They say the path to healing is slow. That’s probably why you’d talked to Ravi so much at first. At first it was hallucinations around your home. Then it was just dreams that he was with you. Now you barely even had those. Two years had passed since he’d vanished. The funeral had been less than a week after it happened. His father insisted on it.

At first you tried to fight it. Doing research in between your modeling jobs and talking to anyone and everyone who knew what the legends said about how to get him back. You couldn’t let go. Not while there was still a chance. Leo was the only one who hadn’t treated you like you were a broken butterfly during that time. He’d even tried to help. Regardless of what had happened that day Ravi had been his oldest friend and doing nothing wasn’t an option, but after the hundredth dead end he realized there was no hope left of getting him back. Ravi would never have wanted his best friend and his girlfriend to destroy their lives looking for him like this. The only thing left he could do for either of you was help you move on. So he’d started asking you on dates again. at first it was small things like getting you back around your friends at Vixx and it progressed to dinners with your families and ice skating in the winter and cherry blossom festivals in the spring. He was trying and you could slowly feel the ache ebbing away and it was thanks to Leo. The engagement had been postponed while you were both coping with the ‘loss of your friend’ as your father had called it but about a month ago something in you clicked and you agreed to go through with it. That was probably why you were here with Ravi once again.

---

“What’s on your mind starlight?” He asked smiling in that lazy contented way of his. You knew it wasn’t really him, but these dreams were better than never seeing him again.
“I agreed to go through with the engagement. Leo has been good to me these last few months and my appa wasn’t waiting any longer.” You told him. The two of you were laying side by side with your heads pressed into the pillows just like old times. He flipped onto his back staring up at the stars overhead. The two of you had often gone out like this. Out of sight places that made you feel like you were the only two people in the world. You shifted until your head was on his chest listening for his heartbeat and relaxing when it was the same as you remembered.
“You know I knew this would happen. Leo has a way of getting what he wants and he wanted you. It didn’t matter that I loved you to him. You know I knew he was the one going on the dates before that day.” He said in a kind of wistful tone.
“Jinjja? I thought he never told you.” You said leaning up on your elbow to get a better look at him.
“Ne. He never told me but there was this one time he asked about you. About us and I knew. I loved you but he wanted you just as much as I did. Maybe even more. I knew then if something ever happened between us…. I just didn’t expect it to be something like this.” He gave a humorless laugh.
“Mianhae Ravi. I tried to find you. I tried everything. If there is a way it hasn’t been found yet.” The tears started to fall and he brushed a thumb across your cheeks.
“Uljima. You have no reason to apologize. If I had to lose you I am glad it was Leo. At least I know he will take care of you.” He said then kissed your forehead.
“I miss you.” You told him. Silent tears still falling down your cheeks.
“Al-a. Nado geuliwo Starlight. No matter what happens next saranghae y/n. I promise you that much. You have to wake up now.” He said and kissed you on the forehead once again.

---

You yawned and stretched groggily. Groaning at the sound of someone banging on your door.

“Hajima! I’m coming!” you yelled cursing when you knocked into a stool at the bar in your kitchen. You finally made it and just barely stopped yourself from slamming the door shut again on your stepmother’s face.
“Eojjoran Malinya? It’s seven a.m.” You grumbled.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
“Inviting you in implies that your a guest and not an unwanted intruder.” You grumbled back but moved out of the way so she could step inside anyway.
“We started on the wrong foot. You should give me another chance.” She said propping on a bar stool. She was smiling and being nice. She definitely wants something.

“Okay now I know you want something. What is it?” You poured up some juice into a glass and took a long sip moving to fix yourself some breakfast. There was no reason for you to have to listen to her and have an empty stomach at the same time.
“You and Taekwoon have a meeting with a magazine photographer at noon. They want to do a spread about the engagement.” She was practically gushing in the her excitement.

