Lee Cheonri walked down the staircase of the quiet and still space she called her home. At least it felt like home when she bought it. Sighing as she scanned the empty and lifeless living room from an aerial view, Cheonri continued her steps towards the television area. She could hear her footsteps against the wooden staircase echoing around the corner of the house where it replaced the echoes of her past laughter with a lover. She rested her head on the settee and absorbed the comfort of it, feeling it touch her head and spread towards her face and closing her eyes.

The picture of him popped into her mind and this time she did not smile. The majority of the spaces in her head had only been occupied by the face that she loved. How his big eyes that seems to glimmer even in the darkest corner of their bedroom and his touch of pure sincerity and affection she had gotten to know well. She missed him. The picture then disappeared.

She opened her eyes in a quick motion and sat up straight, her brain beginning to process thoughts to distract herself from her mundane routine. She felt her day off from work was wasted with thoughts that she could not bring any positivity into it. Bringing herself up from the settee, she walked around the house to find some housework to do. Picking up a broom, a vacuum cleaner, anything to set her mind off him. Even putting on some music to help herself. Alas it did not work for his form kept creeping into her mind as she tried to think of anything otherwise.

After ages of loafing around the house, late afternoon had arrived. The sound of the doorbell entered her ears, alerting her brain. She rushed towards the front door and looked through the peephole as her lover had always told her to do as to avoid letting in dangerous people. She stayed against the door, still looking at the tall man with his dark blue police hat and bored face. Reluctantly she opened the door for him.

“Hey, babe. Welcome home!” She forced an instant smile across her face. It felt as unnatural as her lover’s greeting for her.

She kept her eyes on his not meeting hers but focusing on taking off his leather shoes. For a few short seconds he met her and gave a short nod. His tall and fit figure passed by her, leaving only the scent of his colon at the doorframe for her to absorb his entrance.

“Are you hungry? I can cook for you,” she asked again with a lively voice.

“I need a bath more.” He answered making his way up the stairs.

Cheonri waited until she couldn’t see Minho’s figure on their staircase before she walked up as well. The bedroom door was ajar, she could see Minho stripping himself and grabbing his red towel. Cheonri stared at his broad shoulders entering the bathroom. As soon as she heard the sound of their shower, she rested herself on the small sitting area outside their bedroom. Her head dropped in disappointment.

He didn’t forget did he?

She gripped onto the settee and felt her tears drop onto the thin material of her skirt. She felt the few tears absorb into her skirt and making their appearance to the touch receptors of her lap. After a few sobs, she heard a familiar message tone. The vibration went on for a good three rounds, enough to shift her attention to the small gadget. She stared at it as it blinks wildly and turns slightly due to the vibration, turning to her direction, as though teasing her to check the message.  Temptation grew in her. Cheonri began to debate in her brain as to what she was to do. She looked around the small area and her eyes fell onto the door of her bedroom- their bedroom. Cheonri could see Minho stepping out the bathroom with the shower steam lingering around his muscular body, a fit policeman he was.

Cheonri’s mind visualised the amount of time Minho would take to get dressed. Feeling used to the situation of waiting for him to dress for a few good minutes. She took the phone and felt the sturdiness of it in her moist palms. She stared at the screen showing a self-camera picture of herself with Minho they took a few months ago. A little light flickered inside her dim heart. She felt a sudden need to giggle. Still smiling, she pushed a button opening the message.

‘Minho baby <3 we’re still on for tonight right? Can’t wait to get my dancing shoes on! Haven’t been to that y Shabang Club in a while! See you soon :-* heee.’

Cheonri’s grip on the phone tightened as she reread the message again and again. The familiar name of their mutual friend as the sender mocked her. Cheonri felt the waterworks beginning to work their gears in her head before pouring everything out. Her hands became weak as all her energy was drained out with the tears that were leaking out of her pure and captivating eyes.

Minho stepped out of the room, dressed in his casual home clothes and drying his hair with his towel.

“Cheon-“

Minho stopped as he saw what she was holding in her hand. His shocked was replaced by a sudden swift of relieve. His sigh made Cheonri look at him standing tall before her. A sudden guilt was felt by Minho as he saw her soaked cheeks and snots from the crying. He could see how badly upset she was and how she couldn’t even bear to hide it from him. What’s worse, she seemed broken to pieces. Cheonri wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and couldn’t look at Minho’s reaction any longer. She got up and ran down the stairs.

