15th December

He walked up to her with his usual bright beam on his face. By the city square, the girl smiled back, two times brighter as they approached each other. She was indeed pleased, very pleased. They had promised to have an outing or so-called ‘date’ that evening. It was lucky that he was free at that time and his shift had done.

“Hi!” He bent a little and hugged her closely like their body were glued from becoming far apart again. His black, hard leather jacket brushed her chin as she was resting her head on his broad shoulder. She giggled from the slightly ticklish contact with the fabric before breaking the hug but still holding onto each other.

“I miss you so much.” She whole-heartedly said.

It had been a while and they hadn’t gone out together often. He was a civil agent signed for the police that got a lot of works to do and his work involved with crimes, thugs and other fatal things.

“Me too.” He looked intently in her dark brown orbs, saving a small curl aside of his lips before perking up, “Okay! So, where do you want to go?”

“The gourmet shop?” She suggested, eyes twinkled.

“Head on.” He agreed and snatched her hand right on the same time he moved briskly on the road side. They walked hand in hand and turned to enter the shop where the guy nobly pushing the glass door for her. People around looked at the couple in return to sense the lovey-dovey excitement like they couldn’t be apart from each other.

After about 15 minutes, they exited the shop with dessert in each hand. He got himself a regular ice cream while her choice was an ice cream wafer that was more sophisticated and cushier.

“How are you lately?” She started the conversation after taking a first bite.

“Um...kind of tired, but that’s major. So, I’ve no problem with that.” He smiled and tilted his ice cream a little to her, offering to taste. She gladly some, consequence him to playfully take a bite of hers. There was a smear of cream coming out between the wafers and he took a long . She gave him a glare and pulled her dessert away from his face.

“You big baby, never enough with yours.” She snorted.

“I try to give an indirect kiss actually.” He bluntly reasoned with a hidden smirk on the corner of his lips. It took her by surprise as she blushed instantly.

He continued to smile wider after another yet his triumphant tease. He missed those too – Those teases and playful action that he did to her. They never failed to gain positive responds from her. He liked it as much as he missed it.

They finished their ice creams at the same time, like there was a competition held between them. If so, their result was fair. It is no more, no less. At the thought of that, he turned his head again and met face to face with her. She laughed naturally which he adored so much. He smiled softly and let the wind brushed over the tip of his short hair.

“I’ll never get tired with your laugh.” With the subtle remark, he pulled her along the side walk to take a stroll of the night.

“Don’t be so cheesy.” She chuckled while tried to hold her hand away from his grasp but he made no attempt to release. Instead, he strengthened his grip on hers and brought them to his cheek. He cutely pouted with his blown up cheeks.

“I can’t wait for our marriage.”

That line contained a big mean, yet, he said it out so frankly like a child whining in his sleep.

Her chuckle erupted again. This time it was being blown by the freezing wind of the night. “It’s next week.”

“Still, I can’t wait.”

He hadn’t lost the childish side of him. The memories of their first met near the backyard of the school field, her reasoning with him in the extra class, his first attempt to jump, his first attempt to flirt with her, his first attempt to ask her out as his girlfriend and until the day he had gotten his first job; the memory of him proposing to her, all of those precious reminiscent were still fresh in her mind. Like, they were unfolding in front of her eyes yesterday.

She reached up and clutched on his arm. “Me too.” He tilted his chin to peer upon her flawless feature, curling a wide smile. “I can’t wait to wear the wedding dress that you choose for me the other day as well.” She giggled at the imagination of them posing like a chic runaway models on their wedding day later, on 17th December. And her imagination trailed far, far away again of celebrating Christmas of that year with the love of her life, with a new life inside her stomach, although it wouldn’t make too obvious. She literally dreamt on that. Until the day their hearts were combined, she wouldn’t stop her dream; she would keep dreaming.

“You’re already outshining the dress, babe.” The dashing grin that he kept just now was finally released with thousand butterflies flied their way inside her. She was flushed at his smooth compliment. She always did.

