The white light from the small crack of the only window in the underground room woke Youngjae from his slumber, his eyelids fluttering. His eyebrows scrunched on his forehead as he raised his body from the floor. The dirty sheets that kept him warm that night fell against his lap, dust floating in the air. The basement scented of iron and rotting food, but the boy in a white t-shirt and shorts could only think of one person.

“Hana,” he whispered as his mind came back from his dreams. He dreamt of him and Hana running and laughing on the beach, their feet sinking in the soft sand below them as the sun sets. He pushed away the sheets to see a girl beside him, her legs folded near her chest, her eyes shut. Her chestnut hair fell over her face, only an oversized shirt clothing her.

“Wake up, Hana,” Youngjae shook the girl gently. Her slanted eyes opened slowly, her pupils moving towards Youngjae.

“Go,” she told him before she pulled back the sheets above her head.

“Do you want something for breakfast? Tea? I can’t remember if we have anymore sugar though, but I’ll try to scrape whatever’s left,” Youngjae asked, his eyes endearing.

“I’m not hungry.” Hana’s voice muffled through the sheets.

“Yea, me neither,” Youngjae smiled. “Just being with you keeps me alive.”

Hana did not answer. After awhile, she removed the sheets and got up, her eyes looking straight into Youngjae’s. He took up whatever energy he had left to caress Hana’s cheek with his thumb. He moved in for a kiss, but the girl looked away.

“You can’t do this anymore.”

“I can’t leave you, Hana.”

“You need to stay alive.”

“I’m fine just being with you,” Youngjae reassured.

“No you’re not.”

Hana took Youngjae’s hand, raising it high so that he can his wrist, where scars of when he placed a razor blade against it can be seen, his bones protruding against a pale skin. Just then, the door on the higher end of a staircase started thumping. Heavy fists knocked on the other side, instructing Youngjae to open the door.

“Hana, you have to hide,” Youngjae whispered frantically, fear in his eyes as he tried to pull the dirty sheets over Hana’s head. The girl pushed him away, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“It’s over, Youngjae. This is only for your own good,” she sobbed softly. Youngjae wrapped the sheets around her body. “You need to stay alive.”

“Shh,” Youngjae told her, holding her tight in his arms. “I’m here, don’t worry. Shh.”

The metal hinges flew apart as the door fell down the stairs. Figures came over to Youngjae to take him away, unraveling his grasps from the bloody corpse of his lover he had wrapped with the sheets.

“I’ll never leave you.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”