Of course, she already half-expected what’s going to happen even though she had hoped it will be different this time around since Donghae is unconscious. Unfortunately, it is still the same result as it had been when she tried it with him earlier that morning inside the store. She couldn’t quite fit into Donghae’s body. It’s like trying to fit a really baggy shirt where there are a lot of spaces to fill through.

She stood at the foot of the bed with her arm crossed on her chest as she regarded sleeping Donghae thoughtfully. How did it happen? When I don’t want to get inside him, I get inside him and when I really needed to, I can’t. She looked up at the ceiling with a resigned expression before leaving the room quietly in case Donghae woke up to find him hovering in front of his bed like a ghost. She could just imagine him accusing her of planning to inhabit his body while he was sleeping.

Which she would deny since it didn’t happen anyway.

She heaved a big sigh as she went out of Donghae’s apartment and decided to just saunter the neighborhood. There might be something that could trigger her memory, she just have to find it.

She watched as a couple of people pass by with their loud voices when she got outside and almost had a heart attack when she saw some people floating. No, wait. Spirits. They were spirits. She took a step back as one of them turned and looked at her with that very very sad eyes. She couldn’t tell if this soul is a dead spirit or a lost soul like her but the fear s up on her spine that she turned and walked fast on the opposite direction from where the souls started to gather to ogle her.

She only stopped when she turned the corner a few blocks from Donghae’s apartment. Sheesh, what the heck are they doing there? She looked back over her shoulder to make sure none of them followed her and started to walk in a leisurely pace after confirming that the spirits stayed where they are. She glanced at the wall by the sidewalk filled with graffiti drawings but then stopped when she caught sight of a number of flyers posted on it. She took a closer look and her heartbeat sped up when she read the writings.

Be the next idol.

Open auditions at VIP Enterntainment.

And beneath it is the address.

An address that she knew where to find.

A loud breath escaped from and a grin spread on her face and without thinking she sprinted to where she believes is where that building is located. Or sprinted in a slow motion. Goddamit! This is probably the reason why there are ghosts riding transport vehicles. No matter how hard she tried to use her legs, it just couldn’t run fast enough. It’s like running on a swimming pool. She just trudged to the bus stop and waited along with a middle aged woman and two teenagers.

She got on the bus when it stopped to let them in and sat down at the back looking out of the window. Okay, from what she knows, if her instinct is right, it would take at least 30 minutes to get there where she would get off at the Niliria Avenue where there is a coffee shop at the corner.

She spotted it and immediately slipped through the bus as it runs. She looked around, watching the sorroundings and felt nervous and happy at the same time. This. This is where she hangs out mostly whenever she visits Jiyong. She could see herself leaving the coffee shop with the cup in her hand, ready to meet Jiyong inside the VIP building.

She followed the direction of where the memory of herself is striding. Turned to the right on the next block, cross the street and there it is. She looked up at the building of modern architecture with angular glass façade and one which has the ostentatious VIP Entertainment logo at the top. She put a hand on her chest with a sigh of relief and ran over to it feeling exhilarated. Yes. It’s all coming back to her now. Her… greeting the security with a big smile, stopping to say hello to some people, going to elevator, pressing the 17th floor.

The floor where Jiyong’s office is located.

Of course she had to wait until someone is actually going to use the elevator as she can’t press the button herself. Since it’s already midnight, not a lot of people had the need to take the elevator as they had already gone home. She looked around wishing she had the power to send a message to someone telepathically.

Aha!

She spotted a maintenance crew walking towards the elevator and pressing the button. She immediately jumped inside when it opened with an anticipating smile of seeing Jiyong again. She could take the stairs as she doesn’t see a soul getting winded but it will take long whereas an elevator is the quickest. Because she couldn’t wait until she found Jiyong.

“C’mon, press seventeenth!” She urged the maintenance crew. “Seventeen! Seventeen! Seventeen!” She tried to project her command as she stared hard at the maintenance crew lifting his finger to press on the button.

But he pressed 12th.

“Dammit,” she muttered. Scowling, she waited until the elevator reached 12th and proceeded to take the stairs after they reached the floor but kept on grumbling to herself.

She hadn’t thought taking the stairs when you’re a spirit wouldn’t be tiring but it is. Thank god I didn’t decide to take the stairs earlier.

So, she can’t fly, can’t run fast, and apparently she can get tired. Geez. What are the benefits of being a spirit? Nada. If she had a body, she would probably be sweating like crazy right now.

She finally got to the 7th floor and her exasperation for taking the stairs disappeared as she saw the familiar lobby where a big empty desk was stationed at the front. Only a small light at the wall was opened and it shows the desk of Jiyong’s secretary. A very friendly middle aged woman who had been working with his family since she was in her teens. She stopped by as she looked at the immaculately clean desk of the secretary except for a framed photo of her family. She did remember the secretary is very very tidy and doesn’t want any papers cluttering her desk. She smiled at that as she let her fingers glide at the table top. Her head turned to the closed office door of Jiyong and felt a little nervous. What if he wasn’t here? Well, it’s not like she can do anything if he was here but she thought it would make her feel so much better if she could just see his face.

