[June 3^rd, 2017]

Ye Seul… You dummy. How can you leave without even saying goodbye?

He dialed her phone number for what was the umpteenth time, only for it to go to voicemail once more. He gave a troubled sigh as he exited the biology building and paused to look up at the sky. The air was heavy with humidity and the clouds above cast the city below in a shroud of gloomy darkness. It had begun to rain.

It’s raining again…

He made a weak attempt to shield himself from the rain with the back of his hands as he began to walk towards the main building. If she was really going to leave, she would have to turn in papers with administration, right?

Then his phone rang—it was Jungkook.

“Hyung, she’s at the pool.”

And then he began to run, the rain beating rhythmically into the ground with every heavy step he took.  By the time he reached the building, he was drenched from head to toe. Drops of rain dripped from his jet black locks as he stood in the elevator, waiting for its doors to close and take him to the fourth floor.

He frowned as the doors stood open for what seemed like an abnormally long period. He pressed the close button and was appalled to see that it didn’t work either.

Damn it!

He exited the elevator and began to run towards the stairs, where his waterlogged sneakers squeaked frantically with every step he climbed. After running up four flights of stairs without even pausing to catch his breath, he grabbed the handle of the door and inhaled sharply.   

For some reason, he was scared. In fact, he was absolutely terrified.

Then he turned the knob.

The pool had closed early for the day—so the room itself was dark. Faint traces of light drifted into the room from the square windows that were embedded into the large back wall of the room. The pool itself seemed to be glowing, its waters a mesmerizing hue of turquoise. And there, in the very center of the pool, underneath the water, he saw the striking color of orange.

Something flashed across his mind—a blurred memory. The mixture of orange and blue…

He held his breath as he quietly entered the huge room. His heart was beating furiously with both fear and fascination. He watched her from behind the open door.

Ye Seul was completely submerged in the water, swimming back and forth across the pool in a leisurely manner. Her arms stretched before her she fueled herself through the water, kicking ever so slightly with the backs of her feet. It hit Hoseok as strange how relaxed her limbs seemed to be—it seemed almost as if she was being carried by the water instead of swimming. Humans… didn’t swim like that.

He watched her swim in silence, transfixed by the beauty. She looked as if she were one with the water.

Wait… What the hell…

His heart stopped dead in its tracks and his breath caught in his throat. His blood went cold with the realization that she had been swimming for over ten minutes without… coming up for a single gulp of air.

No way…

Then, all of a sudden, she broke the surface of the water and desperately clung to the side of the pool. A shaky breath shuddered from her lips as her body began to tremble. It was as if she were freezing. Then she began to cough uncontrollably, causing splatters of sickly red to fall onto the floor. She wiped the blood from her lips and pulled herself out of the pool.

“Y-Ye Seul! Are you okay?!” 

She turned around and faced him, her expression a mix of both shock and fear. In that very moment, she was petrified. Then her lips molded together into a thin line as she began to walk towards the exit.   

Hoseok sprinted after her and grabbed her by the wrist, turning her around to face him.

“Tell me what’s going on. Why you’re coughing blood—”

He paused halfway as his gaze met hers. She was shaking her head ever so slightly as hot tears rolled down her cheeks.   

“Ye Seul…”

“Jung Hoseok… You idiot.”

“Ye Seul…”

“This is goodbye, do you not understand?”

Then, without even knowing what he was doing, he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her. He held her tightly for a long moment as she sobbed into his chest, her arms hanging lifelessly at her sides. Then she pulled away from him and shook her head harder this time. The boy looked at her, utterly crestfallen.

“Ye Seul…” All he could do was repeat her name. Countless words lingered on the tips of his tongue, but he couldn’t bring himself to utter them.

“You’re too damn nice, goddamnit! Why do you try so hard to make others happy?! Why do you worry about others so much? Why are you so…” Her voice faltered as another tear fell from her eye. Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper, when she spoke again. “Why are you so selfless?”

“Don’t be like—”

“Goodbye, Hoseok. And… thank you.”

“Don’t go, Ye Seul.”

He reached for her once more, only for her to quicken her pace and exit the room. The sound of the door slamming shut echoed off the walls and all the boy was left with was a broken heart. He pressed his back against the closed door as he sat down on the tiled floor, a heavy sigh emerging from his throat. He raised his head and gazed through the glass ceiling. His eyes settled on the pitch black sky that stretched above, littered with miniature stars that glistened like tears. A tear of his own trailed down his cheek. He felt as if his world had crashed into the ground, obliterating every trace of happiness that had once existed. It felt suffocating. 

Is this really goodbye?

--

And on the other side of the door, Ye Seul sat with her knees pulled up to her chest as she continued to cry silently. All the memories she had made with Hoseok played through her mind like a broken record—over and over again. The beautiful way his lips curved into a smile whenever she told him something. The way he would laugh at her jokes even when they weren’t funny. The way he had made her heart flutter and her insides fill with butterflies.

She was an idiot. She had fallen in love with a human.

 In the next life… Let’s meet again.