where am i? ah, this darkness again. i give up. no one’s going to come. no one’s going to…

 

Hyun Xin. Hyun Xin.

 

…wha? who’s that? he sounds so… familiar.

 

Hyun Xin. Hyun Xin, hang in there. i’m coming.

 

who--who are you? ah, that blazing light is blinding me. it’s like… it’s like…

 

the sun.

 

***

“don’t you dare do it,” Ciel threatens him. Young Bae is holding a blade in his left hand, ready to stab his neck, where the tattoo is. “why not? you won’t be able to threaten me anymore once i die, and Hyun Xin will live. with Dae Sung,” he says, as he looks to his friend who resembles him so much. there are tears in Dae Sung’s eyes, but he is not crying for Hyun Xin. he is crying for Young Bae. how can one man sacrifice so much for Hyun Xin? he thought he had sacrificed his entire life for her, but now, Young Bae is literally the one putting his life on the front line, for the girl he loves so much.

 

she belongs with him. Dae Sung thought.she won’t be completely happy with me. she won’t.

 

“YAH! ARE YOU OUTTA YOUR MIND, YOUNG BAE?!” Ji Yong yells at the top of his lungs. he still cares for his old buddy. he will never stop caring. Seung Ri and Seung Hyun are holding Ji Yong back from stopping Young Bae. they both know they cannot interfere with this. they both know no other way to save her. she’s too precious for them to lose. “YAH, YOU IDIOTS, LET GO OF ME AND STOP HIM! LET’S JUST KILL THE WITCH AND GET ON WITH IT! SHE’S THE ONLY ONE WHO NEEDS TO DIE HERE!” tears are streaming down Ji Yong’s eyes out of anger and misery. he’s struggling to break free from their grip, but he can’t.

 

Ciel tries to do her witchery on Young Bae, then she remembers she cannot cast a spell on the people who has a blood pact with witches. she can only hurt him physically—which was practically what happened before Hyun Xin and Dae Sung found Young Bae at the park with a bleeding arm. she clenches her teeth, and right before she pushes him onto the floor, he manages to stab himself in the neck. Young Bae is already lying in a pool of blood when Ciel is sitting on him. “damn it,” she says, and immediately vanishes from the room.

 

***

the moment i open my eyes, i am already gasping for air. someone is grabbing my hand tightly. Young Bae? i turn to my right. Dae Sung is the one holding my hand, crying, but he isn’t looking at me. i sit up, still gasping and coughing vigorously, to find Seung Hyun and Seung Ri dumbfounded. their eyes say nothing. empty. they’re looking at the ground. i manage to spot Ji Yong’s face, but he’s crying too. my head spins and my vision blurs. what are they staring at? where’s Young Bae? what’s that… smell?

 

Dae Sung’s grip on my hand suddenly loosens. his arm slumps onto the bed, weightless and powerless. light is still struggling to peek into my eyes. i’m having a hard time adapting back to the real world, where i am alive. Seung Ri and Seung Hyun frowns, as though they’re in an unimaginable pain. they are. from what? Ji Yong is still sobbing and weeping over something. someone. Young Bae is missing.

 

with my regained strength, i crawl to the edge of my bed. red is all i see. red across the entire carpeted floor, red on Ji Yong’s hands, red on Young Bae’s black sleeveless shirt, red on his neck that won’t stop gushing out. a bright, vibrant red that almost seems like a happy colour, compared to the gloomy, dark red in my nightmares. but i cannot smile. the colour doesn’t make me happy. suddenly i am dumbfounded like the rest, and i understand why.

 

because Young Bae is lying dead, right before us.

 

i kneel down next to him, in the pool of blood, not caring what kind of stains it will bring to my clothes. i only want to be by his side. there is no other explanation for this: i was dead and now he has exchanged his life for mine. i don’t know how or why, but the truth is now, and the reality is here—he’s dead. dead. the word echoes in my mind for a long while. dead. i reach for his forehead, and he is still warm, warm like the sun.

 

“you’ll always be my sun,” i mutter as i his face. i don’t know if anyone heard me, but i don’t want anyone to hear me. these are words only meant for him. for Young Bae. for my sun—who brought me light, and warmth; who saved my life with all of his; whom i knew, have been loving me for all our lives. i touch his forehead with mine and started to cry. my bedroom is silent, apart from all of the sobbing and weeping.

 

***

“yah! you’re not supposed to be here!” the young angel guard who’s floating in front of the gates of Heaven, with short, orange hair that seems too bright to fit into Heaven along with thin, cute eyes tells Young Bae. confused, he asks back. “why? i’m dead, aren’t i? …am i going to Hell?” the thought of Hell suddenly scares him. maybe the deal with Ciel blacklisted him, he thought.

 

“your name isn’t here, you idiot! i wish you’d stay, though. you are kinda cute,” MInzy says as she winks at him. “but why? i’m dead, aren’t i?” Young Bae is still confused about this. he’s already made up his mind about how he’s going to watch Hyun Xin’s life from Heaven. “i guess it’s just not your time yet. either that, or God’s having a good day. SO GO BACK TO EARTH!” she slams a hammer onto a cloud that mysteriously appears in front of her, and Young Bae feels himself falls into an endless void.

 

***

a glowing light from his body forces me to move my face away from his. i watch as the pool of blood and every drop of red on our clothes and Ji Yong’s hands miraculously vanishes into thin air. a tattoo on Young Bae’s neck, that i have never seen before, fades away completely in slow motion. all of us has stopped whatever we were and weren’t doing. Dae Sung is already by my side, along with Seung Hyun and Seung Ri, crowding around Young Bae to wait for the miracle to happen.

 

he squints his eyes and blink hard before finally opening them. all of us are staring right at his face. this isn’t happening. this is happening. he’s alive. he’s alive!

 

i hug him tight, forcing him to sit up, and i am choking on my tears, speaking words that barely sound like words. “she said it wasn’t my time yet, the angel by the gates of Heaven,” he jokes, by my ear. or maybe he’s not joking. how else would he have gotten a second chance? i secretly thank the angel guard and God for returning him to us. to me. he hugs me back. and i can’t help but to smile. i clear my throat, then whisper in his ear—this time making sure he’ll be able to hear me.

 

“you are my sun. you’ll always be my Tae Yang, no matter what. “

 

---------

 

next chapter will be the last! sorry for the rushed ending, just felt like i should end this story to stop distracting myself. i should be studying :/ i'll make the epilogue a good one! (: