NCT Imagines (Requests Open!)

See You Again (Lucas)

"It's been a while," Linh choked out.  "How have you been?"

Lucas smiled sadly.  "Things have been... different lately.  He winced before quickly reassuring Linh with a smile.  "What about you?  How has Vietnam been treating you?"

Linh sat up, her eyes bright.  "Oh man, the food is incredible.  There's this pho restaurant a block down from my house, and I'm telling you it's divine.  When you come to Vietnam, I'll have to take you there.  You'd love it."

Lucas once again, smiled as if he knew something she didn't.  "Well, I guess you have no other option but to take me there."  He glanced down at his watch, but Linh noticed the time was frozen at 1:27 AM.  That couldn't possibly be right.  It was about 8 PM now.  

"I have to get going.  We should meet up again soon."

And they did.  Linh told Lucas all about her adventures in her homeland.  Meanwhile, Lucas didn't have much to say.  Every time she asked about his job or what he was currently working on, he would avoid her questions by asking her new ones.  

It was another bright sunny day in Seoul.  It had already been two months since Linh had left Vietnam to visit Lucas.  She had even found a part-time job downtown and was staying in an apartment room above a café.  

Lucas was supposed to meet her at the café below her room, but he was two hours late.  Linh didn't mind walking, and before she knew it, she was at Lucas's front door.  She rang the doorbell, seeing his father for the first time in years.

"Linh!  My goodness, look at how you've grown up!"  There were tears in his eyes, and Linh hugged the old man.  "You must be twenty-four, now, right?  You and Lucas were the same age."

Were?

Linh smiled.  "Speaking of, is Lucas around?  I was supposed to meet him two hours ago, and I thought he may be here."

Lucas's father's eyes grew cold and sad.  "Linh, my dear.  I don't know how to tell you this, but Lucas passed away two years ago.  He was hit by a drunk driver, and the car crash took his life."

Two years ago?

Linh's mind raced a hundred miles per hour.  "Lucas died?  Two years ago?"

She felt her heart sink.  Was she going delusional?  She had definitely met Lucas on the swings on her first night in Seoul.  

"You're not going crazy.  You really saw me." Linh turned and saw Lucas standing there next to her.  "It's true.  I died in a car crash two years ago.  A drunk driver swerved into my lane at 1:27 AM."

Linh remembered the watch and how the time never changed.

"You're the only one who can see me," Lucas patiently explained.  His mind flashed back to that night, two years ago.

Lucas was driving down the main road, coming back from his late night part-time job at the karaoke.  There was always that night life he adored, but tonight, he felt really glum.  People at the karaoke had been extra rude, and the last thing he wanted to do was come home and have his parents ask him how his day was.  Little did he know he would never have to answer that question again.

A car swerved into his lane at high speed.  Lucas had seen it happen almost as if the accident had happened in slow motion.  He glanced at the picture of Linh he always kept on his dashboard, smiling wistfully.  "I hope you can still see me and remember me, even when I'm gone," he wished.  That was the last moment he remembered before the overwhelming sound of the crash filled his ears, and the world went black.

Linh and Lucas were at the abandoned playground now.  

"You kept your promise.  You came back for me.  It took a while, but you're still here," Lucas smiled as if nothing had happened.

The underside of Linh's eyes were stained with tears.  "'How could you leave without me?" she cried over and over again.

Lucas sighed.  "I'm sorry.  And I really wish there was a way to turn back time, but there isn't.  But hey, you can still see me.  We can still hang out like the old days."

Linh tried to dry her tears, but they kept rolling down her cheek.  Lucas glanced down at his watch, checking the time.

"I think I have to go, but I'll meet you tomorrow at the café.  Be there or be square."  Just before he turned to leave, he pressed his lips onto the girl's own.  

When Linh opened her eyes, he was gone.

I love you she heard Lucas's voice echo in her mind, and she smiled, knowing that they would always be side-by-side no matter what.

___

A/N: Wow okay, who's crying after that one?  I sure am. T_T

Thank you so much @ahkimbapkidding for requesting this.  I haven't written something this heartfelt and angsty in a while, and it reminded me to be thankful for the life I have.   I also chose the name Linh for the character because "linh" in Vietnamese translates to "soul" or "spirit", so I thought it would make the story more interesting.  Man, I'm still wiping my tears.