A few more days have passed and Jessica still hasn’t seen Donghae. Everyday at work she looks around for him, hoping he’ll just appear again. But so far, she hasn’t had any luck. She still questions about why he’s missing. If he’s really a ghost, then how can he be so busy?

It’s almost about noon and Jessica doesn’t have to be at work until about 1:00. There was nothing to watch on TV, just the news, the weather and some old dramas that were either too complicated to understand or too over dramatic for her to handle. In order to pass the time, she decided that maybe a nice walk in the park could help her ease her mind.

It’s been quite a long time since Jessica last walked in the park just to catch a breath of fresh air. She used to take morning walks with Siwon all the time to start off their days.

Sometimes, Jessica would feel too lazy or too tired in the morning to get up and walk, but Siwon always found a way to get her to crawl out of bed whether it was by calling her more than fifty times until she gave in or secretly set her alarm clocks every five minutes until she grew completely sick of it.

A morning walk is always a good way to start the day. It’s very important to exercise, Siwon would tell her. Jessica laughed at the thought and shook her head.

As she walked through the park she could feel her muscles relaxing. The sun shining over head was beautiful and she swore she could smell how rejuvenating the sunshine was.

She took her time just taking in her surroundings. She let the sunlight soak into her skin and she let her lungs breathe in the fresh air of the gorgeous summer day. It was truly a perfect afternoon.

As she continued to slowly make her way around the park she saw someone sitting beneath a shady tree. A bit curious, she squinted her eyes, hoping that it would help her focus on the person with more precision.

Oddly enough, it was Donghae. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Could it really be him? She asked herself out loud.

She slowly approached the boy under the tree, holding her bag in front of her, inspecting the familiar stranger.

“D-Donghae?” she blurted.

The boy looked up with and his lips widened into a smile.

“Well, well, well,” he said. “It seems fate has brought us together again.”

“I guess so,” Jessica responded strangely. “You’ve been here all this time?”

“Come here, sit down,” he said, patting the shaded patch of grass to his right. Jessica slowly sat down and leaned against the tree, slowly basking in the sweet relief of the shade from the burning sun.

“So, you like to hang out in the park I presume?” Jessica asked.

“I guess you could say that. It’s just such a beautiful day isn’t it?”

“Where have you been?” she asked all of a sudden.

“Woah, since when did you become so motherly,” he joked, turning his head over his shoulder to look at her. Jessica’s cheeks began to burn a little from embarrassment but she managed to shake it off.

“Well, I didn’t know ghosts were always so busy,” she said sarcastically.

“You’d be surprised,” Donghae played along.

“Okay, okay, enough with the childish jokes. Really, where have you been? I thought you said you’d come talk to me again.”

“I was….visiting someone.”

“Visiting? Who?”

Donghae laughed as he looked at her curious face.

“You’re so cute!” he commented which made the burning sensation come back to Jessica’s cheeks. “My family obviously.”

“Family?…”

“Of course. Just because I’m a ghost doesn’t mean I don’t have family that I miss,” he reminded her.

“Oh yeah, um..that reminds me…Donghae…” after she said his name, he immediately focused his attention on her. The glimmer in his eyes made her a little more nervous.

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure how to ask this but um…if you’re really ghost,” she started off slowly.

“If I were really a ghost…” he repeated.

“If you’re really a ghost…wouldn’t that mean…that you’re…” her voice trailed off, too nervous to finish her question.

“Dead?” he suddenly said. Jessica’s face flashed up and their eyes immediately met.

“Umm, sorry.”

“No need for apologies, I understand,” Donghae assured her. “And to answer your question, I’m not dead.”

“Wait…you’re not?” Jessica said, completely rotating her body to face him. She was no longer leaning against the tree but was facing his side completely, with her hands in her lap. “Explain,” she commanded.

“Nope, not dead. To be honest, I’m actually in a coma. Or well, my body is anyway.”

“Really?” Curiosity lit up Jessica’s eyes, brighter than a candle at night. Donghae let out another giggle, covering his mouth with his hand.

“There’s that face again!” he commented happily. “But yeah, it’s true. I’m not dead. My body is lying in the Incheon hospital right now.” Jessica couldn’t help but stare at him in amazement.

“What happened then? How did you end up in a coma?”

Donghae let out a sigh and his head fell a bit forward. “Well, it happened like this: my friend and I had an argument and I left his place before it got too heated. You know, I just wanted to let out some smoke. So I hopped on my motorcycle and sped away as fast as I could. Unfortunately, I crashed into this car and pretty much got knocked out, completely unconscious.”

“I’m…I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he said, turning his body towards her.

“It’s not like you were in the car. Up to this day I’m not sure whose fault it is that this happened.” Jessica looked down, her heart beginning to have an apologetic feeling for him. “But all I know is that I wish I could have apologized to my friend for the argument we had. That’s probably why I’m most upset.”

“That must really hurt, knowing how sorry you are and not being able to apologize for what happened,” she added.

“Yeah. And to top it all off, I can’t even talk to anyone. But then,” he paused and looked at Jessica. “You came along. I have this funny feeling inside, like you and I were destined to meet. It would definitely explain why you’re the only one who can see me. I guess I should be thankful.”

“Thankful?” Jessica said, tilting her head.

“I’ve been wandering around aimlessly for days without any communication. I swear, if I hadn’t met you or talked to you, I would be going crazy right now.”

“Well, at least your sanity is saved,” Jessica replied. “Every time someone sees me talking to you, they think I’m insane. I’m starting to question whether or not I should keep talking to you,” she said as she crossed her arms.

“Aw come on, don’t be like that!”

“I don’t know…” Jessica said looking away.

“Would you really force me to live alone like this for the rest of eternity? Completely lonely, without a single soul to talk to?” He was doing it again. He made a pitiful looking puppy face with weary eyes that made Jessica’s heart melt – so much she was practically disgusted.

“Aish,” she said, pretending she wanted to hit him. “You’re lucky I’m a nice person.”

“I know,” he said with a smile.

The two sat together quietly, listening to the summer breeze pass over them. Jessica closed her eyes, letting the wind gently blow her hair away from her face. Donghae leaned his head back against the tree, looking up at the sky.

“You know what I’m scared of?” Jessica looked at him with a child’s curiosity again, her eyes beaming with questions at his serenely calm face.

“What could you possibly be afraid of? In this state, no one could hurt you,” she pointed out.

“I’m afraid of…dying,” he said simply. There was silence – not even a breeze flew by to compensate for the lack of Jessica’s reaction.

“You shouldn’t talk about such things.”

“How can I not when it’s always on my mind? You know my body has been laying there for some time now. My family could pull the plug on me at any moment. Who knows, it might be for the better if they do.” Jessica’s eyes widened and she suddenly pushed him against his shoulder.

“What was that for?”

“Every life is precious. You shouldn’t be dwelling on thoughts like those.”

“But if my family let’s me die, then they can stop hurting over me. It hurts even more to see them like this.”

“You’ve heard the phrase ‘everything happens for a reason’ right?”

“Of course, who hasn’t?” Donghae answered. “But what does that have to do with it?”

“Like you told me earlier: maybe it’s destiny that we met. Maybe it’s destiny that you’re like this. You never know. But what you should know is that you should never give up hope, no matter how difficult it may be.” Donghae looked at her and tilted his head, his eyebrows furrowing with confusion.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Jessica said a bit angrily.

“You’re so strange,” he said with no regrets.

“Ya, you’re the weird one. A ghost, pfft,” she scoffed. Donghae let out a laugh and shook his head. Jessica couldn’t help but smile at his reaction.

“Now that I think about it, Donghae…what was that argument—“

“What time is it?” he suddenly cut her off.

“Huh? Oh it’s almost one…Oh no!”

“You have work silly. Did you forget?” Donghae shook his head in disappointment.

“Oh crap, I’m gonna be late.” Jessica jumped up from where she was sitting and brushed off her clothes to get rid of any dirt or leaves. She began to run off but whipped her head around. “When will I see you again?”

“When are you not working?”

“Tomorrow I’m off. Come meet me at my apartment complex around noon, arasso?”

“You got it.”

 Jessica nodded her head and began running toward Seul Gi’s café. Every five seconds she checked her watch to make sure it wasn’t one. She just had to cross the street and she would be on time for work. As she waited for the light to permit her to cross, she just remembered something important.

Damnit, I didn’t even tell him where my apartment was. What do I do?

Jessica debated whether or not to run back and tell him. But she suspected he probably isn’t even there anymore and just tried to get to work. She entered the café, out of breath with her hand over her heart.

“Unni you’re here!” Yoona said as she was wiping a glass with a cloth. Jessica waved to her weakly and came around the counter, still gasping for air.

“Unni, did you run here? Why are you out of breath?”

“Y-yeah, sorry,” she replied with a big gasp for air in between. “Woke up a bit late today.”

“I was gonna say! You’re usually here early. Way before your shift even starts. Why’d you wake up late?” Yoona was always curious.

“Just overslept I guess,” Jessica lied. She didn’t want to try to convince Yoona again that Donghae was real. Nor did she want to try to explain that she is the only living human being who can see him – that would be extra difficult.

“I see, well, go get your apron and help me clean up already,” Yoona commanded. Jessica nudged her against the shoulder as she passed by her. As she walked into the kitchen, Yoona watched after her with a worried expression, but it quickly faded when another customer asked for her attention.

--

[A/N]

this felt a little short to me, but I was so glad to get back to writing for fun! I hope you like the new graphics that I created especially for the fic (: . New poster, character chart and a soundtrack cover! Tell me what you think!

NEWS: I have an upcoming fanfiction that I've kept stashed away for some time and I've finlly decided that I will release it sometime very soon (: . I finally created a cast & storyline and I hope you will support me! Here I have 2 videos (Teaser + Cast) & a poster.

Memoirs of  Forbidden Romance
features artists such as Im Yoona, Choi Siwon, Kwon Yuri, Choi Seulong as well as others.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emQu4bA26mw   ( TEASER / youtube )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwhUUkLerE4      ( OFFICIAL CAST)

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b303/mmmBLAH/memoirs1.jpg (POSTER)

ALL WORKS (INCLUDING ARTWORKS) ARE MY OWN. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGMENT INTENDED.
updated 082610