WAVING THROUGH THE WINDOW | 김선우

20 ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴇᴍᴘᴏ

"when it comes to you, i always feel like i should do my best to protect you and make you happy"

Gyeoul always thought it was cliché whenever they would slow down a clip in a film. Boy meets girl or girl meets boy and as their eyes locked, time itself seemed to slow down. It was as if the universe conspired to give them a little more time to savor the moment, to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of newfound attraction.

Gyeoul seemed to find herself cringing while watching that kind of scene in every romance she watches. She often wondered how she could get swept up in the most heartwarming scenes but found herself cringing at these melodramatic encounters. It was something she never quite understood so one evening when she was younger, as they were watching a romance her mum loved watching, she couldn't help but voice out her curiosity as the scene came. "Mum," she began, "why does time slow down when you meet someone you like?"

Her mother, while experienced in matters of both love and life, chuckled softly, and looked at her as if trying to figure out if her daughter was joking, she just answered, "Well, hun," she said, tucking her daughter's hair behind her ear, "That's just how it works! When you meet someone you truly like, someone who makes your heart melt, time slows down."

"You'll know it once you find someone you like."

Gyeoul couldn't help but roll her eyes playfully at the response from her mother, she chuckled, "But that's what they always say in the movies but it doesn't seem that way in real life."

Her mother smiled softly. "You'll understand it when it happens to you, my love. When you meet that special someone who makes your heart race and your time to slow down, you'll know."

And in that moment, Gyeoul huffed, not entirely convinced by her mother's answer but willing to let it be for now and thinking, maybe she was just too young to understand what it was. So she shrugged, sat back on her seat, and continued watching the movie.

She couldn't help but wonder if such moments of suspended time and racing hearts were truly in store for her. Perhaps, just perhaps, there was some truth in those cliché scenes after all.

Little Gyeoul did not think it was possible though. She thought it was never going to happen because movies are different from real life. Something from a movie can never happen in her reality.

Gyeoul had known Sunoo for months now. They'd connected through countless of late night conversations through calls and messages. They had shared their dreams, fears, favourites, and the intricacies of their lives to each other. They did a lot of things together but met each other.

Today, of all the days of the year, Gyeoul just wanted one thing for her birthday—one thing she never told Sunoo last night.

To meet him in person.

But now she's just at the same park she went to months ago when she first moved to the town. Gyeoul was feeling a bit down, she thought the next time she'd be here she would be with Sunoo and he would finally be able to see the park in real life as she could and not just through a screen.

But Gyeoul also thought that maybe that was a reach. He was sickly, his mother surely wouldn't let him go out. He was already brought back to being homeschooled after an incident at school, she doubted his mum would let him go out for something so light like this.

Gyeoul stood up from her seat on the bench as she heard her mother call her name out from the arch with lights covering it.

"Gyeoul!" her mum shouted, "Come, let's take a photo!"

She smiled and ran to her mum, posing for the photo and posing with the biggest smile she could put on her face.

Then she heard her name be called again, this time much softer, her heart skipped a beat.

It finally happened. Time seemed to slow down. Gyeoul's heart was now beating faster as she turned around and her eyes met his. The world around them faded into a blur of background noise.

It was Sunoo. Standing a few feet away from where she stood was Sunoo. He was real now.

It was cliché, she thought, but in the most heartwarming way. She felt as if the universe conspired to give time just for them. Gyeoul saw Sunoo's smile, excitement with a hint of nervousness was evident on his face, and it was as if she had gone deaf, all the remaining noise she could hear a moment ago was now gone. The world has gone mute, leaving only the two of them in that moment.

She realised in that instant that all those movies she watched with her mother when she was younger, all those scenes she used to cringe at, had a grain of truth. Movie scenes can happen in real life. But this time, it wasn't staged or rehearsed. It was real and she felt it with Sunoo. He was real. Time had indeed slowed down, and every single detail of the moment had now been etched in her memory.

As Sunoo approached her, the world around them began to regain its normal rhythm, but it was forever changed for Gyeoul. Her breath hitched as he arrived in front of her.

"You're real," Gyeoul softly muttered under her breath, slightly chuckling in unexpected amusement.

She stood there, her heart still pounding loudly in her chest, and then Sunoo leaned forward to hug her.

They finally shared their first real-life hug. It was warm and genuine, just as she expected.

"I can't believe we're finally meeting," Sunoo whispered, his voice filled with awe.

Gyeoul smiled, her eyes glistening with tears of happiness, "Me neither. It's like a dream come true."

And it really was.

Gyeoul had felt time slow down when she met Sunoo, and it was a moment she would cherish forever.

She never thought it could happen to her. It wasn't a cliché like the movies she had seen or the books she had read; it was the beautiful reality of two hearts finally coming together in the most genuine way possible.

And her mother was right.

"You'll understand it when it happens to you, my love. When you meet that special someone who makes your heart race and your time to slow down, you'll know."

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