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"the sweetest smiles hold the darkest secrets..."
— Flawless, Sara Shepard —
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[ 3RD PERSONS VIEW。]
It was already dark but that still didn't stop Donghyuck from leaving his house. Not that someone would scold him anyways if he left at that house; his mother was gone, his father was in jail, her siblings were at their aunt's, leaving him alone.
He walked passed the open gates of the cemetery, the place barely had enough light turned on other than the lanterns that lit up the small paths. He made his way to Haruki's grave, hands tucked into his dark blue coat.
As he approached the grave, he was rather shocked to see someone standing in front of her gravestone. Brows furrowing, he felt something tick in him. The figure didn't seem close to Lihua or Hanmi, who the hell was visiting Haruki's grave.
Gawking down, he caught a glimpse of the bouquet of flowers. Rounding up all the courage he had, he spanned his hand out, about to tap her shoulder when she suddenly spoke.
"Are you a friend of Haruki?" her voice sounded dull like she was depleted.
Donghyuck retracted his arm back, "Yes." he answered.
"Which friend?" the girl questioned and he hummed, rather unsure if he should tell her his name or not.
"Uhh... I don't really trust you– heck! Who even are you?" he murmured harshly.
A stifled laugh came from the girl, turning around Donghyuck felt his heart jump, eyes widening as an uncomfortable feeling rose in him. Face scrunching, feet slowly stepping back, the way her pale golden eye gleamed darkly.
"W-Who are you?" he stammered, blinking a few times, not sure if what he was seeing was real or not. Has he gone crazy too? Was all Hanmi saying about seeing Haruki true? He shook his head, shoving away those thoughts.
"Me?" she tilts her head to the side, "My name is Ha-ru-ka." slowly, she said her name, emphasizing each syllable to it.
Haruk...a? His mind went blank all of a sudden. Clearing his throat, he wasn't sure if what he was facing right now was a ghost of Haruki. The more he thought about it, the more freaked out he became.
"I was just about to leave, sorry to scare you." she nonchalantly said and started to walk past him.
"Wait–" he spun around, her back figure facing him again. "are you real?"
A hiss came out of her mouth, "And what makes you say that?"
"Well, I can obviously see you, but you could also see ghosts–" he stopped talking when she ignored him and continued on walking. "Hey!"
"Would you believe me when I say I exist?"
That caught the boy off guard, sucking in some air he coughed. Fingers curled into a fist he shut his eyes tight before looking back at the girl. She scoffed softly, the air visible as she did.
Donghyuck watched as she slowly disappeared from his range of sight. Turning back, he gazed down at Haruki's gravestone.
"Haruki... who the hell is Haruka?" he sighed and sat down.
He remained silent, a bit overwhelmed with what had just occurred. A few minutes passed and he stood up to take his leave. He stared at her gravestone, "Haruki, I have no idea what you were thinking, but what do you exactly want us to do?"
"Your letter... how should I even say this?" he mumbled, catching a glimpse of the gravestone beside Haruki's.
Shivers went down his spine as he locked his eyes on the name. "H-Haruka?" he stuttered upon reading the name. Despite the hardened wax that mostly covered the old gravestone, he was still able to read the name that was engraved on it.
Rubbing his eyes, he was sure now that whatever he had encountered awhile ago wasn't real. Or so, that was what he believed. Bitting down his bottom lip, he swallowed the forming lump in his throat.
His voice sounded unstable as he said a few words to her deceased friend, "I-I... I have no words to say other than the fact you should've told us about this. I have no clue if your death was suicide or murder– but still! Haruki, we could've helped you."
This was the real Lee Donghyuck that hid behind the usual mask people see him with. The boy never really showed much emotion other than his annoyance for the people around him. But that didn't mean no one ever saw his soft side. Haruki happened to witness it a lot of times with their other friends.
Donghyuck isn't lying when he thought that Haruki's smile could literally heal a person mentally. Sadly, he would miss seeing that smile again.
"I'll visit you again soon, Haruki. Till we meet again."
— • • • —
Renjun walked back to his own neighborhood, humming to soft tune to keep him company during the silent night. As he approached his home, he froze upon seeing Haruka by the gates of the Choi's house.
Taking a deep breath, he wasn't sure what to exactly do. The talk he had with his friends earlier made him doubt her whole existence. What if she's not really alive? And all he was seeing right now was either a hallucination or an actual ghost visible for only him to see.
Thinking about how her own mother and sister acted like she wasn't around, what if she was just a lingering ghost trying to portray herself as Haruka?
Goosebumps trailed down his body as he slowly walked past the girl. He was starting to believe the fact that she wasn't real, those things could happen, right?
He simply ignored her presence, entering his house as he would normally do. However, Renjun felt someone was staring at him as he did.
By the gates of the Choi's, Haruka watched him enter the house and once he closed the door, she faced the gates of her own house.
She made her way inside, her mother ignoring her as she walked up the stairs to her room. A small sigh, she propped herself in front of her piano and started to play Chopin's Wrong Note.
Downstairs, Choi Hyosun heard faint sounds of the piano. Gnawing at the sound, her grip around the mug tightened as her free hand reached to grab the tv remote. Pursing her lips together, she pressed the volume button, rising it up to cover the sounds of the piano.
