Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Tragedy for a tragedy 

It has been months since Minok and I had become friends. He hasn't changed a bit, even in this lifetime. Always so loud and cheery. He was truly the happy-go-lucky of the group. 

"Hey Hyungie!" Minok called out to me. "Me and the guys were thinking of hanging out today" he said, "want to join us?" 

I was slightly wary about the idea, I still had to be careful of what the future holds for us. I can't let the events from before happen again. However, it had already been months and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. 'Heck, why not!'

"Sure, sounds fun," I smiled.

"Great!" He chirpped, "Now go get ready. We're leaving in an hour!" He smiled widely and went into the next room ; most likely to get changed.

I got up from my place, taking off my clothes and zipped to the shower to freshen up. I shivered as the cold water hit against my skin. I relaxed as I got used to the temperature and had a moment of peace to myself. Yet a nagging feeling came from the back of my head. 

'Something feels wrong.'

But I paid no mind to it, thinking it was the stress that was getting to my head from the lack of sleep.  I haven't met the others in awhile and I needed to lighten up. 

I dried my hair as I made my way to the closet. And from the collection, I pulled out a white sweater with a pair of dark jeans, accompanied by a pair of white sneakers to match the outfit. Grabbing my phone from the foot of the bed, I checked myself in the mirror for the last time before getting out of the room. I glanced back at the table where a box was. 

'Should I take it?', I thought to myself before shaking the question away. 

'It is just a gathering. Everything is going to be fine.' 

I stepped out of the room to find the other male.

3:00

We arrived at the front of a small shop in the Jung district. There, I saw a group of five men talking to themselves. 

 

"Hey guys!" Minok called out to them, waving. 

They all turn their heads towards the boy. One of them, a guy with chubby cheeks and squinty eyes, smiled at us making his dimples prominent. 

"Ah, Minok! Glad you made it bud." The guy said, coming up to give  Minok a hug.

"Of course, I would make it", Minok grinned, "when have I never!"

They both exchanged a laugh with each other. "Oh right!" Minok separated himself from the hug.

 "Guys, I'd like you all to meet, Choi Hyungsik." He said, pointing in my direction. "He's the person I was talking about. He's coming with us."

The dimpled man came up to me and stretched out his hand, offering a shake. 

"Nice to meet you, Hyunsik", he greeted. "The name's Kim Juhwan." 

"A pleasure to meet you, Juhwan", I nodded. 

"Hyungie, these are the friends I've been telling you about," Minok said. 

"Nice to meet you all," I softly smiled. 

They all smiled back and greeted me, each of them giving me a different kind of impression.

Not long after, we were all instantly getting along and the atmosphere was filled with joy and laughter. They were all understanding and welcoming, and as conversations go on, it didn't feel as though they had just met me.

Although, I can't say the same for them.

Soon, we went to a nearby arcade as suggested by the youngest of the group, Changin. You would not have thought he was younger than everyone else in the group at first glance as he had a very mature look to him. But by the decision he made, it was very obvious he was, in fact, the youngest. 

Once we reached the "battle ground," as described by Juhwan, we  started choosing which machines to play. 

In the end, we decided to play at the Donkey Kong game. Everyone lost except for Minok and Kiwon, who was, by the way, unexpectedly good at it. Although he was terrible at the other games.

I was still shocked to realise that I had lost the game.. until Wonhye, the fittest of the guys, tapped on my shoulder; signalling me to know that it was time to move to the next location.

We arrived shortly at a karaoke place which Kiwon, the shortest of the group, had recommended. The whole room was filled with vibrant, colourful lights and a huge disco ball hung from the middle of the ceiling. 

The smallest offered to sing first, as this wasn't his first time being here. He put on a song, "Hyeya," by Jonghyun, which was a risky choice. But, nevertheless, he breezed through the song, nailing every single note. Some of the members, especially Wonhye, even started tearing up at one point of the song. After the song ended, Juhwan took the mic and started singing "Look at me," by Lee Jung, which  hyped up everyone's mood and brightened the atmosphere. We were all randomly selecting various english song, singing blindly, whether we knew the lyrics or not, it didn't matter. We were having the best time of our lives. 

As I left the place, I checked my watch. It read : 

9:17

'It's getting late.' I thought, turning to the guys and sighed, "Hey guys, I have to go..."

"Already?" Minok whined.

"Alright, then. We'll see you off." The eldest, Hyunbin, said. 

We walked to my car, joking along the way untill we arrived. I got in and said my goodbyes to everyone. 

"Have a safe trip, Hyungie!" Minok said. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Goodnight everyone!" I smiled brightly, as I started up the engine.

'Today was really fun...Maybe I should get Minok a "thank you" gift.'

While I was lost in my train of thoughts, I didn't notice a man running across the street. I tried to avoid him, desperately swerving the wheel, but it was too late. In one swift turn, time slowed as I felt myself rolling as my car flipped over.

Every inch of my body was aching, my muscles were on fire. Blood was dripping from a cut on my forehead and neck as I gasped for air. I tried my best to pull myself up, unbuckling the seatbelt, bracing the fall as I pulled the car door open. Crawling my way out, my body gave up all it's strength even as adrenaline was still running through my veins. I could hear the muffled sirens of an ambulance in the distance, coming closer.

I didn't know when it arrived, but I was too weak to do anything as a team of nurses carried me. They got me onto a gurney and I was quickly rushed to the nearest hospital. Barely awake, I could hear the paramedics reassuring me, telling me to hold on. I felt the remaining energy in me slipping away, and my eyelids grew heavy until they clamed down. I couldn't open them anymore. And my mind went black. . .