Chapter 3

For the next few weeks, Jinhye spent most of her time visiting Jongin in the library. At first they were a little awkward with their conversations but as time went by, they grew comfortable with each other’s presence and looked forward in meeting one another again.

“Jongin?”

“Mmh” he responds

“Did you ever want to find out what happened to you? Like how you died or exactly when you died? What about the whereabouts of your family? A girlfriend or wife maybe?” Jinhye curiously asked him.

Jongin froze when he heard those words. Family? It’s been decades since he last thought about them. He missed them so much.

“Ahh, of course I had a family… I had a father and mother as well as a younger sister. I don’t recall having any significant other either, I was too busy with my research.” he replied.

“Well I don’t know about your parents but shouldn’t your sister still be alive?” Jongin grimly shook his head.

“I wish she was but she died of cancer when she was 16”. Hearing his response made Jinhye feel guilty. It was bad enough that she was bringing up memories from his past life, and now she made him remember his dead sister.

“Aish, I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry for asking” she regretfully spoke. Jongin laughed a bit and stared and Jinhye. The look in his eyes didn’t show pain, but more  of he was so over feeling melancholy that he had no more tears to shed.

“Don’t be, it happened a long time ago. I’ve had plenty of time to mourn. And I don’t think it would be fitting for a ghost like myself to weep over another dead person” he explained.

And just like that there was silence. Jinhye was racking her brain to come up with a new topic to talk about while Jongin just sat there and stared out the window. He watched the trees sway in the breeze while the occasional bird flew out to find a different place of refuge. Jinhye could see the look on his face and his emotion was as clear as day. He had had enough. He wanted out, this library was an impenetrable prison. A prison he was unjustly sent, to spend enternity within.

“Jongin? What if there was a way to get you out of here? What if your death has some answers as to why you’re stuck here? What if… what if I could somehow find a way to let you finally rest in peace?”.  Jongins eyes widened when she revealed what she had been thinking.

“You would do that!?” he exclaimed. Jinhye nodded, happy that she had shed a ray of hope on his dull existence.

“Jinhye thank you so much!” he yelled as leaped up to give Jinhye a hug. It was a spur of the moment thing. Jongin wasn’t thinking about what he was doing. So when he finally tried to wrap his arms around her, they passed right through her. He was nothing but a projection, and he felt his non-existent heart drop a little inside. Again he tried to touch her, but nothing happened, he just passed right through.

Jinhye witnessed the whole ordeal and saw the look on his face when it happened. It broke him. As if he wasn't depressed enough. She was about to say something comforting when out of no-where, he vanished. Leaving Jinhye in the Library by herself.