''That aside, our daughter seems really busy, huh? He rarely comes home and is always together with Jax.'' The old man suddenly changed the topic.
''Haha, just let them be. They're going to marry soon, so it's only natural that they work hard.'' She replied.
''?'' But upon hearing those words, a big question mark suddenly appeared on top of Jax's head. What did they just say?!
Jax wasn't senile. He knew exactly every detail of what was happening between him and his girlfriend. He rarely met her as he was too busy with his work. On top of that, he thought that his girlfriend was only helping her old parents at home.
He couldn't recall the time when they were together these days. Or the time when they worked together.
He didn't even know that she was also working.
What in the world was going on here?
Was his girlfriend really working hard too, without him knowing? To think that she was...
Jax felt touched. Tears almost dripped from the corners of his eyes when he thought that his girlfriend was such a thoughtful woman. She worked hard, not informing her parents about the full details. And by the looks of it, she only told them that she was with him so that she wouldn't make them worry.
Such a thoughtful woman... It was really not a mistake to choose someone like her.
But for her to work so hard that she couldn't return home till night... What kind of work was she going through? A sudden frown took over his face when Jax thought about it. If his girlfriend happened to overwork, she might catch an illness. That was something he never wanted for her.
''Damn, just where in the world is she working? Why didn't she tell me?'' Jax's heart sank as he muttered to himself. The absence of his girlfriend only compounded his growing unease, and he felt a surge of panic at the thought of her overworking. ''No, I must find her now!''
This night might be his last stay in this world. He must see his girlfriend at least for the last time, no matter what.
With that in mind, Jax went out of the house. Just like earlier, the night air was cool and still, save for the occasional scurrying of small animals and the muted chatter of late-night revelers. He floated through the winding streets of the village, his ethereal form gliding effortlessly as he scanned the darkened alleys and lamplit pathways for any sign of his beloved girlfriend.
But with each passing moment, Jax's sense of urgency grew. He knew that time was slipping away. The thought of losing his girlfriend forever, without even the chance to see her one last time, filled him with a gnawing dread that clawed at his very being.
Jax then paused, hovering above the village square, his spectral gaze sweeping across the clusters of homes and businesses. He strained to catch any glimpse of movement, any indication that his girlfriend was nearby. But the village seemed eerily still, save for the occasional dim light flickering in a window or the distant barking of a dog.
Frustration and fear began to creep into Jax's consciousness. What if he never found her? What if she was already lost to him? The thought was almost too much to bear, and he felt his concentration waver, his ghostly form flickering and wavering like a candle in the wind.
Steadying himself, Jax slapped his cheeks, forcing his mind to focus. He needed to retrace his steps, to revisit the places he knew his girlfriend frequented.
''Right, there's only that place left,'' Jax spoke. His thoughts fixated on the grand mansion in the hacienda. He believed that the chance of his girlfriend working there was huge.
After all, the mansion of his best friend was quite huge. So, they needed a lot of workers to keep it clean. Perhaps, she was doing housework? Thinking about it again, the chance of his girlfriend working there became certain.
Swoosh!
With renewed determination, he drifted towards the hacienda, the grand estate where he worked. He might as well visit his best friend and see him for the last time too.
As things became a lot convenient for him in soul form, Jax only took him several minutes to reach his destination. He approached the hacienda, passed effortlessly through the ornate gate. He saw people guarding the area, but no one stopped his entry. After all, who could stop a ghost like him? They couldn't even see him.
That said, Jax entered the place with much ease, his ghostly form gliding across the expansive grounds. Since he worked there and his friend used to stroll him around, he knew the place like the back of his hand.
Jax approached the main building. People there were doing their own business just as usual. He navigated every corridor and drifted in every direction at an increasing speed.
Until he reached a certain door that caught his attention and forced him to finally stop.
That was the room of his best friend. He stood there in front of the door, stunned in midair with a blank expression, as three question marks floated over his head.
Plok! Plok! Plok!
Moan. Moan.
Jax could hear strange noises, piercing into his heart like a sharp needle. That noise... He wasn't ignorant of it. That was only produced by a man and woman when they were doing the deeds.
When his confusion reached the pinnacle, and disbelief started to arise, Jax heard voices of a man and woman talking with each other. Their voices struck him completely frozen.
''Ugh, shit, Kally. Yours is really so big. I think I'm gonna lose my mind again! Ah, ah, ah...''
''Right? I bet, your boyfriend can't give you this kind of pleasure, yeah?''
''You're right, ugh, ah. He didn't even want to... Ah, ah... touch me... ah... before we get married. (It's so big, ugh!) What a silly thought. Hmmm... ahh... Jax is really still a young kid.''
''Haha, don't blame him, Len Len. He's just too inexperienced.'' ''I'm coming baby! Accept my love!''
''Yeah, yeah, come inside me, baby. I'm coming as well!''
Ahhhhhh!!!
And with that last long moaning scream, the two of them finished their deeds.
Meanwhile, Jax floated still, his spectral heart not beating. He wasn't ignorant. He knew too well who the owners of those familiar voices were. Even when he forced himself into believing the untrue, his subconscious mind just couldn't deny it.
His entire world finally collapsed.
It felt like two of him was in great pain, however, he couldn't tell where the other one was. He also couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling. He clutched his chest, but the other pain wasn't there. It felt like it was aching somewhere else.
But although he couldn't feel the other pain in his current spectral self, he knew that two of him was suffering in great pain. Was the other him his physical body? Was it still alive? And still feeling pain? No, that was highly unlikely.
Still, he couldn't deny the fact that was revealed to him. He wanted to get angry, to madly shout all his pain out and destroy everything in his wake.
But then, he realized one thing. That what he found out could also mean a good thing. After all, he was now dead. And with his girlfriend finding another man to replace him already, she wouldn't feel the pain he could feel right now. And there would be someone who would take care of her once he finally left this world.
More than that, she would be relieved. She wouldn't need to make any excuses to him anymore when the time had come.
How annoying.
How pathetic.
To think that there would come a time where he would need to deceive himself just to debilitate the pain he was going through.