Prologue

. . .

L, dressed in the typical all black Reaper attire, waited in the dim hospital room.

He looked at his pocket watch that hung from the inside of his coat.

2:04am.

Just two more minutes.

Looking up from his gold watch, L watched as the old man, Park Jungwon, took in slow but steady breaths. He was sleeping soundly, dreaming lightly even.

By his bedside were his daughter and son-in-law. His daughter, Son Taemi, had her head on his bed as her hand clutched on to his. Her husband, Son Jaehyung, slept softly on the sofa by the window.

In the past, L felt pain whenever he took the souls from the body. He even cried. But he’s done it so many times – too many times that were no emotional attachment left.

He checked his watch again.

2:06am.

Rising from his seat, L glided over towards the hospital bed. He took out his necklace and unlatched the scythe pendent. Once the pendent was free from the silver chain, it grew to the typical scythe size – almost as tall as L himself. He held it over it over Park Jungwon and softly tapped his forehead. A white light shown from the body and Park Jungwon’s soul emerged.

Park Jungwon, no longer looking like an elderly man, looked towards L with sadness in his eyes before he took a look at his family before him.

“Can I stay a while longer?” he asked the seemingly younger man.

Once again, L glanced down at his watch before taking out a white sheet of paper from the inner pocket of his blazer.

“The bus leaves in four hours.”

Park Jungwon carefully took the ticket while bowing to show his gratitude.

L nodded curtly before turning to leave.

“How is the other side?” Park Jungwon asked before L had a chance to leave.

L offered the elderly man a faint smile.

“I’m not sure; I’ve never been there.”

And then he left just before Park Taemi awoke from the sound of her father flat lining.

. . . . .

L transported himself just a couple of blocks away from the hospital. He had another meeting but it was still quite early. Usually, they had more questions to ask him about death since he was a Reaper but Park Jungwon didn’t seem too curious.

It spared L more time for himself.

He traveled around the world, picking up souls from every single corner – from young to old. Seoul has always left an imprint in his heart. It felt like home to him.

There’s a saying that Reapers were once alive as humans too, that when they died somebody deemed their soul well enough to be a Reaper. L figured that if he were a human in the past, he must have lived in Seoul – he must have been a Korean.

He walked in the dead of the night. The streets were empty, except for a few stray cars and a couple of men outside of a club.

Nobody saw him, it’s not like they could.

But he wished they were able to.

Since as far as he could remember, L always had a strange fascination with humans – especially their emotion called Love.

As a Reaper, he didn’t feel Love.

Reapers were forbidden to feel that.

That’s why they weren’t allowed to interact with humans. He’s heard rumours of Reapers who fall in love – but he’s never met a Reaper who knew Love.

After all, it was forbidden.

. . . . .

“Yo, L!”

L turned around at the sound of someone hollering for him. He saw a tall young man with shaggy hair and a gummy smile jogging up towards him.

“Oh, S…. How was the trip?”

S was L closest friend. They became Reapers around the same time and they were around the same age – S was only slightly older.

“Great!” S enthusiastically answered, showcasing his wide grin again. “I had so much fun in Paris as my day as a human.”

Reapers were allowed a one day a year to be human – meaning, they were to associate with humans. It was served as a gift for all their hard work.

“When are you going on yours’?” S asked, walking along with L as they both headed towards two large French doors.

They came to a halt in front of the doors and motioning he had to head in with his thumb, L replied, “Today actually.”

S offered him a pat on the back.

“Have fun, man.”

Placing his hand on the large brass door handle, L smiled back.

“I’ll see you in twenty four hours.”

The door L entered was quite comfy in space despite for the fifteen feet ceilings. The walls were shelves filled to the absolute brim of books, odds and ends and knick-knacks.

In the middle of the room, before the floor to ceiling arched stain glass window, was a large cluttered cherry oak desk. It was large in size – not matching the size of the small white bearded man behind it.

Respectfully, L bowed before he approached the desk.

“Ah, L.” The old man looked up from the thick book laid out in front of him to react to the young man. “Are you ready for your trip?”

L smiled faintly.

“Of course, Claude.”

