NOVEL NEXT Chapter 153: Epilogue 2
"We are ghosts now." Kang Si An scratches his beard. "Should we haunt our great-grandchildren?"
Kyuri laughs. "Why should we waste time on them? Let's travel as ghosts. Don't you want to pass through walls?"
"Damn it!" Kang Si An widens his eyes. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"Because you are dumb." Kyuri flicks his forehead. "You are so lucky that you have me."
"Yes, yes, I am lucky." He hugs her tightly and rubs his cheek against hers. "I want you as my wife in every lifetime."
"Let me go." She elbows him. "How many times have I told you to shave your beard?"
"I forgot." Kang Si An puckers his lips. "Do I look ugly with beards?"
She stares into his green eyes. His ghostly face is full of wrinkles. It reminds her of Li Jun. She wonders how she looks like to him. He has always seen her young in his previous lifetime. Now, she's also old and wrinkly like him.
Li Jun is Kang Si An. Kang Si An is Li Jun.
But he had always whispered to her in the morning that she was the most beautiful creation that he had seen.
Kyuri smiles. "You are ugly for sure."
"Tsk!" Kang Si An slaps his own cheek. "I should have gotten rid of the beard."
"You don't look too bad." Kyuri leans on his shoulder and entangles her fingers with his. "Do you think that Miran and Taeho also spent time together like this?"
After having some thoughts, Kang Si An says, "If Miran waited for Kim Taeho, they might have taken the last walk together."
She has a feeling that Miran did wait for Kim Taeho. Miran might not have said a lot when she was alive but her friend did love Kim Taeho. It was clear in Miran's eyes. And Kim Taeho loved her back. They spent a lot of time in silence but their silence had a meaning. It was something that they shared deeply.
It was different from the love between her and Kang Si An, but it was certainly love.
"I want to be greedy and spend more time here with you." Kang Si An closes his eyes and smiles. "Like this, only two of us."
"Let's do this then." She rests her chin on his shoulder. "You and I… We have never been together as ghosts. I want to spend a few years as a ghost with you."
He looks at her seriously. "Should we have a ghostly honeymoon before we move on?"
"Definitely," she smirks at him. "I want to learn how ghosts make love."
"I am going to teach you, my wife." He wraps his arm around her waist. "Kwon Kyuri, my time-traveller, I love you with everything that I have or I will ever have. I promise that I will always choose you in our next lifetimes."
"You seems to be sure." She gives him a peck on his lips. "What if you fall for someone else?"
"No." He shakes his head. "You are engraved in my heart. I promise you that I will never ever fall for someone else. There's no space for anyone else anyway."
"I will see in our next lifetime." She looks at him sternly. "I let your mistakes slide for two times. If there's a third strike, I will kill you with my own hands."
"Please make it painful." Kang Si An tells her with a steady voice, "I should be severely punished if I choose to be with another woman foolishly when I clearly love you."
Who knows about their next lives? Both of them won't remember for sure. Maybe that's good. A new life with an empty slate. She wonders if they will meet again and fall in love.
She gazes at her husband who is sure that they will meet again. Surely, their love is strong enough to draw them close to each other again without any keeper's interference.
***
"Because you are dumb." Kyuri flicks his forehead. "You are so lucky that you have me."
"Yes, yes, I am lucky." He hugs her tightly and rubs his cheek against hers. "I want you as my wife in every lifetime."
"Let me go." She elbows him. "How many times have I told you to shave your beard?"
"I forgot." Kang Si An puckers his lips. "Do I look ugly with beards?"
She stares into his green eyes. His ghostly face is full of wrinkles. It reminds her of Li Jun. She wonders how she looks like to him. He has always seen her young in his previous lifetime. Now, she's also old and wrinkly like him.
Li Jun is Kang Si An. Kang Si An is Li Jun.
But he had always whispered to her in the morning that she was the most beautiful creation that he had seen.
Kyuri smiles. "You are ugly for sure."
