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"I love you." Said Kim Dokja, boldly standing before Yoo Joonghyuk in the empty classroom.
Yoo Joonghyuk stared at him. Not saying a word. No reaction.
"Will you say 'I love you too'?" Kim Dokja asked, smiling, leaning closer to Yoo Joonghyuk. Yoo Joonghyuk can smell the scent of old books and tea. An oh, so familiar scent.
"No."
The bell rings, Yoo Joonghyuk returns to his seat. Kim Dokja is known for being smart yet sly. And annoying as always. Yoo Joonghyuk sighed. Hopefully Kim Dokja will leave him alone as he rejected saying 'I love you back' to him.
Next to his desk, he looks at the table with flowers on it. A classmate who passed. He feels cold as he stares at it. He shakes off the uncomfortable feeling and focuses on the class.
Yoo Sangah and Han Sooyoung had seemed to notice the way Yoo Joonghyuk stared at it. Yoo Sangah approaches him.
"Joonghyuk-ssi.. Are you okay?" She asks, worry lacing her tone.
"Yes I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"Well, You cared for them, didn't you? Dok-" Her voice trembles as she says the boys name. It's understandable as she was a close friend of his
"I'm alright. Thank you for worrying about me." Yoo Joonghyuk replies, cutting her off, as he gets up from his desk.
"Why did you call me here." Yoo Joonghyuk asks. Trying to get things over with quickly.
Kim Dokja only gives him a mischievous smile, a fond one at that. He walks closer to Yoo Joonghyuk. They're both on the rooftop.
"I thought that I'd confess one more time. I love you Joonghyuk-ah." Kim Dokja grins. Yoo Joonghyuk only grunts in response and ignores.
"Won't you say it back? I know you love me too." Kim Dokja whines, pressing his fists to Yoo Joonghyuks chest, hitting him. Yoo Joonghyuk catches Kim Dokja's wrist and raises an eyebrow.
"Trying to hurt me? You won't get anywhere with how thin you are. I told you to eat more."
Kim Dokja sighed, growing tired of Yoo Joonghyuks passive behaviour. "I can't eat Yoo Joonghyuk. You know how it is."
Yoo Joonghyuk holds onto Kim Dokja tighter, he hates this.
"You know Yoo Joonghyuk, you always cook lunch boxes for me because you know I always eat instant food. You give me your coat when it gets cold, even though I have my own but you always say mine is too thin."
"You always help me with my homework even though you scold me for always relying on you for school work."
"That's why I love you, Joonghyuk-ah."
Yoo Joonghyuk stands there, his chest tightening. "I don't think I can say I love you back now. I need.. more time."
Kim Dokja smiles and asks him to not make him wait too long as he walks away.
Kim Dokja is now always chasing Yoo Joonghyuk around, whether it's showing up to his house in the morning with flowers, surprising him with a sleepover almost every other day, or maybe just following him everywhere throughout the entire day.
Kim Dokja really isn't going to give up, is he?
Yoo Joonghyuk places flowers by a tree, a place where a certain boy would like to read under on calm days with a soothing breeze. Kim Dokja, behind him, frowns.
"..Can't you just move on already?" Kim Dokja asks. Anxiety showing in his tone.
Yoo Joonghyuk snaps. "It's not that easy Kim Dokja."
"You wouldn't understand how I feel. Because you're not the one in my position right now."
Kim Dokja only stares at Yoo Joonghyuk as he finishes yelling. "You're right. I wouldn't understand. But maybe you should take note of how I feel too."
Kim Dokja walks away. Leaving Yoo Joonghyuk.
Yoo Joonghyuk comes out of his house the next morning, seeing that Kim Dokja is not waiting for him like he usually does. It's not because of yesterday is it? Surely he's not that upset. Yoo Joonghyuk runs to class, seeing Kim Dokja's seat empty. He starts to feeling uneasy. Where could he be.
He looks for Kim Dokja everywhere. He's nowhere to be seen. His heart is pounding. He's scared. Did Kim Dokja disappear. He can't disappear. Not again. Yoo Joonghyuk suddenly thinks of something. The roof. He sprints up the stairs and makes it to the roof, to see Kim Dokja standing there, the wind blowing past him.
"Kim Dokja!" He yells, Kim Dokja turns around. This time not facing Yoo Joonghyuk with a smile, but with a blank face.
"Will you finally say it?"
"I.. Can't."
Kim Dokja is tired. "Yoo Joonghyuk. You know it's already the 49th day past my death."
Yoo Joonghyuk clenches his fists. Of course he knows. He knew from the start. Kim Dokja died, he was sadly pushed off of the rooftop by Song Minwoo and his friends. Yoo Joonghyuk of course beat them up brutally, as he cried and cried for hours after.
Then, one day, Kim Dokja had approached him. On the rooftop. He had just.. Come back?
"Yoo Joonghyuk. When I died, my only regret was not confessing my love to you, even though I knew you loved me back. I want to pass onto my next life now Yoo Joonghyuk. Will you say you love me back?"
Yoo Joonghyuk shut him down immediately. How could he let Kim Dokja go after he had finally come back? He was selfish. But was he really in the wrong for it?
"Joonghyuk-ah, it's time for you to let me move on now. And for you to move on aswell. Once it hits tomorrow I'll have to wander around this world forever."
Yoo Joonghyuk can feel tears dripping down his cheeks. "I can't.. Kim Dokja, please.. stay with me.."
"I'm sorry."
"If you're sorry, then apologise by staying with me! Don't leave me, please. Dont go anywhere else.."
"Yoo Joonghyuk, I can't."
"It's not fair.. it's not fair how you could just die without ever telling me..!" Yoo Joonghyuk yells, Kim Dokja leans forward and wipes away his tears. Smiling, a sad smile.
Kim Dokja leans forward, kissing Yoo Joonghyuks cheek, his eyes, his forehead, his nose, and finally, his lips. Yoo Joonghyuk can't help but chuckle.
"Say, Joonghyuk-ah. I'll promise to meet you in your next life, okay? And we can fall inlove with a crazy story or whatever in that life, okay?" Kim Dokja says, reaching out his hand, with his pinky out.
Yoo Joonghyuk reaches out his hand. "Promise?"
"Promise."
After they link their pinkies, Yoo Joonghyuk kisses Kim Dokja, gentle and loving. "I love you Kim Dokja." He says, as he hugs Kim Dokja tightly. Kim Dokja slowly disappears as Yoo Joonghyuk starts crying even more that day.
Yoo Joonghyuk a regressor, dangles a man over the bridge. He looks.. familiar.
"Make me your companion! I can fill in your missing pieces!" The man yells, smiling, smart yet sly. He looks annoying. As always. Something in the back of his mind says. As always? Weird.
Yoo Joonghyuk smirks. "Alright then, prove your worth." He says, as he drops the man off of the bridge.