 

 

16th December

“What do you mean?” His voice turned hoarse. He fought so hard to maintain his volume. Going against the chief of his team was the last thing he would do. But he couldn’t defend that motive anymore, because someone had just touch this matter that he wished no one did. “It’s going to be my wedding day tomorrow and you’re sending me to deal with that imbecile?”

His eyes narrowed when the older man that he used to respect brought up the same thing that he recently detested so much to the core of his heart.

“I told you before that we can’t get married, for the sake of our responsibility to the country. You already know that our true identities are always hidden and yet, having a wife would surely be the cause of your weakness. Do you want the criminals out there harming your family?” The voice of the speaker boomed though his phone.

“I told you before as well that I can take care of this myself.” He gritted his teeth, earning a grunt from the end of the line.

“Until when?”

“I’m going to hang up now.” He hissed. He had gotten enough of this lecture. Getting use to it was a part of his nature. After all, he was a grown man. He could deal anything by himself.

“Whatever you choice are, you still have to come tomorrow.” He smirked sarcastically at the mention of ‘choice’ part. What? Does he expect him to decline his marriage and follow the profession to his last breath? Without no one to be grown old together? Without no one to have grown white hair and fall sick together? And, without no one to...die...together?

Shoot. This time, he opted to go against the vital rule of his career. Without anything to be told, he hung up.

His fiancée – how bad he loved that label – who was waiting for his presence, just sat on the couch with popcorn and nachos spread on the coffee table in front. The television was on and the disk player was rolling to read the vcd pushed into about a minute ago. That night was supposed to be their last date in the cinema, but because she had running late from her workplace, they decided to make their own movie night date.

She looked up when the muffled thumps of his steps broke through the muddle room. Despite in the dark, he could outline her beaming face. His heart automatically softened – thinking of how he supposed to leave her even seeing a frown on her face could make him suffer and excruciating pain.

“Hey babe.” He smiled tenderly and plopped down next to her. “Sorry, the call took long.” He reclined back and draped his arm on her shoulder, pulling her close to the warmth of his body.

“Duty call?” She pondered out loud while taking a glimpse on his face.

“It’s Jeff the killer who called.” Her eyes started to widen in disbelief, while he tried to make himself sounded eerie, with both hands rose up in wiggly motion. “And he said he’s going to make a surprise on our wedding day!” Right on that one, he tackled her down the couch with her scream chorused through the darkly lit room.

“Ahh!!! Stop it! The movie is starting.” Her face invisibly reddened and he stopped tickling her stomach and their laughers resumed.

They were beginning to chill and enjoyed the rest of the movie. The featured male artist there, who as well, played one of the major roles, was acting as the background to the credits displayed. It was the nation, sad movie that had taken a shine on her heart since it was released.

The boy was rolling the snow into an unshaped sphere to make the second portion of a snow man. He was alone, he couldn’t age like human and he was suffering being left by his lover of years back. Because he knew his love was pure and true, for only a woman in his long lifetime, he kept that smile to himself and cherished what he had now – that his previous lover finally visited him back in her old age. Eventually they were reunited again. Even though, no one could guarantee, until when she would last long in front of his eyes.

The ending never failed to make her shed tears, as if it was a nastic respond. Her fiancé, in contrary was having a longing in his eyes.

“I could’ve died if you leave me like that.” He blurted out, meaning everything he said.

“Never, oppa.” She replied softly, confident that she would make sure that there were nothing could make them apart. “I’d be dying even more if you do one day.”

“Don’t even think of that, babe. Nothing will get into our way.” He gently hugged her neck and brought her recklessly closer. She looked with hoping eyes and their noses brushed into each other. The feather touch made her face burning hot. Ducked down in shyness, she wrapped her arm around his waist and snuggled into his neck. Heaving blissfully, he rested his cheek on her head.

Right. Nothing either no one would get into their way. At the moment.

 

 

17th December

It was a raining night, with unlit moon and a very dark sky. No stars seemed to be detected. She was on her way driving to her fiancée apartment. His mother had forgotten to fetch his tuxedo from their sponsored boutique. It was verily her duty to deliver so.

