Inside A Wooden Box…

“Jungkook oppa!” The young man startled as his eyes meet with Minji’s worried little face who had already called for him a few times now.

“Y-yes?”

“You’ve been out of it! You haven’t even eaten a spoonful of ice-cream or drink a sip of your smoothie. Are you okay?”

Minji was right. Jungkook was staring at the sky through the transparent shield of the Sunday Shop for more than 10 minutes – that is no normal stare, by the way. He was thinking about where Hyemi is at that time. They both hadn’t talk to each other for days and Jungkook knew it was his fault. Afterall, he was the one who said that he wouldn’t like to bond with anybody including her. They both couldn’t even look at each other through the eyes anymore – and they don’t even quarrell!

“My job is to help you help your friends to be happy. Not to bond with them and also with you.”

He was feeling terrible for saying that but at the same time, that feeling was mixed with a satisfying one. He thought that was the right thing to do. To avoid himself from getting hurt. Now that Hyemi is not in the way, he could do his normal act without a bleeding heart. But (like I said), he was also feeling terrible. “Don’t worry. I’m okay,” Jungkook lied.

Minji knew better than that. She had been observing Jungkook ever since they met and she knew when the color of Jungkook’s face changed, “No, you’re not. Ever since the day when I confessed, you’ve been… not yourself.” Jungkook eyed the girl, knowing how she was wrong. He has always been like this. He is not what she thinks he is actually like. Gazing at the sky like a lonely person has always been his true self. “I’ve becoming to doubt whether you accepted me because of pity or true love.”

Pity? True love?

He laughed quietly.

You’ve got to be joking.

“Neither.” Jungkook replied straightforwardly without thinking first to how that one word could crush an innocent girl’s heart. Minji became silent afterwards, only to patiently wait Jungkook’s continuation though her heart was as if sliced into halves. “I accepted you because I know you can make me happy,” he ended with a charming smile that had glued the halves back to one heart and melted it hot, burning the cheeks of the girl facing him.

“I can make you happy!” Minji said feeling confident.

You can’t though, Jungkook softly fought in his mind. But hidden in those few thoughts, Jungkook wished that Minji can.

Everyday, Hyemi visited Himchan’s house, playing with Azra and talked loads of things. Azra was getting bigger and she had a boyfriend replacing her lousy ex, though she will replace him with another boyfriend soon. They also have been talking about the silly stuffs they did when they were both sepparated and they have always been talking about the empty-headed Taker that was also there at the time, secretly trying to avoid Hyemi meeting with Himchan or his girlfriend. He also made a deal with the silly cat, asking her not to talk about the newcomer by providing her fishes from the Other Side. And when Himchan got home, he would be flabbergasted to see large fish bones on the cat’s plate. Today, Hyemi visited the cat again along with the Taker beside her after blasting off to space in the arcade’s kiddy spaceship.

“I missed playing that spaceship,” Hyemi reminded.

“We just went there about 8 minutes ago. I’m not going in there again,” concluded the Taker whose face is always green whenever he goes into rides that included high surface, shaking and falling. The ghost giggled to the Taker’s reaction. She, then, looked at Azra who was silently looking at the transparent window facing the balcony filled with flowers. Azra was never once like this and Hyemi noticed. “What’s wrong?” Hyemi gently the fur on the cat’s head. The cat began speaking, “I’m a little bit lonely.” Hyemi turned to meet eyes with the Taker as both rose their shoulders.

“Master Himchan rarely comes home to play with me lately,” mewled Azra to the worried-faced ghost. V felt a nervous feeling, hoping Azra won’t speak too long. The ghost fell ill and pitied the cat, it as it laid on her knees. “I’m sure he’s just busy with his work,” she said. Azra, though knew what the real reason is, kept quiet and purred along with the gentle hands of the ghost. V let loose a sound of relieveness in the silence. And Hyemi noticed, “Uh, what’s wrong?”

“Uh… n-n-nothing.”

That reminds Hyemi of the time before she tried suicide. Himchan was like that to her too. He rarely comes by to meet her or even connect with her through phone. That time, Hyemi thought positive to Himchan’s sudden change in personality. But after months passed, she gave up and fell into a broken heart.

He’s only busy with his work.

That was the same thought that kept Hyemi living through those days of loneliness. How she could just turn back time and didn’t gave up hope… she would be still by Himchan’s side.

But then, I won’t be able to meet Jungkook, neither V and Azra.

She then smiled to her silent thinking. Sitting in the middle between Azra and V, facing the garden balcony, lightened her heart as if opened to accept something.

V decided that it is time to take her to the Other Side as ordered by the main guardian but he found himself weak, unable to open the Gate to the Other Side for both of them. He stared at his feeble hands – they seemed