All of our attention was caught when a man standing at the front of the church began to speak. I am guessing by this point that he was the preacher.

“Choi Minho was a phenomenal child. He did well in school, treated his family with respect, and always made sure to have fun with his four best friends. He loved soccer and to go to the park. He had so much more to give in his life, but it was decided that it was his time to go. Even though it is hard, Minho is in a better place now; watching down on each of you.”

The four of us exchanged glances, tears streaming down our cheeks. 

“Would anyone like to come up and say a few words?”

Onew raised his hand before standing from the bench and making his way to the front of the room. Sulking his way to the stands, Onew looked at nothing but the outdated carpet. He reached the stand after what seemed like hours.

“My name is Lee Jinki, but most people just call me Onew. I am one of Minho’s best friends. We have been friends since the day me and my family moved to Seoul. He was the first person to welcome me into his heart and arms. I will always remember the day that Minho asked me to stay at his house overnight. I had never done it before so I was nervous, but Minho did a great job at making me feel comforted. We stayed up all night watching movies and eating junk food. It was one of the best moments of my life. I will always cherish the moments that we spent together. I love you, Minho-ah.”

Onew bowed to the preacher and walked back to his seat. Jonghyun gave my hand a slight squeeze before standing and walking to the podium.

“My name is Kim Jonghyun. I am also one of Minho’s best friends. Choi Minho. What a great dongsaeng. He was always there for us no matter what. The first time I had ever met Minho was at the park across the street from our neighborhood. I never had many friends when I was younger, but Minho was so nice and eager to get to know me. We decided to play a game of soccer and even though, he had won the game, I felt like I had won something so much more. You are the best, Choi Minho. I love you.”

Next, it was my turn. I didn’t know where to begin. How do you even begin to talk about a lifetime of memories in a short amount of time? How do you begin to talk about a friendship that is beyond words?

Making my way up to the podium located at the front of the aisle of the church that we grew up attending, I could hear the cries and sobs of all of my friends and family members. I still cannot believe that he was really gone, that he was never going to walk a step on this earth again.  Death was always hard no matter if you were close to the person or not, because even if you weren’t you knew that somewhere out there, someone feels as if they have just lost their whole world. That is exactly how I felt as I passed each crying face, like I had lost my whole world.

 “My name is Kim Kibum. I am one of Minho’s best friends as well. Me and Minho grew up together. We were inseparable. We spent every minute of every day together. I can stand here and talk about my favorite memory with Minho or my favorite moment with Minho, but I can’t. I can’t pick a favorite because every memory is important and special to me in its own way.” I stopped for a breath. Trying to fight back the tears, trying to escape my eyes. I pushed on.

“All Minho wanted in his life was to be more than just a memory, but what he didn’t realize was that he was always more than that. He was part of us; our heart, minds and souls. We will forever remember the day that he came into our lives and always regret the day that he left it. I love you so much, Minho-ah.”

I left the podium, staring at the ground, until I looked up to see that someone had passed me. I turned around to see Taemin walking the short amount of stairs onto the stage. He looked down at the floor, staring at the carpet that was obviously over fifty years old. Taemin took a few deep breaths, sending shudders through his whole body. He began to speak.

“My name is Lee Taemin. I was one of Minho’s best friend and his boyfriend. Minho-hyung was the love of my life. He was my knight in shining armor. He was my northern star, pointing me in the right direction. He was my everything. He picked me up whenever I would fall. He held me when I would cry, but now-“ Taemin stopped, gasping as the sobs began to take over his body. “But now, I don’t know what to do. How do you live with half of a heart, half a soul? How do I go on each day not knowing which way to go? Minho-hyung, I am going to miss you more than anything in this world, but I will keep your heart alive inside of mine. You will always be more than a memory.”