The Angel of Death didn’t expect to be that sad because of what happened. She’d been in the business of reaping souls for millennia and while she tried not to pay close attention to any of the spirits she guided, some left a mark on her. Pan and Kim were two of those. She was busy thinking how she could help Pan completely be the vessel she was in that she didn’t notice that her Supervisor and Manager were standing by her cubicle. When she saw them, she got scared that they found out about her mistake and how she tried to cover it all up. She began to walk towards the opposite direction, but her Supervisor called, “Angel 3105.” The other Angels of Death were now peering from their cubicles, excited to see what would happen next. She slowly turned to the voice who just called her and asked, with a hand on her chest, “Me?” The voice of her Supervisor boomed in the office, “Is there any other Angel 3105 here?” He suddenly turned to the other Angels of Death watching intently from their tiny spaces. “What are you all looking at? Don’t you have souls to reap and paperworks to file?” In an instant, all the eyes were gone. “Follow me, Angel 3105.”
Angel of Death 3105 followed the two to a small conference room and sat in front of them. The manager cleared his throat. Angel of Death was terrified. “We summoned you because the Boss talked to us,” he began, his voice echoing softly. “We understand that the soul of Kimhan Dhamrong-rattanaroj was assigned to you, correct?” The Angel of Death nodded. “Correct?” the Manager asked, louder. “Y-yes, yes, correct, Sir,” she stammered. He cleared his throat again and continued, “We also understand that the said soul is currently trapped in the Spirit Dock, correct?” She was now not only terrified, but also puzzled. Why the sudden interest in Kim's soul? And why was the Boss involved? “Yes, Sir.” The Manager nodded. “You know how the Boss moves in mysterious ways. He has told us that it was not time for the soul to be reaped.”
She felt lightheaded all of the sudden and she knew she had gone pale. They know, she thought. They know about the soul-swap. And now they’re going to reprimand me. She remembered the gossips about Angel of Death 8471 who delivered a soul to Heaven that should be in Hell. They said, the Boss had sent both the soul and the Angel at fault down there. “But, Sir, it is in the Book! His soul—,” she said, but she stopped when her Supervisor gave her a look. “You’re right,” the Manager replied. “His name was in the Book. But the Boss already altered it. He insisted that it still wasn’t time for Kimhan Dhamrong-rattanaroj. And now it’s your job to guide it back to his body.” She didn’t know she got it. Probably because she was watching Pan too closely that she unconsciously copied her habits and remarks. It was too late though when she realized that she had exclaimed: “Ehhhhhh?!”
**
Before anything else, she talked to Pan about what happened and she was ecstatic. “How can Kim’s soul get back to this body?” she asked amidst her joyous tears. “It’s easy. Just kiss your body.” She was suddenly skeptical. “We tried that before, but that didn’t work.” The Angel of Death beamed at her and said, “Don’t you know who I am?! Angel’s body! Idol’s—” Pan interrupted her introduction yet again. “I get it, I get it. I know who you are.”
She watched as Pan talked to Soda about this. The friend also cried. The girl was deeply loved by the people around her, the Angel thought. Luckily, Pan’s body was released from the ICU and was resting in a private room. She saw as Soda asked the Uncle out. Pan brushed the hair away from the body’s forehead and smiled down at it. And then she kissed the lips. Kim’s vessel collapsed on the floor next to the bed and the Angel of Death saw Pan’s spirit step out of it. They shared a smile. The soul mouthed a “Thank you”, climbed up on the bed, and went to her correct body.
It was her first time guiding a soul back to its vessel, but it was an easy and smooth process. Maybe the Boss had helped her a little, she thought. Kim’s soulless body was now on the bed, with Pan and Soda on the long visitors’ couch next to it. The girl couldn’t see her now, but she looked at her direction. Somehow, she knew when the Angel of Death was around. She beckoned the soul next to her and said, “Go on, you’re given another chance at life. Don’t waste it.” The Angel of Death lingered until Kim woke up. She saw the confusion on his face, but Pan was ready with the explanations. She heard her name mentioned and to this, Kim suddenly looked at where she was standing. Like the girl, he could also sense her presence, but not see her clearly. She smiled and said, “Until we meet again.”
