So cold...

Krystal had tucked herself in her thin blanket, wrapping it around her body as close as she could. Her posture seemed uncomfortable and crooked, but her face glowed as if there was an angel in the room. Instead of an angel, however, stood Jessica at her door.

It was in the middle of the night, and Krystal had been sleeping after weeping over her life. Their mother was sleeping in the master room, while their father had stormed off to have a drink of alcohol and sleep at a hotel.

Jessica was the only one who couldn't sleep. She had gone out to get some fresh air, but ended up going to a random party and making it a blast for everyone who attended. When she had come home, she found out that everyone was sleeping. Although she didn't care, she had a feeling that she should just go and check up how Krystal was doing. Krystal seemed fine, but Jessica couldn't shrug off the feeling that something big was going to happen. 

Must be the cold, she thought to herself. She took off her thick coat, and threw it over Krystal's body. As she turned to leave, she thought, It's not like I need the jacket. I mean, it's not that cold out here.

She paused, then shivered slightly when she entered her own room. So cold…

Krystal woke up the next morning earlier than usual. Her eyes were red from crying too much, but that was okay. She was surprised that she wasn't cold, but then became shocked when she saw an unfamiliar jacket on her bed. The young woman bit her lips, and grabbed the thick jacket.

"This is Jessica's jacket," she whispered. "Oh shoot, I'm so dead..."

The door slammed open, and there was her furious sister. "Hey! You stole my favorite jacket!"

Krystal shook her head and nervously blinked her eyes. "N-No I didn't! I just found it h-here!"

"As if. How else would it have gone into your room? It's not like I threw my jacket in your room or something," Jessica snapped. Krystal's eyes began to water. She never remembered bringing the jacket in her room. However, even if she protested, Jessica wouldn't believe her. She never did. Krystal always had to oblige her sister's decisions and apologizing for no reason.

"I-I'm sorry," Krystal whispered. "I-I won't go to your room again…"

"You better not! This costs me a fortune!" Jessica hissed. She paused for a brief moment, then eyed on Krystal. "Were you cold?"

Krystal blinked her eyes. "What?"

"I asked if you were freezing, idiot!"

"N-No! The j-jacket was really warm," Krystal stuttered. Jessica stormed out of the room, leaving Krystal with a dumbfounded expression. When her door shut closed, Krystal scrambled up on her feet and looked out the window. It was snowing, and thick blankets of white snow covered the endless ground. When she looked out the window, she found L's house. Although she hadn't noticed before, she realized that his mom seemed more empty and independent.

I would really be your friend if you gave me the chance, Myungsoo, she thought, shaking her head.

Minho woke up extra early this morning. He had missed morning practice, but if he got there in ten minutes, he could make up his absence by cleaning up. His hopes dropped down when he saw the snow, knowing that he would not be able to ride his bike. He sighed and started running. The clouds were gloomy grey, as if it was foreshadowing a dark future.

They're just clouds. The sky will probably clear up soon, he told himself. As he raced to school, he paused and felt his pocket vibrate. Although his feet were still picking themselves up from the thick snow on the ground, he was able to run and check the message he had received.

Suddenly, a cold, dark look ran over his face. The number was unknown, but he had a hunch of who sent him the message. Another message came in right after the first one, and he shivered. Attached to the second message was a picture of him looking at his phone, which seemed to be the evidence that he was being watched.

Or, as Minho had thought of it, stalked.

"Today. I'll leave the best impression on the rest of the students, that they'll all mourn and cry for my presence. I'll keep up with my image of being the best student, and act like the perfect son in this school. Next week, when I enroll into a different school, I'll start fresh. I'll be very perfect, and erase any of my past. I promise, Mom, I promise." With that, L traced his finger on the picture of his mother and sighed. He tucked the picture in his bag, and grabbed his sweater to put away into the box. When he put his last sweater, he found a photo of him and Krystal playing together when they were younger. He cringed his back, and looked around.

Didn't I burn this with the other photos? L wondered. He stared at the old, worn out picture. Then, he looked side to side, making sure that no one was around him. Quickly, he kissed the photo gently, tucked the picture into the box and wrapped it close. 

It wasn't going to hurt him if he had just one photo of his past, would it?

I shouldn't be holding onto the past, though, he thought. At that moment, his phone rang to notify him that he had a text message. He fished out his phone, and stared at the new message. It was an unknown number, and the message was quite short. He frowned, and knew only one person who would send him a message like this: Kai.

