It has been a week since Dragon returned home from the veterinarian. Bom's mother gave her a brief scolding regarding keeping pets inside their home. But still, she insisted on keeping the cat. There was no way she would abandon Dragon, not when she knew that there was a reason why he became a lost soul. And that there was a reason why she met him on that fateful day. And not when they had promised that they'll be with each other, together. Omo, she thought. So what's this? I'm in a relationship with a cat? Or with a lost soul?

With her eyes closed, she shook her head as if to erase those thoughts from her head. The house was empty on a weekend morning. Bom was still in her pyjamas, slowly treading the cold kitchen in search for food. Dragon softly floated behind her. She rubbed her sleepy eyes with her knuckles and tried to stifle a yawn. Suddenly, her eyes shot wide open as an idea hit her. She glanced down at Dragon who hovered on top of the counter, to the pantry, and back to Dragon again.

"I have an idea!" She exclaimed, her enthusiastic voice echoed throughtout the cold kitchen. "I'm going to bake you oatmeal cookies."

At the mention of cookies, Dragon hissed. "I'm not eating anymore cookies!" he exclaimed as he remembered the flaming hot oatmeal cookies he had ingested a week before. "Besides, have you found out who has given you those?"

"Nope," Bom answered as she took out a bag of flour from the pantry and set it down on the counter. "Don't worry, I'll be the one making them. I won't poison you~ This is made with love, not gochu."

"Why do you look so happy?" he asked her curiously, unused to seeing Bom this happy and excited.

"I'm just glad that you're all better now," Bom replied and set down a metal mixing bowl on the tiled counter with a bang. "Now, no more questions and help me."

"Ugh," he bickered in reply. "How can I help you when I'm a spirit? It's not like I can touch these."

"Pffft," Bom laughed at his childish behavior. "Then just stay in one corner and play. Don't bother me. I'm going to make the best oatmeal cookies you've ever tasted."

Dragon watched Bom, who avoided eye contact with him. Bom tried hard to sound enthusiastic at him, but he wasn't falling for it. He could hear how her voice would sometimes tremble, or how her hand shook as she made her cookie dough. There was something bothering Bom, and it bothered him too.

Bom tried to concentrate on making the cookie dough. With a firm grip on the wooden spoon, she folded the ingredients together. The white flour mixed with the creaminess of the eggs and milk. She made herself look busy and avoided eye contact with Dragon. Don't get too attached, Sehun's words repeated throughout her head. She had met him again on the day she picked up Dragon from the vet. It turned out, Sehun's mother was the veterinarian. What a small world, she thought. And Sehun finally revealed his secret.

He told her that he was once a lost soul. Before he entered college, he lost the will to carry on with his life. According to him, he tried to end his life by taking sleeping pills. Those small pills, smaller than a dime, but powerful enough to kill you. But if you're really unlucky, to put you in a limbo. Stuck between life and death. Living, but not really alive. Dead, but not really dead. "And that's what lost souls are," Sehun explained to Bom that week.

And that's probably the same thing that happened to Dragon. "How were you saved?" Bom asked Sehun. "The same way you're saving Dragon," Sehun answered her. He told her how someone wanted to save him, and that she gave him the will to live. But he didn't want to give her the rest of the details. "I'll tell you the rest when we meet again. It's funny, Bom, Cheonan is so big yet we always encounter each other. Isn't this destiny? It's probably the same with the cat. Maybe you met him because it's your destiny to save him. But don't get too attached to him. And make sure you hurry, before he fades soon. A soul can only be stuck in limbo for a time."

Before he fades soon, Bom repeated on her head as she finished mixing the batter. She looked up and her eyes met with Dragon's who has been watching her the whole time. You're not going away. You promised me. We promised each other. Silently, she lined the unbaked cookies on top of the baking tray. I want to make a lot of memories with you.

"Bom..." Dragon's voice pierced the silence which enveloped them.

"Oh?"

"You still haven't preheated the oven yet."

"Jinja?" Bom let out a small laugh as she realized her mistake. "Mianhe, I guess I've been thinking about a lot of things lately."

