Looking back, it was hard to believe that in a span of three months or less I had managed to lose everything and yet gain so much. It was October and cold outside when I was waiting for my boyfriend to meet me for our date. It was our first official one since we got together and I was nervous. My mind was still playing tricks on me and all I had lived next to him seemed like some other life, eons of years before that hypnosis session of doctor Zhang.

However, when I saw him running towards me, people stopping to stare at his rebellious attire, all of my worries flew away like a flock of wild birds. He was still labeled as a bad boy due to his dark attire and smoky make-up he insisted on wearing. But I saw nothing else but his electric smile and the red rose the was holding tight on.

“I’m late,” he breathed heavily when he finally reached me. “For you!” The petals of the rose gently brushed my lips.

“Let’s go in,” I accepted his gift and stretched out my hand for him to take it. Hand in hand we stepped inside the cat café I had recently discovered somewhere in Gangnam. “Two cups of coffee, please,” I ordered as we sat down to our table, the jackets on the back rests of our chairs.

“The lady at the counter is eyeing me strangely,” Jongin complained while playing with the soft ball of fur that had landed on his knees.

“Well, you do look like a trouble maker,” I smiled while trying to lure out one of the big fat cats.

“But I’m not! I’m just a decent mechanic!”

“She doesn’t know that, Jongin,” I looked at him only to discover a playful sparkle in his eyes.

Sometimes I would just look at him and fill my heart with his picture. He was, after all, a very handsome man! His dark, tanned skin was complementing perfectly his puffy lips and the smile that seemed to have found permanent residence in his eyes. And his chiseled jaw line, his long fingers with perfect, square nails, the bridge of his nose, that small, almost invisible dimple in his chin – everything was a personal signature of his. And he always seemed to be under some kind of spell; one that made him shine brightly like a star.

“What? Something on my face?” He returned the stare from above his mug.

I shook my head. “I was just wondering if you’re real.”

“I love you,” was his answer and he quickly stole a kiss from me. “Sorry, we’re in public,” he then withdrew. “But I couldn’t stop myself!”

“It’s alright,” I placed my trembling fingers around the mug. I was very greedy: I wanted to take all he had to give and just hide them somewhere no one else would be able to find them. For he was simply beautiful inside and outside and I was like a black hole. “You never told me anything about your dream,” I shook off all of my thoughts. “So? What did Jongin the kid dream to be?”

His mug was placed on the table as he turned to look outside through the foggy window. “My dreams died when Byul was born. She’s my dream now.”

The kid was indeed the light of his eyes and I knew that for her, he’d go even through Hell with a smile on his face.

“But there was something before her,” I didn’t question but just said it simply, not minding his disturbed frown. “C’mon! I wanted to be a cat when I was small. So I could climb up my window and escape even for an hour from my mother. I didn’t knew back then that people are just another type of animals,” I chuckled softly. “And if I dreamt so big, yours must have been impressive.”

“Doctor,” he confessed with a whisper. “I wanted to save lives, to do something good for humankind. But then I met Byul’s mother, we fell in love and made a huge mistake, so I couldn’t be that selfish and enter college. And when Byul was born I realized that she was everything I needed. If she’s alright and happy, then everything is just perfect! And I have you too, right?”

“Right,” I smiled and took his hand above the table. ‘I will be honored to be your dream as well, Kim Jongin,’ I thought to myself while he smiled faintly and continued to caress the cat in his arms.

×  ♣ ×

Who was Kim Jongin underneath his happy smile?

‘Why are you here?’ Chaelin appeared when I switched on the lights in the apartment I took over. ‘Why aren’t you with him?’

“Why haven’t you crossed over yet?” I spat back, throwing my jacket on one of the armchairs. “He’s fine and we’re happy. So, why are you still here?” I placed the golden covered notebook on the glass table and walked to the kitchen to turn on the heat in the apartment.

‘I… don’t know,’ she confessed when I returned with a glass of water. ‘What are you doing with my agenda?’

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