The first time I saw him walk into the classroom I didn't suspect anything, he was just a normal guy. How was I supposed to know that Daehyun would mean so much to me? He sat down next to me and stared at me with his beautiful warm eyes. I leaned closer to explain where we were and noticed the faint scent of water lilies surrounding him.

I showed him around the school and we talked to each other in the breaks. That ended up in watching horror films together at each other’s houses. Daehyun and I became close and as the months passed we slowly fell in love.

Oh the fool that I was, I should've ignored him from day one.

Then that beautiful day came. I never forgot that moment when he handed me a bouquet of white roses and kissed me. It was a quick and soft kiss before he blushed and ran away. I was with my head in the clouds for the rest of the day.

I'd never thought romantically about Daehyun, he was my friend after all, but that kiss changed everything. If I saw him in the hallways, my heart would always skip a beat. After three days I couldn't take it anymore and pulled him with me behind the rosebushes where I confessed. Daehyun smiled shyly by my words, he looked so cute back then.

I should've watched out with him. Smiles can be deceiving.

I pecked his lips and he asked me to be his girlfriend. The weekend after that we went on our first date, a picnic near the lake.

We had so much fun times together that I still can't believe that I lived a lie.

After we'd turned 18 he started to look at me in a strange way, he looked at me like a predator that stalked his prey. It got me uncomfortable, he didn't behave like the sweet Daehyun that I fell for.

In the summer holiday he invited me to come with him to his parents' summerhouse. I gladly accepted the offer. Which girl didn't want to have some alone time with her boyfriend?

This was my first vacation without my parents, how childish of me. Daehyun already started going on vacations with his friends at the age of 15. The summerhouse was a cabin in the woods. So calm and rustic, as if we were separated from humanity. Although I was still a bit worried.

“Aren’t there dangerous animals in this forest?” I asked him when we arrived at the front door. He chuckled and ruffled my hair, leaning closer.

“Of course not my little rose, they wouldn’t dare to come near you,” he softly whispered.

“Why not Dae?” I blushed by the feeling of his hot breath near my ear.

“Because I’m dangerous around you,” he smiled sweetly and brought our stuff inside. Still puzzled by his words I followed him.

Was this supposed to be a clue or something like that?

The first two weeks were absolute heaven. I had a wonderful time with Daehyun and almost every night I fell asleep next to him under the moonlight, nuzzling my face against his chest and inhaling his water lily scent that I enjoyed so much. It was as if I fell in love with him all over again. I had already forgotten how life was without him, but I’m sure it was boring and blank.

It was our 500^th day anniversary and we decided to celebrate it in the summerhouse instead of at home. Daehyun said that he had planned a surprise for me. I was so excited but he refused to tell me what it was. In the evening we had a delicious dinner with his favourite cheesecake as dessert. After we’d cleaned up after ourselves he gave me a package and told me to change in my room. I sat down on the bed and opened the package. There was a strapless white chiffon dress with a sweetheart neckline and a matching pair of white flats. What a beautiful gift, white was my favourite colour. I quickly put on the dress and brushed my hair, wondering what kind of surprise my Dae had planned.

Daehyun was waiting for me outside, apparently he’d also changed. He looked stunning in his black shirt and jeans. He held a blindfold in his hands.

“You really want it to stay a surprise until the very end, don’t you Dae?” I chuckled when he blindfolded me. He always liked to surprise others and did his very best to do so.

“Yes, my little rose, now come with me,” he whispered and helped me to find the way through the forest.

I had lost my sense of direction while Daehyun led me to wherever it was that we were going. I noticed that the ground became softer and a bit damp, the faint scents of lilies and roses were in the air. He carefully held me by the elbow making sure that I didn’t trip. After something that seemed forever we finally stood still and Daehyun removed my blindfold.

“It's charming here, isn’t it my little rose?” he grinned from ear to ear. I was in awe by the beauty of the lake, illuminated by the light of the full moon. Water lilies were floating in the water and white rose bushes surrounded the lake itself, just like the ones where we confessed. Daehyun put on some music, a slow and soft ballad.

“Would you like to dance milady?” he bowed dramatically and I gave him my hand.

“Of course my lord. How can I refuse such an offer?” I answered with a posh tone in my voice, making him burst out in laughter. It became a wonderful night; we danced, we laughed and stargazed. I stared into his beautiful warm eyes, and everything was perfect.

“Let’s go into the lake!” Daehyun laughed and picked me up bridal style. I let out a small shriek and quickly wrapped my arms around his neck. I expected the water to be cold but it was warm to my surprise. We splashed around and my dress got wet and my shoes got lost but I didn’t bother, I had way too much fun with Dae.

“This isn’t the whole surprise, is it? I can tell that there is something more,” I smiled and kissed his nose, he wrapped his arms around the small of my back. We were still in the shallow part of the lake but Daehyun slowly pushed me further into the deep were we had to swim.

“You’re quite right my rose. Do you know the best way to show someone how much you love that person?” he asked me. I shook my head, I didn’t know the best way. There were a lot ways to show your love. He leaned closer and made me go even further into the water until we were surrounded by water lilies. He had that strange look in his eyes, and it scared me. Daehyun was only a few millimetres away from me.

“W-what is the b-best way?” I stuttered. It started to get tiring and it was hard for me to stay on the surface. He smiled, but not the sweet smile of his that I was used to. He smiled in a mischievous manner.

“I’ll show how much I love you in the best way possible. A rose needs to know what the life of a water lily is like, doesn't it?” he pushed me under water. I struggled to get back to the surface but Daehyun was way stronger than I was. My lungs hurt and I was exhausted from the long night. I didn’t want to die but my fight was useless. I couldn’t do anything when my lungs filled themselves with water. Daehyun spoke one last time to me, right before I closed my eyes for eternity.

“I see that you can't live like me, my charming rose. I’ll never forget you.”

My corpse was found weeks later, almost unrecognisable. Daehyun was long gone, to South Korea I suspected. He’d always dreamed of becoming a singer. After my funeral my family kept receiving bouquets of flowers from an unknown person. The bouquets consisted of white roses with one water lily in the middle. Apparently my sweet Dae still loved me… even when I was long gone.

I'm sorry if you dislike the ending, but most of my stories don't really have a happy ending. Please tell me what you think and if I should make more of these.

I'm grateful that you took the time to read my midnight writing.