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Jaehyun would be lying if he said a certain blonde hadn't been on his mind all day. Lee Taeyong. He had truly captured the boy's attention, hadn't he?
School had been hell that next day, for not only had the caffeine in his system caused a sleepless night, but the image of his 'saviour' of sorts had been floating around his mind for hours now.
"Jae?" A familiar voice enquired from beside the clearly distracted teen who was nibbling on the end of his pencil with a blank expression settled upon his face. "You okay?"
At this, Jaehyun finally tore his gaze from the blank page in front of him and fixed it on one of his closest friends, Doyoung.
The ravenette had a creased brow and a prominent frown.
"What has you so distracted?" He quietly asked, anxiously glancing at their English teacher who had thankfully not noticed the pair conversing.
"I just didn't sleep well last night."
The blunt answer really wasn't like Jaehyun, and Doyoung knew that better than most.
"Alright," he whispered, not wanting to battle his clearly disinterested friend.
Jaehyun had never felt so relieved to hear the chime of the school bell, indicating a close to the rather boring day of school.
Ignoring the calls from his friend, the brunette packed his bag and swiftly weaved through the hall at of students in order to escape the hellish the building.
He wasn't sure if the rush was because he wanted to clear his mind as he did most days, or perhaps it was that he subconsciously wanted to see the blonde boy again, but it seemed so pointless to battle the latter thought as he briskly strode through Seoul.
The path beneath the teen's feet was littered with the autumnal colours. The early October afternoon shed glorious swirls of pinks that entwined with beautiful ochres as the sun set beneath the horizon.
With a gentle and inoffensive sigh, Jaehyun stopped dead in his tracks, his feet aching and his mind overflowing with stressed thoughts of upcoming mock exams. The looming sensation of doom still remained as he approached the second half of his final year with little-to-no-clue as to what he wished to pursue.
What was in store for him next year? It was something that he had mulled over many-a-time, and although he hoped a good university would except an average student such as himself, he still had his fair share of doubts.
"Jaehyun? Don't tell me that my emotional talk yesterday went in one ear and out the other," a familiar voice called out from behind the student.
With a small chuckle, Jaehyun pushed against the rail, turning to face Taeyong who had a creased brow and a small frown, just like the day before.
"Like I said...I'm not suicidal."
Still, the older tutted, his hand outstretched to the taller who merely shook his head at Taeyong's stubbornness.
"Some day I'm not going to be here to stop you, Jaehyun," the blonde chided, his eyes showing worry as he pulled the younger away from the edge and in closer to him. "But as long as I'm here, I won't let you jump!" He insisted, no longer even trying to listen to Jaehyun's protests.
"I-" he was cut off by the other's scolding tone telling him to 'stop lying'.
What's the point in fighting him? The brunette thought as he watched Taeyong rant about all the reasons that he had to live for. Cute.
A smile tugged at his lips as he watched how passionate Taeyong was getting. Was he really that worried about someone he barely knew?
"Come here," the shorter beckoned, his fingers still interlaced with the students as he led him further away from the bridge and downwards to the water edge using some old, cracked steps. "This was my favourite place to go too," he whispered against the relatively strong winds, his dyed locks being pushed off his face.
So pretty...
"I know it may not seem like it now, Kid, but there is so much to go on for." Jaehyun admired the other's thoughtful expression as they seated themselves by the rivers edge in a patch of rather neglected grass. "I had a friend when I was in high school," he began, a barely noticeable tremble escaping with the rushed words. "But he felt alone, even if he had two loving parents, a little sister and a best friend who never once wished ill upon him. I didn't know why he felt the way he felt, and although no one can control when they feel depressed or down, I still saw no reason for his behaviour in my naïve state."
He paused for a moment, noticing how Jaehyun looked invested in the story, his eyes glimmering with a want for more.
"I guess that ignorance to his unhappiness drove him to jump from that very bridge." A single tear fell from the older boy's eyes as he look to the exact place in the water that he saw his friend fall to.
Taeyong vividly remembered the splash, followed by the bubbles that ripples across the surface, and finally the lifeless body of his closest friend floating atop the water.
"Although it took a long time to come to terms with what he had done, and how I had to slot back into my old life without him, I could finally go on without blaming myself for not making more of an effort, or telling him how amazing he was more often. 'What ifs' are what make us guilt-ridden, and I knew he wouldn't want me to feel that way," he mumbled, eyes slowly trailing towards the focused expression that adorned Jaehyun's expression. "So Jung Jaehyun," he whispered, smiling when they made eye-contact. "Can you promise me something?"
