We were at the birthday party of a close friend, Aron. Minhyun and me, I mean. It was held in the largest room at a KTV (aka. karaoke) bar.  The lights were dimmed down and drinks were poured. Minhyun and I couldn't drink well, so we did not take any drinks that were ordered beforehand. We both ordered a coke and then we listened in on gossip while cheering others on as they sang their favorite songs. As the night dragged on and people got tipsy, people started to leave in pairs and groups. It was about 2:00 in the morning when Minhyun and I decided to leave. A third of the 60 guests had already left. Minhyun and I squished our way to the exit after we wished Aron a happy birthday.

Stepping into the cool early-autumn night air, I shivered. Minhyun zipped up his vest. He was wearing an off-white long sleeves shirt and a plaid dark blue, black, and sky blue colored vest. He wore dark wash skinny jeans with a brown leather belt and white sneakers.

I had my hair tied to a small ponytail. It was getting long - just past my ears, but Minhyun said that the long hair looked good on me. I wore an orange, yellow, and light blue cardigan over a white t-shirt. I had on white skinny jeans and black high-top converse.

"Hey, Ren. Mind if I stay over at your place tonight? My parents are away again and my place is so much further away from here than yours." Minhyun took out his phone and checked the time. "It's also late," he added.

"Yeah, sure, I guess," I said, shrugging. Minhyun's parents were away for business a lot and so he stayed over at my home many times. My parents didn't mind since they've known Minhyun for years now. We started walking towards the direction of my home.

"Do you think it's true," Minhyun asked. "that Kai had kissed some girl?"

"I don't know. He doesn't really seem like the type to do that," I responded. "People at the party weren't specific about whether it was on the cheek or the lips, anyways."

"Well, I still feel bad for Aileen, his girlfriend. Rumors may be fake, but they can become so believable." Minhyun sighed and I nodded in agreement. Aileen and Kai were friends of ours. Kai was Minhyun's and my roommate in college but he didn't spend much time at the dorm. I wasn't super close to him, but we were close enough to still go out and talk over lunch. He had dated Aileen for a few years now and always spoke of her lovingly.

"Life has so much drama," I complained. Minhyun laughed and told me that was just how life worked. Halfway to my home, I pulled out my headphones and some music. The soft,  sweet and sad lyrics of "Into Your World" by the boy-group EXO poured into my ears. I took a deep breath and let it out, enjoying the crisp coolness of the air.

"Ren! REN!" Minhyun yelled. I pulled out the left headphone and turned around to my right to see Minhyun crazily gesturing to the left. A car honked several times as I turned back around to see headlights heading my way. I froze, panicking. My eyes widened. So this is what it's like to be roadkill, I thought to myself. My mind then shut down completely as I felt a forceful push from behind me. Rubber skidded across the cement, making a deafening, high-pitched noise. I fell to the ground, phone falling out of my hoodie pocket and headphones out of my ears. I groaned, wondering which part of me was broken.

I slowly pushed myself off the ground and was about to curse at the driver when I saw him. Minhyun. He lied on the ground in front of the car. He lied in a fetal position, a wound on his head and one near his stomach area. I shook my head in disbelief as I saw the small puddle of blood that was starting to form around his stomach wound.

"No. NO! MINHYUN!" I quickly crawled over to him. I held his head up and willed him to open his eyes.

"Ren..." he said, after a few seconds. He opened his eyes slowly and gave me a weak smile. "You're alright."

"Of course I'm alright, you idiot," I said, tears starting to form. His voice was weak, just above a whisper and I had to lean in to hear what he was saying. I looked to the driver of the car. He was passed out. I cursed my luck. We just had to encounter a drunk driver.

"Ren. You're my best friend, you know?" He smiled again and took a deep breath.

"Yes. I know. I know. You're my best friend too, Minhyun," I said to him. I placed his head on the ground gently and looked around for my phone, which was a meter away from me. I grabbed it and dialed 9-1-1.

Beep. "Our agents are all unavailable at the moment. Please try your call again."

Minhyun groaned and I cursed my luck again. I dialed 9-1-1 again and someone picked up.-

"Hello, this is 9-1-1 Emergency Services. How can we help you at this time?" a lady asked.

"My friend... Uhm, car crash. Please hurry!" I said quickly.

"Oh dear. Where are you right now? We'll send an ambulance from the closest hospital." I gave the lady our location and she hung up after she told me not to worry and everything would be alright. I tried my best to believe her. I crawled back to Minhyun and held his head back up again.

"The ambulance is coming, Minhyun. You'll be alright," I said confidently. Minhyun smiled and closed his eyes. He didn't respond to me.

"Minhyun, you're such an idiot. Why did you push me out of the way?" I sniffed. A few tears drops fell from my face and landed on Minhyun's cheek. I wiped them off with my hand, which I then noticed was cut from landing on the ground. "It's all my fault. I'm sorry. I should've been paying attention... I - "

Minhyun cut me off. "Shhh," he said. "It's not your fault. I would give my life for yours any day, Ren."

"You're a fool." A few more tears escaped my eyes. Minhyun slowly reached up and touched my cheek, wiping the tear drops away slowly.

"Don't cry, Ren. Don't be such a crybaby," he chuckled. "You were such a crybaby in primary school." I adjusted my sitting position and placed his head on my lap. I took his hand with both of my own.

"Yeah, I remember. You would comfort me every time I fell on the playground. I always wondered why you didn't just ignore me. Since you were athletic as a child, you were popular with the other students. But, you were my only friend, Minhyun." Another teardrop sled down my cheek as I recalled the memory.

"Ren. Keep the memories close," Minhyun said, looking up at me His voice was barely above a whisper. It made him seem so fragile. As if he were going to break.

"I will. I will keep the memories close. And, we will be making so many more happy moments together, won't we?" My voice was pleading now. I could hear it myself. Where is the goddamn ambulance, I wondered angry and impatient.

"Yes," Minhyun whispered. He closed his eyes slowly, still smiling at me.

"Minhyun," I said quickly, shaking him slightly. "No. Don't close your eyes. Open them, please open them!" I pleaded. His smile started to fade and I placed a hand on both of his cheeks. "Minhyun, open your eyes. Please!"

I heard the wail of an ambulance in the distance. It was getting closer.

"Minhyun," I whispered, tears pouring out and blinding my vision. "Minhyun. The ambulance is almost here. Hold on, okay? You'll be alright! I promise!" I hugged him, sobbing, and continued to whisper his name, telling him that everything would be alright.

I don't know who I was actually trying to convince. It was most likely myself. After that, all I remember was being pulled away from him as I kicked and screamed. I was brought to the hospital and put through multiple tests to check my physical being. Everything was numb and went by with a blur. Some time after the whole incident, I found out he had passed away. I attended his funeral not long after. I might've as well ruin the whole thing. I won't go into details. I guess I just couldn't accept everything that happened.

~*~

It's been a year now. I'm sitting here writing this story. Why? I want people in the same situation as me to know that there's someone out there in the world that they can relate to. I got through the incident, being a weak person I am, so other people can too. He was my best friend. He will always be my best friend. As I'm finishing this up, I'm remembering all the things we went through together. All the tears, anger, frustrations and happiness. I remember the excitement when we got into the same university. The joy when we both graduated. Goodbye may seem forever. Farewell is like the end. But in our hearts, there the memories of our loved ones will always be.

Signing off,