Sometimes there is no happy ending.

            Sometimes there is just sadness. Sorrow so pure that you will not even notice it closing around your throat until it is too late. Grief that drains your blood and steals your life. Pain so perfect that it will silently steal your last breath and halt your heart.

            He’s gone.

            Sometimes there is no happy ending.

            Sometimes there is nothing you can do to escape your tragic fate.

            He’s gone.

            I never realized I had gotten back on my feet until I found myself walking into the kitchen. Everything seemed strange as if I was watching a film run on slow motion. My hands opened a drawer as if it was preprogramed to do so. I had complete control over my body, but it just didn’t feel that way.

            Was this how it felt to be insane?

            I saw the blade, a sharp fruit knife that Hyesung had once stabbed himself with hopes of waking from his dream. I remembered his scarlet blood running down my fingers, I remembered him screaming in agony, that fool… He was such a fool…

            Now it was my turn to be a fool.

            Was this how Romeo felt when he found his sweet Juliet unmoving in his arms?

            What a fool Romeo was. What a fool I was.

            Love could really make one a fool.

            I raised the knife, poised to strike through my own heart.

            I’ll see you in hell, Hyesung.

            “Eric! No!” I heard his voice from a distance. His voice so ever sweet, so filled with terror and despair. How desperately I wished it wasn’t my imagination. Even as my life flashed before my eyes, I wanted to be able to hear my lover’s voice for the last time.

            “ERIC!”

            The blade was only inches from my chest when a force knocked me to the ground. My vision blurred as my lungs struggled to replenish its air supply.

            “What the are you doing, you fool?!”

            Yes… Yes, I was a fool. A fool who was too afraid to lose the one he loved again.

            “I can’t live without you, Hyesung…” I whispered. Those words were the only truth I knew, the only reality I could live by.

            A fist squarely punched my jaw. Tears stung my eyes.

            “Shut up…”

            He hit me again.

            “Shut up, you ing bastard…”

            Another blow and I tasted blood.

            “You ing… You ing idiot…”

            Cold droplets sullied my bruising cheek. My eyes refocused slowly, revealing the crying face of a man I could never part from.

            “Hyesung ah…” It hurt me to say his name.

            “Why… Why were you going to kill yourself?” he asked angrily, his eyes red and his teeth clenched.

            I blinked. Was it not obvious? “I thought you were gone…”

           Hyesung grabbed the fabric of my shirt and started weeping miserably. I just lay there beneath his weight, feeling his small frame tremoring violently with every sob.

            “I-I’m sorry…” he finally choked out.

            “It’s okay,” I reassured him, wrapping him around my arms. “You’re here now.”

            He pushed back, resisting my touch. “It’s not ing okay… If I had been a second late… Eric ah, if I had come back a second too late…”

            “Shh,” I hushed him. “It’s okay. As long as you’re here—”

            “I’m not going to be here forever, Eric!” Hyesung cried out in agony. “I can’t stay by your side forever! I’m already starting to disappear… We both know how this is going to end.”

            “No, we don’t,” I claimed, but my confidence dwindled instantly.

            “We both know how this is going to end.”

            Hyesung shut his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks.

            “Hyesung ah…” I began, wanting to cease his pain, only to quickly realize there was nothing I could say to ease his grief. “W-Where were you?” I ended up stuttering instead.

            He swallowed back his tears and anxiety as he tried to calm himself. “I… I wanted to go see my parents.”

            My heart seemed to drop to the pit of my stomach.

            “I thought I could take a taxi or something, but I didn’t realize how difficult that would be in my state,” he continued, forcing out a laugh. "I mean, it would be pretty horrible if I didn't even pay them a visit, right? What kind of son would I be?"

            I only wanted to relieve his despair. I only wanted to lighten the burden on his heart.

            But the world just wouldn’t allow it.

            “Hyesung ah… Your parents passed away.”

***

            When we reached the cemetery, Hyesung fell on his knees in front of his parents’ gravestones. There he wept until the sun went down. I waited beside him as darkness slowly consumed us in silence because I knew that no words could comfort him now.

            “How… How did they pass?” he finally asked when he had run out of strength to mourn.

            “They both passed away from disease. It was within two years of your death,” I answered lifelessly.

            Hyesung put his face in his hands. “Jinkyo… How is my little brother?”

            “He’s married now with a daughter.”

            Hyesung sighed. “He… He must hate me so much…”

            “Jinkyo is a good kid,” I told him gently. “He wouldn’t blame you at all. Would you like to go see him?”

