Baekhyun sits on a bench as his legs dangle beneath him. He glances over at the clock from the nearby building, she should be here any moment now, he thinks to himself. Even the incessant tapping of his fingers against the wooden bench is an obvious giveaway of his boredom. He takes a good look of his surrounding, quietly observing the world that revolves around him. But not a single soul turns to look at him. None of them notices his presence.

A bus drops by at the opposite end of the road. His eyes light up immediately when he spots her alighting. A delighted grin materialises on his countenance as he watches her walk towards him. Well not exactly towards him, but more of in his direction. In the direction of her office.

Indeed waiting outside Yaeli’s work place has been Baekhyun’s favourite new past time ever since she got her first job as the assistant managing director of a clothing line. Seeing her simply evokes a warm sensation within Baekhyun to the extent that he never complains even after an hour of long wait. In fact even the simple thought of her can put a smile on his face.

 

Baekhyun stands up and closes in on her as she strides down the grey pavement that connects her from the traffic light to the entrance of the office building. Yaeli’s sharp eyes catch sight of a piece of litter. She bends down and picks up the strip of paper before making a short detour to throw it into a dustbin that is inconveniently a distant away from the entrance.

Baekhyun silently laughs to himself. Her simple act has triggered a memory from a long time ago. An incident that has completely turned his world around. And even though it’s been fifteen years, he will never forget every detail of the encounter. A sweet memory that he wants to hold on to for dear life.

• • •

Fifteen Years Ago;

“Mr Byun, we would really appreciate it if you would stop meddling into humans’ affairs.” Baekhyun recited from the piece of paper aloud, adopting an irritated tone on purpose as he did. His facial expressions creased into a cringe as he crushed the paper into a ball before recklessly throwing it on the pavement.

It was another warning letter issued from the big guys, the Ministry. He sighed and thought, Yet another demerit point. This was not the first time he received the warning. Being playful and fun-loving Baekhyun, he always liked to bother the humans.

So what if he liked to joke around in the human world? So what if he liked to elevate objects and scare humans to their wits? So what if he liked to play with little girls’ hair and terrify them to the extent that they could not go to sleep at night? This was his life and the Ministry wasn’t going to stop him from doing what he wanted to do.

 

He sighed as he collapsed into a nearby chair, causing squeaks to break out when the chair legs skidded against the ground. A few people seating nearby looked across at the chair, their eyebrows curved in puzzlement at the chair that just happened to squeak by itself.

Baekhyun noticed their perplexity and intentionally dragged the chair again with greater force, this time a louder sound was made. He grinned when he saw the humans walking away with uneasiness gripping their hearts.

“Dude, that chair is haunted.” He heard someone whispered from behind him.

Baekhyun’s hands folded back as they clenched into a tight fist and ire boiled within him. He hated it when people used that word. It was not the first time he had heard it, what with lights flickering in classrooms and toilet doors miraculously swinging open by themselves. And all these actions were all deemed ‘haunted’. Sometimes humans just forgot the fact that a figment had feelings too.

Yes. Baekhyun was a figment. No, he wasn’t a figment of some child’s wild imagination. He was just purely a figment. And he hated that. Figments, for a long time, had been regarded as many forms to the humans. Ghosts, spirits, demons, imaginary friends, angels, and even god. But things were never that complicated. A figment was just solely a figment, just like how the definition suggested.

Figments couldn’t be seen by the human world, they could only be felt. Not by physical touch, but by mental presence. And so Baekhyun found it odd when the young girl standing roughly a metre away from him was staring straight into his eyes as though she could see him. Baekhyun tilted his head and made full eye contact with the girl.

She couldn’t be more than ten years old, judging from her petite size and her innocent brown eyes. Her almond brown hair was plaited nicely into a side braid that fell all the way to her waist.

The girl slowly lifted out her hand. For a moment, Baekhyun thought she was reaching out for a handshake. But when she opened up her fingers, he spotted a piece of crushed paper lying at the palm of her hands.

 

He raised an eyebrow as she continued to make constant eye contact with him. And when a minute passed, Baekhyun got bored and got up from his chair, ready to take his leave and probably go harass some more humans to brighten up his day. But that was when she spoke.

“Mister?” The girl had such a sweet voice that was so soothing to the ears, it made Baekhyun turn around instantaneously.

“Are you calling me?” asked Baekhyun. And when she didn’t reply, Baekhyun begin laughing at himself. Laughing at the fact that he almost thought he was visible to a human girl. He was about to walk away. But this time her hand held him back.

He gasped as he felt the warm of the child’s hand pressed against his but shook it off right away. The gentle skin contact was so brief yet it felt so enchanting for him. But it was not the fact that her hand felt so warm that had Baekhyun in shock. No, it was the fact that a human just touched him.

“Mister, littering is wrong.” The girl spoke firmly as she placed the crushed piece of paper in Baekhyun’s palm. And then just like that, she walked away, leaving the stunned him still rooted onto the ground.

This young girl had actually seen him, spoken to him, and even touched him. Baekhyun scratched his head in confusion. Things were not supposed to be like this.

