On a creepy night when darkness engulfed all the bits of light, I was out for 'trick or treat'. All the smoke from the town gathered together to form a deadly figure of smoke. I scattered the candies in terror and shut my eyes, thinking the world is dark when the eyes are shut.

As a soothing hand brushed against me, I thought someone was there to save me. But the one to save me came out of that deadly figure. I saw a handsome man emerging out of that smoky-figured ghost.

His face is something that I must have known for centuries. He also felt an unexpected warmth in our brief contact.

Now I can't see him as a ghost. He is just a handsome guy that I can see for a whole day.

"Do you know me?" He was skeptical.

"Yes! You are the man of my dreams." I suddenly had the audacity to flirt with the very first ghost I encountered in my entire life.

"What do you dream of me?" He couldn't even understand that I was flirting with him.

"Not you, exactly. My dream boy somewhat resembles you. Sometimes he is the king of a huge empire, and sometimes he looks like a rock star. A singer and dancer exactly." I just uttered something out of my crazy dreams.

"The king of the Bubo empire! Ya!! That's me!" He exclaimed with so much joy.

His reaction felt like he had found some good old friend from centuries ago. Maybe he found something far more precious.

"Can I hold your hand one more time?" This time, he really cared about my feelings.

"Yes!" I replied with so many doubts about what this handsome ghost's hand could do to me.

His hand held mine, which just swirled everything around me. I could feel warmth, longing, pain, and love in that brief contact with him.

I was taken to my dream land. Maybe the Bubo empire, about which he was talking earlier.

I was right before me in a royal costume, talking to someone who was facing backward.

"... At least a good-bye handshake?" He was saying this to me in my dreams.

I could have said no, but I opted for a kiss instead.

That kiss just took me inside her—no, inside my body. I could feel it, and it rewinded everything we had gone through.

I was then taken out of our tragic past, and the man I loved was standing right before me as a ghost.

"Hey! I really missed you." I said that, as my past life was nothing but missing him for the rest of my life.

"But it was you who chose that ending for us. We deserved a much better ending. But you loved your country more than me." Even after centuries, he was still angry at me for not choosing him.

"I thought I would forget you once I was away from you. But I didn't." I tried to pacify him with my words.

"Did you ever get married?" He questioned.

"Not in this life." I tried to give an answer that didn't make him angry.

"So you were married in your past life. You never loved me enough. You chose not to leave your empire and marry a foreign king, as it cost your empire and the queen status. You loved yourself more, and you also did marry, unlike me." He spoke with disappointment, reflecting on each and every part of his body.

"Maybe we were never destined to be together. Maybe our fate was to experience unrequited love forever. Even in this life, we can't end up together as you are a ghost." I tried to pacify him with the wrong choice of words.

"Yes! But the fate of unrequited love is only for me and not for you. Because you are the one who is ending this." He said it with a hint of anger on his face.

"Should I marry a ghost in this life? What do you expect me to do?" I asked. Maybe he was right. I didn't love him enough. I didn't prioritize him any day. I wanted what I wanted, and it was not him.

"I roamed as a ghost just because of my unrequited love. Now I know that I don't want this anymore, and you don't deserve my love." He uttered and also added, "I hope that in our next life, you will love me more. More than I love you. More than I want you, you should want me. I should be everything in your next life. I should forget my love for you. I should again live as a king in my next life."

The king system doesn't exist anymore.

"What you say sounds like a curse." I uttered.

"I will never curse you. I just want you to feel that love with which I roamed for centuries. The love that is so strong and pure, you would choose them again and again, no matter what. I wanted you to experience that love." He literally cursed me to feel that unrequited love for him.

I will never feel that way.

I walked away from him to see what the future was holding for me. I didn't feel any unrequited love, just like his words. Maybe he was wrong, or maybe I was ignorant.

                              --------

Centuries later, he was born again, and so was she. Just like his words, he was born as a king. But not the king of empire, but the king of people's hearts. He was called JK, and he was loved by millions of people.

He didn't remember anything about his past. He lived a normal, happy, and healthy life.

She, too, didn't remember anything about their past. But she lived a life just like he wanted. She loved him more. She loved only him in this life. Her love was definitely unrequited this time, as she was born as his dog.

He loved her. But she loved him more. She wanted him more than he wanted her. He was her everything, and she was his something.

His words did come true.

But no matter how many lives passed, he couldn't stop loving her.