April 12^th, 1912. Choi Minho.

“So, this is it, guys…” I said slowly, looking at the three males who were sitting around the little café table with me. Outside I could hear people cheering, laughing and calling out their goodbyes. The Titanic would be leaving in about ten minutes, and in front of me were two third class tickets that could get me on the ship. I looked at Jinki, who was failing horribly at keeping his poker face. I was pretty good at it, though. I looked at my cards and swallowed hard. “Jinki?” I asked. He shook his head and spread his cards on the table.

“Nothing.” He grunted embarrassed. I looked up to the other player, Sven. He also shook his head and started swearing.

“God, I can’t believe you entered our tickets in this ing gamble!”

“It’ll be alright, Sven.” The guy next to him smirked, as he showed us his cards.

“Ah… Two pairs.” I confirmed. He smiled darkly at me, then pointed out his finger to my cards. I sighed.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Jinki...” I said as I lay down my cards. “But you’ll have to be running to make it to the ship, Full house!” Jinki jumped off his chair screamed joyfully.

“I’m going to America!” he yelled at me.

“No,” the bartender said. “Titanic’s going to America. In five minutes.” I looked at the big clock and confirmed his information. As quickly as possible, Jinki started to shove all the coins in his pockets. I grabbed the tickets and waved at the guys who just lost them.

“Thanks guys!” I smiled, then run of, followed by Jinki. We ran towards the ship, pushing people aside. I felt like pure royalty as I ran to the entrance.

“Have you been through the health inspection?” the crewmember asked. I frowned.

“Of course, good sir. Do we look like we have lice? We’re passengers, after all.” He nodded, then let us pass. We started running again, trying to find our room. As soon as we did, I greeted the other two guys who were in there, guessing they’d be our roommates. Jinki crawled on the top part of the bed, claiming it as his. I tickled him, yelling that the top bed was mine. I gave in anyway, leaving him on the bed with a satisfied smile on his face. Since I had barely any luggage, I dropped my bag on the lower bed and decided to go to the deck. I arrived there just in time to wave happily at everyone standing there, waving at their beloved ones. I played along, wondering what would happen to me once we got to America.

I loved my life. I loved waking up without knowing what would happen to me, every day. Just a day before entering the Titanic me and Jinki were traveling around, sleeping underneath bridges. I sighed loudly as I watched some rich people pass by. Among them were two males, who walked with their arms hooked into each other’s. They were both quite handsome, I noticed, but one of them had something special. While the other one seemed happy, with a proud smile on his face, the other one seemed… sad. That wasn’t the right word. The look in his eyes told me that he felt like he was walking directly to his cause of death. He looked horrified. I stared at the couple without realizing it until Jinki slammed his hand on my right shoulder and laughed.

“Spying on the rich guys, are ya?” he said. I shook my head and the couple got out of side.

“I was just thinking to myself that even though they own more a person than my whole family together, they’re still never satisfied.” Jinki raised his shoulders.

“Maybe they have their reasons? Who are we to judge?”

“That’s my point. We’re no one, really. We don’t mean anything to this world.”

“That, my friend, is your opinion. I actually do believe that we have our meanings and reasons to live. Like you and me, today. We didn’t win those tickets for no reason, did we?” I smirked.

“Nope. We didn’t.” Jinki smiled satisfied. “We won because I could see their cards in the reflection of the windows.” His smile faded, then came back slightly more evil-looking.

“You cheating bastard!” He laughed, as he started chasing me.

“I’m sure there was a reason that the reflection was there.” I yelled playfully. “Besides, this cheating bastard got you aboard, so be thankful!”

Night fell, and after dinner I went out for a smoke. On my way there, I passed a few rich looking guys who were discussing something I knew by the looks on their faces was boring. I sighed, rolled my eyes and made my way to the deck of the ship. As I lied down on one of the benches to look at the stars, I grabbed my lighter and started messing around with it. The little flame barely survived every time I made it appear, the salty wind was too strong. Jinki was still at the dining room. Well, dining room. It was more like a café, and right after everyone finished dinner, it turned into the place to be if you were looking for a party. I wasn’t that much of a party animal myself, but Jinki met some German girl who seemed quite interested. I decided to use it as an excuse to get some fresh air. The lighter bored me already, and I put it back in my pocket. The rich guys I was today popped into my mind. I smiled bitterly. Arrogant s. Never satisfied with anything.

The sound of running footsteps made me sit up straight. I turned my head to look and see if it were Jinki, maybe looking for me. It wasn’t. I sighed and just as I was moving back into my earlier position, I recognized the fancy clothes and perfectly cut hair. It was that horrified boy I saw earlier. I watched him curiously as he neared the back of the both and grabbed the railing. My heart skipped a beat when I started climbing over it. What was he thinking? I quickly got closer to him and heard him murmur something. ‘I’m sorry’ was all I could hear, with the wind messing with my ears.

“You don’t have to feel sorry.” I heard myself say without thinking. I must have scared him, obviously. I tried to approach him, but he stopped me.

“Don’t come any closer!” He yelled.

“Don’t do it, then.” I said. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out to get you out of whatever your situation may be, without killing yourself.” I thought of Jinki, and how my words could’ve been his.

“How can you be so sure?” the boy asked. I ignored his question.

“I’m sure you’re smart enough to think of something.”

“I hope you’re smart enough to listen when I tell you to stand back!” The arrogance in his voice was fake, I could tell. But still, I felt insulted. I was just trying to help.

