Young-ae walked into the house, she had just gone outside to see the sun rise. As she walked, she bumped the leg against the chair. “Ah, that hurts.” She said and rubbed her leg. “Wait a minute, why does it hurt? I walk through furniture all the time.” Just then, Ha-na came out of her room rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Ha-na stopped in shock when she saw the strange woman standing in the middle of her living room and she let out a loud scream. “It’s me Ha-na, Young-ae.” Young-ae shouted to get her attention.

“Mwoya?! Am I dreaming?” Ha-na asked and pinched herself. “It’s hurts.” She said. She definitely wasn’t dreaming.

“Wait, how is it that you can see me?” Young-ae asked. Ha-na moved closer to Young-ae and touched her.

“I can feel you too.” She gasped. Just then, Young-ae heard a loud ringing like a church bell and she grabbed her head in pain. “Wae? What is it?”Ha-na asked worriedly.

“You can’t hear that?” Young-ae asked. The ringing sounded again and she grabbed her head a second time.

“No, I can’t hear it.” Ha-na replied. The ringing sounded a third time and Young-ae almost collapsed from the pain in her head but Ha-na reached out and held her so she wouldn’t fall and suddenly everything went quiet.

“Are you okay?” Ha-na asked.

“It’s stopped. The ringing has stopped.” She said and stood up properly.

“You should get ready since you have to go to work.” Young-ae said and walked into the kitchen.

“This is so strange, why can I see you now?” Ha-na asked following her into the kitchen.

“I don’t know. You should get ready and leave or you’ll be late.” Young-ae replied.

Ha-na glanced at the time and saw that she had slept a little longer than she had intended. She hurried off to clean up and left Young-ae in the kitchen pondering over what the ringing she heard was. “I’ll be back.” Ha-na said as she left, she stopped momentarily to glance at Young-ae before she headed out the door.

Young-ae paced up and down the kitchen thinking to herself. “Why can she see me? What is the ringing I heard? Why is this happening right now?” Just then, she heard a knock on the door. She peeped through the hole but there was nobody there. She turned to head back to the kitchen when she heard the knocking again. She went to the door but no one was there so she started to go again. But before she could move, the knocking came again, louder and more impatient until she thought the person was going to break down the door. “I’m coming.” She yelled and suddenly the knocking stopped. “Could they hear me?” she wondered. Young-ae went to the door and reached for the handle. She hesitated a bit, “Well, since I’m bumping into the furniture, I should be able to grab the handle, right?” She thought and reached for it slowly. She grabbed the handle and gasped when she felt the cold metal against her palm. She pulled open the door but there was nobody there, just a letter on the step in front of the door. She picked up the letter and saw that it was addressed to her but there was no sender or return address on it. “Mwoya?” she said to herself and closed the door behind her. She opened the letter, it read, “Lee Young-ae, it is time for you to go now that your last wish has been resolved. In two days, an officer will come and help you to move on to the other side. Failure to comply will lead to you being forcibly removed and punished.” Young-ae read the letter twice over and scoffed. “Like I want to stay here a minute longer. All that fuss to tell me this?” She folded up the letter and tossed it on the table.

 

Yoo-ah walked into the office after attending to another one of their clients. “I’m so tired, we are so busy today. I can’t wait till the weekend. I’m really excited about our vacation.” She noticed that Ha-na wasn’t paying attention to her and she waved her hand in front of her friend’s face. “Ya, are you listening? What’s wrong with you? You’ve been spacing out all day.”

“Uh? Oh, I was just thinking of something.” Ha-na replied, waving away her concerns.

“Is it something serious? Do you want to talk about it?” Yoo-ah asked.

“You’d probably think I was crazy.” “Eyy, come on. How bad could it possibly be?”

Ha-na sighed. “Remember I said the previous owners of my house told me it was haunted?”

“Yes, but I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts.”

“I didn’t.”

“But now you do?”

“Would you believe me if I told you I’d been living with one for the past three months?” Ha-na asked.

Yoo-ah looked at her incredulously and then she laughed. “Ya, what kind of unbelievable thing is that.” She continued laughing but saw that Ha-na was serious. “Seolma! It’s true? Oh my God.” Yoo-ah sat down out of disbelief.

