[20:50]: I’m telling him

You text Luhan and quickly turn off your phone before he replies.  “Don’t come here,” You say quietly, half begging and half commanding him to do so.

“Aeri?”

You look up from your phone and find Kai trotting towards you.

“What’s so important to call me out so late at night?” He grins, flipping his hair.  “I’m an attractive and busy man, you know,”

You give him a look, an amused tilt to your lips.  “Well, Mr. Prince Charming, you’re just Kai to me,”

“I don’t see why you can’t notice my charms, Aeri,” He huffs playfully, taking a seat beside you on the bench under the lamppost as the two of you chuckle.  “So, what’s up?”

You smile and shake your head at the way his tone changes from playful to attentive.  “You knew me for literally a month, Kai, why are you so nice to me? Kyungsoo too, Lay too,”

He frowns for a minute and answers your question.  “I don’t know, it seems like we’ve known you for years.  We just find that we feel like you’re a part of us since a long time ago and that awkward-around-strangers kind of people we’re supposed to be just weren’t there when we met you,” He scratches the side of his head.  “It’s weird too, I’ve never really paid attention to it,”

“Fate has been really funny lately,” You mutter, sighing as you tuck a lock of hair behind your ear.

“Hm?” Kai tilts his head at you.

You pull your legs up and face Kai, smiling at him.  “Hey, Kai,”

“What?” He turns his head towards you.

“Jihye is doing well,”

Kai blinks in bewilderment at your words.  “Jihye? Yoon Jihye?”

“Mm,”

“You know her?” He asks.

“Don’t tell anyone about this, Kai,” Your hands find the necklace hanging around your neck and you pull it over your head, and immediately, you fell all the energy and vigor drain away from your whole body, the pain piercing at your head. 

“Holy-“

Kai stops himself as you tumble to the side, his arms reaching out to hold you up and he pulls you onto his shoulder.  “A-Aeri? J-Jihye? Wha, I don’t-“

“Sorry, Kai,” You push yourself away from him with trembling arms.  “I didn’t mean to lie to you, or to Lay or to Kyungsoo,”

“You idiot!”

You feel a strong grip on your hand and look up weakly to catch Luhan’s angry face. 

“Ah, I’ve been caught,” Your voice fades away as you completely fall to your sides, gladly onto Luhan’s arms. 

“You foolish human being, Yoon Jihye,” Luhan grits his teeth and takes the necklace from your gip, pulling it down over your head.  He sets his finger onto the base of your neck and feel that familiar wave of warmth wash down your whole body.

“Thanks,” You push yourself away from him and he sets you down on the bench. 

He tilts your chin up and forces you to look at him.  “Don’t you dare take off that necklace,”

You flinch at the way his eyes change color and find your eyes stinging with tears.  “I’m sorry,”

Luhan sighs and glances at Kai.  “I hope you tell the right person,”

He disappears with a faint tinkle and ignore your need to sob.  You grab Kai’s hand and look straight into his eyes as you begin your explanation.

“I’m Jihye.  The Jihye you’ve always known.  Luhan is, simply put, a grim reaper.  He gave me a lot of time to live longer but the people opposing Luhan’s kind took the time away and left me with only 10 days,” You lift Luhan’s pendant up and show Kai the leftover.  “These loops represent my days.  Only my body is in the hospital, Kai.  Kai, are you listening?”

“Why are you telling me this? Why don’t you tell Lay, Jihye?” He questions, the news clearly too much for him.

“Because he isn’t strong enough for this, Kai,” You say, your voice breaking.

“You think I’m strong enough for this?” Kai grabs you by the shoulders, gripping them tight.  “You’re going to die in 10 days, Jihye,”

“Ow, Kai, it hu-“

“And you tell me about it? I’m the first person to know that I will never see the person I love the most in this whole world in 10 freaking days?”

His sentence meets your silence and you stare at him with tears streaming down your face.  “i’m sorry, Kai.  I’m so, so, sorry,” You sob, lifting your hand to cup his cheek.  You lean forward to press your forehead to his and his hands find your wrists, holding it tightly as his feelings of wanting to be angry at you but keep you close course through his fingers.

“Damn it, Jihye,” He lowers his head and pulls you to his chest, hugging you close.  You clutch tightly at his shirt when you realize he’s crying onto your head.

You become the one to pull away.  “Kai, Kai, look at me,” You find his eyes again and wipe his tears with your thumb.  “I need you to be strong for me.  Do this for me, Kai.  Please,”

He searches your eyes and his gentle gaze returns as he nods, looking away.

“I need you to help me,” You take a deep breath and choose your words carefully, “Apologize as Jihye,”

“To whom?”

“Lay.  And Kyungwoo and Yumi, and Kyungsoo, and Junghoon-oppa and everybody else,” You look at your hands in thought.  “I’ve hurt them at some point in my life.  Badly, at that,”

“Are there any conditions to that?” Kai asks.

“They mustn’t know I’m Jihye,”