Work Text:
Bong Pal liked Hyun Ji.
It was a fact that he could no longer disbelieve. That ghost girl, she acted so human. It was almost like she was next to him when they went on dates and held each other’s hands in public.
But Hyun Ji was still a ghost.
And like all ghosts, she disappeared while he had his back turned.
Bong Pal cried for her. Not tears—mostly—just her name. He would call out to her, for her.
Normally, it would be right after a dream.
They were on the stairs again. Hyun Ji at the top, looking down at him with the beautiful smile that reached her dark eyes. She twirled in a circle, spinning on the balls of her feet as she showed off the pink dress he had bought for her.
“Bong Pal!” Hyun Ji called to him.
He hummed and looked up.
“Bong Pal!” She smiled.
“Yeah?”
“Come here.” She wiggled her finger at him.
Bong Pal rolled his eyes and smirked as he jumped up the last few steps between them.
“Closer.” She giggled and made grabbing movements.
He was helpless to obey.
When they were one step apart, Hyun Ji ran her hands through his untamed hair.
“I like you,” she said, easily.
Bong Pal closed his eyes and savored the moment. Hyun Ji continued to run her hands through his hair. She rubbed the pads of her thumbs over temples and cheekbones, mapping his face.
With his eyes closed, Bong Pal replied, “I like you, too.”
And when he opened his eyes, Hyun Ji was gone.
And when he woke with a start, her name was on the tip of his tongue.
Bong Pal laid there, in his bed, forearm over his leaking eyes.
It was beautiful, for just a fleeting moment of pure bliss.
Seeing Hyun Ji, even if it was just in his dreams.
/line break\
He found that he still talked to Hyun Ji.
Every so often, he had to catch himself from asking her things.
“So, what do you want to eat?”
The lady on the other side of the counter gave him a weird look.
Bong Pal smiled and apologized, looking over the menu. All of it looked great. The meat always looked good to him.
"Vegetable Set, please.”
The lady behind the counter punched in the order and told him a total. When he gave her the required amount, she looked worried.
“You’re a growing boy. Don’t you need meat?” she asked, not for the first time.
Bong Pal forced a smile. “I’ll eat it later, Noona,” he lied, easily.
He bowed and left the restaurant.
Because he was unable to have meat without thinking about Hyun Ji.
It was her favorite, after all.
/line break\
He talked to himself, mostly when he was on the roof.
It calmed him, being in the open air and under the night sky.
He talked about the stars, imagining Hyun Ji was right beside him.
“And there’s Ursa Minor. The tip of the handle is Polaris—the North Star.”
Bong Pal cupped his hand toward the sky.
“It looks like a little dipper for water, doesn’t it? That’s where the constellation gets its alternative name from: the Little Dipper.”
He leaned back and placed an arm behind his head. The other was still in the air with his fingers splayed, where the tips of his fingers danced between the stars.
He smiled softly when a shooting star connected his ring finger and pinkie.
“Make a wish.”
He closed his eyes, focusing on a fading image of Hyun Ji.
“I wish you’d come back to me,” he whispered to the universe. “Just for a little while.”