Confusion. That’s what I feel right now. Up until this day, I have always believed that ghosts only exist in fairy tales and horror movies. In my eyes, people who claimed to be able to see spirits were liars and charlatans. However, Chansung seemed to be a honest man and he had seriously me doubt. Maybe ghosts do exist. Maybe some people can feel spiritual energies. Maybe Minjun is still here, close to me. When Chansung told me he felt Minjun’s energy around me, a sparkle of hope has started to burn inside of me. If my little panda is still here, there is a chance I can see him for one more time.

I sit on the edge of my bed and stare through the window. The sky is painted with twinkling stars and the moon is shining brightly. I plant a small kiss on the silver ring around my finger and close my hand around the one on the necklace.

“Minjun, are you here?” I ask, anxiety and doubt audible in my voice. “If you’re here, can you give me a sign? My father’s colleague, Chansung…” I hesitate for a second. “Chansung, he told me that you’re still here, that you wanted to contact me. You know the entire story, right? You were there…” I roll my eyes. “That’s what Chansung told me at least.”

No answer of course. I am talking to an empty room! I feel so stupid. Everything that man has said must have been a lie. And now he is probably exposing all my psychological problems to my parents. How could I have been so naïve to believe a stranger. Ghosts… Don’t make me laugh! A small chuckle escapes my lips as I let my body drop on the bed. I snuggle my face into the pillow. Suddenly a cold chill runs down my spine, as if the window is wide-open and a cold breeze blows into the room.  I turn my head, but there’s nothing unusual to the room. The window is closed just like a couple of minutes ago.  I lay my head down on the pillow again and close my eyes. Slowly but surely I feel myself slip into a deep slumber.

The next moment I’m standing in the dark living room, my back turned to the piano. A déjà-vu feeling comes over me. Because I expect it, the sudden music doesn’t startle me as much as before. I turn slowly around and my eyes search for the moving piano keys. But this time the keys aren’t moving by themselves. There’s a white phantom sitting behind the instrument. When he notices my presence, the phantom turns his head and smiles broadly. That beautiful, angelic smile I have missed so much.

I wake up with a start. I am not longer in the living room, but I  am back in my bed. With dilated eyes I stare into the dark room. Sweat is pearling on my forehead, dripping down my face. A tear leaves my eyes. One turns into several. And not long after, I am bawling like a little kid. To prevent my little brother, who’s sleeping in the next room, from waking up I try to suppress my sobs. I clench my teeth and cover my mouth with my fist, but the hideous howling doesn’t stop. In order to calm down, I force myself to lay down on my back again and take in a couple of deep breaths. I slowly close my eyes, when a small voice in my head starts to talk.

“You’re giving up so quickly, Taecyeon?” the voice asks. “You listened really well to Chansung’s advice.”

The comment is dripping with irony.

“What advice?” I snort.

“You just have to follow your heart and open up completely to the spiritual world and the ghost himself,” the voice repeats Chansung’s advice word for word, stressing the word ‘completely’. “You’re still holding back, Taecyeon. Open up, for God’s sake!”

Well, my reason does have a bad mouth! Only a couple of hours ago, I was told that ghosts do exist and that one of them is trying to contact me. Isn’t it understandable to be a little suspicious?

“If you want to see Minjun again, you’ll have to try harder, Taecyeon,” the voice says in a more soothing manner.

“Understood,” I murmur.

I open my eyes and stare blankly to the white ceiling above my bed until the crack of dawn. The faint, red sun starts to rise, bringing back the colours to the world. A deep sigh escapes my lips. Maybe the voice is right. Maybe Chansung didn’t lie. Maybe I just have to try a little harder.

“Minjun… Where are you, my love?” I ask as I get up from my bed to start another dull, dreary day.

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A/N: One more chapter left...  

Tic Toc Tic Toc, the end is coming closer.