Time || YeonGyu AU✔

chapter 51

Alternate Reality #16, 2025

          The first thing he felt when he came to his senses was pain, a lot of it. He could feel it in every part of his body as if it had been set on fire and there was no escape from the burning sensation. His vision blurred slightly at the edges but after blinking once more he managed to see that the room where he laid down was a hospital ward.

          His eyes drifted to the side only to find Beomgyu sitting at his bed and staring down at him with warm and loving eyes.

          Yeonjun's eyes started to sting at once and he closed them in pain, feeling the younger gently stroke his cheek and hold his hand in an attempt to soothe him. The older slowly opened his eyes again and Beomgyu smiled sadly.

          "How are you doing?", asked the younger, voice filled with love.

          "Tired", admitted Yeonjun in a broken voice, his mouth too dry for any further words to come out.

          The younger leaned forward and kissed his temple before pressing a soft kiss onto his lips and murmuring, "You can go back to sleep if you want. I'll be here"

          But Yeonjun shook his head as tears rolled down his cheeks; he couldn't just close his eyes again after everything that had happened. It felt like his world had turned completely dark in a single day. He had lost his closest friend, his soulmate, and his life. How could he ever recover?

          "Hyung, please don't cry", Beomgyu's eyes were teary as well, his expression worried and hurt. "We will get through this together", added the younger.

          Yeonjun put his palm against his cheek and shook his head, his facial muscles contorted in pain as he tried hard to speak, despite his lack of air intake. "I can't", he croaked. "Not right now"

           Beomgyu sighed sadly and wiped his own tears away with his sleeve. "I'm sorry", he whispered in a broken tone. He moved closer to Yeonjun's head and pressed a light kiss against his forehead, trying to give comfort but Yeonjun couldn't stop crying, nor could he calm himself enough to get some much-needed rest.

          "Hyung...", Beomgyu mumbled in a wistful voice, lowering his gaze to stare at their intertwined hands which warmed his heart greatly, but still couldn't manage to erase sadness and pain from it, "Can you tell me what's wrong with you?"

          Yeonjun's lips trembled as he swallowed back the lump in his throat. A small part of him told him to not say anything at all, to keep quiet and ignore the question as if nothing had happened. Yet another part of him knew he wouldn't be able to keep hiding it from Beomgyu anymore. His lover had the right to know the truth.

          "Blood cancer...", he squeaked out in between his choked breaths before closing his eyes tightly in pain when he heard Beomgyu gasp loudly next to him. "It...It's metastasized throughout my entire body... My whole body is infected..."

          Beomgyu didn't dare say anything else at first as he listened to Yeonjun's raspy, hoarse breathing, knowing exactly how painful it must have been for the other boy to talk about all of this. His mind was going haywire as he tried desperately to comprehend what he had just heard. Yeonjun was dying. His boyfriend, the most important person in his life was suffering and Beomgyu couldn't do anything about it.

          He was going to lose him to the same disease which killed his father... Just how cruel and ironic life could be?

          Beomgyu was scared. This disease was way worse than what he had imagined, way scarier and more deadly than even what he had seen on television or read in books. What was he supposed to do now? How could he possibly help Yeonjun?