“I can’t really leave you here like this right now, can I?” I asked calmly. I raised my hands as I approached him. He didn’t tell me to stop.

“Why not?” he asked instead. His head turned around, and I could see him now. The horrified look in his eyes was still there, but there was something else. Tears, anger, and somehow… Beauty.  I shook the thought off of me and replied to his question.

“I’m involved now. If you jump, I’ll have to jump after you. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I’d watch someone die without trying to do something about it. So I’d have to.” I was lying, but something told me he believed me.

“That’s ridiculous.” He muttered. I took another step towards him, and I could see his eyes looking at me. When his gaze met mine, I chuckled.

“With all the respect, sir.” I managed. “But I’m not the one hanging off the back of a ship.” I sighed as I started to take off my jacket, to add some drama.

“What are you doing?” he asked. I held back a smile. I had him, there’s no way he’d jump.

“If my life ends like this, I want it to end fast. It will be painful. The water is cold.” I said with a serious look on my face. “Like, extremely cold.” I could tell he was scared.

“How cold, exactly?” he asked.

“Freezing, probably.” I went on, “maybe a couple degrees over. I’ve felt it before. It’s like knives, stabbing you all over your body. It’s not the best feeling in the world.” His lips parted slightly. It was to dark to tell, but I just knew they were a soft pink colour. They had to be. “Actually, I can name a hundred things that feel better.” Like kissing those lips, I thought to myself. “So I’m kind of hoping that you’ll change your mind, and safe me here.” His face changed. He was hesitating. Finally, he gave in. He slowly turned around, pressing his chest against the railing. I watched him starting to climb back over the railing. A sudden scream filled the air as he slipped and fell. I threw myself at him and grabbed his wrist. The sudden weight made it’s impact on me, and I felt that I couldn’t pull him over all by myself.

“Hold on!” I yelled. “I’ve got you!”

“Help me!” he screamed. “Please, help me!” I held him with all my strength.

“Listen to me!” I shouted. “You have to pull yourself up. I’ve got you, I won’t let go, just pull!” His other hand grabbed the railing and he started to pull himself up. As soon as I was able to do so I pulled him over the railing. The sudden move made me fell over, and he landed right on top of me.

His body felt warm against mine, and his tears made his lips shine. I looked him in the eyes for a second, then he stood up straight and wiped away his tears. I hadn’t noticed the crew members approaching us until then. The other rich guy from earlier was with them. They yelled at each other, but the words didn’t make it to my blank mind. He was so close… I woke up from my dreamy state when two crew members started to pull my arms, cuffing my hands together with cold, metal handcuffs.

“It was an accident!” I heard the boy say. “No, no wait! Don’t hurt him!” His voice squeaked a bit. My heart jumped when he looked at me. “He saved me! I was trying to look at the back of the ship and… I slipped! Yes. I slipped! And mister…” It took me a while to realise that he didn’t know my name.

“Choi.” I said. “Choi Minho.” He smiled at me awkwardly and continued.

“Yes! Mister Choi saved me! If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve gone overboard!” The rich guy looked at him sceptically, then turned to look at me.

“Was that what happened?” The boy looked at me with begging puppy like eyes.

“Yeah, pretty much.” I said. The boy seemed to relax a bit when I confirmed his story.

“Well, the boy’s a hero, then!” said one of the crew members, pointing at me. I raised my shoulders and looked at the boy, trying to figure out why he’d lie about this. He shook his head almost unnoticeable and went to stand by the rich guy’s side. The rich guy put his arm around him, kissed his for head and looked at me with a mad look in his eyes. Then he turned and they walked away.

“Eh, mister Kim?” one of the crewmembers said. The rich guy turned. Kim. So that was his name. I gritted my teeth. “Perhaps a little something for the boy?” I rubbed my wrists painfully after the other two released me.

“Yes, right.” Kim said. “He could maybe… Join us for dinner, tomorrow?” Would that be alright, mister Choi?” He spit out my name and looked at me like he owned me.

“Should be fine.” I replied, willing to take his silent challenge. At least it would give me the opportunity to get an explanation from the boy. “See you tomorrow, then.” I looked at the boy, then walked away carrying my shoes and my jacket. I silently hoped that the Kim guy would notice. That would show him.

“Hey buddy, where have you been?” Jinki asked when I entered the room. The other two guys were not there yet, probably still partying. I sighed and sat down on my bed. Jinki immediately crawled out of his own bed and sat down next to me.

“That rich guy you caught me spying on… He tried to kill himself. Well I’m sure he wouldn’t have done it, but still… He was hanging off the back of the ship.” Jinki’s eyes widened with surprise. I sighed. “I couldn’t just let him hang there, you know. So I talked him out of it. Now his little rich boyfriend is all mad at me because he accidentally fell on top of me when I pulled him over the railing.”

“Eh, Okay. So one rich is mad at you. So what?”

“No, it’s not that. I believe he was the reason the boy was so desperate.” I muttered.

“And I repeat… So what? Why would you care?”

“I don’t know. God, you annoy me.” I slammed my pillow to his face and lied down, kicking him off of my bed. He stood straight with a painful look on his face.

“Oh I’m sorry,” I said sarcastically, "did I hurt your ? I’m sure your German girlfriend is willing to take care of that.”

“Somebody sounds jealous” Jinki teased. I repeated his words in a nagging voice and buried my face in my pillow. Oh, I was jealous all right, but certainly not of him.