heard her sharp intake of breath. “Why…? Hoseok, what happened?”

“It’s… it’s a long story. I’ll explain everything when I get there. Could you please… tell my dad? And also… he hasn’t been picking up,” Hoseok murmured, forcing back the lump in his throat. “I’ve been trying to reach him for days.”

A sudden silence fell on the other end of the line. Hoseok’s brows furrowed, and he called out, “Somi?” A quiet, shaky breath echoed back, and her voice was barely a whisper, laced with a sorrow that twisted Hoseok’s insides.

“Hoseok… you need to… please, calm down… rest your heart for what I’m about to say…”

The sound of her voice—so heavy, so broken—made his heart skip, cold fear gripping his chest. He felt his throat tighten. “Somi, where’s my father?” he asked, his voice trembling. “Is he okay? Has he been taking his meds? Is he going for his check-ups? The tumor, it’s still in the early stages, right? He needs those regular check-ups, Somi…”

But there was no immediate reply, just the faint sound of Somi’s stifled sobs. She was crying. The world around him seemed to collapse into silence, and he felt his stomach drop, a cold dread spreading through him.

“Somi?” His voice was laced with panic now. “Somi! Just tell me what’s going on! What… what happened?” His voice was rising, frantic, desperate.

He heard her take a shuddering breath before finally speaking, her voice breaking with each word. “Hoseok… I’m so, so sorry…”

Hoseok felt his heart still, his blood running cold as he stood up, his entire body shaking. “What do you mean, sorry?” he demanded, his voice barely a whisper as fear gripped his heart like a vice.

“Hoseok… your father, he… he’s gone.”

The world shattered around him. Somi’s words echoed in his ears, each syllable piercing him like a knife. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think—couldn’t comprehend what he had just heard. His father… gone? It didn’t make sense. It couldn’t be true. His father had cancer, yes, but it was the first stage; they’d caught it early. They had time. They were supposed to have time.

“I… I don’t understand,” he stammered, his voice cracking. “He… he’s supposed to be in early stages… he’s supposed to…”

Somi’s voice was barely audible over his mounting heartbeat. “Hoseok… he lied. He was at the last stage. The doctors said there was nothing they could do… he knew that. But he didn’t tell you… because he didn’t want to burden you. He was saving money, skipping treatments so you’d have something for your future after you graduated. He wanted you to… to be okay.”

The words came out like knives, each one cutting deeper than the last. His father had chosen to die alone, to suffer in silence, all to protect him. The phone slipped from his hand, falling to the floor with a loud, menacing thud that echoed in the hollow silence of the room. Somi’s voice, distant and full of pain, crackled through the phone on the floor, calling his name.

Hoseok stood frozen, staring blankly ahead, disbelief and grief crashing over him like a tidal wave. His life had crumbled in an instant. Everything he had ever worked for, everything he had ever wanted… gone. His father, his life… all of it shattered.

With a broken cry, he sank to his knees, his body hitting the ground with a resounding thud, but he couldn’t feel the pain. His father was gone.

Hoseok is going through some real shit.