Time does fly. You grow from an angsty teenager into someone who could possibly make themselves useful in society. Eventually, wrinkles and laugh lines start to show, your bones ache with every step, and you're no longer the person you used to be, yet you're still you. Hopefully by the time your ashes are scattered over the ocean, or your body is placed wherever you wish, you'll have many memories to bring back to where you came from.

Jung Wheein has a lot of memories. Memories that have lasted over centuries. Of course, she has forgotten some, but you can't exactly blame her when she's been alive for that long, can you? Immortality is never a blessing. Many a time has she seen people being taken away from her, regardless of whether she has wanted it or not. Her face has stayed the same ever since she turned 21, and the first time she realised that she may be special was when she looked at her own reflection in a puddle, and none of her features had changed, unlike her friends. She can't exactly remember most of what happened after that, though.

People leave. She understood that.

But one thing about being eternal is that you're going to be alone, forever.

One day when the Earth has been destroyed, you're just going to float in space by yourself for all of eternity. No one to speak with, nothing to do. You're simply an indestructible piece of mass.

And that scares Jung Wheein to death, funnily enough.

Everyone who has tried so hard to come close to her, simply leaves in the end. Anyone who has fell in love with her, and she with them, has told her the same thing whenever she had to leave to protect herself.

"Tell me what's wrong," they would say. "Tell me where it hurts. Take me to your sunsets, your evenings, your breakfasts in bed, your everything. Don't leave me like this."

"I can't," she would tell them. And every single time she made an excuse to leave them, it broke her heart. "You wouldn't understand. It's all for the better. I have nothing to take you to. Everyone who touches me will get burned."

She wouldn't be able to grow old with them, because all in the blink of an eye, they will turn to dust, and she will be left with ashes that will simply slip from between her slender fingertips.

Thus, she soon vowed to never get close to anyone. Never fall for them, never be more to people than close friends. Even then, she will find some way to slither away from their grasps. Such is the life of an immortal, you'll be lonely wherever you go.

But having a whole life to practice being careful was not enough. The crushing feeling in your heart and the way your hairs would stand on your arm when you stood near to someone that used to be in your arms would never go away. That sense of anguish that envelopes your body when you know that the moments you should've been enjoying simply rushes by too fast, those that fall right through the gaps in your fingers.

Life is fragile, and oh, how much she wished she could be a piece of glass instead.

But one day, she found out that she wasn't alone. The thought of a friend excited her, someone that could possibly be by her side for the rest of eternity.

The first time Wheein met this girl was at the funeral of her best friend. No one else had noticed the girl, and she didn't exactly seem to be quite... human either. She had this eerie aura surrounding her, and she always had her hands in her pockets. She was dressed completely in black, the darkest form of black that Wheein had ever seen in her life. The only way Wheein could describe it was that this girl seeped death. But Wheein couldn't spot her face.

The second time Wheein saw this girl was during her job as a detective in her earlier days. Someone had died from a poisoning, and their body was left out in the street for the rodents to find. Again, she was wearing pure black. But the first thing Wheein noticed was her piercing eyes that seemed to bore holes right through her body. For the second time, this girl vanished into thin air after walking around a corner.

But the third time Wheein saw her, was when she herself had gotten into a major accident. She, in a stupid attempt to see how indestructible she actually was, shot herself in the head with a bullet multiple times. She found out from this that she still experienced the pain, but her body would regenerate whatever injuries she had, regardless of how severe it was.

Much to Wheein's surprise, the girl simply walked into her room while she was lying on the floor in agony, in her own blood.

"Who... are you?" Wheein mumbled, her eyes glazing over. She couldn't see well, mostly because of the blood that was getting into her eyes.

"We finally meet, Jung Wheein."

# # #

"I am Death." the girl explained, confirming Wheein's suspicions.

"Am I going to die?"

"No, unfortunately. I know you wish it, but you're immortal."

"Are you immortal too?"

"Yes and no. I died a long time ago, and this position was handed to me. I am the border of life and death. I'm what people see when they pay a visit to that border. But you're an exception."

"So basically, you're immortal?"

Death cocked an eyebrow. "I suppose you could say that."

# # #

Death wasn't what Wheein expected. Death had eyelashes that framed her gorgeous eyes, and beautiful locks that ended in little curls that reached her waist. Her lips were a little redder than the cherry blossom stain on her cheeks, and she was completely and utterly the most beautiful person(?) Wheein had ever seen in her life.

As the years flew by, and Death was busy collecting souls that were both far and near from Wheein, they had become close friends. You might even say that whatever feelings Wheein was harbouring in her body had sprouted and tangled around Death. For the first time in a very long time, Wheein allowed herself to have a crush on Death. Even a glimpse of her would make her happy, because the thought of simply having someone to spend time with for the rest of her life made her feel so much better.

She couldn't bear with the thought of being completely alone.

It was weird, really. The thought of having feelings for someone, something that was possibly unobtainable. For the many centuries that Wheein had gotten to know Death, the girl had never shown any bout of emotion at all. Perhaps Death, as an entity, was unable to exhibit any feelings at all, or perhaps Death simply couldn't feel. Which was worse, Wheein could never decide. Of course Wheein could simply ask Death if she was capable of having emotions, but that was kind of rude, no? Thus, she simply never brought it up.

Whatever, Wheein was content enough to have a friend, even if Death didn't consider her a friend. But she wished to be so much more than that, and in a way, it was driving her crazy.

# # #

It was a starry night, with the leaves rustling in the wind, and Death was sitting on one of Wheein's chairs, in her usual black garb. Death hadn't changed at all throughout the centuries, and so hadn't Wheein.

"Tell me your name, at least." Wheein told her. "The name you had when you were born, and when you had died. The name you had before you became Death."

"My name? I haven't said it for hundreds of years." Death drew her knees close to her chest.

"I want to know."

"My name is Moon Byulyi."

"Will you ever leave me?"

"You? I could never."

Wheein smiled at her friend.

"Tell me about you. I want to know how you became Death."

"That will take a long time," Death replied, tilting her head to the side as she leaned over, taking Wheein's hand in hers. "It would take dozens of years just to explain."

"Then it's lucky I'm immortal."

Death smiled.