Sehun had never been one for sentiment. Quite the contrary, in fact. Emotions, to him, were fleeting and unnecessary, nothing more than a side effect of his consciousness, a little, annoying glitch in the immaculately intricate construction that was the reaper’s anatomy. Often times he wondered what made God or Jesus or Krishna, or whoever was responsible for this poor excuse of a universe, even give such a purposeless thing as emotion to a creature such as he. It wasn’t useful, wasn’t beneficial, wasn’t at all advantageous in any way, not for the job his kind were set to. He’d seen its effects on his kinfolk, seen it get the better of them one too many times, and it never ended well. So when he found himself occupying the body of a boy who had died of emphysema several years ago, following the young girl before him from a few feet away, he couldn’t help but curse the deity responsible for the weakness that had somehow instilled itself into him, becoming more of a malfunction than a simple glitch.

She was his latest client, a word he chose to use in lieu of the term “victim”, and she would be lying on the street, track marks of a tire sprawled across her pretty little sundress in less than a week. He’d been watching her for some time already when, what had started as a mere detached curiosity, slowly progressed into something more. Cautiously, Sehun found himself coming down from his threshold above it all, inching his way ever so slightly away from the solitude of his own world and  into hers. He began to watch her from the building tops, at first, then the street, as she walked to her bus, then the desk two tables away from her own as she buried her nose in her notes at the library. Some nights, he found himself outside her home, a small apartment building just on the outskirts of town, watching her through the dimly lit window as she brushed her hair, or read her book, or lost herself in her thoughts. He found it all too enthralling, the way her life rushed back and forth across the city, a small, insignificant mouse in a maze too large for her to even comprehend. Somehow, it was almost endearing, how immersed she was in her little life. He hadn’t even realized, until it was too late, just how close he’d gotten.

He’d been trailing behind her absentmindedly, clad in the body of the boy he’d taken to occupying as a million thoughts ran through his head. She only had six days left. The thought alone darkened his features with a grimace. Why didn’t it feel right to him? He’d never questioned the Fates before, when they sent him another client, another soul to guide to the next world, or wherever it was they believed themselves to be heading. In all honesty, even he didn’t know. He never thought on it, and why should he? His only job, his only purpose of existing, was to gather the souls from their bodies, and make sure they didn’t wander the Earth for the rest of eternity. Once she was dead, and he had her soul in his arms, all that would be left for him to do would be to guide her away, and she would be gone forever from his existence. Perhaps it was that very thought which bothered him now. What did she believe? Did she believe in anything? Where would he take her when he ripped her soul from her body? Would she go willingly, or, like so many others, would she fight him, claw herself away from his hold till the very end? Till she was unable to fight anymore? Till she realized there wasn’t really a choice for her? That she would end up either stuck in limbo or down in the depths of whatever Hades awaited her?

 He bit his lip in frustration, shaking the thoughts away. There was no point to be thinking of such foolish things. Whatever might happen to her, one thing was for sure. She would be dead in six days, and he would be there to take her.

 A sigh escaped his lips while he watched on quietly from a few feet away as she wandered on the sidewalks, her oxford heels occasionally faltering as she glanced from the sheet of paper in her hands to the buildings towering overhead. Sehun stuffed his hands in his pockets, his head tilting to the side as he followed her from a distance, his curiosity piqued, drawing him out of his brooding. She turned this way and that, her gentle brow curving in confusion. Was she lost? He bit back a smile, his dead eyes lighting up in amusement, when, suddenly, she turned around sharply, her eyes falling on him as their gazes met.

He froze. The smile fell from his lips. Something in his chest swelled and he wondered if perhaps it was the boy’s disease that had caused his breathing to falter.

"Excuse me," she called, maneuvering through the passerbys as she made her way to him. He swallowed audibly. Her voice was soft and slightly quivering, filled with excitement and, perhaps, apprehension. A shiver ran down his spine.

"Pardon me-" she finally reached him, slightly out of breath as she held the wrinkled paper out with both hands.

"I’m sorry, but do you know where this building is?" she pointed to the address on the top right corner of the paper, "I can’t seem to find it."

Sehun remained stiff, his spine like a rod as he stared down at her between two hawkish eyes. His lip trembled just slightly and only then did he realize how nervous he was. His palms were cold and clammy in his pockets, his nerves twitching with anxiety. He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t even be looking at her, much less making conversation. She was his client. He would be watching her die in a week’s time, and here he was, letting out  a lame “Uh” as she stared almost pleadingly up at him. He blinked, letting his gaze fall to the floor, then the street, then the sky, before finally resting on her again, still standing patiently before him. His shoulders slumped and he sighed, blaming the weak heart in his body for his lack of conviction as he  ran a hand through his hair before mumbling, “I-its just down that way.”

