"I have seven wishes, but you're not one of them."
"Do you really not want me?"
"Well, I can spare half a wish for you."
~~~~~
In which Yuna and Chan want to find their cause of happiness, even when they are behind those white hospital walls.
~~~~...
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Traveling back to the city, Yuna hadn't spoken a word. Chan looked at her from time to time in concern, and thirty minutes later, when she still hadn't spoken, he placed his hand on hers, waking her up from her zone.
"Huh?" she asked dazedly.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, yes I am," she nonchalantly spoke.
"Be honest," Chan requested.
"Well, I wasn't expecting that," Yuna said, "I just wanted to meet her."
"I can understand..."
"The worst part is that I wouldn't be able to see her take her last breaths - not because I'm too far away; but because I don't have the strength in me to see that happening to her. And all of a sudden, I feel weak."
The car came to a halt.
"What happened?" she questioned.
Chan drew in a long breath and began, "Shin Yuna, don't doubt your strength. If there's anything that I've learned from you, it's the fact that strength comes from within. And once you have it, nobody can take it away from you. It's yours to keep and to fuel."
Yuna bit her lip and he continued, "Even though we're on the brink of collapse, we're surviving and fighting our way through. You know why? Because we have each other. I don't know if you feel the same way too, but let me tell you this: you're my refuge. And I hope I can be that to you too, because I'm never going away from you."
"...Chan, I'm not the best option for you," she muttered.
"Why?"
Mustering up some energy, Yuna's heart beat fast when, with trembling hands, she took off her beanie.
Chan's eyes went to her head and his eyes filled with tears when he noticed what she was intending for him to see. Where once were thin but long, black hair, now had unevenly distributed locks of hair. Parts of her scalp were visible, and as she ran her fingers through the leftover hair, locks stuck to her fingers and broke off from the roots.
And when he looked to her face, he saw a mess of the strong girl he'd always come to admire. Tears cascaded down her face, collecting on her lap and getting absorbed by her jeans. Her lips were scrunched up into a snarl, and light sobs left her mouth.
Chan immediately cupped her face, and in a hushed voice, he spoke, "You're so beautiful, Yuna."
"Don't lie, please," she spoke between her sobs.
"I would never lie to you," he said, letting a stray tear slip from his eyes.
"I don't want you to get so attached to me... I don't know until how long I can hold up," Yuna confessed.
"Don't say that, don't say that," Chan hushed her, "We have a lot of time. We can do everything we want and still have a life left ahead of us. Trust me, you're going to heal, and so will I."
"How are you so hopeful?" she asked.
He smiled, "I learned it from you."
If there's ever comparison of the most beautiful smiles, then the winner must always be the smile that a person cracks after crying. The raw emotions that rush through them at that moment are magnificent.
And just like that, her smile shone through the tears, and Chan smiled, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