Claude was somebody reminiscent of Dumbledore except lacking in the height department. He wore robes in the mahogany shade and a matching hat placed on his balding head. He is one of the original Reapers and serves as the Leader of them all.

Heavily, he stood from his velvet chair and strode towards a globe at the other end of the room. L followed him with his eyes.

Spinning the globe around, Claude glanced towards him.

“Where do you plan on going this year?”

Without missing a beat, L responded, “Seoul.”

. . . . .

12:21pm – Eleven hours & thirty-nine minutes left

When Reapers became human for a day, there were still rules they had to follow.

Getting into trouble was forbidden – if they caused trouble in the human world, they will surely face dire consequences when they returned to their Reaper life-style.

Creating a big impact for the public was also not unacceptable. What it meant was that you can’t let a large group of people know about your presence. In simpler terms, becoming famous was banned. The consequence was grave if it were to happen.

And the most important rule, that followed them from their Reaper lifestyle, do not get emotionally attached to any humans.

Unlike the two previous rules, L didn’t know what the punishment was for the third rule. Nobody broke it – well, no Reaper he knew ever broke the third rule.

Strolling through Hongdae, Seoul, L was intently watching the university students interact with each other.

His Reaper form and human form weren’t any different – the only big difference was that his scythe necklace was gone and he wasn’t wearing an outfit more suitable for a funeral.

University students always caught his eye the most. Physically, he was 20 years old, about the same age as the students. Despite being the same age, technically, L barely interacted with them. Whenever he became human, L kept to himself, speaking to the occasional café baristas just to order.

One couple caught his attention. They were taking various cute poses of one another.

He smirked.

“Ulzzangs,” he mumbled under his breath.

Being a frequent tourist in South Korea, L was very well-informed.

He watched them as they fooled around, having fun and saving the memory with a photograph. He’s always wanted that – always wanted to snap pictures. Photography was one of the things he wished to incorporate in his Reaper lifestyle but he doubted departing souls would want to have their pictures taken.

L was too busy eyeing the couple that he failed to notice people were crossing the street he had to cross already. He looked around and saw the time to cross the street was almost up but he decided to cross, not having the patience to wait again for the next round.

He stepped onto the road only to find himself being pulled back and the blaring sound of car’s horn ringing in his ears.

His breath caught in his throat as he realized he almost faced a death experience.

When Reapers turned human for a day, they were still immortal. If they were to accidentally die during their trip, they simply return to their Reaper Lifestyle. The only thing that was a negative about dying during their human day was that their trip was cut prematurely.

L began to wonder what would happen if he were hit by the car – how disappointed Claude will be and how S will hold it over his head for eternity.

“You should really be more careful crossing streets here,” a voice uttered, bringing him out of his thoughts.

Cautiously, L turned his head to look at the person who saved him in the nick of time.

And for the first time since he became a Reaper, L felt his heart.

. . . . .

His heart felt a familiarity with the girl in front of him despite seeing her for the first time. There was a foreign feeling in the pit of his stomach as he heart felt like it was going burst from his ribcage. There was a mixture of various emotions overwhelming him: happiness, familiarity, comfort, nervousness, excitement and something else, something mind-blowing and heavenly.

“Are you okay? The girl spoke again.

“Uh… uh…” he uncomfortably stuttered.

 L felt like face-palming. He wasn’t impressively articulate or anything but he never stuttered.

Pulling himself together, L heaved in a healthy amount of oxygen.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

The girl sighed.

“That’s good.” There a moment of silent that felt on them before the girl spoke up again. “Are you new to Hongdae?”

“Eh?” L wondered out loud. He’s been to Hongdae so many times – how was new to it? Then again, he almost foolishly got himself hit by a car. “No, I’m not new to Hongdae, I was just too deep in thought.”

She chuckled at him.

“Well, you’re just lucky I was here then.”

L nodded, showing her a bit of gratitude.

“Thank you for that,” he managed to say. “Your reflexes are pretty fast.”

Even if it was just a tint, she blushed and humbly disregarded what he said.

“It’s nothing,” she waved him off; “I couldn’t just stand by and let a good-looking guy get hurt, right?” Her eyes widened as good-looking slipped from .

