The Closing Hours
By Jaewon
Summary:
Han Jisung has only twelve hours left. Leukemia has taken everything, but one wish remains — a final afternoon with the girl he has quietly loved for years. Dahyun, now happily with her boyfriend Min-jun, meets him one last time, not knowing it will be goodbye. In a small restaurant, old feelings surface, apologies are whispered, and Jisung leaves with a heavy heart, knowing some loves are never meant to be returned.
---
The hospital room smelled like antiseptic and fading flowers. Jisung sat on the edge of the bed, pale fingers gripping the railing as he stared at the clock on the wall. Twelve hours. The doctor had been gentle but honest this morning — the end was coming faster than anyone expected. No more treatments. No more fighting. Just time.
He had one wish.
The nurse had helped him get dressed in his favorite black hoodie and jeans, the ones that still fit loosely after all the weight he had lost. He looked at his reflection in the small mirror and forced a smile. He didn’t want Dahyun to see him like this — broken, tired, already half-gone. But he needed to see her one more time.
He sent the text with shaking hands.
“Hey. I know it’s sudden, but can we meet? Just for a few hours. There’s something I need to say before… things get worse. The usual restaurant?”
Her reply came faster than he expected.
“Of course. I’ll be there in thirty minutes. Take care of yourself, Jisung.”
He closed his eyes, heart aching. She still cared. Even after everything. Even after she had chosen Min-jun.
The taxi ride to the small Italian restaurant they used to visit in college felt both too long and too short. Jisung watched the city pass by, remembering better days — laughing with Dahyun over cheap pasta, her stealing his fries, the way she would lean across the table and tell him her dreams of becoming a singer. Back then, he had loved her quietly, afraid to ruin their friendship. Now, with only hours left, he wished he had been braver.
She was already waiting when the taxi pulled up. Dahyun stood outside the restaurant in a simple cream sweater and jeans, hair tied back loosely, looking exactly like the girl he had fallen for years ago. When she saw him, her eyes widened with worry.
“Jisung… you look pale. Are you okay?” She stepped forward and hugged him gently, careful like she was afraid he might break.
“I’m fine,” he lied, hugging her back as tightly as his weak arms allowed. “Just wanted to see you. It’s been too long.”
They went inside and took their usual corner booth. The owner recognized them and brought over the same pasta dish they always ordered, smiling like nothing had changed. Jisung barely ate, pushing the food around his plate while Dahyun watched him with growing concern.
“Talk to me,” she said softly, reaching across the table to take his hand. “What’s going on? You said things are getting worse.”
He looked at her hand in his — small, warm, familiar. The words he had rehearsed a hundred times stuck in his throat. Instead, he smiled weakly.
“Remember when we used to come here after exams? You’d always steal my garlic bread and pretend you didn’t.”
She laughed, the sound bright but tinged with sadness. “I still do that. Min-jun complains about it all the time.”
The name landed like a quiet punch. Min-jun. Her boyfriend of two years. The guy who made her happy in ways Jisung never could. He swallowed the jealousy and forced another smile.
“He’s good for you. I’m glad you have him.”
Dahyun’s expression softened. “He is. But you’ve always been important to me too. You know that, right? Even when we drifted apart after college, I never stopped caring.”
Jisung nodded, thumb brushing over her knuckles. “I know. That’s why I wanted to see you today. There’s something I need to say before… before I can’t anymore.”
She leaned closer, eyes searching his. “What is it?”
He took a slow breath. “I’ve been in love with you since sophomore year. Not just as a friend. Really in love. I never told you because I was scared. And then you met Min-jun, and you looked so happy. I didn’t want to ruin that.”
Tears filled Dahyun’s eyes. “Jisung…”
“It’s okay,” he said quickly, squeezing her hand. “I’m not asking for anything. I just needed you to know. You made my life brighter, even from far away. Thank you for being my friend. For being you.”
She was crying now, quietly, tears slipping down her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I never saw it. If I had known—”
“You would have been kind,” he finished for her. “That’s who you are. But you’re with Min-jun now, and he makes you happy. That’s enough for me.”
Dahyun wiped her eyes, voice trembling. “I wish I could have given you more. I wish I had realized sooner. I’m sorry I never made you feel loved the way you deserved.”
Jisung smiled, weak but genuine. “You did. In your own way. Every laugh, every late-night talk, every time you chose to sit with me instead of the popular crowd. That was enough.”
They talked for a long time after that. About old memories, silly inside jokes, the dreams they had shared as broke college students. Jisung ate a few bites of pasta to make her happy. She stole his garlic bread like old times, and for a moment it almost felt normal.
When the bill came, Jisung paid despite her protests. Outside the restaurant, the evening air was cool. He turned to her, taking both her hands.
“Thank you for today,” he said. “It means more than you know.”
Dahyun hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest. “Promise me you’ll fight this. Promise you’ll call me if you need anything.”
He didn’t promise. He couldn’t. Instead he kissed the top of her head and whispered, “Take care of yourself. And be happy with Min-jun. He’s a good guy.”
She pulled back, eyes red. “I will. And you… you have to keep fighting, okay?”
He smiled one last time. “I’ll try.”
---
The taxi ride back to the hospital was silent. Jisung stared out the window, watching the city lights blur. His body felt heavier with every passing minute. The pain was coming back stronger now, but he welcomed it. It meant the end was close.
In the hospital bed that night, he lay alone, staring at the ceiling. The nurses had dimmed the lights. His phone was on the nightstand, one last message typed out but unsent.
He opened it and read it again.
*To Min-jun,*
*Thank you for making her happy. Take care of her the way she deserves. She’s the best person I’ve ever known.*
*If you’re not loved by someone else, don’t force it. Let them go with grace. That’s the only way love stays beautiful.*
*Take care of her for me.*
*Jisung*
He never sent it. Instead, he closed his eyes and whispered one final quote to the empty room, voice barely audible.
“Some loves are meant to be carried quietly, even when they hurt the most. I’m glad I got to carry hers.”
The monitors beeped steadily. Then slower. Then one long, final tone.
The doctors rushed in, but it was already too late.
At 11:47 PM, Han Jisung was pronounced dead.
In a quiet apartment across the city, Dahyun lay in bed beside Min-jun, unaware that the boy who had loved her silently for years had just taken his last breath with her name still on his lips.
Some stories don’t get closure. Some loves stay unfinished, carried only in memories and quiet heartbreaks.
And for Dahyun, the guilt would come later — when she learned the truth, when she realized the last afternoon they shared had been his final goodbye.
But for now, the world kept turning. And Jisung’s name quietly disappeared from the list, leaving only silence behind.
The End.
(Idk. - Jaewon)
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