The night is silent, but a cloud of tension covers the atmosphere, palpable. Fire dances in the air, drawing patterns. The four Guardians stand in a small clearing. They watch the fire intently, their golden eyes gleaming.
"Chanyeol," Baekhyun calls out, worried.
"I know," Chanyeol answers, frowning. "Something is not right."
"Maybe he's trapped?" Baekhyun asks, his voice rising.
"Not possible," Chanyeol answers calmly.
"What if he had crossed the boundary?" Luhan asks, as usual, going way overboard.
"Not possible," Chanyeol repeats. "You all know that."
"What's the problem then?" Sehun asks in a small voice.
The fire sizzles and dissolves into smoke, leaving them in darkness.
"I do not know," Chanyeol says, walking around, frustrated.
"Can we reach out to him?" Baekhyun asks, sounding a little desperate. Luhan pats his arm soothingly.
"I doubt he'll hear us, but we can try," Chanyeol says, turning back to them.
The four Guardians join hands, closing their eyes in unison.
****
"Hold still."
I freeze. Kai leans into me, touching his lips to mine. A shock of heat flows down my body. I melt.
Despite his warning, I throw my arms around his neck, pulling him closer, kissing him back.
He pushes me away gently.
"I said hold still," he whispers, shaking his head. He chuckles softly.
"More," I say, pulling his lips back to mine.
He narrows his eyes for a second, grins, and kisses me again, sending electricity humming through my body.
Right at this moment, I feel alive. I feel human. I've never been more human. Right at this moment I am not dead.
Kai slips his arms around me. I kiss him harder. He laughs against my lips, responding eagerly. Heat washes over me.
"Kyungsoo," Kai whispers.
I bite his lower lip gently. He pulls away, breathing hard. His arms loosen around me, but I crush him to me, not wanting to let go, burying my face in his neck.
"Ah...Kyungsoo." He shifts awkwardly in my arms. "Kinda hurts."
"Oh!"
I release him instantly, embarrassed. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. No harm done," he mumbles, touching my cheek.
I stare at Kai. He just kissed me and the idea doesn't repulse him. He's not hesitant in his actions.
"What?" He raises an eyebrow.
"I'm dead," I whisper. "That doesn't bother you?"
"You feel human to me," he whispers back.
"I don't think I can...leave when the time comes," I say, looking away.
His answer surprises me.
"You can't stay here, Kyungsoo. I know that. It'll hurt so much when you leave. I know that too. The least I can do is help you bring back your memories. And while you're still here, let's just be happy together."
If I'm not dead yet I would have cried.
"Kai," I breathe.
He smiles at me, pulling me into his arms again.
Right at this moment, I am alive.
****
"Aren't you going to sleep?" I whisper, staring at the ceiling.
Kai lies with his back to me, scrolling through his phone.
"I feel self-conscious with you here," he admits.
I chuckle. "Well I don't. Should I leave?"
"No!" He turns, holding me in place. "Stay here please."
Kai pouts at me. I pat his head, settling back down. He releases me and goes back to his phone.
"What are you doing?" I ask, scooting closer.
"Playing," he answers.
I crane my neck, taking a look at his phone.
"What game?"
"2048. It's a puzzle. Just keep adding two even tiles until you reach the 2048 tile."
"Interesting, can I try?"
"Sure, here."
Kai passes his phone to me.
"I've reached 2048 a dozen times already. I'm trying to reach 4096," he says.
"Oh, so you can keep playing even if you've reached 2048?" I ask as I start playing.
"Yes," he answers. He pauses. "I won't take a look so you won't be pressured."
He chuckles. I glare at him.
Five minutes have passed and I've reached the 8192 tile. But I have no more tiles to move so back to Kai.
"Game over," I say, a bit bored.
Kai glances at his phone and turns to gape at me.
"How did you do that?!" he demands.
I shrug.
"Tell me you've played this a million times already." He narrows his eyes at me.
"I haven't," I answer. "If you look at it more closely, it's a very simple game."
"Monster," he says, leaning away from me, his expression mortified.
I laugh out loud, looking away. I turn back to him and find his face inches from mine. I bite my lip.
"But I don't mind kissing you, monster," he whispers and takes hold of my face, pulling my lips to his.
Kai kisses me slowly. His breathing tickles my skin. One hand slips down my neck, my arm, and settles on my waist, pulling me closer. I shiver involuntarily.
"Sleep," I whisper against his lips. I feel him smile.
He pulls away, his breathing ragged.
"That was a goodnight kiss then," he whispers, breathless.
I smile. He pulls me into his arms and kisses my forehead. After a while, his breathing slowed. His arms around me loosen slightly and I know he's asleep.
"I love you," I whisper.
****
Kai takes me to his school the next day.
"This should be interesting," I comment as we get out of the car.
"They can't hear you, see you, or touch you," he says, grinning darkly. "But you can."
"I don't intend to spook them," I say, throwing him a dirty look.
"Oh c'mon," he whines. "It'll be fun."
