397 days.

It's strange, the concept of time. It all changes based on a person's perception. An hour to someone can seem like a second to another. Looking back, 397 days ago, time is strange. What seems like an eternity to Yeonjun has only been minutes to Kiera.

Looking back, 397 days ago, everything was different.

They were brothers, Soobin and Yeonjun. Soobin was the younger one, but it never felt that way. Yeonjun was always getting into trouble, the mischievous sibling. Soobin always got Yeonjun out of trouble; he was everyone's favorite.

Except for Kiera.

She was with Yeonjun all of the time. They're not sure, exactly, how they met or why they started hanging out. Yeonjun can't even remember the first time he saw her. But he knows they grew closer than his actual sibling.

It never took much for Yeonjun's jealousy of Soobin to grow. The perfect student, the best friend. It wasn't hard for Yeonjun to hate the man reflecting in the mirror, and the brother he saw every day. 

Soobin never did anything to hurt Yeonjun directly. It was always right below the belt, when no one else even suspected that he did anything wrong. But Yeonjun always knew.

You could say the real story began 397 days ago. Yeonjun had it all planned. He was going to confess; make it known to the girl he's loved for two years that his entire heart belongs to her. Of course, it failed. And due to who?

Choi Soobin.

And look at where he is now. He's dead. Found weeks after his initial disappearance, and the police have no leads as to who killed him. Maybe they should look in the hospital's direction; they might find a suspect.

Looking at her now, Yeonjun wants to scream until his lungs burn from lack of air. He misses her, so much that it feels like he's missing a vital organ. He misses the way she would nag when he wouldn't do school work. He misses her gentle touches and how she would adjust his uniform so he didn't look messy. He misses them.

And it's all Choi Soobin's fault.

397 Days Ago

Everything's perfect. The blanket laid out on the ground. The vanilla ice cream from the local shop. The lone rose he bought for her, hidden behind his back. It is perfect.

With his eyes closed, Yeonjun can hear her footsteps. Pinching his lips to hide his smile, he clears his throat and opens them, ready to see the love of his life.

There she is, eyes sparkling as she looks up at him. It's as it should be, a slight smile on her uplifted face, expectant hope written in her body language. But something's wrong.

She's perfect, how she usually is. But her hoodie? It's not one he knows. In fact, it almost looks like-

"Kiera!" She whips around, her smile growing as Soobin runs up to her, his hair mussed. "I need my hoodie back. It's too cold."

Her smile gets even wider as he whines, pulling at her sleeve. Taking it off, she hands it to. It's as if Yeonjun's not even there.

Back to Present

Maybe he could've done something different. Stopped her from leaving with Soobin before he had confessed. Made her stay and let Soobin leave on his own. But Yeonjun was never one to stand up for himself. He was only brave when it came to protecting other people.

He wasn't enough to save Kiera the first time. But he will do whatever it takes to ensure she wakes up again. 

Standing up, he stretches, popping the joints in his back as he reaches his hands above his head. Bending down, Yeonjun outlines her jaw with a single finger before dropping a kiss onto her forehead.

"I didn't talk much today, huh?" He laughs quietly, smiling sadly at her. "Would you hear me, even if I was?"