ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ ɪ'ᴍ ꜱᴛɪʟʟ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ || 𝐊𝐢𝐦 𝐒𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐦𝐢𝐧

Chapter 1: Grey Hoodie

It was a cold December evening. It was a gray hoodie. It was me standing at the edge of the roof's ledge, daring myself to 'fall'. It was Seungmin who grabbed me and pulled me back. After that day, he's been by my side ever since. He's the one who started our four years of friendship. Even after I was diagnosed with Persistent Depressive Disorder he's stayed with me. After that day on the roof. That snowy day he promised me he'd protect me. Seungmin was a stranger that just appeared in my life and hasn't left since. He's the first. He's the last. It was his gray hoodie. I remember it so clearly as if it happened only 24 hours ago. He gave it to me thinking I was going to freeze up from the snow since I had short sleeves on. I cried. I cried when he made that promise. It's hard to believe it's been exactly four years since then. I'm in a better place now with him in my life.

My phone rang. Seungmin. It was always Seungmin. I picked it up.

"Hello Yumi~"

*Switch to video call*

I tapped 'yes', and he appeared on my screen with a big smile.

"Hi Puppy!" I exclaimed in excitement. He laughed at the nickname.

"What are you doing? Are you alright?" He asked me. I smiled.

"I'm fine, just about to go to sleep. It's 9 pm, did you not look at the time?" My voice came off more tired than intended. He frowned.

"Were you really going to? You have insomnia, so you rarely do. That's why I called." Seungmin interrogated.

"Yeah, I was. I figured I might as well try, or die trying-" My negative sounding comment was caught off by Seungmin's disapproval.

"No no don't say that you won't die you can't die don't die." he slurred his sentence, but somehow the last part was so clear. It rang in my ears and sent shivers through my body. I tried to laugh it off, even though something about his tone of voice really stung me like a wasp.

"Seungminnie, I won't. It's alright." I tried to ease his worries. Except it was really no use.

"Promise?"

I can't. I know I can't promise that. Nonetheless, if this is what will stop him from worrying about me, then a broken promise is better than nothing.

"I promise."

A smile appeared on his face again, which made me feel less on edge than I did before. I could feel part of me breaking at the broken promise soon to come. No one can live forever.

The sound of shouting came from behind my bedroom door. Seungmin tilted his head like a confused puppy. It took a second for him to realize that it was my parents again. They were fighting again. I huffed. Not again.

"It's like they never stop. Ever since they got back together." I commented, confirming to Seungmin that it was who he thought it was.

"It'll get better one day, Yumi. Don't worry. At least you have me...?" He suggested.

I smiled. At least that was true. The sound of my parents fighting got louder and closer, which made my smile fade with my happiness.

"I'm going to go. I just need to be alone right now and escape this nightmare." I said, later clarifying. "I mean the house."

Seungmin looked worried. He must've shook it off because he stayed unusually quiet for a long second.

"Call back soon, okay?" He tried to get me to make another promise. I couldn't help but fall into his trap.

"I promise"

Yet another broken promise.

Leaving my bedroom, I hung up the call. It wasn't hard sneaking past my parents. I wanted to leave before it got worse. I didn't want to witness it again. Last time I did, I got hurt too.

The rooftop was my escape from reality. I lived in a condo with 10 stories, yet no one lived on the 10th floor. Sometimes teenagers that lived in the building would throw parties up there. The teens usually got kicked out within an hour. The reason they get kicked out is the same reason why they shut down the 10th floor; it still happens. My favorite place was the rooftop. No one usually went up there, which made the place even better.

The elevator chimed, signaling I was on the roof now. A strong gust of wind welcomed me as if it was saying 'Welcome back, we missed you'. The air was thinner up here, no tension was laced within the atmosphere. I felt free. It felt more like home than I did in my actual home.

I walked out of the elevator, taking a deep breath. There, I sat on the ledge of the roof. Looking down made me want to jump so I kept my eyes on the stars in the sky. The bright shining stars reminded me of Seungmin's puppy-like eyes. It made me sad, but it's fine. He lived in the same building as me and knew everything about me except this spot. After that December he thought I would never go there again. The truth is, I've come here so many times ever since.

An hour has passed now. My parents probably stopped fighting by now. It was 10 pm. I saw a man that looked like my dad leave the building, so they definitely stopped. I was over 100 feet high though, so everything on the ground was quite blurry.

I stood up on the ledge. Careful, careful. I took a couple more steps before getting ready to step down off the ledge. Just then a strong gust of wind came again. My legs began to shake as I tried to brace myself, but it knocked me off my balance. Slipping, I fell down into the dark abyss that was lightened up by street lights. I tried to grab a hold of something. No use, all I got was air.

A scream left my lips, but it was so quiet and I knew no one heard me. Is this how I'm going to die? My life flashed before my eyes. I closed them tightly, now bracing myself for the impact before death took my soul. Fear ran through my body like a river. 

And just like that, pain invaded my bloody body.

And my vision went black.