I roll my eyes at him.
"Your definition of fun is more like annoying people," I point out as we head to his first class. "It's rude."
"Welcome to my world," he says, winking at me.
Kai has introduced his close friends to me. He showed me a photo of them last night. I recognize them easily.
Kai sits beside Suho. In front of them are Chen, Lay, and Xiumin, who sits on a nearby desk. Luckily, the desk behind Xiumin is empty. I don't have to sit at the back after all. Well not that it bothers me, but I want to stay close to Kai.
He cast a sideway glance at me.
"Don't mind me," I say.
He pouts and turns back to his friends.
"We're going out tonight. You coming?" Suho asks Kai.
Kai turns his head to me again.
"Stop looking at me," I mumble and add, "I think you should go. I'll come with you if that will make you happy."
He gives me a small smile before turning back to Suho.
"I'll come," he answers.
"Great," Lay says, giving him thumbs up.
The professor comes in, test papers in his hands.
"Keep all your things," he instructs. "Any form of cheating will cost you two failed exams."
The professor passes out the test papers.
"You may now begin."
I look over Xiumin's shoulder. Ah. Calculus. I read the questions carefully. I find them quite easy. Hmm...
I look over at Kai. He's biting his pen, eyeing his test paper doubtfully. I laugh under my breath. I move to stand beside him.
"Want me to help you?" I ask pleasantly.
He nods.
I start. I recite the solutions and answers carefully. Twenty minutes before the time, I finish answering the thirty questions.
"Review your paper," I instruct. "Your professor might question you."
He mouths a thank you, smiling at me quickly. I glance nervously at the professor. Good thing he's preoccupied with something at the moment.
"You're welcome," I say, walking towards the professor.
I peek at the key answers. Ha! I run back to Kai.
"I got it all!"
I clap my hands. Kai elbows me playfully in the hip.
"Behave," I hiss. "Maybe I'll just wait for you outside."
I pat his head and leave the classroom. I feel his eyes on me. I can almost picture his reaction. I smile.
****
"You went to college a few times already over the past twenty years and yet you haven't mastered Calculus?" I ask Kai as we head to the parking lot to meet his friends after his last class.
"Well I'm not someone who spends most of his time sitting behind a study table, reading all the books in the library," he says sourly. "I rather play chess with the dead."
"Will it hurt if you devote some of your time studying? You can be the smartest person, given that you have all the time in the world," I insist.
"I don't think so," he says quietly. "I don't know how long...I'll live. I don't know what the future holds. I'm immortal, but I can't escape death."
"Try not to die," I whisper, looking away. "Just live forever."
"Kyungsoo I-"
"Kai!" someone calls.
I look up to see his friends waving at him.
"Later," he breathes.
Chen taps his foot impatiently.
"Kai-ah, hurry up."
****
"I'm full," Kai says, sighing contentedly as he jumps into his bed.
"That was more of a food trip than a night out," I point out.
He motions for me to join him on his bed. I go willingly.
"Sleep," I tell him. "I know you're tired."
"I can't sleep with my stomach full," he says, straightening up. "Time to burn off the calories. Care for a walk?"
He holds out his hand. I take it, smiling. He leads me downstairs. He pauses at the door.
"Oh, where's my phone?" He pats his pockets. He groans. "Be right back."
He dashes back upstairs. I wait patiently.
"Kyungsoo," a familiar voice whispers in my head.
I look around. I see no one.
"It's me," says the voice.
"Who-"
I stop. I remember that voice. I heard it before, when I was trying to get hold of my memories.
"Chanyeol?" I wonder.
"Kyungsoo, where are you?" he asks, urgent now, his voice fading.
"I'm here!"
I close my eyes, bringing myself to focus.
"Are you lost? What's happening? What's taking you s-?"
Dead silence.
"Chanyeol?"
I wait. No answer. I hear footsteps.
"What's wrong?"
I open my eyes and find Kai standing before me.
"Chanyeol, he spoke to me," I answer, confused.
Are you lost? What's happening?
"Chanyeol?" Kai asks, surprised. "How?"
Are you lost? What's happening? What's taking you s-?
What's taking you...so long? What does Chanyeol mean? Was he asking why I haven't crossed the boundary yet? How did he find me? How did he talk to me? Who is he? Who am I? Who are we?
All of a sudden it clicks.
"I have to go back," I whisper.
"What do you mean?" Kai asks, taking hold of my shoulders. "Kyungsoo?"
"I have to go back," I say, louder.
I don't why. But I have to. I don't know how. But I have to.
I feel a force tugging at me.
"Tell me what's happening," Kai says, shaking me gently.
My form blazes into gold, just like that night in the streets, when we came across an unwelcome visitor.
"I am going back," I tell Kai. "I am not leaving."
"To where?" he demands. "I don't understand."
I feel myself slipping into the unknown. I'm losing consciousness. I don't fight it.
"Kyungsoo!"
"I'll come back to you," I promise Kai. "Always."
Lights explode before my eyes as I fall deep into the abyss.