The doctor's words felt like a knife twisting in Min Ju's chest.
"He needs an immediate heart transplant, or he might not survive."
In that instant, Min Ju's world shattered. It felt as if the ground beneath her had disappeared, leaving her spiraling into a dark abyss. She staggered back, gripping the edge of the hospital bench, her breaths coming out in broken, shallow gasps.
Haeoseok's parents clung to each other, their wrinkled hands trembling, their faces pale with disbelief. Min Ju's own parents wrapped their arms around her, trying to steady her, but their words were just empty whispers against the deafening roar in her mind.
But she refused to crumble. Wiping her tears, she grabbed her phone, her fingers shaking so violently that it took her three tries to dial the number of the donor she had painstakingly arranged for.
"Please," she whispered into the receiver, her voice cracking, "the heart... the one you promised... Haeoseok... he needs it now."
The line crackled, each second stretching into a small eternity.
"I'm so sorry," the voice on the other end replied, sounding both distant and indifferent. "There was an emergency... we gave the heart to someone else."
Min Ju's phone slipped from her numb fingers, clattering loudly against the cold hospital tiles. The sound echoed through the sterile hallway, a harsh reminder of the cruel reality she was now trapped in.
Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the floor, her body wracked with uncontrollable sobs. She clutched her chest, her heart feeling like it was being ripped apart. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that for a moment, she couldn't breathe.
"No... no... this can't be happening," she whispered, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her brother rushed to her side, his arms wrapping around her trembling frame, but even his comforting embrace felt hollow, powerless against the weight of her despair.
The doctor returned, his face clouded with regret.
"There are no other donors available now," he said quietly, his eyes avoiding hers. "It's... it's almost impossible to save him."
Min Ju's world turned silent. She stared at the doctor, her mind refusing to accept his words. Her vision blurred, her breaths shallow as the reality of the situation crashed down on her, suffocating her with its merciless finality.
But then, through the haze of her grief, a twisted, desperate resolve took root in her heart.
That night, she approached the doctor in secret, her face a mask of calm despite the storm raging inside her.
"I can't bear the thought of living in a world without him," she whispered, her eyes hollow yet filled with an unshakable resolve. "It's better for me to die than to live without him. We have the same blood type. Use my heart. He is more precious than my life."
The doctor's eyes widened in shock, his face draining of color.
"Min Ju, you can't be serious - "
"Promise me," she interrupted, her voice firm, her eyes piercing, "promise me you won't make him feel guilty. Let him live freely, without the burden of my choice. Don't let him know."Before the doctor could protest, she turned to her parents, pulling them into a tight embrace.
"I love you," she whispered into her mother's shoulder, her tears soaking into her mother's blouse. "Thank you for everything. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry."
She turned to Haeoseok's parents, bowing deeply, her tears dripping onto the cold, sterile floor.
"Take care of him for me," she choked out, her voice trembling with grief. "Please... let him be happy."
Ignoring their desperate pleas and cries, she straightened, her body moving with a mechanical precision as she walked towards the operating room. The cold, harsh lights reflected off the polished floor, each step echoing like a heartbeat - a countdown to the end.
As the doors swung shut behind her, the sound of her family's anguished sobs echoed through the sterile hallways, a haunting reminder of the price of true love.