This time, it was L’s turn to chuckle. He found her slight awkwardness to be endearing.

The girl sighed at herself, shaking her head.

“I’m Oh Hayoung, by the way.” She stuck out her hand and he took it softly.

Oh Hayoung.

He repeated the name in his head over and over again until he felt his lips curling into a smile.

“Kim Myungsoo.”

Of all the names to choose from, L chose that to be his Korean name. Kim was an obvious choice since Reapers were supposed to blend in as humans. Choosing the most common Korean surname was the plausible choice.

As for Myungsoo, it just came to him as a spur of the moment thing. Actually, L enjoyed the comedian, Park Myungsoo, and the name kind of stuck since.

Hayoung looked over at Hongdae University and back at Myungsoo.

“Are you a student then?”

“No,” he shook his head firmly. “I was just on my way… to… uh…” There he goes again, uncharacteristically stuttering. “Café Homeo.”

“Really?” Hayoung remarked, eyes wide and sparkling. “I was heading over there myself,” she further elaborated, which explained her stunned expression.

Fumbling around, Myungsoo stuffed his hands into the not-so comfortable pockets of his navy blue jeans.

“I see,” was all he managed to say.

“Well, since we are headed the same way, we should…” Hayoung paused for a moment, reevaluating what she was going to say. “We should head over together… Uh, keep each other company… Save you from on-coming traffic,” she cleverly added to end that tension.

He smirked at her before agreeing, “Okay, let’s go then.”

As they headed over to the café, in the back of L’s mind, his subconscious told him not to get to close to Hayoung. He found it strange part of him was telling him to be wary of her. She seemed like a perfectly nice, pretty, young girl.  

L shrugged his shoulders at himself.

As long as he doesn’t break any rules, there was no reason for him to worry.

. . . . .

Café Homeo was located in the opposite direction most people preferred in Hongdae. Not only was it a café, it was a furniture store as well. The atmosphere was very laid back. On busy days, students came by to study and to get away from the usually loud world.

Even when it was considered busy, the café remained to be a quiet, laid-back establishment.

“Do you go this café often?” Hayoung wondered, making small talk.

“Whenever I have the time.”

L was trying his best not to lie but it was hard when he only visited the café one a year during his human day. As a full-time Reaper, it’s not like he frequented the place. No deaths took part there.

“How about you?”

Hayoung was a still a student – that much he could tell. However, he wasn’t sure whether or not she was still a high school student or a university student.

“I need to think of a story for school by Monday,” she replied, with a hint of irritation in her tone. “It has to be a romance story but frankly, I’m not good in that department.”

“Why romance?” Myungsoo asked, understanding how she felt. He too was clueless in that area.

She shrugged.

“I think my teacher is in love.”

He choked at her answer, which wasn’t even a proper answer.

“Why do you say that?”

“It’s the only reason I can think of on why she gave us the theme of romance,” she muttered. “I mean, there are two types of people who want to read about love: Those in love and those who want it… And I don’t think my teacher is that desperate enough to want to experience love through the stories of 17 year olds.”

Actually, with her being a first year high school student, Hayoung and her classmates were only 16 years old or turning 16 years old before the end of the year.

Myungsoo chuckled at the answer. Hayoung was a refreshingly odd girl with unique quirks and charms. What she said didn’t make much sense but, yet, he understood her.

He understood her and was surprisingly comfortable around her despite coming across as awkward and timid.

“Maybe your teacher just expects you guys to have experience already,” he lamely suggested.

She gasped when a revelation hit her.

“What if she using this as a way to find out who has a love-life?”

He frowned at her and at the same time he was awestruck by her statement.

They were in front of the café entrance and both were quite surprised at how quick they arrived. The walk went by much faster than normal.

Myungsoo held the door open for her.

“I highly doubt your teacher cares about the romance in the lives of teenagers,” he stated his honest opinion.

“You’re right,” Hayoung gave in while simultaneously looking for a table. “Thanks for keeping me company.” Looking back up at him, she politely bowed.

“No problem…” he solemnly acknowledged. There was a slight feeling of disappointment that their conversation came to an end but Myungsoo figured Hayoung was going to meet up with her friends to work on their project for school.

