« It's snowing » was the first thought that crossed his mind when Chanyeol opened his eyes.

He blinked a few times and slowly turned his head, gazing at the surroundings : huge pines were rising to the skies. From where he was, that is, lying on the ground, it seemed that the peak of the trees were touching the stars. It was dark and light at the same time : the moonbeams were piercing through branches at some point. Ten meters away, on his right, Chanyeol noticed the carcass of a damaged car. A frown appeared between his brows as he started to remember the memories of the evening. The party. The loud music. The drinks. The pretty lady. The desert car park. The angry Yuri. Their argument. The endless road. The dangerous turn. The blinding light. The deafening sound. The brutal impact. And... The blackout. The image of a young woman, smiling and turning around to show him the dress she was wearing, imprinted itself on his memory.

Yuri.

Chanyeol attempted to sit straight and felt a wave of pain on the back of his head. He must have spent a long time in the snow because his body was anaesthetised by the cold and his movements were hard to make. He lowered his eyes on his deformed knee. While clenching his teeth, he put his hand on it and felt a lump where it shouldn't have been. With all the strength and self-control he had and needed, Chanyeol pushed his knee until a crack broke the silence, soon joined by his scream. Tears escaped from his eyes without realizing it.

The young man lost all notion of time. He had no phone nor watch and his head was spinning. For how long has he been crying in the snow ? After what it seemed like hours, Chanyeol stood up painfully and, feeling dizzy, spread his arms to keep his balance. His steps were hesitant at first, his body was causing a throbbing pain because of the impact, he had been thrown out of a car and had just put his knee back. The pain increased when he put weight on his right leg.

That was when he noticed her.

A form was out of the upside-down Hyundai. His body froze for a short moment, the time for him to realise the scene before his eyes. He didn't think twice : his legs started to move by themselves and soon, Chanyeol was running. The adrenaline allowed him to ignore the pain.

He was only a few meters away from his goal when his feet got caught on a root, hidden thanks to the snow. The boy fell down into the powder snow, at the bottom of the slope. He raised his head while whincing. His eyesight was momentarily blurred and he put a hand on his forehead, hoping for the suffering to calm. Chanyeol allowed time to adapt his vision, then, stared at the body of Yuri. Half of it was out of the car, the door was wide opened. Her arms were streched out and covered by a thin layer of snow. The young man extended his hand and brushed her skin with his fingertips, sweeping aside the flakes.

Yuri didn't move.

Chanyeol pushed himself with the help of his forearms and crawled towards the young woman, who hadn't give a slight movement. He carefully caught her bare shoulders and gently pulled her towards him.

Yuri didn't move more.

He turned her body over until she faced him and widened his eyes as he saw her face. The blood that was flowing from a wound on her temple had stuck her long brown hair against her forehead and against her cheek. A red trickle was running from her nose and drips hung from her chin. Her skin, that he loved to fondle so much, was pale and her lips, which aroused butterflies in his stomach when they kissed him, were a strange color and half-opened.

« Y-yuri ? » Chanyeol stuttered while tightening his embrace.

His breathing was jerky and his heart was beating at a quick pace. The relief to find her again made way for the fear to lose her. He gazed at her fragile features and her closed eyes while a flashback of the party crossed his mind.

« Chanyeol, I'm scared ». The young man applied pressure on her hand which seemed ludicrously tiny in his own palm. Yuri had never been a supporter of parties and yet, that night, she agreed to go at the birthday of Chanyeol's friend, Sehun. He had begged her many times while fluttering his eyelashes. But the apprehension was overwhelming her. While they were climbing the front steps, Yuri stopped. She started to feel uneasy and for good reason : she was a foreigner in this universe where suggestive dancing, loud music and alcohol were the keywords. However, Yuri felt honoured, in a way, because Chanyeol wanted to share his little world with her. Therefore, she would bear with it, even fake entertainment.

« Please, open your eyes »

His whisper resonated between the trees. He was overwhelmed by guilt and fear. Chanyeol titled his head and moved his ear nearer to her lips, watching out for the slightest sign of life. And then, he felt it : a weak breath tickled his ear. It was so weak that Chanyeol thought it was an illusion. He waited a few seconds and the same thing happened. Chanyeol got rid of his jacket and wrapped Yuri's body with it.

« Yuri, return to me...»

