The first time I met him, I was sitting by the river I used to stare at with my ex. He just randomly appeared, this translucent being. He didn't say anything to me for a while; he just… sat there. I looked at him with disbelief.
Then, when I was about to get up to leave, he spoke. ‘I’ve been watching you for while”

I sat back down. “E…excuse me?”
He turned his head, looked at me with his dead eyes and smiled.
“You used to come here with your girlfriend and talk about your future together. How you’d get married in front of the river on a night like this and say your vows. I heard it all”
“Who are you?”
He reached his hand out to me. He looked into my eyes, and then gestured to touch his hand. I slowly moved my hand towards him and attempted to touch him. But my hand went straight through his. “You’re a ghost?”
He nodded. “I’ve been like this for a while.”
My hand now felt strangely cold. Like I had just dipped it in a bucket of ice.
I put it in my pocket in hopes of it heating up.

“You’re the first person I’ve talked to in a month” he said
I didn’t know what to say to him. I felt awkward and insane to even have the thought of a ghost talking to me.
He looked at me as if he was expecting me to say something.
“It’s obvious you’re still in disbelief. I’ll leave, sorry” he stood up, and as he walked further away, he slowly began to vanish. “Wait!” I shouted
He stopped and turned around, and became visible again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to seem like that. Please, come back”
The ghost nodded and sat back down next to me. “What’s your name?” I asked
“Kim Jonghyun”

I thought for a while. That name was so familiar to me.
“Hey, you’re the guy who-“
“Drowned? Yup…”
He looked down at the ground
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to”
“It’s fine” he smiled

“So… how did you drown?”

“Well. A month ago, I was here with my younger brother. I was taking him on a special day out for his birthday. We were riding our bikes around. Then we came up to this hill. And as we rode down it, he got scared. He couldn’t stop his bike, so I sped up to try catch up to him. I managed to get next to him and I pushed him off his bike, and he landed on the grass. I pulled the brakes on my own bike, but it flipped over the railing and I fell into the river. My head hit a rock on my way down, and I just… out. I see it all the time like it was yesterday.”
“Is your brother okay?” I asked,
“Yeah, he’s fine now”

After a moments silence, I pulled out my phone and looked at the time. “It’s 9 o’clock. I should get home”
Jonghyun nodded and smiled.
“I’ll see you same time same place tomorrow then”
I smiled back at him “Sure”
I began to walk away, but when I turned back, he was gone.
 

I returned again the next night and sat at my usual spot.
As I looked out across the horizon, I remembered my ghost encounter from the night before. “Heh, I knew I was seeing things”

“What kind of things?” a voice asked from my left.
I turned and saw Jonghyun sitting next to me.

“Did you think I wasn’t going to turn up?” laughed Jonghyun.
“You laugh a lot” I told the ghost
Jonghyun smiled “I try to live happily. Even though bad things happen.” He said

“So tell me about yourself Kibum”
“How do you know my name?”
“I watched you remember!” laughed the ghost
“Oh yeah…”
The translucent being looked at me like a child waiting to hear a bed time story.
“Why do you come here every night?”

As I told Jonghyun my life story, he stared at me with complete interest. He looked so content and peaceful.

After weeks of spending time with Jonghyun, our friendship had become strong, and I had become happier. I had no longer thought of my ex-girlfriend and thought more about the stories Jonghyun had shared with me when he was alive. I guess I could say that I had developed these certain… feelings for him. I know, I know. It’s rather strange, but… it’s true.

It was the 10^th week, 7pm. I was sitting next to Jonghyun in the usual manner.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, sure”
“Can you see like, other ghosts?”
Jonghyun laughed, “When you’re alive, you tend to believe that you can see other ghosts, talk to other ghosts and even meet your relatives that have passed, but… in actual fact... you’re quite alone.”
“Oh” I said
Jonghyun looked at me and smiled. He giggled a little, and I looked at him with a confused look.
 

“Have I ever told you how pretty you are?”
After hearing this, I stuttered. I could feel all the heat rush to my cheeks.
He placed his hand on my cheeks, and I could feel them cool down.
“I’ve always wanted to tell you this Kibum.”
“Tell me what?”
“I love you”
Jonghyun leaned in and kissed me on the lips. It felt colder than ice.
I opened my eyes, and saw that he was slowly beginning to vanish.
“Jonghyun-ah!” I shouted
He looked down at his hands “Oh”
He touched his face then looked at me with a distressed look.
“Don’t leave!” I shouted in panic
“Kibum…”

He said my name before vanishing. I didn’t know what to do. I was at a loss.
I screamed his name some more.  But I could no longer see him.
 

Everyday, I returned to the same spot at the same time. I even stayed till the early hours in the morning. He didn’t show, and I was starting to lose hope.
“One more night” I thought. I stayed at the river again on the 14^th June; 2 weeks after Jonghyun had vanished. I sat on the second step waiting for him. My eyes started to feel heavy, and I lay down on the step and closed my eyes.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped up and looked back to find Jonghyun smiling brightly back at me. He was no longer translucent.
He moved towards me with his arms open wide. He hugged me tightly and began to cry. “I can finally feel you! Aish~ you’re so cold!” Jonghyun took off his jacket and put it around me.

“I never thought I’d see you again!” I told Jonghyun “Where were you?”
Jonghyun chuckled “Turns out I was in a month long coma. See? These are my stitches!” He pointed at the wound on his hair line and laughed
“Yah, I wouldn’t be laughing if I had a big wound like that on my forehead”
“My parents told me that I was smiling while I was in my coma. And the first thing I said when I woke up was your name”
I smiled at him, and then hugged him tighter.

Jonghyun continued laughing and kissed me on the forehead then pulled my chin up to kiss me on the lips.
For that short moment, I felt truly happy again. I knew this time, that he would stay, and our love would last forever.