"What the..." Your eyes widened in shock as you viewed the scene before you. Bodies strewn everywhere, blood splatters painting the surrounding area.  And there in the middle, eyes starting to close and become glassy, was Joowon. Joowon, your "delinquent" boyfriend, who looked like a mafia boss but was the sweetest, most innocent person you'd ever met. Misjudged for a gang member because of his appearance and dark aura, he was actually a giant softie who loved to make you laugh at his aegyo and would do anything to make you happy. 

Because of his naturally slanted eyebrows which gave him an irritated, challenging look and made passerbys quickly avert their eyes in fear, actual gang members and hoodlums often mistook him for wanting a fight, resulting in them getting beat up (he was no weakling) and coming back for revenge with back up. 

Apparently they'd brought too many people this time-Joo Won was hurt, and BAD. Of course, he'd managed to bring the rest of them down with him, judging by the bruised bodies and groans that sounded from the floor, but they weren't your concern right now. Your only concern was Joo Won, who lay on his back on the tainted floor, jacket dark with blood and face swollen from the punches he'd taken, his fists red from the damage they'd done. 

"Ju Young..." he coughed, reaching out a hand for you weakly. 

Hearing his voice, a hoarse faint whisper of a ghost, snapped you out of your frozen state. You quickly rushed towards him, worry evident on your face as you ran towards the bleeding figure on the floor.

“What-I don’t-why-Oppa what happened?” You asked breathlessly as you took his outstretched hand, clasping the scarlet stained fingers tight as you pressed your cheek against his rough palm. Tears welled up in your eyes as you surveyed his condition. Rumpled suit, white dress shirt crinkled and stained with a brownish-red, hair tousled and knotted, dark in contrast with his pale face. A still-bleeding cut above his left eyebrow, caused blood to flow down the side of his face as you cradled his head in your lap, caressing the side of his face with the hand that wasn’t holding his, tracing his cheekbones with your thumbs and ghosting across his pale lips with your fingers. He did not look good.

“Nothing babe, just-you know-I happened to catch some guy’s eye, he picked a fight, got beat up, and came back for revenge,” Joowon chuckled dryly. “The usual.” His voice became stronger as your hand caressed his face, wincing as the sudden movement caused his split lip to reopen and begin to bleed again.

“Aigoo… look at you… let’s go get you cleaned up, okay? You look like crap. Crap that's been stepped on, made into road kill, and incinerated. Where else did you get injured? Omo there’s blood all over your shirt!” You spoke rapidly as you checked him frantically, looking to see if the blood had been caused by knife wounds, or even worse, a broken rib puncturing through his skin, or if the blood was not his but the blood of those in heaps on the floor around him.

“Sssss-“ Joowon hissed in pain as you moved him suddenly, trying to turn him over and check him for any broken bones, the abrupt movements causing him to wince at your harsh inspection. “Careful babe, I’m an injured man-not an apple for sale,,” Joowon protested, preventing you from moving him anymore.

You stopped your inspection but gave him a look, cocking your eyebrows. “Injured man? More like an immature child. Who still gets in random fist fights multiple times a week at this age? You’re a normal guy with a normal job, not a heavyweight champion.”

“Hmph. I am too a man. You’re just too enchanted by my manliness to admit it.” He pouted, puffing up his cheeks childishly at you.

“So manly men cry at the sight of a single moth? That grey little thing with wings, that doesn’t have a hundred legs, or bite, or heck-it doesn’t even do anything.”

“It takes a real man to cry those fake tears-couldn’t you tell I was just acting to make you laugh? I was trying to cheer you up! I am an actor! You know you’re secretly in awe of my skills! “

“Yes, yes Mr. Manly. Thank you for that amazing show. Now come on, let’s go. If you have enough energy to talk that much, you can't be injured that bad,” You said, moving his head from your lap to stand up. You held out your hands to him, as he still lay on his back, not having moved from his previous position. “Come on, you big baby. Let’s go,” You wiggled your fingers towards him, arms still outstretched to help pull him up.

“Nnnnnn-I don’t wanna move~ Can we just rest here for a little bit? I’m tired~” your boyfriend whined. “Let me use your lap for five minutes. I just beat fifty people. I’m tired~”

“Aigoo you… Fine, but only five minutes-be glad you’re cute.” You told him as you bent back down, folding your feet under your legs so Joowon could rest his head on your lap.

“Mmm so comfortable~ I love my lovely battery charger. Recharge~” Joowon mumbled as he snuggled into your lap, his voice trailing off at the end, brows furrowed slightly as he drifted off to sleep.

