Tao kicked the door open with all his might. His luck was rotten enough to have lead him to a warehouse where his girlfriend was tied up and a lunatic was waving his gun.

“Seo Kangjun,” he hissed clenching his fists. The maniac grinned at him pointing a gun at Seryung’s forehead.

“I thought you loved her, but you really took your time didn’t you?” Kangjun chortled. It was funny to him. There were many ways to end their lives, and he was choosing the most heart wrenching ones for the star-crossed lovers because they had collaborated to ruin his original plans. And for that he wouldn’t be forgiving.

“You love her too, so what the hell are you doing?” Tao roared as a bunch of goons caught the corner of his eyes. He grimaced at the thought of fighting them all but that wasn’t what worried him. He wanted to rip Kangjun away from Seryung before the nutcase did something insane.

Kangjun smirked. It was enlightening to see fear etched on faces. Tao was no different. He expected the ‘beggar-boy’ to illustrate his low class background through his unintelligence, but it seemed he had attained some manners. His fists were clenching and were ready to launch a missile but he had the decency to keep his expression tame.

“I don’t love anyone,” the President’s son rolled his eyes. “I only pretend to. Doesn’t that bother you Zitao? You loved her all along yet she was exchanging saliva with another?”

Tao twitched. He was aching to beat the man to a pulp but the dude had a gun at his disposal as well as an army of ruffians. The ghost with him was also stumped, and his owl, had raced to the roof. He was alone in this battle and it agitated him to know that Kangjun’s sarcastic mouth was still running freely.

Seryung couldn’t say anything to refute the claims. She was still convinced she was dreaming and that somehow she would wake up and laugh at her silly imagination. These things didn’t happen in real life! Still, she couldn’t help but hunch her shoulders at Kangjun’s remark.

“I will take the silence as a ‘yes.’ Of course it must hurt your pride to watch your girl be played with.” He clicked his bored that he wasn’t getting a response. It was easier when worms squirmed; that was the whole point of squishing them. On command his ‘army’ began to circle Tao.

“Should we let the games begin?” Kangjun whispered into Seryung’s ear. She froze at his chilling tone and shook her head slowly.

“What are you doing?” She asked, terrified at the sinister glint in his eyes.

“Showing you whose boss?” He chuckled caressing her hair. “I think I might hurt your boyfriend’s feelings,” he crouched to her eye level and held her chin making her eyes widen.

“Stop it,” she turned her cheek pondering what kind of situation she’d put herself into. “Don’t do this. It’s not worth it.”

“Don’t kid yourself into thinking deluded thoughts. I have no interest in you. Rather my interest lies in your death.”

Like true, hired thugs they approached Tao while batting metal poles against their palms. He wondered how apt they were as he counted their number. The smirks on their faces told him they wanted to enjoy their time. He cursed them under their breath as one charged towards him swinging the bat at him as if he were a piñata. He dodged the first one but before he had time to attack he was made to avoid another. All he could do was defend until he was left no choice but to fight back.

Miyoung held her head in her hands. On one side was Tao who was doing his best against his adversaries. And on the other was Seryung who was tied up by, no one other than, Seo Kangjun. If she’d been ‘real’ she’d have felt sick. She squealed when Tao was hit. A large pair of arms grabbed him from behind and a heavy bar hit him square in the gut. It made Seryung scream and left him wheezy. Gasping for air he blinked frightened tears not quite able to scrap his way free. The ghost shook her head chanting, “No, no, no, no, no,” like a prayer.

Kangjun shrugged nonchalantly. “So much drama,” he massaged his temples and picked up a black container. “This is where the fun begins,” he told the echoing room as he unscrewed the lid. A demoralized smile illuminated his features as he doused the contents onto Seryung. He could hear the tremors in her breath as she sat rigid.

Tao swallowed but the lump in his throat was there to stay. He bellowed and struggled to break free from their hold only to receive another blow. This time no one responded to his shriek; Seryung was too stunned to think. She was drenched from her hair down to the soles of her shoes in a sickly, viscous liquid. The stench of petroleum told her this wasn’t a dream. Oil didn’t reek so vividly, and it certainly never made her life flash before her eyes. She could hear cries come from Tao and beatings following. They made her quiver.

“Make it s-stop, please!” She begged thrashing as much as she could.

“Stop what? I’m here to kill you. I will hardly give up on your demand.”

“Tao… Leave, T-Tao. I-I don’t care if you k-kill me j-just leave him a-alone, please!”

Kangjun pretended to think by tapping his chin dramatically. “Hm… I think destroying him before your eyes would break you better. You should taste the distress of losing a loved one. It’s unforgettable. Plus,” he played with his lighter, “It makes an exciting revenge.” His grin widened each time a flame ignited. It caused Tao to wail, scuffle and receive a beating while she continued to try and reason with him. Her air of collectedness shattered at his mercy. She was nothing but a pauper as she relentlessly bawled to save Tao as if the tramp’s life were of more value than her own.