            “No… I don’t think I would be able to handle it,” he replied woefully.

            “Hyesung ah—” I started when I was interrupted by a familiar melody.

            Ah, . I hurriedly dug into my pockets to silence my phone.

            “It’s okay, just answer it,” Hyesung said with an empty smile.

            Hesitantly, I fished out my phone and read the name on the screen.

            “Hi, Minwoo,” I greeted hastily as I picked up the call. “It’s not really a good time right now, can I call you back?”

            “Oh, sorry,” Minwoo apologized then added, “Have you thought about the concert yet? What did Hyesung say about it?”

            “Minwoo yah, I haven’t told Hyesung about it yet. I’ll get back to you soon, okay?”

            “Okay. Call me back soon, okay?”

            “Alright. Bye.”

            “Bye.”

            I found Hyesung gazing at me curiously when I hung up the phone. “What haven’t you told me yet?” he interrogated.

            I felt that it was the wrong time to tell him about the reunion concert, but I also knew that Shin Hyesung would definitely not let it slide if I didn’t tell him the truth. “The other three wanted to plan a concert, but maybe it’s not the best time—”

            “T-That’s great!” Hyesung declared, his voice cracking. He gave me a weak grin. “Best news I’ve heard all day.”

            “Hyesung ah, you don’t have to—” I began to protest.

            “I want to,” he argued stubbornly. “Please.”

            “Fine,” I gave up with a sigh. “I’ll let the others know.”

            “Thank you, Eric ah…” Hyesung looked back at his parents’ graves with glossy eyes. “Thank you for everything… Thank you for being here with me.”

            I reached out and took his hand with no intention of letting go.

            “I’ll always be by your side.”

***

            When we returned home, the rest of the world was well into the night, slumbering peacefully. We lay down in bed together, my arm protectively wrapped around his shoulder. His eyes were still swollen from the early grieving, his cheeks cold and colorless. He rested his head against my chest and looked as if all life had been drained from his soul.

“Eric…” he whispered so lowly his words were almost inaudible.

            “Yes?” I answered softly.

            He breathed out a heavy sigh. “Eric… Do you love me?”

            I put my arms around him and placed a hand gently on his head. “Don’t ask such a silly question,” I replied, my fingers running through his hair.

            “Tell me. I want to hear it. Say that you love me.”

            I embraced him more tightly in hopes of melting his cold flesh with my warmth. “You’re ridiculous. Of course, I love you.”

            There was a brief silence. Then he said, “Eric… Can you promise me something?”

            “Hmm?” It wasn’t even a question, since I was ready to surrender my whole being to him.

            “Promise me that you won’t forget me. That you’ll always remember me.”

            I tensed at his words. “I… I won’t be able to forget you even if I tried.”

            “And you have to live on. Live on with our memories.”

            At that, I cupped his face so that I could meet his eyes. They stared back at me, such beautiful brown pools of fragile glass. I could see so much beyond them, his strengths, his weaknesses, his fear, his determination. His woe and his courage. Everything that made this man Shin Hyesung.

            “Live on with me then,” I told him. I could tell that my words hurt him, but I didn’t dare take them back.

            “Eric, I—” he started then sighed again. “Eric… I love you.”

            I closed my eyes, pain stinging everything within me. “I know…”

            I could feel his lips as I touched them with mine, his icy breath tingling the surface of my skin. “I’ll love you forever,” he murmured his seldom vow. His fingers grazed my cheek as he kissed my forehead.

            I opened my eyes again to see him staring at me. He looked completely exhausted, but there was a certain fire behind his eyes and its flames seemed to dissolve all my fears and insecurities. His lips curled into a smile, a grin so filled with incessant sadness that it would forever haunt my darkest dreams.

            “I’ll love you forever,” he repeated, a speck of liquid diamond trickling from his eye. “Death will never keep me from loving you.”

[A/N]: An update!!! :D It's so hard to find time to write these days, please forgive me for the delay QQ Did you guys notice how the last part of this chapter is in the forward? I hope you guys enjoyed although it was a little sad... Please ignore the mistakes, too, I'm writing this 5 am in the morning because I can't sleep QQ Thank you guys so much for the support! Please keep commenting and upvoting, I really value feedback! Thank you again, you guys are seriously the best. And Shinhwa is the best, too, 10 trophies OMG! <3 ^______^ Hwaiting everyone! Love you all~