TRIGGER WARNING: SELF-HARM

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"Han Sung." I headed toward a guy in a long-sleeved inner black shirt and pants with a navy blue hanbok of golden pattern sitting at the vanity and combing his hair lazily.

The moment I stood behind him, my view was also shown in the mirror. Thankfully, it was no longer a blur.

I looked into the crystal-clear image inside and realized that I was staring at my own reflection. It seemed the guy who was dressed in the traditional hanbok clothes was indeed me.

"Jeongguk, you're back." The guy sitting in front of the mirror turned around and looked up at me, revealing Tae's face.

"Hmm..." I replied.

"Can you do my hair? I want to style it as similar to yours. But I can't." He pouted in slight exasperation that made his pretty face look even more adorable. It was so cute that I couldn't resist the urge to kiss that pout away.

And I did.

"Jeongguk!" He exclaimed the moment I pulled my lips back. "I asked you to help me with my hair, not to my lips."

"Payment for doing your hair," I said before reaching out for a comb and running its teeth down his silky, brunette hair.

"Tsk, what payment? Haven't I always been paying my living expenses with my body every night?" He clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes at me.

"That was the principle. The kiss just now was the interest."

"What?! Hey, Jeongguk, since when did your nerdy brain turn into a business, huh?"

As he was loud, I had no choice but to shut him up with my lips, to bring peace to my chamber once again. Sadly, the silence was short-lived, for when I carried him to my bed, a series of moans reverberated throughout the room, gracing my ears with a tuneful melody throughout the entire morning.

Even though we missed breakfast, both of us were already full to our heart content.

.

.

.

The scene disappeared, followed by a new one, making my body twitch. But as I promised, I squeezed my eyes shut, pulling my head back into the vision.

.

.

.

The cheerful Han Sung. The one who always had a smile on his face regardless of what was no longer smiling. His eyes were full of anger, grudge, and resentment. His easy-going aura was nowhere to be seen.

"Han Sung, come back with me," I called out to him. "I'll protect you. Let's go home."

He glared at me as if he wanted to kill me with his eyes. Squinting, his lips curved up into a mocking grin before uttering a flat-tone voice that could send chills to the bone.

"Get lost."

I almost stumbled backward at this coldness. Was this my sweet Han Sung speaking?

"Han Sung. Please. Come home with me." I tried to talk to him again as I stepped forward one at a time.

However, with just three steps, he slid his hands into the shirt pocket and took out a yellow paper, a talisman with the fire strokes. He shot it next to my feet with a smirk, creating a line of fire between us.

"Go. Never come back. It's over between us. We shall never meet again." He turned on his heels and walked away without bothering to glance back at me.

Not even once.

.

.

.

"No, wait! Stop," I screamed, almost waking myself up in the process.

However, a voice resonated next to my ears, calming me down.

"Stay calm. Focus. Don't open your eyes."

As I obeyed his words, a new scene materialized before my shut eyelids.

.

.

.

"Jeongguk."

It was chaotic. The noise. The fight. And the scream. Yet, his voice was clear to me, penetrating my eardrums and bringing every word to me with precision. I turned to look at my Han Sung, feeling my heart breaking into million pieces when seeing his beautiful face stained with tears.

"Han Sung. It's okay. I can help you. I'll protect you." I said, extending my hand to him, urging and begging him to take it.

"It's too late." He shook his head weakly. Tears continued to roll down from his crestfallen eyes.

"What's too late?" I asked him in confusion, feeling agitated at how he was acting. Clearly, there was something wrong about him today.

Leaving my question unanswered, he flew past me to the edge of the cliff. I followed him and felt the blood draining out of me when I realized that he was stepping back, bringing his body nearer to the edge of the cliff.

"Han Sung, what are you doing?!" I widened my eyes, rushing to where he was. But no matter how fast I ran, I couldn't catch up with him.

"I'm sorry." His voice shook terribly, for he was crying. "Jeongguk," he called my name again as one of his feet was hovering in the air beyond the rim. "I'll find you. In our next life, I'll be the one to approach you. I'll be the one to sacrifice and bear all the suffering."

Those were the last words I heard from him as his body dropped down from the cliff into the pitch-black, bottomless abyss.

"NO!!!"

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.

.

This time, the emotional impact hit me way too hard. I found my body slid down to the floor when scenes stopped appearing in my vision.

"I'm sorry, Jeongguk. I am sorry for hurting you before. I am sorry."

My body quivered terribly, yet it wasn't just me. Tae was hugging me hard; his body was shaking like a leaf under the autumn breeze. Burying his face on my shoulder, he squeezed me tight, ignoring the chill from kneeling on the cold ground.

I raised my trembling hand, the one that wasn't entangled by the red thread, to caress his back soothingly while whispering some words of comfort.

"Ssh... Don't cry; it's all in the past now. I've never blamed you. Han Sung," I said.

Tae or Han Sung was still crying his heart out. I let him wail out all the pent up distresses and continued to stroke his back silently while listening to the pitter-patter of the rain outside that seemed like it was crying along with him.

With us.

*******

The sky was clear, for the sun shone brightly, not hidden behind any cloud. Though it was sunny, the heat wasn't intense enough, allowing a chance for an outdoor barbeque. The sunlight was warm and gentle as if it were taken into consideration in my plan.

"Kook."

An enchanted deep voice called out to me, making me turn to see a man dressed in black pants and a red shirt walking towards me. He was styling his hair in a messy way that made him look younger and cuter than usual.

"You've come," I replied with a broad smile that naturally came to me whenever he was around.

"Sorry, I am late," Tae apologized.

I shook my head and grabbed his hands as he approached. "No matter how late you are. I don't mind waiting." I raised the back of his hand and brought it to my lips. Without breaking the smooch, I looked up from under my eyelashes at Tae, who was blushing and smiling shyly.

Hands in hands, we took a casual walk toward our destinations to execute our plan for the day.

A date.

<TO BE CONTINUED>

Picture source: https://pin.it/4AR7lI5si