You Saved Me
Don't Give Up
12 June 1998.
I just want to end it all. Lee Sunho’s eyes danced lazily over the bridge railing, taking in its every detail as he ran his hand across the cold metal and looked towards the setting sun.
He had been standing by the side of the bridge for hours now, just staring into the horizon as he leaned over the railing, waiting for everyone to disappear so he could, too. No one paid heed to him; everyone was far too busy to take a few minutes out of their time to even spare a glance towards the strange man. That made it even easier for him to decide to leave this cruel world where no one cares about anyone except themselves, and trade it for the sweet release of death he was sure would carry him to paradise where he would be eternally free from the pain of loneliness.
Even the heavens agreed as it roared in response and, a few minutes later, unleashed a torrent of cold rain that soaked Lee Sunho to the very core.
Not that he cared about being wet. In a few moments, he'd be at the bottom of this river anyway.
"." Park Choongjae cursed under his breath as he looked up in contempt at the heavens when it suddenly decided to pour out its contents. Luckily, he had brought a folded umbrella; Unluckily, he wasn't able to get it out of his schoolbag in time to prevent from getting wet. In the sudden outpour, the rain had hit him at full force before he could shield himself.
He then began to run home, clutching the umbrella tightly to cover every inch of his body that wasn't wet yet, causing him to not see where he was going very well. Luckily, there were only a few people out and about, as the sudden rain forced them to take shelter somewhere to wait it out.
Sunho clutched the railing, his eyes focused on the raging waters below. He just needed to haul himself over the bridge... and it would be over.
Or not, when a boy with an umbrella that obviously wasn't looking at where he was going collided with him violently, sending them both tumbling to the ground.
"Oh ! I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking at where I was going and-- Sunho-ssi?" Choongjae blinked, still sprawled on the wet ground while blinking confusedly at the other. The other boy, Lee Sunho, was the resident quiet boy in his class; he never really talked to him before, so he didn't know anything about the other. "Funny meeting you here. Sorry about that, are you alright? Geez, I got you all wet! Here, let me give you a hand."
Sunho was flustered as he stared at the outstretched hand, before taking it shyly as he was pulled up. He muttered something along the lines of 'it's alright', but he wasn't sure if the other even heard as he continued to prattle on.
"What are you doing out here in the rain all by yourself, and without an umbrella too? You really should be going home. Or did you have extra classes like me? You should bring an umbrella with you, especially during the rainy season. Otherwise, you might catch a cold if you stay out here for too long. Come on, let's go talk somewhere where the rain isn't beating down our backs!"
Park Choongjae was the resident popular boy. Loud, boisterous and talkative by nature, he attracted people like moths to a flame because of his vibrant personality. Lee Sunho was a quiet person, frequently passed over by the other students, as he gave out an unapproachable aura. However, this same personality caused him to be bullied frequently, which no one paid heed to since they never even notice him.
So with their paths not crossing very frequently, Sunho couldn't help but wonder why Choongjae seemed to care about him at that moment. He already knew that the boy was friendly by nature; but no one could be this friendly, right?
"Where do you live?" Choongjae's sudden question snapped him out of his stupor.
"In... in the other side of town, quite far from here." He replied, his voice almost a whisper. Choongjae shook his head.
"That won't do, you can't go home at this rate. Why don't you stop by my house for a while? It's near here, we just need to walk a few blocks. That is, of course, if you're okay with walking in this downpour."
"Are... are you sure?" Sunho didn't even know why he didn't just outright refuse, as was his customary reaction to offers like these. Not that he got them a lot anyway, if ever. But there was something with the other boy that seemed to intrigue him; still, he didn't want to appear desperate or clingy by agreeing right away.
"Of course! It's only right I take care of you, I caused you to be soaked like a wet puppy after all." Choongjae replied simply with a grin. In an unexpected move that caused Sunho's cheeks to flush, Choongjae grabbed his hand and pulled him close, before opening his umbrella to shield both of them. "Come on, hold on to me or you're gonna get even more wet in this weather! Not that there's any point at this moment to even use the umbrella, but at least it will shield us from the big drops!"
