The Love That Remains

The certificate has a stamp of Council of Supernatural Extant. The same council that I am hiding from.

"How did...no...when did...how..." When my tongue is no longer supporting me with words, I gesticulate wildly at the certificate.

Sung Jun puts another piece of paper over that one. It"s a normal one....registered from the civil affairs office. Two marriage certificates. I don"t remember signing or consenting with either one. How can one get married like this? I met him three days ago...and we have not left this hotel room for the last three days.

I notice the dates. The marriage dates are wrong.

In the marriage certificate by the Council of Supernatural Extant, the marriage date is seven years old while the registration and approval date is two days old. It doesn"t make sense to me. In the other one from the civil affairs office, the date is five years old.

These certificates are fake. It has to be. We could not have possibly get married at sixteen. It is not even legal to get married at sixteen. At eighteen, I didn"t even meet him. How could he have to get married to me without me ever being there? It"s impossible. Besides, he didn"t even know that I was alive.

I snort. "Sung Jun, if you want to get fake certificates, at least get the dates right."

He gives me a knowing smile and hands me a third marriage certificate. This certificate is completely red with golden words. I check the date. This date is also seven years old. My and Sung Jun"s name are written in golden block letters with a huge seal that says "MARRIED" in cursive letters. It is signed and stamped by...

I rub my eyes and read it again. I must be seeing things these days. It is signed and stamped by the G.o.d of marriage himself.

"..." I am speechless. Completely speechless. The G.o.d of marriage himself certified our marriage. This man will go to any extent...going as far as even creating a fake certificate with the signature of a G.o.d.

The G.o.ds are real. Is he not afraid of offending one?

"The supernatural world is different from the human world." Amused, he taps his fingers on the table. "The council has set the legal age to be thirteen."

I didn"t know that. Alright, still, I am sure that the council or any government would require both people to be there to get married. Legally.

"I belong to the family of shamans. My father is the president of the council." He adds. His eyes are searching for something on my face. I look away. I know that already. I have never met his father, but he and I already have a deep enmity. I just don"t know what I should do to him because he is his father.

"Because I am not an ordinary human, the rules applied to me too." He lifts my chin to meet his eyes. "Eight years ago, I thought that I was the reason why you killed yourself. I wandered the streets to find your soul. I even learned the shaman art to see you again once more."

I am shocked. Even in this life, he took the same path. "Why...I asked you to live an ordinary life...didn"t you want that too?"

"That was my dream once." He appears to be lost and haunted as if recalling a nightmare.

---

[Eight years ago]

Park In Ha is sitting across Sung Jun. His eyes are empty and dead. There is no will to live in his eyes. He doesn"t even look at her when Park In Ha shows him an envelope.

"Your father sent this." She is uneasy to see him like this. She is missing his bright smile. His soft but firm voice. The way his eyes twinkles each time he smiles genuinely. Even his pa.s.sive coldness toward her. He never said the words, but Park In Ha knows that Sung Jun didn"t like her.

She was fine but now...she sees him heartbroken and lost. Like he has lost something precious.

What kind of woman was Fang Aisa? It has been three months since she died. From what she heard from the people at school, they were not together for long. Fang Aisa was an illegitimate child. Her mother died when she was born. On top of it, she didn"t have the background or looks to be Sung Jun"s equal. Compared to her, Park In Ha is better. She is the top student. She is from an elite family like Sung Jun. She might not be extraordinary like Sung Jun when it comes to the spiritual powers, but she is still the youngest female exorcist of her generation. Everyone thinks that she is perfect for him.

Except him, of course.

Fang Aisa even hara.s.sed him. She ruined his reputation in both the human and supernatural worlds.

Then, why is he still thinking about her? He didn"t even glance at her. He didn"t close the door on her face when she turned up. He is treating her like...he isn"t even seeing her.

Instead, she is seeing longing and grief in his eyes. Pain. Each moment of life is heavy for him.

When his father asked her to go to him, she was elated. Now, she doesn"t know. Before he comes here, there was no woman in his life who could make him show this expression. She was fine with that. If there was no woman, she could still find a place. He didn"t have to love her. It"s fine if she was with him.

Now, how can she accept this?