Silence~ (Book 1 of Cycle of Life)

Chapter 5- The Last Year

January 2015

I picked up the phone early in the morning of New Year's Day. "Hi Chen." It was Luhan. "Hi hyung, I missed you so much!" I exclaimed. "How are things going with Exo and you?" He asked. I paused for a second to think, "uh... Well, we had a big celebration..." I coughed up blood and wiped it quickly. "Chen? Do you have a cold?" He asked. "Yeah... Cold weather... It's normal." I replied. "Hey, come by the park, I'm in Korea visiting today if you are free." I said sure and hung up. I guess, it's better that I took a walk outside then be in my room.

Luhan: I sat down and waited for Jongdae. Sehun called me last night after he found out I was here and told me to hang out with Chen and find out what is wrong with him. He came in a flat five minutes and waved at me. I told him to take a seat next to me and we started talking and catching up. "Things are getting messy... I wish you were still here as well as Kris hyung..." He sighed. "Chen... I'm sorry... But I had to go... I have been hated by the company since I was a trainee there." "I understand... People can be really harsh these days." I nodded and let out a deep breath. I noticed him shaking after talking for a while like he was cold. "Are you cold, Jongdae?" I asked him. He shook his head, "I'm ok, hyung." "Let's go get a coffee to warm up then." I suggested and he nodded. As I started walking, I heard a thug behind me and turned around. Jongdae was on the floor shaking and wheezing. I ran over to him and helped him sit up, "Jongdae, please don't lie to me... Sehun told me that you were acting weird. What is wrong?!" He shook and pointed at his pocket. I reached for his pocket and found capsule of pills inside. I quickly gave him some and took my water bottle out for him. I carried him to the chair and let him relax a little. "Jongdae... Please tell me what is wrong... What are you hiding?" He went silent and I saw tears fall from his eyes. I hugged him tightly and comforted him. "Promise me, hyung... Don't tell anyone this secret." I nodded and waited for an answer.

I felt like my heart skipped a beat... "C...h...en..." I tried to talk but my voice cracked and choked up. He looked down, "Soon... I will lose my voice as well... It's very hard to talk day by day... I'm fighting... I will give my all to everyone... I..." He didn't continue. I looked down and wanted to cry. "Don't cry, Luhan hyung... This was why I didn't want to tell anyone... I don't want people to worry about me." "But Jongdae... They will feel worse if you tell them late... They need to know this." He shook his head, "I will tell when my time is up... I don't want myself interfering their careers... We are having a comeback soon... I can't risk making them lose their career." I wanted to say something...  But I gave up, "I promise I won't tell anyone... But I want you to be healthy and contact me often if you are down." He smiled and hugged me, "Best hyung ever."~

...

I should've known something was up... Luhan called me suddenly in the morning and out of all the days he could've called me. It's fine through... Luhan hyung is a kind and caring person so I can rely or trust him. Luhan hyung helped me up and we went to a cafe to buy a cup of coffee. I got a mocha while Luhan got a coffee. The whole time, silence. Luhan looked at me a few times but he didn't say anything. I finished my mocha and waited quietly for hyung to finish. "Jongdae... Do you have to do therapy?" I nodded slowly, "I'm doing a radiation therapy next week, but I'm currently taking medicine." He nodded and looked at the time, "Oh... I have to go... Please be healthy and rest more often." I waved as he left and stared at the distance... Will this be the last year I will see?