recap

"Yuri, honey, I have something important to tell you," she began softly, her voice laden with sorrow.

.........

You suddenly sat up, your brow furrowing in concern at the severe tone of your mother's voice. You sensed something was wrong; a heavyweight felt like it was constricting your chest.

"You look at you mom with a voice filled with dread,"Something  the matter Eomma?"

She hesitated a bit before expressing the truth:" it's your friend...Gi-Yeon " she said, with a cracked in her voice.

The moment she mentions you best friend, you felt your heart constrict. Gi is your sister, your best friend and confidante.
You felt dread in your stomach. Like an ominous viper.
Your mom looked hesitant as if she doesn't know what to say.

Is she in hospital ? Was the battering on her body so severe.

"Yuri...baby. Gi -Yeon is no longer with us," your eomma finally said. , you could see the shed tears.,"She committed  s**cide

Those few words blew the wind out of you. You felt breathless,  than you start to sob painfully , tears streaming unapologetically.  You couldn't stop crying.

You look devastated, "No...no isn't true...it just is not!" You whispered  in disbelief.
  Your eyes reached bewildered for your phone. It was lying on the floor, under a soft blanket.

With a sudden abruption and breathless you got your phone. It was filled with unanswered text messages. It was from your best friend.  While you were in angst, your best friend went to mental hell.

You started to sob softly as you read her texts. Why didn't you answer?! She needed you, but you were not there.

Yuri, I can't do it anymore.

Yuri, my life is over...I'm doomed

Yuri, I love you. Forgive me.

Oh, Yuri, they said so many bad things about me on social media, about my preferences...Yuri, I'm so ashamed... I can't face my new peers at university.

'They got my e-mail address, hacked social media, and my new university...'

'Spread lies. All lies. I never stalked, tried to grope the girls at school or attacked Mi-Cha.'

'I'm so ashamed. My name is Dirty. My parents hate me.

Oh, Yuri...I feel so alone now...

Then, there was a call with a ragged voice.

I am sorry, Yuri, for leaving you. Bye, Y...Yu... Ri. 

...And that was the last message you heard. Your friend decided to end it all. She couldn't handle the shame of being exposed on social media. All their friends knew. You knew that her bullies went too far. 

The heaviness in your heart and the sense of emptiness that had settled over you like an anaconda snake made sense now. You just couldn't comprehend  it. She was gone.

Yourvmom tried to console you but you were inconsolable even in her embraced.

Your devastating cries could  be heard loudly in the room.

Your mom whispered  softly," I'm so sorry baby,  Gi-Yeon was desperate and depressed,

" Gi-Yeon  was very sad when I saw her last "

Why didnt she speak up. Talk to me." Your tone was strangled with heart break.

You and your mom shared you heartbreak. Poor Gi-Yeon.  All by herself,  in her pain.
"
But even as you clung to each other, the emptiness remained, a constant reminder of the void that Gi-Yeon had left behind. And as you wept for your beloved friend, you couldn't help but wish you had one more chance to tell him how much she meant to you. How much you appreciate her.

This news hit you like a tidal wave, crashing over you and pulling you into a swirling abyss of pain and despair. You just sat frozen in your mom's arms, the words echoing in your mind repeatedly.

"Gi-Yeon gone?" you whispered in disbelief.

The weight of those two simple words was suffocating, pressing down on your chest until you could hardly breathe. Gi-Yeon, your best friend, your sister in all but blood, had taken her own life. The realization was like a dagger to your heart, tearing it apart with each beat.

Numbness washed over you, a cold, empty void that threatened to swallow you whole. You couldn't comprehend the enormity of what had happened or fathom a world without Gi-Yeon. It felt like the ground had been ripped out from beneath your feet, leaving you lost in a sea of grief and loss.

But it wasn't just Gi-Yeon you had lost. It was also your first love, Hoseok, who captured your heart and soul from the moment you met. He was gone, too, taken from you in the cruellest of ways. Life doesn't want you to be happy.

Tears welled up in your eyes again, blurring your vision. You wanted to scream, to rage against the unfairness of it all, but the words caught in your throat like shards of broken glass. You broke free from your mom's embrace and ran to the lounge, collapsing to your knees, clutching at your chest as if to hold yourself together. Your mom ran after you, bending down to give you a tight-back hug as the cries and screams mingled in the air. 

In that moment of devastation, you knew nothing would be the same again. The loss of Gi-Yeon and your first love had left a void that could never be filled, leaving you to navigate a world that suddenly seemed so much darker and colder than before. And as you wept for all that you had lost, you couldn't help but feel utterly and completely alone.

Silence hung heavy in the air, broken only by the occasional sound of a muffled sob. Your mom led you back to your bedroom after agonizing minutes. You bent over on the edge of your bed, clutching her phone tightly in your trembling hands. You had been staring at it for an eternity, unable to comprehend the messages and missed calls that littered the screen.

Your best friend, Gi-Yeon, had been contacting you frantically for hours leading up to this moment. Gi-Yeon had been out with your other friends, enjoying a carefree evening, oblivious to the turmoil within her soul. As you scrolled through the messages, each one a desperate plea for help, a wave of guilt washed over you.

"Why didn't I answer?" you whispered to yourself, tears streaming down your cheeks.

The weight of what had happened crashed down on you like a ton of bricks. Gi-Yeon, your confidante, your sister in all but blood, had taken her own life. She drank a handful of sleeping pills as well as her mother's anti-depressants. You felt like you were suffocating as if the very air had been sucked out of the room.

You replayed your last conversation, searching for any signs you might have missed, any hint of the pain Gi-Yeon was feeling. But all you could remember was laughter, shared secrets, and plans for the future, even if she went through pain after the bully's attack. She was excited to leave this neighbourhood and live her life to the fullest, away from her judgmental family. How had you not seen the darkness lurking beneath the surface?

You replayed and read the text and voice messages repeatedly, and the phone buzzed again, a cruel reminder of the reality she was trying so desperately to escape. With trembling fingers, you unlocked it to find another message from Gi-Yeon, sent just minutes before her final act.

"I'm sorry, Yuri, I can't do this anymore. Please forgive me."

The words blurred together through your tears, but their meaning cut you like a knife. You collapsed onto the bed, clutching the phone to your chest as if it were the only thing anchoring you to this cruel world.

"Why didn't I answer?" You cried out, your voice raw with anguish. "I could have saved her."

But deep down, you knew that no amount of answered calls or comforting words could have saved Gi-Yeon from the demons that had haunted your rock through thick and thin, and you prayed that she had finally found peace in death.

But at that moment, your heart lay bare in the snow of grief.

A/n: I know this is a sad chapter to lose a significant character. Gi-Yeon took her own life because of online harassment and bullying.

Thank you so much to those who supported this short story. I hope you enjoyed it thus far. Dont forget to show some love by voting. It only costs you a 'click.

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MarieKarlsson3 VantoshLiam  @ jpn0214 Girlnamjooning   Btsmamma    @squeaki20707

1. Do you believe GiYeon was deeply saddened by taking such a drastic measure?

2. Can Yuri find closure and move forward after losing Giyeon and Hosoek?

3. Is there a justification for Yuri's cold and detached demeanour towards love?