I was planning to propose to him. I wanted to reveal it to the world as more than partners, I wanted them all to know that Chulyong was my everything. He was. There was nothing in this world that could ever compare to him, no smile quite as lovely as his, no laugh quite as infectious and definitely nobody quite as important to me as he was. 

He was in ear shot, if I yelled loud enough, maybe he would listen. My lungs burned from a mixture of the cold and chasing after Chulyong. 

"Mireu!" I cried out to him, hoping more than anything that he would stop and talk to me. I needed to explain everything to him.

He ignored me, he continued running away, he must have really hated me to do that. I couldn't let him get away, if I let him get away now I might never see him again. 

I felt something land on my cheek, I knew what it was right away, it wasn't rocket science to figure it out. It was going to be pouring down buckets soon enough and I didn't want him to get drenched. The quicker I could get him to just come talk with me, the quicker I could get him home and out of the rain. 

"Mir, please..." I called to him between pants, my feet thudding hard against the damp pavement as I chased after him. I would never give up, even if I had to chase him for miles. To me, Chulyong was worth that and so much more. I really loved him.

He was still running and by this point, I could feel wet hairs sticking to the side of my face. The rain was coming down hard and Chulyong was quickly getting drenched. I definitely didn't want him to get sick, I needed to get him to come back with me soon or else he really would be drenched. Why wouldn't he listen to me? 

"Chulyong! Just stop running away and let me explain!" I raised my voice, I sounded far more demanding than I would've liked to but what was done was done. I stared at his back pleadingly, just begging him to stop running and turn around. 

"Explain what? Why you're such a ?" He screamed back, pain and anger dripping from his tone and I could hear it clearly. He stopped, though, and he turned around. Right in the middle of the road.

I have never regretted anything as much as I regret that. I was rooted to the spot, all I could do was stare as I heard the tires screech, the driver of the car desperately trying to avoid hitting him. The driver had tried their hardest, but Chulyong's stop was far too abrupt for anyone to react to quickly enough. 

The sound of the car hitting him was the worst sound I have ever heard. However, it was that exact sound that restored my ability to move. 

"Chulyong!" I cried once again, dashing over to his side, practically collapsing onto my knees beside him. 

The driver staggered from his car, he tried to see if he was alright but all I could do was scream at him to get help. To call an ambulance. Anything. I didn't have my phone and there was no way I was leaving him there, soaked and in pain.

I could feel a lump in my throat, I could feel the tell-tale sting in my eyes of impending tears, I knew I was going to cry and there was nothing I could do to stop myself. My tears finally spilled over, cascading down my cheeks, one stray tear dripping down onto Chulyong's cheek.

"Joonie," he mumbled, clearly in pain.

I could see he was having a hard time breathing, his chest moving in an odd way as he gasped desperately for air. I touched my hand to his cheek and hushed him lovingly, forcing the smallest of smiles.

"It's going to be alright, Chulyong. You're going to be okay." I reassured him, I knew that if he stressed out, he wouldn't be alright. 

I took one of his hands in mine, my free hand fumbling around in my pocket until I found the box. I flicked it open swiftly and pulled it into his view. He saw the ring and a tiny, but sincere smile found its way onto his face. Without me even having to explain, he understood what had happened. 

"Bang Chulyong, will you do me the honour of marrying me?" I choked back my tears, staring into his eyes as I waited for his response. 

It didn't come immediately, it couldn't have because he could barely breathe.

"Yes," he wheezed, clutching onto my hand as tightly as he could. "Yes," he wheezed again, giving a feeble nod to reinforce his point.

"Shhh, shhh," I came again with the loving hushing. 

I took the ring from the box and slipped it on his finger, bringing his hands up to briefly kiss at his knuckles. I hated seeing him like this, I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face and he could see every one of them. He shot me a pleading look and I knew then that he knew, he knew that he wasn't going to be alright. The fear on his face was enough to break me. 

I started sobbing, I knew better to do than what I did, but I couldn't help slipping my arms under him, lifting him into my body. I held him as close to me as I could. I could hear him trying to speak again, I just the back of his head and hushed him.

"I-I... love," he refused to listen to me, he wasn't going to hush this time. "I love you."

"I love you too. You are my world." I managed to pause my sobbing long enough to speak. 

That's when I felt it. His body went limp and I couldn't hear him wheezing. I couldn't hear him panting. I laid his body back on the paved road beneath us, my eyes flickering over his face for any sign of life. There was absolutely none. He was gone. The love of my life had left me, even after promising me his hand.

I couldn't move, I couldn't think, I could hardly breathe. I heard a siren in the distance, but they were too late. They came too late. I lay my head on his chest, regardless of the fact I wouldn't be able to hear his heartbeat. Now that I didn't have to keep him calm, I sobbed hysterically. My fingers curled in the shirt he wore.

Blood that had soaked through his shirt from a rather deep laceration marked my cheek, but I didn't care.

I was getting soaked, but I didn't care. 

I was making a complete fool of myself in front of strangers who had gathered at the scene, but I didn't care.

Without Chulyong, I didn't care about anything. My world was shattered. The one I could call my best friend, my partner, my lover, my better half was gone. The person who meant the world to me was gone, and it felt like a huge part of me had gone along with him.