As far as Baekhyun could recall from his history lessons, figments were never ever visible to humans. Figments could not be heard by humans. And most definitely, humans could not touch figments. And yet she did all the three things that completely defied the rules that Baekhyun had grown up hearing for almost every moment of his life.

And when he finally snapped back into composure, he made a dash to look for the girl.

• • •

Yaeli adjusts her attire as she carefully tugged in a lose strand of hair behind her ears that had fallen out when she chased after the bus this morning. She is dressed smartly in a white blouse and a dark blue skirt, coupled with a jacket and a pair of heels. Her hair is tied back tightly into a neat bun that hangs lowly by her head, making her seem older than she really is.

As Yaeli enters the lift, she feels a cold wind brushing pass against her. A shiver runs down her spine, causing goose bumps to break out like a rash all over her skin. She takes an uneasy look around her surroundings but doesn’t see anyone.

Ignoring her fears, she quickly presses the elevator door close before anything else weird can occur. As soon as the elevator reaches the twelfth storey, she makes a quick dash to her office which is just about a few feet away.

She finally allow herself some proper breathing space when she enters her office and sees her secretary seating at the corner. “Morning unnie.” Yaeli greets and bows towards her, glad that she is in the company of someone else and not alone.

Her secretary shoots her a devil glare, rolls her eyes back and ignores her completely. Yaeli sighs and returns to her seat. She has already gotten use to such treatment from practically everyone in the office but she still can’t help but feel fazed.

She knows that everybody in the office hates her. They do because she has a higher pay than them. They hate her because at the mere age of twenty five, she is the assistant managing director of Kim clothing line. A prestigious position that requires years of experience that she obviously lacks. But her boss had chosen her out of the many that applied anyway.

But then again, Yaeli wishes she hasn’t been chosen. This job, as high as the pay and fame can get, no amount of it can fully account for the hours of stress she has gone through. She glances over to the pile of files stacked up at the edge of her table. Rubbing her temples with one hand in annoyance as she flips through the many assignments with another hand.

A silent groan escape her lips as she spots the ‘impossible to meet’ datelines. Overtime again. She thinks as she face palms herself on the forehead. She has never failed to meet datelines and she sure isn’t planning to start now.

 

“Yaeli ah, unnie is going out for lunch, want to join me?” Her secretary says when lunch time strikes. It has already been a couple of hours, but in the office, hours fly by like mere minutes for Yaeli.

Her face brightens up at the offer. But when she looks at the pile of unfinished work lined up messily on her table, she sighs. “Sorry unnie, I’m not hungry.” Yaeli murmur softly, biting her lips in slight hesitance as she does because such an offer from her secretary sure is rare.

“Suit yourself,” her secretary snarls at her with venom tugging at her enunciation and walk away as quickly as she came. Yaeli lied when she said she was not hungry. On the contrary, she is starving. Her hand gently pats her empty stomach as it begins to growl. She missed breakfast that morning and she can literally feel her insides calling out to her. Feed me. It says.

That is when she hears a thump coming from the staff longue. Peculiarity overwhelms her as her curiosity gets her standing up from her chair and walking over to check. She peers over and see a packet of cup noodles lying on the floor. The cupboard above is left ajar as though the noodles had magically fallen out on its own.

Yaeli twists her eyebrows in puzzlement and if she isn’t mistaken, the cupboard is always sealed tightly. She picks up the noodles and stretches her hand to place it back in its original position. But as she does, she feels though there was a force pulling her back.

She stops and whip her head around. There is no one. The sound of her grumbling stomach makes her arch back in hunger. Her eyes fall onto the packaging of the instant noodles. Kimchi Flavoured Noodles. It reads. Her tongue instinctively wets her lips a little.

An instant dilemma formulates in her head as she struggles to decide whether or not she should eat it. Ah screw it. Her hunger eventually wins her and she peels off the lid carefully and pours hot water into the cup. She beams happily and brings the noodles back to her office so that she can go through some documents as she ingest her food.

But a sudden voice runs through her head. Not exactly a voice, but more like the whisper of the wind. It is almost inaudible. But somewhere along the lines of good hearing and inferential skills, Yaeli makes out the words that echo through her head. That’s my girl. It says.

• • •

On the bus ride home, Baekhyun sits beside Yaeli, his protective eyes never once leaves her. “It’s been fifteen years since I’ve met you Yaeli.” Baekhyun says into her ears, but careful not to get too close lest her touches her hair. He is fully aware that no matter how loud he shouts, he can’t be heard by her.  “And yet, you don’t even know I exist.”

He then burst out in a fit of sad laughter. My life is pathetic isn’t it? He thinks to himself. A figment so attached to this human girl. Day in day out, for the past fifteen years of Baekhyun’s life, Yaeli has always been a part of it.

It all started after that fateful day. The interaction with the human girl completely threw his world off balance. He had a special sensation bubbling within him when he conversed with her. He didn’t know what it was. He didn’t know if it was good or bad. He just knew that he liked it and he wanted to feel like that forever.  And so his curiosity resulted in him following her everyday henceforth.

Baekhyun was there when Yaeli first entered school. He was there when she graduated from it. He was there when she beamed in joy when she got first in class, and he was there when she cried after the news of her mother’s death. He was always there for her. But she never saw him.  

