For Yoongi, the question of death used to be an easy one.  Wherever he went, people seemed to be one of two types: they didn’t care or they pretended to care.  Growing up, Yoongi couldn’t even count the number of “friends” he had brought over to his empty apartment, only to realize that Yoongi wasn’t actually rich.  He couldn’t even count the number of teachers who looked the other way as he struggled through and eventually began to stop attending school.

            But that was before her.

            Thinking of Yeoreum, he suddenly felt unsure.  Yoongi slowly moved his foot into the busy intersection.  Do I really want to do this?  What if...no.  Closing his eyes, he tried to clear his mind of all thoughts and regrets.  She’ll move on, and she’ll be happier with someone else by her side.  He brought his other foot into the intersection, and he could hear the sound of a car horn getting closer.

            Okay.  This is it, Yoongi.  You’ve said goodbye to everyone who mattered, so you can die with no regrets--

            “YOONGI!”

            No, that’s a lie.  I know I’ll have regrets.

            His eyes opened, and he threw himself backwards onto the sidewalk as a black car sped dangerously past him.  Staring up at the sky, he tried to catch his breath, and he belatedly realized that tears were running down his face.  He held up his hands above him, dazed, and noted that they were bleeding from supporting his fall on the cement.  

            “YOONGI!” This time, the scream was closer, and he was surprised to see Yeoreum standing above him.

            “Y-Yeoreum?” he struggled to sit up.

            “A-Are you o-okay?” She crouched down.

            “I’m s-sorry.”

            “Are you hurt anywhere?”  Yeoreum noticed his hands.  “Oh god.”

            “I’m s-sorry.”

            “I know you’re in pain,” Yeoreum continued.  “I know that it hurts.  But you’re not alone anymore, Yoongi.  You’re not a burden, you’re not a waste, and whatever you’re going through is not your fault.”

            He wiped his eyes on the back of his hand.  “I just thought…”

            She also had tears running down her face.

            “I thought that I was being selfish, and I thought that dying would make all of my problems go away.  But I thought of you, and I saw you, and then I was scared.  I thought, for a moment, that maybe I didn’t want to die yet.”

            “Yoongi, I want to help you.” She gave him a hug.  “And I’m not the only one.”

            He frowned.  “Who else?”

            “Let’s go to the hospital, okay?  I’ll explain more later.”

            “Okay.”

<:>

            After getting his cuts treated and after being examined for other injuries (of which he had none), Yoongi and Yeoreum waited for Mr. Kim to arrive at the hospital to sign Yoongi’s discharge form.

            “I don’t know if you’ll believe me,” Yeoreum said, “but about three months ago, I found a letter from a parallel universe saying that you would attempt suicide in three months, which just so happened to be today.”

            His eyes widened.

            “At first, I thought that the letter was a practical joke, but as the events kept on coming true, I began to believe it.”

            “But how?”

            “Do you remember when I asked you if you knew a Kim Namjoon?”

            Yoongi paused, sifting through his memories.

            “Well, this Kim Namjoon comes from a future where people are aware that parallel universes exist, and he was one of the first to pay money to try and communicate with another universe.  He wrote the letter from the year 2033.”

            “Hold on, so what you’re saying is--”

            “According to the letter, he became your friend in the other universe, Yoongi.  He wanted to save you, but he was too late.  And he always regretted it.  So he sent a letter and his diary to this world, in hopes that someone could save you here.”

            “I...don’t understand.”

            “Since the day you transferred into our school, we’ve been trying to save you, Yoongi.  We’ve been trying to change the future so that you’d live.”

            “Wait.  Who’s ‘we’?”

            “Well--”

            The sound of footsteps echoed through the halls, and the two looked up.  Mr. Kim stood, out of breath, at the opposite end of the hall.

            “Yoongi!”

            “Mr. Kim?”

            “In our world,” Yeoreum said, “Kim Namjoon is our homeroom teacher, Mr. Kim.”

            Yoongi let that sink in, as Mr. Kim ran up to him and began to ask him question after question after question.  These people...cared enough about me to want to save me.  

            “Yoongi?”

            “Hm?”

            “Are you okay?” Mr. Kim asked.

            “I…” he trailed off, looking at his bandaged hands.  “Yeah.  I’m okay.  And I’m really sorry for worrying both of you.”

            Mr. Kim smiled.  “Thank you for being alive, Yoongi.”

            “I’ve realized that I have people to live for now.  I want to get better.  I’m going to get professional support.” He made eye contact with Mr. Kim, and then with Yeoreum.  “I don’t want to die anymore.”

            Yeoreum hugged Yoongi, and Mr. Kim patted him on the head.

            “I want to make you two proud.”

A/N: This is the last official chapter, but there will be an epilogue + a concluding author's note!