HaEun had track extracurriculars in the afternoon, so she had just left the toilet to change her uniform. After that she swayed her legs to get her water bottle from the class. She was about to slide the door when her boyfriend suddenly appeared beside her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her into the class.

"Hey!" HaEun shouted, pulling her hand away from his grip. Her stare was sharp, lips pouting lightly.

Hyungwon stared back at her as if he hadn't done anything wrong that day. Again, he grabbed her hand and forced her to sit on a table before pushing the other three tables together.

No idea what he wanted to do, HaEun tried to escape but Hyungwon pulled her back and made her sit again. He quickly sat on the table and lay down, his head resting on her thigh. "Stay here," he said.

"I have a club to attend," HaEun said.

"Skip."

She rolled her eyes at his demanding tone. Still sulking, but she couldn't deny that she wanted to spend more time with him. It might be possible she wouldn't meet him the next day due to the situation they had that afternoon.

Hyungwon's lazy tone resonated throughout the classroom. He said, "that's enough of sulking. I remember."

HaEun raised an eyebrow. "What do you remember?"

He opened an eye and then closed it back as he said, "your birthday." Next, he turned his body to the side, settling into a comfortable position. "I've prepared a surprise for you. It's boring now that you know."

She didn't expect that. She asked, "what did you say? Repeat, please." But he didn't respond. It took her a while to wait. Slapping his arm, she yelled, "yah!"

Hyungwon whined and yelled, "hah! What?"

"I asked you to repeat what you say!"

"No!"

"Ah, why?"

He glared at her jokingly before returning to lie down on his side, and said, "you spoilt the fun. There's no point in repeating what I said."

"I heard you say you prepared a surprise though," she said, holding back her smile.

Exasperated, he commented, "if you've heard clearly, then I don't need to repeat!"

She had a broad grin on her face. She asked, "what is it? What do you prepare for me? What is it? What is it? What is it?"

Hyungwon dug his ear lightly. "Ah, seriously," he groaned and glared at her before relaxing again. "It won't be a surprise if I tell you."

Giggling with her lips shut and eyes curved into crescent lines, she bent her body forward and hugged him after that. She shook his body as if he was a teddy bear in his position. "I'm happy, I'm happy, I'm happyyy –" then, a peck on his temple. "– I love you so, so much."

"Ugh." He wiped non-existent saliva off his temple and then sniffed his palm. Looking at her, he said, "your mouth smells."

HaEun giggled again. "I know you like it though."

"Aish," Hyungwon mumbled, grinning and adjusting his head position on her thigh.

There was a lingering stillness in the air. With Hyungwon in a comfortable position on the tables and on his girlfriend's thigh, HaEun watched his peaceful, sleeping face while stroking his hair.

Although it wasn't the first time she witnessed him sleeping on her thighs, he seemed to be more peaceful that day. With a light smile on his face and warmth radiating from him, he appeared brighter than ever. A natural and beautifully carved image of him became immortal in her mind the moment she saw it. She couldn't explain what she felt.

It had been a year since they had dated. And, now that they were in their senior year, it felt unreal that she was about to graduate with her boyfriend. She never expected that. She had a school life similar to high school drama. She was an outcast, but fortunately, she was never bullied. People just didn't give a damn about her or anything related to her (this happened before she dated Hyungwon). To this day, she had no idea why Hyungwon chose to date her. But she could feel his love was real and sincere.

Life has never left us without a question. Thus, their relationship raised many questions in her head.

What was so special about her? What made her stand out and got his attention? What did he like about her?

It would have been nice to get his answers the next day.

"Yah, wear something pretty tomorrow."

HaEun got startled and immediately snapped out of her thoughts. She responded, "oh-of course!" Her boyfriend sat up, looking at her with a smile. It was a long, sweet stare before he planted his lips on her forehead.

Then, he pulled away and said, "I don't know if I'm able to stay up late to wish you a 'happy birthday'. I'm already predicting I might need to stay back for detention."

HaEun wondered what he did. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do my homework."

Surprised, she yelled, "you what?"

He dug his finger into his raven hair and scratched. "I submitted my book without a single answer." Ignoring the disbelief etched on his girlfriend's face, he looked at her with a soft smile and said, "so, happy advance birthday."

Knowing how much her boyfriend treasured sleeping, there was no way she could force him to stay up late. The girl slouched her back and let out a whiny sound. "Ah, damn it, Chae Hyungwon. I wanna talk to you though."