 

Baekhyun alights from the bus together with Yaeli. He notices her hand dangling by her waist. He wishes he can just hold it. He wishes he can just embrace her in his arms and let her know that he is always there for her. But after the day they met, Yaeli can no longer see Baekhyun. He appears like how he would have appeared to any other human, invisible.

He walks by her side at an equally fast pace to catch up with her. There isn’t a single hint of a smile on Yaeli’s face. Instead, a constant grimace is tugging on her lips as it pulls them downwards. Baekhyun knows that Yaeli never really has gotten over her mother’s death and being single handily raised, she doesn’t have a father as well.

She appears strong and determined in front of everyone. Her classmates back in school, her colleagues and in society in general. But Baekhyun knows better. Going home together with her almost every other day tells him that she isn’t as strong as she looks.

This is confirmed when Yaeli throws her keys onto the floor recklessly and slams the door behind her(not after Baekhyun went in of course) right after she enters the apartment. She doesn’t even make it to the sofa before hot streams of tears flow down from her eyes. She collapses just before her coffee table and lays sprawled in a foetal position.

 

“Mom I felt you again today,” she says to herself as she stares into blank space. Baekhyun frowns when he hears her words. He doesn’t like it when she mistakes him for her mother. “It’s you right mom?” She asks with hopefulness present in her voice.

“No you silly it’s not your mom!” Baekhyun shouts at her as he squats down by her side. His heart wince as he notices her red eyes. “It’s me Baekhyun.” He adopts a gentler tone and purse his lips, softly brushing the edge of her brown hair.

“It’s you now again isn’t it?” She says immediately when she feels something at her hair. Baekhyun remains silent but shakes his head in disappointment. “It’s okay mom you don’t have to show yourself. I just want to say, I missed you.”

“You know ever since you left my life is a mess? Work work and more work. It’s like no one even cares anymore.” She rants and buries her face in her hands.

The sight of her like that completely tore Baekhyun’s heart apart. As though her individual tears are sharp knives that stab his heart each time one fell. A sad smile crawls onto his face as he whispers to her, “I care.”

• • •

“Please take a seat Mr Byun. You will be attended shortly.” An attendant donned in a white suit informs and gestures for Baekhyun to sit at the white chairs at the side of the hall. He does so and plunges onto the seat. His eyes take a fruitful scan around his surroundings and he cringes.

He hates the Ministry. Everything is white. The ceiling is white, the walls are white, and all their clothing are white. The entire hall is so brightly lid it hurt his eyes. But that isn’t going to stop him from doing what he is about to do.

 

“So, how may we help you Mr Byun?” The Minister asks as Baekhyun walks into the room and takes a seat on the velvet chair adjacent to him.

“Erm…I’m here to claim my hundredth birthday wish?” Baekhyun spoke softly but his words echo about the room, rendering it louder.

“I see. And so your wish is?” The minister speaks but his hand never stops grasping the pen and he never diverts gaze from the documents he is signing.

“I want to become human.” Baekhyun says firmly despite having such a dismissive audience. A wave of puzzlement sweeps the minister off his feet as the grip on his pen loosens and he stands up and eyes Baekhyun carefully, a hint of confusion amidst those eyes.

“You do know that all wishes are irreversible right?” He questions. Baekhyun nods immediately. “Why would you want to wish that?” The minister continues asking. Never in his life had he come across any figment that desire to become human.

Baekhyun’s lips envelope one another before they parted. “Because of her.”

A flash of realisation gazes through the minister’s eyes as he sits back down on his chair. He looks at Baekhyun a while longer before shaking his head.

“No.”

“What? What do you mean no?” Baekhyun inevitably raises his voice as he slammed his palm on the table.

“I mean no to your wish.” The minister replies indifferently.

“If I remembered correctly, on a figment’s hundredth birthday, he or she will be granted one wish. And there are no restrictions.” Baekhyun’s voice erupts into a loud whisper.

“There are no restrictions but your wish is against us figment’s most important rule and the motto we live for. Stay invisible.” The minister says. Baekhyun rolls his eyes with raw annoyance within him.

“But this is my life and I want to be a god damn human!” He yells.  

“Mr Byun please lower your voice. I just don’t want you to make a decision and end up regretting it.” A concerned glance shoots across the Minister’s face.

“I’m positive I will not regret it. I love her.” Baekhyun finally acknowledges that those feelings he has for Yaeli is much more than pure infatuation. It has taken him fifteen years to realise that. And now he has a chance to finally be with her. He definitely isn’t going to let that slip by.

“And what if she doesn’t love you back?” The minister raises an eyebrow. His words initiate a chill down the length of Baekhyun’s spine. He knows the possibility is rather high but even so, he is willing to take the risk.

 

“A day. That’s all I need to make her love me back.”

“A day? Twenty four hours? You’re going to make a human fall in love with you in a mere twenty four hours?” The minister sneers sarcastically. But Baekhyun just nods in reply. “That’s impossible.” He hisses.

“It isn’t and I will prove it to you. Just watch and see.” Baekhyun tries to sound confident but he knows his fear is showing and the Minister sees through his brave façade.