“Yah! Kang Ga Eul-sshi! Does Leo know about this? We haven’t even announced the engagement yet.” You said having to move the pan so you didn’t burn your breakfast.
“I spoke with his father this morning. He agreed that it was a good idea.”
“You do realize that it is his mother that runs that company?” You said. God you would never understand why out of all the women in South Korean, Japan and China your father had to marry a complete air head.
“Geulaeseo?” She shrugged.
“So? You really don’t understand the industry at all do you? You talked to me about how the marriage was ‘strictly business’ and you don’t even know how the business works. I will be at the photo shoot. kkeojyeo I have to eat. Tell Youngjin I said hi if you see him.” You sat your plate down roughly and started eating making it obvious that you weren’t going to listen to another word out of her mouth.
“I really wish you had been younger when I married your father. Maybe we wouldn’t be like this.” she admitted.

“Well I wish my mother hadn’t died so we’re even.” You retorted. It was cold of you to say but she constantly did stuff like this and it put everyone in a difficult place. It had been the same with the dates. If she had just let it go maybe Ravi wouldn’t be…. You shook your head and picked up your cellphone from the counter top.
“Yeoboseyo.” Leo’s quiet sleep filled voice answered after a moment.
“Hey. did I wake you?” You asked.
“Ani. I was already up.” He replied but a loud yawn betrayed him.
“Liar.”
“Maybe a little bit. Gwaenchan-a?” He joked and you heard the soft thumps and sounds of the springs that further gave away that he hadn’t left the bed yet.
“Ne. Have you talked with your abeoji?”
“Ani. Wae?”
“Apparently my step mother and your father thought it was a good idea to schedule our engagement shoot with a magazine for noon today.”
“Mwoyo?!” He demanded.
“Ne.”
“Does my mom know about this? What about your father? I thought he wanted it revealed at the company dinner.” Leo asked groaning and splashing water on his face to help wake himself up.
“Ani, unless your abeoji talked to your mother. I highly doubt my stepmother consulted my father about this otherwise she wouldn’t have been at my door when she was trying to make nice with me.”

“Can we just cancel and go to the movies instead?” He asked joking.
“I wish.”
“That’s it then. You and I are going to the movies. I will grab my bike.” He said and you could practically hear the smile in his voice. You loved when he was like this. Around everyone else he was quiet and reserved but around you he was confident and had this excited happy way about him. It was almost like when Ravi Vanished the two of you found each other and pulled each other out of the darkness, but at the mere thought of Ravi you felt that hole in your heart tighten and splinter at the edges once again.

“Leo. You know we can’t do that. do you want to meet up for brunch then go to the shoot together. Its in the gardens so don’t forget your jacket.” You had him on speaker phone and was in the process of fixing your hair when you heard him laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s just so cute how you worry about me jagi-ah. I will see you at Vixx. Salanghaeyo.” He said cheerfully then hung up the phone. You went back to fixing your makeup and getting ready when your reflection in the mirror changed instead of your bathroom behind you you saw a black landscape and what you thought looked like Ravi in the distance. You blinked and everything went back to normal.

“ dodaeche geu mueos ibnikka?” you asked your reflection before heading out of the door and to the coffee shop.

---

“And how’s the happy couple doing?” Hakyeon asked when the two of you walked in together. Everyone was sitting at the usual booth and once again the spot where Ravi used to sit was left open like they all just expected him to come back any moment. Part of you wished he would but the other part wanted everyone to just close that gap in the booth because you felt so guilty about not finding a way like you promised you would.

“Joahyo, oppa. Where is Jina?” You asked looking around when your ball of sunshine best friend was nowhere to be found.
“Hong Kong. There was a last minute shoot and she flew out this morning. Said she’d video call when she got out.” Hakyeon shrugged.
“Hyung. Are you guys really doing that shoot today? I mean isn’t it a bit soon?” Hyuk asked Leo his eyes shifting to the spot where Ravi used to sit.

“Hey you’re y/n right?” Some girls walked over after ordering their coffee.
“Ne. Can I help you?” You asked still smiling from a face Ken had made and turning away from one of his latest sketches for a painting he was working on to look at the girl and her two friends.

“What’s it like?” the one who had spoke earlier asked.

“Mwo?” you tilted your head a little confused.

“You heard her. What’s it like having your boyfriend vanish before your eyes and then going straight into the arms of his best friend? You must be really proud of yourself. So did you two plan on Ravi dying or was that just a lucky br-” another one of them spoke.

