The night without the moon

Aera

"Chan-sung," Yoo-na called as she noticed him waiting for her. "I've thought you won't come today."

"Mi Ra is preparing for the wedding and she settled her headquarters at Sanchez'. I couldn't have a moment of peace." He exclaimed. "And yes, I'm a selfish guy. But I'm happy for her and her detective. None of them had a happy ending in their former lives and... It's so strange to see them getting so well together."

"I don't think you're selfish...well, we all are selfish sometimes. I don't think she wanted to make you suffer. What does she know?"

"That Man-wol left...She didn't ask for details and I don't think I had the energy to say more. Sometimes, I wake up and wonder if it's real or was it a nightmare. I want to go to the hotel, but I remember there is no hotel."

"Any plans for today?"

"I think that helping you do your homework and eating something will do for today. I have to sort through Man-wol's stuff. She left me everything, but I can't ... I don't know what to do with all those dresses and jewels. If you ever feel like drinking champagne...."

"She used to like it a lot, I heard."

"Jewels, nice dresses, champagne and caviar..and, of course, nice cars. She left me all the things that really matter to her. She left everything behind."

"Including you..." Yoo-na completed.

"Sorry"

"You were what mattered the most to her," Yoo-na explained. "Do you really think you'll meet her in your next life?"

"I know I'll meet her in the future. I don't know if it's going to take a century, half a millennium or 1.300 years, but I'm sure we're going to see each other again. And I bet you'll see Hyun-joong, too."

"It sounds so nice. But I wish it would happen now."

"So, do I."

"Sanchez, do you have any friends who can paint well or know a lot about paintings?"

"Yeah, why?" Sanchez watched him amazed. "Do you intend to learn to paint?"

"Yoo-na likes to paint and I want to buy her some staff. Make her a surprise."

"You've got very close to her." Sanchez pointed out.

"You don't know her story, do you?"

"Nope. She isn't a ghost, is she? I know she's the daughter of..."

"They aren't her parents. She inhabits the body of their daughter."

"Chang-sung, don't joke with me!" He cried.

"You should listen to her story. She isn't a bad girl. She just wants to live and that girl took her life. It was their parent's decisions that destroyed true Yoo-na's soul. But you should listen to the story from the start." Sanchez watched him still not convinced if he really wanted to know more.

It was his first weekend after an entire week of work. Being around people, serving them, helped him find a bit of comfort, but as he went back home he realized how much he yearned for the days he'd spent inside Hotel del Luna. He woke up early. Once he would have given anything for some more hours of sleep, but now he felt like his body couldn't lie still too long.

He put on some casual clothes, ate something on the run, and hurried to catch the bus. He had the slightest idea where he was going, but it was better than staying inside. He searched for a free seat. He noticed one, but it was already occupied by a ghost: a young woman, a few years younger than him. Her big, dark eyes stopped on him as she acknowledged he could see her.