Close to Heaven

Sunshine

I woke to the smell of chili paste and beef cooking. The door to the kitchen was open. For a moment I panicked, who's here? Why are they in my kitchen? Then I remembered. Jimin. I allowed a small smile to creep onto my face. 

Suddenly, a golden, wavy head poked out from the door frame. "Mi Sun! You're awake!"Jimin said, walking into the main room, a potato peeler in his hand. "The Yukgaejang is almost done. I also bought some lettuce and other vegetables," he explained, gesturing to the peeler in his hand.

I grinned. He was wearing a pink apron and his hair was mussed. I felt so happy at that moment that I just forgot about everyone awful that had happened and was to happen. I chose to only think of that wonderful moment. 

The sunlight filtered in and landing on Jimin's hair, lighting up each strand of his sun-kissed locks. "Ah, I almost forgot," he put the peeler down and came into my room again. "I didn't want to wake you so I waited but-" He moved to open the curtains. I hadn't done that since the first day that I had come here, in which I had then closed them immediately afterward.

As he pulled the curtains to the side, the sun blazed through and into my eyes. The honeycomb-yellow flame pushed it's way into my bedroom, weaving itself into my quilt, along the gray carpet floor, and completed its path on the clean, white wall opposite my bed. It burned my eyes, but it felt good.

Jimin's POV

Once I returned from the grocery store, I let myself into Mi Sun's room. She was sleeping peacefully. I unloaded the groceries into the kitchen and began preparing the Yukaejang. As I chopped vegetables, I wondered why Mi Sun was so thin.

She was done with radiation treatment and Mi Na hadn't mentioned any complications with getting her to eat. I wasn't going to ask her, for fear of offending her if she wasn't aware of her size, but that didn't stop my worrying. 

I knew when people were severely underweight, they try to eat large amounts of junk food frequently. I knew from many nutrition lessons with my managers that this wasn't the way to go.

If someone is trying to gain weight and live a healthy life, they have to eat a lot of protein and starch and even more greens. And when I say protein and starch, I mean beef and potatoes, not fast food. I decided to fix Mi Sun's meals from now on so that I could feed her proper foods.

I felt awful thinking what came next, but I couldn't help it. But what's the point of trying to keep her healthy? She's in hospice. She's going to die. I pushed the thought away and poked my head into Mi Sun's room to check on her. 

Her head turned and revealed heavy eyelids and a sleepy, swollen face. "Mi Sun. You're awake! The Yukgaejang is almost done. I also bought some lettuce and other vegetables," I said. I wondered if she was used to eating healthy at this point in her life where it didn't mean anything. To my relief, she nodded and groggily smiled a little. 

"Ah, I almost forgot, I didn't want to wake you so I waited but-" I approached her curtains and pulled them aside in one quick movement. I knew she probably didn't want them open but at my arrival, Mi Na had told me to try.

I could feel her shock reverberating through the room as the golden rays pushed their way into the room. When I looked at her, I nearly choked.

The sun illuminated her cheek and collar bones, kindling her pale skin. It torched her long, brown hair, engulfing each strand in a luminescent brilliancy. Her eyes, still swollen from sleep, widened and the sun filtered into them. 

Normally dark, they were a flaming, translucent amber. She squinted and looked at me, stunned by the sudden burst of sunlight. I couldn't help it. I grinned. In her loose-fitting, white pajamas and glowing state, she looked like an angel. She smiled back, happiness replacing her shock.