Chapter 1

There are habits that are good and bad, some could be changed and others are stuck to you ceaselessly. At the exact moment, I looked up at the clock to have guessed that it was finally midnight, at last, I’m free. Quickly wiping down the last table, I threw my apron aside and headed out the front door. The moment I stepped out of the door, the cold breeze pierced me like a piece of meat placed under a knife, shaken up I tightened the scarf around my neck.

The walk from my place was a long journey, to be exact it’s just down the street, but the route was like walking down a path with closed eyes knowing that you’ll make it there either way, it was the matter of choosing the right path. Because when you cross a road, there is no chance to change your mind. Others prefer a straight path, but they could never imagine the feeling of constantly walking straight being monotonous. Bumpy paths on the other hand, with different twists and turns can also be longer and stressing. I don’t know, but I would have preferred some kind of catalyst to speed things up. To quickly end everything.

Getting ready to cross the road, I watched the bight florescent headlights invade the darkness as the warmth soothed my cold skin. I closed my eyes, allowing the light to gobble me up. It might have been a crazy thing to do, but the heat seems to always attract my attention even from when I was young. Almost like a vampire and blood. Though I’m not a vampire, but I tend to get comments of my pale and sickly look, especially my cold body. They usually suggest that I just needed a blood transfusion.

Like a bee hypnotized by the sweet scent of flowers, the warm light was alluring me to move closer. Suddenly I felt someone’s cold hand grabbing onto me, pulling me away from the light, it was similar to waking up from a crazy sleep walking phase.

“Are you out of your mind?! You stood there in front of the car almost about to kill yourself!” it was a male voice, I opened my eyes to see a handsome guy with a grumpy face, glaring at me I watched as his mouth spewed out nonsense. I couldn’t tell what he was yapping about, but it has always been a part of me to shut out everything if I’m not interested. Tossing his hand aside I continued crossing the road.

Arriving to my apartment, I had trouble figuring which key was which, this was constantly part of my routine, by this time it would’ve been around 12:30 and at this time I desperately need to sleep. My eyes were beginning to feel droopy as I chose a random one and it into the keyhole, but it didn’t fit. “The suspense is killing me,” the voice appeared again, turning to my side I saw him again, jumping in shock I accidently dropped my keys. Letting out a sigh I bend down to pick it up, reaching out to grab it, I watched as another hand picked it up. Standing up I glared at the person, I snatched the keys from him and tried opening my stupid door. After many trials I gave up, sitting on the ground as I leaned against the door I guess I’ll just have to wait until the security guard does his regular check at 6 in the morning.

I finally noticed that guy from before had disappeared, maybe I was too busy trying to figure out how to open the door I didn’t realise that he had left. Why did he follow me? Don’t tell me he is going to rob me. Resting my eyes I tried going to sleep, but then I heard the door fidgeting as the distinct ‘click’ unlocked the door. Falling back on the floor I saw the exact same guy looking over me, tiredly standing up I turned back to find that I wasn’t dreaming.

“Aren’t you going to thank me?” he raised an eyebrow at me coldly as he comfortably made his way to my sofa.

Quickly closing the door, I made my way over to him. Picking up a cushion from the sofa I looked at him strangely as he was boringly looking around at my apartment. “Your place looks average,” he commented, I didn’t know where he came from and why he is sitting in my apartment acting as though nothing was creepy. He pops out of nowhere almost like some kind of supernatural being, though that’s my suspicion. However it could just be the sleepy me. I threw the cushion at him, to check if he was actually human. But suddenly he disappeared. Were my eyes playing on me?

“How rude? You can't just throw cushions at your guest,” he sighed as I turned around to find him standing behind me, he leaned in closer to me and looked into my eyes, “You don’t talk much do you?”

“What are you?” I asked as I heard him scoffed in absurd.

“What am I?! Shouldn’t it be ‘who are you’?”

“Get out of my apartment!”

“Let me tell you who I am. I am-” before he could say another word I punched him in the face, although it wasn’t the nicest thing to do to a guest. But this guy stalked me and now he’s walking around in my apartment like he owned the place. Is it because of guilt or something but somehow my eye sort of hurts too? Is this karma? Wow it happens faster than I thought.

“Ow! My eye! Not only did you want to kill yourself, now you’re trying to kill me too?!” he yelled in pain as he sat down on the sofa, although I clearly remember telling him to get out, “Never in my life have I been humiliated like this!”

“Sorry- I mean I’m not sorry! Get out now!” I found myself tongue-tied, it was the first I ever punched someone in the eye, I hope he doesn't go blind.

“You’re not sorry?! Lady you punched me in the eye!” why is it so hard just to kick this guy out? Which part of ‘this is my apartment, get out’ doesn’t he understand? Man my eye is aching even more now, when can he leave so I can get some sleep?!

“Fine, I’m sorry! Just stay here then. My eye hurts, I better get some ice or something,” I sighed giving in and headed to kitchen to get some ice for my eye. Karma is a ! This ! Halfway making my way to the fridge my eye stopped aching, strange. Maybe I should just go to bed, it past my bedtime and it is getting the best out of me.

“Your eye stopped hurting?” I heard his voice again, turning to my side I saw him standing beside me, “Mine doesn’t hurt as well.”

This guy is scaring me, why can’t he just go away?! And why does he pop out of nowhere all the time?!