“Oh, and it gets better. It’s Young-ae’s ghost.”

“Young-ae? Who’s Young-ae? Jin-wookssi’s Young-ae?” Yoo-ah asked. Her friend was dropping bomb after bomb on her. “Are you okay? She didn’t try to possess you or anything?”

“No, she didn’t. She only wanted me to help Jin-wookssi get over her and move on with his life.”

“Maldoandwe. How did you know there was a ghost in your house and how did you know it was her?” Yoo-ah asked.

“I discovered the morning after I moved in, and I discovered it was her a few weeks before your engagement. And you know what else? I saw her for the first time this morning.” Ha-na explained.

“Ommaya.” Yoo-ah shouted. “I’m really scared right now, I can’t believe you’ve been living with a ghost for so long. Why didn’t you tell me? Ah wait, I remember you mentioning something vaguely some time ago but I thought you were joking.”

“She’s not a scary ghost, she’s actually quite nice and we have a lot of conversations together. What bothers me is that I’m seeing her now, for the first time in three months. Is there something wrong with me? Why can I see her now when I couldn’t before?”

“Ya, Ha-na do you think we need to exorcize your house or something?”

“I told you she’s not a scary ghost, I don’t need such a thing. I just need to go home and talk to her.”

“Mianhae, it’s just so strange. Do you want me to go with you? I’m not comfortable with you being alone with the ghost.”

“I’ve lived with her for so long and nothing has happened to me. And can you stop referring to her as ‘the ghost’? Her name is Young-ae.” Ha-na said quietly.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine? My mind isn’t okay with it.”

“I’ll be fine, she’s a good ghost.”

“Okay, but call me if anything is wrong immediately you enter the house.” She went back to the front of the store muttering about the ridiculousness of the situation as she went. Ha-na walked into the house and smelt cooking, she hurried into the kitchen and saw Young-ae stirring a pot of stew on the cooker.

“Ha-naya, welcome welcome. I can’t believe I’ve not cooked in fourteen years. I’m so happy to be able to touch things again. Are you hungry? I cooked.” Young-ae said excitedly.

Ha-na was a little taken aback. “What is all this? I can’t believe this. Are you alive or what?”

Young-ae ushered Ha-na to a chair in the small dining area and dropped a bowl of stew in front of her before sitting opposite her. “I’m still dead, but it’s almost time for me to go.” Young-ae said gently.

“Go? To the other world?” Ha-na asked.

“Eo.” Young-ae went to bring the letter and showed it to her.

“What am I supposed to be looking at?” Ha-na asked glancing at Young-ae’s empty hands and back at her face.

“The letter, can’t you see it?” Young-ae asked waving it in front of her eyes.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” Ha-na replied.

“I guess I’m the only one who can see it, just like the ringing I heard this morning.”

“Young-aessi, do you have any idea why I can see you all of a sudden?”

“I’m not sure, but I just thought of something.”

“What’s that?” Ha-na asked.

“Come with me, I want to try something.” She grabbed Ha-na’s hand and led her out the door.

“Where are we going?” Ha-na asked as she was pulled along by Young-ae. They kept going until they came to a place with many people.

“Stop that ajhussi and ask him which one of us is prettier.” Young-ae said.

“Neh?”

“Do it quickly.”

“Ajhussi, er which one of us do you think is prettier?” Ha-na asked the passing man.

“You and who?” The man asked.

“This lady standing right next to me.” Ha-na replied. The man looked at her as if she was sick.

“There’s nobody there.” He replied.

Ha-na gasped. “Are you sure?” She asked again.

“I’m absolutely certain. You’re alone.” The man replied.

“Jueysonghabnida. Sorry for wasting your time.” She said and the ajhussi went on his way.

“It seems you’re the only one who can see me.” Young-ae said.

“No, no. Let’s ask someone else.” Ha-na said. She stopped two other people who told her the same thing, she was all alone.

“Let’s go home, I think I figured it out.” Young-ae said and grabbed Ha-na’s hand and led her home.

“Tell me what you figured then.” Ha-na asked when they walked through the door.

“It’s because it’s you.” Young-ae said.

“I don’t follow.”

