𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐂 ||𝐛𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬|| ✔

SPECIAL

<<ASAKURA JO>>

"Love doesn't always end—sometimes, it's simply erased from one heart while it lingers painfully in another."

The hospital smelled like antiseptic and something colder- something emptier. It wasn't just the walls or the machines; it was the kind of silence that pressed against your chest until breathing itself felt like an effort. Zoey sat beside the bed, her fingers curled tightly around Jo's hand, as if letting go- even for a second- would make him slip away for good.

His skin was warm. That was the only thing keeping her anchored.

Because everything else about him felt distant. Untouchable.

"A little longer," she whispered, her voice fragile, like it might break if it rose any higher. "Just... come back to me, Jo."

The machines answered instead. A steady rhythm. A reminder that his heart was still beating- even if everything else about him felt lost.

It had started so simply. A headache. A lazy complaint tossed between laughter as he leaned against the kitchen counter, watching her attempt to cook something she had clearly no idea how to handle.

"You worry too much," he had teased, stealing a half-cut strawberry from her hand. "It's just stress."

He always said that.

And she always believed him.

Until the sound of glass shattering echoed through their apartment later that night. Until she found him on the floor, unmoving, blood staining the tiles in a way that didn't look real- like something out of a nightmare her mind refused to accept.

She remembered screaming his name.

Over and over.

Like if she said it enough times, it would pull him back.

💌

When his fingers finally twitched days later, Zoey felt something inside her crack open- hope, fragile and overwhelming. She leaned forward instantly, her breath hitching as his eyes fluttered open slowly, unfocused at first, then searching.

"Jo..." her voice trembled, breaking into relief before she could stop it. "You're okay- thank God- you're-"

"...Who are you?"

The words didn't register at first.

They just... hung there.

Zoey let out a small laugh, shaking her head, her tears still falling. "Stop it. That's not funny."

But his expression didn't change. If anything, the confusion deepened.

"I'm serious," he said quietly, his voice rough. "Why are you crying? Where am I?"

And just like that-

The world shifted.

Not dramatically. Not loudly.

Just enough for everything to fall apart.

"It's me," she whispered, stepping closer, her hands trembling as she reached for him again. "Jo... it's Zoey."

He looked at her.

Really looked at her.

And saw nothing.

"I'm sorry," he said, and those two words felt heavier than anything she had ever carried. "I don't know you"

💌