The Ghost of You
Prologue
Last week, I had found out that my "dead" boyfriend was actually alive. After ten years of grieving, he had come back. I also met a young girl who knew about Saeran before he had "died." Areum had gotten the same tattoo as Saeran on her arm, just with her own personal twist on it. I had to take a week off work to deal with the shock of seeing Saeran again. My patients were upset, but I promised to make it up to them. Areum had told me that her mother kicked her out after she saw the tattoo, so she begged to live with me. Of course I accepted, the girl was too nice to turn away. I helped Saeran move his things to my bedroom, we had spent ten years away from each other, no way in hell way I letting him stay away any longer.
Saeran helped Areum get set up in his old room while I worked in the office. My patients had noticed my mood shift and always talked among themselves as to what might've turned my mood around. One day I gathered all of them like we were in a sharing circle. "I hear you guys talking about what has made me so happy." I said while throwing my arms over two of the kids. "What was it that made you so happy MC? We are all dying to know!" The oldest girl, Skylar, asked. I laughed and brought a finger to my lips. "You all must keep quiet about this alright? Even you Skylar!" I target her, she laughed and held her hands up in surrender. Everyone scooted closer to me in anticipation. "You guys remember my boyfriend right? The white-haired guy on my desk?" I asked them while giggling. They nodded and leaned closer. "Well, turns out that he has been alive for the past 10 years! Don't ask me how though, I haven't even gotten the full story from him." I said while grinning. The youngest boy swooned and placed his hand over his heart. "He sounds so romantic Miss MC!" The boy said. His name was Jihyun, it reminded me of V. The other teens laughed and pushed Jihyun gently, the boy flushed a bright pink. Skylar patted my shoulder and smiled.
After our session ended, the kids and I parted ways. They each gave me a hug as they left, half of them walked towards the city center, the other half walked towards the suburbs. I pulled out my phone and called Areum. "Hey MC!" The girl said happily. I could hear the buzzing of tattoo machines in the background. "Hey Areum, are you at work?" I asked while leaving the office. "Yeah I am, I have Saeran with me, he wanted to see what I did." Areum explained while calling out to MC's boyfriend. "Can you ask him to meet me at our old hangout spot?" I asked while heading towards the ice cream place. "Yeah! I'll send him over. Oh can I just say something?" She asked softly, a hint of mischief in her voice. "Go ahead Areum." I said while chuckling. She cleared her throat and laughed. "He looks hotter with the black hair!" The girl said before ending the call. I laughed and kept walking, the autumn air brought a sweet chill.
Saeran had beat me to the shop, his, now black, hair gently shifted with the breeze. "Hey babe." He said while kissing my cheek. I blushed and hugged Saeran tightly, I still couldn't believe that he was alive. "Saeran we need to talk about the past ten years." I said softly while looking around. He visibly winced and nodded, taking my arm and leading me somewhere quiet.
Saeran sighed and leaned against the wall of the building behind him. "I guess I should start from the beginning, huh?" He asked while looking into my eyes. I nodded and sat down on the ground, waiting for him to explain. Saeran sighed again and started to tell his story.
"I never died that day. It was merely a stroke of luck that I had managed to not get killed. The scene you saw was just the aftermath. Saeyoung had pulled a gun out on me, ready to kill. I know you are confused right now but hear me out. My twin brother pulled out the gun, shooting the Mint Eye cultist that he had been arguing with. Saeyoung had then kicked me to the ground, into the ever growing pool of blood. It had stained my hair red, making the two of us impossible to tell apart. That was just one of the gunshots that was heard. The next two gunshots came from us struggling against each other. One bullet went through my leg, the other buried into the ground next to me. What happened next was a blur. All I remember was getting the gun and pointing it at my twin. Mint Eye taught me exactly where to shoot to kill someone, so those instincts kicked in. In a rush of adrenaline, I shot my twin brother between the eyes. I had taken care of his loose ends, leaving the RFA for him, finishing his work at the agency." Saeran took a deep breath before he continued. "The day of the service, Saeyoung's partner, Vanderwood, gave me a job offer. I didn't take it, he would reveal that it was Saeyoung that died, not me. So, I took the job, keeping you safe and keeping my secret safe. They made me dye my hair, the red or white color would've been too obvious. Ever since that day, my eyes lost their vibrant golden color. It dulled out, leaving me with this color." Saeran finished explaining while motioning to his eyes.
I stood up and quickly hugged him. I hadn't realized that he took a job just to keep a secret safe. His arms snaked around my waist and his face was buried in my hair. Saeran held me close, almost as if he was trying to make up for the years. "I'm sorry I didn't come to see you sooner. I wasn't brave enough to admit what I had done." Saeran whispered against my hair. I smiled and looked up at the man. "We have the next ten years to make up for what you missed." Was all I said before I kissed him. We stayed there for a while, holding each other. My phone rang, cutting through the moment. I sighed and answered the call. It was my coworker, asking about prescription documents. I helped him then hung up, the guy would not quit with the date requests.
Saeran and I walked home, I chattered about my day. Saeran kept looking around for something, or someone. He kept his hands near his phone, jumping when a text buzzed on his screen. I managed to get a look at what the message said. When I read it, my face went pale. Someone was after Saeran, they knew he was alive.
Blocked Number: Saeran Choi, watch your back. We know your weaknesses now. The agency won't even be able to stop me from getting to you. I hope you have prayed to your Savior.