He clicked his fingers. “Alright. If you can keep your mouth shut for five minutes I’ll leave him alone. How about it?”

“You’ll let him go?”

“Sure.”

She dared to nod. However she wished she hadn’t because the burly men freed him only to gang up on him. She could hear him grapple but didn’t dare to look his way. If she could endure for five minutes it would be okay. She shut her eyes tightly pretending she couldn’t hear the beating.

Miyoung couldn’t watch for very long either. It seemed unreasonable to throw an unarmed solider into a battlefield of a dozen armed one. An injured person could only dodge so much as he was welted. The owl swooped down with his claws ready. MAMA aimed as best as he could, striking at bare skin and resurrecting new shrieks. His prey had always been smaller than this however he was apt at clawing. This provided time for Tao to gather himself and turn to the offence.

The thugs weren’t easily affected. They swung mercilessly between the owl and the boy. Both were enemies, or so they believed, until a goon willingly handed a pole to Tao, as if the boy were expecting it he saw his opportunity to defend, and took a hit for him. The cretin hit the ground with a thump and Mi Young popped out shakily. The ghost pursed her lips, and borrowed another body. She didn’t know how long she could keep this up before the Angel of Death came to extinguish her soul. Each second was precious as she turned the men against each other letting Tao take lead.

A gunshot cracked the air, knocking MAMA to the ground, writhing in agony. His wings flapped and his body twitched unusually as a stain of red painted his feathers. Mi Young clamped her hands over and Tao fell to his knees as he bled. A sickeningly warmth heated his injury. He clutched onto his wound, feeling the bullet lodged between his fragmented skin. His breath felt shallow, and his head spun. The scent of blood was alarming him. He wasn’t sure where the smell was from, between MAMA who the shot had traveled through, or him whose flesh it’d ruptured straight after.

The Angel of Death appeared to tidy the souls. Tao coughed, pinching his skin as he searched for the bullet. He didn’t remember finding it. He only remembered feeling as if his body was on fire whilst his vision became dotted and eventually blurred. He hit the ground like a log. Something, with the voice of a human, greeted him and that was it.

“Do you feel it? That pain of losing someone dear?” Kangjun directed his question to Seryung whose eyes were wide with distress.

“Why?! Why are you doing this to me?! Why would you do that to him?! Are you even human?” She struggled against the ropes and screeched.

Kangjun smiled contently and sunk his hand into a deep pocket to produce a book. “Recognize it?”

She recognized it as a ‘diary,’ but didn’t see the correlation between it and manslaughter so she glared at him.

“You’re going to die because of this. Even if you are ignorant, I suppose I should tell you about it. It belonged to someone you abandoned when she most needed you; she died because of you!” Kangjun barked throwing the diary at her. The book flew open to it’s most viewed content displaying Miyoung’s last entry for Seryung to see: “No one believes me. I want to disappear...”

Kangjun reached into his pocket to pluck his knife. “Do you remember the first present I gave you? It was ‘accidently’ scarred, but the thing is… the scar was intentional.”

“STOP IT!” ‘Seryung’s’ cry reverberated piercingly. “Don’t do things you’re regret Jun-ah.” She sobbed tearfully.

Kangjun flinched before grabbing . “What did you call me?”

“Don’t do it. Jun-ah, it’s not worth it. It’s not like I can come back.”

“You- just what do you think you’re playing at?! Don’t you dare call me by that name!” His grip tightened making her choke.

“D-don’t y-you r-recognize m-me, K-Kangaji?” She spluttered with as much might as she could muster. He let go as if she were the plague. ‘Seryung’ gulped greedily for air.

“You!” Kangjun whispered fearfully. Gazing into her eyes he tried to look for signs highlighting something great. She continued to weep gravely at the happenings she’d caused.

Kangjun wasn’t completely convinced just yet. “Miyoung?”

She looked at him through beads of tears and sniveled, “I can’t even wipe my eyes.”

Stumped, he nodded understandingly and cut through the ropes without questioning things.

“It’s you, isn’t it? How did you- why are you- did you, by chance, ‘possess’ her?” He wondered incredulously as he helped her up. Her legs wobbled like jelly making her stumble, forcing him to hold her. He chuckled warmly, “Yah, what are you doing?”

“Sorry. I can’t remember what it’s like to have real legs, and Seryungie’s legs are hurting. She’ll have trouble trying to stand.”

“Good for her. She deserves it,” Kangjun said darkly.

She shook her head, staring at the damage rope burns had caused. “She doesn’t. Neither of them do. Jun-ah, they’re good people.”

“But, but she ‘killed’ you! You even said!”

“I killed me, no one else.”

“But-“

“That was years ago! I was upset and death seemed welcoming. I m-made a mistake s-so don’t blame others for my mistake.”

Kangjun nodded solemnly and hugged her. Worriedly he asked something, “Are you… back for good? You’re inside her, right? You could just stay, and not go anywhere. You could ‘live’ again.”

