August 13^th, 2009. You were walking home alone from school. There was a cool breeze blowing in the air, as autumn was due soon. You liked the way it felt as the breeze gently touched your skin, blowing your long, brown hair away from your face. It was almost 7 in the evening. You went home late as you stayed back to help your friend, Hyomin, with her homework. You had good results, you were friendly and nice to everyone, so many students have asked you for help with their homework. Being the nice person and social butterfly you are, you never reject them.

You were almost home when you felt a pair of hands move from the back of your waist to the front, pulled you backwards and hugged you tightly, with the familiar scent you knew since young. The person had a really warm body, and his firm and well-built arms seemed like they would never let you go. You smiled, knowing very well that the person just missed you, a lot.

‘Aren’t you sick?’ You turned around, smiling as you saw the face of the one you loved most. He replied you in a husky voice. ‘I am, but not to the point where I can’t even walk out to hug my girlfriend and show her how much I miss her.’ You smiled at his greasyness, and pinched his cheeks. ‘Just sick enough to skip school, huh.’ You chuckled as he tried to deny the fact that he was too lazy to go to school.

He put an arm over your shoulder, and the both of you walked towards your house. On the way back, he asked you about school and occasionally sniffed and coughed once or twice, as if to prove that he really was sick, not just trying to skip school. He opened the door of your house with the spare keys he had. You closed the door from behind as he the lights, and made himself comfortable on the couch.

You lived alone, and you were happy with it. You’ve moved out from your parents house a few weeks after your third stepsister was born. You were like the black sheep of your family, with your biological father, your stepmother, 2 younger sisters and 1 younger brother. You hated the fact that your mother was being replaced by another woman, and the fact that you were almost invisible in the family, only seen when you’re useful to them.

After discussing with your father, you weren’t surprised that he was actually happy to buy you a decent house, just so that him and his current family can live peacefully, without any ‘outsiders’. So there you were, in the house he bought. He gave you a great amount of money for buy your own furniture, daily needs and others. He’d still bank in money to your bank account once a month, so you were never afraid of running out of it.

After locking the door of the house, you walked into the kitchen and drank a glass of water before throwing yourself on the couch where he was. He snuggled in comfortably with you, like he did every single day after school. You knew him since you were born, and you were so used to his presence that you might even take advantage of it sometimes, thinking that he’d always be there whenever you needed him. He was, in fact, until the incident happened.

It was a week after he fell sick. He was fully recovered from his cold, and had to go to school again. He walked with you in the morning, all the way to your class before he parted ways and walked to his. ‘See you later!’ He said, smiling cheerfully. You waved goodbye and walked into the class. When school ended, you walked out to find him waiting for you outside, playing around with a coin he found on the ground.

You punched him softly on his arm, feeling his firm biceps. You looked up, to see the most beautiful face on earth, and feel the gentle, calming grip of his hand on yours as he pulled you out of school happily, telling you about what happened in his class.

The both of you were still young, yes, just 17. Many would think that you and him were just fooling around, just friends that get along really well, but it was more than that. You knew, and he knew too. The both of you weren’t mature people, but yet both knew, that you couldn’t survive without the other.

You stood beside him at the bus stop. You had a sudden craving for vanilla ice cream. ‘Mmm. I want ice creamm.’ You said to him in an aegyo voice, knowing he’d buy it for you. He chuckled and pinched your nose, saying, ‘What am I, your maid?’ In a cheerful tune to show he was joking. You gave him a peck on his cheek, pleading him with your puppy dog eyes. He knocked his knuckles on your forehead and finally agreed to go across the road to buy some for you.

You watched him as he crossed the busy road and walked to the roadside stall that selled ice cream. He ordered vanilla flavor, knowing exactly that you would want that. You smiled as you saw him holding the ice cream in his hand, some off it as he walked across the road. He looked up and smiled at you. You smiled back, but it wasn’t a smile that lasted for long. You jumped at the sound of a horn, and everything else happened all at once, leaving you lost and frightened.

The next thing you knew, he was lying on the road, a car in front of him, the driver cursing. You couldn’t believe what you saw. You forced your shaking legs to run towards him, and you kneeled down beside him, touching his face gently. He slowly opened his eyes, and his expression was filled with pain and agony no matter how much he was trying to hide it from you.

‘Yongguk, please, just hold on.. Someone called the ambulance already..’ You begged him, feeling your tears running down your cheeks, and a group of people surrounding the accident. He forcefully smiled, and whispered in his husky voice. ‘Never forget.. that I love you.’ He said, and a tear escaped from his eye as he closed them. His expression turned into a peaceful one, every part of his body stopped tensing, his lips slowly curved upwards, as he left.