"bye bye my teenage angel"
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Goodbyes are the hardest thing for anyone, no matter how hard they try to mask their pain. Whether it be a simple 'see you later', a heartfelt 'ill be back during breaks', or a final and definitive 'goodbye', it will still leave you hurting. You'll miss that person even if they're just going down the street because your heart knows you won't see them for a while.
Chan was bad at goodbyes, nor did he want to say any, but the ticking clock was pressuring him too.
"No, Jeongin, I'm not." Chan looked at Jeongin with guilt filled eyes, expecting betrayal on the young boys face. Instead, Jeongin smiled, smiled like he was accepting his fate, braces on full display.
"Are you not mad at me?" Chan questioned, holding Jeongin's hand tighter.
"You gave me the best day of my life, Channie, how could I hate you? I'm confused, so confused, but not mad, never," Jeongin reassured him, nothing but truth in his words.
"But can you do me a favor?" Jeongin requested. Chan vigorously nodded his head, willing to do anything to destroy the guilt inside him.
"Explain, please."
Chan sucked his lip between his teeth, contemplating the moment he dreaded the most.
"I'm an angel but I have a job. My job was to come here and take you to heaven, but when I first laid my eyes on you, I knew I couldn't take you away so soon. I knew I needed to be with you, help you, for as long as I could," Chan looked at Jeongin as he spoke, never once breaking eye contact. "You're dying, baby, and I know you know it, too. I don't know what from or how or I would have stopped it. I would give my wings just to see you fly."
Jeongin blushed, although it was barely noticed under his burning cheeks from his fever.
"How did you die?" Jeongin asked softly, feeling as if he was treading on soft ground. Chan smiled at him, but tears fell from his cheeks like a dam that had just broken.
"I killed myself," he whispered, removing his hand from Jeongin's and flipping his wrists up. That's when Jeongin noticed the thick white scars that ran down the man's arm like a river.
"I was a rapper, singer, dancer, and my stage name was CB97."
"What the hell, Chan? You let me talk about how much I loved your music without telling me!" Jeongin tried to yell, but he was the complete opposite of intimidating. A cute pout formed on his lips and Chan almost cooed at the sight.
"Broken compass, you were right."
Jeongin rolled his eyes. "Of course I was right," he mumbled angrily, crossing his arms and refusing to hold Chan's outstretched hand.
"What will happen to me, Channie?" Jeongin asked, a scared expression falling across his face. "Will I be with you?"
There was a dejected gaze in Chan's eyes, one that worried Jeongin.
"Channie, will I be with you?" Jeongin asked again, a more panicked tone in his voice.
"We'll see baby, we'll see, but you'll be a gorgeous angel," Chan whispered as he traced the outline of Jeongin's face, starting at his fluffy hair and ending at his soft lips.
"When I die, I need you to be there," Jeongin said to Chan, giving him a stern look. "I need you to hold my hand and let me go, don't fight the inevitable, Channie."
Chan nodded, knowing that he would have fought with everything in him. But he respected Jeongin's wishes, so he held the boy closer and watched the clock tick.
11:57, Chan gave Jeongin a lingering kiss, touching him in every way he could to have the boy memorized by the time the clock struck 12. Jeongin couldn't move his neck, the muscles too stiff.
11:58, Jeongin ran his fingers through Chan's hair, let his hands dance over Chan's tattoo but the illness made his limbs ache and arms numb.
11:59, Chan let Jeongin see his wings, the glow from the pure white lighting up the room. The feathers were soft to the touch and Jeongin finally figured out what had grazed his arm in his unconscious state. A stabbing pain struck Jeongin's throat, and the boy could no longer breathe.
12:00, Jeongin saw a light that didn't blind him or make his head spin. It dulled the pain in his neck, the clogging of his throat, and it welcomed him like the hand holding his own. So Jeongin closed his eyes, focusing on the light and Chan's hand, and Chan let him go.
At 12:00 pm, Jeongin died of meningitis, a disease with flu-like symptoms that lead to many misdiagnoses and in fatal cases can result in death.
