Third and Final Wish

After passing Hyeyeong to a nurse in the hospital, informing her she needed an emergency exam and pointing to the still fading bruise on her face, he left as quickly as he could without saying a word to Hyeyeong. As he made his way out of the giant building the guy raked his hands through his hair several times in complete frustration and confusion. Why did he get involved? That was against his line of duty. Kyungsoo took his job very seriously, he was at the top of the academy when he was finally recruited into the field.

Kyungsoo groaned as he dropped his hands to his sides. “.”

For the next five days Kyungsoo threw himself more intensely into his work. Taking more detailed notes on the souls, always being shrouded so he could be closer to the scenes he was witnessing, staying up until the wee hours of the morning even when all his souls were asleep. Work was his everything, he had too keep it that way. On the sixth day of that week Kyungsoo put his focus on the soul that was giving him the most trouble in passing judgment, Kim Hyeyeong.

He stayed to the shadows as he followed her from her apartment to work, where he sat in the cafe across the street to watch her. She was diligent in her work; cleaning the animal cages, stocking shelves, helping customers with a very small bashful smile. When she got off work he followed her through the streets of the city, expecting her to return to her apartment, but she didn't. She took a left instead of heading to her usual bus stop and Kyungsoo quietly followed. Hyeyeong stopped at three separate florists, only buying anything at the last shop. The girl walked out with a single flower that Kyungsoo was unfamiliar with, it was a brilliant shade of fuchsia with so many petals that made it look puffy.

What is she doing? he wondered as they walked towards a park that couldn't have been further from her apartment.

Hyeyeong held the flower close to her chest as she stopped in the center of the park where a large fountain was situated. The figure in the center of the fountain was a miniaturized – though still large – stone carving of an oak tree, the water coming from the top of the statue trickling down the leaves and branches causing a waterfall to surround it distorting the image of the trunk with the cascading water. The top of the basin was just below Hyeyeong's hips with elaborate floral carvings all the way around. For a solid twenty minutes the girl just stood there staring at the fountain twirling the flower in her hands.

When forty-five minutes passed Kyungsoo heaved a sigh and stood from the bench he had been sitting on. He stepped over to Hyeyeong, standing next to her with is hands in the front pockets of his jeans and his eyes fixed on the ripples in the basin, coins littering the bottom of the fountain. He felt her eyes shift to him after a few moments and out of the corner of his eye he watched her close her left eye just staring at him with the right, but it wasn't a wink just like when she bumped into him on the street days ago. Opening her left eye she turned back to the fountain with a sad smile on her face.

“You're still following me? Have you made your judgment yet?” she asked conversationally.

“No,” he simply replied.

They were quiet for several minutes, Hyeyeong setting the fuchsia flower on the ledge of the fountain basin. Placing her hands together in front of her she bowed her head like she was praying. Kyungsoo didn't understand why.

“Did you know Luhan?” she suddenly inquired.

Kyungsoo turned his head so he was staring at the girl directly, brows furrowed together and mouth pursed. “Luhan? No, not personally.”

Hyeyeong nodded in understanding as she turned to meet his steady gaze. “But you did know of him?”

“Yes.”

“Because he was killed?” Her tone soft yet shaky like she didn't want to say the words that came out of her.

Kyungsoo paused, taking in her expression, a hunch growing inside the back of his mind as she spoke about the deceased Assessor. He was going to wait before he asked that nagging question, he needed more proof before he pressed that button. “Humans aren't the only ones who gossip,” was his response.

“And what were the rumors about Luhan? I'm sure some got it wrong along the line,” she said with a lopsided smile. It was a fake expression to make one believe that she was trying to joke, but it was clear in her gray and brown eyes that she was dejected to be talking about Luhan.

“He killed a human before their time because he fell in love with another human. That's the most common one,” he stated matter-of-factly.

Her smile turned genuine for a moment, eyes turning into small crescents with unshed tears gleaming along her waterline. Swallowing loudly she turned her gaze to the flower before her, hands wringing together. “It's flattering to hear, but that wasn't quite what happened,” she softly informed.

“Then what happened?” he asked.

“Luhan.” She said his name with extreme fondness and love, but it wasn't romantic, that much Kyungsoo could tell. “He was my friend, the only best friend I ever had. He let me talk and he listened. He was my hero and I never got a chance to say goodbye,” she said weakly, voice cracking at the end.

“So Luhan wasn't in love with you?” Kyungsoo asked.

She shook her head. “He told me I reminded him of his sister. I was actually surprised to learn that death bringers could have siblings. She's still in the academy.”

Kyungsoo cocked his head back slightly staring even harder at Hyeyeong's profile