3: 09.11.11
Last Wish of a Heart
"Ah, it's new to find you here since the morning," Doojoon chuckles. He just returned from meeting his current 'client's and he is thinking about having coffee in the morning; not that he needs to. He just wants to.
"I have a question," Junhyung mutters with his usual monotone but Doojoon can see the mix of emotion in his tone. Junhyung has been waiting for him since last night; he didn't even return to check on Yeona after his conversation with her sister.
He has been trying to find answers for his questions but he barely find one; he doesn't know who to ask anymore other than Doojoon, the one who gave him the name, the one who guided him through his tasks.
Doojoon must know something. Something that Junhyung has been thinking but doesn't want to believe in.
Having a hint that it will be a long story, Doojoon sighs with a simple smile and gives Junhyung a sign to follow him outside. He changes his plan to have a coffee into a serious talk with Junhyung.
They spread their wings, soaring to the sky in silence. Junhyung follows Doojoon without any question; he has enough with questions now. He just hopes that Doojoon knows where they are going.
But Doojoon, being a 'senior' Angel of Death, knows what Junhyung wants to talk about. He knows that it's the time to explain everything to the new Angel of Death.
They land on the ground when they reach a cemetery. Doojoon walks around, looking for a tomb he needs to show to Junhyung. He finally stops when he finds the tomb.
Junhyung's eyes widen in shock when he reads the name engraved on the stone tomb:
Yong Jaesoon
Born on December 19th, 1989. His death date is October 23rd, 2011, around two weeks ago. There is a bouquet of white roses on the tomb, a sign that someone just visited this grave.
"Yong Jaesoon died in a car accident when he was at Japan. He was buried here two days after the accident when his parents had received the news," Doojoon starts talking. "He was a young and honest man, this Yong Jaesoon guy."
Junhyung clenches his fists. He feels the uneasy feeling again. This time, it makes him feel suffocated for a reason. He takes a glance at Doojoon who is giving him another mysterious smile.
"Let me tell you a story, Junhyung," Doojoon puts his hand on the stone tomb calmly. He looks at Junhyung in the eyes. "I was working my task to take a soul of a young girl on October 11th this year. She was a beautiful girl who couldn't see the world."
Junhyung feels his chest is stabbed by invisible knife. A part of him doesn't want to listen the continuation, but the bigger part of him demands an explanation.
"I was going to pay her my first visit, asking her about her last wish that afternoon. A young man caught my attention as he was watching the girl sleeping. And I made a mistake that day. I showed myself in front of the guy. You can say that I was a little bit confused after all works I've done," Doojoon continues his story briefly.
"When the guy saw me, he didn't scream or even show me a hint of surprise. He asked me calmly about what I was doing in his girlfriend's room. I could have told him that it was a dream or anything else, but I answered his question right away because of his simple reaction," Doojoon steps closer to Junhyung. "For the rest of the story, it will be better if you see it yourself."
Doojoon spreads his black wings, engulfing himself and Junhyung. When he folds his wings again, they are standing in the middle of a familiar room for Junhyung: Yeona's bedroom.
There he is, Doojoon with his black wings, standing with his smile and talking to a man in white shirt. They are talking calmly, don't want to make Yeona from her sleep.
"Angel of Death...," the man that Junhyung assumes as Jaesoon mutters. "Are you going to take Yeona away?"
"Not now. She still has thirteen days to live and I'm going to grant her last wish," Doojoon explains, just like what they always do when they meet their 'client's. "I can make her eyes to see for the rest of her life."
Jaesoon frowns. He takes a deep breath and he speaks out his thought that makes Junhyung surprised, "Can you take my life instead of hers?"
"I can see your love for her is real," Doojoon raises his eyebrow, studying Jaesoon's face. He can feel the sincerity in Jaesoon's request. "Why? You can live longer, young man. Besides you can spend these thirteen days with her happily."
"If she happens to die in thirteen days, I can make you sure that I will not live long enough," Jaesoon replies calmly. "I want her to see the beautiful world. I want her to live."
Despite the life lessons he taught to Yeona about living the life with gratefulness, Jaesoon thinks that Yeona deserves to live happily after everything she has been through. Angel of Death can't take her life this soon.
Doojoon chuckles, amused by Jaesoon's request, "Are you sure that you want to take her place? You will be an Angel of Death, just like me, because you don't appreciate the life you are given."
He has some experiences about the same case. Lovers asked to be taken instead of the one they loved but he never met the one with this pure sincerity.
Jaesoon holds his breath for seconds but he replies, "It's alright. Then will I have my last wish as well?"
"After that," Doojoon who is standing next to Junhyung talks, "he told Yeona that he was going to Japan. He didn't lie. He really went to Japan. He wrote four letters, addressed for the girl which will be sent every ten days."
"What is his last wish?" Junhyung still hasn't take his eyes off of Jaesoon. He has a really bad feeling now.
"He wished that no one can tell Yeona about his death until the day Yeona receive his last letter. In the letter, he will explain about his death," Doojoon answers, spreading his black wings. "So I let Yeona to live and followed Jaesoon."
Doojoon takes a glance at the past scene and murmurs, "The one who donated the eyes for Yeona is Jaesoon."
Junhyung looks up with wide eyes, staring at the man who is standing in front of him. He looks away and another surprise attacks him when his eyes meet a mirror.
He knows that an Angel of Death is visible through mirror sometimes. But it's not that what makes him widen his eyes.
The reflection of himself in the mirror is showing the exactly same person with the man named Jaesoon in front of him, other than the fact that he is wearing all black and Jaesoon is wearing all white.
He understands everything now. He is Yong Jaesoon. He is the one who willingly accepted to be an Angel of Death because he took Yeona's place that day.
It's not that he is falling for Yeona but he is always in love with Yeona since the start.
Since he is new, the past still clouds his memories somehow. It's not jealousy that he felt everytime Yeona mentioned Jaesoon; it's the sadness that he couldn't bear because he couldn't be the one to stay with her no matter how much she wanted him to.
"You asked me another personal request, Junhyung," Doojoon says, knowing that Junhyung has understood everything. "You want to be the first one to see Yeona when she open her eyes after the operation. Now I think both of you can grant each other wish."
"And that is why I apologized when I gave you this task," Doojoon returns them back to the present time, back to the cemetery. "As for now you can meet her and she can meet you for thirteen days."
Without him knowing, a tear starts to roll down on his face. He should have known it that someday Yeona will leave the world as well, but he never thought that she will leave this soon.
And he will be the one to take her soul in three days.
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