"ghosting"

She remembered that burning sensation at the back of her throat, her voice raspy and her eyes fluttering in the sunlight. The wind was a harsh reminder that she was now alone, pushing her backwards and forwards. The unforgiveable gaze she had received from her brother, disapproving and relentless. Yeji wanted to scream, clutching so tightly onto the sleeve of her denim jacket, her lip quivering as she tried so hard to fight the tears. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want to become a burden. She felt the pools of disbelief and grief well in her hopeless eyes, glittering like lonely stars in the dense space. She was nobody's daughter now, just merely existing.

"Mum and Dad are dead," her brother said softly, he too was mourning despite his gentle expression. He had become accustomed to being left behind, unlike Yeji, who was sheltered from the darkness that lurked in the shadows of the real world.

Yeji shut her eyes, swallowing down what felt like razors as her lip shook. She yelped as her brother enveloped her with his larger frame, softly crying into his younger sister's shoulders. It was almost as if she was apart of a symphony, her tears being conducted as she bellowed out an aching scream. She gripped on tightly to her brother's shirt, fearing that he too would leave her.

Her life had changed drastically within those few days. She had to watch her brother, Jae, wish goodbye to his close friend Eddie- who also was her one true love at the time. She stood by the doorway, watching as Jae collapsed into his friend's arms, who in turn embraced him like a brother. Yeji donned a softened expression as she adored Eddie one more time before she was to leave him behind. Her eyes traced his gentle face, his cheekbones prominent and his hair messy as ever. She watched him as he licked his plump lips to hydrate them as he continued to aid Jae.

Yeji had to quickly turn away as she was almost caught looking adoringly at Eddie. She flinched when she felt a hand press onto her shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze for reassurance. She turned and looked up, meeting eyes with Eddie. She could have melted in his eyes. They were like waves from the raging sea, dark and murky yet clear in the light. She wished she could've been swept away. He too, stared back into her eyes; Like pools of sugary honey, sunsets and gold.

"You ok?" he asked hesitantly, probably realising it was a stupid question. Who would be ok after their parents died?

"Could be better," she replied cooly. Eddie's expression softened as he leaned down and hugged the shorter girl. Yeji shut her eyes and savoured the warmth radiating from Eddie's body, if she could have her way, she would stay with Eddie like this forever. He made her forget her pain, even with just a simple movement.

0o0

Eddie came back into his office, sitting down in front of his computer before raising his brow at the distant sound of laughter. He tried to ignore it, going back into his work. He was trying to plan his interview with Cletus Kasady, a ruthless serial killer. He didn't want it to be a simple interview, generic and boring for both subject and readers. He rubbed his eyes as he heard the laughter once more, ending his train of thought. He took a deep breath as he stood up, slowly walking towards the door of his office and peering around until he found the source of the laughter.

Yeji.

She was stood by the printer, well, more like latching to the printer as she was crouching on the floor laughing like a maniac. She was being accompanied by Rico, one of the foreign interns. They were roughly around the same age and it seemed they got along well. Rico seemed to have cracked another joke as Yeji began laughing again. Eddie could hear her telling Rico to stop making her laugh, she said as she was wiping the corner of her eyes with her sleeve. She looked up and saw Eddie watching her from his office door, she quickly stood up and grabbed the papers she had been printing and made her way to Eddie.

Eddie smirked as she chuckled to herself as she walked past him into the office.

"You seem to get along with Rico?" Eddie said, watching as his intern sorted her papers into piles.

She looked up with a raise brow and a slightly amused face, "curious?". She felt like a teen again, giddy and wild. It was refreshing to have had a laugh, especially for how long it had been since she had last been happy. She watched Eddie's amused face as he blissfully walked his way towards her desk, turning some of her papers towards him as he scanned a couple paragraphs.

"You're doing a piece on Carlton Drake?" he said unamused. He felt Venom growl within him and he quickly shook it off, he couldn't have Yeji thinking he was insane by talking to himself.

"Yeah, I found it really interesting how he worked," she commented. "His work was just admirable, especially how he had achieved so much at a young age."

Eddie sighed, "you are aware he was a crook, right? And he testing on people? Specifically, homeless people, vulnerable people."

Yeji responded, "yeah I am aware. However, I don't think he deserved to die. Some people just are wired different, and they believe they are doing the right thing and that everyone else is the bad guy to them." Yeji looked up to Eddie, "I'm sure you have done things you think are right, but to others it's rather questionable?"

