Introducing new characters in this chapter! Hope you like it :)

Vernon watched on as Jessica’s shadow faded away. He wanted to follow her, to make sure that she’s safe wherever she was going but he didn’t. He couldn’t find a reason as to why he should look out for her. He didn’t want to admit that he was partially attracted to her because he couldn’t waste his time on such things like love. Falling in love would only hinder his plan on getting back home to the States. He returned to where his friends were but Mingyu and Wonwoo were nowhere in sight.

“Where’d they go?” Vernon asked Dino who was relaxing on the floor.

“No idea. They just left without saying anything.”

Vernon shrugged his shoulder and looked at S.Coups who was approaching him,

“Where’s Jess?” he worriedly asked.

Vernon shrugged his shoulders again and pretended to look uninterested, “Don’t know. She just ran off without me”

S.Coups was about to scold Vernon for not running after her but was interrupted by Seungkwan,

“What’s going on with Mingyu? Who’s this Sooyeon person?”

Everyone agreed and looked at S.Coups for an answer,

“I don’t know much but I heard from Wonwoo that before Mingyu transferred to our school he was in a serious relationship with this chick called Sooyeon. Apparently they had an argument or something and she ran away from him but was killed when a car hit her. And now he blames himself for her death”

"I guess he really misses her... Jessica must look a bit like Sooyeon for him to be having hallucinations like that, right?" Dokyum asked.

"Probably. But there's not much we can do... let's just get back to this basketball game" Jeonghan suggested.

The boys nodded their heads but couldn't help but feel sorry for their friend. Vernon, however, couldn’t get his mind of Jessica. He wanted to know where she was, if she was okay but most importantly, he wanted to know what Jessica had to do with Mingyu’s dead girlfriend.

Jessica didn’t know where her feet were taking her, but she was glad to have found an isolated pond among the park that she had found. She sat on the bench under the shade and stared into the open space. Jessica breathed in deeply as the cool breeze of Seoul gently blew past her. She needed to clear her mind but she couldn’t help but think about her life before death. More specifically, she couldn’t get her mind of him.

[Flashback – Jessica is 16 years old]

She was walking home after a night out of celebrating her friend’s birthday. She knew it wasn’t a wise idea for a girl to walk alone at night, but she had always enjoyed the cool breeze at night and wanted to soak in the fresh air. She was passing by a dark alley when three older men approached her. After kicking one of the men because they wouldn’t leave her alone, the men became aggressive and grabbed her hair. Just as she was about to be assaulted, a tall boy around her age came to her rescue. In the process of fighting the men off, he was glassed and received a cut on his right shoulder. Luckily for the teenagers, an off duty police officer happened to have witnessed the commotion and helped them out.

“Are you okay?” She asked as she assessed the wound on her saviour’s right shoulder. She washed the wound with some water and patted the area dry with some tissue.

The boy nodded and winced at the pain. He looked at her and thanked her for cleaning up his wound.

“No, I should be the one thanking you! If you didn’t show up, god knows what would have happened to me!”

The boy chuckled but gave her a serious look, “A girl like you shouldn’t be walking around on the streets alone!”

“I know, I know. But I just like the wind that blows at night, you know? It really helps clear my head and calms me down”

The boy gave her a sympathetic look, “I agree. Long walks at night are the best. But it’s still dangerous!”

She smiled and nodded her head, “I think I’ve learnt my lesson”

“Hey, we should probably get you to the hospital. That cut looks pretty nasty” She suggested as she closely observes the cut.

“Nah, I’m okay, it’s not that painful.”

She knew he was lying. The cut was deep and she could tell that he was in a lot of pain based on all the facial expressions he were trying to hide whenever she would look at him.

“C’mon, I’ll walk you home”

She had never met this boy before and she knew that he could be dangerous. But there was something about him that made her feel safe and so she let him walk her home. The two talked about random things and she found out that he had just moved to her neighbourhood and will be attending the same school as her. Before they knew it, she had reached the front gate of her house. She turned to face the boy and bid him goodbye,

“Thanks for saving me earlier and for walking me home”

“No biggie. I always have time to save a damsel in distress” He joked and made her laugh.