“Very well then. If she loves you back, you will become human.” The Minister tells him and Baekhyun’s face lights up immediately. “But if within that 24 hours she doesn’t say the words ‘I love you’, you can forget about your happy ever after. And not to mention, you will be barred from entering the human world ever again.”

“Deal.” Baekhyun says immediately. He is willing to gamble everything away for just the chance of Yaeli being able to see him. To feel him. To be with him. 

“Your 24 hours will start when the sun rises and it will end when the moon disappears the next day.” The minister informs him. “Good luck Mr Byun,” are the last words he says before Baekhyun turns to leave the room. Indeed, he is going to need all the luck he can get.

 

• • •

 

Yaeli awakes to the sound of her alarm clock. It reads 6:45. She lazily slams the clock shut as she gets up from her not so peaceful slumber. She had that dream again. It was always the same thing. Aquiline blatant gaunt potpourri gait maundered surreptitiously mirthful

She dreamt of a little girl talking to a man. The girl’s face was blurred and she could not make out who she was. The man was someone she had never seen in her entire life. The dream was, as strange as it sounded, realistic. Too realistic. And it always gives her the creeps.

Speaking of creeps, she suddenly hears a knock coming from the kitchen. She smiles knowingly to herself as she walks to the bathroom. If it was anyone else, they would have been freaked out. But Yaeli knows better. She doesn’t not know when it started but one day, she just feels as though there is something or perhaps someone around her. Wherever she goes, strange noises are sometimes heard, and at times, things will move by themselves.

She came out with a few theories of her own. Perhaps it is some lost spirit that just wanted to play around, or maybe it was her guardian angel. But mostly, she wishes it’s the entity of her late mother. Because she knows it means no harm. On the contrary, she feels protected in a certain way.  

 

The bells from a nearby church rings as a dim ray of sunlight shoots through her window pane. She walks pass the kitchen like she always does to get to living room. But she pauses after she thinks she sees a shadow. Her eyes widen and her hand reaches out to grab the nearest object to her, a baton, something that she’d use for self-defence in case she is right about what she had seen. Her bottom lip trembles as she peers over once again.

Yaeli sees it. A man in his twenties is busy cooking in her kitchen. He has a bowl haircut and stands roughly 1.74 metres tall. His swift hands holding a spatula as he fries some noodles. Ignoring the terror gripping her heart, she steadies herself. Taking uneasy footsteps towards this stranger, her hand is poised to swing the baton any moment now.

And that is when he turns around and looks at her. And for a moment Yaeli stands frozen while the baton slips off from in between her hands. She is in shock. Not because of terror, but because she is entirely captivated by his looks. And when he flashes a sweet smile, she is sure her heart skips a beat.

 

“Hi Yaeli.” The stranger’s lips parts as he speaks. He has a sharp high voice that is in perfect harmony with his bubbly appearance.

“W-who are you? W-why are you in my house? And how the heck do you know my name?” Yaeli tries her best not to stumble in her words but to no avail. Her tongue is caught in a tangle. I mean, how can she not when there is some random person that knows her name cooking in her house and acting as though it is the most normal thing in the world.

The stranger lets out a forced sigh as he replies, “I’ve been living here for the past fifteen years and yet you don’t know me? Such a disappointment Yaeli, such a disappointment indeed.” He shakes his head with pursed lips.

That statement takes her confusion to a whole different level as she eyes closely at him. The cheekbone structure, the relatively small eyes, the striking haircut. He does look familiar now that he mentions it. And then the realisation hits her all at once. It is him. It is the man from her dream.

“I’m Baekhyun.” He introduces when she doesn’t give a reply. And then the man from her dream finally owns a name.

“Yaeli.” She replies. “Oh my gosh why am I even introducing myself? Get out of my house! Or I’ll sue you for trespassing!”

“Woah woah woah chillax girl. This reminds me of the first time we met. But that was such a long time ago I doubt you remember. And is it really trespassing? I mean you open the door for me every day you know.” Baekhyun chuckles as his hands swerve steadily to prevent the noodles from overcooking.

Yaeli stares at Baekhyun with obvious puzzlement written on her face. And after a while, she begins laughing. “This must be another one of my weird dreams. It’s ok, once I wake up, everything will revert to normal again. It’s ok Yaeli, just pinch yourself. Pinching always works.” She utters and gives herself a small pinch.

“Why am I not waking up?” She shouts into the air and continues pinching at different parts of her body. And that’s when Baekhyun scoots over and pinches her cheek hardly with no hint of mercy.

“OUCH! What was that for?” Yaeli writhes in pain as she massages her now reddened cheeks.

“To show you that this is very much reality my dear.” He says and goes back to his cooking.

“I think I must have gone mad.” She murmurs under her breath as she walks away from the kitchen. I’m just imagining him. He is not real, he is just a figment of my mind. He’ll probably just disappear soon. Yaeli thinks in an attempt of self-comfort.

 

“Breakfast is served.” Baekhyun calls out to her as he lays the plate of noodles on the table gently. Yaeli stands up from her sofa and puts her phone aside. A gasp formulating on her face the moment she take sight of the huge serving of noodles present on the table.

“How the heck do you expect me to finish that?” She asks. “And why am I even talking to you my god you’re just a figment.”

