“I can’t find him anywhere upstairs and he isn’t in the bathroom upstairs either,” Sehun said.

“He isn’t in the garden,” Kai panted a little after running around the garden and coming back.

“Do you think he has…?” Kris started.

“What’s going on?” a voice asked from the door.

“Suho!” I shouted and ran over to him.

Everyone ran over too and all started asking at once, “Where were you?”

“I just popped downstairs to the cellar to get some wine, so we can have a little celebration tonight,” Suho replied.

“You could have told us,” Kris said, “You made us all worried, we thought you left without goodbye.”

“Sorry for making you all worried.”

“Don’t worry, let’s have another party like we did for Chen,” Tao said.

“I miss Chen,” Xiumin said sadly.

“We all do,” Baekhyun added, “After tonight, we wouldn’t have Suho either.”

“Come on now!” Suho jeered up, “Enjoy the time we have left together!”

So everyone went to get a glass and poured themselves some red wine or champagne whilst I stayed with apple juice.

“Raine,” Lay said, “Can I talk to you?”

“Sure.”

We walked over to the garden and pushed the doors apart a little so we could slip through without the others knowing. It was half past ten at night so it was very chilly. The cold night breeze was blowing in a westward direction, now that I’m a ghost, as the wind blows past; it makes me waver and wobble.

“Are you cold?” Lay asked.

“A little,” I replied and hugged myself.

“Take my jacket,” he offered.

“No, its fine, you’ll get cold.”

“Take it,” he said and placed his jacket on my shoulders.

We sat down on the newly painted swing set, swinging forwards and backwards gently.

“Raine.”

“Yes,” I replied and turned around to look at him.

“I…”

I waited for a few more seconds but he didn’t say anything.

“I don’t know how to say this,” he said nervously.

“Say what?”

“What Suho said to the girl today was very encouraging, though I wasn’t there, I was still in the body so what he sees, smells, hears, tastes and touches, I can as well. He really liked her.”

“I could tell, he was trying not to cry,” I said, “Star-crossed lovers.”

“Ones a human and another is a ghost.”

“What a shame, they would have been a cute couple,” I said.

“Do you think we would make a cute couple?” Lay suddenly asked.

I was totally caught off guard, “Erm…maybe.”

Luckily, it was dark outside and only a little porch light by the house lit the surroundings up so he couldn’t see my face slowly turning into an overripe tomato. He suddenly let out a big sigh and stood up so the swing wobbled strangely.

“Raine,” he was bent down facing me, who was sitting on the swing; “I like you.”

“I like you too,” I replied a little too quickly.

“Really?”

“You’re a really nice person and you always look out for me,” I said purposely, trying to steer away from his actual intention.

“I don’t mean it like that.”

I stayed quiet and after a few minutes of silence, he stood up.

“We should go back inside, Suho would be leaving soon,” he said glumly.

I followed him inside. Maybe what I said was wrong, I didn’t know how to reply to his confession because I was unsure of my own feelings for him. At times, I think of him as an older brother who looks out for me but at times, he is just a partner I need to work with to complete the wishes but then when we’re very close together, I feel shy but I like the feeling of being with him. When I walked back into the living room, I let the thoughts swim out of my head; they can be sorted out later.

“How long is there left?” Chen asked.

“Half an hour,” I replied, looking at the book.

“Raine,” Suho said, “Thank you very much for today.”

“It’s what I need to do for you all, so there’s absolutely no need thank me, Suho, it’s me who needs to thank you, because your hospitality has been the best and I am very thankful.”

I couldn’t control the tears; they were b around my eyes.

“Don’t,” Suho said giving me a hug, “Don’t start the water works, with all of us here, it might flood the place.”

I laughed and quickly wiped a tear away.

“Tao, don’t eat all the snacks which the others buy, you have to share and D.O, make sure you don’t put too much salt into the soups. Luhan, you shouldn’t play on your phone in the dark, it’s not good for your eyes and Kai don’t burn the cakes next time, use the timer I bought last week,” Suho went around the room and everyone nodded with tears in their eyes.

“I need the toilet,” Suho said afterwards.

“What are we going to do if Suho isn’t here to nag us?” Tao asked.

“I don’t know,” Kai said.

After a few minutes, Suho still has not returned from the toilet. Has he really left us this time?

“What does the book say?” Xiumin asked.

“There’s only a few seconds left,” Lay said.

But by the time we go there and kicked the door open, he was gone. There was a note on the toilet seat and it read:

            It has been great knowing you all and I wouldn’t have changed my life for anything.

            Goodbye

            Yours, Suho

“I’m going to bed,” Sehun said and sadly walked upstairs.

“Me too,” Tao said.

One after another, they all walked away, leaving me with glasses to wash up. Seeing as I have already slept, I cleaned the house very quietly, being very careful not to make any loud noises.

I plopped down onto the sofa after everything was clean. Tired and sad, I closed my eyes but soon, I felt a presence by my side, “Yixing.”

“You don’t say that name often.”

“It’s a very nice name,” I complimented.

“Thank you, but why are you called Raine?” he asked, sitting down next to me on the sofa.

“I was born on a rainy day.”

“Oh,” he simply said.

“I know. My parents name picking skills weren’t the best.”

“If I had a daughter who was born in the morning, I would name her Dawn,” Lay said.

“Dawn, that’s nice.”

In the corner of my eyes, I saw the book open up on the table beside me.

“Oh!” I groaned, “Can’t the book give me a rest?”

“I wish for the same thing but it’s what we have to do.”

“You can read what it says, I don’t like that book anymore,” I said childishly.

“Two down, nine more to go. Strength and determination. Lies and deception. What looks real could be fake. What seems right could be wrong. Help the trapped spirit named Baekhyun.”

“It’s Baekhyun next.”

“Yes,” Lay said.

“I think we should tell him tomorrow.”