The Love That Remains

Thanks to the female ghost, Sung Jun already knows about her fiancé. He doesn't care. He is focused on a different matter. This girl has feelings for him. She is fighting her feelings for him. Despite being young, Sung Jun knows the difference between love and infatuation. This girl loves him, but she refuses to accept him.

That's not all of it. She also hates him.

He isn't unfamiliar with these tornadoes of emotions inside her eyes. He saw similar things in his mother's eyes when his father left her. He never met this girl before. When did he hurt her? What did he do to receive her hate?

Sung Jun may not feel the love for her the way she feels for him, but he likes her. When he doesn't see her, he misses her. When he sees her angry, he wants to make her angrier. When he sees her hurt, he wants to take her pain away. When he sees her blushing, he wants to kiss her badly. He likes it when he is with her. If he wants to be with her, then she is going to be with him.

It's not that he wants to force her feelings. But she has feelings for him, right? He isn't forcing anything.

If she doesn't want to tell him why she hates him, then so be it. He will make her forget the hate and accept him. He will love her so much that she will not resist him anymore.

"What are you doing?" She fidgets when he cups her face with his face. Her skin is soft and warm. "Didn't you hear that I have a fiancé?"

"Does it matter?" He asks her quietly. Her face turns hot when she hears him. Her cherry lips tremble with uneasiness. Her actions are quite seductive.

"I am someone else's woman." The emotions in her eyes change into defiance. She is like a child. When she can't control something, she becomes angry. "Stay away from me."

"You have a fiancé." He speaks in a straightforward manner. "But, you have feelings for me. I also have feelings for you. Do you want to cheat on your husband after you marry him?"

Advertisements

She turns beet red and squirms to get away from him

"You can have ten husbands," He tells her seriously.

"What?" She stops squirming and looks up at him with surprise.

"You can even have male escorts." He wraps his arm around her waist.

"Hey Sung Jun, what kind of person do you think I am?" She is easily provoked.

"You can even flirt with other men." He smiles at her. This girl is an idiot.

"Sung Jun!" She throws a punch toward his face. He catches her punch with his left hand.

"But, it's only me who can touch you." He lowers his head and licks her lips. "Only me."

He chuckles when he sees her startled expression. Her anger is gone and replaced by a dumb expression. He takes this chance to lock her tightly in his arms. This time, he won't let her run away. He will take those lips first.

"Only me." He repeats and kisses her again. "Nail these words in your head. You can only be mine. I told you. If I like you, I like you. You are definitely mine."

"Sung Jun, are you out of your mind?"

He grips the back of her head and takes the opportunity to kiss her deeply. He explores the nook and cranny of her warm mouth with his tongue, tasting the sweetness. Lost in ecstasy, he slips his palms inside her shirt and runs it on her smooth back.

He has forgotten that there is a ghost lady who is watching them with shock.

"NO!" The ghost lady shrieks and grabs Aisa's hands. She pulls her out of his arms.

"Little Aisa, I will not let you get eaten by this pig." She declares hysterically. "I will protect your chastity, Little Aisa."

The ghost lady escapes with Fang Aisa from the 'Pig' as if dogs are chasing them.

Someone has taken his favorite dish out of his mouth literally. He swears loudly. He is going to get someone to exorcise this ghost. The 'pig' is currently mentally cursing the day she died and became a ghost. He will call the best exorcist to get rid of the ghosts in this city.

The 'pig' doesn't run after the ghost lady and his girl. He has important things to do like calling a certain exorcist to kill a certain ghost.

The ghosts of a certain city and a certain exorcist feel goosebumps all over them.

___

A random pedestrian shivers when he passes by a certain young boy. The pedestrian wonders why it is cold on such a bright day. The certain boy, who was called a 'pig' a while ago by a ghost, dials the number and waits for the person to pick up. The phone is picked up after three rings.

Person: "Who?"

Sung Jun: "Send Han Soo to H city."

Person: "Jun? Is it you?"

Sung Jun: "He should be getting here by tomorrow."

