Trigger warning: Suicide

xx

Luz Caroline

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"Eunwoo!!!" The sixteen year-old Emiko screamed as she sat up on her bed. Beads of sweat started dripping down from her forehead as she started to wonder to herself about the name she just screamed in her dream. All she knows is that there is a longing feeling in her whenever she hears and says the name Eunwoo.

Was it because of her disease? No one is sure of it. But Emiko knows that her days are numbered and she needs to find the man in her dreams as soon as possible.

—-

"I'm telling you, I can't just divorce her if I ever marry her." The seventeen-year-old Takahiro explained to his friend while they were in a coffee shop. "Marrying Aiko also means marrying the Matsumoto clan."

"But you'll be loaded right after. There is what they call an alimony, right?" Yuki pointed out.

Takahiro chuckled in a sarcastic manner, "Yeah, good luck with that." He sipped his coffee. "The Matsumoto family is known to be very protective of their wealth to the point that they would kill someone just so they wouldn't put out any single cent."

"So we're stuck. You marry her and you'll be stuck with her and her family for the rest of your life, whereas if you don't marry her, you're gonna be disowned by your own family." Yuki replied.

Takahiro sighed, "I wish there would be some other woman that would show up so I can bring her to my family and tell them 'Hey this is who I'm going to marry' so that my family would back off."

Just then, Emiko entered the coffee shop while carrying some books. She had long, curly hair and white complexion which made her look delicate in Takahiro's eyes, which made him want to protect her even more. She is also wearing a white cotton dress with puff sleeves while emitting a sweet lilac scent, hitting Takahiro's nostrils.

"Are you alright?" Yuki asked him.

"I think I just found the woman I'm going to marry." Takahiro replied without taking his gaze off Emiko.

—-

"Do you believe in past life?" Emiko asked Takahiro while they were walking by the beach, the cool water splashing by their feet. It has been a year since they started dating.

"I do but I haven't really encountered anyone with memories of their past life." He replied. "I don't even remember what my past life was like." Emiko fell silent as she pondered whether to tell him that she remembers her own but only fragmented pieces of it or not.

"Do you have memories of your past life?" He asked and she looked up at him.

"Yeah... but just bits and pieces of it." She responded. "You see... I was meant to be with this man named Eunwoo. We were married but apparently I died on my wedding day." Just then, feelings of pain and loneliness seeped through Takahiro's chest. He didn't understand why he felt like that; he thought that maybe he was jealous of the man named Eunwoo.

"But you're with me now..." He said and hugged her tight, trying to bury the feelings of pain and loneliness he felt when she told him about her memories. "I may not be Eunwoo but I'm here to love and protect you for the rest of my life."

Emiko just smiled as she melted in his arms, for she already knew that Takahiro and Eunwoo were one because Eunwoo also said the exact same thing to her in their previous life.

—--

"I know we're not supposed to see each other before the wedding but I thought this would look good on you." Takahiro said as he handed her a golden hairpin with a dragon crest at the other end.

Emiko's eyes gleamed in delight. "Finally, a wonderful hairpiece!" She said, "I had a hard time choosing a hairpiece for my wedding dress today. I think the hairstylist is starting to get annoyed at me already for rejecting all the hairpieces she suggested to me earlier."

Takahiro tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "I love you, Emiko."

"I love you too, Takahiro." She responded while looking at him with a loving gaze. Takahiro let out a gentle smile as he finally remembered that it was also how Seohyeon used to look at him in his past life. He finally knows that he and Emiko are meant to be together but of course, he wouldn't let her know just yet.

It would be his own little surprise for her.

—-

Emiko started to walk down the aisle as she looked at the man she will be spending the rest of his life with while in her traditional wedding kimono. Looking back, Emiko couldn't help but chuckle a bit as she remembered how their wedding ideas differed with their families - their families both wanted a traditional wedding but the couple wanted a modern wedding. Good thing that they were able to compromise, hence having a wedding that is a mix of tradition and modern-day customs.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp, stabbing pain on the left side of her chest, her firm footsteps turning into a staggering one. She felt as if there was a big weight crushing on her chest and it was causing her shortness of breath which resulted in her falling to the ground. As soon as her body hit the ground, everyone gasped and rushed towards her, some stayed back and tried to call for help.

"Make way! Give her some air!!!" Takahiro shouted as he tried to disperse the guests crowding around his bride. "Emiko!" He cradled her in his arms. "Emiko, stay with me, alright? We're going to get you some help."

Emiko gripped on his arm and shook her head, "Cardiomyopathy." She managed to breathe out an answer. "The doctor only gave me a year to live... it's only a miracle that I've held out these past three years..."

"N-No..." He cried. "Breathe with me, alright?"

"So this is how I die in this life huh..." Emiko jokingly stated while the other people around her started to be in tears. "...at least I didn't get shot by an arrow this time." She winced in pain as her tears started to stream down her cheeks too.

Takahiro shook his head, "No," he said, "I won't let you die. Not in this lifetime, Emiko!" He carried her body and as soon as he stepped out of the Church, he felt her body go into a dead weight.

"Emiko!" Takahiro let out a cry of anguish.

—

Takahiro drank the last drop of sake as he held the golden dragon hairpin in his right hand. Emiko had just been buried, seven days after her wake as per her family's request. He smashed the bottle and faced the river with its raging current due to the rainy season currently happening in their country. Emiko was his life, his everything - and without her, his life amounts to nothing.

He stepped on the stone barricade and thought to himself how this world had been cruel to him and Emiko. He thought to hell with this world. To hell with everything; and with that, he stabbed himself on the chest with the golden dragon hairpin he once gave to Emiko, making his heart slow down immediately. Not long after that, his body fell into the river, the cold water seeping through his flesh and bones.

I will find you again in our next life, Emiko. My Seohyeon. He thought as he breathed his last.