**
Fortunately for Pan, Kim had an open mind and she saw how he accepted the magically strange story as fact. Soda helped her, too. But it was Khet who made Kim really believe. She didn’t know what would happen to the brothers, but she saw Kim’s walls slowly coming down. He even let Khet hug and cry to his shoulder. He was apologizing profusely for the stupid things he did as a kid and promised to be a better sibling. Kim just nodded to this. It might take him a while to fully warm and accept his brother, but Pan was sure that it’d happen.
The doctors checked Pan’s vitals and said that she should stay the night for further observation. If nothing else happened, she could go home the next morning. The brothers were about to go home themselves, when Khet suddenly told Kim to wait for him outside. “I had to talk to Pan.” Soda and the Uncle gave the two the privacy they asked.
Pan watched Khet pull a chair next to the bed. Her time in Kim’s body pushed her closer to her friend and it was only then did she realize how much she was wrong about him. He looked back at her and asked, “Are you really okay now?” The girl smiled and nodded. “What is it that you want to talk about?” she inquired.
Khet had liked her since that time when she asked him to be part of her group project. He saw how kind she really was and thought that this was her best quality. He teased her a lot, but it’s only because he wanted her to look at him. He’s now ready to tell her everything.
“Pan,” he began. The girl only looked at her expectantly. “You write about the love story of others, but what about you? When will you write one for yourself?” Pan stared at him, questions all over her face. He grabbed her hand that turned her confusion to surprise. “Will you let me be part of your own love story?” He saw her blushed, but she didn’t look away and she didn’t grab her hand back. “I like you, Pan. I really do. And if you would let me, I’d create a beautiful tale for the two of us.” They were silent for a moment, with the girl looking down at their clasped hands. Khet suddenly added, “Of course, you don’t have to give an answer now.” He was surprised when Pan moved on her bed towards him and kissed his cheek. “That’s my answer,” she said and hugged the boy tight.
**
Kim felt like he woke up from a really long sleep. The last thing he remembered was riding his motorbike with Pan and then nothing. But the girl supplied him stories of what happened and though it was fantastical and hard to believe, Khet being involved told him that at least part of it was true. When he entered his room, not much had physically changed, but he still felt it altered. The bed was still there and his desk. The laptop, too. But above it were Post-It notes, written by a new handwriting. Probably Pan’s, he thought. And on the table next to the computer was the RC plane he had when he was a kid, now fixed and seemingly brand-new.
Pan told him everything, including the thing about Kana and the flash drives. He was too ashamed to react to it and he saw a bit of disappointment on the girl’s face when she told him this. He knew it’s wrong, but he had to do it, he thought. He had to do it for Way. So he wasn’t surprised when he read the notes about him—or Pan, he’s still trying to wrap his head around it—breaking up with Kana and rekindling his relationship with Khet. What shocked him though was one of the notes, something the girl didn’t tell him. It said, “Way confessed on the football field. Still waiting for the answer.” He felt the sudden surge of emotions upon reading this. Was it really Way—his Way who confessed? And did he know that it was Pan who was in his body at that time? He was utterly bewildered and didn’t know who to talk this with. But as if an answer, there was a knock on his door.
Kim opened it and saw Khet. “I think you two had to talk.” Beside him was Way. He now had his hair down, but the smile he gave was still his. And he was still wearing his red and black jacket. Khet smiled and went to his room. Kim let Way in and watched him sit at the bed. He took a seat next to him.
“What's up with your brother?” Way inquired. “He told me to come here because, he said, you have something to explain.” His voice became softer when he added, “Is this about your answer?” So it did happen, Kim thought. Way confessing. “The last time I asked you, you told me that you had no right to give an answer, but that I'd hear it soon. That was a weird thing to say, but I let you.” Kim felt gratitude for Pan. She could've said yes to Way so that her ship could come true, but she waited for him to return to this body. She knew that it wasn't her place to answer.
“What was the question again?” Kim asked. Way looked at him confused and laughed. He then saw the ball at the corner of the room. He stood to get it and pushed it to Kim's hands, exclaiming “Here.” He turned the ball until he saw the words written on it: “Be my boyfriend?” He looked at Way who was smiling shyly at him.
