Chapter 1:

The Beginning of an End

'Everything must come to an end, and when it does, something new must begin.'

Everyone has that one relatively harmless neighbor who treats his front lawn like a battlefield, choosing to state the boundaries of his property with "Keep off the Grass" signs as though a squadron of land mines lay beneath the crisp blades of green. Is this person capable of hurting anyone? Doubtful. But one would not be likely to invite him to dinner. Likewise, a job offer would not be extended to the scruffy guy on the corner who waves "The World is Ending Tomorrow" signs every day. But what about the new plumber, who thirty minutes into the job, opens the refrigerator and helps himself to a beverage? Or the convenience store cashier who decides to drop his customers change and purchase directly into their open purse? His gaze is always defiant, as though he is daring the customer to say something... is he potentially dangerous? If so, to what extent?

The cosmos of emotional solvency can be a grey and murky terrain. Sometimes behaviors that seem innocent or even kindly at first glance are, in fact, red flags signaling us that something is wrong.

That is why Park Woojin decided at the young age of 20 that he would spend his life studying psychology so he could help people and understand just what exactly was going on in their head. He loved to sit around and just observe people, to get a chance to glimpse into their inner most thoughts and see what exactly made them tick. He breezed through collage and managed to land a job at a local Psychiatric ward at the age of 26, where he spent a year helping patients get better so that they could reenter society.

Park Woojin loved the work he was doing and relished the feeling of being able to actually help someone, but he still felt like something was missing. His life didn’t feel complete in a way, and it upset him. That was, until he met him.

Lee Minjae.

Minjae was a thin boy with high, defined cheekbones and obviously dyed blonde hair that always hung just over his dark, sunken in eyes. He had been brought to the Psych Ward before Woojin had joined the staff and had spent the past few years being shuffled between the psychologists and psychiatrists working there. Nobody seemed to be able to crack the thick shell surrounding Minjae, and Woojin was almost happy that it was finally his turn.

After a month of twice weekly sessions, Woojin began to slack off with his other patients. HIs mind only had one focus. Help Minjae. A few of the other psychologists felt he was beginning to become obsessed with Lee Minjae, but, the results that Woojin had managed to get far outweighed their concern.

Woojin felt happy, almost complete, as he began to see improvement in Minjae's condition. Minjae began to gain back some of the weight he had lost since he had been brought to the ward, his eyes were a bit brighter and he began to move his blonde hair from his face more often. Woojin thought his heart would burst from pride the first time Minjae smiled at him, even though it was faint and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

But as they say, all good things must come to an end. Woojin decided that he wanted to surprise Minjae. He had gone over the files on him so often; the boy’s birthday was forever imprinted on his mind. So on the bright and sunny day of Minjae's 26th birthday, Woojin slipped out of the ward and went shopping for the perfect birthday present. That evening, he walked around the whole ward looking for Minjae. With the present neatly wrapped in colorful wrapping paper and tucked under one arm, he finally came to a stop in front of his patient’s door. With a quick knock, he pushed open the door, "Minjae, I just wanted to--"

The box crashed to the floor and Woojin froze up as he watched the body of his patient hang lifelessly from the makeshift noose. He stumbled out of the door, "I need a medic, now!!" He yelled down the hallway before rushing into the room and getting Minjae's body down. He cringed at the coldness of the youngers skin as he lay him on the ground. "Minjae..... Jae..... Wake up... Please. I can still help you! Let me help you!! You have to wake up! PLEASE!" He screamed at his patient, tears falling from his eyes as he refused to accept the fact that he had lost Minjae.

That night, Park Woojin left the Psychiatric Ward, wandering around the streets without a cause and no plans to make one. A light rain that soon turned into a down pour soaked him to the bone, but he paid no attention to it. He only had one focus, and that was still Minjae.

"Hey, Mister. Are you okay?"

Woojin looked up slowly, his eyes widening as he took in the sight of the blonde teenager holding out his umbrella to help keep Woojin dry. There was a look of worry in his half covered eyes as he waited for a reply. Woojin could only numbly nod before a smile spread across his features, "I'm doing a lot better now, Minjae." He said, reaching out and grabbing the blonde's arm. Determination spread threw his chest as he kept his eyes locked on his Minjae; he had let him slip away once already. It was not going to happen again.