“Back to the introduction, I am Death, or you can just call me BaekHyun,”

“The Devil?” I asked feeling as though my heart was happily waiting for him to pierce through it with his scythe, wait, isn’t it the grim reaper’s job? Whatever, I’m ready to finally die.

“No, my name is Death. I’m the Demon of Lust,”

“Ugh. You’re useless, go and find me the ‘Demon of Death’ or something,”

“Useless?! Did you call me that?! YOU LITTLE-”

“Are you here to kill me?”

“Yes- I mean no! NO! Big no no! I’m here to help you,” he got me happy for that moment. I know it was really unlikely in these kinds of situations where a human finally meets a demon and begs to kill them. Although it was strange but it’s not entirely absurd, I for one, hopes to die every minute of my life.   

“Go away,” I sighed as I made my way back into my bedroom, for once I thought god was listening to my plea, but I guess no one was. I opened my door to see him sitting on my bed, playing with my clock as he spun the hands out of place, “I know what caused the death of your family 10 years ago.”

“What?”

“What is what?”

“Why my family was killed?”

“Because of you, Im HyoMi. Truthfully, you’re actually a ghost. A living one,” I watched as a devious smirk started forming on his lips, what kind of prank is this? Suddenly a creepy guy enters my apartment and now he’s spewing out gibberish, “What’s with that face?”

“What face?”

“That duck face,” I looked at him dully, maybe he was referring to my ‘I’m not interested, get out of my place’ face, “Will you stop doing that face? I’m here to help you.”

“You can help me if you kill me,”

“Death doesn’t solve anything, it only worsen things,”

“My family, relatives, friends, pet and even the freak next door died, there’s nothing worse than that. Why are you even here?”

“It’s because I’m your destined soul mate, tied on the other end of the Red Thread of Fate. I’m the only one who can help you live,”

“I don’t need your help. As a matter of fact I don’t want to see you again, just leave,”

“You know the only reason the both of us are alive is because of that red thread. That night you died an hour earlier and the answer behind you dreams is that I’ve been your life supply. That is why you saw them die even though you’ve died earlier,” he explained, it was sort of took interest in me to listen, “If you die then I die too. So I’m willing to give you my immortality,”

“Are you out of your mind? I’m here wishing to die and you’re offering me immortality? How do you think I feel at this moment? Immortality is the last thing I ever wanted,” I sighed in uncertainty as I lay down on the bed pulling the comforter over my head, “As much as I want to save you from this weird life torment, I need to deal with mine. I don’t have a reason to live, I don’t have anything or anyone to be a part of this pathetic life.”

“Why don’t you live for me? Literally, you are. This can be your chance to repay me, I’ve been keeping you alive until today, you could at least return that much,”

“Do you know how corny that sounds? I don’t even know you, we just met like an hour ago and now you’re telling me to live for you. This is really crazy, I think I’m dreaming, I better go to sleep,” I frustratingly sat up and looked at him, snatching the clock from his hands I adjusted it and placed it back in the original place, “I need to use that for tomorrow.”

“It does make sense don’t you think? I lived for you and now you have to live for me. It’s the only way it can save the both of us, your ‘death’ ideologies are draining my immortality sooner than I had expected,”

I let out another sigh, sitting up I turn to see his back facing me as he was flicking through some sort of book. As much as I wanted to sleep this guy seems to have some kind of power to keep me awake, “Why is immortality so important to you? Why is it that you need it so urgently?”

“There are a lot of things to do. I’ve lived 1026 years and nothing seems completed yet, I spent majority of my life roaming the Underworld. I also have Earth and Heaven to go,”

“Your life seems so simple. All you do is travel, no wonder you need immortality to colour up life. My life has been coloured up with different colours that it’s mixing up into black now,”

“What's wrong with black? That’s my favorite colour, it is prominent and holds a great power over the other colours,”

“Why do you always to like to question the stupidest questions?”

“Because even the stupidest questions can make you think the hardest. I know you HyoMi from in to out, every story of yours I know it clearly. I know all the answers that would be replied to my questions,”

“How do you know me? And what is the purpose of coming here to help me stay alive when you clearly know that I want to die?” I questioned him, watching as he turned around to face me, he handed me a book. More than half of the content was burnt and faintly I read the words engraved to the cover ‘Im HyoMi’.

“Keep it, this book is your life. Every story from your past lives and your present from when you were 12 is all in here. Although further than that was destroyed,”

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“Because maybe if you read it, you’ll consider my offer,” the demon smirked as he stood up and stared down at me, “Sweet dreams.” Once again he disappeared, I really hope this all was a dream, maybe if he was here to kill me then it might have been considered as reality. Looking down at the book I opened to the first page, the title reading ‘18^th century, Kim SeungMin’.

I immediately closed it, I didn’t know why I was afraid of reading my past. Maybe the fact was I was actually a man in the 18^th century which was the first start of my life. I still remember umma saying that whatever happened in the past lives link back to the present. From those deeds by who owed you to people who you owed, it will be paid back in the next lives. Probably this book revealed what kind of person I was initially and the decisions that changed me.

Opening the book again, I started reading the first page of my life…

18^th Century, Kim SeungMin

Born on 8/1/1716 at the time of 12:02:30 am. He was the youngest of the Kim Family of 3 children. His family lived in a small poor village with a simple lifestyle with minimal worries. One day at the age of 10 he was kidnapped from his home by a few kidnappers along with other village children and sold as a slave to a rich family of the Lee…