“Aigoo, the mess in the kitchen and living room.” I groaned, dragging myself to the kitchen area. Much to my surprise, there was no mess. Everything was tidy and organized in their place, no signs of poltergeist activity whatsoever. I looked around, bewildered.

“No need to thank me.” Hyun Joong suddenly materialized on the couch.
“Y..you! Where have you been?” I gasped.
“Nowhere. I just went to seek advice from Him.”
“From who?”
“Who else?” He rolled his eyes in annoyance.
“Well, any idea how to get my life back to normal then?”
“Nope.”
“You’re lying. What exactly did He say?”
“Nothing. He just said you owe me something in the past and that everything happened for a reason.”
“How can I owe you something? We never met before. And what about those shadows? They came here earlier!”
“I know.” He shrugged. He was sitting with his legs crossed on my couch, emotionless and arrogant. Aigoo..Why are you being such a jerk today? Those things attacked me earlier and all you can say was “I know”?
“You think too much. I gave you nearly 2 days to slack off and go on dates, now stop the blabbing and let’s continue on with business.”

I felt my blood boiling inside me as they traveled to the top of my head, ready to burst. I opened my mouth to defend myself, but before I could say anything, Hyun Joong grabbed my hand and I found myself standing among a group of people in a subway station. No one seemed to notice my sudden appearance. The train arrived and stopped in front of me. Several people pushed and shoved their way through the crowd as they hustled themselves to board the train. I scanned the area, trying to get a hold of Hyun Joong but he was nowhere in sight. 

After a while, the train started moving and I heard a bloodcurdling scream not far from where I stood, followed by several screams. A massive crowd moved towards the direction of the screams while others tried to escape the area. It was chaotic. Among the crowd, I caught sight of Hyun Joong who motioned me to come forth. I hurried over and pushed my way through, trying to get to him. I wasn’t able to see what happened, but I was able to take a quick glance and spotted some blood on the track. People around me continued to whisper in what sounded like Japanese. Hyun Joong pointed across the train track and told me to shine my light in that direction. I hesitated as I looked around.

“Babo, what are you waiting for? No one can see that light remember? But they can see you, so try not to look so suspicious.”
I nodded and grabbed my pendant which became a flashlight in my hand, and shone the beam across the track. The intensity of the beam was vibrant against the dimmed subway, but not a single human can see it. It illuminated a tiny figure of a young girl, who was hovering above the track. My mind wavered, a spark of sympathy emerged within me as I looked at the small helpless spirit. She was just too young. The girl drifted towards the light, stopped and turned to look at a woman who was weeping uncontrollably on the ground surrounded by several people, and then slowly faded from our sight.

I looked at Hyun Joong, whose brown eyes stared back at me dispassionately.
“That kid just died didn’t she?” I questioned him.
“Yea. So?” He shrugged.
“So if you knew she was going to die, can’t you stop it from happening?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not a saint. I don’t go around saving lives.”
“Why can’t you just…” I was about to finish my sentence when I felt my cell phone vibrating in my pocket. I took it out and checked, it was Jae Joong. My stomach churned nervously.

“Yoboseyo? Oh Jae Joong-ssi! Ohh you’re home already? That’s good. Uhh the noise in the background? Oh that’s just the TV I’m watching. Tomorrow? Sure, I’ll call you when I’m out of work tomorrow ok? Good night. Thanks I had fun too. Bye.” I breathed a sigh of relief. If Jae Joong found out about my little mission he’ll think I’m a freak of nature. I turned to Hyun Joong, who was looking agitated.
 
“As I was saying…” I continued where I left off, but shortly after, Huyn Joong grabbed my hand and I became disoriented.

