ephemeral | baekxing

3 words

Everything falls apart in the end and it was no different for Byun Baekhyun. In life you were told to expect the unexpected but it was always in regard to positive things. What do you do when your world falls apart with only three words? How do you recreate a world where all the pieces have been smashed into oblivion?

Feeling like an abyss was not a way of living. It had started when Yixing noticed a splatter of blood on Baekhyun's collar. They didn't think much of it but it meant more than both of them could have imagined. Later on during the month, Baekhyun began to struggle with simple tasks such as walking up the stairs. He felt unusually winded but he brushed it off and attributed it to a lack of exercise. But it was when Yixing kissed Baekhyun's neck he realised something was wrong; strewn across his neck were mounds of lumps.

Yixing rushed Baekhyun into hospital, panicked and terrified. What happened after that was still burned into Baekhyun's mind.

"You have cancer."

3 words that echoed through his mind. Hearing those three words stopped Baekhyun from breathing, besides him he heard Yixing gasping, sighing and crying. His throat tightened as he blinked furiously, unsure of what to do with himself. It was strange, he almost expected it yet it was the most difficult thing for him to swallow.

"You have stage 2 lung cancer, Mr Byun. You're lucky that we caught it before it spread any further but you will need to be put on medication immediately and chemotherapy."

Everything the doctor said was meaningless. He wasn't lucky, not at all, what kind of a lucky person gets lung cancer? What kind of a lucky person has to suffer for weeks on end? They were stupid words that doctors said to patients to make them feel like they have a chance of surviving.

2 months had passed since Baekhyun had been diagnosed. He hadn't gotten better, the cancer had spread to his organs. Now he had stage 3 cancer, one stage away from death Baekhyun thought bitterly. In those 2 months Baekhyun had lost considerable weight, his eyes were sunken and his head was left with empty patches of hair. He also stopped talking to Yixing. It wasn't like they had time to talk anyway, Yixing took up as much work as possible to cover the ever rising cost of the hospital bills. Although Yixing had a comfortable and well paying job it wasn't near enough to sustain them them with the exponential growth in bills. However, when Yixing tried to talk to Baekhyun, he would shun him or only reply with a few words.

Baekhyun cried himself to sleep every night. His sobs racked through his entire body and echoed throughout the house. Yixing was never there to hear it because he was always doing overtime - that's what Baekhyun thought.

On an especially solemn night, Yixing slipped into bed and cradled a sobbing Baekhyun. The night was dark. There were no stars in the sky and the light of the lunar was hidden behind storm clouds. As Baekhyun cried, the sky erupted in a blinding burst of lightening and an ear splitting crack of thunder. Soon after the rain hit the cobbled floor with a patter.

"You can't keep pushing me away, Baekhyun. I'm trying to be here for you, I'm really trying," Yixing cried "let me be here for you as you were for me, I know what it's like Baekhyun I know more than anyone. Please...just let me take care of you."

Rain accompanied by the staccato melody of the thunder seeped in through the ajar window. It was the only sound that was heard for a long while. Until a hoarse voice broke it.

"I love you Yixing."

"I love you more."