____'s POV:

"Hurry up ____! You’re going to miss the surprise," Minho yelled from the top of the stairs.

"I’m coming, I’m coming! You better not scare me again with those silly stories about seeing an apparition. Ghosts and phantoms don’t exist!" I shouted back at him playfully.

"I promise I wont, okay?" he replied as we walked up the stairs, and onto an open terrace. As soon as I walked onto the terrace, a beautiful sunset captured my eyes at a first glance. I could only describe my feelings as aghast, amazed, or even stupefied.

"Oh my goodness. . . Minho, it’s beautiful!" I said with a smile on my face. The orange, yellow, and red display couldn’t even be described as beautiful; - it was something more than that.

"Sunsets are always beautiful," Minho replied simply while glancing down at my amazed expression. 

"I really can’t thank you enough for this perfect day Minho," I said looking up at him with a smile on my face.

"Anything for my sister; - but there is one more surprise," he said looking as excited as me while he pulled out a box from his coat pocket.

"What’s the surprise?" I asked curiously before he handed me the box. As I opened it slowly, I couldn’t help thinking what could possibly be inside. "Oh my… Is this a crystal!?!?!" I squealed as I jumped up and down happily.

"Yeah, it was pretty hard to find. The man I bought it from said it is very rare, so take good care of it," he said smiling at me as I put it on.

"Do you have one too?" I asked looking at the ground. "In fact, I do have one. It symbolizes the closeness between us. ___, I want you to take this crystal with you everywhere you go; - so that no matter where you are; - you’ll always have a part of me there too," Minho said, lifting my chin up in order to look him in the eyes. All I could do was nod as he pulled me into his tight embrace. I can clearly remember the smell of his cologne, his warm breath, and calming hug. This is the best memory I had with my brother, Minho Choi.

It was a dark, rainy night the last time I saw him. I scurried across the street under my umbrella, and watched as drunks stumbled out the bar, laughing at each other, and patting one another one the back. That slowly turned into a fight when one man patted another on the back roughly. The gang pulled out guns, and knives, but thankfully, the brawl quickly ended as soon as it began. A loud gunshot rang out. The men stumbled away as a young boy fell onto the ground. I was shivering in fear as I watched; - unable to move. Minho was in the very same bar that the men had come out of when I last called him. I grabbed my phone from my pocket, and dialed my brother’s number. As I waited outside the bar, I could hear a familiar ringtone nearby that was quiet, but not inaudible . When I think back to this moment, I often wish that the ringtone was silent, or that I was deaf. I followed the sound into an alleyway nearby. I almost screamed when I saw what was in front of me. Minho, my beloved brother, lay in front of me. Even though he looked handsome, and peaceful lying on the ground; - there was no mistaking the red stain of blood blooming slowly, but surely, on his white shirt.

"No… No… This can’t be happening…" I said whimpering quietly kneeling beside him. "You can't die. You just can't...! What about your promise to me? Remember, you said we would be there for each other! You can't do that... if you're dead…." I said as my voice cracked into soft sobs. All I could do was hold him close to me, and hope that this was all just simply a dream. As I cried into his lifeless shoulder, I couldn’t help but think about who I had left in this world. My parents have already left this world because of being diagnosed with cancer. My other relatives want nothing to do with me; - except for my widowed aunt. Minho and I moved out of her house because we were causing her problems financially. I screamed my brother’s name to the world as the rain poured down from the sky; - it was almost as if Heaven were weeping for my loss as well. Even though I could hear sirens in the distance; - I couldn’t bring myself to call for help. It was midnight on the twenty-ninth of November. I lost my brother on the first day of winter.

"No… No… This can’t be happening…" I said whimpering quietly kneeling beside him. "You can't die. You just can't...! What about your promise to me? Remember, you said we would be there for each other! You can't do that... if you're dead…." I said as my voice cracked into soft sobs. All I could do was hold him close to me, and hope that this was all just simply a dream. As I cried into his lifeless shoulder, I couldn’t help but think about who I had left in this world. My parents have already left this world because of being diagnosed with cancer. My other relatives want nothing to do with me; - except for my widowed aunt. Minho and I moved out of her house because we were causing her problems financially. I screamed my brother’s name to the world as the rain poured down from the sky; - it was almost as if Heaven were weeping for my loss as well. Even though I could hear sirens in the distance; - I couldn’t bring myself to call for help. It was midnight on the twenty-ninth of November. I lost my brother on the first day of winter.

"Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust…" the minister said quietly while standing over the coffin and scattering a pulverized pile of herbs over it. Since the herbs were crushed well; - I could smell it easily. It was exactly one month after Minho’s death, and the murder investigation was over. Everyone told me that my beloved brother was only in the wrong place, at the wrong time; - the whole incident was an accident. Everything sounded plausible, but I couldn’t help but wonder if they knew my brother and killed him; - claiming that it was all an accident. What everyone told me sounded almost true, but I just couldn’t believe it. Maybe it was all part of an intrigue, or a crafty plan to kill Minho. All I could do at the moment was watch as my brother; - the one who meant almost everything to me, was buried. Jiyoung approached me slowly, and stood next to me; - her auburn brown hair fluttering in the soft breeze. I barley noticed her until she spoke up,

"Are you okay ____?" she asked quietly. I cowered at her voice, because she spoke quietly, but suddenly. It honestly scared me; - I hadn’t heard anyone’s voice for a long time; - I stayed inside of the apartment Minho and I shared. Jiyoung reached into her pocket and took out a small pendant that was on a necklace.

"I think Minho would have liked you to have this," Jiyoung said softly, patting me on the back in the process.

"What is the point of me having it? No charm I wear will bring him back to me," I asserted coldly. Everyone tried to cover up Minho’s death with sweet words of comfort, but none of it was helping. My only brother was dead, and that was all there was to it. Jiyoung carefully slipped the necklace around my neck, and smiled sadly. I stared at the epitaph on my brothers grave; - "Here lies Minho Choi." New Years was coming and Jessica, another friend of mine, planned a party but it wouldn't be the same. I guess I used to be the life and soul of the party but everyone knew I wouldn’t be close to ever being the same again. How would you feel if you lost the last remaining thing that you held dear?

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Ten Months Later:

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Ten months went by. Spring turned into summer, then summer changed into autumn, and afterwards, winter arrived once again. During this duration of time, Minho’s friends and mine all moved in together; - bringing me with them. The house we bought was ample; - there was enough room for everyone. Not for long though, as soon as we all moved in, it was inadequate. Everyday the same things happened; - it was a never ending turmoil of events that kept repeating themselves. Key took me out shopping, Onew took me to chicken buffets, Jiyoung took me to her dance classes, and Jonghyun dragged me to carnivals, but nothing could fill the hole in my heart. Even though my friends tired themselves out just to please me, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to them; - not even a simple ‘thank you’. My friends were obviously puzzled as to why I still wasn’t over my brother’s death, but this was all before something interesting happened.

Jiyoung's POV:

"Man, I’m too tired to even eat!" Jonghyun complained as he fell on top of the couch.

"Just hang in there; - we're making ___'s favorite foods; - sushi, and soup," I said looking up from my work.

"I could eat an elephant, a dinosaur, or even all of you!" Jonghyun shouted loudly. We all knew he was joking, but we all did understand what he meant. We're all tired and exhausted. All we did these past ten months was try to make ____ happy; - of course, it wasn’t working.

"Can someone tell ____ lunch is ready? I’m a bit tied up with making the sushi," I said; - not looking up from my work.

"I’ll go get her!" Key replied cheerfully as he skipped off to ____’s room. "Thank goodness her room is close to the kitchen," Key stated happily on his way to ____’s room.

Key's POV:

I’m defiantly sure lunch will make her happy; - I made some of it for her! Once I arrived at her door, I knocked loudly, and then entered gingerly. ____’s room was completely dark; - except for the small candle that was next to her bed.

"____? Hello? Are you awake?" I whispered, "We made all of your favorite foods, and of course, I helped!" I said smiling into the darkness. "It’s not all that great, but we weren’t stingy with the meat and noodles," Suddenly; - I heard a loud ‘BANG’ from one of the corners inside of the room; - indicating that a chair had fallen down. I rushed in the direction of the sound, and in front of my eyes; - I saw ____ hanging from a scarf with her eyes closed.