She turned for a moment to follow his index finger as he pointed north. “You follow the boulevard for two blocks then turn right at the light. Three blocks down you make a left… it should be next to the bank, I think.”

She paused for a moment and he caught the confusion in her features just before she turned back to him, grinning.

"Thank you!" she bowed just slightly, making her way down the sidewalk, her eyes flitting occasionally to the paper in her hands.

Sehun lingered in his spot, watching her shoulders fall in confusion, her eyes still wandering over the numerous skyscrapers. He chewed his lip, his legs itching to move forward. He shouldn’t help, he told himself, He should turn around and leave, let her stay lost, let her lose her way. It wasn’t his concern what she did in her last few days. All that mattered to him was what happened after. Yet, as he followed her figure, drawing farther away from his own, his pulse began to race. His clammy hands grew jittery and he hadn’t even realized the words escaped his mouth until she turned around.

"Wait!" he had yelled, his feet moving of their own accord to shrink the distance between them, "I could… walk you there, if you want."

She clutched onto the paper in her hands, her eyes shifting between his blank ones thoughtfully before she smiled, “Thank you. That would really help.”

He didn’t respond, but paced ahead of her, his eyes trained on the road ahead as if he were on a mission of the utmost importance. Her heels tapped against the cement behind him as she scurried to keep up. He slowed down, allowing her to meet his pace, a short curse falling from his breath  as he felt his heart palpitate. He’d never been this close to her before. His shoulders brushed against her as they walked and he could almost smell the light perfume clinging to her dress. He sighed.

"Thank you, again." she spoke up, glancing at him shortly, a smile flashing across her pinkish lips, "I don’t think I’d make it there on time by myself."

He spared her a glimpse from the corner of his eye, his lip curling in at the sight of her profile, gentle and grinning as she stared at the floor.

"It’s fine," he mumbled, "I don’t mind."

She smiled in response, fidgeting with the paper in her hands. He glanced between her and the sidewalk before clearing his throat. “Uhm, is there something you have to do there?”

"What?" she looked up, her wide eyes meeting his. He shrugged, turning away quickly.

"I mean, you said you wouldn’t get there on time."

"Oh," she nodded, "Yeah, I have an interview in thirty minutes."

"An interview?" he furrowed his brow, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"A job interview."

"What kind of job?"

"It’s nothing special," she shrugged, "Just secretary work at this cardiology center. Filing and stuff like that, you know."

Sehun frowned, unable to imagine anyone finding interest in something that sounded so completely boring. She caught his grimace and laughed, “What? You don’t like cardiology?”

"I just don’t care for work like that."

"Then what do you do?" she tilted her head.

He bit his lip, choosing his words cautiously, “Sort of… guidance stuff, I guess?”

"Is that fun?" her nose wrinkled in a way that made his pulse falter.

"It’s okay." he mumbled, "Better than filing, probably."

"Yeah," she laughed, "I suppose it’s not the best job in the world. But I think it’ll be good for me."

"Why’s that?"

"Well," she looked down at her heels, a smile spreading across her lips, "I’m studying medicine in school, and getting a job in the medical field will really help my resume look nice, you know? For when I graduate and follow my career."

"Medicine?" the young man frowned, "You want to be a doctor?"

She nodded vigorously, her grin widening, “A cardiologist, actually. Which is why this job is so ideal. I might even work there as a doctor, once I finish my MCAT and all, of course.”

"What’s an MCAT?"

"It’s sort of like an entrance exam for medical school. I’m taking mine in June, actually."

Sehun pursed his lips, a wave of guilt looming over his chest. June was quite a few months away and she would never make it her exam. He wondered how the exam proctors would go about dealing with her empty seat. Would they give it away? Leave it unoccupied, a constant reminder of the student who passed away just months before? He glanced at her, still smiling softly to herself as her eyes roamed over the large buildings. It was unsettling to him, how unaware she was of her fate. For a moment, he almost wanted to warn her.

"Why do you want to be a doctor?" he asked, attempting to veer the conversation to a safer topic.

Again, she grinned, her eyes brightening with excitement. Sehun wondered if it happened every time she talked about her dreams like this.

"It sounds cliche and corny," she chuckled, her cheeks pinking just slightly, "But I want to save peoples lives."

His lips turned down, his features darkening as he replied, “Isn’t that a bit too much pressure to put on yourself?”

"What do you mean?" she looked up at him, her forehead creasing in confusion.

"I don’t know," he shrugged, suddenly feeling out of place. Saving lives had never been his business. Quite the opposite, in fact. He dug his hands deeper into his pockets, squaring his shoulders as a particularly cool breeze brushed by.

