Chapter 3

A series of thumping footsteps was followed by the curtains being drawn open furiously, “Noona!!”

“Oh hey Tao,” I gave him a cheeky grin, “missed me?”

“Noonaaaaaa!!” Tao cried as he dramatically got on his knees, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It all was my fault!”

“I’m not interested in soap operas,” the lanky guy bitterly scooted closer to a corner as to not make any contact with anyone. Not like he could. Uhm.

“It wasn’t your fault. I was careless and didn’t notice the speeding car.”

“You crossed the road without looking right and left? Is your common sense lower than a toddler’s?”

If I retort to a man unseen by others, my common sense’s probably the level of a foetus’.

“But if only I didn’t call out to you from across the road that day, this wouldn’t have happened!” he pointed to my bandaged left eye and my casted right leg.

“Nah, its fine,” I assured him and held up my left hand, showing off the fluid tubes attached to it, “I feel like some sort of a Robocop.”

“Aye aye, captain!” Yixing chirped upon his sudden entrance, “Yah Han Jihae, when will you be discharged? I don’t have anyone to play basketball with. Tao kept on grieving over your current state and you know how terrible Chen is at basketball.”

“Hey Yixing,” I stole a quick glance over to the man glaring in annoyance at us. He was crouching, with his knees to his chest, like a grown-up version of ju-on, “just leave the curtains open.”

His sharp eyes caught mine before he stood and went out. As I watched his back figure left without sparing me a second glance, I was pretty sure it was the last time I’d see of him.

-

I heaved a sigh and flipped the next page of a magazine Tao had gotten me from the hospital lounge earlier. A fashion magazine from early 2003, “Just how the hell did we find these attractive at that time?”

“I bet alive-me had a cool sense of fashion.”

“You probably died in the 1970s – rockin’ the afro hair or something. We’d never know for sure.”

He scoffed and pointed to his hair, “You’re saying this hair is from those eras?”

I squinted my eyes and pursed my lips. I gotta admit – his hair’s pretty cool looking. It was the y, natural bed-hair. “Putting that aside, when did you die?”

He stretched his long limbs. The hospital clothing appeared to be too small for him as they hung over his well-sculptured body. He scratched the tip of his nose in thought, “If only I had any memory whatsoever about myself, I wouldn’t be sticking around here anymore, would I?”

I rolled my eyes – though he probably couldn’t see as I did so since the lights were switched off as it was past midnight. Dim light was created by streaming moonlight from the high windows, casting shadows over the magazine. I flipped it close and placed it aside with a sigh.   

Just when I thought this rude bastard had left me for good that evening, he eventually sneaked back inside my partition the moment Jongdae, Tao and Yixing had bid their goodbyes. “Well don’t you plan to – I don’t know – sort of crossover or something?”

“Are you telling me to go to hell?” he spat offended.

“Well there’s that heaven possibility as well, but with how you’r