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“Choi Yerim?” a voice not too far away called.
Yerim turned around leaving a rocky cliff and possibly the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen behind her. She did not recognize the girl standing a few steps away from her. Or the place she was in. She did not even remember how she got there.
Normally, she would respect everything her mom had told her about stranger danger. A glance at their surroundings let Yerim know that they were completely alone. She had no recollection of having seen this girl before nor did she know her intentions. However, because the other girl knew Yerim’s name, it was enough to make her question all her mother’s words. Maybe they weren’t as unfamiliar with each other as the purple-haired girl had initially thought. She did not want to come up as disrespectful if that was the case.
“Choi Yerim?” the girl repeated.
Yerim was still having a mental fight trying to decide what to do. She had two choices. She could either start running with no destination in mind and with the weight of how she almost failed Physical Education slowing her down. She would probably not even make it further than five meters before being caught. Besides, the other girl looked fit and athletic. The other choice was then to answer her and hope for the best.
She extended her hand and told her, “Yup. Yerim, Choi Yerim. That would be me.”
“I’ve been looking for you.” said the raven-haired girl ignoring Yerim’s hand still hanging in the air. Her voice was soothing.
Yerim did not mind her handshake being rejected because she was way too focused trying not to get flustered. The situation was already strange but having a girl, a very cute girl that is, saying that she had been looking for her made Yerim’s brain completely shut off. Looking for her all her life? Because Yerim would without question reciprocate that statement.
But was she really flirting with her? Was this what flirting was even like? She did not have much experience with it. Two people standing on top of a cliff, the waves of wind pushing them towards the edge, practically playing with their lives. This was romantic, right? No, Yerim. It’s not, she told herself. It is only romantic if you are an author of the 14th century who is 23 years old and most probably very close to dying because of the plague.
Still, her mind could not let the ‘what ifs’ slip away that fast. She considered answering back in a flirtatious way. She dismissed the thought of responding with “I’ve also been looking for you, baby”, which she thought Jinsol would not approve of, especially after her recent lessons on ‘How to flirt with a girl’. However, all their friends knew that if Jinsol had managed to date Jungeun it was because the planets had aligned or some other miracle; definitely not because of her flirting talents.
Instead, Yerim chose to respond with “Looking for me?… Great!” Which she regretted right after vocalizing it, seeming too enthusiastic.
You should be feeling terrified. What are you doing? repeated Yerim to herself. Why was she instead feeling the complete opposite of fear?
A few weeks ago, Yeojin had told them about people’s auras. That everyone’s is different -different colours, different ways of reaching the others-. Yerim had realized only now what Yeojin had meant. This girl’s aura must have been massive. Her black hair and spotless black clothes stood out against the green grass and blue sky of the background. There was something dark and powerful emanating from her. However, when she looked at her, Yerim saw something like the purple she liked so much. She had never in her life felt so calm and safe, more than that, she felt at peace spiritually. I must be dead, she thought.
“Yerim, my name is Hyejoo. I’m here to take you to the underworld, okay?”
Oh well.
---
After possibly a few minutes of silently standing and staring at each other, Hyejoo took a step closer to Yerim, carefully looking at the other girl’s reaction. This was normally the most difficult part of her job, the realization. She knew that in the worst-case scenario she could always use her powers, but that was not her preferred method. Sooyoung always made fun of her for this exact reason. In the time it took Hyejoo to accompany one person, the older girl had helped another six to complete their travel, all these without even breaking a sweat.
Hyejoo liked to give people the time to process and offer them the possibility of knowing a bit more. She did not want to rush any task she was given. She did have all of eternity to complete them. And her next assignment, Choi Yerim, was no exception.
Said girl was still standing on top of the cliff, with no reaction at all. She had still not answered, but that was expected by Hyejoo. She had read Yerim’s life report, she knew the girl’s entire life as if she had experienced it herself. Yerim had had a good life, she was loved and was surrounded by good people. She would surely be missed. She would also have a good afterlife, once she told Hyejoo she was ready for it that is.
Yerim had at some point in her life become enthused with Greek mythology after having read some books about it. This meant that she was aware of what the underworld was -that it was not a bad place if you were not a bad person- which made Hyejoo’s job incredibly easier. This would normally be something to celebrate and boast about to Sooyoung. However, if she was honest with herself, when Hyejoo had received this assignment she had hoped that it was one of those that last for a long time.
She didn’t get to accompany many people her age, or the age she had been for centuries now. She sometimes still missed acting like a teenager. It did not help that reading Yerim’s report had created a strong interest in the girl. “It’s because she is cute,” Sooyoung had told her. It was not. She was cute, especially now that she could see Yerim in front of her. However, that was not the reason why Hyejoo had become fixated with her. During her time on this work, she had helped a lot of people. She had met all kinds of beauty to the point that nobody no longer surprised her. There was something else. Something she hoped to discover while she helped her.
“So… I’m dead?” Yerim’s voice brought both girls back to the cliff, away from their thoughts. Without leaving time for Hyejoo to respond she spoke again, “This is not good...”
“I know it’s difficult to pr-” Hyejoo tried to reason before she was interrupted.