"Tsk!" Kang Si An slaps his own cheek. "I should have gotten rid of the beard."
"You don't look too bad." Kyuri leans on his shoulder and entangles her fingers with his. "Do you think that Miran and Taeho also spent time together like this?"
After having some thoughts, Kang Si An says, "If Miran waited for Kim Taeho, they might have taken the last walk together."
She has a feeling that Miran did wait for Kim Taeho. Miran might not have said a lot when she was alive but her friend did love Kim Taeho. It was clear in Miran's eyes. And Kim Taeho loved her back. They spent a lot of time in silence but their silence had a meaning. It was something that they shared deeply.
It was different from the love between her and Kang Si An, but it was certainly love.
"I want to be greedy and spend more time here with you." Kang Si An closes his eyes and smiles. "Like this, only two of us."
"Let's do this then." She rests her chin on his shoulder. "You and I… We have never been together as ghosts. I want to spend a few years as a ghost with you."
He looks at her seriously. "Should we have a ghostly honeymoon before we move on?"
"Definitely," she smirks at him. "I want to learn how ghosts make love."
"I am going to teach you, my wife." He wraps his arm around her waist. "Kwon Kyuri, my time-traveller, I love you with everything that I have or I will ever have. I promise that I will always choose you in our next lifetimes."
"You seems to be sure." She gives him a peck on his lips. "What if you fall for someone else?"
"No." He shakes his head. "You are engraved in my heart. I promise you that I will never ever fall for someone else. There's no space for anyone else anyway."
"I will see in our next lifetime." She looks at him sternly. "I let your mistakes slide for two times. If there's a third strike, I will kill you with my own hands."
"Please make it painful." Kang Si An tells her with a steady voice, "I should be severely punished if I choose to be with another woman foolishly when I clearly love you."
Who knows about their next lives? Both of them won't remember for sure. Maybe that's good. A new life with an empty slate. She wonders if they will meet again and fall in love.
She gazes at her husband who is sure that they will meet again. Surely, their love is strong enough to draw them close to each other again without any keeper's interference.
***
After travelling the world as ghosts, Kang Si An and Kwon Kyuri meet a reaper.
In a beautiful country with a colourful history, they are surrounded by gothic architecture. There's no lack of ancient spirits and ghosts. They run away when they sense the man.
The man is dressed in a black formal suit. His hair is combed back. His pitch-black eyes are narrow and cold. He claps his hands in front of him and smiles politely at Kang Si An and Kwon Kyuri.
"It's not safe to wander in the mortal realm." The man's smile doesn't meet his eyes. "It's time for you to move on from this world."
Kwon Kyuri and Kang Si An have learned a few tricks. Both of them look young in their ghostly forms. However, they decide not to fight the reaper. It's true that they have to move on. There have been a few evil spirits bothering them a bit.
"Okay, we will go with you." Si An holds Kyuri's hand. Her safety is his priority. Adventure with a foolish attitude is deathly. "Where do we have to go?"
A black Mercedes arrives in front of them. The reaper gestures to them to take a seat in the car.
Kyuri and Si An follow the man and sit in the car. In less than five minutes, they arrive in front of a bridge surrounded by mist. They get out of the car and look at the bridge. The river is kind of scary: dark, full of ghosts, and certainly unhygienic.
"Is it the legendary bridge that…" Si An looks at the reaper who gives him a nod.
"You have to cross it." Reaper tells them, "Don't look back. Keep going. You will find a door. Someone will come to help you."
The reaper doesn't leave until they climb the steps of the bridge.
"Boring." Kwon Kyuri mutters, "I don't know what I expected but this is too boring."
"At least, we aren't being chased by evil spirits." Kang Si An thinks about all the things that they had to do in their life. The keeper kept coming and telling them to deal with strange things. It was both adventurous and fearful. The keeper made them work a lot. Sometimes, they were so close to death."Kwak In-Sik surpasses all the evil things that we met."