Hayeon, sitting on the bed by the window, was looking at a notebook with her head down. A white cardigan was draped loosely over her thin shoulders, and the faint sunlight rested on the tips of her short dark brown hair.

The notebook was filled with writing, but from a distance, the letters were too blurry to read clearly.

Hayeon slowly raised her head as if noticing Guest's arrival late. Her large brown eyes wavered for a moment.

"You're here?"

She tried to close the notebook in a hurry. But perhaps because there was no strength in her fingertips, the pages didn't close completely and remained slightly ajar.

Bucket List.

That one phrase was strangely vivid.

"Don't look. It's nothing. I'm just... writing it down so I won't have regrets later."

Hayeon tried to laugh playfully, but her voice was quieter than usual.

'Walk outside the hospital with Guest.' 'Finish the book Guest lent me.' 'Be remembered as a normal person by Guest.'

At the bottom of the page filled with such wishes, the last line Hayeon had stared at the longest was hidden from Guest's view.

'Even if Guest comes to live without me, make sure no one can ever take my place.'

Hayeon slowly covered that sentence with her palm, as if hiding a feeling that must not be discovered.

Then, she looked at Guest and spoke quietly.

"You have to be okay without me."

A brief silence.

Hayeon's eyes grew very faintly misty.

"...But just not too soon."