Minho scanned the couch for his black covered phone to find it was not there. He got an adrenaline rush knowing the trouble he was in seeing Cheonri taking his phone wasn’t part of his plan. How was he to call their mutual friend? Plus Cheonri was running out the door as he was panicking. The slam of the door made Minho jerk out of his mind and dropped his towel on the couch before running downstairs. He slipped on a random footwear that he wasn’t even aware whether it was his or Cheonri’s. He ran out, trying to catch her.

He stopped at a junction in their neighbourhood and came to a dilemma. Similar to being on the force, he came to a point he had to use his instinct to catch the criminal. He paused as he saw a last glimpse of Cheonri turning a corner on his right. Immediately he ran, sprinting his way towards his lover.

Cheonri continued to run as the thought of her old friend and Minho together popped into her head. One scene after another, her mind was beginning to put visualisations that she had never seen before in her life. The trust she had put into Minho’s hands, all of her love, all that she knew of happiness she had shared with him. And when things went wrong, she would turn to their old friend. Where she provides a shoulder to cry on, Cheonri would be think of nowhere else but there to make her saddening pit stop. What did she do to deserve such a hurtful irony? All she had done was love and share her life with two such beautiful human beings. And in the end it was her running away from it all.

After a few turns, she came to a busy intersection away from the quaint and peaceful suburb. She stopped and prayed somehow the cars would stop right then for her to cross. She looked behind, scanning for Minho. There he was, without even panting he turned his head from a junction and his huge and worrisome eyes met hers full of franticness. Seeing Minho made her heart quake and instantly her legs began to move without her brain comprehending where was she to go. She turned around and saw flashes of headlights move in front of her.

“Cheonri!” Minho screamed from afar.

His deep voice triggered Cheonri to move from her position and walked onto the black pavement of the road. With the stop light still showing bright green, she crossed anyway.

“Lee Cheonri!” Minho screamed as he spotted a silver Peugeot exceeding the speed limit moving towards Cheonri.

“Che-Cheon-“

The sound of Minho’s scream died into the sudden screech of the car braking a little too late than it should’ve. Minho froze at the curb. All sounds were muted by his ears as he stared at Cheonri’s pale looking legs, laid on the road with trickling red liquid starting to merge. A sudden sound of a long car honking brought Minho back to reality. He ran faster than before, the wind friction going against him pushed back his tears to delay their departure. Minho looked down to where Cheonri lay almost lifeless with her eyes still opened, staring back at him in pure sadness. Never did he know such an appearance of his energetic and full of enthusiasm lover would ever show such weakness. Minho fell on his knees speechless. He felt his knees wet. Fear swept over him as he prayed the liquid he was feeling penetrating through his pants were not blood of Lee Cheonri.

Her jittering fingers caught his attention, pulling his gaze away from her pool of blood. What laid in the middle of her white palm was his black phone. The screen was cracked and beneath the few spots of blood –red liquid, he could read the text on the phone;

‘Minho baby <3 we’re still on-‘

His tears finally departed and showed dropping down his face. His view switched to her face that wasn’t looking at him with much energy. Her eyes were faintly opened, still wanting to get a last glimpse of her lover.

“It- it’s a joke, Cheonri! It’s a joke! A really bad joke! Seriously!” he shouted at her, waiting for her response which felt like it would take another round of the stoplight to change its colours for her to speak to him again. He wanted to hear her voice. He wanted to hear her honest and light voice saying she would forgive him. Forgive him for all of his reluctance and the bad patch they were going through before. He wanted her to say she loved him still. To say they’re okay. To say she’s okay. He wanted to hear her wish him happy anniversary.

He waited without breathing.

Cheonri’s mouth made a small gap, making way for her last breath to release from her body, from her beautiful soul. Cheonri began to close her eyes gradually, slowly, and finally her curvy as Kangjeong, Jeju Island’s rare waves and thick eyelashes closed the window to her soul. Her sweet and brown eyes showed no more. The last motion and life he saw in her was the one tear that ran down her white cheeks.

