{Epilogue.}

Your legs stretched out in front of you as your body went once more into the air. A peaceful yet thrilling sensation reached you every time your legs made it to the peak, and when you reached equilibrium and fell back to where you started you felt like the vast misty plain enveloping you might suddenly swallow you up. The haze surrounding you made it hard to deduce what it was that was beneath you, and that didn’t do any less to scare you.

Feet still dangling from the swing, you tightly shut your eyes, making sure no tears escaped as the memories of the previous night returned to you. You didn’t want to think about it. To think about him. Your time was dwindling, and you made sure to enjoy the rest of it while you could. The breeze on the tip of your tongue tasted of freedom.

You were in Heaven on Earth, literally.

Opening your eyes now, in front of you, you saw a wide path encrusted in puffy wisps of pallid clouds and what seemed like a never-ending bridge. You hopped off the swing to find that your feet had connected with a cold and hard surface, like a glacier, and that you were no longer floating and light as a feather. This time, you felt real. You moved along the road provided for you, exploring the exotic landscape whose features you felt were impossible to take in whilst playing catch with the swirls of translucent fluff at your feet.

One more stride and you were at the end of the bridge. You must be close to heaven now, you thought, shuddering at the mention of such a place despite actually being happy you had made it. Suddenly, the haze subsided and you could discern a silhouette. Before you could see who it was though, he called for you in a way that successfully sent chills down your spine.

You assumed it was Death.

A tiny piece of you had actually thought that you had heard his voice somewhere before, but you didn’t care. What mattered at this point was that he was ready to accept you. You continued walking towards the silhouette in no hurry, especially when you had nothing to lose; not after you had already lost the person most important to you. Sure, you were going to be lonely at heart after advancing to Heaven, but at least you weren’t going to be lonely in soul.

And when you arrived just close enough to see a glove emerge from the mist, you closed your eyes and briskly took Death’s hand.

--

Never in your life would you have thought you would die so young. All those things you never got to do, you were already planning to fulfil them in your next life. You began making a list in your mind, when suddenly, amidst your thoughts, you felt an arm wrap around your body… and then another, as though to secure your spot forever. This was the moment, you thought, waiting as Death took you into his embrace. Blackness was in front of you, and all you resorted to doing was inhaling the waft of other dead souls and–

Actually, no, wait.

Something wasn’t right. Caught in the whirlwind of confusion, your eyes flew open at such an abrupt pace your orbs almost popped out of their sockets. Instead of waking to the smell of death, you woke up to a scent that was much more… welcoming, and sweeter. Familiar.

You recognised it immediately.

“Kim Sunggyu.”

He responded to your mention of his name knowingly by tightening the hug. You were speechless. And although it did take you some time to register, he really was here, all over you. You weren’t hallucinating. Your heart thumped like a beat box against your ribcage, and for a second you almost forgot why you had been sent to this alternate realm. How come you could… talk to him, feel him? And more importantly, why was he here, next to you? Weren’t you in Heaven and… well, dead? Desperate for an answer, you pulled away with force and searched his eyes. They were the same beautiful pair you had always admired.

As I drift farther and farther

I gradually get closer and closer to you

As I hurt and hurt like this

I gradually want only you, you more

“W- why are y- you… here…”

You took much effort to choke out the words. With his face just an inch away from yours, it was hard to speak properly. But he didn’t seem to care. Instead, he ignored your question altogether and proceeded to speak in a voice that told you that all he needed in front of him right now was you.

“Mian, Hye Su… I took so long.”

Finally letting you go–a little–he looked down without another word. It left you no choice but to follow his gaze. Seeing you were both wearing sneakers now, couple ones at that, your eyes couldn’t help but glide over to his. You noticed the snow falling off his shoe in sheets every time he tapped the tip of his toes against the ground.

Why was there snow?

Ah–you were no longer in the sky.

Then slowly, the ground opened and no longer were the two of you standing on snow, but a flat dandelion-filled plain. This place felt oddly familiar to you. Slipping his hand into yours, he brought you somewhere. You followed, eyes tracing along the flowery aisles as you walked by his side. Next to Sunggyu, you felt really at ease. It had been so long you almost forgot what it was like. And when he made no attempt to change the pace you were walking at, you rested your heart. It was probably tired from all those different kinds of emotions it was facing over the past few days. Appreciating his presence, you tugged tighter onto his hand and concluded that there was no place more comfortable than being by his side.

Finally stopping by an open field, he came to a halt, and so did your footsteps behind him.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered, the breeze carrying every segment of his voice till the last of his breath to your ears. You did as he said, hands still in his, not opening them until after he had said it was okay to.

