Tranquility

Stay With Me

Jihoon POV

The man in front of me looks absolutely crushed as he signs, "Hi Lee Jihoon, it's me, Kim Mingyu."

But it helps.

"Do you remember me?" he asks desperately, when my eyes widen slightly at his words.

"Coffee?" I sign unsure of myself until the pools in his eyes turn to tears that begin to run down his tan cheeks.

"That's how we met," he signs. "We were in a coffee shop down the road when I ran into you and spilled coffee everywhere."

I smile. Then, making sure not to scare him, I slowly reach forward to wipe the stray tears from his face. He leans into my touch, and my heart breaks at the sight. After sitting back in my chair, I sign another question that's been on my mind the last few days.

"Mingyu, who are you to me? Be honest. Tell me as if I can remember everything."

"Are you sure?" he signs, but the face he makes answers my question. I nod.

"You're my boyfriend," he whispers. "Well I don't know if I can really say that you are because you might not want to be anymore. If not, it's okay, I understand," he begins to ramble self consciously.

I place my hand over his on the table. I keep it there until he calms down. His eyes find mine, and I find it hard to breathe for a moment. I take my hand away in order to sign.

"We'll stay how we were if that's okay with you?"

His whole face lights up as he nods slowly.

"Okay," I sign with a smile. "I do have one more question for you if that's okay?" He nods, so I continue. "Your voice is what saved me from my coma. I used to hear it all the time at the beginning, but suddenly you were gone, what happened?"

"Would you like the whole story?" he signs.

"Tell me everything you did and went through while I was asleep," I sign curious of what this beautiful man before me went through.

"Well," he begins speaking now. I honestly can't imagine preferring him to sign when his deep voice is this soothing and full of warmth. "When you first went into a coma, I practically lived at the hospital," he chuckles softly, and I melt at the sound. "I ate at your side, slept at your side, played on my phone at your side."

His eyes cloud over as he continues. "But the longer you slept, the more the doctors tried to remind me that you may never wake up. It got to the point where I couldn't take it anymore. I wasn't there to be reminded that you may not wake up, but I was there to remind myself that you could. I became depressed, and I decided to stay away. I regret my choices, but I think it was the best option I had at the time," he explains.

"I was living with Seokmin during that whole first period, but it wasn't good for either of us, so I got a small apartment closer to where my actual place is."

"Chan told me we have an apartment together," I sign. "How long have we been together?"

"We still do," he sighs. "You moved in with me on our one month anniversary, but soon after is when you went under. If you count the time you've been in a coma, then it's been about three months and a couple weeks."

"I was in a coma for over two months?" I sign shocked. He nods.

"They never told me how long," I explain with my hands. "But keep going, please."

"Okay, uhm...well I lived in that other apartment for a few weeks before one night, I tried to kill myself," he says keeping his head low. I lift up his chin before signing, "I'm really glad you weren't successful."