Lies

End

When Jongin stepped off the bus, he expected Kyungsoo to be sitting on the bench, not his grandmother. It wasn't a bad thing his grandmother was picking him up, but Kyungsoo promised him that he was going to pick him up this year. Jongin thought nothing about it, brushing it off. Kyungsoo was probably busy.

"Halmoni," Jongin said. He smiled and helped her stand up.

They walked home like normal.

"Where's Kyungsoo, Halmoni?" Jongin asked. He had searched throughout the whole house and found no sign of the older male. Even his shoes weren't there. He peeked his head into the kitchen and found his grandmother chopping carrots. "Halmoni?" He stepped into the kitchen and stood next to her. Jongin took in her appearance. Her lips were pursed and she looked uncomfortable. "What's wrong?"

"Jongin..." she started. Jongin nodded, urging her to continue silently. "He isn't here anymore."

Jongin frowned. "What do you mean? He stopped working for you?"

Jongin's grandmother put down the knife and sighed. "He died a month after you left Jongin."

The world crashed into millions of pieces.

Jongin ran through the trees, twigs and grass grazing his calves and ankles, leaving scratches on the skin. He couldn't even feel that pain. The only pain he felt was the pain in his chest. He pushed the leaves out of his way and was met with the meadow of flowers. His eyes burned with tears and he fell down to his knees, sobbing.

It hurt all too much. The memories, the happiness, the love. They all were washed down the drain, leaving Jongin with an empty feeling. His cries resounded throughout the meadow and the birds stopped chirping.

"Hyung, why did you leave?" Jongin tried to suppress another sob, but it didn't work. Eventually the birds began to chirp again and Jongin wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He took a closer look at the field of flowers and found nothing different. The flowers were as beautiful as ever and the rock that he sat on with Kyungsoo over the past three summers was still there. Jongin stood up, brushing the dirt off his knees and went over to the rock. The sun was shining on it, warming the surface. He sat down on it and put his hand on the spot beside him. The spot reserved for Kyungsoo. His fingers traced over the area lovingly when he noticed something carved into the hard surface.

Jongin leaned over and found the words, "I love you Jongin," engraved into the surface of the rock. Fresh tears sprung to his eyes and he began to cry again.

"Jongin?" He felt a hand on his elbow and he looked up from his dinner.

"Halmoni."

"Are you feeling better?"

Jongin took a while to reply. "Not really," he said. The rice in his mouth seemed like it was gluing his mouth together and it took a lot of effort to swallow. "How'd he die? Halmoni?" His lower lip began to tremble and he bit down on it, hard, to stop himself from crying.

"Did he ever talk about his parents?"

Jongin licked his lips and thought. "He mentioned it last year and talked about them a bit."

"What did he say? Do you remember?"

"He said he had none."

Jongin's grandmother looked away. "It would have been better if it were that way."

Jongin found himself lying on Kyungsoo's bed, face buried in Kyungsoo's pillow, covered by Kyungsoo's blanket. Jongin felt small tears cascade down his cheeks onto the pillow and he turned onto his back. There was his weird feeling in his stomach, one he couldn't pinpoint. It was a mix of sadness and happiness.

"Don't you remember? You said you wouldn't leave me."

I never left.

"You said you'd always be beside me to do stupid things together."

I'm still with you.

"You said you'd wait for me."

I still am waiting.

"Were those all just lies?"

Yes.

"Don't you love me, hyung?"

I do love you,

"Or were those lies too?"

"Good night Jongin."

"Good night Halmoni."

The door clicked shut and the room was dark. Jongin closed his eyes and imagined Kyungsoo laying beside him. "You said you'd never leave. You said you'd wait for me. Now I'm the one waiting for you, even if you'll never come." He imagined Kyungsoo smiling at him. "You know what that means right? I'm staying here. I'm never leaving.