You went closer to get a clearer look. It was Tae min. * No, no, no… * You thought to yourself. * Tae min doesn’t do these kinds of things… * But you couldn’t deny the truth. That was what you were seeing right now in front of you. The girl, as you recognized, was another girl from another class, but in the same year. She was somehow hugging him and he didn’t fight back, but smiled instead. The piece of paper your mum gave to you dropped to the floor.

*He’s cheating… * You thought in disbelief and anger. You tried your best to fight back your tears.

“ Chill, Min ju. Chill… “ You tried to calm yourself down.

“ Miss.. your paper dropped. Miss? “ A guy called out to you.

“ Huh? Oh, thank you. “ You bowed to him and accepted the piece of paper.

“ No problem. “ He smiled and went away. You looked back at where Tae min and the girl were and he saw you. You looked around to see if you could hide anywhere. * He saw me! What am I going to do?! * You thought desperately. Tae min broke the hug and ran to where you were. Freaking out, you ran out of the mall.

Tae min’s POV

Was that Min ju? Oh my gosh, she saw me. Oh great, she’s going to misunderstand. It’s not what she thinks! I mean, I knew that girl, but she was just thanking me for choosing a gift for her boyfriend. That’s all. It was a friendly hug.

I ran to catch up with Min ju. I’m definitely going to explain to her.

“ Min ju! “ I screamed as I got out of the mall. She was running to her right. “ Min ju, wait! “ She stopped in her tracks.

~~~~~

You heard Tae min calling your name and you stopped. You didn’t want anything to happen in the public.

“ Min ju… “ He tapped your shoulder and panted. “ It’s not what you think. “ He explained.

“ Yeah, it’s not. “ You narrowed your eyes and your back faced him.

“ Please, let me explain. “

“ Yeah, go ahead. I’m listening. “ Your anger was rising.

“ She was just another girl that you and I know and she asked me to choose a gift for her boyfriend. That’s all! You know that she had a boyfriend. “ Tae min hurriedly explain.

“ But I can’t believe that after I saw the both of you hug! “ Your tears threatened to pour out.

“ It was a friendly hug. That’s all. If I made you angry, I’m sorry. “ He hugged you from the back. It was embarrassing, really, creating a scene in the public, but you couldn’t help it. Without realizing it, it started raining. Thunder boomed, and lightning struck.

“ Min ju, forgive me. “ You could hear the sound of sadness in his voice.

“ Let go. “ You said through gritted teeth. You wanted to forgive him, but you couldn’t. It was unacceptable to see your boyfriend hug another girl. He didn’t even resist!

“ Seriously. Don’t you know it’s a crime to let your girlfriend see you hugging another girl? Do you know how hurt I was? “ You screamed at him. Tae min flinched, but didn’t say anything.

“ Why didn’t you resist? “

“ I… “ Tae min was speechless.

“ Nothing to say? “ You shot. Tae min didn’t say anything.

“ Say something! Damn it! “ You cursed out in the rain. You were angry, but in your heart, you wanted him to hug you and comfort you and say that he was sorry, and that he won’t ever do it again. But he didn’t. He was just standing there, you letting your anger out at him.

“ I’m sorry. “ He said.

It was just a hug, but you were especially angry. Because it was known that the girl Tae min hugged was a flirty one, and you got jealous when she hugged him. And to think that he didn’t resist it. Didn’t he know that you hated that girl?

 Out of pure anger, you pushed him. You didn’t know that you two were near the road, and that you pushed him out to the road. The honking of a vehicle was heard. A truck made a loud screech as it hit Tae min. You widened your eyes, witnessing the scene of Tae min’s death.

“ TAE MINNNNN!!!!! “ You rushed over to where Tae min’s body was and kneeled down beside him. “ Tae min, you are not dying. Without my permission you can’t die. You can’t!! “ You screamed at Tae min who was lying in a puddle of dark red liquid. Blood. Your vision became blur, and you let it all out. You started crying loudly.

“ Tae min! “ You shook him. “ Tae min! “ You shook him harder. An action caught your eye. Tae min raised him hand and you took it.

“ Tae min, don’t die! Open your eyes, and look at me. “ His hand felt cold. His mouth was moving, but you couldn’t hear anything.

“ What? “ Your voice softened and your face went closer to his.

“ Min… ju. I. Love. You… “ His voice trailed off and his arm dropped to the ground.  His eyes closed.

“ Tae min? Tae min? Tae min, don’t scare me. I know that this is a joke. Come on, wake up. Come on! Open your eyes! I’m here. Look at me! Please! Tae min, I’m sorry, I forgive you. Can you wake up now? TAE MIN! “ You were filled with panic.

“ Tae min? “ You held his hand tightly.

“ Tae min? “ No response.

“ Tae min? Wake up. It’s not time to sleep. “ Your tears dropped. Still no response.

“ TAE MIN!!!!! “ You screamed out in the rain. “ NO!!!!! “

The driver in the truck was scared of what just happened. He realized that he knocked down someone. His first thought was to run away. But his conscience said no, he had to save that person. He saw someone kneeling beside the person he had just knocked down. He wanted to call the ambulance, but he was afraid. He was afraid that he would be sent to jail. He was afraid that he wouldn’t see his family anymore. He was about to get out of the truck and face the reality, when he heard the sirens wailing. He wanted to run away. He was scared of the police. He didn’t care about anything. All he thought was that he had to run away. Just by that, he forgot all about the two people in front of his truck. Pressing his hardest on the accelerator, he drove over the person once again, along with the girl.

“ Tae min! “ You screamed for the last time as the truck run over you. You rolled away from Tae min, your body full of pain. But you felt something holding your hand. You used all of your energy to look to your side, to see Tae min facing you and smiling. He had used all of his last energy to hold your hand, so that you won’t be far away from him. For the last time, you could feel warmth, and you smiled in peace. You started feeling tired, and energy started draining out of your body. You weren’t scared, for you knew that at least Tae min was by your side. You smiled a weak smile, before you went into an eternal slumber.

“ I love you too, Tae min. I really do. I’m sorry that I got angry at you, and I’m sorry that I hadn’t listened to your explanation. I’m sorry that I pushed you out to the road; I was angry. I’m sorry I caused your death. Your last three words, made me filled with regrets. Yes, I was heartbroken, scolding myself why it wasn’t me. Why it was you dying instead. If I had a time machine ,I would turn time back to where we first met. Then I would spend more time with you. If I had a time machine, I would rewind time back to the time we fought and I would forgive you. But we’re still together in the end, aren’t we? I’m glad... really glad… that we were together till the very end. “

Here’s my last three words to you. Three words, eight letters, and one meaning. I LOVE YOU.