“Will you marry me?”

The four words rang in her ears, for the third time since that day. The four words carried a lot of weight with them, because now Ji Kyung has to think about her next step carefully, because this was one of a lifetime decision.

Nonetheless, it has been days since Myungsoo appeared at the door to announce his return, to which he later explained that he had been busy helping his father out at his company. “We had to secure the contract with a VVIP.” He said to her. She was very surprised after listening to the full story, which included the part where he confessed that he was indeed, planning to scam her in the first place. The lad further reasoned that it was a rash decision to a desperate situation, because his father’s company was met with a crisis that had almost cause the company to shut down. When he first met Ji Kyung, he saw her as an easy target because of her soft and persuasive nature.

“What changed your mind?” She asked, gulping down a nervous mouth of saliva.

“When I approached you with that intention, I was foolish, completely blinded by money and didn’t care about anything else. It was the only way that my messed up mind could think of anyway at that time. However, that one day, when the weather was good and the flowers were blooming all over the campus, I saw you sitting on the bench outside of the library. You were crying so sorrowfully, in such a beautiful day, and my heart ached so badly witnessing that for some reason. It was about five months into our relationship, so I knew that you were crying because of your ex again, and that was when I realized that ‘Ah, I can’t hurt her any more that this’. It was at that moment, my mind cleared up and I realized that there were so many other alternative solutions to solve the company’s issue.”

When he had finished the story, they had already reached Ji Kyung’s lecture hall. It was time to part, but the girl was still holding onto his hand dearly. She squeezed her palm and bit her lower lip, then looked at Myungsoo with her eyes glistened with tears. They faced each other and allowed silence to sink in for a while, before Myungsoo moved his face closer to hers and landed a chaste kiss on her forehead gently. The tears rolled down as she smiles warmly at her boyfriend. He her hair fondly and returned the smile, then wiped her tears away with his finger and bid her a temporary goodbye.

Her best friend was standing a couple of steps away them, and she witnessed the whole interaction between the lovebirds. When the lad was out of sight, Luna walked towards Ji Kyung with a raised eyebrow, but her friend was chuckling at her.

“D-did he just… kissed you so publicly just now?”

“Oh Luna, you missed too much…” The taller girl hooked her arm with the petite one, then chuckled again before she leads her friend into the classroom.

---

The girls were dismissed from their lecture 10 minutes earlier today. The weather was good, so was the lecturer’s mood. Luna packed her things into her bag diligently, but was interrupted by a beep in her phone. She picked it up from the table and glanced at the unread message, and her lips naturally curled up into a beautiful smile. Ji Kyung eyed her from the corner of her eyes, kept her bottle into her bag and turned to her friend with a suspicious look on her face.

“Who’s that?”

The shorter girl grinned without an answer.

“Are you seeing someone?” Ji Kyung continued to ask, her left eyebrow still raised in curiosity. Her best friend shyly pressed her lips together, then give her a light nod. Ji Kyung broke into the widest smile, now feeling excited to hear of the story her best friend had been keeping from her. But before she could further question about the mystery guy, someone appeared at the door waving at Luna with an awkward smile plastered on his face.

Luna waved back and giggled.

“I’ll tell you everything tonight. Gotta go.” The petite one informed, then scurried away to meet with the guy up close.

Ji Kyung pouted at the sight of Luna abandoning her for a guy in a blink, but decided to let it slide after witnessing how happy (although slightly awkward) they both looked. They matched each other well, it was what she thought of in her mind as she prayed for nothing but the best for the both.

Few moments later, a familiar guy came into her view, and another smile managed to find its way to her lips again, but this time, the smile was different because it was only for him. She picked up her books and went to him in happy steps, and he instinctively wrapped her in his arms. Their reunion was soon interrupted by the jealous soul who was leaning against the wall tapping his foot impatiently.

Guys, for your information, I’m still here you know?

The girl pulled away from the hug and looked over Myungsoo to see Byunghun, then giggled at his act. Myungsoo also turned to face the jealous one and shook his head softly, saying, “Doesn’t matter anymore, she’s going to be officially mine.”

Wow. And I’m going to officially hate you.

