"Why is your hand like that?" Noona said while pointing at my hand that was currently holding Dara's.

I cleared my throat and was about to let go when Dara hugged me by the waist, essentially breaking the personal bubble that had long been broken because of her. I groaned in annoyance and yet I still found my hand resting on top of her head. Noona gave me an amused look as I shot a glare at the ghost who wouldn't stop touching me.

"We moved up on the friendship ladder, unnie!!" She replied merrily. 

Noona raised a suspicious brow. I saw her looking at me accusingly and I just turned my head. "Oh?" I could hear the wholesome sarcasm in her voice. "Are you guys on a different ladder now? A ladder you shouldn't be on?" 

I could feel Dara's hold on me start to loosen as her face fell. I secured her, circling my arm on her waist. Regret was glistening in her eyes and I couldn't help but look away. My sister still had her eyes on me and then darted it on my seemingly raised arm.

"Noona." I didn't hesitate to use a warning tone on her. "Cut it out."

She looked at me intently before releasing a heavy sigh. "Alright, I'm sorry. It's just... the two of you are treading into a very dangerous territory. You know it, don't you?" She paused and waited for a response but I didn't give her the satisfaction of getting one. She just sighed again.  "I warned you both. Don't let me tell you that I told you so when hits the fan."

"Well it's still smelling like fresh daisies and expensive perfume in here so I suggest you hold your breath until it happens." 

I burst out laughing while noona gave Dara an weary nod but I heard a chuckle escape . Leave it to Dara to make a room less awkward and uncomfortable. She completely got rid of the tense air from a few minutes ago and replaced it with her whimsical quips and everything else that make me question her maturity as an adult. 

I didn't want to be in here right now but Dara made me go into noona's shop because: "I don't want you to have bad blood with your relatives because of me. I know you love me so much that you'll distance yourself from them but please Jiyong, have some reservations. You're so dramatic." as said by the most dramatic one out of the two of us. I could tell she was being sarcastic as hell and that wasn't very much appreciated, but a part of me tells me that what she said was true. I'm going a little bit overboard and I blame this girl who won't let go of me, like seriously--it's almost suffocating.

But it's a comforting kind of suffocating. 

She eventually found her way into talking me out to meet up with my sister and I can't say that I don't feel grateful to have Dara with me right now. She was definitely easing a lot of tension between us despite being the main root of it. 

"But seriously though, Jiyong, Dara. I really hope you two know what you're doing because if this ends up where I think it'll end up..."

"Noona." I cut her off, staring at her solemnly. "We know."

"We're just living in the moment right now." Dara smiled making me do the same as I looked down on her. 

Dami noona looked at us with a defeated smile and nodded in acceptance yet again. She didn't say anything more and just continued looking over at her table that was cluttered with different kinds of papers.

I made it clear to her and Dara that we wouldn't be needing her help anymore. I figured I could do it myself and just talk to her about her memories, somehow hoping that my lack of knowledge about her cause would make her stay longer.

Man, Jiyong. You're really in some deep now. 

I guess so but even then I still want it to last longer. I don't know how long she was gonna stay with me but you bet your that I'm gonna implant our new memories in her brain so that she won't forget them when she's gone. 

Gone in her eternal sleep.

I shook my head and found Dara talking animatedly with my sister. I took tentative steps towards them and found my footsteps speeding up when I heard the topic of their conversation. 

"Are you really doing it unnie?" her big eyes twinkled. 

The latter nodded. "Yes, I think I'm strong enough to reach her spirit but I haven't really tried it before so we'll see."

"What are you talking about?" I discreetly hid Dara behind my back and it didn't go unnoticed by my ever so perceptive sister. I shot her a look and she gently closed the folder that she was studying earlier.

"I'm going to try to communicate with Seunghyun's girlfriend's sister. She's in the hospital right now and she hasn't waken up from her coma yet. Seunghyun says that she's been showing some progress with her eyes and fingers but thats it." She rubbed her face tiredly and looked at the folder again. "I've seen the girl twice now and I'm just impressed that her family and her have been holding the faith for that long. I would've called it quits if I knew I would lie bedridden for that long."

I hummed in understanding while Dara moved on with looking at other knickknacks on noona's room. I never really met or even heard of Bom noona's sister. He'll, I didn't even know she had a sister. I would only get little tidbits of Bom noona from Seunghyun but even though he was far worse than gossiping ahjummas, he never really delved in with the topic of his girlfriend and her life. I respect his choice. I can see how Seunghyun really cherishes her. I feel really bad for Bom noona though. I didn't know she was going through this.