“You~” you poked his face, scrunching your lips up to the side.  You observed his peaceful face as he slept. Strong nose, high cheekbones, that perfect forehead, and huge eyes that even you were jealous of. You smiled gently to yourself-he was so adorable when he was asleep-his eyebrows relaxed and his whole face seemed to reflect innocence-the face of an angel you thought. Slowly, you leaned down and gently placed you lips on his forehead, the feel of his smooth skin causing a warmth to linger on your lips as you sat back up. You smiled again, drinking in his handsome face; even bruised and bloodied, he still looked like a model.

“Joowon-ah,” you called softly, his smooth hair, “Wake up. It’s way past five minutes now. We have to go get you patched up.” You laughed, “You look like an abused banana.” Joowon didn’t stir, eyes staying closed as before. “Joowonnie~” You called, poking his nose. Still no response. Strange, he usually woke up as soon as you called him. Still, now he stayed asleep, unresponsive to your light slaps and calls for him to wake up.

You sensed something was wrong. A light sleeper like Joowon would have been awake by now. Even when he was too exhausted after work to do anything but collapse on his bed and fall asleep, leaving you to help him take off his shoes and tuck him properly into bed, he would still wake up when you moved him, mumbling incomprehensible words as he drifted back to sleep. Now, he lay unmoving, almost as if trapped in an inescapable sleep. His breathing was steady, but now, you noticed, his breaths seemed to be quicker and became shallower.

“Joowon,” you tried again, shaking his shoulder harder. No response. You got out from under him and quickly kneeled back down, this time by his side. You shook him harder, slapping his face lightly as you called his name, “Joowon. Joowon-ah! Wake up!” As you called him, you noticed your pants felt…. Cold.

You touched your pants-they were wet, probably what had caused the cold feeling. You brought your hand back to your face, shocked to see it was stained wine red. You gasped, quickly taking off his outer jacket and ing his dirty dress shirt. Your eyes widened at what you saw. There on the left, just under his ribs, the smooth skin was interrupted by a pool of red-a large gash, probably from a knife.

“No… no no no no NO!” You covered the gaping wound with your hands, trying to stop the blood from gushing out, the red liquid slipping between your fingers-his life slipping between your fingers. You heard his gasps become evident as you fumbled with his discarded dress shirt, wadding up the cloth into a giant ball and pressing it tightly against his wound, trying to stop the flow of red draining from his body.

A hand appeared, the hand of the person whose life you were trying to save so desperately, holding onto your arms as you pressed the dirty ball of cloth against the ever flowing fountain of blood. “Stop,” he said, his voice coming out the hoarse ghost of a whisper it had been when you had first walked in. “Ju Young,” he forced out, pulling your arms away from his chest. He shook his head slightly, wincing as the motion pulled slightly at his wound.

“NO, you’re not going to die. You won’t die, you can’t die. I won’t let you. You can’t leave me, you can’t-I won’t-just don’t—“ You sobbed uncontrollably, burrowing your face in his chest, not caring about the blood smeared across your face from the gaping hole in his abdomen.

He said nothing, instead he preserved his strength and wrapped his arms around you; slowly, you could see the motion pained him, the effort it took to move evident in the veins made prominent in his neck. He hugged you to him, as you poured your heart out, as if when your tears numbered over a thousand then he would magically be healed. You felt his breathing become shallower and you hugged him tighter.

“-You-can’t-leave-You-can’t-I-won’t-let-you-“ You sobbed between cries, the sobs racking your small frame as you clutched him tighter, clutching his life to you, preventing it from slipping away and being swept away with Death, the evil himself.

“-You-can’t-“ You repeated, feeling his grip beginning to loosen around you as the thuds resounding in your ear began to become fainter, your face pressed against his chest making tracks of tears form a pool beside him.

“No-Don’t-“ Too late, it was done. You stopped midsentence, in the act of forbidding Death-threatening Death-from taking him. Your angel, your savior, your life. Gone.

In an instant, a heart had stopped beating, a life had stopped living, lungs had ceased to breathe-and you had ceased to live. In that moment, your life was over. As Joowon had gone, so your soul had gone too. Your reason to live was gone.

You were gone.

Slowly, you leaned down, gently pressing your lips to your love one last time, this time to his lips, the familiar warmth of his skin on yours almost bringing another round of fresh tears. But it was too late-you were too far gone. This last kiss, this last moment with him, it would stay forever. Forever, in your unbeating heart, the only trace of warmth in the freezing barren wasteland that was now you.

You closed your eyes, resting your forehead on his, taking in his lingering scent.

“Forever…”