“Oh my gosh, how did you know? I am a figment yes! Finally some human recognises that.” Baekhyun says and throws his hands up into the air as though something that has bugging him for a long time had been finally rid off his chest.

“Erh, cause you are from my dream? And if I dream of someone I never met before, they can only come from a figment of my imagination,” Yaeli replies with an additional nod of her head to convince herself she is right.

“No no no! I am not a figment of your imagination. I’m a figment of the world. And you dreamt of me? I’m honoured!” He says and smiles vibrantly, forcing Yaeli to look away because damn this boy has the most amazing smile ever.

Yaeli plunks down on the chair that Baekhyun had pulled out for her. She picks up her chopsticks and looks down at the plate of noodles. “Ja jang myeon?” She asks, trying to conceal her glee because that is her favourite type of noodles.

Baekhyun nods enthusiastically. “Try it! It’s my first time cooking you know!” Yaeli gulps down her fear as she carefully picks up the noodles and places them in . If it’s only a dream, what could go wrong right? She thinks and as she slowly chews the noodles, the edges of her lips curve into a small smile.

Yaeli’s actions speak for themselves as she continues wolfing down the noodles with no intention of stopping, secretly praying that Baekhyun won’t see her as some glutton. But to be honest, she can’t remember the last time she has eaten so much and so well.

 

“I love you.” Baekhyun blurts out all of a sudden without warning, making Yaeli almost choke back on her noodles. She grabs the glass of water from nearby and gulps it down to relieve the itch in her choke while patting her chest with her palm.

“I’m sorry, I thought I just heard you saying that you love me.” She says.

“I did. Since the day we met until the day we die. Till death do us part,” the words come out so naturally from his lips, she thinks for a moment whether he had rehearsed beforehand. But his confession only makes Yaeli cough even more.

Asdfghjkl. Yaeli is completely submerged in a deep state of perplexity. Yes Baekhyun is absolutely gorgeous and cute. But how exactly is she supposed to react when someone suddenly tells her he loves her. And so she doesn’t give a reply. She gets up from her seat and leaves the rest of the plate of noodles untouched, her appetite is gone all at once.

“Hey where are you going?” Baekhyun calls out for her as she pushes in her chair.  

“To work. I’m going to be late.” Yaeli answers truthfully. She is thinking of just sneaking away but is held back when Baekhyun grabs her wrist. The grip is so tight that it almost breaks off her blood circulation. “What the heck do you think you’re doing?” She shouts, flinging her arm in an attempt to shake away his grip.

“You’re not going to work today Yaeli.” He says with a smirk, the kind that makes him look all boyish yet attractive.   

And so she stumbles a little in her reply. “Erh yes I am.”

“Nope, you’re coming with me!” He then pulls her out of her house by linking his arm around hers. Yaeli barely has any time to react and before she knows it she is outside her door still donned in a graphic tee and shorts.  

“What the heck are you doing Baekhyun?” She exclaims and he finally releases the grip around her hand. And as Yaeli massages her bruised arm, she notices that he is silent which is unusual considering how he hasn’t stopped yapping since she met him.

She looks up to him and sees a peculiar expression on his face. “Erh…Baekhyun?” Yaeli askes as she waves her palm in front of his face. “A-are you okay?”

“You called my name. Twice.” He says blankly as though he is immersed in a state of trance.

“So?”

“It was the first time you used my name Yaeli.”

“Ok…” She replies. She doesn’t know how this day can get any weirder.

“My name sounds nicer when you call it.” He whispers.

And it just did.

 

“Ok, Baekhyun, can you please let me go now? I need to get to work you know. I have a living to make.” Yaeli says, trying to sound as annoyed as possible but the truth is that she can’t be more thrilled by this strange but cute boy.

“The answer is no. I only have 23 hours left so every second is hell’a precious.” Baekhyun shakes his head in denial

“You’re dying?” She misunderstands his words and for a moment her heart winces and guilt overwhelms her as she thinks about how mean she has been to him.

“What? No! No!”

“But you said—” Confusion overwrites her face.

“Okay never mind about that. Just call me Baekhyun oppa from now on!” He says cheerily.

Yaeli raises an eyebrow and looks at Baekhyun. He has such a young demeanour he can’ be more than twenty five years old. “You’re older than me?” She questions. Baekhyun nods in response. “By?”

“Oh you have no idea.” He bursts out in laughter but she doesn’t laugh back.

“Why should I listen to you? You don’t even listen to me.” She rolls her eyes on purpose.

“Because if you don’t call me oppa, I’ll do this.” He says and handcuffs the two of their wrist together.

“OH MY GOD open it now!” Yaeli hollers frantically, her fingers desperately pulling at the metal contraption but Baekhyun only shoots her an ugly look. “Fine, Baekhyun oppa please open the cuffs now.”

“Such temper.” He comments as he dug his pocket for the inexistent key.

“You don’t have the key do you?” She asks. He nods. “Well I guess I’m stuck with you then.” She sighs and pulls out her phone to inform her secretary of her day off. She wonders when was the last time she had one. And then it occurs to her—she never had a leave.  

