The Library Ghost
One of Eun Tak’s rare friends was a girl she had met at the library. She had met her friend Jeong Heon a lot at the library; she was the library’s ghost. But like other ghosts, Jeong Heon didn’t ask her to solve her grudge or listen to her sad story; she just sat next to her and talked with her in high school uniform. Sometimes Eun Tak forgot Jeong Heon was a ghost and sometimes she wanted to know how Jeong Heon had died; Jeong Heon had never told her before. She just told Eun Tak to visit her memorial in Paju with flowers sometime.
It was nice that the Goblin was going with her, but after listening to his sad story, it was hard to look him straight in the eye. She could understand why the Goblin kept telling her off for telling sad stories; her sad story was nothing compared to his.
“Are you going to buy the flowers there?”
Eun Tak looked up at the Goblin’s voice.
“Did you know, Shin, flowers really suit you. Any flowers. All of them, actually.”
The Goblin raised an eyebrow at the weird answer.
“Did you know, Shin, you’re just my type. Any day. Every day, actually.”
He stared blankly at the girl.
“Did you know, Shin, you’ve got a really good personality. Any time. Everytime, actually.”
The sudden praise from the girl was making him very confused indeed.
“Did I do something wrong? Wait a sec, it’s probably you. What did you do wrong?”
“No…”
“Then what could it be? These compliments?”
“Words of comfort? Words of encouragement? Never mind, you won’t understand.”
The compliments made the Goblin unnecessarily happy.
“Well, specifically which part is your style?”
Their eyes met; Eun Tak got pulled into the sad eyes again, and funny enough, she was in those eyes.
“You’re… Strange and beautiful.”
The wind blew, but for some reason it was warm.
Eun Tak looked into the memorial of ‘Jeong Heon Ko.’ In most of the photos, Jeong Heon was wearing a school uniform because she had died at the age of 19. Past all the photos of Jeong Heon standing by herself, there was one where she was smiling with her friend. Eun Tak blinked and blinked again.
“I… Isn’t that mum? Why is mum there?”
Her mum was standing arm to arm with Jeong Heon. The Goblin looked towards the girl who was rushing towards him like a bull.
“The door! The library! Quick!”
The Goblin nodded and opened the door into the memorial building.
As soon as they arrived at the library, Eun Tak rushed around the building and finally found Jeong Heon standing at the end of the hall. She was smiling.
“Be careful. You might fall over.”
“Were you my mum’s friend? Do you know my mum? Her name is Yeon Hee Ji.”
“Why do you think I was next to you this whole time? It’s because you’re Yeon Hee’s daughter.”
Eun Tak couldn’t say anything.
“We promised each other at high-school. If either of us gets children, we would buy them pretty clothes. I’m sorry I couldn’t buy you pretty clothes, but I still kept Yeon Hee’s money safe for you.”
Jeong Heon called out a locker number and a pin number. Eun Tak was confused but she did what Jeong Heon told her. Inside the locker was a pile of bank books. Seeing the old bank books, Eun Tak remembered something and looked at Jeong Heon.
“Those are the bankbooks that your aunt kept saying were disappearing. It’s Yeon Hee’s insurance money. The one on the top is the most recent one, so you can use it to help your school fees. Congratulations for getting into university.”
The congratulations from Jeong Heon was so heart-warming, Eun Tak could feel tears forming in her eyes.
“Is this why you couldn’t leave here all this time? Because of me?”
“I should have given it to you earlier, but I was having fun watching you grow up. I want to go and have a long chat with Yeon Hee now. We haven’t chatted in ages.”
“... You’re leaving? Right now?”
“I’ll tell your mother everything. That her daughter is really kind, is really smart, and has been accepted into a good university.”
Jeong Heon patted her head, and the tears fell down Eun Tak’s cheek.
“Thank you. Thank you for everything. Good bye. Bye, Jeong Heon.”
And she vanished. The girl who was her mother’s friend as well as hers.
The Goblin took the crying child to the beach where they had first met. There, Eun Tak called out for her mum.
“You had a really good friend. mum. No actually, she was my friend. I really liked everything you did for me, mum. The rice cake, the feast, the scarf, and Jeong Heon. I really liked everything you did for me.”
The Goblin placed his hand on her shoulder as a gesture of consolation.
“You too, Shin. Thank you for opening the door for me.”
Eun Tak smiled up at the man. Her face was a mess, smiling and crying at same time, but it was pretty.
“That’s how great I am.”
She laughed loudly at the Goblin’s proud words. The ocean was quiet.
“Are you laughing at me?”
Eun Tak shook her head, smiling. With a short happy sigh, she looked out into the clear sky.
“It doesn’t rain a lot these days.”
“I’m trying my best to control myself. In case NASA comes to take me away.”
He was now a person who could make this girl happy easily. Her laugh filled the beach. It was louder than the sound of the ocean.
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