Once again, she bowed at him.

“Have fun with your friends, Myungsoo-sshi.”

He blinked at her, clueless. How did she get the impression that he was going to be dining with company?

“I’m not meeting with any friends,” Myungsoo pointed out.

Hayoung looked back over her shoulders.

“Ah, seriously?”

“Ne… Are you meeting with your friends?”

This time it was her turn to deny.

“No.”

Every time Hayoung pulled away, L felt it was right to hold on tighter even when part of him was wary about her.

He was having a good-time, why end it so soon?

L looked at the clock.

1:16pm.

There were still ten hours and forty-four minutes left before his day would come to an end.

“Actually, I was meeting someone here,” he said.

Her face fell for a brief moment.

“Ah, I see….”

Myungsoo sent her a smile.

“Her name is Oh Hayoung. She’s a dongsaeng but we’re not close,” he explained cheekily. “I don’t know much about her but she’s pretty cool.”

Hayoung laughed at him, radiating. And all Myungsoo could do was stare. To him, the world slowed down and nothing else was in focus except for the girl before him. It was if there a spotlight beaming down on her – actually, no, it was if she was illuminated herself as the background faded to a gradient gray.

He was dazzled, almost blinded even.

“Well, I’m meeting with Kim Myungsoo-oppa,” she chimed in, breaking his trance. “So, while we wait for our friends, let’s keep each other company.”

“Ne.”

Not only was his heart pounding but so was his worried subconscious.

But it’s not like he was breaking any rules.

. . . . .

“Do you come from Seoul?” Hayoung asked, more interested in Myungsoo than her assignment which was due in two days.

He smacked his lips together, not knowing whether to lie with a yes or tell the truth with a no.

“No.” Friendships shouldn’t be based on lies, L figured. “I actually come from abroad – London, England.”

Partially, what he said was true. The Reapers always returned to England, well, some unknown part of that wasn’t accessible to humans or animals. It was a place over London but below the clouds and the heavens.

Like a middle-upper earth.

“Harry Potter,” was the first thing that came to her mind and escaped her lips when Myungsoo mentioned his ‘homeland’.

He blinked at her youthful mind before chuckling.

“Yeah, the land of Harry Potter,” he mused.

“Ah, you must be fluent in English then.” Myungsoo nodded his head. Then she sighed, “Why didn’t I save you two weeks ago for my English exam?”

Laughing, Myungsoo found himself to be idealizing her simplistic yet perceptive mind.

“My English name is Christina,” Hayoung stated in English. It wasn’t bad – actually, it quite above average but it sounded to be the only thing she knew in English. “How was that?”

“It was actually pretty good. Can you say any more?” He replied back in English, purposefully confusing her.

“Aha… Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday… Tomato…”

Myungsoo held up his hand, stopping her as he chuckled into the sleeve of his other arm.

She sulked at him.

“I know it is Thursday but my accent is really bad when I say it.”

Their orders came during their concise English conversation.

Myungsoo ordered Caffé Latte. It was a hard choice for him actually. It was a tossup between that or Cappuccino. Obviously, he went with the latter. There was also a three hearts drawn into his foam.

Hayoung wanted hot chocolate but she wanted something with a kick, so she concluded with Caffé Mocha. The design in her cup was a bunny with ears shaped into a heart.

Shifting glances between his mug and hers’, L had a perplexed look in his eyes. Then he looked over to the counter were the baristas were working on more drinks.

“Do they have a thing here for hearts here or what?”

Simply, she shrugged at what he pointed out.

“They usually do hearts when the customers they are serving are couples,” she innocently stated all while taking a slow slip of her drink.

Myungsoo was drinking as well but nearly choked on his drink.

“I think they have the wrong impression of us,” Hayoung deduced.

Placing down her mug with careful hands, she failed to realize some whipped cream stained her top lip.

“I see you’re still quite young,” he said with a smile while gesturing at .

In most cases, the guy would wipe the cream off but Myungsoo didn’t want to cross any boundaries and it wasn’t like him to be cliché or romantic. And he didn’t want to give the baristas another reason to assume they were a couple.

