Part of Me | jaeten.

iii.

Days and days went by and it was as if I never knew I had befriended a ghost. I questioned my sanity and asked myself why I still kept on dropping by just to see him despite what I knew. Was it because he needed a friend? Or was I the one who longed for his presence? Maybe both?

But there was one answer I was sure of, and it's because our friendship was already difficult to let go.

Although a part of my brain still tried to talk sense out of me, the thought of having a friend that no one else could see isn't even far from having an imaginary friend.

What if he's really just a figment of my imagination? A friend that only my mind invented when I was feeling lonely? There were times I couldn't stop questions from running inside my head.

But it was absurd. I wasn't that desperately in need of a company the day I met Ten and I would've even called Johnny if I needed one, but in all honesty, I would say that his presence was definitely a huge bonus. A blessing even.

I visited the place almost everyday and spent time talking to him like before, and on days I wasn't extremely exhausted after class, Ten continued to teach me the dance that I failed to completely memorize, bit by bit. He knew my studies became even more stressful for me, not to mention that I had been busy studying for my exams too.

Although as soon as my exams ended, there I was again under Ten's supervision, and his annoyingly adorable cheeky self wouldn't let me live with my body waves that weren't as great as his.

"You're so stiff Jaehyun what the frick." He giggled.

"Says the one who can't do the shoot dance properly."

I wheezed when Ten shot a dagger glare at me. "If I could wack your head right now your head would look like a plateau I swear."

"That's not possible we're not Tom and Jerry. Skulls aren't flexible and it's not as soft as when we were born since they harden by the time we're teenagers. The seams between the bones fuse—"

"Ok stop stop you're giving me a headache." He gave me his "bitch what?" look while massaging his temple.

"Do ghosts even get headaches?"

"For fruit's sake Jaehyun stop taking things literally."

"You hate fruits why do you care about them."

"I—" He facepalmed. "You need help Jaehyun."

"I was kidding." I laughed at his exasperated reaction. It was really fun to tease him.

After rehearsing a bit more, we decided to sit at the edge of the cliff to take a break. I knew Ten doesn't get tired but he knew I was exhausted, and so he eventually called it off for the day and gave me the time to rest.

"Hey hyung?"

"Yeah?"

Ten leaned forward to dangle his arms on the railings as he swayed his legs back and forth. For a moment I silently stared at the planes and curves of his face, the orange glow of the sun softening his features which made him look a few years younger.

"I've been meaning to ask..." I started off cautiously. "...although if it's only okay with you... can I... can I visit you at the hospital?"

The question seemed to have surprised him, but he otherwise looked like he considered the thought. "Hospital? You want to visit me there?"

"Yeah... if—if only it's okay."

At that he smiled at me; it was that kind of smile he would usually give whenever there was something that touched him.