Day 91
It was a Friday, the 91^st day, that it happened.

It was our school break, and my school friends; Myungsoo, Woohyun and Sungyeol, had decided to make a trip to Jeju Island. I'd invited along Sunggyu, Dongwoo and Howon, because the more the merrier, right?

Everyone had been ready to go to the hotel pool, waiting quietly in the hallway for the last person to arrive; Sunggyu hadn't come out of his room yet.

I had knocked on his door, a quiet, “Gyu hyung?”.

There had been no reply, so I tried again, but without success. So I'd turned the handle and pushed the door. It had been surprising enough that the door had opened.

The bed was empty and unkempt; Sunggyu was awake, and I had heard the shower running and knocked on that door too. He mustn't have heard, because he didn't reply, so I had stepped inside.

He'd been in the shower cubicle with his head resting idly on the wall.

“Sunggyu?”

He'd jumped and opened his eyes, “Oh, Sungjong?”

“Everyone's ready to go. I'll tell them to go ahead to the pool first, do you want me to wait for you?”

He'd declined and said he'd be down in a minute, so the rest of us had left to the pool. Though I had been a bit worried, I'd brushed it off as a lack of sleep.

 

He'd come to the pool about half an hour later, thin singlet and colourful board shorts adorned, and a towel slung over his shoulder. And as he'd taken a seat beside me at the edge of the pool, I had questioned why he had taken so long.

He never replied, instead quietly laid his head on my shoulder and breathed; Just breathed. Unevenly and jagged.

“Hyung...” No reply.

“Hyung, are you ok? Sunggyu?” I had been getting worried, and my concern was only continuing to grow as he never replied.

He'd stood up slowly, hand on my shoulder to help steady himself. “I think, it's just a bit stuffy right now....”

Stuffy? “But hyung, we're outside. Are you feeling oka-”

He'd crumpled forward; forward, straight into the pool. He didn't come back up to the surface.

“HYUNG!!”

But before I could jump into the water, Howon and Woohyun had already swum over and pulled him out of the pool. He was lain across the cement tiles, and Sungyeol had run over to see what happened, pounding on his chest in an attempt to, well, I wasn't really sure.

But Woohyun had looked up; at me, in my eyes. I'd held my breath.

“Jong, he's not breathing.”
 

And I'd felt like my heart had stopped.

*****************
 

I'm sure of it, i'm made for oneshots. LOL

Happy readings!
--K