“Because you helped me fulfil my wish, you get to see me before I go.”

“How does that make sense?”

“Think about it, as soon as you and Jin-wook get together, I get a letter that says I can finally leave and only you can see me. It makes sense. This must mean I’m supposed to use this time to say goodbye to you.”

“Goodbye to me? Why?”

“Because I’ve gotten attached to you, silly. You can’t tell how much I like you after we’ve been together for three months? I can touch things for the first time in fourteen years and the first thing I did was make food for you.” Young-ae pouted.

Ha-na laughed a laughter of disbelief. “This is so crazy. I’m going crazy. Is this how you pouted every time?” Young-ae turned away and headed for the kitchen.

“I’m sorry for not realizing how much you like me.” Ha-na went after her and tried to console her.

“I’m known for not being able to stay mad for a long time.” Young-ae smiled and flipped her hair.

“Heol.” Ha-na shook her head.

“Sit down, I’ll get you another bowl of stew. This one has gone cold.”

“This is the first time I’m eating food made by a ghost, I’m not sure how I feel about it.” Ha-na said as Young-ae put the food in front of her. “Aren’t you going to eat?” Ha-na asked.

“I already ate.” Young-ae laughed. “‘I already ate’, it’s so good to be able to say that after so long. I want to stay up all night and chat with you. It feels so nice to not have to wait until you read my sand messages before I can have a conversation with you.”

“I can’t stay up all night with you, I’m going on vacation with my friends tomorrow.” Ha-na said.

“Ah.” Young-ae was disappointed.

Ha-na noticed this so she quickly amended the statement. “But, I’ll stay up a little later with you. You’ll be gone before I get back.” She said and Young-ae brightened.

After dinner, Young-ae and Ha-na cleaned up and then they sat on the sofa together. “Young-aessi, when did you know that you couldn’t go?”

“Ya, we’ve been together three months already. Won’t you call me ‘Unni’?”

“‘Unni’?” Ha-na asked.

“Eo. I’m already 36 years old even though I still look like this.”

“Arasso. Unni, when did you first know that you couldn’t go?”

“It was a few months after I had died and Jin-wook had moved out of the house. At first, I didn’t mind staying here when Jin-wook was still here because I could see Su-jin, but when they moved I couldn’t get into their new house. I kept trying to go in but I couldn’t so I thought I might as well try to go to the other world. Every time I tried to board the boat though, the captain wouldn’t take me. He said he didn’t take people whose names weren’t on the list and the only people whose names weren’t on the list were people with unfinished business. Anyway, I came back here since I had nowhere else to go.”

“Did you approach anyone else before me?”

“Eo. They all left when I first tried to talk to them. I tried to leave messages any way I could. One time during the winter, I left a message on the bedroom window and the woman left the very next day. In hindsight, I think that method might have been a little creepy.” Young-ae said and Ha-na laughed. “You’re the only one who didn’t leave. Thank you Ha-na, you have no idea how much what you’ve done means to me.” Young-ae took her hands.

“I’m glad I could help and I got a good deal out of it too. I love Su-jin with all my heart and I like Jin-wookssi too.”

“You’re such an amazing person and you deserve to be happy. While giving a lot of love to Su-jin and Jin-wook, don’t forget to receive love from them too.” Young-ae said and her hair.

“Neh.” She replied.

Young-ae pulled her close and hugged her. “I’ll be gone before you come back, but please don’t forget me.” She said and Ha-na held her closer.

“I won’t.” She replied.

 

“Halmoni!” Su-jin called out as they walked into her grandmother’s house.

“Su-jinah.” Her grandmother came out and hugged.

“Eomma, annyeong.” Jin-wook greeted his mother with a kiss on her cheek.

“Halmoni, I’m staying here for the weekend.” Su-jin announced before she headed for her father’s old room where she stayed whenever she visited her grandmother.

“Omma, I’m going on a vacation with a few friends for the weekend.” He said.

“Kang-min?” She asked.

“Neh. Kang-min got engaged, did you know?”

“Of course, it was all over the news.”

“His fiancée is coming along too.”

“What about you?” his mother asked.

“My girlfriend is coming along too.” He replied shyly.

