Story 8:  JinSyung:  Last Goodbye Part.2 - by: LADYERROR 

[For this JinSyung chapters, please refer to RicMin chapters.]  

              The NEXT morning, Jun Jin had seated himself in a coffee shop nearby Myeongdong area.  He sipped his coffee waiting for someone coming around this time.  Just like he guessed, that person entered the coffee shop panting, it was obvious he was running all the way here.  Jun Jin could see the man was not in a good mood.  He had ordered a cup of coffee and was about to take it here, to a place right on the corner of the shop.  Right beside him.  This person would not notice his presence there for the first few minutes.  Until he had calmed himself and looked around him, and when their eyes met each other, Jun Jin knew this person did not recognize him either.  Until he had to call him on the first place, "Shin Hye Sung?"

              The man looked at him in puzzled.  Jun Jin knew he would not recognize him at all.  But it was alright.  He would pretend to remember him eventually after one and two words.  Jun Jin told him that he needed a place to stay for tonight since all the hotels rooms were fully booked, and Hye Sung would offer him his place, which he gladly accepted the offer.  Then they would go straight to his place to drop the things, and continued their journey around the city until the evening.  Then at night, Hye Sung got a call from his boyfriend asking him to come by even though it was really late at night.  Hye Sung would say yes anyway, and he would leave him alone in the house.  He would try to persuade Hye Sung not to leave, but he was failed.  He would still go and Jun Jin would wait until midnight for him to come home.  Just after the midnight news finished broadcasting, Jun Jin knew he had to leave the house.  He knew he would not meet Hye Syung anymore, since Hye Sung WOULD NOT come home AGAIN anyway. 

             He would leave only to RETURN to the same coffee shop the next morning.

 

Same place.

Same time.

Same EVERYTHING.

Same things would go over and over again.

How could it happen?

Because Jun Jin kept on living on the SAME day.  He did not move to the NEXT day.  He made life STOP at that very day.

He would REPEAT the same day time and again.  Until Hye Sung managed to come home that night.  
 

So you see....
 

Hye Sung NEVER came home.

He could NOT come home.

He was murdered by his unknown boyfriend.  That night.

 

          Every effort Jun Jin did, resulted to NOTHING. 

          No matter how happy he made Hye Sung that day so he could forget his boyfriend, Hye Sung did still REMEMBER him.  No matter how tired Jun Jin tried to make him, so Hye Sung would not have any energy anymore to go at night later, Hye Sung still DECIDED to go.

           Jun Jin had been repeating the same day for several times, and the result was still the SAME.

 

           Hye Sung still got MURDERED.  Not murdered, according to the news.  He was SUICIDAL.  Hye Sung jumped into the Han river and his body was discovered on the shore.  According to the broadcasted news.  But Jun Jin knew very well, it was not a suicide, Hye Sung was MURDERED.  He was forced too.

 

          Tonight was the sixth time Jun Jin used his power to control the time.  But he sensed there was something different tonight.  Right after the broadcasted news informing a dead body was discovered, Jun Jin knew he failed again.  He failed to SAVE Hye Sung again.  He had no choice other than to repeat the same day all over again THE NEXT DAY.  But right before he prepared to leave Hye Sung's house, he could feel someone coming.

          Someone with the same power like he had.  Though the door was closed, Jun Jin knew he was already OUT there.  Waiting for the right moment to come inside.  Jun Jin knew he was too LATE.  He did not expect that particular man to show up this fast.  He knew he had to FACE him.

 

         Jun Jin could see the man open the door and revealed his true self.  The man was no other than the face Jun Jin saw in Hye Sung's cellphone.  Hye Sung's one and only love.  Dong Wan.

         Jun Jin could see Dong Wan’s piercing gaze into his eyes.  If it was other people who saw it, definitely they would FREEZE to dead.  But Jun Jin did not back down.  This was the very person who caused Hye Sung's DEATH.  

          "Finally I found you."  Dong Wan stepped into the house.  "Usually I was too late and miss you.  But TONIGHT I was just on time."

 

          Jun Jin did not say a thing.  He really despised the man before him.  

          "You've been using your power TOO MUCH lately, that you let your guard down and get caught by me.  Here."

          "We are not supposed to SEE each other.  You know the consequences.  It's going to be ugly for both of us."

