Disclaimer: All the events that are happening in this fanfiction is not based on any true story. All events are strictly based on the imagination of the writer.

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Seoul, South Korea Dec 2017

It is just another day passing for the girl who is skipping as she pass through the streets of Myeongdong. Her dark brown wavy past mid back length hair bounces along with every skip. She was dressed casually – a pastel pullover and denim jeans on so she can move freely. It’s not like she has any other choice with what to wear. She stopped for a while to think where to go after she circled around the busy shopping street. She blew her full feathered bangs even hough it was not long enough to hinder her view and she began to tap her left feet. Her hands rested on her waist – she is now on ‘thinking mode’ as she prefers to call it.

As she thinks, new songs of “television-worthy” people as she’d like to refer to them were blaring through speakers of the shop that was in front of her. Not long after, she got irritated and covered her ears. Grunting, she started to walk away from it as there is absolutely no way for her to tell them to decrease the volume. She walked towards the road – where the cars are driving past. She didn’t care even if whether it is green or red light. She just walked. She was only a feet away before getting hit an incoming car but she didn’t care. She continued after it has passed by.

A sedan was speeding through and she decided to stop right in front of it. It didn’t even honk and she didn’t even flinch. The car just passed through her body. How? Many would assume she’s a ghost. But she’s not. She’s different from them. At first she assumed she was one too until she met them herself. Her aura was different from them. Ghosts, they have this slightly grey aura that emanates from them – which signifies that they still have unfinished business in this world and can’t leave until they solve it. She on the other hand has a faint yellow-ish glow to her which until now she doesn’t know what it meant. Even her ghost friends can’t seem to figure it out.

After the car has zoomed through her, she absentmindedly walked towards the other side of the road. Since the day she woke up into finding what she turned out to be, she has probably been hit by cars more than ten thousand times. She lost count by the second week she turned into a being she has yet to really classify. She can’t do what most ghosts can do – possess people (which is not encouraged by the way), make people feel chills, or make them sneeze if they pass through a ghost. She’s simply an invisible being you can say. A soul perhaps? At least that’s how she saw herself as by the first month after turning into one.

It has been a year or so since the day she found herself lying on the street. She was feeling disoriented then and she found herself staring at the night sky as she awoke. Just then, the blinding light of an approaching car greeted her. She bolted up and a migraine-like pain took over her head. It was too late to move away. Then, as if in slow motion, she saw how the car passed through her. It scared her. She was frantic, confused and screaming her lungs out. Nobody was responding to her ear-piercing screams and pleas of help. She looked human and yet she isn’t. By the second day, she calmed down a bit and that’s when a ghost approached her. She knew then it was one. She saw its aura. She knew it was different. Humans, they don’t have any color radiating through their bodies.  But for beings like her and ghosts, there was.

“Hey,” the ghost greeted her then. “You calmed down now?” She just nodded. She lost the energy to even speak. She was just sitting on the sidewalk, almost curled into a ball. It turns out, the ghost has been watching her since she woke up.

“It’s the same for most of us. I was like that too when I died.” The ghost said. They have human features too. It’s just that they have this grey aura to them. The ghost frowned. “But your aura is different. It’s yellow-ish. It’s weird.” The ghost soon brushed it off. Curious, the ghost asked her name. And it was her turn to frown. She was trying to search for it in her head but she can’t seem to remember. She ghost gave her a sympathetic smile. “Give it a week and then you’ll remember.”

Since then, the two of them became friends. Which is an odd thing since she found out ghosts do not really make friends. They stay alone and usually focused on the unfinished business they have. But not Yejeong. She’s an upbeat ghost and one that doesn’t seem to have any unfinished business.

“Soojung ah!” a familiar voice called out her name. But Soojung is currently too distracted thinking about where to go next. “Ya, Lee Soojung!”

Soojung stopped in her tracks. She turned but there was nobody there. She rolled her eyes and turned, “Stop using your advantages as a ghost.” She said with an irritated tone and continued to walk. “What’s so wrong about suddenly disappearing into thin air and then suddenly appearing again? It’s fun.” The ghost whined.

“Fun for you. Irritating for me.”

“Soojung, then turn into a ghost. You’re the only one I’ve met so far in that condition. The girl with the yellow-ish aura. Seriously, you still don’t know why your aura is like that?” Urgh, Soojung hates it when she blabbers so much. She doesn’t even know why she considered this ghost a friend. But then again, she thinks that this ghost’s unfinished business involves being able to talk to people (but she technically isn’t one so her business is still unsolved she guessed) a lot. You see, ghosts, they don’t really know what their unfinished business are at first. Soojung found out that most ghosts don’t get to remember until a certain period of time but they’ll be more or less inclined to do something frequently which relates to their unfinished business.