Person: "Jun, where have you been? President is driving me crazy. I have to pull all-nighters since you disappeared. His underlings keep eyes on me like hawks. I can't even read webtoons without looking over my shoulder. Your fangirls are harassing me every day for your phone number. I am going crazy here. Please save me. I will kill myself if you don't."

Sung Jun: "You can come here and live with me. But, there is something that I want you to do."

Person: "I will do anything to get out of this hell hole."

Sung Jun: "I want you to find information on the Fang family in H city."

Person: "That's easy. What else do you need?"

Sung Jun: "Find information on the humans who can touch the dead."

Person: "They are not troubling you, are they?'

Sung Jun: "They are not troubling me. There is someone else."

Person: "Someone who can touch ghosts? Are you sure that he is human? Seeing ghosts is bad enough, but touching them? I don't know...I have never heard of it."

Sung Jun: "That's what I want you to find out. Use my access Id to hack the database."

Person: "Really? Tell me the password."

Sung Jun: "The password is ******. Get all the information. Come to H city with Kyubok by tomorrow. "

Person: "Are you sure that he will come? He is the president's pet."

Sung Jun: "Tell him that I called."

Person: "But, the president will find out your whereabouts."

Sung Jun: "He knows."

Sung Jun ends the call and resumes walking to his home with satisfaction. The person on the other line stares at the phone for a long time before he swears at a certain president of the council. If the president knew where his son was, why did he make his life hell?

___

In the eyes of onlookers, a certain girl with pink hair is running alone on the street. Her left arm is outstretched in front of her awkwardly. She is wearing a black long dress with wide sleeves and black sandals. The girl stops in front of a house and gasps for breaths. Her oval face is red with a layer of sweat on her forehead.

The ghost lady releases a sigh of relief. They have reached the destination safely. This girl didn't meet any other ghost on the way. She can protect this girl from the ghosts, but she can't do much about humans. She is interested in seeing some drama among the youngsters. However, she firmly disapproves of these youngsters who don't understand the sweetness of waiting and doing things after marriage.

She understands that the 'pig' likes this girl, but attacking her like that is not good. That 'pig' was going to cook the rice right there and eat it on the spot.

Then, she remembers the important matter. The daughter of Fang Qi has been taken advantage of. What will happen when that man finds out?

The ghost lady has been hanging around the Fang family as long as she can remember. She has her reasons. She also knows some deepest secret of the Fang family.

There are two existences who can silence the ghosts of H city: Fang Qi and the council.

"Thanks." She hears the girl say.

When Fang Qi found out that he could see the ghosts, he had colorful reactions. He was a bright man until... that happened.

The girl is nothing like him. She is neither bright like young Fang Qi nor brooding and boring like the current Fang Qi. She doesn't get scared or look at her with disgust. She almost treats her like a person.

It's not good. This girl will be in danger if this girl treats all ghosts the same way she treats her.

"Little Aisa," The ghost lady calls out before the girl can enter the house.

"What?" She looks back at her.

"If you see any other ghost, pretend...that you can't see them."

"You are a ghost too."

"I am." The ghost lady smiles sadly. "But there are bad ghosts and good ghosts. In your case, they can harm you because they can touch you. So, it's better if you pretend not to see them. Be careful and take notice of the things around you."

The girl nods her pink head obediently.

"I need to go somewhere." The ghost lady likes this girl. "I will come back to find you soon."

"Don't come," The girl replies in monotone. "My house will smell like sewage if you come here."

The smile on the ghost lady's face freezes. That sharp tongue! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

___

I take a deep breath and brace myself. I am going back to this classroom after more than fifteen years. This feels both unnerving and awkward.

Last night, I looked up the information on homeschooling and jobs. After meeting Fang Qi and Old Fang, I am a bit concerned about my future. The ability to see the dead is useless. It will only bring me problems.

I find that there is barely anything legal that I can do without parental approval. My legal guardian was my grandmother before she died. Now, it's Fang Qi. Asking him is out of the question. Life of a teenager is hard.

The job market is tough. There is no way that I am going to become the fake heiress again. I will go to college and get a degree. I need a high school diploma first.

