"Haknyeon... Can I ask you something? Or rather... Can I suggest something?" Mikyung questioned as they walked side by side. They'd just bought food, a bunch of random things from the convenience store near campus, and were heading to the park. Today was their designated picnic day, but she had an idea.
An idea that had kept her up all night. An idea that she should put into action now before she lost her nerve.
"Sure," he said, not seeming to notice how nervous she was.
"Can we go somewhere else?" she asked, stopping and looking at him. "Somewhere that's important to me. Somewhere that's really crucial in my part of the project."
Haknyeon nodded, looking slightly confused but not questioning her. She started leading the way to the hospital, which was thankfully walking distance from campus. It only took about twenty-five minutes, but somehow it seemed faster today. Maybe it was because she was so scared to be showing him this part of her life.
"My mom has cancer," Mikyung said, stopping outside of the hospital doors. Haknyeon froze, but she wouldn't look at him. "She has less than three months to live now," she continued, balling her hand into a fist and telling herself that she would not cry. "Though... It could be even less than we expect," she whispered, her voice breaking. "We don't really know. It could be any day," she whispered, her body trembling.
Haknyeon didn't say anything for a moment, he just took her hand and led her to the side so that she wouldn't be blocking the doors, and then he pulled her into his arms, just like yesterday.
"I don't have to go," he said softly. "If it's hard, I don't have to go with you. It must be really difficult to open up about something like this, and I'm grateful that you trust me this much," he said gently, cupping her face with both hands and tilting her chin up so that she could look at him. "But I don't want to intrude on anything. Even though we're supposed to do this project together and look at each other's work and stuff, I don't have to-"
"Haknyeon," she said softly, interrupting him. She smiled at him through her tears. "Thank you," she said softly, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the hospital with her.
"Can I do anything?" he asked when they were in the elevator, heading upstairs. "To make... To make anything easier for you?"
She was glad that he didn't say he was sorry, or that he understood. She was glad that he didn't try telling her everything would be alright, because if he'd said that she may have changed her mind about bringing him in. Instead, he was being very sweet and sincere, and honestly, what he'd said to her was already way more helpful than anything else.
Mikyung shook her head. "There's nothing," she said softly. "I just have to come to terms with it, that's all," she said, sighing and closing her eyes, leaning her head against the elevator wall for a moment before the doors opened and she walked out. She led him to her mom's room, taking a deep breath.
"Mom, I'm here!" she called out, happy to find her mom reading.
"I thought you were out today-" her mother started to say, but then looked up, her eyes widening and a giant smile coming to her face. "Mikyung!" she exclaimed. "You finally brought a boyfriend!"
Mikyung laughed, going over and giving her mom a hug. When she glanced back at Haknyeon, his face was red, and it certainly wasn't from the cold.
"He's my friend," Mikyung told her mother, emphasizing the word. "Remember the photography project I told you about? I'm working on it with him. This is Haknyeon. And Haknyeon, this is my mom."
"It's nice to meet you," Haknyeon said, bowing. He still looked a bit flustered but bashfully held up the two bags of food they'd just bought. "We brought snacks?" he said, looking unsure of himself.
Mikyung grinned, not used to seeing him flustered. It was kind of cute. She took one of the bags from him and started to pull a chair to sit beside her mother, but Haknyeon grabbed her wrist and led her to a corner of the room.
"Is it okay if I take pictures of you guys?" he whispered. "It doesn't have to be used in the project but... It'll be nice to have candid pictures, you know?"
Her heart swelled and she nodded, too choked up to speak. She blinked rapidly, going back to her mother and grabbing a chair, sitting beside her mother and showing her all the snacks they'd brought.
At first, her mother didn't notice Haknyeon was taking pictures. But when she did, she started doing a bunch of silly poses, making the both of them laugh.
"Set up that tripod and come over here, let's all take a picture," her mother ordered Haknyeon.
"You sure?" he asked, starting to set up the camera.
"Of course! I need a picture with my future son-in-law," her mother teased, and Mikyung watched in amusement as Haknyeon's ears went red again.
