Hotel del Luna

Chapter 3:Viridian

The sky had already darkened into a deep blue by the time Y/N's train finally pulled into her stop.

In the walk back to the Gyeonggi residence, she let herself be guided by the lampposts lit along her path as she continued to remember the exchange on the train. In her mind, the woman was still leaning in, her red eyes glowing in the dark.

I think a different present is in order this year.

Irritated at herself, Y/N wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and spat. "Fuck."

It would be a dark day in hell before she would ever admit that even thinking of her kiss made her heart skip a beat, but thankfully, the interaction had done nothing to change her mind.

As planned, Y/N would go home to pack her bags and proceed to get on the next plane for some destination halfway across the world. Perhaps Jeju - somehow, she had yet to grace the island with her presence in her travels, and this was the perfect opportunity.

Y/N picked up her pace with newfound determination and hurried along the street. At this time of night, there was nobody out in the quiet neighborhood, except for one little girl about to cross the pedestrian lane crossing some ways away.

Y/N stopped short at the sight of a car coming down fast along the street.

"Hey!" she shouted, but the girl didn't hear, and the car didn't slow down. The girl took a confident step onto the road, and unbidden, Y/N found herself running forward, her heart pounding. "STOP!"

She reached to yank the girl back, expecting for her hand to close tight around her thin wrist, but something strange happened then - almost as if the girl was made out of air, Y/N's hand passed clean through her arm and went numb at the action, as if she had accidentally thrust her hand into a bucket of cold water.

The girl looked back in surprise, and the car roared past them without regard. It turned a corner and drove away, plunging the street into a sudden silence.

The two stared at each other for a long moment, both equally stunned at what had just happened.

Now that Y/N was standing up close, she could see that the girl was wearing a rumpled shrine maiden outfit, dirtied at the knees and sleeves. Her short black hair framed a round and youthful face, but could not quite hide the blood that caked her forehead.

In a hesitant voice, the girl finally spoke. "Can you... See me?"

Y/N blinked. The only answer she could give to that was a definite 'yes,' but whether or not the girl was real or made up was another question entirely.

Either way, there was only one real way to find out.

Y/N walked forward; and without knowing what would happen, passed right through the girl, causing the cold feeling to return in bigger force, like the entire bucket of water had been dumped over her head.

"Hey!" cried the girl. Y/N continued to cross the road, refusing to look back. That answered her question - she had had a very long day and was now clearly feeling the side effects.

The girl chased after her. "You can see me, can't you?"

"Just keep walking." Y/N muttered, her hand tightening around her sunflower bouquet.