Legend [YEONBIN] ✓

forty-one ; yeonjun

When I had one of my episodes—that’s what the doctors euphemistically called them—I dreamed so vividly I could paint a picture if I had any artistic talent.

Sometimes I dreamed of my halmeoni, how content we’d been with our simple life. I woke from these dreams with a fleeting happiness that dissipated too quickly.

Sometimes I dreamed of my parents, a fake reality where they’d never left and loved me the way parents should. I woke from these dreams bitter about all the things I’d never known and never would.

This time, I had one of the dreams I hated most, the kind that made me wake up with a desperate longing. I dreamed of Soobin.

A red thread lit my path. I often dreamed of following a string to find Soobin at the end. In the beginning it had been a sunny gold, but over time it had deepened to scarlet.

He sat under moonlight on a bench. His face turned up. A smile on his lips.

“What are you doing?” I took a seat beside him.

“Talking to the moon.” He let his head rest on my shoulder. It fit perfectly in the curve of my neck.

“What about?”

“Just saying hello.”

“The moon isn’t very talkative,” I replied.

“It’s not what it says, but how.” He tilted his head back to look at me. “I was wondering when you’d find me.”

“It’s easy with this.” I held up the thread. It faded into the night, dissolving now that its purpose was served.

“A red thread. Are you my soul mate, Yeonjun-ah?”

I grinned at the old myth: A red string ties together two fated souls.

“Do you want my heart?” I asked. “It’s pretty battered.”

“You already hold mine.” Soobin offered his lips to me. I accepted them with a soft kiss, smiling before I leaned back.

Something wet, tasting of salt and metal, dripped down my lips onto my tongue. I dabbed at it and my fingers came away red.

My eyes shot to Soobin. Blood poured from his nose, making trails down his chin dripping into his lap.

“I can’t stay,” he said, apology thick in his voice.

“You can’t leave,” I said. “I need answers.”

“Answers?” He looked pale, almost transparent.

“My halmeoni is sick.”

“What?” The word sounded harsh as it echoed around me.

“What did your mother do? Please tell me. Please help us.”

I reached out.

My hands clutched air.

He disappeared. And I was alone, with nothing but the moon for company.