From Past To Present, I Still Love You 152 The Funeral

Yoona, carefully stepped out of her car. She thanked her driver before taking a step forward towards the bleak funeral building. The wind gently flowed with her simple black dress.

She could always see the building from the hospital window and dreaded coming. But to think that she was finally here. It was heart-wrenching.

She took a deep breath, trying to gather all her emotions, before finally walking through the open doors.

Upon arriving to the designated room, wreaths of flowers with messages written beside them lined up alongside the hallway, all dedicated to the young boy.

'Dedicated to the white-haired angel'

'A tribute to the genius whose influence will live on forever'

And the largest one, whom she could see was from Minhyun said: 'To an irreplaceable brother'.

Arriving at the door, Yoona took off her flats and went over to the desk to sign in to the guestbook. She was surprised to see the large list, though there were little to none signatures yet. The funeral had just started.

She was immediately brought to the mourning room. Minhyun was standing beside the altar with his head down. Traiditionaly, in the mourning room, there was always supposed to be a family member present. However, since Ji-ho was an orphan, Minhyun was to take his place.

On top of the wooden structure, a single photo of Ji-ho was placed for display. It was a photo taken during their Jeju trip. His dimples were deeply ingrained in his cheeks as he smiled happily. He was holding up a peace sign. According to White Mask, this was the photo that Ji-ho wanted for his funeral, if there was one. Delicate flowers surrounded the frame.

Yoona bowed her head slightly, paying respects to her friend. Tears dropped on the floor and she quickly tried to whip them away.

But it was hard - her hands were shaking. The funeral home brought her terrible memories of her childhood. She could still hear her mother's wailing in her ears.

And now, she was back, but for Ji-ho's sake.

Minhyun walked towards her before embracing her into a hug. "It's okay," he whispered.

When she looked up to face him, she could also see his eyes slightly red. He had cried as well. Alone. In this room.

She let out a sad smile. "How long have you been here?"

"Not too long, I had just finished paying my respects when you came."

She pursed her lips. He was lying. He had stayed here longer than he led on. But due to their location, she didn't want to argue.

"That's good. I'll stay with you here."

He just nodded in response and Yoona made her way to his side.

After her arrival, the amount of people who came to visit increased. The doctors came to pay their respects to their long-term patient. The nurses had come to say hello.

Afew internet friends had also come, greeting the friend they never got the chance of meeting in person.

When the business people came, those who weren't directly linked with Ji-ho, they bowed their heads slightly.

After paying their respects, they would walk to Minhyun and Yoona, saying sorry for the loss.
---

Once the mourning was finished, everyone was directed to the dining room. In Korean culture, to prevent the deceased from being lonely, there was always a banquet to keep guests laughing and talking. Many people spent this time introducing themselves and talking about Ji-ho and how smart he was.

When Minhyun and Yoona entered the room, they were happy to see that the dishes as well as the alcohol were placed on the tables already ready for consumption.

While Minhyun made way to talk to his people, mainly the higher-ups of MH, Yoona spent this time to talk to people who knew Ji-ho personally. Although she knew about Ji-ho's past, she wanted to know more about it.

Learn about any potential happy memories that he had.

"You know," one of the doctor's began. "There is one memory of Ji-ho that I can't erase from my brain."

He gulped a shot of soju before placing it against the table. "That boy rarely spoke. When I would ask questions about his health, he would shake his head or nod in response to my questions. He would distance himself from the doctors. There was no way we could approach him."

"But one day, while I was in my office, a large window popped up on my screen. It read: 'It's Ji-ho. My body hurts. There is something wrong.' After I saw that, I immediately ran towards his room. I knew he coded but I didn't realize how good he was until that moment. After I treated him, at first, I was quite angry that he hacked into the hospital system to message me. He could have alerted the nurses or other doctors. But as I thought about it more, I realized that he messaged me because I was one of the only doctors he could trust. Plus, he knew that I wouldn't tattle on him."

The doctor chuckled. "He was a good kid. I just wished there was more I could've done for him."

Yoona let out a warm smile while nodding. "What a beautiful story."

As she was listening to the experiences people had with Ji-ho, it was as if she was the one bearing those memories. It also felt like she was seeing different sides of him.

When she arrived at the online friend's table, they had a different atmosphere. All of them were of different ages and genders, some middle aged, while others in their middle school years. There was even a few young women at the table. Although it was their first time meeting, they were happily talking about Ji-ho and his talents in not only the coding realm, but in gaming.

"That guy," a middle-aged man began. "Was a true genius when it came to shooting games like AK Allies. I first messaged him when I saw his name rising up in the ranks. He was a newbie, yet beating all the strong players. We hit it off immediately and started playing games together. Although I could never hear him from the speakers, he would text me advise on what I needed to fix."

A young women widened her eyes. "You met him on there? I met him through online coding class."

"So different! For me, I met him through an anime forum!" A small middle-schooler announced. She cocked her head with a smile. "We both liked the same animes and he told me that his hair was white like Killua Zoldyck from Hunter x Hunter so I began to fall in love with him…"

The women shook her head. "Ah, young love."

The young girl wiped a tear from her eye. "He shall always remain my first love. He looked cute in the mourning picture too... "

Yoona giggled. It was interesting how they all met Ji-ho in different ways. She didn't realize he was active in different social spheres online.

Suddenly, the sound high-pitch sound sliced through the air. Minhyun had stood up and was tapping a spoon against his glass cup.

"I would like everyone's attention," he announced. "I want to use this time to lift a toast to Ji-ho. Although it is unfortunate that he left us recently, I believe he will continuously live in all your hearts. After all, he is not a forgettable character. Not only was he a prodigy, but a wonderful friend. He was someone I truly cared about."

He let out a deep breath. "One of my life goals is to make Ji-ho's accomplishments widely known to the world. To let everyone know that a genius like him existed. He deserves to be known. To have his mark left on earth forever. Let us all, try to spread the name of the unknown genius. Cheers."

After the toast, everyone started clapping.

Yoona bit her lip, trying to stop her tears from flowing. Minhyun's speech was beautiful, perfect for resonating in all their hearts for the years to come.

Once Minhyun sat down, the atmosphere went back to normal.

While sitting at the table, the middle schooler faced her.

"Just wondering, how did you meet Ji-ho?" She crossed her arms and pouted. "He never mentioned being friends with such a gorgeous girl. Gr. I'm jealous."

A laugh escaped Yoona's lips. "How did I meet him? Let me see… Well, the first time we saw each other was on an extravagant night…"

And as she began to recount her memories of him, it almost felt like he was alive. As if she was reliving the past.

Chapter end