I was frantically running, screaming, chasing after her. The darkness pooled in around me as I fought through the thick mud beneath my feet- wading through the charred grove. I screamed out her name, pleading her to stop in her flight, to wait for me. But she did not turn around a single time- my cries falling upon deaf ears. 

Her lanky sillhouette continued to run from me through the dark night and as the flames lapped hungrily at my heels, I tripped on a tree root. I was going to be burned alive. I screamed out in pure terror- suddenly jolting upright and was relieved to be sitting in my bedroom- my labored breathing the only sound in the night. The inferno was gone, the grove was gone- she was gone. 

I shuddered violently, large round tears trailing to my lip as I tried to calm my crazed heartbeat. Suddenly, I felt soft lips on my eyes, soft arms hugging me. Seohyun. I wrapped my long arms around her small waist and sobbed into her shoulder- my aching heart alleviated as if the tears were washing it. 

Her scent was intoxicating- as if she had been drowned in vanilla sunshine. It comforted me and dulled all of my senses- like morphine. Was I addicted? She became the joy that slowly lit up my world- and all was fine again. 

Until night fell and the dreams came, because only in the dark did the memories take life.

Only under the cover of night did she come back to me- hugging me, whispering endearments- then fleeing as dawn approached. How I wished every time that I could follow. But I always lost her, just like that one time long ago. I would often awake in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat. And then the cool wind carrying the scent of the stars would comfort me just as much as Seohyun- the open window inviting me to come.

But the most dangerous part was that it also invited me to jump. And I knew that if I jumped, I wouldn't be coming back- I would be with her. 

So why was I still here? Why was I still part of this empty world? Simply because of Seohyun.

She was as easy to read as an open book- the way her pure heart was worn on her sleeve. I knew that she loved me. I knew that I had saved her. I knew that I needed her. But did I truly love her? Was my whole heart hers?

No.

My heart was still with the her from before. 

She was the unforgettable relic of my past, and Seohyun was the treasure of my present. They collided so perfectly in my mind- that they were almost the same person to me. She was just as alive as Seohyun. Seohyun was just as lovely as her. But I realized that this, that loving Seohyun just because she resembled another was wrong, that I was stripping the poor girl of her freedom, chaining her heart to me. 

So I confessed every thing, gave innocent Seohyun a chance to cut the bonds. However, I didn't know how tightly I had bounded her until she simply smiled that sunshine grin of hers and told me that every thing was fine. What have I done? I could tell that her heart must have been breaking, must have shattered devastatingly as she took in the daringly honest words. 

Though I didn't comprehend the complete magnitude of my deed until after though, as I watched her cradle my damaged body, watched her cry silently, sitting alone as the blood red sun ran streaks of crimson through my dirtied, matted hair. I wanted to hug her like she had done so many nights, to wrap her in my arms. But I couldn't.

My voice was gone. I just passed through every thing that I touched. Was this how death was supposed to be? I felt as if I were in an endless vacuum, wandering pointlessly. I thought being dead would take me to her. I was sorely mistaken.

I've been condemned to float aimlessly. If I had no reason to live, then now, I surely have no reason for even existing. 

I watched Seohyun closely the following weeks, saw how she moved about life listlessly. I watched her eat ice cream on the park bench alone, dazedly run her fingers through her damp hair as she dried it, eat dinner at an empty table- fiddling with her food more than eating it. It was as if a part of her- her heart was gone. She had that same empty look in her eyes again, just like that time so long ago when I had offered my umbrella to her. I had killed her.

I watched her always stand sadly at the balcony, waltzing her dainty fingertips along the railing that I had plunged from. I was afraid that she would jump too. And this one time- she almost did, standing up precariously, teetering back and forth on the edge, tears streaming down her cheeks as she screamed my name. I tried to answer, but my voice only came out as the whisper of the wind. 

"Seohyun, don't jump," I whispered, trying to grab onto her. She turned back abruptly, her eyes meeting mine. 

I froze as her orbs pierced through me, the loneliness so palpable that it stung. Could she see me? 

"I'm sorry," I choked out, hoping that the wind would be the messenger for me.

Then she smiled this bitter smile, that I have since carved into my memory. It was a smile of letting go, of giving up, of being content with what lay ahead. And at that moment, I was never so fearful- she was really going to jump. I prayed to the Lord to freeze time or change her resolve or do something. Because I didn't want to be the one who broke such a lovely girl. I didn't want to be the reason why. 

I was being selfish. She was being selfish. We were both being selfish.

But I didn't want for her to endure an eternity of existing without a purpose. She didn't deserve that- not because of me at least. I proceeded to kiss her swiftly on the cheek- an act of finality in which I desperately wished to convey my sincere apology. 

She froze. Did she feel that? I hurriedly jumped from the balcony, my weightless body proving to be useful for once, watching her stand roughly above the bustling streets. Her white dress, her flowing hair- they were both too awfully similar to the her from before. 

I couldn't save her. I would at least save Seohyun.  

I dashed quickly to the nearest passerby- a young man in his mid-twenties I would guess. Luhan his nametag read.

He seemed to be in a hurry, fixing his tie hastily as he walked swiftly down the street. I tugged at his golden hair slightly, causing him to glance upwards and see Seohyun. He shouted in surprise, causing her to turn around and lose her balance. I watched in horror as she slipped, plummeting forward in a cascade of white and tears. 

But- somehow, God must have heard my prayers, because the young man managed to catch Seohyun on her descent, the force of the impact knocking both of them to the concrete. She was muffling her sobs against his shirt, her shoulders shaking from her violent cries as her hands pounded his . The young man could only her hair, hushing her with the rise and fall of his chest. The look in his eyes was of genuine worry, and I smiled softly as I watched the two of them laying in the middle of the busy street.

I really was the man of introductions. 

A/n: Thanks for reading everyone! ^^ Much love to you all.