We warped to a cramped wet alley in broad daylight. The floor was filthy and littered with trash. Here and there a few sewer rats scuttled about the floor, feeding on the filth and completely oblivious of our presence. I tiptoed pass them as we headed out onto a small narrow street, surrounded by old dilapidated complex. The area was gloomy and dismal. We passed by a man, who’s dark skin clung tightly to the bones protruding from beneath the tattered clothes he was wearing.  A couple of people with similar appearance stared at me as we walked by, their eyes displayed a sort of starving complexion. Hyun Joong and I rounded several corners until we heard a loud bang that sounded like gunshot. Our walking turned to jogging as we dashed towards the direction of the sound. When we arrived at the scene, we saw a small young toddler sitting beside a boy, crying hysterically. The boy was severely wounded. His dark skin was losing its complexion and turned pale in comparison to the young toddler beside him. Blood continued to gush from an unseen wound in his body, forming a puddle of crimson fluid where he lay. The shooter, however, was nowhere in sight.

“Hyun Joong, do something! He’s dying!” I hurried over to the helpless boy and searched for the wounded area as I took off my jacket. “Help him!”

But Hyun Joong did not budge. He stood frigidly in his place, staring down at the dying boy who was regurgitating blood and gasping for air.

“What are you doing? Help him!”
“Let it be. His suffering ends here.” I heard Hyun Joong mumbled as I stared at him in disbelief.

The boy’s hand found its way onto the toddler’s tear-stained cheek, his eyes were sorrowful yet affectionate. He held up his other hand, which was clutching tightly to an apple, and handed it to her. She grabbed it and hung on to it tightly with both of her tiny hands, but the weeping did not seize. Finally, the boy turned to look at me, feebly grabbed my arm and took his final breath. And then, he was perfectly still.

My vision blurred as tears welled in my eyes and fell slowly down my cheeks. I looked at the small lifeless body in front of me whose existence was cut short.

“Come.” Hyun Joong grabbed my hand and pulled me up, but I shook his hand off.
“Don’t touch me!” The stream of tears continued to fall violently, soaking up my cheeks. “He was dying and you didn’t do anything!”
“Even if I want to I can’t!” He yelled back. “He was meant to die today and there’s nothing we could do about it!”
Reality struck me. I felt myself calming as I controlled my breathing and listened to Hyun Joong open-mindedly. Perhaps he was right.

“What really happened here?”
“They were starving. He stole some fruits from a neighbor for his sister and got shot.”
“How can someone be so cruel to shoot a child?”
“Don’t worry, he won’t get away. When the day comes, he’ll pay for his action.”
“I hope so,” I the toddler’s curly hair. “Where are their parents?”
“They only have each other.”
 
My heart wrenched in agony at the thought of the toddler living on her own. Suddenly, an idea popped up in my head.

“Is it…possible to bring someone back to life?”
“Possible. But don’t even think about it.”
“Will you revive him then?”
“I said don’t even think about it. It’s against nature. We will be punished for that.”
“What kind of punishment?”
“Let me ask you this. Are you willing to give up your life for this boy who was meant to die today? Because I certainly am not willing to have my soul obliterated into nothingness.”

I hesitated. For the first time in my life, I felt a pang of guilt as Hyun Joong’s question echoed in my mind. I clearly knew the answer to that question, and I was ashamed.

“His soul is here and he’s ready to cross over. He’s happy that you’re here and wants you to take care of his sister.”
“But what can I do?” I frowned as I looked at the poor toddler who cried so much her tears had stopped falling.
“Park Shin Hye, listen. If you shine your light at his soul and help him cross over, I promise to help find a good home for this kid.”

I nodded and did as we agreed. I carried the child and together, Hyun Joong teleported us to a well off city in front of an orphanage. We placed her on the front porch, rang the door bell and watched from a distance as she was taken inside for warmth and shelter, away from her misery and misfortune.

“Hyun Joong, have you ever brought anyone back to life?” I asked wearily as I laid myself down on my bed after we got back to my apartment.
“Go to sleep. It’s late.” His voice was surprisingly soothing to my ears, like a lullaby.
“I guess not. You’re not that nice anyway. But how did you know it’ll cost you your soul if you were to save someone?”

Waiting for Hyun Joong to answer, I slowly closed my eyes, letting go of the tension and fatigue inside me as I slowly drifted off to sleep, completely unaware.

Somewhere in my subconscious mind, I thought I heard Hyun Joong whispered, “I saved you.”