“Omo. Omo, finally. Oh my son, I’m so happy. Do you have a picture? I want to see her.”

“Su-jin should have one on her phone. Su-jin. Su-jinah. Do you have a picture of Ha-nassi on your phone?” he asked when she came.

“Of course. Halmoni, isn’t she pretty? Her name is Song Ha-na.” Su-jin said excitedly as she showed the pictures they had taken at the engagement party to her grandmother.

“Wah, she’s really pretty.” Jin-wook’s mother said and smiled at her son.

“Eomma, I have to go now. I still need to pick Ha-nassi, we have a long drive ahead of us. We are going to Busan.” His mother saw him off to the car while Su-jin waved at him from the window. “I’ll bring Ha-nassi to meet you as soon as possible. Saranghae omma.” He said and kissed her cheek before he drove off.

As Jin-wook was headed to Ha-na’s house, his phone rang. “Yeobseyo?”

“Jin-wookah, change of plans we’re not driving to Busan anymore, we’re taking the train. It’s not fair to make you drive all that way and I’m not up to driving long distance myself. I hope you don’t mind.” Kang-min said.

“Ah, thank you I didn’t want to drive so far either. I’ll pick up Ha-na and meet you and Yoo-ah at the train station.” He replied and hung up.

 

Ha-na picked out two more dresses from her wardrobe and held them for Young-ae to see. “Which one?”

“That one.” Young-ae pointed to the floor-length floral patterned brown sundress. “It’s pretty.”

Ha-na went into the bathroom to change into the dress while Young-ae helped her fold her other outfits into the bag. When they were done, they went to the kitchen to pack up the lunch they had made that morning. Just then, Jin-wook pulled up in front of the house and knocked. “I’m coming.” Ha-na called out and went to open the door.

“Annyeonghaseyo.” Jin-wook smiled when he saw her. She was looking beautiful as always.

“Good morning.” Ha-na smiled back and invited him inside.

“I’ll be right back, I just need to get my bag from the room.” She said and Jin-wook nodded and took a seat while she went inside.

“Don’t forget your hat.” Young-ae said and put the hat on Ha-na’s head. Young-ae sighed and pulled her into a hug.

“I’m going to miss you Ha-na.” Ha-na patted Young-ae’s back and smiled.

“I’m going to miss you too. I wish I could have seen you before now.” She replied.

“Have fun and be safe.” Young-ae said.

“Go to the other world safely and watch over us from there.” Ha-na replied and she heard Young-ae sniff.

“Unni, are you crying?” she pulled back and saw tears on her face.

“It’s so real that’s why, as much as I loved Jin-wook I really have to go away. I hate being stuck here so much but I’m going to miss you.” She said and Ha-na wiped her tears.

“Thank you for everything Song Ha-na, after Jin-wook you were the best friend I ever had.” Ha-na sighed and hugged her one last time. Young-ae wiped her tears again and shooed her out of the room. Ha-na picked up her bag and got the lunchbox from the kitchen and went to meet Jin-wook in the living room.

“You look really beautiful today. I should have told you that immediately I came in.” He said.

“Thank you. Let’s go.” Ha-na said and they went out the door. She glanced back and saw Young-ae waving to her from the window. She acknowledged her with a nod before Jin-wook drove off. Ha-na and Jin-wook got to the train station and Yoo-ah and Kang-min were already waiting. Yoo-ah rushed over to Ha-na and linked arms with her.

“Good morning Kang-minssi.” Ha-na said.

“Good morning. You look nice.” He replied.

“I’m so excited, this week has been so busy it’s nice to finally get time to relax.” Yoo-ah said.

“It’s time to go.” Jin-wook glanced at the monitor and they all boarded the train. Yoo-ah immediately took the seat next to the window and Kang-min sat next to her, so Ha-na had to sit next to Jin-wook.

“Do you want the window seat?” He asked her.

“You don’t mind?” She asked.

“Of course not.” He replied and she smiled. He was beginning to like her smile, it made her look like a child. Ha-na sat down and he sat next to her. She brought out the lunchbox she had packed and offered some food to her friends. After they were done, Yoo-ah asked Ha-na to sing.

“Ah, I don’t really like singing in front of people.” She replied shyly and Yoo-ah gave her the side eye.