---

It was a warm afternoon, and the young couple had just finished their late lunch at home. Myungsoo cleaned up the table and dirty dishes, while Ji Kyung retreated into their room to rest. Byunghun followed after his love, then pretended to clear his throat to gain her attention. She shut the door behind her, went to their study table and sat down.

“Yes?” She asked, averting her gaze to the guy.

What is your decision? Are you accepting his proposal?

The girl seemed to be in deep thoughts when she heard his question. She let out a quick sigh and leaned her head on the table slowly.

“I’m not sure… It doesn’t feel right in the situation I am in.”

Even though she was vague in her reason, Byunghun seemed to catch on the deeper meaning to it. He stood beside her and stared intently at her, then touched her hair gently. She didn’t resist nor did she move away, just smiling weakly at her ex. Byunghun knew well that she hadn’t been able to move on from him, and he knew it was partly his fault to return to her this way as well as messing up her heart.

A couple of moments later, the door was pushed open from the outside, revealing Myungsoo who was trying to enter the room. Byunghun was no longer be seen then, so Ji Kyung faked a cough and stood up to face her boyfriend.

“Myung…”

The curious lad paused for a few seconds after closing the door, before walking to her and closed their distance. She took his hands tenderly into hers, swallowed her saliva slowly and looked at him without a word. Myungsoo smiled warmly at her, squeezing their palms and assuring her that he was prepared for whatever she was about to say.

“About that proposal…” She let the words trailed off for a bit, before re-focusing her eyes back to his.

“I don’t think I’m in a state to say yes.” And then she shifted her gaze away guiltily.

To her surprise, her boyfriend did not get worked up like how she had expected, but he chuckled for a good few seconds. Myungsoo pulled her towards their bed and sat her down, before sitting beside her and brushed her hair softly.

“I know.”

She held her breath upon listening to his statement. When she wanted to question him further on the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’, he interrupted her train of thoughts first.

“Actually… Why don’t you go for therapy?”

The girl tilted her head in curiosity. He couldn’t help but grinned at her cute reaction, then proceed to explain to her why he had made the suggestion. She had been suffering from the traumatic memory, for far too long now, to be left unattended. He wanted to see her heal from it and to overcome her sadness. He wanted her to be genuinely happy. No more tearful days and sleepless nights.

“Alright, I promise you.” She said, nodding slowly at his suggestions and finally promising him that she will give it a try. Even though the idea of going through therapy seemed far-fetched and scary for her, she knew well about Myungsoo’s intentions, and she knew that she can overcome it all with him by her side. “It’s probably for the best, for Myungsoo, for Byunghun and for myself. I need a closure.” She thought to herself.

---

“Wait, what? You’re leaving soon?” Her eyes were opened wide in surprise. Her voice, too, got louder due to the surprising news Byunghun had just informed her. Myungsoo squirmed and turned his body to the other side, but he has yet to wake up from his late afternoon nap as his eyes didn’t seem to be opening. Ji Kyung guiltily covered in an instant.

Yes, I only have less than two weeks left before going to afterlife. It’s a promise I made with the divinity.

Byunghun announced, a regretful look plastered on his face and a sigh was released. Upon seeing her past love grew quiet and sombre, she couldn’t help but catch the same feelings, and her eyes grew watery. The tears slide down her face in a slow manner, so she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Although it was already known to her that he could only stay here temporarily, she still wasn’t ready to see him leave her once again. After all these time, a part of her still couldn’t get used to the life without him, but a part of her felt that maybe this was the only way that she could finally move on from her painful past and their regretful, sad love.

You’ll be okay.

He seemed to have heard her inner thoughts when he jolted her back to reality with the three simple words. It was an assurance that had brought a little peace to her entangled mind.

With him.

He added. His lips curled up into a tiny smile as he glances over her body to see the sleeping Myungsoo. After all this while, he figured that he can finally let her go and leave his beloved to Myungsoo. The guy has changed, Byunghun thought to himself, and a series of flashbacks from the previous months flashed before his eyes. In a short period of time, Myungsoo had already proven enough to Byunghun that he truly loved Ji Kyung. Finally, Byunghun could come to a conclusion that he would do just fine in taking a good care of her and cherish her. And Byunghun’s “mission” here was done.

He can finally rest in peace.