"Oh God, please don’t take her away," I murmured softly before shaking ____, and untying the scarf from around her neck. "YOU GUYS! COME HELP ME PLEASE! ____’S HURT!" I yelled; - it was loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear as I hugged ____.

"What are you doing," ____ asked grimly; - her eyes fluttering open. One by one, everyone gathered inside of ____’s room, shocked by the scene they were witnessing. I quickly told them what I saw; - which lead to Onew, Jonghyun, and I leading ____ out of the room slowly; - afraid that she might collapse at any moment.

"LET ME GO! I WANT TO SEE MY BROTHER!" ____ shouted; - changing from a silent, easy-going girl, to a violent lady that was unsteady, and fickle; - this worried us all greatly.

"Let me go!" ____ shouted once again while kicking and screaming. 

"How can we let you go? You just tried to kill yourself!" Onew shouted at her.

"I thought you would be happy. There's no reason for me to live anymore; - all I do is trouble you guys," she whimpered softly.

"Don’t you know that it’s a sin to try and kill yourself?!" Jonghyun stated loudly; anger evident in his voice.

"Well this isn’t a jurisdiction where God’s rules apply to me," she mumbled defiantly while crossing her arms.

"Your wrong, it is! You’re a Christian, so you need to follow the Ten Commandments to the best of your ability!" I yelled towards her. Somehow this turned into a Religion lesson. . . During all the madness and commotion, the phone rang shrilly.

Jonghyun reached forward to answer it; - although it seemed he was scared of what the call was about. "Hello…?" he asked cautiously; - pausing to look up at his friends surrounding ____. "Hey! Don’t sound so cautious when you talk to me; - you still remember me right?" replied the voice. "Tae-Taemin!??!! Is that really you?" Jonghyun shouted into the phone, causing everyone to look at him with surprise. "Ha-ha, yes, it’s really me; - now can you please open the front door so I can come inside? It’s freezing out here," Taemin replied  while chuckling. Jonghyun swung open the door and hugged the short, orange-red headed boy waiting outside. Everyone in the room stood up, but ___; - who was still confused as to who Taemin was.

____'s POV:

"Who’s Taemin?" I asked myself quietly.

Jiyoung seemed to have heard me, and replied, "You don’t remember Taemin? He’s your brother’s best friend, and the one who helped try to save your parents from cancer," she said looking down at me questionably.

I tilted my head, still confused as to who Taemin was. "You really don’t remember him? Well, I’m sure he remembers you," Jiyoung said smiling slightly. "Taemin, do you still remember ____?" Jiyoung asked running up to him.

"Of course I do! She was the only one who managed to make me smile after my father’s death…" he said trailing off as soon as he spotted me sitting down. "_-___" he whispered. As soon as I heard his voice; - I instantly remembered him.

"Taemin, I thought you were still studying abroad!" I exclaimed as I ran into his open arms.

"Well, I had to come back sometime, sooner or later, right?" he asked with a goofy smile on his face.

"Of course," I said pulling away from him, "Did you hear about Minho already?" I asked before turning away from him; - my tears threatening to fall.

"Yes… I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner, ___," Taemin said before patting my head, "Now that I’m here though, I’ll make sure to repay you for what you did for me!" he stated with a small smile. 

I turned around to face him with my head tilted to the side once again. "You helped me get over my loss, so even though it’ll be tough, I’ll be here to back you up, and make sure you’ll be okay, and get over yours as well. I promise," Taemin said while smiling at me and then kissing my forehead gently.

For once, I saw how much this promise meant to him; - I was his savior once, and now he’ll be mine. As I stared at Taemin for awhile;  I swear  that I could see my brother smiling right behind him, and nodding his head in approval. For the first time in ten to eleven months, I actually wanted to smile; - and smile, was what I did.

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I'm back with another one-shot :D. Though I'm thinking about making this a two shot.. Tell me what you think =]. Fan girls of Minho please don't kill me x_____x;;;;;. And Yeah =].