“Since when? Back in high school, didn’t you used to climb on the desk whenever the teacher wasn’t around and give a rousing performance in front of the whole class?” Yoo-ah said.

“You can sing?” Jin-wook asked, “That’s amazing.”

“Please, sing a song for us.” Kang-min said.

Ha-na shot her friend a glare and cleared . “This is a song I really like.” She said and then started to sing Celine Dion’s Because You Loved Me. When she was through, Yoo-ah and Kang-min cheered excitedly and Jin-wook gaped at her, he was astonished at how talented she was.

“That was really, really good. You should sing at our wedding.” Kang-min said and Yoo-ah nodded in agreement.

“That’s a good idea, you could sing the song for our first dance.” Yoo-ah pleaded with her.

“Aigoo, I never thought I’d sing again in my life. I haven’t sang in public since high school.” Ha-na blushed.

“You have such a wonderful voice, you shouldn’t hide it. Your song made me feel good.” Jin-wook said and Ha-na smiled. “Okay, I’ll sing at your wedding.” Ha-na said and Yoo-ah cheered. As the journey went on, Yoo-ah and Kang-min took a nap, while Jin-wook read a book and Ha-na stared out the window. Jin-wook looked up from his book and saw Ha-na watching the passing scenery with her face in her hand. She looked so pretty, he picked up his phone and took a picture of her. Ha-na was startled by the shutter sound and looked at him.

“Did you finish your book already?” she asked.

“I’ll continue later.” He replied all the while staring at her. He couldn’t look away from her. “Why did you decide not to sing in public anymore?” He asked.

“It’s not anything spectacular, I took part in a talent show in my final year of high school. It was the first time I sang in front of the whole school and I was really nervous. It’s a different thing to sing in front of hundreds of students and teachers and the principal than it is to sing in front of thirty students you know. Anyway, I was so nervous that I went off-key and forgot some of the words to the song. I froze in the middle of my performance and was booed off the stage. It was mortifying.” She laughed.

“Wow that sounds really terrible. You must really like Yoo-ah to agree to sing at her wedding.” He said.

“She’s like my blood sister and I would do practically anything, I think short of murder, for her sake. We’ve been through a lot together. She’s helped me a lot too but she doesn’t hold it over me. When my mother was in the hospital, I didn’t have enough money to take care of her and Yoo-ah helped me pay her bills until she died.” Ha-na said and glanced at her sleeping friend fondly.

“Did you ever try to contact your father even when your mother was in the hospital?” Jin-wook asked.

“My mother told me not to. Honestly, I don’t know if I would have wanted to contact him even if I knew how. I don’t even know his name, Song is my mother’s last name. We lived our life fine without him.” Ha-na said and turned back to stare out the window, she hoped he wouldn’t ask her any more questions.

Jin-wook watched her for a few minutes and saw her shoulders rise and fall as if she was sighing. He wondered if she had a scar that hadn’t healed yet.

They finally arrived in Busan in the late afternoon. They hired a car and Kang-min drove them to the small cottage he had rented. Ha-na and Yoo-ah went into their room. There were twin beds on either side of the room and a huge window with shutters that opened up to overlook the large expanse of the land the cottage stood on.

“This is why you need to have rich friends.” Ha-na said.

“Ya, do you like me only because I’m rich?” Yoo-ah said.

“It’s a major reason, don’t you know?” Ha-na teased and Yoo-ah threw a pillow at her.

“We should go grocery shopping, there’s nothing in the fridge.” Yoo-ah said as she reclined against her bed. “Ya, what about your ghost, did you find out why you could see her suddenly?”

Ha-na sat on her bed. “I helped her fulfil her last wish so I got to see her so she could say her farewell to me. She’s leaving tomorrow.” Just then, Kang-min knocked on the door before popping his head in.

“We’re going to the supermarket. Do you girls need anything?”

“Ah, we were just talking about going grocery shopping.” Yoo-ah replied.

“Oh, write a list and we’ll pick up the items.” He said.

