𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 - 𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐣𝐢𝐧 ✓

Fifty

Seungmin pounded on the door and screamed as he sobbed. "Ms. Hwang! Please open up! Please..."

The door slowly opened to reveal Hyunjin's mother. She looked like she had aged decades over only a few months. "Hi, Seungmin," she said with a sad smile, "It's so good to see you again, sweetheart. Nothing's been the same since you haven't been around."

"Where is he?"

Ms. Hwang sighed. "Seungmin, honey, you know what happened."

"No!" Seungmin ran up the stairs to Hyunjin's bedroom. He threw the door open and continued crying. "He's not gone. His room is the same. He's gonna come home. He has to come home. I need him." He collapsed to his knees as his whole body shook.

Hyunjin's mother placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "He's gone. I'm so sorry."

"What happened? He disappeared, and I was so scared that I did something to hurt him, but Felix just kept telling me Hyunjin was okay and that he wasn't angry with me, but no one would tell me where he was," Seungmin wept, "I came here every day. Hyunjin gave me a key, so I came in and waited for him. I'd sit on the floor in here and wait. I kept telling myself that he'd come back to me and that I had to be patient for him. I love him, so of course I'd wait. I'd wait for years if it meant I could see him again."

With a sniffle and a shaky breath, Hyunjin's mother whispered, "Kidney failure." Seungmin looked up and waited for her to continue. "I know Felix gave you the letters, so you already know what happened. When we first found out about his condition they told us that it was heavily impacting his kidneys, but that it was treatable and he would be okay."

"They said he would be okay," the teen whimpered.

"When his kidneys started failing, everything went downhill. He was throwing up all the time because of it, and his body was slowly breaking down his muscles and organs trying to just stay alive. He couldn't keep food down, and the IV wasn't effective, so his body had to find nutrients wherever it could."

Seungmin hiccuped as he cried even harder. "He was in so much pain and I wasn't there for him. I should've fought harder to figure out where he was and why he was gone. I should've been there to help him. I should've—"

"Seungmin," Ms. Hwang sternly interrupted, "Don't ever think you should've done anything differently. You were Hyunjin's hope and happiness. The doctors told me that he would've died far sooner than he did, but that he stayed alive weeks longer than expected because of you. They said that when a patient has something they're fighting for, that they have higher rates of remission and recovery."

"But I wasn't enough," Seungmin whispered, "He fought so hard because of me and I wasn't enough to help him. He was hurting for so long because of me."

"Seungmin, sweetie, do you remember Hyunjin's last letter?" The boy nodded. "Hyunjin said he wanted you to remember something. What did he want you to never forget?"

"That he loves me."

She nodded. "Yeah, he loves you."

Silent tears streamed down Seungmin's cheeks as he smiled slightly. "I love him."

published 3hrs late so i can
wish you a merry christmas