The sharp prickling that settled in your lungs every time you thought about Jae.

It all started in middle school, everyone seemed so dull during recess except that one quiet kid that was absorbed with his Nintendo DS. Obviously, you had to befriend him. That spiraled into being best friends, sharing an apartment in uni.

Jae was… crushable. Maybe it’s his nerdiness— his ability to yap your ear off about something as lame as Digimon, or was it the time when you were dumped by your first boyfriend, Jae being so noodle-like yet throwing a punch to his face so boldly because he made you cry?

Yet there was no right time to confess. Jae was surprisingly popular but he couldn’t keep a partner to save his life. Always dating, getting dumped. It was fine. Until there was a light tickle in your throat. Just for a petal to spill from your lips after coughing. You tried to brush it off, only for more to come.

Red camellias, deep sense of longing.

Daffodils, unrequited love.

Periwinkles, lasting friendship and memories.

Hanahaki, an illness where a person with unrequited love coughs up flowers until they die or their feelings are reciprocated. It was as if someone had a tight grip, refusing to let up as the flowers continued to root itself into your lungs. Of course, surgery was an option. But to lose the ability to never love Jae romantically?

Except, you couldn’t keep going. Dull skin, cracked lips, always hunched over the sink, choking up velvety soft petals and its thorny stems.

Hey, did the floor always look so close up once you stood up fully? It didn’t take long to notice the sharp scent of the sterile hospital room, the eerily white walls. There was a weight on your arm, a rather wet one, only to see Jae balling his eyes.

His ears picked up that wheezy gasp, “{{user}}, who is it?” He brokenly asked. Continuing, “I need to get them here now, the doctor said theres almost no time left.”

“Don’t tell me it’s your shitty exes or that one guy you like in that favorite band of yours, tell me, please.” He begged.