You sat in front of your doctor as he said the words, "glioblastoma." You teared up not knowing how to take this. You hadn't been feeling good so you decided to go to the hospital to figure out what was wrong with you. The test results came back quickly and you were diagnosed with glioblastoma.
"It appears to be multicentric. Your symptoms of dizziness and nausea were due to this." Mr. Jung says.
"Is there... Is there a cure?" You ask, nervously.
"You can have surgery done. If you get the surgery you'll have a year but if you don't get it it's about three to four months."
"So, I'll die either way?"
"Yes."
You thank your doctor before getting up from your seat and putting your bag over yourself. You walk out of the office and start walking down the halls of the hospital. You were still in so much shock. As you were walking you weren't paying much attention. You ended up bumping into a man. You turn back to look at him and you immediately notice how handsome he is.
"Be careful." He says before walking off.
You head out of the hospital being careful of where you're walking. You head out to the bus stop that was nearby and sit down on the bench. When a bus pulls up and passengers get off and on the bus you don't get on. The bus eventually drives away and you stay sitting there. You were holding your phone in your hand, waiting for a call from your boyfriend. Suddenly your phone rings and you see him calling you. You take a breath before answering.
"Hey." You say.
"Are you busy? I need to talk to you about something." He says.
"Sure. What's wrong?"
"There's no easy way to say this. I'm breaking up with you."
You feel your whole body freeze. You had been with him for three years almost going into four and now he suddenly wanted to break up with you. You couldn't believe it.
"Why? Did I do something wrong-"
"I love someone else. She's also pregnant with my baby."
"So, you were cheating on me? Thanks for telling me. Have a great life, you bastard."
You angrily hang up. You let out a frustrated groan as you put your phone away. You couldn't believe that jerk. You stand up and start walking off to your workplace
***
"Yah! Do you work for fun? You went out for a meeting and came back this late?! You should've just gone straight home." Your boss yells at you.
"I'm sorry." You mumble but he still heard it.
"That's all you have to say? Why don't you just quit?"
"I wasn't feeling well... so when I was there Mr. Jung suggested I get an MRI while I was there."
"This is why I don't hire women. They claim they're feeling unwell all the time! I'm dying too, okay? God."
"You think I'm a pushover right? Don't worry, I think so too. I'm taking the day off. I know I don't have many days off, but I'll use one today!"
You walk off from your boss's desk and head over to your desk. You grab your bag and then storm out of there. Your coworkers watch as you leave. They were concerned. Your boss yelled after you but your coworkers told him to leave you alone and he did.
You sighed heavily as you started making your way back home. You grabbed your headphones out of your bag and put them on and started listening to music. As you were walking a man suddenly grabbed your bag and took off running.
"Yah! Get back here!" You shouted as you started chasing the man.
As you were chasing him everyone who you passed on the street watched but of course no one decided to help. Then again they had no idea what was going on.
"Somebody catch him!" You shouted.
He then started crossing the street so you chased him onto the street. You were so close to catching him but he was a quite fast runner. Suddenly you stop in your tracks when he falls. But it wasn't that he tripped or anything. Suddenly a big pit was in front of you. He had fallen in there. You don't remember being there before. You turn around to see a man sitting in a red car. You make eye contact with him for a moment before he drives off. Your attention then turns back to the man in the hole. He still had your bag.
"Hey, help me. My leg..." The man says, groaning in pain.
"Fine, I'll help you. Just give me my damn bag first!"
He reaches for your bag and then lifts his arm up, holding up your bag. You grab it from him and then take off running. You weren't planning on helping him anyway. You stopped running after a while. You suddenly then heard your phone start to ring. You pulled your phone out of your bag and saw that your older brother, Jisung, was calling you.
"Do not even bother asking for me to lend you money. The answer is no." You say as you answer.
"Sis! Come on! Please!" Jisung whines. "I'll pay you back next month. I promise."
"I'm going to kill you! Do you have to do this today? I'm having a bad enough day as it is. Don't you know what today is too?!"
"Huh? No? It's Wednesday. Is it your birthday?!"
"No! You idiot! It's the anniversary of mom and dad's passing."
"Oh... already?"
"I'm hanging up you idiot!"
Before Jisung can say anything else you hang up. You were even more angry. You scoffed. You couldn't believe your own brother forgot about the day your mom and dad died. You also couldn't believe he thought it was your birthday.
You knew you were closer to your house when you saw your favorite bakery. You looked through the window to see that there was one cake last. You went inside and bought that cake and finally made it home. You unlocked your front door using your key and entered inside. You closed the door behind you as you slipped off your shoes and turned on all the lights. You placed the cake box on the table in your kitchen. You then made yourself dinner. You also placed your dinner down on the table next to the cake. You had also grabbed a picture of your parents the day of their wedding.
As you started eating your food you stared at the picture of your parents. You remembered the day they passed away and the day of the funeral. Apparently your idiot brother didn't remember. After a little while you had started drinking. You didn't even finish your food. You got up from your seat, holding your bottle of alcohol and went out to your balcony.
"I hope doom comes to the world and ends it!" You shout. This was your drunk self talking.
***
You were passed out on your couch. You had drank a lot. Your eyes flutter open when you hear your doorbell. As you try to get yourself off the couch you fall onto the ground in the process. You groan as you stand up. You then make your way to your front door. It was really late so you had no idea who would be at your house this late. Before opening the door you look through the peephole to see who's outside. As you look through it you're confused when you see a view of Canada. You pull away and then rub your eyes. You then look through it again to see a view of France. You were very confused.
