Han Nayeon works as a ghostwriter in Hermes Tower, a prestigious company that offers solutions to problems. Choi Junhyub is the man she meets the day she arrives late for work for the first time, the man she's attracted to but has never met before...
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11:45 was the time Taek-min accused Steffie of cheating on him, also the time Taek-min called her twelve years after her death. To him, 11:45 merely meant fifteen minutes to lunchtime. To the woman haunted by his texts for years, 11:45 scarred her image of him, scarred her reputation, scarred her heart, and hopefully his.
Steffie remained Niobe-like, all stone and snivels. Nayeon clicked the green button on the screen, their breaths commingling to form a looming cloud of suspense.
A quavery voice slipped through. "Who are you?"
Metres away, Junhyub split the last mochi and gave one half to Ramiel. Nayeon glanced at them and wished she could be this carefree, though she knew she might have to play mediator soon. Digging her nails into her palms, she rested her gaze on the phone now sitting between Steffie and her.
"Hello?" A sliver of frustration cracked Steffie's stone coat. She flinched.
"Taek-minnie?" She started off soft. After a moment of silence from either end, she added, "Oppa, it's me, Steffie Kim."
"How... What's... But you're..."
"I know, but I can't move on unless I have closure. I'm finally ready to speak with you."
A woman swore in the background when he said, "I'm sorry. I won't marry a ghost bride, okay? I have a wife now."
Steffie looked at Nayeon who raised a fist and nodded at her. She swallowed. "Congrats... Hyung, I hope she's pretty."
"Thanks. It still feels like a dream, hearing your voice. Are you a gwishin?"
"Yes. And I age, you know, unlike other ghosts. I'm not young anymore." Steffie wept her face, forgetting for a while her unending tears. "Hyung, can we talk about that day?"
Taek-min clicked his tongue. "We can."
"Why did you delete your message? You told me to meet you at the seventieth floor and deleted it right after."
"I never told you that."
"Either way, you're a jerk. You shouldn't have thought bad of me."
"I was angry."
"That's not an excuse."
"It's been years. You still like grudges."
Steffie was about to retort when Nayeon shushed her and mouthed "closure". Right now, she was reopening her wounds and inflaming them instead. Steffie was aware, but she didn't want to stop. This was the perfect opportunity to rant and rage as she pleased. Shouldn't closure mean freeing one's emotions? Or was it merely an illusion of freedom?
