20 AGAIN // Jeong Yunho

5: BACK TO 20

"Soobin," Hyejung mumbled in her sleep as tears fell onto his cheek. "I'm sorry, Soobin."

"Hyejung!" Her mother shook her awake and Hyejung eyes shot open. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Mom." Hyejung sat up and hugged her mother. Tears streamed down on her cheek. "I lied when I said I'm okay yesterday. In fact, I'm not okay," she sobbed.

"What's wrong with you?" Hyejung's mother was baffled when her daughter suddenly started crying. "Did you have a bad dream?"

"I wanted to have a happy life with him but I didn't expect things would turn out this way. It never crossed my mind that we will get divorced one day. I felt so sorry for Soobin."

Suddenly, her mother hit her back. "Soobin? Divorced? What kind of nonsense are you talking about early in the morning? Did you date secretly?!" She hit her back again. "I told you to focus on study and yet you're dating around and crying over a man!"

Hyejung gaped at her mother while rubbing her back. "If you're done talking, get ready for class!" her mother added.

Hyejung gave her mother a quizzical look. "What do you mean by class?"

"Are you going to skip your class when your grade is not good!" Hyejung's mother hit her arm. "Go and get ready. I'm done with your nonsense!" She stood up and headed towards the door.

"Mom, what about Soobin? Is he awake?" Hyejung asked.

"Stop talking about that guy and get ready before I whack your butt!" her mother scolded and closed the door with a loud bang causing Hyejung to flinch.

"Why is she mad at me?" Hyejung wiped her tears. She climbed out of the bed and walked past her dresser but she halted her step.

Hyejung whipped her head to look at herself in the mirror. "I didn't remember cutting my hair." She touched her shoulder-length hair which as far as she remembered last night her hair reached her back. "Why did I look younger too?" she touched her face.

Her phone beeped and she took a look at it. "Huh? Did I change my phone? This was my old phone." Her eyes widened when she saw the date on the screen. "9 May 2008?!"

Hyejung checked the calendar on her study table. "I must be crazy." She ran out of the room and saw her father was sitting on the sofa while reading a newspaper. Hyejung squinted her eyes and rubbed it a few times; no matter how many times she did it, her father was still there. "Dad!" Tears fell on her cheeks and threw him a hug.

"Hye...Hyejung. What's wrong with you? I can't breathe," her father was struggling to talk.

"I miss you so much!" You died due to a heart attack a year after Soobin was born. She released the hug and looked at her father with a glint of happiness in her eyes. "I must not be dreaming. You feel so real." She touched her father's face; his hair was still black instead of greyish-white. "Even if this is a dream, it is a very good dream."

"What are you talking about?" He looked at his daughter weirdly. "Honey, what's wrong with Hyejung?"

"Don't bother her. She had been talking nonsense since she woke up," her mother replied as she prepared the dish on the table. "Why are you not ready yet? And where's your sister? Is she still sleeping?" she babbled.

"I'm here." Hyejung's sister — Hyeri — walked out of her room while straightening her pencil skirt. "I have a meeting with my client. I'll go first!" she grabbed a piece of rolled egg before she headed outside in a haste.

"I was about to say hi," Hyejung said as she watched her sister leave the house. "Her client who will soon become her husband."

"Husband? Whose husband? Does your sister date someone's husband?" Her father only picked up the word husband.