Remember Me?

Chapter 2 - Hyun-woo

Airports suck. It forces you to see couples happy and families laughing together while they board planes to go home or go on vacation. Love never works out for me. To avoid the emptiness in my heart, I grab my favorite mystery book from my backpack and place my reading glasses on the bridge of my nose. I normally wear contact lenses, but today is my lazy day, so I skipped it.

The plane ride to Atlanta, Georgia, is the only option I have left to prevent myself from falling deep into depression. Acting helps me forget who I am and leave my world behind; hence why I immediately accepted to shoot a movie in another state without thinking. Of course, it would mean I had to look at women...and talk to them. The last thing I need after every single heartbreak. Women never seem to want me for me. Once they learn more about me, they leave instantly, regardless of how much they love my looks. I'll admit I am handsome, but sometimes I wish I weren't.

"Hello, my name is Jasmine Gold," a woman with pale skin and brown hair says, interrupting my reading. Thinking she probably only wanted something from me, I didn't dare look her in the eyes. "I was wondering if you had a pencil I could borrow. I am trying to finish writing my book but—"

"I have one in my backpack. Hold on," I answer, searching my backpack. Desiring to make her leave as fast as possible, I quickly hand her a pencil I had. It's a good thing I had one or god knows she would have stayed to talk. But then, our eyes lock. She has these beautiful green eyes. Green eyes that assure me that everything will be alright. It seems like I've seen her eyes before, maybe even seen her before. Not a moment passes before she starts speaking again, thanking me for the pencil and explaining that she will return it. Return it? I don't want to talk to her again, even if she's pretty. Her eyes won't cast a spell on me as other eyes have. I'm too smart for that, so I just raise my hand, signaling her to stop.

"No, please, keep the pencil. I don't really need it anyway, my name is Hyun-woo by the way," I state, internally hitting myself for telling her my name. Shoot. Now she knows my name and what I look like. Good job, Hyun-woo. I hope she won't look for me later, especially not if it's to try to date me. I don't need that right now. And what is up with her eyes? Why do I remember them? I don't think I have ever met her before, I contemplate, praying she doesn't somehow read my inner thoughts.

Instead, she thanks me and walks back to her seat. Only now do I realize she was sitting in front of me the whole time. As she begins writing something in her notebook, I look down at the book I was reading and try to focus again. Ten minutes later, the airport announces the next flight is leaving: "All passengers for Flight 032 from Los Angeles, California to Miami, Florida, please board now." Jasmine rises from her seat and leaves, I am assuming to board the flight that was just called. Anyway, I check my phone. My flight isn't supposed to leave for another hour and twenty minutes. Setting an alarm on my phone for an hour, I decide to relax and close my eyes.

My eyes open to a restaurant. It looks like one you would see in a movie that takes place in the 1940s or 50s. I look around, noting objects in the room: a jukebox, a black and white photograph on the wall, and the words 'Han's Kitchen' painted on a round, light brown sign in the back. In front of me, there is a woman. I cannot see her face, but she has curly dark brown hair.

"Eunwoo, what are you thinking of getting? I think I'll order the burger and fries. I know it's messy, but it's so good!" she exclaims, finally looking into my eyes. Her green eyes. They're so familiar. Almost like I have been here before or seen her before.

I clear my throat, opening my mouth to ask where we are, but my mouth speaks for me. "I'll have whatever you are having, Ally. Next time, we are going to a Korean barbecue place. There aren't many here, but I want to take you since it's my favorite food," I reply. She gleams with happiness and takes my hand in hers.

"I cannot wait to marry you. I know Kyle and his friends don't approve, but I don't care what my brother thinks. It's our decision, not his," she states, smiling. Before we get to order, we hear a loud crash on the other side of the restaurant.

"Where is she? Is she with him?" a man yells. Ally's face drops, and she stands up, grabbing my hand.

"We have to go. Now," she says in a panicked tone, dragging me out the door and onto the streets. I look behind us, but there is no one following us. We suddenly reached the center of town, where there were a few taxis for locals to use.

"Where are we going?" I ask, finally being able to express my thoughts. Without a response, she opens the taxi and pushes me inside.

"I'm saving us. I think my brother followed me here. We have to hide. Maybe forever. We'll marry in secret. I have a house in a little village in Lybster, he won't find us there. Not until 1970 at least," she explains. A calendar at the front of the taxi notes the day: June 25, 1952. The sound of a siren starts ringing in my ears.

"Sir. Sir, your alarm is going off," the taxi driver says, turning around.

My eyes open to see a man looking straight at me. "Sir, your alarm went off and it's a bit loud," he notes. I nervously nod and apologize, turning off my phone alarm. What was that dream? June 25, 1952. There must be something significant about that day. I check my watch, only five minutes until boarding time. I guess I'll have to wait to board the plane to start researching.

After being called to get on the plane, I stand up, carrying my two bags toward the plane entrance. Only ten minutes later am I sitting on the flight. The best part about being an actor is I can fly first class and use this specific airline's wifi on their airplanes, which isn't available for first-class people. Grabbing my laptop from my backpack, I open the tray table and put my computer down. After lifting my computer screen up, I immediately go to the search bar on the browser. What should I even search for? The day? It better work, I think, typing the date. June 25, 1952. And...search.

500 results. None of these look to have any correlation to a woman named Ally or a man named Eunwoo. I try again, searching 'June 25, 1952 Ally and Eunwoo'. 2,000 results. The first link takes me to a website full of stories of individual couples in the 1950s. I almost give up as I scroll through. However, my eyes land on one of the stories, ' Ally Miller and Eunwoo Nam: A Tragic Story of Lovers.' The second I read that title, I knew my life would change.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hello all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Two chapters in two days! I wonder if I'll be able to finish another chapter by tomorrow. We'll have to see. If not, you'll see the next chapter by next week so stay tuned. Please vote, follow, and comment if you like this story so far!

Again, none of this story is going to be fully edited until it is finished, so please be patient with the quality and the grammar. Thanks!

— Hannah