Kim remembered the first time he talked to Way. He heard of him from Kana and how he was such a delinquent. He steered clear of him, until that morning when Way provoked him in the middle of traffic, when both their motorbikes' gas ran out. He didn't know who to call that time and the other boy even mocked him for not having friends as he went away. He was surprised though when he came back with a container of gas. “I'm just being nice,” he said. But that gesture kept him awake that night. He had to pay him back somehow. He didn't want to be indebted to someone, especially to the school delinquent. The following morning, he claimed the girl's seat next to Way and that's when they became friends.
Did he already like him then? He wasn't sure. But as they got closer, he got to know who actually Way was. He's infamous as this troublemaker when he's far from it. He had only gotten into fights when he's protecting someone. He fought for those who couldn't. Kim also learned that Way liked watching old Hollywood films and that when he first found out what happened to James Dean, he locked himself in his room and cried. He was 10. Lastly, he discovered that Way dreamed of going to Los Angeles to study Film, but his father wouldn't let him, because he had plans of his own for his eldest child. Until Kim made him agree to let his son have his future back. Way let him inside his private world and told him things he didn't even tell his girlfriend. He told Kim about his mom's passing and her memories; about the nightmares he had of her. He mentioned that oddly, those bad dreams stopped when he told Kim about it.
Kim finally thought about the tickets he bought. He knew Way would follow him to Tokyo, if he chose to go there. But he couldn't let him abandon his dream of being a filmmaker just to be with him. He just couldn't. So he practiced darts every day, so he could win their bet. And he would win now, that's for sure.
“Let's have the bet now,” Kim said. “If you win, we'll go to LA. But if I win, we'll see.” Way smiled and replied, “Mysterious. I like it. Game.” He stood and grabbed two darts from the board, one for him and one for Kim. Way threw the dart and it stuck to the green nearest the red bullseye. He grinned smugly and let Kim take his position. He breathed and flung the arrow. It hit the red center. Kim smiled at it and looked at the other boy. “Tokyo it is,” Way said.
Kim took his basic Japanese book from the shelf and removed the envelope lodged in between the pages. He sat next to the boy sitting on his bed.
“Way,” he began. “You don't have to go to Tokyo.” The boy was confused and commented, “But you won the bet. That means we're going to Tokyo.” As a reply, Kim handed the envelope. He watched as Way slowly opened the flap and looked inside. There were two boarding passes there. His destination was Tokyo; Way's, Los Angeles. “What's this?” Now the boy not only looked baffled, but also hurt. “I'm going with you, Kim. If I have to buy a new ticket to Tokyo, I will. I'll go with you.” He grabbed Way's hand to calm him down. He smiled and finally said, “You should have your own future.”
“But Kim—”
“Way. I fought your dad for this. Now, don't let anyone else decide your future for you, not even me. I'll go to Tokyo and you'll go to Los Angeles. It's okay. We'll be okay.”
Kim was surprised when Way started crying. “But,” he stammered. “I love you, Kim, and I can't do this without you by my side. You are my strength. You are my courage. The fact that I even had this opportunity to study Film is because of you and now you'll let me face this alone?”
“You won't be, Way,” the other boy replied. “I will be with you the entire journey. I won't be part of it as I have my own thing to do, but I'll never leave your side. I love you too much to leave.”
“You what?”
Kim laughed at Way's surprised reaction. “I love you, Way. Of course, I do. That's why I want you to go to LA and achieve your dream. I can't let you waste your future for me. And look—” At this, Kim pointed the written words on the papers on the other boys' hands. #WayKimForever, it said. “I already declared it.” Way hugged Kim and cried on his shoulder. The other was also sobbing then.
“I won't love anyone else, but you, you know that right?” Way's words were muffled, but Kim understood and nodded. “And I'll meet you every chance I get and we'll video call everyday.” He nodded again. When Way let go, his eyes were red and wet. “Can I stay here tonight?” Of course, Kim said.
Kim turned the lights off. He walked towards the bed to the other boy's open arms. He placed his head on that nook on Way's neck, just above the collarbone. This is my spot, Kim thought. He felt Way kiss the top of his head. After weeks, his soul had returned to his original body. And after years, his heart finally found its home with Way's.
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