“No. No, this can’t be happening. I had to tutor Yeojin for her next Math exam on Monday. She really needs my help. And... And I promised to petsit Jinsol’s fish next week. Wait. One of my Animal Crossing villagers’ birthday is tomorrow, Molly will be sad if I don’t get her a gift. She really wanted that rainbow sweater!”
Yerim was not someone that got stressed out a lot. She took pride in being the one that always stayed positive in her group of friends. However, the sudden realization of all the people she would be disappointing left her unsettled. Hyejoo was slowly analyzing her reactions, contemplating with the help of her past experiences the best way to approach the situation.
In the end, Hyejoo chose to take the last steps to get right in front of Yerim and put her hands on the girl’s shoulders trying to calm her down. She normally avoided physical contact. It was better if she did not get too attached in any way to the people she helped, it was already hard enough not caring about them after having read and memorized their entire life. However, she had felt the need to initiate contact with Yerim and the purple-haired girl had responded by closing the only distance left and hugging her.
Hyejoo’s almost godly mind was not enough for her to remember the last time she had been hugged.
“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” Hyejoo awkwardly patted Yerim’s head, which rested on her shoulder. “Your family and friends are going to be sad for a while, but they’ll eventually figure it out.”
It took a few tries before Yerim had stopped sobbing enough to murmur, “You promise?”
“I have no reason to lie to you, Yerim. I promise.” Which was the complete truth but it did not feel comforting enough for either of them.
---
At some point, Yerim had stopped crying. Not having an excuse anymore, they had separated from their hug with plenty of resignation from both parties. Soon enough Yerim started asking questions and Hyejoo responded to each of them as honestly as she was allowed to. They walked along the cliff Hyejoo had created specifically for the other girl. The raven-haired girl had offered to change it to any other place Yerim had prefered but there was no need for that. Yerim loved this place and Hyejoo knew that.
After some hours, Yerim stopped. She walked to the edge of the cliff and sat there, her feet hanging. She glanced back to the other girl who was looking at her amusingly to which she said, “What? Is not like I can die twice,” she paused before opening her eyes wide. “Wait! Can I?”
Hyejoo snickered and silently joined her side. Once she sat beside her she looked in front of her and responded, “No. You cannot.”
There was not much more conversation from this point on. They stared ahead of them in silence. Hyejoo from time to time checked on the other girl, something she was sure Sooyoung would tease her for if she were to see her. But she was not there. It was just the two of them. Silence would then prevail until one of the two broke it.
That was Yerim.
“Okay,” she sighed. “now what?”
Hyejoo was bummed out, she knew what came now. If she had been right, and she was pretty sure she had, Yerim would have accepted the situation by now and she would be ready to be accompanied to the underworld. That was not a bad thing, on the contrary, Hyejoo would normally be ecstatic. Just not today.
“When you tell me you are ready, I will accompany you to the underworld. Before that, you can ask me anything and if my powers allow me I will provide it for you.”
Yerim nodded and drifted away deep in thought for some minutes. Turning to face the other girl again she demanded, “I want a date.”
“Date? As in like March 19th or-”
“No, of course not. As in ‘a romantic date’!” quickly corrected Yerim as she looked away flustered.
She just wanted to experience what it felt like at least once, spending time with someone in a romantic sense. The closest thing she had had to it was when she thought she had a crush on Jinsol, one of her best friends. It did not take long for her, however, to realize it was just admiration for the older girl and not actual romantic attraction.
Now, she had seen a small opportunity and she had taken it. In any other situation, she would have noticed Hyejoo, watched her from afar and gay-panicked if they ever had eye contact. This time, however, she literally had nothing to lose.
When Hyejoo took a long time to respond, Yerim lost that small surge of confidence she had had. The other girl was completely avoiding her eyes, lips pursed and red ears. She looked uncomfortable.
Yerim cleared her throat before saying, “I apologize if that was out of line.”
It was then that Hyejoo finally reacted, suddenly turning towards the purple-haired girl and startling her in the process.
“What? No. It’s not that. I want to do it,” she said rushedly almost stuttering. “I meant to say I can do it. A date. Give me your hand.”
After getting up from the edge of the cliff and dusting herself, Yerim gave her hand to Hyejoo and intertwined her fingers with the other girl.
Hyejoo started walking with certainty, not even waiting for the other girl to follow her, dragging her in the process. As they walked the surroundings started to drift away, to change. They only stopped when they were suddenly in front of a door that was not there minutes ago.
Hyejoo was determined to give Yerim the best date she could ever imagine.
---
Once they both crossed the doorway, Yerim found herself alone again. She was now sitting on a bench in a park near her university campus, something she did in the usual. Her outfit was also something she would normally wear. Checking her jacket’s pocket she found what she was looking for, in the same place as always. She held her palm open, some nuts on top, and waited. It did not take long for the first squirrel to appear. In that state, she abided aimlessly. The only thing that brought her back to reality was when someone stood in front of the bench. A powerful figure that caught the attention of everyone around her, this time dressed in more casual clothes.
“Choi Yerim?”
“Yes?”
The girl stretched her arm, offering her hand to Yerim. “I’ve been looking for you.”