She slowly went to the door and slipped through.

And smiled widely as she recognized the silhouette of a man looking out of the glass walls. The only light inside his office was the screen of his open monitor.

“Jiyongie,” she breathed as she walked towards him. Her strides were slow as she reached him, letting her eyes travel on his face. He had a pensive expression as he looked outside, his brows furrowed deeply.

“GD,” she softly called. That was his nickname. The nickname that she had gave him when they were five as Jiyong had been too hard for her to pronounce and that time she was trying to learn the alphabet and GD was the easiest letters for her to say and that’s how Jiyong became GD. She also remembered that Jiyong really doesn’t like that nickname so she just used it whenever she wanted to annoy him. Oftentimes, Jiyong just tolerated her whenever she calls him by that nickname.

She lifted a lifted and gently touched his face but it only went through him. Oh, how she missed him. His hair had gotten longer and it looked like he lost a little weight. “When I wake up, I’m going to take you to that restaurant that served the most delicious steak. And I’m going to fatten you up, you can’t complain.” She might be looking like an idiot but maybe if she kept talking, Jiyong would feel her presence. “I don’t remember much but I would guess I would remember everything eventually. So wait for me, okay?” She just stood there in front of him as she just watched him, silently looking out the window. “Why are you so serious?” she asked with a smile. “What are you thinking?” Jiyong does have a knack to overthink things and she wished he could hear her because she could always calm him down.

She was startled when a knock sounded and Jiyong turned to find a man entering the room. “Kwon Jiyong,” he greeted.

Jiyong nodded as he went to his desk. “Tell me you have good news.”

The man opened his mouth then closed it again and Jiyong exhaled in dismay. “What have you got?”

“I have no leads, I’m sorry,” he said. “I went to the location of the accident and scoured the place for some clues or even witnesses. I couldn’t find any. The police can only give a little to no information and I have to pull some leg to at least get me the file report.” He took a folder in his bag and laid it on his table. “They only found one body inside the car. There is no mention of her. No fingerprints, not even a strand of hair. It’s like she wasn’t even there.”

She felt her heart stopped as she listened because she knows who they are talking about. Jiyong took the file and opened it and she leaned over to take a look.

There was a photo. A car that is exactly in her memories… wrecked into an unrecognizable vehicle with the windows smashed….

She screamed as the car slid off and fell down a cliff and kept on screaming until the car hit the tree and was flown forward and smahed her head on the windshield.

She took a step back as she remembered it the second time, her breath already coming in short gasps.

“No one had seen her, Mr. Jiyong,” the man continued. “The last sighting of her was when she left the hotel in that car the day of the accident.”

Jiyong closed the folder. “You’re telling me that she just disappeared?” He dropped the folder on the table with a shake of her head. “A hundred pound girl just disappeared out of thin air?”

“Mr. Jiyong, my men are also working in trying to locate Ms. Park. But it has already been three weeks with no sign of her. Not even a body. We cannot rule out the possibility that she might already be dead.”

“She is not dead!” Jiyong said with a clench of his jaw. “She can’t be.” He shook his head.

“The car had bullet holes, Mr. Jiyong. They shot the car. They killed the driver. The blackbox that was found had all the data erased.”

“No. No no.” Jiyong kept on shaking his head. “She’s still alive. I can feel it. Without… without seeing a dead body, I would believe she’s still alive. Whoever has her now… I swear to god I’m going to kill them….”

She put a hand on as she took a step back again, her eyes wide as her emotion went all in chaos. It’s true. Her memories are real. It wasn’t a distorted version of her accident. Somebody did tried to kill her.

And that someone has her.

She is a wandering soul. And her body is missing.

She is missing.

The revelation is so alarming that she doesn’t even know what to do. She wanted to scream and cry but her voice got stuck and she just kept on stepping back unable to listen to any more of this conversation. And before she even realized it, she felt someone tugging her at the same time that she stepped out of the edge and she was falling off the 17th floor, her hand raised up as couldn’t even scream.

And next thing she knew, her eyes snapped open and saw the white ceiling of a room and hearing the soft sound of a fan. She sat up immediately and looked down at herself.

With the same pajamas Donghae was wearing.

She didn’t waste time thinking it through. She stepped out of the bed, grabbed a pair of shoes and almost ran out of the apartment. She had a body and that’s all that matters. She will handle Donghae’s anger later but she needs to speak to Jiyong! She kept running then realized she’d have to take the damn bus.

“Ah crap, I don’t have any money,” she muttered as she slowed down. She doesn’t have time to get back in Donghae’s apartment to search where he keeps his wallet. She spotted a bicycle near the bush in front of a small house. She shook her head before she strode over there. Now she’s resorting to stealing. “It’s not stealing. I’m just… borrowing it,” she assured herself. Thankfully, there wasn’t a lock. She slowly wheeled it out and when she got it on the street, she hopped on it and pedaled her way to the VIP building.

