Star-Crossed Lovers

Chapter XIV - Good Bye

Jaemin walked out of the church with heavy steps and looked up to the sky. The rain had stopped pouring almost an hour ago and the sun was starting to peek out between the clouds.

Jaemin sat on one of the dry stairs that was hindered from the rain. He opened the paper bag of cookies he had been carrying from home and started to munch on one of the chocolate chip cookies.

His throat was dry when he forced the cookies down his throat. He needed them because his stomach was empty, just like how his mind and heart were.

The church was the first place he went to once he stepped out of the house. His heart sank when he could not find Jeno anywhere. He called out the ghost's name repeatedly and searched every inch of the church, but there were no signs of any ghost was ever trapped in that place.

Jaemin was 99. 99 percent sure that he would not find him there, but still, he was holding on to the 0. 01 percent of hope. Silly of him, yes, he knew. Still, he could not help himself from longing for the handsome ghost.

After the third cookie, Jaemin folded back the paper bag and shoved it into his jeans pocket. He got up, dusted off his pants and started walking towards the street that will lead him to the cemetery. He still needed answers to what had actually happened to Lee Jeno two hundred years ago.

When he was about to leave the church compound, Jaemin was reminded of something and ran back into the church. He found what he was looking for but froze mindlessly in his spot.

"It was real. My feelings were real."

Jaemin mumbled under his breath. In front of him was a bouquet of red tulips, blooming brilliantly in an old vase on top of a desk by the window. It took Jaemin almost a minute before he could finally think straight and come back to his senses. He took the flowers out of the vase and continued his way to the cemetery.

Jaemin remembered the path to Jeno's tombstone clearly but something seemed off from the last time he went there. Jeno's tombstone used to stand alone, quite isolated from the others on the higher part of the hill. But this time, there were several other tombstones around the area.

When he came across Lee Minhyung (Mark)'s and Lee Taeyong's tombstones, only then he remembered that the Lee family had not move to another country. Jeno was no longer the only Lee buried there.

He found Jeno's tombstone in no time and kneeled before it. He placed the flowers he had been holding on to the ground in front of the stone and rubbed the dust off the carved words on it.

Lee Jeno
To love is to let go.
Beloved son, brother, husband and father.
23.04.1800-13.08.1828

Jaemin tears fell to the earth. He had finally found his lost first love. Unfortunately, the said love was already buried six feet under for almost two decades ago.

"I should say that I'm glad that you're alive that day, but why does my heart keep on hurting so bad that I feel like ripping it off my chest at the thought? I told you to let her go, but why can't I let you go?"

Jaemin kept on weeping as quietly as he could in front of the tombstone. If anyone was to see him there, they would be so confused as to why a fine looking young man weeping so heartbrokenly over a two hundred years tombstone.

When he finally managed to composed himself, Jaemin stood up and dusted off the dirt on his knees. He also tried to wipe off the traces of tears on his face with his already soaked hoodie sleeves. Jaemin looked down at the stone in front of him and tried to curve a smile.

"This is the end of it, Lee Jeno. I'll try to forget you and be happy, like you wished me to. Just watch me from above, will you?"

Jaemin whispered, before moving a finger to wipe off the final tears on his eyes. He placed his hands on the tombstone for the last time.

"Good bye, my first love."

With the words being said, Jaemin left the graveyard without looking back even once.