Minho found himself on the top of the roof. School would start in twenty minutes, and the students would start coming in ten minutes. It wasn't like he had any problem with time. It was just that he didn't want to stay on the roof too long with the tanned new boy.

"Can I help you?" Minho asked. "I got your message to meet you on the roof. Where's Krystal?"

Kai leaned closer on the fence and turned to Minho. "Krystal? Oh, you mean the part where I said that Krystal was held hostage by me? Mm, sorry buddy! That was a lie! I would never hurt Krystal like that."

"Then I guess there's no reason for me to stay here," Minho responded coolly. He turned around, but Kai rushed towards him and blocked his way. Minho narrowed his eyes, and Kai only smirked. "Move it, Kai. I need to get to class--"

"Hold up! I'm not done with you yet!" Kai exclaimed. He pressed his lips, then grinned. "What is your relationship between Krystal and L?"

"With Krystal? Less than friends, more than strangers," Minho said. "With L... nothing."

Kai suddenly felt ticked off. "L is nothing?"

Minho widened his eyes. "Wait, you asked me about my relationship with L. I responded that I have no relationship with L, not that he's nothing--"

A bitter chuckle escaped out of Kai's lips. Then, with a dark glint in his eyes, Kai gave him a hardened expression. As if he was all tall and mighty, he dropped his formalities and forgot about how Minho was older than him by two years.

"Shut it," Kai cursed at him. Minho blinked his eyes, then sneered.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Respect those who are older than you! What kind of kid are you? Think you're so scary?"

Kai paused, then gave him a haunting grin. "No, I don't think I'm scary. I know that I'm scary."

Before Minho had any time to react, Kai grabbed his collars and turned him away from the entrance to the roof. He pushed Minho towards the edge of the roof with plenty of force. Minho, who noticed what Kai was about to do, quickly reacted back by grabbing onto the fence. Without the fence, Minho was sure that who wouldn't fell off of the roof. Seeing this, Kai frowned and wrapped his fingers tightly around Minho's neck. In less than a few minutes, Minho found himself unable to breathe. He choked for air, but all that did was let the oxygen escape from his mouth quicker than ever.

An overwhelming feeling filled Minho's stomach. His heart raced and his swore he felt his veins ready to pop. He could tell that his face was turning possibly purple, since the atmosphere suddenly felt even colder. He rolled his wide eyes to Kai, who only smiled confidently about his victory.

"Die, Choi Minho," Kai whispered. Minho felt his fingers slowly slip against the fence. If let go, then he could be thrown over and fall several stories high. He just had to hold on until someone from below saw him.

But no one is at school, he remembered. He closed his eyes and almost lost his grip. Is there anyone to save me?

"Kai, stop!" a female voice screeched. To the sudden noise, Kai became startled and lost his grip. When he turned around, he yelped and was pushed against the fence like Minho. Minho gasped for air, and found himself choking out blood. He fell down to his knees and rubbed his neck, feeling the marks left by Kai on his skin. When Minho looked up, he found Krystal choking Kai just like Minho.

"K-Kr--" Before Minho could call out her name, he started to cough. Hot tears poured down Krystal's cheeks as she gave Kai a look full of hatred.

"What are you doing?" she screamed. Kai only smiled and rolled his eyes.

"K-K-Kry... Krystal!" Kai breathed. Krystal shuddered, and tightened her grip around Kai's neck. 

"What happened to the little Kai who was so innocent and free? Killing L's mother and trying to choke Minho to death? Unbelievable, Kai! Unbelievable!" Krystal scolded him. "You've gone crazy! When did you become a murderer?"

In a blink of an eye, Kai grabbed ahold of Krystal's neck and tightened his grip without hesitation. Krystal gasped, and released her fingers around his neck. She tried to scratch Kai to make him stop choking her, but his madness took over him. His high-pitched laugh shocked Minho, who felt faint and dizzy. When Minho tried to approach Kai and Krystal, he fell back on his knees and tainted the snow red. 

"When... When I became.... When did I become a murderer?" Kai repeated. He smirked wickedly, and stared down at the roof. There was L, standing right below them and staring at the school. When L looked up, his cold gaze turned into a shocked expression. 

Perfect, Kai thought. He turned to Krystal, and caressed her cheek with his free hand. "I think we're ready. We've probably waited all this time for this moment."

Krystal frowned. What?

"Let's die, Krystal," Kai whispered. "Let's die right here."

Why?