So Yoo-ah wrote a list of things to buy while Ha-na put away her things. The boys left for the supermarket and the girls cleaned up around the house. When they got back, Yoo-ah and Ha-na made dinner while the boys took showers. They all sat down to dinner and when they were done, Kang-min decided that he and Jin-wook would do the dishes since the girls cooked, giving them some time to take showers and get ready for bed since they were all so tired from the long trip. Jin-wook decided to call his mother before he headed to bed so he could talk to Su-jin when Ha-na joined him the living room.

“You’re not going to sleep yet?” She asked.

“Eo, I have to talk to Su-jin.” He replied as he dialed his mother’s number.

“Ah, I wish she could have come along, the air here is so relaxing.” Ha-na said.

“Eo Jin-wookah.” His mother said as she answered the phone.

“Eomma, how are you? We’ve reached Busan.” He said.

“Really? Aren’t you tired?” She asked.

“Eo but I wanted to talk to Su-jin before I went to bed. Where is she?” He asked.

“Wait a minute, she’s doing the dishes. Su-jin! Su-jinah, your father wants to talk to you.” She called out to Su-jin.

“Appa! How are you? How was your trip? Did you have dinner yet? Where’s Ha-na unni?” Su-jin spoke all at once.

“Breathe Kim Su-jin. Ha-na is right here.” He smiled.

“I want to talk to her.” Su-jin said.

“Are you preferring her over me now?” Jin-wook said as he passed the phone to Ha-na.

“Eo Su-jinah.” Ha-na said.

“Unni unni, how was your trip? Is Busan nice?” Su-jin asked.

Ha-na smiled, she could imagine her bouncing up and down. “Busan is nice, the air is very relaxing. You should see how big the land is. I think I even saw some horses as we were coming into town.” Ha-na said.

“Aww, I wish I could have been there with you. Maybe next time, we can all go together, you, me and appa.” Su-jin said.

“You’d have to discuss that with him.” She said.

“Hold on, halmoni wants to talk to you.” Su-jin said.

Ha-na felt her palm get sweaty, this was her first time talking to Jin-wook’s mother.

“Yeobseyo.” The older woman’s voice came clear over the phone. She had such a gentle voice, it reminded her of her own mother.

“Omoni annyeonghaseyo.” She said.

“Song Ha-na, right? Jin-wookie’s girlfriend? It’s so nice to talk to you. Su-jin has been talking non-stop about you since she got here. She told me all about how you stayed with her in the hospital and how you took such good care of her. Thank you very much.” She said.

“Aigoo omoni, no need to thank me. I love Su-jin a lot.” Ha-na replied. She was happy that Jin-wook’s mother seemed to like her.

“I’ll send some kimchi with Su-jin when you get back from your trip.”

“Aigoo, kamsahabnida omoni. I’ll eat it deliciously.” Ha-na replied.

“Unni, I miss you so much.” Su-jin said.

“I miss you too sweetheart. Make sure you go to bed immediately you finish talking to your father, it’s already late and you need to get plenty of rest since you’re still recovering.” Ha-na said.

“Neh, I understand.” Su-jin giggled.

“Su-jinah, be good for your grandmother okay? I’ll see you on Sunday. What do you want from Busan?” Jin-wook said after Ha-na handed him the phone.

“Something delicious and something pretty.” Su-jin replied.

“Arasso. I love you sweetheart. Goodnight.” He said.

“I love you too daddy.” Su-jin replied and gave the phone back to her grandmother.

“Eomma, I’ll talk to you some other time. Sleep well. I love you.” Jin-wook said to his mother and hung up.

“Your mother seems so nice, her voice was so soothing I could feel all my fatigue melting away.” Ha-na said.

“My mother is very nice and she’s someone who gives a lot of love, Su-jin gets that from her.”

“Ah.”

“You should get to bed now since you’re so tired.”

“Ah, well goodnight then.” She got up and he followed her. She tilted her head askance.

“I want to see you to your room, if that’s okay.”

“Are you sure it’s not just because you don’t want to be away from me?” she teased and he began to stutter. “It’s okay to be a little obvious about your feelings, how would I know them otherwise?” She asked as they walked together. “Here we are, goodnight Jin-wookssi.” She said and went in.

“Goodnight Ha-na.” He replied quietly before smacking his forehead. “You’re such an idiot.” He smiled to himself then he went into his room.