         

          "Really?"  Dong Wan smirked.  "To you, perhaps.  But NOT to me."  He looked at Jun Jin who was only a step away from him now.  "You're the one who misused your power."

           Jun Jin could not answer him anything.  He could feel fresh blood started to stream down from his nose.  He started to feel dizzy and his legs grew weaker.

           "See.  I've TOLD you."  Dong Wan handed him a piece of handkerchief which was pushed away harshly by Jun Jin.  

            "I don't need your concern."

             Again Dong Wan smirked.  "Come on.  Don't be like this.  After all we're-"

            "Don't mention it.  You’ve changed.  I HARDLY know you anymore!"  Jun Jin wiped the blood from his nose with his hands.  He was getting dizzier now.  He almost could not see clearly.

 

            "Why are you so stubborn?  No matter how many times you repeated the time, that fool will always end up in the same way."  Dong Wan grasped Jun Jin's wrist now.  He knew Jun Jin was planning to escape.  "You only waste your power trying to save him.  Look what HAPPEN to you now."

             "I don't care.  He was my friend.  I will do EVERYTHING to save him from you."

             "Really? Your friend?"  Dong Wan filled the empty house with his evil laughter now.  "He's not a GOOD one, that's for sure.  What kind of friend he is?  He CAN'T even remember you?"

              "You know very well WHY it happens."

              "Do I?  I tell you what makes him such a 'good' friend.  He's the type of friend who RUNS in the first place every time he senses a DANGER.  He doesn't care about anyone else, he would just save himself."
 

***
 

                A group of boys were crowding on skinny boy, but not for a good cause.  They were cornering the younger one to the edge of a bridge.  They were bullying the poor kid and he obviously could not defense himself.  They were shouting at him, telling him to join them in a game of truth or dare.  And this time, they demanded the boy to jump into the river underneath the bridge.  The boy obviously refused to give in their evil request, but just to get BEATEN up by the rest.  

                "You should never join in our school in the FIRST place!! Look at YOU!! You should have joined in the girls’ school!!! Your face looks like ONE already!!"  They kept on laughing at him, mocking him, beating and kicking him at the same time.  "If you're not a girl, you should be able to fight back, but look at you!  You can just squeal just like a girl.  WORSE than a girl!!"  

                The boy had already suffered heavy injuries by now, but there was no sign the bullies would stop.  Then finally another boy came to save him.  Courageously he pushed the naughty boys and drove them away from the hopeless boy.  

               "Hye Sung-ie!! RUN!!!"  He called to the injured boy, but Hye Sung was severely wounded now.  He could not even move an inch.  

              "Look who's HERE!! Someone is trying to be a HERO!!"  One of the big boys ordered his friends to beat him instead of Hye Sung.

               Watching his friend getting beaten instead of him, Hye Sung tried to get up back on his feet.  He knew he could not be any help even if he joined the fight, so he chose to RUN from the scene and LEAVE the boy to fight for himself.

***
 

                "Have you forgotten what he'd DONE?"  Dong Wan asked Jun Jin angrily.  "It changes EVERYTHING.  He left that boy just like THAT."  His grasp on Jun Jin's wrist was tightened.  "Beaten to DEATH."

                "You're WRONG."  Jun Jin opposed him.  "It didn't change EVERYTHING.  It just changed YOU."

 

                  Dong Wan did not like that answer obviously. He pushed Jun Jin's body and pinned him onto the nearest wall.

                  "Seriously Jin-ah???  You still can FORGIVE him after all he's done??  His doing changed our LIFE!!! YOUR life!!! Your FATE!!!!"

 

                  "But it doesn't change WHO I am."

 

                  "Fine."  Dong Wan released him. "Suit yourself.  But I tell you this, no matter how many times you repeat the same day, the outcome will always be the same.  He will DIE in my hand, and there's NOTHING you can do about it."  Dong Wan gradually walked himself out.  "You're just wasting your power."

 

                  Jun Jin was motionless and could only watch Dong Wan disappeared into the darkness.  He was leaning to the wall now, and his nose was still bleeding.  But he knew he had to LEAVE.  Before the clock two, and he could not turn back the time anymore.  It would be too late to repeat the day.  So with all his might and his strength left, Jun Jin forced his legs to move. 

Before he was too late.
 

***
 

                He opened his eyes.  He was here ONCE again.  Same cafe.  Same place.  Same time.  In five minutes’ time, Hye Sung would come and sit beside his table.  He would greet him again.  He would ask for a favour.  He would go over the same day.  But he knew today was the LAST day.  His power had limit, and it was the LAW.
 