“Hey!” hyuk, Hongbin and Ken snapped.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Hakyeon demanded.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Leo shouted and they shrank back one of them muttered that they should go. while another sniggered and asked if they saw the look on my face and the first girl that had spoken agreed that it was priceless and she’d gotten the whole thing on video and couldn’t wait for it to go viral.

“y/n don’t- “ Leo softened when he turned to you, but you were already up and running out the door before he could say anything else. You heard laughter, sympathetic mutters and a few camera shutters, but you kept on then fumbled with your keys until you could get into your car, grateful for the dark tinting you had on the windows. Tears streamed down your face and you didn’t even bother to hide the sobs and screams of frustration there was a loud knock on the passenger side that caused you to jump, but it was just Leo. You clicked the lock and he climbed in.
“Hey are you- Jagi-yah.” You looked away from him not wanting him to see how much Ravi’s loss still hurt you. How much you wished it was him in that seat waiting for you to be okay.

“Gwaenchan-a. We should just go to the gardens. Let me get my face cleaned up and we’ll take my car.” you said wiping the tears out of your eyes and reaching for a napkin out of your glove box to clean up what little makeup had run because of them.
“If that’s what you want. You know we can still go to the movies.” He suggested and you laughed. It was a very Ravi thing to say and you thought maybe that’s why he said it but you smiled and hugged him close.

“Gomawo.” You thanked him and closed up the mirror before cranking up your car and driving out in the direction of the gardens.

When the two of you got there the photographer looked relieved until he saw the sour expression on Leo’s face and how red and puffy your eyes were. No less than ten news updates had appeared on your phone in the time it took to get from Vixx to the Gardens and they had all had either something to do with this shoot or with the events at the coffee shop. One of them had even been the video of what happened and the comments were everything from ‘how dare she do that in front of Ravi’s old friends… what a bitch’ to ‘its about time someone said something to that Jeong girl… I mean can you imagine how cold someone must be to move on so quickly after a Vanishing? Ravi deserved so much better’ and those were the nicer ones.
“I was hoping you hadn’t seen the news yet. I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend and that girl had no right to throw it in either of your faces like that.” He said.
“look your job is to take the engagement photos. You don’t have to kiss ass while you’re doing it.” Leo said and wrapped an arm around you before laying a kiss into your hair. You looked up at him and realized he was just short of crying himself but anger and need to be strong for you stopped him. You wiped a thumb at the one stray tear that escaped and smiled reassuringly.
“We’re alright Jagi. He’s just being polite. None of this was his fault. Gaja. We’ll finish this then go catch that movie? Okay?” You said and walked over to the photographer with your hand in Leo’s like it was the only thing holding you together.

By the time the shoot was about halfway finished Leo had finally calmed you down and the two of you were smiling and acting out the shots like everything was normal like you were really a happy couple. Like the ghost of his best friend wasn’t standing in his way, but Leo knew the truth. He was on borrowed time and neither one of you would be safe when that time ran out.

“Hey. You okay?” You asked him smiling up from where the photographer had the two of you on a picnic blanket.

“Yeah.”

“You’re a terrible liar.” you said smiling then gave him a light peck on the mouth before hopping up and running as you forgot all about the cameras and crew around you. You squealed when Leo picked you up and spun you around then you heard the the photographer shout.
“Perfect. I think we’re done here. If you guys want we can hold off on the interview portion until another day.” He suggested when the two of you didn’t stop playing around. Leo carried you over on his back and stopped in front of the photographer.

“Mianhae. Earlier both of us were going through some things…. anyway I really am sorry and if it is alright with you I think for the interview we should wait until after the corporate banquet. Our parents were planning on announcing the engagement then. Her stepmother just jumped the gun and scheduled this in advance.” He was all serious and professional when he spoke to the photographer and the man nodded an agreement.
“Say no more. I hope the two of you enjoy the rest of your day. The pictures should be ready sometime tomorrow if you would like to come by and see them.” He said smiling.
“We’ll be there thank you.” You told him then switched your focus to Leo.
“Gaja. We should go back and get your bike before Hyuk decides to take it on a joy ride or worse Ken decides to use it as a canvas.” You said and pulled on his hand running back in the direction of your car.

Notes

This is the most recent chapter I have so the updates will come less rushed/frequently as I try to write the next chapter. If you have the time feedback is appreciated. Stay happy.