17 DAYS TO GO | KWON SOONYOUNG

3

Hana

I was standing there, admist all the sadness and grief. A somber crowd, praying for his soul to rest in peace..a life that ended too soon. Attending his funeral felt surreal as I tried grasping the reality.

There were various things that caught me by surprise. His family members, his parents specifically weren't tearing up.. their son just died but their demeanor had not a single sense of grief being displayed.

Between all these perplexing actions, I noticed the absence of students from our school. Only his teammates that were his closest friends were present and me. The memory of Jun's words echoed in my mind, leaving me with a sense of both curiosity and unease. How could someone believe that everyone around them harbored such hidden disdain?

All the while, they cheered for them while they performed on stage but held such negative emotions towards just a bunch of growing up boys? I empathized with them pretty well cause I knew how it felt to be hated without a reason.

They held such strong hatred towards these boys that even bidding Soonyoung a proper goodbye was too difficult for them? Every inch of my body ached with pain as I remembered his bright smile.

As the dark clouds rolled in and the first droplets of rain began to fall, I found myself caught unprepared in the middle of the graveyard. Panic settled in me as I tried looking for a shelter near by but it soon subsided as an umbrella was held steadily above me.

It was Jeon Wonwoo, Soonyoung's another one of his bestfriend's. "Thanks" I muttered to him, "I should be the one thanking you" I was puzzled at his words. "I didn't expect anyone from school to attend today" the bright colors of the umbrella was a complete contrast to the weather and the situation.

"It's the least I could for him" the event was about to come to an end. His friends were leaning onto each other, looking for emotional and mental support. I guess they were more affected by his passing than his own family members.

"Do the people at school..really hate you'll that much that they couldn't even bother paying their last respects to him?" As he gazed into my eyes, a sense of uncertainty washed over him, leaving him at a loss for words. The intensity in my eyes reflected a myriad of emotions, making it even more challenging for him to decipher what he should say in that moment.

"You should know about it more than anyone" he was right after all and I felt gratitude that he didn't beat around the bush and just straight up conveyed what he really felt.

"It still doesn't feel real" he fixed his glasses, trying to hold back his tears that were trying hard to escape his eyes. There was a swirl of emotions ringing through my mind and maybe even his. 

I could see Jun jogging upto us, "Hey" he waved his hands, slightly. It wasn't in me to smile right now so I could only wave over him.

The three of us stood there, watching the scene unfold infront of us. Relatives and friends provided his parents support and condolences. As much as the crowd had gathered, they dispersed even quickly. Eventually his parents left too but I couldn't lift my feet off the ground, I stood there unwavering.

His loyal friends that Soonyoung held dear to him, together they formed a tight-knit circle around his newly built and closed tombstone.. shielding the grave from the harsh downpour. They were depending on each other for the most difficult time of their lives, they had lost a dear friend that they loved dearly.

"You'll should go..join them" I dropped outside Wonwoo's umbrella, urging them to join the others. "You'll get soaked" I pushed Wonwoo towards his friends, mumbling to them that it was fine.

My feet never neared his gravestone as a sense of fear and grief clung onto me. But a part of me didn't want to leave yet, still contemplating whether to leave or not. "Still not leaving?" A deep husky voice spoke beside me, a shiver ran down my spine when I turned around to look at the figure standing beside me.

A male in his late 20s maybe, wearing black from top to the bottom. Tattooed arms and neck, his eyes were pitch black and overshadowed with a different type of darkness in them. "Who are..you?" My voice came out as a low whisper, I was intimidated by his presence.

An unsettling feeling washing over me as he smirked at me, "I go by different names, dear. Some call me 'Doom', some 'End, 'Grim Reaper' and the most frequent and famous one is 'Death'!" The ground beneath me felt as if it were shaking when I heard him say. It should sound like a joke but the amount of sincerity he had pitted in his words made it believable to another extent.

"Yes dear...I am Death"