"N... NO!" Minho screamed. Without waiting for time to stop, Kai pushed Krystal over the fence and fell down the roof with her. Minho scrambled back to his feet and stared down at the fence, only seeing Kai and Krystal fall from the long height. His heart raced even faster, knowing that the chance of survival was impossible.

Here L was, staring up at Krystal. What was she doing? Why was she jumping off the school building? Was she insane? 

His eyes enlarged when he spotted Kai with her. He flinched and froze. The way Kai stared at him with the devil's aurora made him stay still as if he was chained by invisible demons. L didn't understand why he wasn't moving to save her. Was he too shocked? To stun?

You really don't know how much people are precious to you when they leave by your side, L thought. He felt like an idiot just to watch her fall. Was he scared to save her? How would saving a life effect him? He just couldn't understand his situation. His heart raced quickly, and he suddenly couldn't breathe when she neared to the ground.

He pulled his hair, and opened his lips to say one word: Krystal.

On the other hand, Krystal felt as if time had slowed down just for her to realize her situation. She glanced at Kai, who was still above her. He smiled warmly, reminding her of the youthful Kai who had always smiled with an angel's grin. She shivered, and looked down. There was L, who stood and dropped his bag with a dumbfounded expression. If L just moved in to save her from the height... she might just live. But the way L was standing with a puzzled expression made Krystal know that he wasn't going to try to save her. Krystal stared back at Kai, who remained a strong and confident aurora.

My life, she thought. Wasn't supposed to be--

Minho flinched, and looked away. He breath had become shaky, and it wasn't from the choking process. His lips quivered in the cold, and when he looked down, he felt as if he saw everything. There was Krystal's bloody body on the ground, her blood sinking deep into the pure white snow. Kai, however, seemed to be unconscious. L was on the ground, a second too late to save Krystal from her death. When Minho rolled his eyes to the entrance of the school, he found students circling all over the gates. Suzy was pushing her way through, and once she saw Kai and Krystal, her face had turned quite pale. Not only that, but a familiar blond girl stood standing with a bag of money that seemed to be for school fees.

He gulped nervously, and met eyes with the one woman he couldn't dare to meet: Jessica.

"Good morning, everyone. This is your school's principal, Mrs. Im. As we all know, fellow student Krystal has left the school without leaving us a 'goodbye.' Although many have heard the suicidal incident that one of our students committed, she has left a little note to all the students here in her will. Please listen quietly as I announce the small letter she had written before her fated accident."

However, even the principal couldn't get Krystal's message across. No one knew who Krystal was, except for that she was the freak. To hear the "freak" leave a message to them sounded wasteful and burdening. It wasn't like they were being disrespectful. They just didn't want to feel guilty. 

Minho silently stared out the window, and played with the piece of paper in his hands. Although the day was bright and sunny, the atmosphere of the school felt dead and uncomfortable. Slowly, the poor boy gazed his eyes over to the piece of paper, and stopped his movements. Then, slowly, he unfolded the white sheet and stared at the messy handwriting. 

Hello everybody. I am Jung Soojung, but most of you call me Krystal. I am what this school calls "the victim of bullying." I doubt anyone understands the situation, though. For the past few years, I've been going through a lot of tough times. Many times I thought, 'I should commit suicide,' but I held myself back because I thought that there was a brighter side to laugh than this. If I have committed suicide, that probably means that the bright side wasn't visible in my eyes and that I probably lost all the hope the world has to give me. However, my story isn't the main point of this small letter I have to tell to all your students.

You see that guy being picked on over there just because he acts girly? Or that girl who everyone avoids since they think she's weird? Maybe you've seen that one guy who's been forced to run stupid errands for stupid people, or seen girls mocking another girl's beauty. To be honest, when you first approach them, they won't talk to you (maybe). You wouldn't understand the situation we go through. But you know what?

It never hurts to talk to them. It really, really never hurts to say "hi." It doesn't even hurt to step up and protect them. You might be embarrassed, teased, or humiliated, but it really never hurts to just be around the person. Really. It never hurts. You can be betrayed by friends, or lose whatever you value. But it doesn't hurt to know that you're bringing someone up from the pit of depression.

It never does.

"And now, a fellow friend of Krystal would like to leave a message," the principal said.

There was a moment of pause, and once the man spoke, Minho froze.

"Hello! This is Kai, who was saved by Krystal with a few injuries. Although I have a few broken bones, I'm perfectly fine and am awfully grateful towards Krystal, who had died to save me from the fall. In return to repay her kindness, I decided to enroll to this school and fulfill Krystal's desires."

Minho only shook his head. No... Just no.

THE END