“JAEMIN!” Jeno screamed.

He sprinted as fast as his legs could take him, feeling his socks shredding against the asphalt road.

Where did he go? Where would he go?

He skidded to a halt when he reached a fork in the road, spinning around frantically to face each direction. He had to find Jaemin before he… before he did something terrible.

His heart pounded painfully in his chest and his throat felt like sandpaper as his lungs tried to suck in as much oxygen as possible.

Jeno forced himself to think of where Jaemin would want to go to kill himself. The thought tore him apart and horrible visions of Jaemin flashed through his mind, torturing him with scenarios he never wanted to imagine.

This couldn't be happening.

I'm sorry and I love you. Always.

The last lines in Jaemin's note echoed in Jeno's mind and he swung around back in the direction of the house.

Always

The song… that was the title of the song that Jeno shared with Jaemin up at the park when he confessed his feelings.

The park!

Jeno took off in the direction of the park up on the hill, sprinting up the quiet, empty residential roads. He took a road up behind the back of Jaemin's house, the quickest route.

Minutes but what seemed like too many precious minutes later the tree-rimmed park came into view. His eyes swept the small area; the playground with its swings and slide, the grassy expanse of the rest of the park and the benches sheltered under the treeline.

Just like when he had taken Jaemin here the other day the park was empty.

He slowed to a stop in the middle of the park and stared hopelessly at the bench where he and Jaemin had shared their first kiss. The bench shrouded in vines and pretty purple flowers but now void of life.

“JAEMIN WHERE ARE YOU?!”

Jeno slammed his fists against his head and pulled at his hair. He couldn't stop now, Jaemin was still out there somewhere.

He turned and sprinted back down the hill until Jaemin's house came back into view. Haechan, Jisung and Mrs Na were out in the street. Jisung was on the phone to someone and Haechan had his arms around a distressed looking Mrs Na, trying to comfort her.

Jeno's footsteps echoed and bounced off of the walls of nearby homes as he continued to sprint down the street towards them and the three of them flicked their heads in his direction. Their distraught faces mirrored the worry and terror that was threatening to swallow Jeno whole. He slowed to a stop to catch his breath and wipe away fresh tears and Jisung ran to meet him.

“Did you find him?!” Jisung asked desperately, his phone still held to his ear.

A sob wracked through his body and his breath hitched as he tried to answer. “No! He, h-he wasn't at th-the park.”

“Oh no! My Jaemin, my poor Jaemin!” Mrs Na cried and Haechan had to hold onto her tighter as her legs gave out beneath her and she slumped down to the ground.

It wasn't only him that was hurting; Mr Na, Jisung and Haechan, they were all terribly worried for Jaemin's wellbeing and safety. Jeno had to find him before it was too late…

… before he did something that could never be undone.

“I'll find him, I'm going to save him!” Jeno yelled as he sprinted off down the road towards town.

Another sob from Mrs Na echoed behind him and he pushed himself to sprint faster. He had to find Jaemin alive, he couldn't even let himself think of the alternative possibility.

As he ran he frantically scanned the streets praying and hoping he would spot his beautiful boyfriend and be able to stop him from hurting himself. But he couldn't see him anywhere, instead he noticed more and more high rise buildings and a painful realization shot through him like a hot iron.

Dear God no!

Could Jaemin be atop one of those buildings?

Jeno sprinted faster, pushing aside passersby as he craned his neck to look up to the roof of every tall building, desperately hoping to find him but at the same time to not see him standing on the edge looking all those floors down to the ground.

Sirens howled in the distance.

A feeling of dread ripped through him but he kept running, searching for the boy he loved, the boy who needed to be in his arms.

The sirens grew louder, closer.

Jeno tore his eyes away from the building tops as he noticed a small crowd of people gathering outside a rundown apartment complex.

Shock, sadness and horror were painted on their faces while they looked down at something. His dread and panic multiplied as he craned to see what they were all looking at.

Please no! Don't let it be him!

“Jae…”

Jeno slowed and nudged through the growing number of onlookers huddled around in the small circle. A few stood aside to let him past and when he reached the inner circle his whole world stopped.

“Jae?”

He fell to his knees.

The street, the people, the sounds, the smells; it all vanished. His surroundings blurred out of existence. The only thing he could focus on was him.

“JAEMIN NO! Jae, Jae… Jae…”

He crawled over and cupped Jaemin's face in his hands; his soft cheeks still held some warmth.

“Jae I'm here, I'm here.” Jeno sobbed quietly, gazing down at him.

The wind blew a wisp of his light brown hair over his eye and Jeno gently swept it away. Tears splashed onto his pale face. His eyes were closed, his expression calm as if in a peaceful slumber.

“No one can hurt you now Jae.” Jeno whispered as he stroked his cheek.

Tears continued to sprinkle down upon him and Jeno carefully wiped them away with his thumb.

Blood pooled beneath his head, slowly seeping its way through the fissures and crevices of the pavement.

Jeno couldn't bare to look at the rest of his body, the impact of the fall had been ruthless and absolute. But his face, his face still held a semblance of life, even if it had already left his body.

“Please don't leave me like this.” Jeno cried quietly.

He gingerly rested his forehead against Jaemin's and placed a kiss on his cheek just under his right eye. Beneath his lips he felt the last of the warmth leave Jaemin's body.

Jeno's lip quivered and his body shook as he clung to Jaemin, letting the pain and devastation pour from his body while he sobbed.

He mourned. Jaemin was…

Gone.

“Police! Out of the way!”

“... Choi, clear the vicinity, get these people out of here!”

“On it! Uh Jun… the boy, Jeno he's…”

“... yeah, I know… everyone, search the area! Mark must be nearby, find him and apprehend him quickly! He's-”

THUMP

A shrill scream rang out through the air.

Jeno looked up from Jaemin and met the blank eyes of a boy lying less than three meters away. His body was twisted at unnatural angles and bones poked through his skin. Part of his skull had disintegrated on impact with the pavement and blood and bones sprinkled around his head like a gruesome halo. With his eyes wide open his face was cast in an expression of pain and regret as he stared through empty eyes at Jeno.

It was Mark.