Instead, he casually handed her a napkin.

“Thanks,” she shyly blushed while accepting the tissue. She dabbed clean her lip, looking back at the laptop in front of her. “Maybe I’ll write about a couple in a coffee shop.” Then an idea hit her. “Oh, I can write about a girl pretending to be a guy in a coffee shop.”

Myungsoo just stared at her. Hoping she would realize that plot was already long taken.

And she didn’t.

“Yah, do you want to get in trouble for plagiarism?” He retorted.

“Why?” Blinking, Hayoung had no clue what he was talking about.

He rolled his eyes.

“Yah, haven’t you heard of Coffee Prince?”

Hayoung snapped her fingers when she finally caught on.

“Man, I could have been a millionaire if I thought of that story first,” she sulked, rested her head into her hand as she backspaced a few letters on her laptop.

“What were you, eleven when the drama came out?”

“Twelve in Korean age,” she cheekily corrected. “Anyway, I’ll keep the idea of a café since it looks like everyone else here is a couple.”

Hayoung looked around at the other couples who sat at tables only for two people. She and Myungsoo sat on a large pine dining type of table near a thick framed mirror at the end of the café.

“You can base the main guy on someone handsome, like me,” Myungsoo jokingly suggested.

“Try not to flatter yourself too much, oppa,” she said, shooting down his suggestion harshly. “Hmm, maybe I can base him on Lee Taemin, Lee Joon or Lee Chunji…”

Listing down popular male idols, Myungsoo found himself frowning at her.

“Do you have something against people with other surnames?” He questioned, trying his best to not come across affected.

“I was just listing popular Idols,” she innocently countered. “Jealous?”

“Whatever.”

Typing a paragraph, Hayoung began with the story taking place during a sunny, cool day in autumn. Her nameless main character was walking through a street filled with small shops, café and bakeries.

Besides that, she had nothing else – no plot and no other characters.

“Should I make the story happy or sad?” Asking for his opinion, Hayoung glanced up at him.

Myungsoo kept his eyes focused on the latte he was carefully drinking.

“Both,” he answered definitely.

“That doesn’t help me,” she frowned. “Maybe I’ll kill off the couple at the end…”

He scoffed.

“Yah, do you have a thing for plagiarizing other famous stories?” First Coffee Prince and now Romeo and Juliet, what next?

Laying down her head on the keyboard of her laptop, Hayoung groaned miserably.

“But I really can’t think of anything, oppa. I don’t want to write about someone having a crush because I bet that’s what everyone else is going to write but it seems to be the easiest route to get this story done.”

Myungsoo admired the fact she didn’t want to write the typical story about crushes – that she wanted to be different from the rest of her classmate – she didn’t want to take the easy way out.

He could tell she was a hard worker.

“So basically, you want to write a story about somebody falling in love quickly? Like at first sight?” He concluded.

She brought her head up, propping it with her chin.

“I guess but does that even exist?” Hayoung looked at him this time, like really looked at him with clear focus in her eyes.

Suddenly, he felt his face begin to heat up and his hearting was causing a chaos in his ribcage.

Avoiding her eyes, Myungsoo turned his head away and cleared his throat.

“No idea,” he responded concisely.

“You’ve never been in love before, oppa?”

“No.”

“Hah….”

It amazed Hayoung that somebody like Myungsoo had never fallen in love before. He was handsome, charming – and all around nice guy, so, she didn’t understand how he was still single.

“I would imagine love at first sight as seeing someone you feel a profound attachment too. You’re comfortable around them. It’s not necessarily love yet but fondness; however you are prepared to love them further, flaws and all.” Myungsoo spoke with an air of wisdom. “Just seeing them makes you happy – complete even. In simpler terms, I guess, it’s just seeing someone who can make you smile, sincerely smile.

Staring intently at him, Hayoung noticed herself to be smiling at him, maybe even turning a pale shade of pink.

“Are you sure you don’t know anything about love?”

He just shrugged.

And from that moment on, from the moment he said his thoughts about love, L knew he was screwed – undeniably screwed.

. . . . .

7:48pm – Fours hours & twelve minutes left.