Choi Minho’s eyes opened with his body jerking upwards slightly. He was breathing heavily and felt his heart rate faster than it should be. He swallowed his saliva, feeling it go down his dry throat. Panting, he sat up and rested against the bed frame behind him. He looked around the room, and to his right where the space was just enough for another figure was still and empty. He touched his cheeks with the edge of his fingers, they were damped and so were his body wet with sweat. Minho closed his eyes and began to breathe normally, trying to feel the normalcy of respiration. He sighed at the thought of sweat and tears were beginning to be a normal secretion whenever he dreams. He felt tired of the drama he has in his head and how the haunting never left him with peace since a year ago.

He pushed his sheets away and slowly made his way to the bathroom for his morning bath. His morning routine began with not much excitement along with his tired and forlorn face. He slipped on his tuxedo that was hanged at a lonely corner of his closet. He stared at his stale face in the mirror as he straightened his tie and proceeded to his hair. The glow of his auburn brown hair had never faded but the sparkle in his eyes was long gone.

Minho stepped out of his house and walked towards his police car. No sunrays welcomed him. Only the faint colour of orange in the sky brought him light that early morning. He settled himself in his car, feeling the comfort of the chair fit its owner nicely after years of being on the force.

Driving in Seoul in the morning had always been Minho’s joy ride time whenever he was in his police uniform. But not that morning. For one thing he was wearing his tux and another was that he couldn’t bring himself to scouting around the dark corners for possible crimes. He looked nowhere but forward and the route to the cemetery was clear to him. Minho parked his car outside the gate of the cemetery. He twisted his car keys and put them into his pocket. He grabbed the bouquet of soft pink flowers from the backseat. He then rested his head for a short while, staring at the glove compartment at the passenger seat beside him. Stretching his body towards it, he opened it.

Minho made his way up the gradual hill of green pastures. Making his turns and scanning his view around the premise, one grey stone shone against the others; that was Minho’s destination. The sun was coming up, giving a nice radiance through the cemetery, suiting Minho’s mood. Finally he stopped and read a particular engraving.

‘Here lies Lee Cheonri who went through life with love and never ending smiles. She believed in fighting even herself for the achievement of pure happiness.’

Minho knelt down in front of the grave of Lee Cheonri and placed the bouquet of flowers down on the grass. He stared at the three characters of her name for a long time and felt the wind blowing, bringing dried leaves with it. The flashbacks of her smile popped into his head as he ran his fingers through her name engraved on the grey stone. A small smile crept to his face.

“Cheonri-ah… I didn’t think it would turn out the way it did… I… really didn’t think it would…” he stopped and let out a sudden burst of laughter. “It’s quite funny actually, the joke. Me- me and Mirae, we thought of tricking you-“ he paused for another laugh. “Just a little fun… It was our anniversary anyway… I was tired with work. And thought that day would turn my frown for me…” he dropped his head, still laughing. “I was never funny, I always failed to make you laugh. But you always… you always laughed for me anyway. You’re Lee Cheonri, how can you not… laugh?” he scrunched his eyebrows and felt tears forming. “I guess you didn’t laugh at that last one, huh? Tchh…” he looked at her name again, longer this time. The teasing laughter in him had died. “I have another joke though. A little anniversary joke again since it’s been a year now,”

Minho shifted his position, comfortable enough for him to grab what had been poking his waist. He took out his Glock 23, and stared at the weapon for a short while. It shone slightly due to the sun that was still a little shy to show itself.

“I’m sorry it’s not a very funny one though. But I promise you, it’s my last.”

With a pull of the trigger, policeman, lover, best friend, Choi Minho brought the gun to his temple. The coldness of the tip of the gun was felt on his skin and it spread all over him. He was numb, unable to move much of his body any longer. With a last teardrop down his cheeks, his teeth clenched slightly, making his jawline to emphasize, Minho’s index finger moved slightly, prepared to push.

“I’m sorry… Cheonri-ah. I’m really am.” He whispered before pushing all the way.

The sound of the gunshot echoed throughout the cemetery.

Both half of the lovers that are Choi Minho and Lee Cheonri were no more.