"I can take you out to see some famous places in Seoul.  Since you just come back, you surely miss a lot of new places."

Jun Jin smiled.  "I'd love to.  But today I DON'T think I'm interested to go to these places."

"Eh? Why?"  Hye Sung was surprised Jun Jin refused his offer.  "Oh, I'm sorry.  You must be very TIRED."

 

            Jun Jin shook his head.  "No, not really.  I just want to STAY with you and catch up the old times.  It's been a long time since we haven't met each other.  But of course, that’s if you don't mind."

             Hye Sung was blushing.  He didn't even understand why.  "Well, of course I don't, I'm just afraid you'll get bored listening to me."

             Jun Jin smiled.  He would not.  So they talked and talked in Hye Sung's house.  Hye Sung shared many things happen after he got transferred to the new school.  How he went to High School and eventually to College.  He told Jun Jin his first girlfriend, and boyfriends.  Some stories were happy, some were not.  How he ended up living alone, far from his divorced parents, till finally he met this MAN of his life.  The one and only - the last.  Jun Jin listened to him quietly.  He tried to memorize all the stories.  Then the expected call arrived.  Hye Sung had to go to SEE his boyfriend.

             "I'm so sorry, Jin-ah, I have to see my boyfriend, I hope you don't mind I'm leaving you alone.  Can you order something for you to eat for dinner?”

              Jun Jin shook his head.  “I’m fine.  I can do that for sure.”  He paused and looked at Hye Sung, and hugged him.  Hye Sung was surprised to be hugged all of the sudden.  “I’m sorry.”  Jun Jin whispered to his ears. 

//What?  What was he sorry for?//

“Just remember this, it was not your fault.  Let the PAST go.  Your past does not define your future.” 

         Hye Sung could feel Jun Jin tightened his embrace for a few seconds before he finally let go.  He was really confused now.  What did he mean with his words?

          But then he saw the clock, and he realized he was running late.  He returned his gaze to Jun Jin who was still standing motionlessly in front of him.  Whatever Jun Jin meant, he would question him later, but for NOW, he had to go.  He did not want to be late.  So he bid Jun Jin farewell and left him alone in his house.  Waiting for him to come home – which he might never be able to.

***

             “WHO are you???  How could you DO this??”  Hye Sung was crying on his knees.  Kim Dong Wan just took him back to his past – his dark past.  He saw himself in younger version, being beaten endlessly by the bullies, and then there was this one boy who came to save him.  He did not know how and why he could not remember that boy’s face and name, but he did remember how the boy ended up beaten because of him.  He could see the younger him running away from the scene, without even trying to help the other boy.  Hye Sung looked in HORROR at Kim Dong Wan who was glaring at him. 

“Do you want to know what HAPPEN to that boy after you left?”

Hye Sung shook his head.  He did not want to know.  He closed his eyes and ears.  He was more than terrified. 

“Go CLOSE your eyes and ears.  But I’ll make your HEART and MIND see.”

           Another vision came into Hye Sung’s mind.  He saw the bullies got angrier because Hye Sung could escape from them, so they hit and kicked the boy more furiously, until he was unconscious.  One of the bullies was panic to see the boy was NOT moving anymore.  They stopped and checked for his pulse.  The boy was not breathing either.  When they realized what they had done - out of Hye Sung’s expectation - together they lifted up the boy’s lifeless body and threw him into the water beneath the bridge.  Hye Sung gasped.  He was horrified.  The bullies KILLED that boy.  And all because of HIM, for not even trying to help.

“How could you still LIVE until now??  How could you even not remember ANYTHING??”

“I don’t know!!!! I DON’T know!!!!  I REALLY don’t!!!”  Hye Sung was screaming now.  He was honest.

Dong Wan did not want to hear his explanation.  His heart was filled by anger and vengeance.  “I tell you WHO that boy was.  He was my own BROTHER.”

Hye Sung was even more terrified now. 

“Because of you, everything has CHANGED.  My life.  HIS life.  Our lives CHANGED!!!  And that’s because of YOU!!!”

Hye Sung shook his head in fear.  “I’m sorry.  I really AM.”