You slowly open your door and peak your head out. As you do so you see a man peak his head out.
"Hi." He greets you.
You then immediately recognize the man. He was the man earlier from the hospital that you bumped into.
"Why... Why are you here?" You ask.
"You called me here."
"Huh? I did? W-Who are you?"
"Doom."
He then opens your door all the way making you stumble. He then lets himself into your home. You follow him as he walks around.
"Excuse me! This is my house!"
"Yeah. Sit down. Make yourself comfortable."
He then sits down on the couch. You stand staring at him with confusion written on your face. You thought maybe you were dreaming.
"Today is my birthday."
He had seen the cake that was still sitting on the table in the kitchen. You slowly pull out your phone ready to dial for help. You then look at him.
"Oh. Happy birthday, then."
"No one's ever said that to me."
When you look back down at your phone it completely shuts off. You gasp as you try turning it back on but nothing works. You stare at him as he smiles.
"You asked for the world to end."
"Were you listening?! You knew where I lived? Were you lurking around here?"
"No. I was nowhere near here."
"What is it that you want?"
"You have no time for this. You'll die soon."
Your eyes widened. How did he know that? He then points to the calendar that was hanging up on your wall. You then look to see on the calendar that on March 2nd, it's circled.
"Hundred days to be exact. Make your wish before it's too late."
"I didn't know this was a symptom of glioblastoma...."
"What? That's not a symptom. This is real. I guess you need more time."
"What?"
"Don't worry, my birthday isn't over yet."
He then stands up and makes his way over to the front door. Before he walks out he turns around to face you. He smiles as he then walks out, closing the door behind him. You then collapsed onto the floor having no idea what just happened. You eventually get up and go to lay down on your couch.
"What in the world just happened..."
***
You hear your alarm go off. You open your eyes and shut it off, running your eyes. You yawned before sitting up on the couch. You fell asleep on the couch which you regret doing since you knew your neck was going to be hurting later. You get off the couch and get ready for work.
As you were leaving your house you decided to take the subway. As you were on your way to get on the subway you saw the man from last night. Your eyes widened as you quickly tried to walk off from him. But he saw. You stopped walking as he started talking.
"How about no pain?" He asks. "You won't be in pain while you are dying. Does that sound good?"
You roll your eyes before walking away from him. He smiles as he follows behind you. As you got on the subway you regretted using this way for transportation by seeing how crowded it was. Either way you needed to get to work. When you got on the subway you were immediately surrounded by a bunch of people. People kept pushing you and stepping on your shoes. You just wished it was empty. All of a sudden it gets really dark. When the light comes back everyone from on the subway is gone. The only other person there was him.
"You're welcome." He smiles.
When you got to work your boss wasn't there which you were glad about. You were also the only person there. You immediately got straight to work. You were a writer. You've worked at this place for almost six years now.
As your eyes are glued to your computer screen you see a coffee cup get placed in front of you. You look up to see Ji-a, one of your coworkers. You weren't that close with her but she was always someone you could talk with.
"Don't worry. The CEO isn't coming into work today. Something to do with his girlfriend." Ji-a says.
"Thank you for the coffee."
"Enjoy it. And don't you dare quit out of anger and shame, all right? If you leave us we will all suffer here."
You were able to get off work early. Which you were glad about. You started making your way home. You stopped at the crosswalk waiting for your turn to cross the street. You looked at the other side to see him standing there. When it was your turn to cross you immediately started walking as did everyone else. When you were in the middle of the street you felt a very bad pain in your head. It made you collapse onto the ground. You couldn't bear the pain. Everyone was now watching you and they were all freaking out. Cars were now making their way towards you. But you had no idea.
You finally looked up and saw. Your eyes widened. You knew even if you tried to get up you wouldn't make it. You wanted to accept your fate. You were about to close your eyes when you saw all the cars driving in the street freeze. Even the people were frozen. The only person not frozen was him. You made eye contact with him as he then started making his way over to you. When he approached you he held his hand out to you, staring down at you.
"You have a choice. Will you die here and now or will you take my hand?" He asks.
You didn't want to believe this was real. It all still felt like a dream to you. You hoped soon you would wake up. You stare up at him and hesitate to take his hand. You then reach your hand out and grab onto his. He pulls you up and suddenly the pain you once felt before is gone. He starts walking with you but you don't let go of his hand at all. Now everything around you is going in reverse. Suddenly you two were in a park. You both sit down on a bench still holding hands.
"How is this possible?" You ask.
"We just took a step back in time. Are you suspicious or just curious?"
"Neither, actually. I'm just trying to be logical."
"Forget that. You just experienced it yourself. It's real so just accept it. You're still alive aren't you?"
"And?"
"You had Canada and France outside your door. You haven't gone crazy. This is all real. Remember, I was called here by you."
You are about to take your hand away but he tightens his grip around your hand.
"Don't let go of my hand. The only reason you aren't in pain right now is because I'm holding your hand."
"How long do we need to keep holding hands for?"
"What? You don't like holding hands?"
He then uses his other hands and wraps it around your wrist. When he pulls his hand away a red bracelet is now around your wrist. He then lets go of your hand.
"This will keep you from having pain. But it needs to be charged once a day before midnight."
"Charged? How?"
"Isn't it obvious? Holding my hand."
He stands up and gives you a quick smile before Turning around. You're quick to stand up and stop him from leaving. He turns back to face you.
"What's your real name?" You ask.
"Chan. Oh, think of a wish too, Han Y/n." He says before turning around again and walking away.
"Hey, how do you know my name? Yah!"