The two became silent as they looked into each other’s eyes, neither of them wanted to bid goodbye. It was her sneeze that snapped them out of their trance and the boy chuckled at how cute she was. He took off his cardigan and wrapped it around her,

“You better head in. It’s getting late” He said softly. She nodded reluctantly and headed her way towards the door. She turned around to see if he had already left, but he was still standing at the gate, waiting for her to enter the house. Just as she was about to enter, she quickly sprinted towards him. He gave her a confused look,

“What’s wrong?” He asked, worried.

“Your name. I didn’t get your name!” she said and chuckled. They were so engrossed into getting to know each other, that they had forgotten the most important thing – their names!

“Mingyu. Kim Mingyu” He said as he held out his hand.

“Sooyeon. Jung Sooyeon” She answered back shyly and shook his hand.

“Sweet dreams, Jung Sooyeon” Mingyu whispered and offered her one last smile.

“Goodnight, Kim Mingyu” Sooyeon whispered back and walked inside her house. She looked outside the window and watched as Mingyu walked away. She quickly rushed to bed, hoping that she would bump into him again at school the next day.

The following day, the two teenager did indeed meet. They started off as friends but quickly developed feelings for one another. It’s been a couple of months since Mingyu and Sooyeon had met and everyone knew that the two liked each other but Sooyeon was starting to get frustrated with Mingyu. All his friends had hinted that he liked her, yet he has not once showed any initiative to confess to her. Frustration got the better of her when she confronted Mingyu that day after school.

“Kim Mingyu! You’re such a bad person” Sooyeon yelled across the soccer field where Mingyu was playing the sport with his friends. He approached the angry girl and flicked her forehead gently,

“What did I do this time?” Mingyu asked as he examines Sooyeon’s expression. He found it cute when she frowned and how her pink lips would always form a kissable pout.

“You. You’re such a jerk. You spend all these time with me and make me like you. I give you all my attention and all my affection but I receive nothing from you. All your friends tell me that you like me, but it sure doesn’t feel like it! Are you just playing with me Kim Mingyu? You jerk!” Sooyeon ranted as she continuously pounds her fist into Mingyu’s chest.

Mingyu laughed and grabbed her hands so she would stop hitting him, “Was that a confession, Jung Sooyeon?” He asked amusingly.

Sooyeon glared at him, “Jerk.” She spat before storming off. Mingyu laughed at how adorable she was acting. He ran after her and pulled her into his embrace,

“Don’t walk away from me. Why are you getting so worked up about something like this? Of course I like you, isn’t it obvious?” Mingyu said calmly.

Sooyeon pulled away and looked into his eyes, “You’re lying” She accused. The boy rolled his eyes and pulled her back into his embrace and he hugged her tightly.

“You’re such a pabo, Sooyeon.” He whispered, not letting go of her.

“Prove it to me that you like me” Sooyeon mumbled into his chest as she loosely wraps her arms around his waist.

Mingyu cupped her delicate face and slowly leaned down and kissed her lips. Their lips moved in synchronisation slowly and softly as the two conveyed their feelings in the kiss. After what seems like an eternity, Sooyeon pulled away, smiling to herself like an idiot.

Mingyu chuckled and kissed her forehead, “Will you be my girlfriend, Jung Sooyeon?”

“Of course I will, Kim Mingyu!”

A month of dating turned into six months and soon turned into a year. Things were getting pretty serious between Mingyu and Sooyeon. They were often seen together, causing trouble wherever they go. They were each other’s partners in crime. They were out on a dinner date when Mingyu asked if Sooyeon wanted to meet his parents. Sooyeon felt uncomfortable and didn’t know what to say. She was afraid that his parents wouldn’t like her because she wasn’t the typical, goody-two-shoes kind of girl. Mingyu could see how uncomfortable Sooyeon was with the idea so he smiled and squeezed her hand tightly,

“Hey, it’s okay if you don’t want to. You can meet them whenever you’re ready so don’t feel pressured” He assured her. Sooyeon knew that he was disappointed but she really wasn’t ready to meet his parents. She smiled back at him and appreciated how he didn’t pressure her into it. After dinner, the couple decided to stroll along the Han River. The two held onto each other’s hand as they quietly walked along the path.

“Sooyeon?” Mingyu called out as he stops walking and pulled her around so she was facing him.

“Hmm?” She responded with a small smile on