For the sake of my bright future, I return to H high school.

Here, we go!

At first, nobody notices me. The classroom is full of lively and young students. The bookworms have their noses in their notebooks. The 'wannabe rock stars' have headphones on and the 'future journalists' quietly taking notes of everything to report later to teachers. The 'perverts' are standing in a circle, talking in low voice with a suspicious redness on their faces with a magazine between them. It is not rocket science to guess what they are looking at. The 'popular' ones are chatting about the latest fashion trends. The bullies and the delinquents are sitting on the back like predators waiting for their preys to appear. 'The 'strange' ones are quiet and staring at the ceiling. There are the jealous ones who are gnashing their teeth while glaring at a certain boy. There are shameless fangirls.

Sung Jun is also sitting on the back among the troublemakers, but nobody dares to trouble this harmless looking boy. Well, they don't dare to. His fangirls are quite threatening when they come to protect the boy who can smile like the sunshine in spring.

Currently, his eyes are closed. He has a pure and serene celestial aura around him. The invisible halo around him acts as a barrier and stops from anyone to come and disturb his early morning nap.

In my previous life, Sung Jun transferred in the middle of the semester. He had to take the empty seat next to me because it was the only one available. Wang Mei and I were the only girls who sat on the back row with other delinquents.

Must I have to share the same space with him?

I quietly make my way to the class president who is reading.

"Class president."

I don't remember her name.

"Who?" She frowns when she sees me. She doesn't recognize me either. Fair enough!

"I am Fang Aisa," I say quietly.

She looks at me from top to down. "You are the girl who didn't come to class for a month?"

"Yes, it's me."

"Fang Aisa, do you know that it's against the rules to dye hair?" The perfect school model decided to chastise me. I shake my head. Wang Mei and I chose H high school because nobody cares about rules here.

"Class president," I put my hand on her desk and lean closer. "I am here to exchange my seat with you."

She isn't intimated. Instead, she stands up and loudly announces, "That's against the rules."

Everyone eyes turn to me. This girl likes to attract attention for sure. She wants to show that I am demanding something like a spoiled girl.

"My seat is next to Sung Jun," I speak in a low voice. Her eyes go wide when she hears me. There is a faint blush on her face. It is gone like a flicker.

"So?" She steals a glance at Sung Jun and then, at the delinquents and the fangirls. The seat is troublesome despite the advantages.

"The doctor has asked me to take a lot of fresh air." My voice is loud this time. "Your seat is next to the window, class president. I know that I am causing you a problem, but I am also one of your responsibilities. What will happen if you refuse me and I am sick again? You won't like bad karma haunting you around."

The class president blinks, surprised and mumble something to herself. She looks behind me. There are infatuation, fear, and hesitation in her eyes. She needs a slight push.

"Class president, it is a good opportunity to get close to him." I make sure that she is the only one who can hear me. "You are the prettiest girl with perfect records and background. There is no way that he will reject you. He just needs to see your good sides more."

Her face turns into a deeper shade of red. She nervously looks at me and says in a low voice, "Fang Aisa, what will you gain by helping me?"

"I will get a seat near the window and enjoy the scenery."

"You were fine with that seat before."

"The seat is troublesome. His fangirls are quite noisy. I won't get sleep there."

She nods. It seems like a good enough reason for her. The young girls in love are easiest to manipulate.

"You can take my seat." Her voice is loud enough for everyone. "I understand your situation, Fang Aisa. You should take care of your health."

Advertisements

I hear whispers behind me and smile. Just like that, she maintains her image of being a good and considerate girl.

Nevertheless, the deal is done. Both parties are satisfied. She won't get the anger of the fangirls and still, get the seat next to her crush. With her good girl image, she can easily fool the obsessed fangirls. Heck! She might even become the head of those fangirls.

I don't have to sit near him. I also get a window seat.

After a while, it's a gloomy Wang Mei who enters the classroom. Her eyes are swollen and red. She is surprised to see me, but her expression changes to coldness. She looks away and walks to her seat with an overbearing demeanour.

"It starts again." I gaze out of the window. "This time, it's a bit early."