"Such a young girl too..." Noona frowned, rubbing her temples. "Bom doesn't like talking about what happened to her so I don't really know much in terms of how she got hospitalized. Frankly, I don't even think I want to know. I feel like I wouldn't even be able to handle it. From the stories I hear from Seunghyun, I can tell that she was her whole world. God, I wouldn't know what I would do if the same thing happened to you." She looked at me, teary-eyed, and reached for my hand. I held her hand reassuringly. 

"I'll be fine." I smiled tightly. "If you see Bom noona again, tell her... tell her that she has my prayers." I was never the type to say those kinds of things but I felt like it needed to be said. Bom noona needs it and I wouldn't hesitate to pray for her if it meant that it would help her get a peace of mind. She was always happy when Seunghyun brought her on rare occasions so hearing her so sad was definitely a thing that I would rather not think of. She deserves her happiness.

"What's her sister's name by the way?" I asked, walking over to Dara who was fiddling with a handle of an old, wooden music box. She started turning it and I chuckled when I saw the childlike excitement in her eyes when the thing started playing.

"Her name is Park Sa—"

"Dancing bears, painted wings~"

The beautiful melody of the piano reverberated through the auditorium as a girl clad in some dance wear, twirled around the stage with a blank look on her face. 

"Things I almost remember.

And a song someone sings..." 

The instructors and her fellow classmates watched her in awe as the harmony of the song danced along with the vocals that matched. Sweat trickled on the sides of her face and on to her neck but her breathing remained calm and even. Her eyes would find themselves peeking over the people watching her but she would quickly dart them away. 

"Once upon a December."

She slowly picked up the pace as soon as the instrumental took over. Her movement was more expressive and her face was too. She danced to the beat of the music and made sure every step complimented themselves into perfection. A smile unconsciously formed on her face as she started to feel herself and the music even more. She leaped, spun, and moved across the stage, with every move accompanied by an unrestrained smile. 

"Someone holds me safe and warm

Horses prance through a silver storm

Figures dancing gracefully 

Across my memory"

The students saw how much fun she was having and some of them joined in. The instructors couldn't help but let them do what they want. Leave it to her to encourage a class of arrogant and conceited dancers to join one another in harmony. 

The smile on her face grew even more when she noticed almost everybody joining with her. She let her body be free and let her mind wander off to somewhere peaceful. This is what she craved for, peace in the thing she loved the most. 

The instrumentals gradually slowed down its pace and the rest slowed down with it. She was still dancing expressively, just letting her movements run wild through their own free will. When she opened her eyes, she stopped abruptly. The others didn't know if this was a part of her dance because the song was getting close to its sad end. 

Her eyes locked on the man that caged her, the man that turned her love for hobby a thing that she needed to live and breathe off of. He was the man that made her like this.

"And a song someone sings."

She slowly sat herself on the ground with her hand on her thumping heart and her expression turning back into stone. 

"Once upon a December."

"Dara..." I croaked, looking at her wide-eyed while her gaze fixed on the music box. 

I felt a hand on my shoulder and saw noona looking at me worriedly. "Is something wrong? It looks like you blanked out for a minute there." she said. 

I quickly shook my head and held Dara's arm. I gave my sister a hasty goodbye which just added more to her confusion. I don't want to have noona there when I ask Dara what the hell just happened. 

What the hell did just happen?

Why was I able to see her memory? 

Why did I see... a different Dara...?

I didn't bother saying goodbye to Minzy or Chaerin when I stepped out. Only did I notice when we were out of the shop that Dara was still holding on to the music box. I took it away from her and put it in my bag only to be rewarded by her upset expression. At one point, her face turned expressionless before changing to scared...? 

My hand draped over her head and I tucked her under my chin to hide her from the world. She was already hidden in the first place being the ghost that she was but now she needed to be hidden from herself... or what she once was.

Like always, the Seoul streets were crowded and I could see some wandering eyes looking over at my direction with bewilderment. I didn't give them the satisfaction of putting my 'floating hand' down. Instead, I bent down to give her a gentle kiss on the lips in front of the eyes of the people that don't know and will never know what I was doing. 

I cupped her face before giving her another peck. Her worry turned into gi