She smiled but shook her head. “I can’t. I’ve to leave soon, but before I do please promise me you’ll stop hurting my friends. They’re people I care about. Please, watch out for them instead.”

“Where are you going? Why do you have to leave so soon?”

She laughed giddily. “It’s not soon Kangaji. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long, you have no idea.”

He didn’t want her to go, not when he’d just found her! Holding her steady he smashed his lips against hers.

-

Hana ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Racing through streets with only the thought of distancing those guys from Sehun. She may have miscalculated in between when she realized she was getting tired of pushing past people and recklessly knocking down waste bins. Her legs were losing their steam and slowing down. Still she pushed them praying the gangsters behind her caved in first else she would be the one in trouble. Clenching her fists she thought about other things trying to keep herself in momentum.

Sehun staggered to keep her in his field of vision although they were on opposite ends of the road with her still running while all he could manage was a walk. Even so he didn’t want to lose sight of her just in case. He had called the police and he’d left his GPS signal on for them to find him. This was the only way he could guarantee her safety. All he had to do was walk briskly. It was tough. His legs felt broken as if they were small twigs taped together. He tripped every now and then but had managed thus far. However he felt as if he would lose sight of her. He didn’t dare to think of the idea. With only a map of the streets in his hand he used all the technology he possessed to find short cuts to reach her and it had accumulated to this.

What was going on? He reckoned they were sent but by who? That was where his mind reached a dead end. Who hated him enough to try and kill him? He didn’t know anyone in particular, a hater in the shadows perhaps? Either way, he prayed that if he had any luck, that it would all assist her. His thinking was wishful because not long after that idea she tripped, onto the road.

Tired screeched, a horn blared and lights flashed in her direction. She froze in place with an expression of fright. In those seconds memories engulfed him from the argument, to the site of the crash, to the funeral, but this time he didn’t think of Raemi because in her place lay Hana.

Right there and then he thought his world had ended.

Sehun howled as the picture replayed in his head. He didn’t want to see it. The image of the car hitting her, the image of her rolling over the bonnet and flying off the hood; he wanted to block it all out but no matter how loud he yelled or how hoarse his throat became she didn’t get up. She just lay there in her blood. He sniffed making his way to her. The rest of the world didn’t exist to him anymore. It didn’t come back when cars braked and drivers honked at him and called him ‘crazy.’ Nothing mattered to him anymore. His lower lip trembled as he limped towards her. His fingers quaked as he reached to touch her. Still sniffing, he searched for a pulse holding his breath afraid me might miss the beat of her heart. She was still alive… somewhat. Sighing with relief he removed his jacket with the intent to keep her warm. He alternated between shouting for an ambulance like a mad man while coaxing her with words of comfort. Sometime later, while waiting, he fainted from shock.

-

Seryung wandered the abyss of her subconscious. There was nothing there except desolation. She could think of nothing as she glided through the darkness. Despair made her stomach churn but she didn’t know why she was sad. Mourning was followed by friends of similar depression, however she remained unsure bout why they followed her. She travelled like that for an endless time period until she felt heat burn her cold soul.

“What are you doing?”

She watched a new persona appear out of the blue before continuing on her way. It began to follow her. “Are you going to ignore me again?”

She jumped and suddenly guilt joined her grief. She reached to touch her heart that felt like it’d stopped beating, and shook her head.

“So we’re cool? That’s good! I came to say ‘sorry’ and ‘goodbye.’ ‘Sorry’ for the mess I’ve caused, and ‘goodbye’ because I’m leaving.”

“Where are you going?” She dared to ask.

Miyoung smiled knowingly and clasped her hands over her chest in delight. “Far away.”

Seryung nodded unsurely. “Bye.”

Miyoung’s expression fell. “Bye? That’s all you can say?”

“It hurts,” Seryung mumbled tearfully.

“What hurts?”

“Everything… everything hurts. Why does it hurt?”

Miyoung pressed her lips together ruefully, and sighed. “I’m sorry, I really am!” She apologized and embraced her friend. “It’s all my fault, everything is. I wrote that diary. He found it. And… all this happened. We never should have become friends.”

“Why?” Seryung sobbed. “Why not? Who would you talk to, if we weren’t friends?”

“It would’ve been better than this! All of this!”

“So you’re going because you’re angry?”

“No, silly.”

“Then why are you going far away? You don’t have to. No one blames you. It’s not your fault.” Seryung released her and waited for an explanation.

A smile played on Miyoung’s lips. “I’m finally moving on!” She exclaimed making Seryung’s eyes grow large. “When? How?”

“It’s because of you. You finally accepted the fact that my death was not your fault. It never was. I never blamed you. Sure, I was angry that you bailed on me, and I was jealous that you were alive and able to experience life. But you never forced me to the roof to push me off, so how can I blame you?”

Seryung massaged her temples, not sure what to say in this situation now that ‘longing’ had joined hands with dampened spirit. Saying ‘don’t go’ was inappropriate. “I’ll miss you,” she blurted.

“Me too.”