A month later, a boy of my age, Yixing by name, enrolled in the school and was placed in my class. He was Jongin's cousin, and I assumed he knew about me and Jongin. But, much to my surprise, the first thing he did was to take the seat next to me and shook my hand.

I began thinking that he had no idea about what had happened. He chatted happily and I got to know him in those few hours. I went home happily and even my family noticed the change in me at dinner time because for the past month I had been rather short-tempered.

That night, when I got ready for bed, I looked forward to going to school. From then onwards, Yixing and me became buddies. We went travelling together, fishing trips, camping, rock climbing, swimming, well practically everything we did, we did together. The subject of Jongin never came up. One day, he confided in me, he knew about the whole situation, but it was his choice to choose his own friends. And from that day on, he had my full respect for standing up for himself.

The university entrance exam was around the corner. We spent less and less time together. Both of us wanted to excel in the examination that would determine our future. As a result, I stayed at home more than before, studying and revising every minute. This examination was especially vital to me as I wanted to further my studies with Yixing, in the same university.

Then, the examination came. We slogged our very best, and when it was finally over, I decided to visit my best friend, Yixing. I had not seen him for a long time, almost a month. The reason was, as he took different subjects, we had papers on different days. As such, chances of meeting and talking to him were quite slim.

I drove my mother's car to his house only to find it empty. I concluded that he must have gone out or he was away. I was pretty upset because I took for granted he would be at home. Therefore, I went home early and celebrated with myself what I initially wanted to celebrate with Yixing. So, I went back the next day and much to my disappointment, I met his mother instead. When I asked for him, without warning she burst into tears.

When she was calm, she informed me that Yixing was in the hospital because of leukemia. As soon as she uttered those words, I felt numb all over and I couldn't think straight. I wal