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"i run until time stops. until my mind stops."
— Jennifer Niven —
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[ 3RD PERSONS VIEW。]
"How long are you going to stay there?" Zhong Lihua questioned the boy through the other side of the line. "Chenle?"
The night was cold in China as the black haired boy stared far down the busy streets of Shanghai. He was staying at a hotel, just to ease his mind a bit for what had happened. He even took a few weeks off from school, not that he cared if he missed anything, what mattered to him right now was himself.
Was he okay? No. Absolutely no.
The boy was beyond torn apart by her death. He couldn't understand why, why now? Why when they were genuinely happy? Or were they?
Chenle stayed silent, it was as if he lost his voice. He lost the light of his life. He could hear his cousin sigh on the other line as she muttered, "Chenle, running away won't solve anything."
"I'm not running away–"
"Then why are you in China!?"
Chenle's breath hitched, his chest pushed up as he refused to admit the obvious fact that he was trying to run away from Haruki's death. Gulping down, he stared at the thousands of lights that illuminated the whole city.
"Haruki... I promised to bring you to Shanghai during December. Why did you have to leave me before December even starts?" Chenle broke down, his voice wavering as his loud sobs made Lihua extremely sad for his cousin. Even though Lihua wasn't a very close friend of Haruki, she knew how much Chenle cherished Haruki as a friend.
"Chenle..."
"Please, leave me alone for now..." the crying boy whimpered as he dropped the call, his phone falling onto the ground as he buried his damp face onto his palms.
"I want to see you again, Haruki!"
"Why leave me without a goodbye? We were so happy!"
He clenched his fists, slowly he gave up and fell onto his knees, his whole body shaking like a fragile leaf. He stared up at the starry skies, "I could've shown you this beautiful sky, if only– if only you stayed a bit more longer..."
"Doesn't the sky look pretty, Chenle?" the boy flinched, glancing behind him only to find no one.
Right, another trip down memory lane? He thought and closed his eyes.
He sat on the bench at the rooftop of the condominium. Looking up at the starry skies even if he was supposed to be down at his own unit since his friends decided to visit him. Chenle hummed in response, scooting a bit for her to sit down.
"Aren't you supposed to be down at the unit?" Chenle questioned her making her chuckle, shaking her head cutely she tilted her head, "Shouldn't I say the same thing to you?"
Chenle immediately looked away, face blushing in embarrassment. "I- I... I needed some fresh air..."
"How was it?"
"What do you mean?" the boy raised a brow, a questioning look casted on his face from her short and lacking question.
"I mean, how was it in China? Why did you join the exchange program?"
Chenle shrugged, "Boring... I'm quite glad I joined. I was able to meet you alongside the others." he uttered, a small smile creeping up his face.
"I want to go travel too..." she frowned and looked down at her palms. "but, my parents won't let me. It's too dangerous, they say."
Chenle tilted his head a bit to the side, "Why?"
She hesitated a bit, forcing up a smile on her lips, "Well..."
The boy noticed how she's having a bit of a difficulty in explaining and patted her head, "You don't have to explain, Haruki. But, doesn't your father move to different countries?"
She nodded, "Because of his business trips, that's why."
Chenle took a deep breath, "Let's just enjoy this night, shall we?" Haruki glanced at him, her worried state gone as it was replaced with a warm smile. "Yes." she slowly leaned sidewards and he felt the weight on his shoulders.
The weight was there, but not for long. Slowly it became lighter, he looked to his side and Haruki was no longer there.
"I don't know if memories suck or not. They make me remember a lot when I don't want to, but then again," he chuckled softly, "if it's forgotten, then maybe it wasn't worth remembering..."
— • • • —
"What happened?" Jisung looked at Lihua who gave him an apologetic smile, with just one smile he immediately knew what happened. He sighed, ruffling his hair, "Is there really no way to bring him back here?"
Lihua frowned a bit, her shoulder rising up, "I don't really know Jisung... I guess it really affected him..."
Jisung pressed his lips together, nodding as he lowered his head, "Did you hear what happened with the SC Vice President?"
Lihua shuddered, "Come on! I think everyone knows that already... now she's being called a freak."
"Do you think... Hanmi-sunbaenim really saw Haruki?"
The girl's face twisted in horror, pushing Jisung away as she shrieked, "No! I don't even want to think about it!"
Jisung laughed, "Why not? It's just Haruki–"
"Yeah, but a ghost! A ghost!"
He scrunched his nose, "On second thought, yeah, that's quite scary..."
"Let's just go meet up with the others." Lihua shook her head and pulled Jisung up.
The two teenagers left the convenience store, making their way to Mark's house. However, upon exiting, Lihua caught a glimpse of someone by the beverage section. A girl was eavesdropping on their conversation. Lihua let out an uncomfortable cough before quickening her pace, confusing Jisung who trailed behind her.
Sniggering, the girl reached up to grab a milk carton, "Ghosts aren't real..." she mumbled and made her way towards the counter, paying for her food before looking at the door, a smirk tugging up the corner of her lips.
