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Gongchan got the worst news of his life, which resulted in the worst week of his life. As he has to face something that no one should have to face, the bonds of friendship prove to be a strong thing and provide the beginnings of stronger feelings that they both couldn’t imagine.

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“Why are you like that?” Marisa asked as she entered the math class and saw Gongchan sprawled out on the connected seats.

            “I’m going to sleep,” Gongchan said as he shut his eyes and put his arm over his forehead.

            “Why?” Marisa asked as she went over to him and attempted to pick him up so he sat straight up, but it wasn’t working. He was using all of his weight to put his back down onto the seats. “Sit up,” Marisa said as she attempted to pick him up once again and that time, Gongchan finally complied with the request and sat up, but then leaned right back onto Marisa as she sat at one of the desks.

            It was their routine, they sat next to each other every day in class and they always goofed off, besides when Gongchan told Marisa to be quiet since he was attempting to learn things. After all, it was Calculus II and they both had forgotten a lot of it within the last year.

            “Let’s try something new, I sit over here,” Gongchan said as he moved to the right side of Marisa.

            “Um…sure?” Marisa asked unsure of how to react to that statement. She didn’t really care where Gongchan actually sat, just as long as he sat next to her. Sure, she knew other people in the math class, but none were as exciting and fun to sit next to as Gongchan.

            As they sat at their desks, Marisa noticed that Gongchan was playing with his phone, a lot, which was something that he normally didn’t do. Normally he wouldn’t even look at his phone, whether he was in or out of class. It wasn’t a device that he normally used.

            “Why are you looking at your phone?” she curiously asked as she couldn’t take it any longer.

            “My computer broke and I’m trying to see if the computer repair guy will call me back,” Gongchan muttered as he rested his head on the desk. “I’m so tired.”

            “Are you now…”

            “Yeah, and angry because the computer repair guy won’t call me back!” Gongchan yelled, but not too loud since they were still in the classroom, even if the teacher hadn’t come in yet. “And it’s just been a crappy week.”

            “Oh,” Marisa muttered. She didn’t know how to respond to that statement. “Why has it been a crappy week?” she curiously asked. She wasn’t sure if she should’ve asked or not, but she was somehow curious about what was making Gongchan’s week such a crappy week.

            “I found out that my grandmother is dying this week,” Gongchan said as he looked at Marisa.

            “Oh…” Marisa said. She was at a loss of what to do. She didn’t know what to say to comfort Gongchan. She could only stare at him while he stared back at her.

            “I know, right?” he asked shrugging his shoulders.

            Without saying anything and mustering a smile on her face, Marisa put her arm around Gongchan’s shoulder and patted it. “It’s alright. It’ll be alright.”

            The week didn’t go any better for Gongchan. His once bubbly personality was replaced by a more somber Gongchan. The jokes that always made Marisa laugh during their class time together slowly disappeared into nothing.

            Marisa wanted to comfort Gongchan, she wanted to say something that would make him happy and cheerful, but she was afraid of saying the wrong thing. Marisa was afraid of saying something that Gongchan wouldn’t like and upsetting him even further.

            After what felt like forever, it was the weekend. It was the weekend that the funeral would be held. As Marisa stepped into class, she felt as though something was different. It just seemed like something was different with how Gongchan was acting. “Hi,” he cheerfully said as she sat down.

            “Um…hi?” Marisa hesitantly asked as she stared at him as she began to take out the materials for class. “What’s up with you today?”

            “Nothing,” he said shaking his head as he went back to drawing in his notebook, but his behavior change didn’t go unnoticed by Marisa. It wasn’t until the end of class that she realized why he was acting like that earlier.

            “Marisa,” Gongchan said stopping her before she could walk out of the classroom faster than he could, “are you doing anything this weekend?” Marisa shook her head. “Would you mind joining me?”

            “Joining you? Joining you where?” Marisa curiously asked.

            “Joining me…in going…to the funeral,” he quietly said as he looked down at the ground.

            Comfortingly, Marisa put her hand on Gongchan’s shoulder, causing him to lok up at her. “I would love to go with you. Just tell me the time and place.”

            “It’s on Sunday…I’ll stop by your dorm in the morning, so wake up early, like at eight and I’ll go with you on the subway to my house.”

            “Okay. I’ll see you then,” Marisa said nodding her head.

            Sunday quickly came and Marisa woke up early to be able to meet Gongchan before he knocked on their door. “Whoa,” Gongchan said as Marisa opened the door right when he was about to knock on it.

            “Sorry, did I scare you?” Marisa asked with a light laugh.

            “No, it’s alright. Are you ready?”

            “I’m ready,” she said nodding her head as she softly closed the door behind her before following Gongchan out.

            On the way to Gongchan’s house, the two said nothing to one another. It was slightly awkward, knowing why they were going on the subway, but there was no way to avoid it, it was happening.

            Marisa knew what to expect, but she didn’t at the same time. It would be the first time that she saw a vulnerable side of Gongchan and it would be the first time she would see him in a different light, but she wasn’t going to put her mind on that. She was going to make sure that she stood by Gongchan’s side when he needed her the most.

            Saying nothing, Marisa stood by Gongchan’s side throughout the ceremony. She didn’t say a word to anyone, not even his family. It wasn’t even like she would know what to say. During the ceremony, though, Marisa felt something warm touch her hand. Taking a quick glance down, she saw Gongchan’s hand tightly holding onto hers and as she looked up at his face, she saw him trying to hold back his tears. Without saying anything, Marisa gently squeezed his hand, causing Gongchan to look at her and give his best smile before turning his attention back.

            After the ceremony, Gongchan and Marisa went outside to get fresh air. “Thank you for coming with me,” Gongchan sincerely said as he sat down on the ledge.

            “No problem, I’ll always be there for you,” Marisa said as she smiled at him and sat down on the empty space next to him.

            “Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me,” Gongchan said as he turned to look at her.

            “No problem. Like I said, I’ll always be there for you whenever you need me,” Marisa repeated.

            Without saying anything, Gongchan quickly took Marisa into his embrace and hugged her. “And I’ll always be there for you whenever you need anything. Thank you.”

            “No problem,” Marisa repeated for the third time with a light laugh as she hugged Gongchan back and rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s absolutely no problem.”