She was able to get there in about less than an hour, a lot longer than when she used the bus. She kicked the bike stand and almost ran to the entrance.

But before she could even get inside, a security suddenly blocked her. “I’m sorry sir, the office is closed.”

“I need to speak with Jiyong,” she said with a tone of urgency,

The security looked at her—Donghae’s face—then down to his pajamas. “I’m sorry sir. Mr. Kwon is not in. You can return tomorrow.”

“No. I know he’s in there. I just saw him. I have to speak with him!” She tried to get past him but the security just grabbed her by the arm and pressed on the radio strapped on his shoulder.

“No, you don’t understand!” He had to believe her. “This is urgent! I have to talk to Jiyong!”

“Sir, please calm down. Office is closed and Mr. Kwon is not available to speak with you at the moment.” He pressed his radio again to call for some back up to prevent her from going inside.

She knows she can’t get anywhere if she started getting all hysterical so she put her hands up. “Alright, alright. I’m calm.” Then looked at them beseechingly, “Please. I just need to talk to Jiyong. Please!”

Two other security guards approached them, both looking cautious. “Sir, are you an employee of VIP?” One of the guards asked.

“No but I need to talk—”

“Can we see your ID?”

“I don’t have anything with me bu—"

“You can return tomorrow, sir,” the guard interrupted. “Once the office is open. It’s already midnight and Mr. Kwon Jiyong is not in.”

“I just saw him!” Of course they wouldn’t believe her. “Please just let me through. I know he’s in the seventeenth floor. I have to talk to him! It’s very important.” She tried to get past them again but they immediately blocked his way and the other guard grabbed her arm. “Oww!”

“Sir, we don’t want to use force but you need to leave the building,” the guard told him as he tried to drag her out.

“Please! This is really important!” She insisted. “Do you think I wasted my time going in here for some insignifcant matter to discuss with your Vice President? Let me go!” Then as if the heaven’s has answered her plea, she caught sight of Jiyong stepping out of the elevator. “Jiyong! Jiyong!!” She yelled.

Jiyong glanced at her direction before he stopped when the other security guard strode over to him, his hands waving as he explained the situation to the Vice President. His eyes went to her direction again as the guards tried to drag her out. “Jiyong!” she pleaded as she tried to keep them from hauling her out of the building. “Jiyong!! I know about the woman you’re looking for! I have some information!”

Jiyong’s face immediately transformed at that and he called the guards to a halt and ordered them to let her go. She almost lost her balance as they did but then stood up straight as Jiyong slowly walked over to her. The guards all stood by looking alert. But she ignored all that. Finally. Jiyong’s going to listen to her. He has to!

Jiyong studied the man standing in front of him in his light yellow pajamas with drawn cartoon characters and wearing a sneaker on one foot and a boot on the other. He is rather disheveled. He doesn’t have any idea why he would even listen to a stranger who looked unstable but he’s already losing hope of finding his best friend. And any information, even if it comes from a crazy looking man, would give him something. Any information is still an information. Whether it’ll be true or not.

“Who are you?” he asked. Jiyong didn’t know what to expect but it definitely wasn’t what the man did. He stook an involuntary step back feeling weird when the man started to cry as he looked at him with… is that fondness in his face?

“Jiyongie,” the strange man sobbed. “It’s me.” Jiyong cocked his head as he waited for him to explain who me is. “I’m the woman you’re looking for.” The man pointed at himself. “I’m your best friend.”

“Owww!” She fell on the asphalt as the security guards had all but thrown her outside of the building and when she looked up, Jiyong is already walking away with another guard in tow, probably to protect the boss from a deranged man in his pajamas. “Jiyong,” she sobbed as she sat down, dismay coursing through her. A tear ran down her cheek as she glanced at the sneaker that came off her feet… or Donghae’s feet.

Of course. Who would believe her? She’s inside a body of the opposite . Why would Jiyong believe her? She wiped her tears as she took the sneaker and slipped it on before getting back on her feet. She stared at the closed entrance of the building as she felt so disheartened at the turn of this… situation though she can’t blame Jiyong for not believing her. Yes, she knew she should’ve made a plan but given that somebody had really tried to kill her and that she is really missing… she doesn’t have any time to plan. She can’t even give Jiyong her name. The woman he was supposedly looking for.

She turned to leave with her head down as she tried not to cry loudly. She just wanted to find where she could’ve been? Where she might be. Is that too much to ask? She kept on walking while she let the tears run down her face as she tried to count the minutes she might have left in this earth. Maybe tomorrow Donghae would see that she is no longer alive and will tell her she’s already a dead soul. Like the one she had seen earlier. She sobbed even more ignoring the looks and stares of some people she passed by at that time of night. They don’t