"I noticed," Dragon said as he went over to Bom's side. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Bom set the oven to the right temperature. "Don't worry about me." She squatted down in front of the oven, the yellow light emitted a glow. The cold kitchen soon was took over by the warmth from the oven. She slowly placed the decorated baking tray slowly inside with her mitted hands.

"Hey," Bom called out, still squatting in front of the oven. "Come here, Dragon."

"Hmm?" Dragon floated beside her, imitating her squatting position. He felt the warmth from the oven, or was it the warmth from Bom's cheeks which was inches away from him?

"Look," Bom pointed out. "If we're like this, doesn't it feel like I can feel your warmth too?" She took a step an inch closer. She could no longer feel the familiar icy sensation whenever she brushes past Dragon's astral form. With a smile, she placed her hands over his cheeks, as if she was caressing him. 

"You don't feel cold?" he asked her. "It's like I can feel your warmth too. As if I'm really beside you."

Bom had been noticing how Dragon looked fainter and fainter by the days. There were times when his hands would look just like a blur, as if he was a painting that had been ran over with a thinning agent. Or his nose would sometimes be indistinguishable from the rest of his features. But, always, his collar with the glistening silver pendant is distinct from his glowing spirit. His identity.

Dragon gave her a gentle smile. The yellow light from the oven lent a flesh tone to Dragon. It was as if he was human, just like Bom. And they were two teenagers, in front of the oven, exchanging glances, touches and kisses. And for a moment, they pretended it was true, since they both knew that this fleeting moment would not last forever.

"I want to show you something," Bom said. She stood up before her legs could fall asleep. She removed her pink apron, her cheeks of the same color from the oven warmth as well as from Dragon's warmth. She went back up to her room, her footsteps not making any sound inside the empty house as if she was a cat herself. From beside her desk, she pointed to the side of the wall where there were things concealed from view by a large white sheet.

"What are those?"

Bom pulled the sheet to reveal  art canvasses, leaning on each other, of different sizes. On them were colorful portrayals of worlds, a plethora of images, all coming from Bom's hands. Dragon's eyes widened as he looked at each paintings and marvel at its beauty.

"This is my passion. I've been painting for quite some time now, and this is what I wanted to do after highschool. I want to go to an art university, not to a pre-medicine course," Bom confided to Dragon. It was the first time in her life that she had said this words out loud. And it took big courage from her to say it.

"These are amazing, Bom." Dragon answered as Bom took out other canvasses from under her bed. "You should show this to your parents. They'll realize what a genius you are." He stopped talking as he saw a photorealistic painting of a galaxy with a man in the middle of the stars. He frowned as he felt a surge of familiarity.

"Gwenchana?"

"This painting, looks familar."

"I made that just recently."

"It feels like I've seen it before."

"Oh? But I saw that image in my dream." Bom said with a puzzled look. "You must be mistaken. It must be something just similar to this."

Dragon shrugged and thought that he might really be mistaken. But he couldn't erase the image in his mind. A man at the center of the galaxy, at the center of the universe, without a care in the world and the world not caring for him. Bom slowly picked up the canvasses and slowly put them away.

"What are you going to do about Yonsei?" Dragon asked as the last of the canvasses was returned.

"It's my father's wish."

"Why not tell him?"

"He wouldn't understand," Bom dryly answered as she sat beside Dragon on her bed. The cold iciness was back, but she ignored it.

"So you'll just forget about what you want for yourself?"

"We'll see..." her voice trailed off. "I'm going to Seoul tomorrow and have a look at Yonsei. And I'll probably check out some art universities too."

"To Seoul?" Dragon's eyes widened. Another surge of familiarity came to him. "I think an answer to my memories can be found at Seoul."

"Jinja?" Bom asked in disbelief. "Then I'll take you with me. We can find the answers together."

Inside the empty house, before the winter season would come, warmed by the oven and freshly baked oatmeal cookies, the sharp ding from the oven echoed throughout.

~~

Yaaaay, finally updated. It took me a long time to find the right inspiration for my most beloved story. o.o Thanks for being patient with updates. Please comment, subscribe and upvote if you like it. ^^