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NAEUN'S PHONE READS February 2nd, 2019.
Her first reaction was denial. She slapped and pinched herself everywhere possible, but that invited nothing but pain and a ton of nail marks on her arm afterwards, and Naeun was still stuck four years into the past.
Her second reaction was shock. She looked out the window and saw the cafe across the road still open and busy. The same cafe shut down in 2020, and it was the one Hanbin worked part-time at.
She had sprinted to her room and hastily slid the mirror closet door to reveal a neatly ironed school uniform hung right at the front. There was even the One Piece shirt that Naeun wore religiously before she donated it away in 2021.
Her third reaction wasn't an emotion, but rather just ten minutes of her pacing back and forth in her living room muttering, "This can't be real," over and over again to herself.
Her fourth reaction was the need to see Hanbin. The sun was beginning to set, but if Naeun's phone wasn't malfunctioning, the cafe would still have an hour before it closed down for the day.
The cheapest apartment closest to Naeun's school wasn't in a big, open city but rather perched right in front of a block with chains of different stores and restaurants separated from the residence side of the street by a narrow road. It was surprisingly convenient and Naeun enjoyed the peacefulness of it, but she especially liked that her long-term best friend lived above the family-owned cafe.
The said long-term best friend is wiping down tables at the front of the cafe when he spots a panting Naeun run towards him. He stands upright as Naeun stops in front of him, leaning over with her hands on her knees as she tries to steady her breathing.
"Naeun!" Hanbin remarks. "What brings you here so late?"
Naeun doesn't know what to say back or what words to use when Sung Hanbin is really in front of her, looking gorgeous as ever. He is real and this isn't another one of her foggy dreams. It is real. Hanbin is real and Naeun feels like breaking down right then and there.
Instead, she nearly pounces on him, bringing him close into a big hug.
Hanbin is taken aback by the sudden action but instinctively brings a hand up to caress her hair. "O...kay? Is everything alright, Naeun?"
But Naeun is so overwhelmed and can't comprehend that she's hearing Hanbin's honey-like voice again and feeling his touch and presence and, God, she wants to stay like this forever.
Letting out a staggered exhale, she tries to focus on the coolness of the afternoon air with a tinge of cigarette smoke that wafts from some distant alleyway, contrasting with the sweetness of Hanbin's homely vanilla perfume. It's all so much.
"Yeah... Yeah. Everything's alright." Naeun breathes when they finally pull apart. "Sorry, I guess I just really needed someone just then."
Hanbin chuckles and Naeun feels her heart pound at the sight of his dimples and sparkling eyes, shaping into the same moon crescents that were present when he was exchanging his wedding vows.
"Hey," Hanbin says softly, bringing Naeun out of her momentary daze. "You're still coming to the hangout we planned tomorrow, right? At the park?"
Fuck. Now Naeun remembers. This is also the day before she and Hanbin went to their local park for a picnic because their friend Zhang Hao had told them about the new flowers that had begun to bloom in the gardens and recommended they check them out. That was also the day everything was going so well, and Naeun felt ready to confess until she chickened out at the last minute out of paranoia.
She grimaces internally but then remembers that this time, things have to change.
"Yeah. Definitely."
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