It took about three days to recover from the awful cold. He decided it was wise to stay home, even if it meant missing lectures. Chan was nice enough to make an extra copy of his class notes, and he convinced his TAs from other classes to give him an extra day to finish his work. It was Friday, so it would give him until Monday to finish everything. That day he stayed in the library for a painful number of hours, but it was a helpful environment. He managed to finish everything by the time it got dark, and was packing his stuff to go home.

He heard the sound of a stomach growling, and when he looked around and saw that no one was around, he realized it was his own. He was cooped up in the library for so long that he skipped lunch, and it was long past dinner time. He thought it would be a hassle to make something with what little there was at home, so he stopped by the convenience store to pick up a microwavable dinner.

Going up the stairs was terrible. It was only one floor he had to ascend, but he wanted to give up at every step. Once he finally got to his apartment, he unlocked the door and went inside, He discarded his backpack near the entryway, and went to the kitchen to microwave his food. When it was ready he didn’t bother to sit at a table, and just ate in front of the microwave standing up. It was barely filling, but Mingyu was too tired to look for anything else to eat.

There was a knock on the door. Mingyu desperately wanted to ignore it, but he wasn’t cruel enough to pretend like he wasn’t home. He opened the door to see Wonwoo, like the last time. But this time, Wonwoo didn’t bother to ask him what he was doing.

“Do you want to go to the beach?

“... Okay.”

Wonwoo drove. Mingyu was somewhat surprised he had a car, but didn’t have enough energy to react. He nodded off to sleep during the long ride, but Wonwoo didn’t mind. He some soft music and listened to it the whole time.

Mingyu was woken when Wonwoo shook him by the shoulder.

“We’re here.”

Mingyu squinted his eyes, then rubbed at them before opening them completely. It was dark outside. They could see the ocean in the distance. It was very different from during the day. The dark waves looked menacing, as if it threatened to swallow whole anyone who dared to enter.

Wonwoo and Mingyu got out of the car and walked over, leaving their shoes in the car. The sand was cool beneath their feet, and was a little crunchier than normal. Wonwoo grabbed Mingyu’s hand, and they walked forward, with interlacing fingers. When they got to the edge of the waves, they sat, peering at what seemed like an infinite ocean.

Wonwoo leaned his head on Mingyu’s shoulder.

“The breeze feels nice,” said Wonwoo.

Mingyu agreed with a squeeze of the hand.

“I wonder if this is what it feels like to float away. Into nothingness. To converge with the universe.” he continued, not expecting Mingyu to respond.

“...What happened to your wrist?” Mingyu asked, referring to the pink scars he saw earlier.

Wonwoo paused at the unexpected question, then exhaled.

“I feel more at peace if I can control my own death, than if I wait for death to come to me.”

Mingyu’s eyes widened with dread, and he sharply looked over at the boy leaning on his shoulder.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means exactly how it sounds. No one will be around forever.”

Mingyu sighed. He was glad that it didn’t mean Wonwoo’s life was in imminent danger, but he was only half convinced of his explanation.

Wonwoo stood up, pulling Mingyu up with him. He walked along the beach, and the ground started getting firmer. The sand eventually turned to solid ground, and Wonwoo lead them up a slope, until they reached a ledge. The ocean waves were roaring on the other side, climbing up its walls. Here, Wonwoo let got Mingyu and started walking toward the edge of the cliff.

“What are you doing?” asked Mingyu, not liking where this was going. His feet were glued to where Wonwoo left him.

“Most people would be too scared to go past this point. They think that going near the edge suddenly makes it harder to keep balance, but it’s not.”

He walked further up, and Mingyu felt his face harden.

“Wonwoo…”

Wonwoo walked until he was about a foot or two from the end of the ledge. He was close enough to peer down at the foamy waves below.

“Look, I’m at the very edge, and I’m having no trouble keeping my balance. It’s really all in your head. If you just learn to let go, you can control yourself.”

“Okay, I got it, now get down from there..”

“And since I have full control, I can choose to go back, or... I can choose to go forward.”

Wonwoo turned around to face Mingyu.

“It’s so freeing to be able to face death on your own terms, you know? Who knows when I’m going to die? But like this, I know exactly when…”

He stepped back, but there was no more ledge to support him. He started to fall, but he didn’t look frightened. His eyes were closed and he had a smile on his face, ready to accept his fate with open arms.

“WONWOO!”

Mingyu ran as quickly as he could to the edge and dived in after Wonwoo. He didn’t have time to think. His body took action before his brain could process what happened.

Mingyu hit the cold ocean, air bubbles enveloping him as he plunged down. He couldn’t tell which way was up, so he let his natural buoyancy take over until he could figure it out. He surfaced from the water and searched for Wonwoo, who had yet to come up. Mingyu drove his face underwater with his eyes open and saw him. Quickly ing himself in that direction, he grabbed Wonwoo’s waist and pulled him out from under the water. He swam them both to shore, laid Wonwoo down and checked for his breathing. His chest rose and fell in timely intervals, signalling that his body was okay. Mingyu then saw a smile creep up on Wonwoo’s face.

“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? YOU COULD HAVE DIED!” Mingyu couldn’t have sounded more angry or more frustrated.

“That was the point.” Wonwoo was unmoved from where he was. “You didn’t have to save me.”

Mingyu didn’t say anything. He just stood up and started walking away.

“Mingyu?” Wonwoo opened his eyes to find the boy walking away. He himself got up and jogged to catch up with him.

He didn’t say anything more, and neither did Mingyu. They walked all the way back to the car. Mingyu hesitated before going inside, since he was still dripping wet, but once Wonwoo got in without much thought, he followed.

On the drive back, Mingyu stayed awake, but didn’t say anything. He looked out the window and watched the streetlights pass by, and the dark skies begin to shed light. When they got back to the apartment complex, the sun had just started to show itself.

The two got out of the car and walked up the stairs, and along the hall. Wonwoo stopped in front of his door, while Mingyu continued to his. Wonwoo got his door open when Mingyu was putting the key in the keyhole.

“Mingyu,” he said, already halfway inside.

Mingyu looked over, pausing what he was doing.

“Let's do this again.” Wonwoo smiled before stepping fully inside and shutting the door behind him.

“Like I'm doing that again,” Mingyu muttered to himself.

He went inside, flinging off his shoes without care. He got changed to new clothes and left his ocean-soaked ones in the bathroom. While he was there, he got out a towel to dry his hair, but didn’t dry it for long. He  walked to his bedroom and flopped face down into the bed, falling asleep soon after.