voice | kim mingyu

sixteen

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

He had asked only hours later as the two of them lied down next to each other in his bed. It was warm and nice. She felt comforted by the feeling that he was there. The thoughts ran into her head as she blushed.

Hyein nodded quickly as Mingyu chuckled, pushing her hair away from her face so that he could see her better. He started to pat her lightly, looking at her lovingly as she smiled at him. It was heart fluttering for her. Words couldn't express how happy she was.

Her eyes quickly got heavy before Mingyu was able to continue to talk to her. Resting on his arm, he observed the girl before whispering, "Hyein-ah, I'm going to make sure you feel safe with me."

And with that, he drifted into dreamland, hoping he would meet her there too. Little did he know, she was awake and listening. It hurt her heart to know that he probably wanted to take it all in and help her hold onto the burden.

She didn't open her eyes just in case he was still awake so she only just thought to herself what she should do to stop this. Hyein didn't want him to experience the pain too. It was just too much for her own body and mentality; she didn't want to see what would happen to his if he really knew.

The night passed slowly and morning came with the warm heat seeping through the blinds. Hyein covered her eyes with her hands as she yawned and moved around until her head landed softly on Mingyu's shoulder.

With a small smirk, Mingyu knew she was awake without even needing to open his eyes to check, "You awake?" he mumbled as her heart fluttered at his hoarse morning voice. It still sounded like honey but it had an extra touch to it, something like taking a bite out of a small piece of fresh crunchy honeycomb.

Hyein didn't answer once again as Mingyu's heart seemed to drop and the empty feeling stayed there, "Hyein-ah, I want to hear your voice." he croaked softly and it seemed like he was holding back tears. She knew it hurts. She might be mute but her mother was too. Maybe her mother felt that way too.

She wanted to be able to turn around and look at him, confidently telling him that she loves him and that she would speak for him. But fear consumed her as she opened her mouth, trying to talk. It hurt. Physically and mentally. The bitter taste in her mouth made it worse as she swallowed the words and placed them in the bottom of her heart.

Mingyu opened his eyes as and sat up, Hyein's head falling softly on the palm of his head as he leaned in and kissed her on the forehead with a sweet smile, "But, Hyein-ah, I'll still love you forever because I can hear you. I can still hear you."

And she knew what he meant.