           Dong Wan smirked.  “Do you honestly think a simple sorry would BRING BACK my brother’s life??  Look at you.  Living happily without any burden.  You should be grateful to my brother.  He gave his life to you.”

“I’m SORRY!!  I really am!!!”

“Sorry is not ENOUGH!!!”

“What do you want me to do then???”

            “I want you to go through the SAME thing like my brother did.  A life for a LIFE.”   Dong Wan pointed at the river under them.  “He did so MUCH for you.  He even gave you his life.  Yet, you can’t even remember his face and name, can you?”  He glared at Hye Sung.  “The bullies were RIGHT.  You’re not a MAN, you’re even WORSE than a girl.  You don’t have the COURAGE to face your fate and take responsibility for what you have done.”

              Hye Sung’s heart was hurting.  It was true, wasn’t it?  He had been running from all his troubles.  He had never been able to achieve anything special in his life.  He did not even have a friend to rely on.  When he finally believed he had found the one that he loved for, he had wronged him so much.  What else could he hope for in the future?  He only had this horrible past haunting him, and he knew it would grow into his nightmares.  Could he still live in the future with these nightmares in his life?  Gradually Hye Sung stood up and moved himself to the edge of the bridge.  He was going to climb it and jump into the rushing water underneath. 

             Dong Wan was happy to see Hye Sung FINALLY decide to end his life.  Now he could be relieved.  He had made his revenge.  For his brother.  He would watch Hye Sung END his life in the same way like his brother.

             Hye Sung was standing on the top of the rail now, looking down to water.  He knew he could never escape this anymore.  He had been running for all his life.  Dong Wan was RIGHT.  He had to take the responsibility for what had happened.  He lifted up one of his feet, when out of sudden, he remembered Jun Jin.  Somehow, Jun Jin’s last words started to echo in his mind.

//“Just remember this, it was not your fault.  Let the past go.  Your past does not define your future.”// 

Hye Sung’s eyes were already FULL with tears now.

//”Your past does not DEFINE your future.”// 

He remembered all now.  He remembered it.  He remembered that day.  That day when he ran away.

               Dong Wan was surprised to see Hye Sung slowly go down from the spot he was standing.  Hye Sung was back on the concrete safely.  He quickly distanced himself from the edge of the bridge.  He turned to see the furious Dong Wan.

               “I remember!!!  I REMEMBER now!!!!!”  He shouted at Dong Wan.  “I remember HIM!!!! He was my BEST friend!!!! He WAS!!!!!  I remember his NAME!!!! I remember his FACE!!!! I remember EVERYTHING!!!!!  And I DIDN’T run away!!!!”  He was in tears.  Now all the memory came back to him.  “I came back for him!!! I CAME BACK!!! I was running to get help, but NO ONE was there!!! No one, I SWEAR!!!! So I came back for him, but I CANNOT find him!!!!  I cannot find them ANYWHERE!!!!”

              He did.  He DID come back.  And now he understood why he could not find the boy.  He was too LATE!!  “If you want to PUNISH me, I don’t mind.  I know I DESERVE it.  But I did come back.  I came back for your brother.  I SWEAR!!!!”  He was back on his knees now.  “Now I know I was too LATE!!!  I am sorry.  I REALLY am.”  He was sobbing harder.  “And I don’t know he didn’t SURVIVE.”

***

              When Hye Sung could not find the bullies and his best friend, he cried and went home telling everything that happened to him to his parents.  Seeing their son was badly injured, his parents took him right away to a doctor and it turned out that there was a blood clog in his brain part.  Though it was not that dangerous, the clog might grow bigger and eventually could endanger his brain.  So Hye Sung was taken to the States to have this operation, and to avoid the bully problem again, he was also transferred to another school.  Hye Sung did not have a chance to say his last goodbye to his best friend who saved his life.  Yet he never thought his friend had lost his life because of him.

***

                 Jun Jin sipped his coffee.  He was reading TODAY’S newspaper.  He could see there was NO news about a dead body found nearby the Han river.  He smiled.  He DID it.  Finally, he did not FAIL.  Hye Sung was still alive then.  He WON.  The newspaper proved it.  Jun Jin was relieved.  He took another sip of his coffee, and when he put down his cup, he could see someone else had already taken the seat across his.  Dong Wan.

                 They looked into each other’s eyes without saying anything for the first few minutes.  But then Dong Wan sighed and said, “Are you happy now?  Your friend, Shin Hye Sung decided to keep his life.”

