Dark Blue - 深蓝の魂 by 珊


Chapter 25




Junjin cut around the corner and pulled to a stop in front of Mary’s house. She stared at her knees and tapped her fingers lightly on the window, not realizing that they had reached her house.

“Mary,” Junjin said to wake her back into reality.

“Hmm?” She turned her head around to face him. He cocked his head forward to her house. She looked surprised for a second, then smiled and thanked him for the ride home.

“See you later,” Junjin said as he leaned in to plant a kiss on her cheek.

“Okay,” Mary replied as she opened the door and stepped out. Junjin smiled and waved after her. She turned around when she approached her door and waved back at him. Junjin started his car again and continued down the street, passing a dark little car that sat still in the nearby alleyway.

Hyesung’s eyes seized up on Junjin as he squeezed his mouth in side to side motion, thinking of the easiest and painful way to hurt him. He smiled to himself at what a sly man Junjin is, almost admiring his guts. He tapped the driver’s seat, telling him to start the car. The driver did a curvature of the lonely street and proceeded onwards.
.........

“What are we doing here? Why did you bring me here? Take me back. I have to find Li Ann!” Mike commanded Brian. Brian just smiled and walked around the sepulcher that laid in front of Mike. Mike glared down at the tombstone and paused for breathe.

“Li Ann’s long gone,” Brian replied cooly.

“What? What do you mean?” Mike’s eyes looked at him questioningly. Brian fumbled with his sleeve as he straightened out his suit.

“Hwanhee has her,” Brian answered. Mike’s face turned from angry to stone cold as he heard the name of his most hated enemy. Was Brian lying or not?

Mike walked up to Brian’s face and breathed in on him. Brian’s cyan eyes glared back at him with no emotions. Mike’s hands grabbed his collar and shook him.

“Take me to her,” Mike demanded angrily, feeling all his patience being drained from him by Brian’s cockiness.

“No,” Brian shoved Mike back to get out of his grasp. His face suddenly turned from a cool pale color to a light dapple look. Mike stepped back, shocked that Brian looked like he was going to turn into the Devil himself.

“It won’t do you any good,” Brian said finally after calming down. Mike seemed so determined and dauntless that he had to use his bitter attitude towards him when his deadline came and he knew Mike didn’t want to go yet. He decided to dawdle around until Mike would eventually forget about Li Ann, but from the looks of it, Mike wasn’t anywhere near forgetting about her.

“Fine. I’ll go alone.” Mike turned his back on Brian and started to walk out of the cemetery.

“I brought you here for a reason. It’s an important one too,” Brian called after him. Mike stopped and breathed in the fresh air around him. The dead air.

Mike glanced around again to see Brian still standing where he was, both hands in his pockets. His black suit with red tie seemed to fade now as the background grew into a daub like scenery.

“And what’s that?” Mike asked with a swallow.

“It’s time. Judgement day awaits you,” Brian smiled frankly.

“What?” Mike squinted his eyes to gaze up on Brian.

Brian quickly pulled out is hand to check his Rolex. “We have...exactly three hours before your time is up. Then you will follow me to the East Gate.”

“Wait...my time is up?” Mike asked, still a bit confused.

“Yes. Every soul, or ghost, has a timing here on earth. Yours has just ended.” Brian looked ultimately happy to be announcing him this news, for he stood proudly next to Mike’s grave.

“No,” Mike slightly shook his head. Brian’s smiled died. “I’m not leaving until Li Ann’s safe, along with my niece.”

“What?” Brian let out a slight laugh. “You can’t do that. You aren’t able to help her anyway, Mike. Remember who...or what you are.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t do that.” Mike turned around again and walked away.

“And why not?!” Brian shouted after him. He paused once more.

“Because I love her,” Mike answered back coldly.

Brian started laughing. “Love? You’re crazy, Mike. You’re in love, with somebody who can’t love you. Don’t you get it by now? You’re a ghost! You can’t love her. She and you...your roads were never meant to be crossed.”

“What would you know about love? Obviously nothing,” Mike replied bitterly before passing the dark gates of the empty cemetery and started downhill.

Brian sighed a moment later. “I’m sorry, Mike. You won’t be able to help her.” He had actually grown to tolerate Mike since the past few weeks that he had to work with Mike, and with the situation he was in, Brian couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Brian couldn’t remember the last time he was in love. He could only remember the smell of the hospital as they rushed him to the emergency room for urgent care.