“You really didn’t have to stay until I finish my homework,” Hayoung commented as they walked through the quiet street leading to the train station. “And you really didn’t have to walk me to station.”

“I just wanted to make sure you weren’t going to plagiarize another story like You’re Beautiful or Boys over Flowers or Shut up Flower Boy Band,” Myungsoo teased.

“Haha, very funny.” She bumped into him with her shoulder.

“And I’m not walking you to the station for your sake, I’m walking for mine,” he continued to play around, “Who knows, I may get almost run over again.”

This time, she lightly punched his arm, well, it was supposed to be lightly but she didn’t control her strength enough.

He flinched at the pain.

“Yah, that really hurt.”

“Sorry, that you got hurt by a little girl,” she mocked him.

Myungsoo pouted.

The station was on the other side of the intersection. In a couple of minutes, they’ll part. Hayoung will continue her regular life and he’ll go back to escorting lives to the afterlife. The only time he may see her again if he reaps her soul when it’s her time to pass.

They began to cross the street, Myungsoo regretting each step he took. The closer they got to the station, the more he grew depressed.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Myungsoo-oppa,” she started her farewell speech already when he noticed a pair of bright lights heading their way without an intention of stopping.

Without hesitating, Myungsoo turned them around. If it anyone was going to get the brunt of the impact, it would be him.

The car sped passed them, only missing them by a few inches.

They remained in close contact, with his arms around her shoulders protectively.

“Uh…” she managed to utter all while looking at his face, eyes wide in shock. “ Uh… Are you okay?”

Once he glanced down at her, Myungsoo noticed how close they were and backed off.

“Are you okay,” he returned the question but in a more worried tone.

“I guess you paid me back when I helped you earlier. Thank you.” They continued to cross the street – they were already half way across. “There are too many crazy drivers in Korea.”

“You’re telling me,” he mumbled too himself.

A lot of the souls L reaped were from car accidents. Crazy drivers inhabited every single corner of the world.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“Nothing… Nothing.”

They stood in front of the entrance of the station.

Hayoung bowed, catching him off guard.

“Thanks for spending time with me, for helping me with my homework and protecting me from that car,” she humbly and sweetly said, showing her gratitude. “I was really fortunate today that I met you.”

He smiled down at himself.

“Well, if I didn’t meet you today, I would have been hit by the car.”

“True,” she playfully grinned. “I guess, you’re lucky to have met me too?” It was more of a question, like a question of approval.

“Yeah.”

“I had fun today and, I don’t want to come across as blunt, but do mind if I can get your phone number?”

He stopped breathing. Phone number? He had no number. The place Myungsoo lived in had no service. And all his time was spent doing his job. Being a Reaper was 24/7.

“How about if I get your number?” Myungsoo asked, turning the tables. “I need a new cell phone and plan, so, I currently have no phone at the moment.”

“Ah, okay!” Swinging her knapsack over her shoulders, Hayoung reached into the front pocket and pulled out a small notebook. She scribbled her number into it and ripped it from the spiral coils.

She handed it to him.

“I’ll call you when I get my phone,” he said, slipping the piece of paper into his back pockets. “I’ll see you around, Hayoung-ah.”

With a final bow, Hayoung greeted him farewell, “Thanks again, Myungsoo-oppa!”

The last thing he saw was her back heading down the staircase of the train station entrance. However, the last thing he remembered was the last smile she beamed before taking off.

Yeah, he was screwed.

He just broke a rule – the third rule nobody ever dared to cross.

L formed an emotional attachment to a human.

He fell in love.

And he was never going to see her again. 

.

.

.

Author's Note:

Honestly, I wanted to cut this chapter BUT I didn't know where. So, the latter half of this, wherever that is, was originally going to be the first chapter. So, this is basically just a REALLY long prologue. 

Kind of boring 'cause they just met but it'll get exciting, hopefully. Haha.

I know it's kind of unbelievable for L to be in love already but hey, in 'Love Rain', Seo Joon realized he loved Hana' when he looked at her for three seconds. Haha. And he only knew her for like a day... Let's just say L loves simply and innocently. Haha. On the other hand, Hayoung is a skeptic and she's also oblivious. 

Please enjoy :D