~Ren~

I woke up, taking in the cream colored walls and elegant furnishings. It took a few moments for everything to come back to me. I was here, at the Palace of Lights, in the Spirit World. It hadn’t just been a dream or nightmare. It was reality. How was that even possible?

I got up quickly and went to the balcony- it was sunset, so I couldn’t have slept for too long, maybe only a few hours. I went back inside, showered, and changed into my old clothes, and then I went to find Sulli. She was sitting at the foot of the staircase on the first floor, resting her head on top of her knees.

“Hey,” I greeted her.

She stood up and smiled faintly at me. “Ready to go see the city now?”

I shrugged. “This is too weird. I didn’t think the Spirit World would be this way. Actually, I had never even known that it existed, so…”

“What? Are you disappointed or something? Come on, let’s go! I’m starving!” she exclaimed, grabbed my hand, leading me out of the palace and onto the streets.

Colorful glowing lanterns were strung up everywhere, transforming the blackness of the night to rainbow. There were huge crowds of spirits gathered around, eating, shopping, and there was even a traditional Korean dance festival in the city square. Sulli and I watched some of the performances, while chewing on some pink and green Chapssalddeok she bought for us to share. Then we headed to a small restaurant- there were only five tables to sit at and one guy working. We sat down at the table closest to the main wooden counter where the worker stood.

He grinned and hopped over the counter, going over to Sulli and hugging her. “What’s up?” he asked her when he pulled away. Then he glanced at me. “Who’s this?”

Sulli blushed. “I found him today, in the flower field beyond the gates. His name’s Ren.”

I bowed. “Nice to meet you.”

He gave me a nod. “I’m V. I own this restaurant.” V looked at Sulli again. “Did you find him a place to work?”

“Yeah, he’s going to start working in the Staff tomorrow with me.”

V raised his eyebrows. He had orange hair and his ears were pierced, wearing black triangle earrings. He wore a white collared shirt with a black tie and black pants- it was a school uniform. And he had on a lot of eyeliner. He didn’t seem like the type of person who would be friends with Sulli.

“Fancy. Look at you two, working for the Headmaster in the Palace of Lights. While I only have this place,” teased V.

“No, your restaurant is cool,” Sulli replied, giggling. “It has the best food in the Spirit World, other than the food we make at the palace, of course!”

“Really? I’m flattered that you think so, Sulli.” He laughed.

I started feeling uncomfortable, though I wasn’t sure why. “I’m hungry. Can we order?”

Sulli and I ordered our food and ate while V sat down at the table with us, making small talk. After eating, we said goodbye to V, who waved at us and winked at Sulli, who blushed again. I held the door open for her and followed her outside.

“Where are we going now?” I asked her.

“Hmm…let’s go to the lake.”

The lake was big and the moonlight reflected down on the water, making it gleam. We sat on a small boulder, gazing out at the lake.

“It’s so calm here,” I said. “The rest of the city is loud and busy. But the lake is probably my favorite place so far.”

“It’s my favorite place too. I used to come here all the time when I was new here.” She sighed, skipping pebbles in the water. “It feels like I’ve been here forever. You don’t age in the Spirit World, you know.”

“Then...what if you’ve been here for decades? Or even centuries? I mean, how can you tell?”

“I wonder about it too. I kept track the first few years I arrived here, but Headmaster Leeteuk found my calendar and confiscated it. So I have no idea how long I’ve been staying here.”

“Are you lost like me?” I looked over at her face that was illuminated by the moonlight.

“I didn’t have anyone to help me. I was the first human to come here.”

I bit my lip. “Why did he give me a new name?”

Sulli suddenly leaped to her feet, still not meeting my gaze. “He tries to keep us locked here by taking away our real names. Most of the people forgot their identities and who they were on Earth. The first thing to disappear from your mind is your name, so don’t forget yours. You need to write it down and hold onto it.”

“If I forget my name, I won’t be able to leave the Spirit World, right?” I got up beside her. “Did you forget yours?”

She nodded, her eyes focused on the water ahead of us. “I forgot mine long ago. We both want to leave, so let’s work together, okay? During work we can find ways to get information that will help us escape.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Let’s do that, then.”

“I’ve always wanted to return to Earth,” admitted Sulli. “My heart has never once wanted to remain here. It’s never felt like home to me; I only feel like a wanderer.”

The urge to protect her suddenly came onto me, even though she was the one who was protecting me. I think I was starting to fall for her. Even though I hadn’t even known for a whole day yet, but there was something special about her, maybe in the way she saw things. She seemed pure, like an angel. She’d saved my life and was still helping me. What made her want to help me? She could just focus on herself getting home, but she wanted to find a way for both of us. Was that just her nature to help others? Or by chance, was she starting to like me too? I had never dated anybody before and these feelings were so unfamiliar to me still. I didn’t know what this was. I didn’t know what was starting. Looking at her, my heart began to pound in my chest. Maybe I was just going crazy. After all, I was in the land of the dead- how much crazier could my life get after this? I didn’t want to find out. I wanted to go back to Earth, back to Minhyun, Baekho, JR, and Aron, and back to my family. I couldn’t get caught up in a crush; I needed to think of the people who were waiting for me.

As if reading my mind, Sulli said, “Time doesn’t pass on Earth for us when we’re gone. When we return, it will be like not even a second has gone by in our absence.”

I narrowed my eyes. “So…we’ll return to the same exact moment in which we left, you mean? And nobody will have realized we were ever gone?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

I supposed that was good, at least. My friends and family wouldn’t have to worry about where I was or miss me. But I would be worrying about them and missing them anyway.

“So do you remember your life on Earth?” I asked Sulli.

She shook her head, skipping more rocks into the lake. “No, I don’t. I forgot everything.”

“Oh. I’m sorry…”

“Why are you saying sorry? It’s not like it’s your fault or anything. It’s my fault for not being able to get out of here fast enough. Who knows how long I’ve been wasting my time in this world.”

“But it’s not your fault, either, Sulli. It’s nobody’s fault, to be honest. So you shouldn’t blame yourself over it.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess…” She skipped the last rock. “Let’s go back now.”

We returned to the Palace of Lights and stopped just outside her room. She turned back to glance at me. “You’re not tired, are you? Or do you want to rest?”

I raised my eyebrows. “I guess it doesn’t matter. Do you have something in mind?”

Sulli unlocked the door and we went inside. “Write down your name,” she told me, handing me a small slip of paper and ink.

I wrote my full name. “What now?”

“Keep it. Put it somewhere safe, somewhere nobody will be able to find it.”

I gave it to her. “You keep it then. I lose things easily.”

“You seriously want me to take care of your name?” she snickered, and placed the paper in a small gray chest.

I chuckled. “Let me guess- yours is in there, too, right?”

She gasped mockingly. “Oh, how did you know? Don’t worry, I won’t lose it. I don’t lose things easily like you do,” she teased.

“Good to know.”

Sulli showered as I looked at some of her stuff. She had a lot of journals filled with paintings, poetry, and details about the Spirit World that I had no idea about yet. “I didn’t know you were so artistic,” I called out.

She came out of the bathroom, wearing a pink bathrobe, her hair up in a towel. “I’ve always been this way,” she answered, and started ironing her work uniform. I coughed, quickly looking away and turning my attention back to her paintings, impressed by her art of magical lands and nature. Sulli hung up her uniform in the closet and climbed into her bed, pulling the covers up all the way to her chin.

“I’ll let you sleep,” I said, putting back the journals onto the bookshelf and walking to the door.

“Goodnight,” she whispered.

“Sweet dreams.” I switched off the light and left the room of darkness behind me.

Why was my heart still pounding so fast?