He stopped to look at Mike’s grave. Brian, having nothing to do, walked around senselessly until he approached a tombstone he hadn’t seen in ages. The sunlight crawled halfway upon it, revealing the neatly written descriptions of the person that laid in ground beneath it. He bent down and squatted as he tried to read the name carved onto it. He brushed back the ferns and vines crawling all over the tombstone to read out the description.

“In Loving Memory of Brian Joo” the carved letters made out. Brian swallowed a hard lump in the back of his throat as everything around him grew dead silent. He could remember. He just didn’t want to. He remembered clearly, everything that happened that day at the hospital.

“I need a check on his condition!”

“Somebody get the doctor!”

“He’s had a hard head injury. This is really bad. I mean look at the guy!”

“Brian! Brian, can you hear me?!” Alena’s voice echoed through his ears. Brian’s eyes could barely make out who she was. Blood was everywhere, covering his eyelashes, clogging his nose and mouth, leaking out from his head.

“What happened to him?” the doctor asked as he slipped on a pair of gloves.

“I don’t know...he...he pushed me out of the way and then was suddenly on the floor. You have to help him,” Alena pleaded desperately.

The doctor bent over Brian’s head to examine the injury. His eyes fell silently on the spot where he was hit. Brian was struggling for air as the nurses everywhere moved rapidly to clean him up. He looked over slowly to where Alena stood, her knuckles as white as chalk.

“He was hit by a speeding vehicle. His head is deeply injured and he lost a lot of blood...I’m afraid I can’t do this kind of operation,” the doctor told Alena silently in the corner. Her eyes grew full of shock when she heard this.

“What do you mean? You can’t save him? You’re...you’re just going to let him die?” Alena couldn’t believe her ears.

“I’m sorry dear. I can’t do anything about it. If I try, it will hurt him, and the chances of him surviving are getting lesser by the minute. All we can do is wait...”

“And let him die?!” Alena raised her voice.

“Alena...” Brian’s ghastly voice whispered out.

“Brian? Yes, I’m still here,” Alena said as she walked over and gripped his bloody fingers. She tried her best to contain herself and not fall to pieces in front of him.

“Alena...” he called out again. Her name was all what he could make out with the strength he had. His eyes, brimming with fearful tears told her he knew what was going to happen. He was dying slowly as the clock continued to tick.

“No, Brian. I’m not going to let you go...I love you.” Tears started streaming down her cheeks. Brian tried his best to smile for her. To tell her that he would be okay. That everything would be okay. She smiled back and whipped around to the doctor standing behind her.

“I’ll do it. I’ll operate him,” Alena announced to him. The doctor’s face fell as he examined her.

“What?”

“I said I’ll operate him. I am also a doctor...in training,” Alena managed to spat out. She had done operations before, but never one this serious. It was between life and death for him, and she had no choice but to risk it.

“I’m...”

“He doesn’t have a lot of time for you to think!” Alena shouted. The tears stained on her face told him she was serious. Wasting no time, the doctor agreed and called for a operating room to be prepared.

Within the next few minutes, Brian was placed into the room, left in pain as Alena stood over his shoulder and examined the injury on his head. He looked up at her as he could feel his strength weakening. She could barely stand to look at him like this. She took a deep breath and repeated in her mind that he would make it.

“I love you Brian,” Alena whispered out. He gave her one last weak smile before closing his eyes. The drug they had injected him with was taking over, putting him into a deep sleep.

Alena started to pry his head open with the sharp tools they had on the platter. More clogged blood started spilling out, all over her gloved hands. His heart monitor beeped.

“Heart rate dropping,” called out the nurse.

“Okay, this has to be quick,” Alena told herself as she searched for the open cut to close it.

“45, 44, 43, 42...” the nurse called out again.

“Brian...come on,” Alena said to him as she choked back her tears. She grabbed the pair of clippers and a clean cotton ball to clean the head area, trying her best to remove the clogged substance in his head.

“35, 32, 30, it’s jumping by two’s now,” the nurse called out again.

“Brian! Cooperate!” Alena shouted frustrated. Suddenly everything went deaf-mute. All was silent around as her eyes disobeyed her and looked over to the heart monitory. 15, 11, 9, 5, 4, 0...

“Brian...” Alena whispered as a tear drop escaped her eyes, followed by another, then by another. She looked down at Brian’s delicate face. He was gone.

Brian’s eyes were clouded with fresh tears. He coughed and stood up, feeling a bit light headed. He looked around and scolded himself for bringing back long forgotten memories.