"Isn’t it better to just… let things go as they should?" he muttered,  "You know, let the natural process run its course?"

She didn’t reply, causing him to look up. She had her bottom lip curled in, chewing on the pink flesh as she stared at the floor in thought.

"It might be the easier way," she finally replied, speaking slowly so as to choose her words properly, "But that doesn’t necessarily make it the better choice."

"What do you mean?" he pouted, growing frustrated with his lack of knowledge on the topic at hand.

"Well, saving lives is definitely stressful, and it would be a lot less burdensome to be unconcerned with other people’s well being, but just because it’s easier to do that doesn’t mean its the more righteous method, or the most ideal one. It’s a noble pursuit, don’t you think? Saving people’s lives?"

She paused for a moment, folding the crumpled sheet of paper in her hands. A small smile played along the corners of her lips. “And besides, even if it is stressful and tiring and all that, I think the feeling that I’ll get when I see a person breathing and smiling because of me, because of what I did for them, I think that’ll more than make up for whatever burden I have to bear by taking their life in my hands.”

Sehun looked away as she glanced up, feeling the cold skin of his corpse emanating with warmth, his cheeks flushed, his heart beating faster than he’d even thought possible. He breathed deeply, his stomach churning at the thought of such a passionate soul going to waste. Indeed, it wasn’t righteous, nor noble, the filthy work he had been fated to carry out. For a moment, he wished he’d never been born, or created, or whatever unfortunate event had taken place to bring his existence into this world. At least then, she might stand a chance.

"What about you?"

He turned to face her, finding her staring up at him expectantly, “Is working in ‘guidance’ good for you? I mean, is it what you wanted to do?”

"Not really," he grimaced, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, "It’s just what I have to do."

"What do you mean?" she tilted her head to the side, catching his gaze, "Is it like a family business?"

A short, hollow laugh escaped his lips, “You could say that.”

"But you don’t want to do it?"

"I just do whatever I have to.  I never really had a choice with it."

"You always have a choice," she replied, her gaze burning with conviction, "Haven’t you ever wanted to do something else? Something you’ll enjoy? Something that’ll make you happy?”

He chewed on his cheek, shrugging. “I never really cared to think about it, I guess.”

She nodded solemnly, slumping her head to observe as their shoes stepped over the stray strands of grass sprouting from the cracks in the sidewalk. Sehun watched her from the corner of his eye, the small remnants of the gleam still lingering in her eyes as they wandered over her surroundings, the fascination never once seeming to leave her gaze. He craned his neck to look upon the sky, the short orange and pink rays clawing their way into the landscape like fingers as the Sun began its gentle descent. He sighed, mentally checking off another day on the girl’s life line.

"But, you know, I think I’m beginning to think of it now." he muttered beneath his breath, quiet enough that she couldn’t hear.

"That’s the building isn’t it?" she pointed a few feet ahead at the towering black windowed skyscraper. Her fingers fumbled with the folded paper, reading through it quickly to find the address.
 
"Yeah. That’s it." Sehun confirmed, running a hand through his wind tousled locks.

"Thank you, really." she grinned, bowing quickly as she turned to leave. Before he could properly think it through, Sehun spoke up,

"Wait!"

She glanced over her shoulder, lingering a few feet away as he brought his hand to the nape of his neck, his face heating up.

"Uhm-" he stammered, attempting to think of a reason to keep her there just a moment longer, "Do you- I mean- do you-"

His skin burned up as she waited expectantly, now turned to face him completely. He clenched his teeth and, with one large breath, uttered the first thing to come to his mind.

"Do you wanna go on a date with me?"

His eyes visibly widened as he covered his mouth, a string of curses falling from his lips. What was he doing? Had he lost his mind entirely? Did he not remember what had happened to the others? What would surely happen to him, should he spend even a moment more with her? He groaned to himself, running his fingers through his hair in agitation. She laughed, fiddling with the paper in her hand as she responded, “Sure.”

He used all his willpower not to gape at her response, his pulse very nearly flat lining again.

"When do you want to go out?" she asked, her own cheeks turning rosy as she spoke.

"Uhm-" Sehun scratched his head, training his eyes on the floor, "How about Friday? Here?"

She nodded, replying with a short “Sure” when she realized he wasn’t looking. He nodded in response, avoiding her gaze as he bid her goodbye, not failing to catch the smile on her lips as she bowed and turned away, half-sprinting towards the building. He watched her disappear behind the door, the heart in his chest pulsing irregularly as her words echoed in his mind. Friday. Her last day alive. He bit his lip, looking up at the sky once more, the Sun almost halfway into slumber.