"You can talk to me as much as you want when we go on a date tomorrow," he said. He held both sides of her head, staring at her pouting face. As he patted both sides of her head, he added, "wear something pretty tomorrow, okaaay?"

Still pouting, she stared at her boyfriend with a sharp look. Her head was still trapped in between his hands. Then, she muttered a flat, "okay. But promise?"

Hyungwon chuckled and said, "promise." Finally, he got up from the table but his hands were still holding her head. He said, "lemme give you my last kiss." Another kiss was planted on her forehead, but longer.

It seemed the kiss had successfully wiped out the pout. Her lips immediately curved into a smile. "I see you tomorrow then. Keep your promise!"

He smiled with his eyes. "Yup."

**********

Rain poured down from the sky, heavily and loudly. Cold air from the mall's exterior gave the girl gooseflesh.

Ji HaEun wore a pink gingham short skirt and a matching crop top, as well as a white shirt underneath. A headband with a faux white bow tied her long, straight hair into a ponytail. A phone in her hand, her eyes searching the crowd for her boyfriend.

However, it had been more than two hours since she waited in the mall, yet there was no hint of his appearance. None of her calls and messages were answered. She grew annoyed.

She decided to leave the mall. The dark blue sky greeted her and the chill of the night comforted her clouded mind. But it only took a moment for the darkness to return. She stomped out of her way and walked into the crowded area.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She raised her phone to eye level and saw she received an incoming call from Hyungwon's best friend.

With her eyebrows creased, she slid the green button and answered.

**********

He left the house early. With his money, he headed to the florist and bought a bouquet of red roses. He remembered HaEun loved the number five, so he chose to have five roses in one bouquet. Then, he sat down at a random bench to check at what time an amusement park in Yongin would close.

Nervous, he had a plan in his mind. For his girlfriend's birthday, he didn't buy any brandy or accessories. He purposely bought her a bouquet of roses and a date in Everland. She was already at her legal age, so he planned to present her with their first kiss.

Nervous, nervous, nervous. Would this plan work okay? That was his first kiss too, and he doubted if he was a skilled kisser.

With a long whine, he rubbed his face. "You should've saved more money, Hyungwon. You don't need to plan this." Regardless of the complaint, the image of him and his girlfriend in the middle of the flower garden stuck in his mind.

In his imagination, no one was around. Just them and a well-lighted area. Quiet and peace. Then, he moved closer to her, cupping her cheek, tilting his head and...

The rain downpour. He cursed under his breath and ran to look for shelter. All the shops in the area he was walking were close, so he had no choice but to cross the road. He ran to the traffic light and waited for it to turn green. He knew that by the time he reached the other side, he was already drenched.

The green light flashed and he sprinted through the zebra crossing. However, before his feet landed on the other side of the area, a car came whizzing towards him. The car gave out a loud horn and Hyungwon stood there, froze.

Bang!

Blood splattered across the windshield as his body rolled across the car. He landed at the back of the vehicle, unconscious and weak. The petals of roses were scattered everywhere. The pink wrapper broke, leaving the roses all over.

He heard chattering. He heard a male grousing. A stranger female with an umbrella approached him and asked questions he could barely hear. He tried to stay awake, but darkness clouded his vision and breathing became difficult and slowed.

There was nothing else he could think of, but her.

**********

Chae Hyungwon was sent to the mortuary for a post-mortem. The result was released after twenty-four hours and family members were then allowed to see him.

Ji HaEun was also there. Hyungwon's mother accompanied her.

When Hyungwon's best friend called her to deliver the news, she thought it was a prank.

Scared, nervous, and in a state of denial. The white cloth came off, revealing greying lips and a lifeless, pale face. She broke down, slowly backing away from the metal table until her back hit the wall. Her shaky hands covered her mouth, stunned. Her body stiffened before she landed on the cold, green floor.

Her cries came out loud. Mrs. Chae came hugging her, patting her shaky shoulders. "We promised to meet on my birthday." She cried so hard that the middle-aged woman had to gently pat and softly shush her. "When I say 'see you tomorrow,' I don't mean it this way!"

She remembered they were teasing each other the day before. She recalled that he sat beside her just to give her a kiss. And she remembered that he asked her to let him give her a last kiss.

The last kiss turned out to be a real last kiss.

____________________

[A/N]
congratulations for making the author cry :D

And _wonjinmin7_ suggested to watch this (lie) and reread 😀 >:D

no. of words : 1099 (3.1) + 1843 (3.2) = 2942