“So what the heck are you planning to do now?” Yaeli asks as her thoughts freely cross over to her work. Her mind spinning in a frenzy as she thinks about how she’d have to work doubly hard to make up for this lost day.

 

Baekhyun grins. “I’m going to teach you how to live your life Yaeli.” I’m going to teach you how to fall in love with me. He tells her inwardly.

• • •

“Why did you bring me here?” Yaeli asks when they finally reach the beach with her hand being pulled along painfully by the cold metal rims.

“To build sandcastles of course!” Baekhyun plunges down onto the sand all at once and pulls Yaeli along with him, causing her to lose her balance and fall down. She gets up into a seating position and brushes off the sand that had stuck to her clothes. She stares at Baekhyun and the bizarre expression on her face reflects her thoughts How is this guy even older than me?

“Baekhyun?”

“It’s Baekhyun OPPA.” He places major emphasis on the ‘oppa’ but as he speaks, his concentration never shifts from the pilling of the sand. His hands grab large portions of it and pile them neatly into a circular pile.

“Fine. Baekhyun oppa, are you sure you’re older than me?” She probes. “Because you’re acting nowhere like a more than twenty five years old would.” Her eyes fixated at the way Baekhyun flattens the sand with the back of his palm.

“Excuse me? This is called having fun. It’s not every day you can play with sand without having a bunch of humans staring at you.” He chides and continues manipulating with the sand.

Yaeli groans in frustration. She can be at work at this current moment, comfortably in her office chair and finishing up the endless amount of assignments thrown at her. It’s only then that she realises how pathetic her life is and how it only seems to revolve only around one sole thing—work.

 

“Something troubling you Yaeli?” Baekhyun asks, stunning her because she hadn’t thought he had been noticing her facial expressions.

“For starters, you are.” She says accusingly.

He twists his lips mischievously but laughs at her joke. “You won’t regret coming out with me today okay!” And for some reason, Yaeli starts to laugh really loudly at his sentence. Not because it was funny but because of the alarming irony.

“Trust me, I already have.” She snaps. “And the last time I checked, I was dragged out here by some random stranger that I barely know for a few hours.”

“Well how can anyone ever resist my darn good looks?”

“Stop showering yourself in self-praises,” she mocks kiddingly. “Just be glad I haven’t called the cops on you.” And then her head tilts downwards and she continues, “People like you will never understand what my life is like.”

“Why don’t you tell me then?” Baekhyun offers.

Yaeli’s eyes widen as she turns to the left to make eye contact with him. His pupils reflect sincerity and he doesn’t seem to be lying in anyway. “Tell you?”

“Pour all those pent up frustrations out.” He smiles at her.

Yaeli bites her lips. She barely knows this guy. So why in the world would she speak to him about her life and her troubles? But then again, it is all a dream. None of it is real. She assures herself.

“Well it’s just like life feels meaningless you know? Like I wake up every day and I do the same old thing. I get dressed, eat, go to work, eat, comeback from work, eat some more, and then sleep.” She says in one breath.

“You’re life sure is boring.” He chuckles. “Why not do something about it? What about spicing up your life somehow?”

“How am I going to that?”

“By saying you love me.” He replies.

“WHAT?”

“Nah I’m just messing with you.” Baekhyun laughs even louder this time. “But in all seriousness, you really should do something great with your life. Time is precious.”

“Well I’ve still got a long way to go so I figured that probably some point in my life I can just—” She speaks but he cuts her off.

“Why not start now? Why not live life to the fullest every day?” He pins questions onto her without giving her any time to answer. “Because for some people, a day is all they have.”

“Okay I’m really suspecting that you’re having a terminal illness or something.”

“Nah it’s worse than that.” He replies but when she raises an eyebrow at him, he quickly says, “I’m just kidding.”

“Do you know what it’s like to be invisible Baekhyun oppa?” Yaeli asks while her fingers randomly grab the sand around her.

“That’s basically like every day of my life.” He smiles sadly.

“So you get it too?” She asks, slightly happy that someone either than her understood the feeling of loneliness. She hadn’t thought such a happy-go-lucky person can ever harbour such a feeling. “It’s like no one seems to care. Like you’re just another random fragment of the universe god created. So insignificant and small. And like there’s no one left on this planet that loves you.”

 

But I love you Yaeli. I always have and always will. Baekhyun thinks and glances at her eyes, thinking about how beautiful they are and how much he’d miss them if he never got to see them again. He swipes off the pessimistic thoughts and tries to lift his spirits up by initiating a game.

“I have a challenge for you,” Baekhyun says.

“What?”

“Let’s see who can build the tallest tower out of sand in an hour.” Yaeli looks at Baekhyun’s serious expression and realises that he isn’t one bit joking. “The loser shall have to confess to the sea something their deepest darkest secret.”

“What? That’s stupid,” she snaps.

“No that’s called fun.” He replies. “And your time starts now!” Immediately after saying those words, he quickly casts all thoughts aside and begin concentrating on gathering large amounts of sand.

Yaeli almost burst out laughing because the sight of Baekhyun so seriously compiling sand just cracks her up. And for some reason, she isn’t able to stop. So she places her palm over her lips in an attempt to stifle the giggling.

“What’s so funny?” Baekhyun pouts at her.

“Nothing it’s just I find it hard not to mistake you as a ten year old.” She answers him in all honesty.

“I may be old on the outside but I’m young at heart!” He shouts confidently into the air and places his hand onto his chest. “Why don’t you try? It’s fun.” He says and grabs her handcuffed wrist and leads her to grab a bit of sand. His hand rests nicely on hers as he shows her how to pat it flat, resulting in a more stable sand structure.

Yaeli’s cheeks blushes crimson for a split second from the close skin contact but she conceals it immediately, afraid that he may notice.

“See? It’s not that hard is it?” Baekhyun asks.

“I guess so…” Yaeli goes along his lines because she doesn’t know how she’d react if he were to touch her hand again.

“Okay so let the competition commence!” He shouts and his free hand starts laying out the foundation for his tower. Chuckling, Yaeli also starts to work on her sand tower by grasping sand from around her. Without herself realising, Yaeli is actually building a sandcastle. Something that she has in fact never done so in her entire childhood and definitely not in her adult life either.

 

“My god your tower looks like a piece of—” Baekhyun’s sentence is cut short by Yaeli’s death glare. “Okay it looks wonderful!” He says sarcastically, making her punch him on his shoulder lightly.

“It’s my first time okay!”

“Of course I know!” He blurts out a little too carelessly. She eyes at him suspiciously but his witty mind allows him to think of a reply. “I mean your tower is so ugly that it must be your first time! Not like I stalk your life every day to know every single detail about you.” He breaks into an uneasy laughter.

“Okay…” The awkwardness is obvious in her voice.

“So anyway, did you have fun?” Baekhyun asks in an attempt to engulf the tensed atmosphere.

“Fun?” Yaeli articulates the foreign word. She can’t remember the last time she used that word. In her dictionary, words like ‘fun’ and ‘enjoy’ don’t exist. “Yea I guess I did.” The sides of her lips curve up into an innocent, sweet smile.

Baekhyun notices that and smiles along.

“Have you ever felt invisible?” Yaeli suddenly pops the question up, shattering the cherry vibe and replacing it with an ominous atmosphere. “As though you’re part of this world but no one can see you?”

“That’s every day of my life,” Baekhyun says as he laughs a little.

Yaeli’s eyes shoot open because she hadn’t expected Baekhyun to be able to relate to her at all. “You get it too?” She asks.

“Yea.”

“It’s like you’re so insignificant to the universe around you and no one ever seems to care about you or your feelings. Like you’re just another irrelevant piece of a puzzle called earth.” Yaeli bemoans and her gaze unknowingly falls to the ground crestfallenly.

Baekhyun peers over at her, he notices the dejected expression written on her face. He doesn’t know why, but just the mere sight of Yaeli feeling unhappy just hits him hard and he himself suddenly feels a surge of sadness engulfing him.

“Do you know why the sun sets every day?” Baekhyun asks as his eyes never leave Yaeli’s face.

“Because the earth orbits around the sun?” Yaeli answers the obvious.

“And because it needs to rise the next day.” Baekhyun’s reply make Yaeli roll her eyes.

“So…?”

“It’s the same theory Yaeli. Twenty four hours are all we have in a day. And if we don’t make the best out of it, it’ll just pass by in a blink of an eye. Your life can’t just revolve around work. You need to live life, young, wild and free. You need to cherish every moment, every second.” Baekhyun says.

“Like cherish this weird dream that I’m currently having with you?”

The smile on Baekhyun’s countenance melts away instantly and is replaced with a depressed grimace. “You still think this is a dream?” He asks with disappointment lingering in his tone.

“Well yea how else is it possible that you appearing in my house, making breakfast for me, handcufingf me and bringing me to build sandcasts is reality?” Yaeli answers.

“Am I not real enough for you?” Baekhyun looks over at her, his gaze piercing into her eyes searching for an answer. But Yaeli never replies.

She just looks away from him because as much as she wants all this to be real, want him to be real, she knows it isn’t and it can never be. Yaeli knows Baekhyun is probably just a figment of her wildly imaginative mind. But she wishes he is more than that. She wishes he can be by her side forever.

 

• • •

 

She doesn’t know how she got there. Where? Her bed. Everything from yesterday seems fuzzy as though each moment was an individual puzzle piece. And all those pieces are scattered everywhere and she has no idea how to piece them together. So they remain unsolved.

The red mark on her hand is prominent and Yaeli spots it almost immediately when she raises her hand to grab her toothbrush. She creases her eyebrows in puzzlement. After washing up, Yaeli heads over to her room to get started on her unfinished project.

It is a Saturday. And even though that means no official work, it doesn’t mean that she is completely off the hook. In fact, piles of folders line her personal desk, all of which are waiting to be checked by her.

As she plunges into her armchair, her hand accidentally gets caught on a stack of papers at the side of her shelf and things on top of it come tumbling down.

“Urgh!” Yaeli rants as she bends over to pick the papers up. A red piece of paper stands out to her and she fishes it out to take a closer look. Curiousity overwhelming her because her company never uses red papers for documents.

 

My dear Yaeli,

You may not remember our past encounters or even the one we had just yesterday but I always will. I don’t know why you keep insisting that I’m just part of your imagination. I’m not. I’m real and I hope you can see that even though you may never see me again. The past day with you has been a miracle. You’re a miracle. I love you Yaeli. Remember that even if you can’t remember anything about me or us. I love you. I always have and I always will.

Baekhyun

 

Every line up to the sign off is barely a couple of scrambled words. But when Yaeli reads his name it seems to ring some bells in her head. Baekhyun, where have I seen this name before? Yaeli scratches her head out of frustration as she thinks harder, trying to strike up whatever memory within her.

My name is Baekhyun. Her eyes widen in realisation. Nostalgia swarms within her like a jolt of warmth as she suddenly remembers the very incident fifteen years ago.

 

• • •

 

“Y-you can see me?” The man in a plain tee and shorts asked. It’s the same guy from back by the bus stop. Yaeli recognised him from his distinctive facial features and she nodded in reply to his question.

“How?”

“With my eyes of course.” She had learned in science class that light rays are reflected to her very pupils, allowing her to see the world around her and also this strange man that had followed her all the way to this very playground where she sat by the swing, patiently waiting for her mother to pick her up.

The man begin laughing. “What’s your name?” He asked with a smile.

“My mom told me not to reveal my name to strangers.”

“Am I a stranger?” Yaeli shrugged her shoulders in doubt.

“Well, human girl. Let me tell you that I am not. If I told you my name would you tell me yours?” He asked her. Yaeli pursed her lips in thought and finally nodded her head.

“My name is Baekhyun.” He spoke

“Yaeli.” She replied innocently.

“That’s a beautiful name.” Baekhyun raised his hand to Yaeli’s hair but she rushed off to her mother before he could touch her.

“Who were you talking to Yaeli?” Her mother asked her.

“Him.” Yaeli said and pointed in the direction of the stranger but her finger fell when she looked over. Because he wasn’t there anymore.

 

• • •

 

Yaeli blinks in shock as the realisation comes hitting her all at once. Baekhyun is not her figment of imagination. He did not only belong in her dreams. He is real.

You may not see me again. Words from Baekhyun’s letter ring across Yaeli’s ears as she bites her lips in ponderation. What had he meant by those words? Desperation bursts in her as she dashes over to her kitchen, hoping to be greeted by the sight of Baekhyun cooking her favourite noodles.

But like she had thought, he isn’t there. Her eyes dart around in anxiety and she feels her lips trembling more than ever. Where are you Baekhyun? Yaeli pulls her legs to the door and using all her might, she unlocks it and exits her apartment.

Is it really possible to fall in love with someone in a day? In a matter of twenty four hours? Or perhaps it hasn’t really only been a day, but an accumulation of the fifteen years that he has always been by her side. Guarding her. Loving her.

Yaeli finally feels his love. And she wants to return it.

“Baekhyun?” she shouts out to the road, ignoring all stares that are directed at her. “Where are you?!” She doesn’t know why but she desperately wants to see him. There is this urge of wanting to be with him. What she doesn’t know is that he has always been with her, or at least had.

She skids over to the other side of the road, with no realisation of the cars around her. She is oblivious to the car that is inching closer to her as she takes her baby step towards the road. She assumes that since it is the green man, no car will pass by. Just like how she had also assumed that since Baekhyun had just come into her life, he would not have left that fast.

She isn’t thinking straight when the honk from the car snaps her out of her trance. She stays rooted on her two feet. The car is nearing her but she doesn’t move. Her legs don’t seem to be functioning as she commands for them to shift away.

Her eyes force themselves close. This is the end. She thinks to herself. But that never happens. Because she feels a warm hand wrapping itself on her wrist, tight and secured and it pulls her back safely onto the pavements.

“Are you crazy Oh Yaeli?” Baekhyun’s voice shoots through her ear drums. She doesn’t need to turn around to be absolutely sure this is the man that she has been searching for. She leans in and hugs him tight, embracing him as though she never wants to let go.

“Don’t go,” Yaeli utters as her head leans gently onto his left shoulder. Baekhyun caresses her hair with his fingers as he hugs back. “I want you to be more than my imagination Baekhyun.” She whispers into his ears, her voice barely audible as though she only wants him and him only to hear it.

A smile forms on Baekhyun’s face like a brilliant painter’s . He pulls away slightly and plants a soft yet reassuring kiss on Yaeli’s forehead. He doesn’t know how much he has been waiting for this moment until the point when his lips come into contact with her pale skin.  A surge of warmth rushes through him and he hugs her once again.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” Baekhyun says so gently, Yaeli feels butterflies in her stomach. The good kind. “I’m staying right here. Forever and always.”

 

---

A/N:

I wrote this in like two days and gosh my eyes are exhuasted :P I hope you enjoyed this oneshot which would have been a short story if not for the requirements of the contest haha. freaking 6000 words haha my longest one shot ever! I was thinking of perhaps writing a sequel because it just feels like this story doesn't have a proper ending, like somethings weren't explained. So tell me if I should and tell me what to write on lol xD Thank you for making it to the end of this ty story haha x)  

[UPDATE 1/3/15] I edited this fic and now its 8000 words lmao.