And, as if she heard his pleading, Yuri opened one eye, the other one was glued because of the blood. Her eyelid fluttered about and her only eye fixed on a well-known face. « Chanyeol... » Her frozen lips barely moved. The young man closed his eyes and rock her as he repeated her name.

Chanyeol... I'm so hurt...

Her voice was a murmur. The pain was unbearable. Yuri had the impression that she had been stabbed on all sides, crashed by an elephant and blended in a food processor. She didn't feel her legs anymore and had a difficulty in moving her arms. Her breathing was short and labored, her pulse was beating feebly and she had the irresistible desire to close her eye and to sleep. Chanyeol's face was hazy and his voice muffled.

The latter, horrified, lowered his eyes on Yuri and shook his head, realising what was happening.

« Chanyeol, I feel slee-py... »

Her voice broke on the last word. Tears appeared and slowly slid on her cheek. When he heard her words, Chanyeol's heart missed a beat. She closed her eye and stopped moving. Her muscles relaxed little by little. « No... No. No, no, no, no. NO ! » His cries resonated one more time in the night. He shook Yuri's shoulders, begging her to stay with him. Chanyeol held his breath, the events of the evening appeared suddenly in his mind.

Yuri took her jacket and rushed towards the door, Chanyeol on her pace. « Yuri, what the hell are you doing ? » The boy caught her wrist and forced her to stop walking. « I'm getting out of here, Chanyeol. I'm fed up ! » She tried to free herself but he tightened his grip.

« Lay off me ! »

The memories were confused.

« I have been waiting for one hour, Chanyeol. And for what ? For watching you dancing with that...that... » She was so furious that she couldn't even finish her sentence. Chanyeol promised her that they were not going out too late. She kindly asked him if they could leave when it was 2 a.m but Chanyeol asked for « a few more minutes ». Yuri had agreed. One hour later, she had found Chanyeol glued to a young girl who had more alcohol than blood in her veins. Exhaustion, boredrom and jealousy formed an explosive cocktail. If Chanyeol hadn't hold her arm, she would have slap him. Hard.

The next moment, Yuri's last words echoed in his mind as the images scrolled behind his eyes. It feels like a bad movie.

« Y-you...You bastard ! » Tears of frustration were close to flow and Yuri prefered to turn around and walk away rather than faced the dopey face of Chanyeol. The party turned sour. Chanyeol had quickly returned inside the house and excused himself. Then, he joined Yuri in the car. She had already dried her tears.

« I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry... »

Ashamed. Guilty. Chanyeol never ceased to repeat these three words. He started sobbing uncontrollably. He raised his eyes to the sky and stared at the stars, asking the gods to save Yuri. His whines rang throughout the night.

He didn't notice that Yuri regained consciousness. He didn't either notice the sad look on her face. To see and to hear Chanyeol crying was worse than her own pain. And the young woman wishes she had been able to comfort him.

With her last strength, she lifted up her right hand and moved it closer to her lover's face. She fondled his cheek, sliding her hand towards his lips which were muttering some incomprehensible words. « Hush », she whispered.

« Chanyeol... Sing me a song. »

His shoulders jerked as the tears were rolling down his cheeks. His sobs deepened. Chanyeol closed his eyes « I-I'm sorry...I'm so sorry Yuri. » he repeated while he was crying his eyes out. The young woman begged him to stop, her heart breaking at each words he pronounced. Chanyeol cried until there were no more tears to pour. He lowered his head on Yuri. Her eye was the reflection of love, worry, sorrow and remorse. Chanyeol cleared his throat with difficulty.

My love, leave yourself behind,

Beat inside me, leave you blind.

Yuri's lips moved at the same time as Chanyeol's. But no sound was escaping .

My love, you have found peace,

You were searching for relief.

She closed her eye and relaxed a bit. She had always loved to listen Chanyeol's voice while he was talking or singing.

Today, you will sleep away,

You will wait for me, my love

I know in peace you'll go,

I hope relief is yours.

Chanyeol whispered the last lyrics and reduced the distance between their faces, gently kissing Yuri who weakly kissed him back. Chanyeol slowly drew back but didn't release his embrace.

My love, leave yourself behind...

Yuri stared into space behind the head of Chanyeol, her love.

And she took her last breath.

Here is the real version, in French: