Oh Taehyun holds her hand gently and he feels it – the coldness. Her fingers are almost white. She smiles up at him weakly, her pale, chapped lips barely lifting up. Her other hand reaches forward and she strokes the hand of the little baby by her side. The baby’s tiny little finger’s wrap themselves around her pale finger.

“I’m a mom,” she whispers, her voice cracking but her lips smiling.

And their happiness lasts a little – just a little.

The doctor slides open the door. Taehyun stands up to greet him, but the doctor looks at him grimly and tells him to follow him out the door. Once outside, the doctor says, “I’ve received a call. Your baby has been requested.”

He’s confused. “Requested?”

“Her soul. It’s pure. Master has requested for it.”

Taehyun’s still confused, and when the doctor continues to speak, his heart grows heavy because this is unfair. This is cruel and this is unfair and this is too much for him to handle. He was going to be a father. He was going to be a father but now he isn’t. And this is too much. He starts to cry. He’s a grown man, but he’s reduced to his knees as he begs for the doctor to give him time – to give his wife time. Because she was going to be a mother. She was going to be a mother but now she isn’t.

“Please,” he chokes. “Give us time, please. I’ll do anything. Please.”

The doctor is silent. He sees the desperation in the kneeling man’s eyes.

“Master is looking for men,” he says curtly, “to fill in vacant spots. If you agree to come with us, your wife will have until the day your child turns eighteen.”

Taehyun stays still.

“If you aren’t interested-“

“No!” he shouts, and his breathing is shallow. “I-I’ll do it.”

The doctor’s black eyes peer down at him. “You have a year to sever all ties,” he says, before walking away.

---

TWENTY DAYS

“What?” the older woman breathes out. “What do you mean?”

“Mom,” she starts.

“No Mina, stop. I want to hear what he’s saying,” she snaps at her, her eyes red with anger.

He sighs. “I told ya’. Your daughter needs ta’ come with me-“

“But-“

“-because my boss gave me orders ta' get her. It’s her scheduled time.”

“What on earth do you want with my daughter?” she shrieks, and Mina tugs on her arm to calm her down. The man is growing impatient. “She’s only eighteen; she’s only achild.”

He looks at her, taking in her furious expression, before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a yellowed piece of paper. Smoothing it out on their kitchen counter, he limps forward and points to the bottom. “Here,” he says, “is a signature from a man named Oh Taehyun.”

Her mother’s eyes widen.

“He’s ya’ husband, is he not?” the man asks, although continues on without waiting for her response. “He signed this on….” He peers down at the document, narrowing his eyes, and points to another part. “… May 19th, 1993, in agreement ta’ this exchange-“

“We’re divorced,” she struggles to say, shaking her head. “We’re divorced. We haven’t heard from him in years.”

He folds the paper up again and places it in his pocket. “Sorry, but what’s done is done-“

“No! I’m her mother, and you are not taking her away from me!” she seethes, beginning to back away from the man.

“Listen,” the man says, clearly agitated. “It took me twenty four goddamn hours ta’ get here. I’m tired, yeah? So let’s just hurry this up-“

“No!” she shrieks. “No!”

“Mom,” Mina begins, holding onto her. She’s trying hard to stop from crying. “You can’t help this-“

“She’s right,” he pointed out.

“No! NO!” she continues to scream. “I am not going to pay for what that man did! She is my daughter!”

Suddenly, a bright red colour flashes through the room. The man curses, before limping towards them with his wooden cane. “We’re late. We need ta’ go-“

When he reaches for Mina’s arm, her mother pushes him and he stumbles to the ground. She’s in tears. “D-DON’T TOUCH MY DAUGHTER!”

Her mother takes her by the arm frantically, and pulls her along towards the door. By now she’s crying because everything is red and her mother is sobbing hysterically and she knows that this won’t end well. “Mom, no, please d-don’t. Don’t y-you remember what happened t-to Jieun’s father-“

Before she could say another word, the world around them freezes and the hand holding her arm grows limp. Air escapes her lips and her mother’s screams pierce through her ear. Everything is a bloody red and soon, she’s flying.

That was her last day on earth.

Notes

hello c: reposting onto here - it's been a while! i'd love to hear feedback and such - it might inspire me to write n__n