I think she's onto us, Eddie. Eddie seemed taken aback at her response and also feared for a short moment that maybe she knew about his little friend inside him.

"Also, I thought it would make me stand out to Claude for picking such a sensitive topic. Did they ever find his body?" Yeji mused to herself, pressing her pencil against her lips before she began quickly typing into her computer. Eddie was amazed at how quickly she worked, she seemed like she would excel in the internship if she continued to work like this.

He looked at the clock and realised it was nearly the end of the working day.

"Hey, Yeji, did you still wanna grab that coffee?"

The intern turned and looked at him before quickly darting her eyes to the clock. "Ah," she mused, "I completely forgot! But yeah, I don't mind going if its not messing up your schedule?" She smiled softly at Eddie whilst shuffling her work together and turning off her laptop.

"Yeah, let's go." Eddie replied as he followed her out the office, turning the lights off behind her and locking the door.

Eddie watched as the smaller woman walked before him, her small, frail hands clutching tightly onto her grey leather handbag strap, her heels tapping against the wooden office floor. She walked gracefully, yet with a sense of anxiety, as if she was analysing every step she took. Methodically and cautiously put one foot in front of another, as if fearing any fault or flaw she couldn't possibly have. Her frame was dainty, weak and tired. She seemed overworked, yet tried to push through it, yet no amount of caffeine could hide the shadows beneath her honey eyes. Eddie watched as she neared the elevator, her thin fingers lingering over the button as she watched Eddie draw nearer to her. She pushed her black hair behind her ear, a couple strands latching onto her small earring, as she smiled at her former friend.

"Do you have any recommendations, or is Starbucks the best you've got around here?" Yeji pulled Eddie away from his trance, he blinked hastily as he dragged back into reality and met with Yeji's softened gaze.

"Uh," Eddie quickly tried to think of somewhere nearby, within walking distance. "There's this quiet café just a block from here. Unless you'd rather somewhere else?"

/

Eddie found himself staring at Yeji again as she was obliviously watching people passing by as rain hammered against the window, smothering the street lights against the fogged glass. He watched as she would pick at her sleeve in her palm, scrunching up the lace of her black sleeved cardigan. She would also purse her lips rather often, not in weird kissy way, assumingly in an attempt to stop biting her already red lips. He found her completely different from when he had last seen her. She used to be an open book, yet now she seemed to have rewritten her character. He would remember when he would pass her in the school halls, giving a friendly hello and occasionally walking home with her from school if he was going to see her brother anyways. She used to always talk about herself, expressing her anxieties, highlights of her days and general thoughts. Yet now, she sat in front of a lukewarm coffee, avoiding eye contact with the one she once confided in.

"So, what's Jae up to now?" Eddie broke the silence, his hand trailing towards the small plate of chocolate biscuits.

Yeji seemed to wonder for a moment, as if trying to figure it out herself. "He's working with my grandfather at the moment in Korea," she replied shortly after, her small hands cupping her coffee before bringing it to her lips. She savoured the bitterness on her tongue, allowing the flavours to develop and change before swallowing. "My grandfather runs a car sales company, and he wants Jae to be the new boss, being the only grandson and all that."

Eddie nodded as she spoke, "how comes you're back from Korea? I highly doubt it was your job offer from Claude." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs.

"Well, my grandparents weren't exactly pleased when I chose my own career path. It's common for parents to be heavily involved in stuff like that. They only just allowed me to go to university to study literature, but when I suggested going back to America they totally freaked! So I saved a lot, bought an apartment, left a note and jumped on a plane."

"Now I wasn't expecting that," Eddie said, rubbing his stubbled jaw as he took another mouthful of his coffee. "Did you not feel scared? Fair enough it was New York as you lived there, but San Francisco? Do you know anybody here?"

Yeji shook her head and shrugged. "I wasn't really thinking when I did it. It was more of a 'I can do what I want' kinda thing when I got on that plane. I remember getting off the plane and just crying because I honestly had no idea what I was going to do next."

Eddie was both in awe and amazement. He once thought he knew Yeji, but she had truly changed. She had developed both physically and mentally, she had grown stronger. He highly doubt that she would have even considered fleeing to another country if she was a teenager.

They continued to converse for a couple more hours until the café began to close up. Eddie had offered to drive Yeji home on his bike that he had parked not too far, yet she kindly declined and walked away.

She is different. I like her.

/

Thank you everyone who have been fav/following! I really appreciate it 😊

: Thanks for the review! They really make me feel like people enjoy my fic. I hope you like Yeji's current development.