--

Fluttering your eyes open at the eventual signal, you tried to take as much of the foreground in as you could while also adjusting to the sunlight.

Then, you saw it.

It was your tombstone, and next to it, was his.

You shot a glance at Sunggyu, who returned it with a nod of his head, as though to reassure you. A few words were inscribed into the plaque.

Kim Sunggyu, Autumn 1989–Winter 2012

Victim to road accident

You refused to let the image sink through, and his silence by your side wasn’t helping.

“Wha–”

But then you realised,and your eyes went wide with scepticism.

What you had feared the most had come true.

Turning his head to you now, he read your mind and only smiled. It hurt you even more to see that it was not a smile of sorrow like you thought it would be, but one of relief.

Kim Sunggyu, the boy who you loved the most, had killed himself.

He killed himself, just so he could stay with you forever.

--

Still unbelieving, you were completely adverse to the idea. Because of you, he died. Because of you, he gave up the life that he had been so dearly clinging onto for the last twenty two years. Because of you, he sacrificed his all. Because of you, he... he....

But before you could completely convince yourself that the choice he had made was bad, he pulled you into another embrace, nuzzling his cheek into your hair as he tucked your head into his chest. Immediately, your worries melted, dissolved, into his warmth. You realised how long it’s been since the last time you felt his love.

His arms tightened around you. “I just couldn’t take it down there, Hye Su-ah. Anywhere on Earth is hell without you.”

Even after I erase and erase all of your traces

I feel you more as the days go by

“Just… just please don’t leave me again.”

At first you couldn’t understand because the muffling of your sobbing had gotten in the way, but when he repeated it, you felt the every inch of your body loosen.

“Let me stay, and…”

You pressed your finger onto his lips, shushing him, and before you knew it, you were smiling. He left his confession unfinished and surprised you with a heart-warming peck. Too soon, you realised that it was no longer possible to push him away. You knew inside that this was what you had wanted, too. Closing your eyes before your vision could be dimmed by a mist of tears, you deepened the kiss

This was your answer.

I feel that… I feel that…

I only want you more. I feel that I feel that…

Your all

As unwilling as you were, Sunggyu was first to break the kiss. You looked up into his now blissful face, still trying to catch your breath, and suddenly you realised how lucky you were to have someone like him. Bringing his hands behind your neck, he made sure you had his attention. His eyes stared into you, trying to convey you a message–as though there was something he had always wanted to tell you, but never got the chance to.

Finally, he said it.

“Thank you.”

“For wh–”

He planted another kiss on your forehead and stopped your train of thoughts.

“For you.”

And all you remembered doing after that for a very, very, long time was standing there in his arms, the sun on your back and your warm body wrapped up against his.

--

The two of you sat on a bench above the clouds, watching nothing in particular cross the sky as you leaned your head onto his shoulder, and as he intertwined his fingers with yours. You couldn’t remember the last time you ever felt so… alive. If this wasn’t happiness, then you didn’t know what was. Hoping the moment would stand still, you took in his steadied breathing and closed your eyes, savouring the moment. Not like time was something that made much of a difference after you were dead, anyway.

Then, a question that you realised you’ve never asked Sunggyu before crossed your mind. Bravely, you made an attempt to find out.

“Sunggyu-ah, why do you love me so much?”

He was your hand, when he shifted from his position to get a better view of your face and said, “You gave me a reason to die for, isn’t that enough?”

You chuckled at how that was true in so many ways.

Now, it was his turn to ask.

“Hye Su-ah…”

Something seemed to be on the tip of his tongue, and you wondered what he was up to this time. “Hmm?”

“Can you promise me something?”

Anything,you thought.

The rapid beating of his heart betrayed his untrembling voice, and right away you could tell he was nervous. You always thought a nervous Sunggyu was cute, though. “Stay with me for eternity?”

Your lips curled into a smile upon hearing something you would have no problem fulfilling at all. Snuggling back into his arms, you drew your next and last words with as much life and sincerity you had in you before falling asleep in his embrace.

“I promise.”

{The end.}

a/n: it finishedddddddddd. omg. congratulations you guys read 5000 words~ VIRTUAL COOKIES FOR EVERYONEEEE LOL. what a long oneshot. oh and you guys wanted a happy ending so there you have it, ARE YOU HAPPY NOW LOL. that was the happiest i could make the ending ;~~~; LOLAKSJKAJSKAJS. I still think my writing sort of failed me for this chapter but thanks for reading, subscribing, commenting, supporting in general anyway!! lots of love, your author. ♥