Key walked down the hallway, immersed in his thoughts.  He wasn't conscious of the bustling crowds of people that swarmed the halls of his school.  His thin, perfectly crafted brows were pulled down in a "v." 

He was worried about Jonghyun.  Not only had he stopped eating and stopped hanging out with Key, he had stopped talking completely and hadn't shown up to school for a whole week.  Despite making dozens of phone calls to Jjong every night, Key couldn't get in touch with him.  He knew what it was that made Jonghyun shut himself away from the world.

The bullying was getting to be too much.  Key wished so badly that he was brave enough to stand up for his best friend and end his constant suffering.

In his head, he heard the echoes of taunts and jeers that followed Jonghyun everywhere.

"You belong in a zoo, monkey man!"

"You're gay anyway, so go get plastic surgery to fix your face."

"Make way for the homo ape!"

It broke Key's heart to see his best friend - the friend that had always been there for him - tortured and ridiculed to no end.  He wanted it to stop.  It hurt him to see Jonghyun so broken.

As much as it hurt Key to see his friend bullied, he could not even imagine what it was like to be the center of everyone's hatred.  He would take Jjong's place without hesitation.  That's what best friends were for.

But Key didn't only think of Jonghyun as a friend.  He hadn't told him yet, but Key was in love with him.  Key was in love with everything about him.  His face, his voice, his unwavering friendship.

"Kim Kibum, please report to the main office."

He sighed and turned to walk the opposite way he had been going.

What was it this time?  Did I forget my lunch?  Do I get to leave school early?

He walked into the main office.

"I'm he-"  He froze, eyes wandering around the room.

Behind the principal's desk, Mr. Yoo sat, looking grim, not a trace of anything other than sadness on his face.  Sitting in front of the desk were Jonghyun's parents.  Jonghyun's mom was shaking with sobs.

No, it couldn't be.  It wasn't possible.

"Kibum, have a seat."  Mr. Yoo gestured over to a wooden chair that sat against the wall. 

Key walked to the chair and sat, his eyes misty, not really seeing.  It couldn't be true.

"Kibum, I understand you were best friends with Kim Jonghyun, am I correct?"

"Were?"  Key's voice was shaky as he inquired as to why the principal was speaking in past tense, as if Jonghyun didn't exist anymore.  "You mean are, sir?"

Silence ensued, with the exception of the noisy hiccups and sobs that escaped Jonghyun's mother.

"Kibum, I know this will be hard for you, but..."  Mr. Yoo paused.

"But what?"  Key's voice was hard as stone, not allowing any hint of his true feelings to come to the surface.  Inside, though, he was screaming.

"Jonghyun was found dead in his bathroom today.  It seems he took pills to execute the suicide."  His voice was grave, but Key wasn't listening.

It was impossible.  Jonghyun wouldn't kill himself.  He would never have thought of doing that if it meant hurting his friends and family.

Kibum knew that Jjong's pure, kind heart would out-weigh any suicidal thoughts that might have crossed his mind.  He wasn't dead.

"He also wrote a letter to his friends and family.  It was found in his room.  Seeing as you were...are his best friend, Jonghyun's parents saw it as appropriate to let you read it."

Mr. Yoo handed Key a piece of paper that was folded neatly.  He could see indents in the page where Jonghyun had pressed too hard with the pen.

He hands hold as ice and his whole body numb, Key took the letter, opened it, and began to read.

Umma, Appa, Key, and anyone who might care:

I'm so sorry for doing this to you.  I'm so sorry for making this selfish decision.  I know it will put you in pain, but I just can't take it anymore.

Every time I walk through the halls at school, I'm attacked with insults that make me want to break down and just give up on living.  I've never done anything to deserve such hatred, except maybe for what I am about to do.

Don't you wonder how it feels to walk through life, despising yourself just as much as others do?  I felt that every day.  It's too much, and the only way I'm going to escape is by taking my own life.

I'm not scared of death.  In fact, it's probably a whole lot better than what I've had to endure for the past three years of high school.  In death, I won't be hated for my looks, my smarts, my personality, or my uality.  That in itself already makes death seem inviting.

To those people who have caused me all this pain, I forgive you.  You helped me realize...that death isn't a scary thing.  However, is this the reality you wanted?  Did you want me to go so far as to seeking death out to distance myself away from all the insults that seem to fill up my life?  Well, you're getting your reality.

Once again, Umma, Appa, and Key, I'm so sorry for making you go through this.  I simply didn't have the strength to go on anymore.  I love you.  Hopefully, I'll see you again someday.

Love always, Jonghyun

Key couldn't move; he was rooted to his chair.  He couldn't believe that Jonghyun, his best friend and the one that he loved for so long, was gone.  He never got to tell Jjong just how much he really meant to him.  He never got to tell him how grateful he was that they were best friends.  He hadn't told him anything, let alone that he loved him.

Key's world shattered around him as his tears fell upon Jonghyun's last words.