“Yejeong unni, can you please shut your mouth for today.” She blurted out. Yejeong stopped in her tracks. Soojung grunted. Yejeong is the sensitive type. She faced Yejeong and looked her in the eye. “Don’t cry in front of me today Unni.”

Yejeong already started pouting and her eyes were teary. For a 27 year old ghost, she has a mind of a child. ‘Urgh, she’s acting like a baby again’ Soojung thought. “Fine!” Yejeong angrily said and disappeared into thin air. Soojung just sighed. Every few weeks of so, they have this kind situation happening. She’s used to it already. How she wish she can disappear to thin air too. But she can’t. The only thing she can conclude is that because she’s not a ghost.

As she walked, she found herself in a park. Not long after, she was in front of a playground. Spotting a swing, she sat there. When her mind focuses on it, she doesn’t pass through it but that doesn’t mean if she focuses on getting hit by a car she would get hit. It only applies to usually stationary things. So, she just sat there until night slowly fell. She can start to feel ghostly auras. And she knew she should go away. It’s another ghost’s turf.

Just as she left the park, a sharp pain registered on her chest. It’s the first time she’s feeling it. She doesn’t know what’s happening but it’s hurting her. She lost her strength and eventually dropped to the floor. She heard a voice in her head “3-5 months…” it repeated several times before it completely stopped. The pain was gone too. Soojung doesn’t know what is going on. So suddenly, she experienced something new and painful. She kept on racking her brain as to what it meant. 3-5 months? Where did that come from? For the first time since the day she turned into a yet nameless being, she was scared and worried.

She continued walking when she regained her strength. ‘I better sleep’ she thought. It’s another thing that differentiated her from a ghost. Ghosts don’t need to sleep. But she, she feels tired like a normal human being. She walked until she reached a familiar street. It’s still the same. There might be some small changes here and there but the street she woke up in a year ago was about the same. She headed to her turf after a few minutes of staring at the street.

It was a second floor balcony of a small apartment building over-looking the street. It was an apartment unit which didn’t have any tenants for over a year. It is mainly because of a rumour going around that a ghost lives there. As she checked, there wasn’t really anyone there. She can clearly see – and sometimes see herself waking up from the street whenever she daydreams there – the view. She chose the spot to be her “home” from then on. For some reason, she has a habit of looking at the spot where she woke up so sleeps at the balcony. Beings like her and ghosts, they do not feel cold or hot so even when it was winter she slept there. Today is no exception. Even though the air is chilly, she will have no trouble sleeping there. As she tried to make her sleeping adjustments though, she cannot help but be bugged about the voice she heard in her head around an hour ago. Resting her elbows on the balcony railings and then her chin on her left hand, she stared at the street before her. She emptied her mind and was like that for quite a while. For some odd reason, her vision started getting blurry.  Surprised, she tried to get herself out of it. But she wasn’t able to. The view in front of her started to change. The street that she knew today changed. She’s getting some parts of her memory back! Instead of fighting it, she let it play in her mind. She saw herself driving then – with the same clothes that she was wearing today. Her facial expression worried. She cannot pinpoint why she looked like that then. She cannot seem to recall. And then she saw herself approaching the street when a car that beat the red light crashed into her car. She saw how the car she was riding spun before the hood hit a nearby lamp post. She seemed okay then. She saw herself getting out of the car after awakening from a slight concussion.

Suddenly, her view changed. She doesn’t see herself anymore. She seemed to be experiencing it herself now. As she got out of the car, she was feeling nauseous and dropped to the ground. She was already in the middle of the other lane. As she tried to get up, a blinding light caught her attention. It was right in front of her. She doesn’t know why but she started to tear up. It was a fast approaching car and it didn’t bother to stop. She was glued to the ground then. She screamed and soon after she can’t hear her own voice anymore. In a slow motion, she saw the night sky and felt weightless. It turned out she got thrown into the air due to the impact. For a moment, all the pain that she was feeling disappeared, she felt as if she’s meeting her end. But one thought stayed ‘I need to live. No, not yet.’ And then there was a thud and everything went black.