Although her vision was quite bad while driving through the night, she could make sure that she hadn’t mistaken. She was indeed seeing her fiancé ran along the roadside next to her with one hand kept hidden inside his coat, on the sideway to her right. She did nothing but halted to a stop.  He was running opposite to her way.

Fumbling for an umbrella spared on the backseat, she piled out of the car with a wide waterproof canvas awning upon her.

“Oppa!” She called. The drizzle was swallowing down the volume of her voice. Once again she called; this time jogging closer to where the man had ran farther away from her. Her step increased and the size of the blurry black figure decreased. “Oppa!”

A shot was fired.

She shrieked, startled. Her head whipped to her back. The sight of the Maserati’s relentless wipers and blinding light washed her view.

“Miss! What are you doing here?!” An astounding voice escaped into her earshot. She snapped back to her front. Both of them witnessed each other in different sense of shock. His face was vague in nervousness.

“Oppa are you alright?” She asked, frantic at his soaking figure. She held the umbrella higher for both of them to be shaded under. Her question didn’t seem to assure his heart that it was going to be okay.

“You can’t be here. Go home.” He rushed her to her car, gently shoving her shoulder to the other way. He grimaced, running his eyes, wild at the surrounding. It was hazy. It was raining. It was impossible to see well.

“Why are you run-”

The second shot up again and her head whirled back to meet his, was the second another shot of gun slammed through the sombre night. “-run-running i-in the rain?”

Her body was slightly shoved forward at the sudden impact, but she still managed to continue her wonder. She managed to blurt out the last word, with a hitched, sharp intake of breath, when there was another booming sound broke through.

He saw it. But he was just too late. Two seconds too late for the second bullet to pierce through her back. A few more seconds too late to realize the real situation unfolded in front of his own eyes. A minute too late to recognize that the girl who was twice being shot was his future bride.

The eleventh hour made him stiffened – breaking gradually.

“Oppa…” She whimpers, weakly leant against his body. As if fate just twisted, she tripped and fell completely to his arm. “Why it hurts so much?” She moaned, as if it was the last breath that she managed to surpass. It came out breathy, slow.

His trembling fingers up the small of her back. He tightly held her body, closer than they did. He couldn’t make sure whether the water that had just drenched his face was totally the rain or his tears; when his palm slid up tenderly on her back, only to be retreated again with red stench covered the entire surface of his hand.

She winced at the slight touch – the touch that she usually felt flustered on was now painful to death. Her face twisted with eyes closed and grimaced mouth. She couldn’t breathe.

The guy in front of her was breaking apart, continuously chanting on her name, croaking as his nose was blocked, with tears pooling on the brim of his eyes.

He never thought that she would turn up out of sudden. While he was on his mission. And the next day was their wedding day. And it was raining. The rain that promised no more clear sky for him. No such thing like tomorrow for him. Anymore. Drizzle that promised rain would continue on forever.

Like a mess, they were risking fate. They were tiny to go against God’s sentence.

More tears rushed down his cheeks. His eyes closed, and more tears slipped.

He felt like he was the weakest man that had no effort to protect the one that he wanted to protect with his life. But his wish was paid. His wish was turned. The life to be risked was exchanged. 

He didn’t know since when his teammates were crowding around them. He didn’t even realize that there was a faint ambulance zoomed their way. He couldn’t even hear any shouting, sirens and anything.

He only could hear himself, screaming, shouting, yelling in utter pain, in the rain, with pale, peaky girl fallen down his arm – almost breathless and lifeless.

He was kneeling down on the wet pavement, doing his best to look into those rich dark brown orbs for the last time before they were closed for eternity.

If he forgot, it would forever stay at the back of his mind – in the bottomless pit of his memory. His memory that promises that dream won’t always come true, despite how much he wished for it.

Another tear rolled out of his eyes. A drop on her cheek. Bidding her soul for heaven. He kissed her forehead tenderly. Lips still lingered there, he whispered. “I love you…please wake up.”

“I could’ve died if you leave me like that.”

“Never, oppa. I’d be dying even more if you do one day.”

“Don’t even think of that, babe. Nothing will get into our way.”

He didn’t know. Why he couldn’t breathe anymore.

 

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