Time moved like molasses. Slow. Sticky. Painful.

Ha-jun's breathing was no longer quiet—it rattled through machines, thin and broken.

Min-kyu sat beside him every day, holding his hand, pretending the machines weren't there.

He talked. About the weather. About stupid TV shows. About dreams. About forever.

Then, one morning, Ha-jun opened his eyes with effort. His voice was barely a whisper.

“Min-kyu… can you get me that strawberry milk from the corner store? The one I like…”

Min-kyu lit up. Like a child promised a gift.

“Yes! Of course. Wait for me, okay? I’ll be back super fast!”

He ran. He searched. He found it. The pink bottle. The little smiley cow on the label.

He held it close, heart beating with happiness. Ha-jun wanted something. Ha-jun was awake.

When he came back… the hallway was too quiet.

Then he heard the beeping. The rushing. The shouts.

“Clear! Again—charge to 300!”

Min-kyu froze, the bottle fell from his hand. It rolled, unnoticed, to the wall.

He pushed through the nurses, eyes locked on Ha-jun's body. The one not moving.

“No. No, no, no—Ha-jun! Please! Please don’t leave me!”

The line went flat. A nurse whispered, “Time of death…”

They pulled a white sheet over Ha-jun’s face.

Min-kyu broke. Not like glass—like soul.

“No. No, please don’t take him. He said he’d be okay. He said—he promised—”

He collapsed next to the bed, hands gripping the frame like it could hold the world together.

The doctor whispered, “Let him be alone with him… just a little while.”

The nurses left. Silence returned. Heavy. Brutal.

Min-kyu sat beside Ha-jun. Hands trembling. Eyes red. He pulled the sheet back.

Ha-jun’s face was peaceful. Too peaceful.

Min-kyu broke into sobs. Voice trembling.

“Why… why did you leave me?”

“We were supposed to get better. You were supposed to get better…”

“You said you wanted a garden. Remember? A little house in the countryside… you said you'd grow tomatoes. And sunflowers.”

“We never even went. We didn’t do anything we said we would…”

“Why… why did you lie?”

He held Ha-jun's cold hand. His tears dripping onto the sheets.

“You said forever. I believed you.”