Sunho held onto Choongjae's arm reluctantly, but the wind picked up and almost snatched the umbrella out of Choongjae's hands. He laughed loudly, the happy sound cutting through the depressing scene, which made them look almost comical. Sunho couldn't help but smile a bit at the other's antics. They ended up walking through the rain umbrella-less anyway, as Choongjae's umbrella had been overturned to the point of no return. And while they were making their way, Choongjae's friendly personality and natural talkativeness instinctively brought out Sunho's charms, as he gradually found out that there's more to the quiet boy than what he shows.
They finally arrive at Choongjae's home, his mother waiting at the door with a chuckle as she surveyed two boys who were dripping wet, looking like something the cat dragged in. She prepared fresh clothes, towels, and hot tea, and pretty soon both of them were comfortably sitting in the cozy living room watching the rain pound against the windows.
Sunho had called his mother earlier from Choongjae's house phone informing her of his whereabouts, and now that there was nothing to worry about, Choongjae and Sunho got to talking. Choongjae noticed that the boy was actually quite good-looking now that he can take a good look at him- he had a smile that could make every girl fall for him, and his cute charms were really what drew him to the other. They became fast friends on that one fateful day.
Armed with nothing but his friendly personality and sincerity in being a good friend, Park Choongjae singlehandedly changed Lee Sunho’s life.
It was like something clicked inside Sunho. Because of Choongjae, he gradually bloomed into a person well-liked by everyone. It was as if his whole life was suddenly given meaning to, and it was all because of a beautiful coincidence that was waiting to happen.
One day some years later (they had both graduated with high honors, and ended up going to the same college together to pursue a course in music), Sunho and Choongjae got to talking again, mostly reminiscing about the years they had spent together being very good friends.
"Do you know what date it is today?" Sunho suddenly asked Choongjae, who blinked and looked at his calendar.
"June 12, why?"
"This was the day we first met." Sunho declared with a sparkle in his eyes that Choongjae didn't understand at first. But he smiled anwyway, waiting for Sunho to elaborate. "I never told you... but this was the day I was supposed to kill myself, all those years back then. I hated my life. I hated going to school, where everyone looked down on me and not one single person reached out to me. I was overcome with the pain of loneliness, just wanting to end it all... and there you came barelling down the road, bumping violently into me and soaking us both, befriending me and teaching me that there just might be something for me in this thing called life. When I thought it was the end, you came and showed me it was only the beginning."
Choongjae was shocked at the revelation, to the point where he was rendered speechless. The serious atmosphere was suddenly broken by Sunho's amused laugh. "Wow, the almighty Park Choongjae, finally rendered speechless! I must be really good."
"You... just... I had no idea... I can't imagine my life without you, Sunho-ya!" The sincere atmosphere was broken by Choongjae's resident whining, clinging onto Sunho's arm who jokingly tried to pry him off. "I'm just glad you didn't go through with it. Because you set me straight too, without your constant nagging at me to study instead of go out to party, I never would have made it through highschool even with passing grades!"
"And I'm glad too, because then I wouldn't have the satisfaction of listening to you whine about calculus and how horrible the teacher is."
They both laughed for a moment, fond memories of highschool all coming back again. But after a few moments, Choongjae straightened up and looked seriously at Sunho, a gentle smile present on his features. "In all seriousness, though... You were like a gift from heaven to me. My greatest friend. I can't imagine life without you... I can't even say how thankful I am for you. Thank god I had the sense to brave that storm."
"And thank god I had the sense to open up to you and allow you to heal my wounds, and not giving up on life." Sunho pulled Choongjae into a warm hug, then let go a few moments later. "Okay, enough of this sappy talk. Let's go and get ice cream or something."
Choongjae suddenly tapped Sunho on the shoulder, then ran away fast. "Last one to the shop is a rotten egg!"
Sunho laughed. He won't be jumping off a bridge any time soon.
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I don't even know with this fic ._. It deviated from my original intentions the more I wrote it and I just didn't know what else to do with it, so I just decided to go with the flow and churn out whatever. Hopefully this wasn't revoltingly bad though >.<;;; Sorry guys. And the date- nothing significant. I just glanced at an old calendar and that's the first date I saw lol.
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