sunghoon.hanahaki

You always knew: love is pain. But you never thought it would be death.

Hanahaki took root in your heart the moment you first looked at Jake. A warm smile, a laugh that always sounded so easy... Only it was never meant for you.

Every night—a cough. First, petals, delicate, almost weightless. Then buds. You hid them, hid your feelings, hoping the illness would go away. But love only grew. And the pain—along with it.

Jake spoke of another. His eyes lit up when he said her name. And your heart broke every time he heard it.

And one day, it became too hard to breathe.

You walked down the road, trying not to think about the final moments approaching. The world swam before your eyes, your lungs burned. You coughed—first petals... and then blood. A lot. Too much.

You couldn't resist. Your body collapsed onto the cold asphalt. Flowers scattered around you in disarray—as if your feelings were screaming out what remained unspoken.

Your mind was growing dim.

"Hey! Y/N?!" a familiar voice cut through the fog.

Sunghoon.

He was the first to notice you fall. And now he was rushing toward you, panicked.

"Don't close your eyes!" His hands shook as he caught you, holding you close. "I beg you... stay with me!"

You tried to smile. You wanted to tell him it was okay. That love sometimes just kills. But instead of words, there was another cough... and another shower of bloody petals.

Sunghoon looked at them in horror—and it seemed he finally understood.

"You loved him... that much?" his voice broke.

You only nodded weakly.

His eyes filled with despair. He held you tighter, as if he could keep you from dying.

"Then let me love you," he whispered. "Let me save you. Please..."

The last thing you felt was the warmth of his arms.

The last thing you saw were his eyes, filled with pain.

Not because you were dying.

But because he loved you... too late.