The Call

Jhaesun was at home when he received a call from Yonghwas number

answering the phone as cheerfully as ever always happy to hear from his musician friend in Zypher

"hi Yonghwa how are you what's up?" he asked Yonghwa was sobbing on the phone line wailing heartbrokenly

Jhaesun nearly dropped the phone in shock

"Yonghwa are you ok? what's wrong?" Jhaesun asked alarmed "Yonghwa please tell me what's the matter? did you get hurt? did someone beat you up? Yonghwa!"

he was scared by Yonghwas sobs came down the line

something was really wrong he didn't know what to do

"Yonghwa!" he breathed softly "please tell me what's wrong so I can help!"

"you cant...sobs .. help..sob" Yonghwa cried "my mom.. sob" he was choking on his words

"something bad happned to your mom?" jhaesun asked softly

"she's dead!" Yonghwa cried

these words Yonghwa's crying made jhaesun heart suddenly drop

"oh noo!" he breathed "no, no, nooo" he ran a hand through his hair helplessly

"accident ...sobs..someone..sobs ...hit her...sobs.... with a car!" Yonghwa struggled to get the words out

jhaesun felt his heart painfully break for him heavy it was that dark sinking feeling it made jhaesun close his eyes tightly and sink unto the floor holding the phone to his ear

"I am so sorry Yonghwa" he replied feeling his own pain for his friend

"I am so sorry" he repeated

he could only say he was sorry and hear Yonghwa's devasted broken crying on the phone

"I wish I could hug you and comfort you I wish I could do something," jhaesun said feeling his own tears how utterly awful to happen to his friend

he curled up on the floor he didn't know what to say to him to comfort him he was crying uncontrollably

he began to hum softly to him it was Jhaesuns own made-up song he had made

to comfort himself when he missed his own mom

who had divorced his dad and left when he was younger eight or nine years old it had been painful for jhaesun back then he had really sad too but at least his mom was not gone forever

he knew that death was not the same thing as a mom who was still alive but not with you it was permanent he would never see his mom again in this world it would hurt more

he hummed softly sitting on the floor his arms around his knees as he rocked side to side

memories of his moms smile his mom's smell his mom's hugs anything he could think of adding to the melody to make it longer to comfort him

a sweet and gentle and warm melody that would feel like a blanket hugging him was what jhaesun was aiming for

Yonghwas sobs slowly eased as Jhaesuns soft voice somehow soothed him the soft melody, jhaesun was making

it wasn't anything he had ever heard before but it made him feel warm and comforted

Jhaesun's voice was so pretty when he sang gently like this

Yonghwas curled himself around a pillow and began to hum along

with Jhaesun's made-up song together the two continued humming until at some point Yonghwa drifted off to sleep

the melody of the song accompanied him in his dreams he guessed it really did work because he dreamed about his mom

jhaesun held unto the phone softly humming to him even while knowing Yonghwa had fallen asleep

he could hear his soft snores coming down the line

he wished he could be there to hold him and comfort him but there was nothing he could do nothing he could say

to make it alright again he could just be there for him in this way from far away with his own aching heart feeling sorrow for his friend

Yonghwa woke up in the evening the phone was still on

"Jhaesun?" he asked softly to the phone he could hear someone breathing on the other side it seemed jhaesun had also fallen asleep at some point

Yonghwa lay there listening to his breathing somehow he felt a little less lonely

he had cried himself out till he fell asleep and he couldn't cry anymore

now he felt grateful for jhaesun just being next to him in this way

his dad knocked on the bedroom door Yonghwa didn't answer him he didn't know what to say to his dad

he was crying too ever since this morning his dad had been getting ready for work and Yonghwa

to go to school his mother had already left for her job as a nurse at the hospital she worked early hours

the doorbell had rung a policeman stood on the porch to tell them about the accident his mother

had been hit by another driver on her way to work

they had rushed to the hospital his mother was well-loved at her workplace she was a wonderful nurse and a nice person

the doctors and tried hardest to save her she was one of their own but it was too late she died in the very emergency room

she dedicated her life to working in helping sick and injured patients all her workmates were very sad

some of the nurses had tried to comfort Yonghwa when he heard the news and understood he was never going to see his mother again

but their kind words of condolences didn't help he had wailed brokenly in his father's arms utterly devastated he felt as if his heart had been ripped to pieces

it hurt a lot he could not bear to see his fathers gaze his eyes filled with tears and pain it only made him even sadder

he didn't think he would ever be happy again he quietly got up and crept to his closet taking out a small photo album

that his mother had given him

it had some family photos in it she told him he could keep those photos for himself

he crept back to bed curling up with the phone to his ear he slowly looked at the photos of his mom they were all he had left now

he felt tears coming down again he tried to rub them away but every time he turned a new page in the album to look at his mom he would cry more

jhaesun woke up to soft crying realizing he had fallen asleep the sun was about to go down in the evening

"Yonghwa?" he said softly

"Jhaesun" he sniffled

he knew better to ask him if he was okay because he was totally not his mother had just died

"did you sleep ok?" Jhaesun asked him softly

"I did a little bit thank you" yonghwa replied "the song really helped"

"well thats good," Jhaesun said relieved at least he did help comfort him a little bit

"I have pictures of my mom," Yonghwa said "she had given me some"

"thats good you can still look at her pictures and remember her" jhaesun replied gently

"it makes me sad when I look at her pictures I can't seem to stop crying everything feels painful" yonghwa complained "it hurts so much"

"I know it hurts when my mom left I cried a lot too it's ok I'm right here for you," jhaesun said "I won't hang up ok ill keep you company until you feel better"

"thank you jhaesun" Yonghwa replied "for helping me"

jhaesun replied "I want to be here for you Yonghwa if you want to cry a lot I won't let you cry alone thats worse, when no one is with you it hurts more, I'll stay with you, thats what friends do, no need to thank me"

"Can I listen to your song again?" Yonghwa asked "will you sing it for me again? it's nice"

"yes" jhaesun replied "I can"

he began to hum softly again and Yonghwa was humming with him

somehow the melody sounded nicer than before with Yonghwa adding to it

even though it was a made-up melody that had no direction

but it had the ability to comfort Yonghwa at this terrible time while he w grieving for the most important person to him his mom

over the next few days, Yonghwa called jhaesun frequently for comfort and company