Soojung was shaking and shedding tears. She was back at the balcony. She wanted to wail but there wasn’t any sound she can produce. She was too shocked at what she saw. How tragic the way she ended up there. An accident and a hit and run. Her legs gave way. Her breathing was unsteady and she just can’t process anything else. The way she got hit kept on replaying on her mind. She was getting goose bumps all over. Ever since the day she remembered her name, she longed to know how she ended up there. Yejeong told her the time taken for ghosts to remember parts or their memory differs. She kept on trying but now that it has finally come, she hated it.  She silently wept until she can’t produce tears anymore. She wished someone was there to comfort her at least. And as if on cue, Yejeong appeared on her balcony. She stared at Soojung who has now curled into a ball. Yejeong didn’t seem worried. She had a calm expression. Sensing another being’s presence, Soojung looked up. She saw Yejeong staring at her. “Unni…” she muttered.

Yejeong raised an eyebrow and leaned against the railing. “You finally remembered how you turned into this huh?” There was no tone of concern. “Congratulations.” But those were empty words. There wasn’t any emotion in her voice. Soojung knows why. Yejeong has been a ghost for around 2 years and yet her memories to as to how she died has not returned to her yet. Yejeong was jealous. She knew. “Unni it’s scary…”

Yejeong just sighed and sat beside her. “I’m jealous. I wish I can find out the way I died too…”

The both of them just sat there for what it seemed like eternity. After around an hour or so, Soojung who has calmed down said with a worried tone, “Now what…” She’s totally clueless to what she’s supposed to do next now that she’s regained a bit more memories. So far, she only knows her name and age. Besides the memory of the accident, there wasn’t anything anymore. “I don’t know. Regain more memories maybe?” Yejeong offered.

Just then, a noise coming from the street alarmed the two of them. A long car honk had them sprung up from their sitting position. An incoming truck that was trying to beat the red light is about to hit another car at the intersection. To Soojung, it was like a live replay of what she experienced a year ago. She can’t believe her eyes. To Yejeong, it excited her for some reason “Omo, omo, omo.”

Soojung felt like her heart would stop (even though it’s not possible).  This is so similar to what she went through about a year ago. The car turned over twice before coming to a stop due to the impact – worse than what happened to her. She realised her grip at the railing were too tight and she caught her breath as she saw a bloodied head man come out from the car and managed to take about 10 steps away from the car before passing out. “Please live.” Soojung found herself whispering before she lost the strength in her legs once again. What happened to that guy was so similar to what happened to her – minus the hit and run. Yejeong who has probably seen it a few times doesn’t seem surprised. “It’s how nature is. If it’s his time, he’ll die.” She just said before disappearing into thin air again.

Soojung embraced herself as she watches the whole scene. The ambulance and police sirens were heard in a distance. A crowd is gathering in the site. There was a pile-up of cars not far from the crash. The truck was empty and the driver was nowhere to be seen. It was chaotic. Soojung wondered if that was the case for her too. As the crowd thinned and the accident site was slowly cleared, Soojung wondered why the ambulance has still not taken the body. It was still lying on the floor. But then she realised… There was no ambulance in sight anymore. Only the police were in the area. And even then, only a few. That’s when she noticed a faint yellow-ish glow coming from him. Soojung’s eyes widened. She can’t believe what she’s seeing. The person… It became like her!

She ran to the body that’s still on the ground. She tried to nudge him but there was no response. Did she hallucinate? Was he really dead? But no, the glow is becoming stronger. Perhaps he’ll awake at his own time? And then she wondered, was she like this too after her accident? She looked up. Was the sky helping her or what? She can’t explain the series of events that is happening today. The pain in her chest, the voice in her head, the return of her memory (at least the accident part of her memory) and now this.

took in his appearance. He’s not bloody anymore. He’s wearing a long black coat – for winter she guessed. He wore a slightly oversized plain white shirt and wore a dog tag necklace. “Is he some sort of gangster?” she thought out load as she noticed a piercing on his left ear. Then she continued on to scan his appearance. He was wearing simple black jeans and high cut boots which looked branded. In fact from his overall get-up he seemed rich. Even the car he was riding on – even though it’s not desirable anymore looked imported. ‘Is he a celebrity or something?’ she suddenly thought. She stared at his face and it seemed familiar to her. It’s like she has seen him before… But where?

Heaving a sigh, she walked back to her turf. She figured he might wake up on his own. And when he does, she’ll have to introduce herself to him. Maybe they can relate to each other and help each other.

But for now, she’ll sleep. She’s way too tired to stay up and wait for him to wake up. He’ll probably be like her by the time he wakes up. Confused and all… She’s The Soul anyway. At least how she referred to herself.

She thought to herself, “I’m The Soul, Lee Soojung. I can get it done one way or another” It’s empty words but hey, there’s nothing wrong with being optimistic right?