“Chanyeol!”

            Kyungsoo yelled his name out loud as soon as he jumped down from his boat. He had securely tied the boat to one of the large rocks by the shore. Without taking anything with him, he had rushed to Chanyeol’s side without a second thought.

            The sight of the state Chanyeol was in made Kyungsoo wanted to tear up. He was lying face down on the sand. His hair was covering more than half of his face. His eyes were closed and his lips were pale. He looked like someone who had been starving for days. His shirt and pants were tattered. And there were bruises and wounds on his legs and arms.

            Kyungsoo figured he must have gotten hurt when the waves attacked. He leaned in closer as he touched Chanyeol’s shoulder. He wasn’t moving. And his shoulder felt cold under Kyungsoo’s touch. Fear and panic crept into Kyungsoo’s heart. The first thought that crossed his mind was that his best friend might have died. At this point, Kyungsoo couldn’t hold back any longer but burst into tears.

            “Wake up!” he screamed while he shook Chanyeol’s shoulders violently.

            “Wake up! This is no time for sleeping!” Kyungsoo choked on his tears as he yelled through his sobs. But still, Chanyeol didn’t even budge. His eyes remained close.

            “Please…” Kyungsoo collapsed onto Chanyeol, exhausted.

            “Just…don’t go…”

            Kyungsoo cradled Chanyeol’s head in his arms. His face was colorless. His lips were so pale he might as well be a dead person. His limbs hung numbly at his side. Kyungsoo slipped his fingers through Chanyeol’s, intertwining them. He felt icy cold.

            Kyungsoo just sat there and stared at Chanyeol’s peaceful face. His tears trickled off his chin and dropped onto Chanyeol’s cheeks. With the other hand, Kyungsoo caressed his face gently. He ran his fingers across his brows, his closed eyes, his nose and then to his lips. Kyungsoo’s heart twisted in a million ways. How could he have let go of someone as precious as him?

            “Please, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo stifled a sob, “Wake up…”

            He twirled his finger around a strand of Chanyeol’s dark brown hair and eventually pushed it behind Chanyeol’s ear. Kyungsoo realized he had never taken a chance to see how beautiful Chanyeol was.

            Kyungsoo touched Chanyeol’s white lips with trembling fingers. He remembered how it had felt when Chanyeol had pressed his lips against his own. Kyungsoo’s heart skipped a beat at the thought of it. Slowly, he leaned in closer towards Chanyeol’s face and planted a peck on his cold lips. He lingered for a short moment before breaking contact from Chanyeol’s lips.

            He was so afraid that this was going to be the last time he would get to see him, to touch him and to kiss him. More tears flowed down the side of his face. Kyungsoo held Chanyeol tight in his embrace as he buried his wet face in Chanyeol’s collarbones. His muffled screams repeating the same words over and over again.

            “Wake up…wake up…wake up…”

~    ~    ~

The sun descended into the horizon. The warm sunlight disappeared and was replaced by the cold sea breeze. Kyungsoo shivered from the cold. For hours, he had stayed beside Chanyeol, holding him and givin