When A Ghoul Falls In Love

Being stuck in traffic on a rainy day with a guy who wouldn’t shut his mouth is quite a challenge.

“Wife, this is a sign.” He looks at me like a kid who doesn’t want to go to school. “Let’s skip today.”

He took this road intentionally. I have used all of my energy today. I can’t argue with this man anymore. Why does he have so much energy? Does he never get tired? He’s always talking or doing things that make me want to pull out my hair.

“How about we go on a date today, Nell?” He points at the cafe on another side of the road. “A movie date?”

Just do whatever you want.

“What about a karaoke bar?”

I am sure that you will be singing for hours and making my ears bleed.

“Amus.e.m.e.nt park?” He pokes my arm. “Are you asleep?”

“It’s raining for god’s sake.” I glare at him.

“Then, a date in the car?” He turns on the music. “It’s raining outside. We are stuck in traffic. We should make memories here. We can do a lot if you are interested.”

Why do I have this husband who is like a ball of chaotic energy that never seems to run out? If I don’t say something, he will proceed with whatever he wants to do. “Coffee date.”

“Coffee date, it is.” He grins at me. I close my eyes, trying to gather energy. I wish I knew how to shut his constantly moving mouth.

Not surprisingly, he manages to get the car out of the traffic and take a detour. I shake my head. He just didn’t want to go to the hospital. He’s always working hard. I stare at my left hand. Will I be able to type? I need a job too. I don’t want to rely on him. “Doctor Sanguine, it’s okay not to move out of the house. I used to dislike it before. But you made that place a lot lively. I don’t find it difficult to live there anymore.”

“Is that so?” He glimpses at me once. “But I want to start our new life in a new place. I think that the house is too big for us now. We can move back in the future. Right now, I want to live in a cosy place with you Just the two of us.”

It’s only two of us in the house though. Does he also not like the house anymore? I don’t ask anymore.

A date, huh?

The car stops in front of a corner cafe. It’s raining heavily. He steps out of the car first and runs into the cafe. Why is he in a hurry? I shrug and open the car door.

“Wait!” Eli shouts from the entrance of the cafe. He walks toward me and opens the black umbrella in his hand. He gives me his hand. “Come, my lady. It’s bad for you to get wet in this rain.”

It’s too late to act like a gentleman. I take his hand anyway. I already know his true face. This guy is a pervert.

“Baek Joon-Woo”

I turn around and find a woman watching us. I feel like time is slowing down. The shock in her dark eyes is replaced by tears. She sprints toward Eli. I step back. The cold drops of rain make me realize that this is not a nightmare. It’s too real. I steel my heart. I won’t feel anything. Nobody can shake me right now. No matter what happens, I won’t remember.

***

Eli raises his hand before the woman could hug him. She stops only two feet away from him. The woman blinks her eyes and turns her head toward Nell. She looks at him again. A mixture of emotions — disbelief, shock, longing — flicker through her dark eyes. Rain soaks her light brown ombre hair, but she couldn’t care less.

He glances at Nell who is watching this woman with no emotion. He steps closer to her, putting the umbrella over her head. She pays him no attention as if he’s not even there. He feels a sharp pang in his chest as he watches her heart closing again. She looks like an unfeeling doll.

The woman looks at Nell and asks, “Is he Baek Joon-Woo?”

“No,” Nell replies with an eerie voice.

“Ha!” The woman cackles, but the pain is clear in her eyes and voice. “You are unbelievable. After killing Baek Joon-Woo, you found a man who looked just like him and if you were going to be like this, then you should let him go back then.”

“Miss.” Eli steps in front of his wife. “I don’t know who you are, but don’t talk to my wife in this manner. If you think that she killed someone, you better have some evidence. I don’t like people who make up rumours.”

The woman shakes her head in disbelief. “You are really not him. He would never talk to me in this way. I was really mistaken. I saw you with her and thought that it could only be him. She would never go to someone else. She would never forget him. That’s what he told me. That’s why he left me for her. If she never came to his life, he would have been alive.”

“You are right.” Eli is irritated. This is the first time someone has mistaken him for Baek Joon-Woo. Thanks to this woman, his Nell is hurt again. She is closing herself to the world again. Everything that he did in the past week has been turned back to the same point. “I am not Baek Joon-Woo. I don’t care what happened between you, my wife, and Baek Joon-Woo in the past. Don’t appear before us again. Next time, I won’t let you be.”

“He was also crazy about her.” The woman raises her chin. “Isn’t that right, Nell? Didn’t you announce to the whole school that Baek Joon-Woo was yours and you were going to marry only him? Then, how come you are someone else’s wife? Is having the same face enough for you? Is this your love? After killing someone, how could you still live?”

Eli clenches his fist and lifts his foot to take a step toward the woman. He’s going to bury her at the spot. Nell raises her arm and grasps his elbow. He looks back at her.

“Don’t get involved.” She looks at him with empty eyes.

“How could I not?” Eli notices that she’s clenching her left hand. He shoves the umbrella in her right hand.

“It’s none of your business.” She gives him a weak push. “If you still want me to be with you, don’t take a step.”

The detached words reveal the new distance between them. He can’t guess what she would do. He doesn’t want her to face this woman alone, but he can’t bring himself to step toward her when she is looking at him this way.

“Why are you hiding behind a man?” The woman shouts at them. “Nell Solomon, you killed Baek Joon-Woo. You drove him to his death. Then, you pretended that you had no memories. You hid for all these years. You owe them all: Maisie Kim, Amelia Wang, Samantha Wang, Abigail Woods, Millie Saunders, Nick Wilkinson, Oliver Day, Baek Joon-Woo.”

The woman takes a breath. “You also owe me. Baek Joon-Woo wouldn’t have killed himself if you had not spoken to him.”

Nell walks toward the woman and uses her left hand to slap the woman’s face hard. Eli purses his lips. He didn’t expect this.

The woman’s cheek is stinging with pain. She trembles in rage. Nell raises her left hand again and hits her face with the back of her hand. “Feeling better now, Evie?”

“You haven’t changed at all.” Evie reaches for Nell’s hair. “I am going to kill you today with my own hands.”

Nell steps aside before Evie could grab her hair. Evie stumbles on her feet and falls on the ground. As the drops rain hits her back, drops of her hot tears fall on the ground. She feels as if something is weighing her down. She can’t get up. The memory of finding Baek Joon-Woo’s lifeless body in the classroom returns to her mind. That person killed himself because of this woman who is living happily with someone else now. That person never got to grow up and make his dreams come true. If he hadn’t gone to the hospital and met Nell, he wouldn’t have done it. She’s sure that Nell said something to him that day.

“We already had this conversation.” Nell bends down on her knees and grabs Evie’s hair. “I don’t owe anyone. Baek Joon-Woo owes me. He owes both of us.”

“Why didn’t you die that night?” Evie looks up at Nell with undisguised hate. “If you couldn’t take care of him, you should have never taken him away from me. How come you had forgotten everything after you had a conversation with Baek Joon-Woo? He died because of your words to him. He felt that he betrayed you. He wasn’t that kind of person. He would never hurt you. Then, why did he think like that? What did you say to him that day?”

Evie clutches her chest and lets out a wail. “I don’t know what you said to him. But he killed himself after meeting you. You never repented for your sin. You even dared to say that you didn’t remember. How could you still live after killing someone? Nell, if you loved him for real, how could you say the words that made him do that?”