Jun Jin smiled.  “I know.  I’m glad he did.”

“Finally you did it.  You SAVED him.”

“I didn’t.”

Dong Wan was confused.  “What do you mean?  All you did was intended to save his life, right?”

“I didn’t intend to save his life.”

            Dong Wan was even more confused.  “So what for are you doing this?  Repeating the same day for seven times?  And you also put your life in a dangerous situation.  If you ever overuse your power, you know what will happen-“

“I did it to save you.  Brother.”

There was a long silence between them. 

***

            Dong Wan cried and cried, embracing the cold body in his hands.  It was already dark, he had been running around here and there trying to find his brother.  He roared his brother’s name here and there, but there was no response.  Until he saw what he was looking for.  His brother’s lifeless body on the river shore.  He called his name time and again, hoping he could revive his brother, but of course it was impossible.

             Until his voices swelled, and he saw a beautiful figure drew near.  Dong Wan looked at the woman standing before him and his dead brother.  She stood still, dressed in silk and feathery white gown, looking pitifully towards the broken-hearted boy.  Dong Wan could smell her flowery scent, and really believed she was an angel, sent to pick up his brother.  He cried and cried, begging not to take his brother away.  The sky above them was a darkening indigo, and the once-so-bright streetlights started to lose their light, as the woman spoke up and offered him a deal.  A deal that could revive his brother.  The woman told him, the only way to save his brother was to have the power of time travelling.  Dong Wan and his brother should never stop to travel in time, so his brother could escape death.  But there was one law that would bind the two of them.  They were not allowed to stay together.  Even if they happened to see each other for a short time, one of them would bear the consequences.  Dong Wan did not care.  It was his decision.  He decided to take the offer and signed the contract for life time.  The woman smiled and mumbled something.  Something in other language that Dong Wan had never heard before.  When her talk was over, his brother gradually opened his eyes back.  Dong Wan was so happy, he got his brother back.  Then the woman took his brother and asked Dong Wan to say his last goodbye.  For they were forbidden to stay together in the same place for a long time.  Dong Wan was in tears when he said his last goodbye.  He could only say, “Good bye, Jin-ah.  Remember me.  Please.”

Little that he knew, he had just made a pact with the angel of Death.

***

           “I save you from your misjudgment.”  Jun Jin continued.  He could feel his nose starting to bleed again.  But he had to hold on.  He wanted to talk with his brother for once.  “You know, you can’t always have what you want in your way.  You can’t use your power to have a revenge to everyone you think has done me wrong.  Even if they’ve done something wrong in their life, you still need to give them a second chance.  You can’t just decide on their fate.”

“I didn’t make the decision for him.  He decided to do suicide himself.”

         “Under your influence, Hyung.”  Jun Jin looked at his brother intensely now.  “Imagine if I can’t stop him, you’re going to get the consequence for misjudging Hye Sung.  The punishment can cause you your life.”

“I don’t mind, Jin-ah.”

“Well, I do.  I don’t want to lose you.”

           “What’s the difference??”  Dong Wan threw a napkin harshly towards Junjin.  “Look at you!!!  You’re having a nose bleeding again.  Every time I see you, I’ll make you suffer.  What’s the difference, Jin-ah??  Losing me or not, we can’t stay TOGETHER!!!  We can’t see each other for longer than five minutes!!!”

Jun Jin was quiet now.  He covered his nose with the napkin Dong Wan just gave him.  “You’re right, Hyung.  I’m getting tired too.  Can we just END this?”

          Dong Wan looked obviously shocked.  He instantly stood on his feet.  “That’s ridiculous!!!  I won’t STOP!!!  I will continue travelling the time to make my WISH come true.  And I don’t care what you say.  I’ll still go on.”  Having said that, Dong Wan turned himself around and was ready to leave.

“Hyung!”

He halted.

“Please, let’s put an END.”

           Dong Wan pretended he did not hear that.  Then just in a glance, he had made himself vanish.  Jun Jin put down his napkin.  His nose bleeding had stopped now.  But he could not stop his tears instead.

Please, just put an end.

***

Author's note:

Honestly, I'm mentally exhausted after writing this T_T.  Please leave me some comments to cheer me up [shamelessly asking for comments & reviews].  Hope you like the story.  And yes, @fofolla, for your happiness, I let it be a happy ending.  Good luck reading it tho!