love, me | gyuricky

four.

Gyuvin was awoken by the sun streaming in through the windows the next morning, around eight. He'd forgotten to close the curtains last night because it'd already been dark when he got back.

He deliberated between the long term benefit of sitting up and closing the curtain and the short term benefit of just turning over in bed so the sun wasn't in his eyes, before giving up and just getting up to slide the curtains closed before laying back down. More notifications had come in during the night. The little red icon on the top corner of his email app read "2", and he spent ten minutes mindlessly scrolling through his social media feed before succumbing to the insane urge to just open it.

One product advertisement email from this small clothing brand he'd purchased from a few months back, and one automatic reminder from iCloud that his data hadn't been backed up.

He closed his inbox without opening either, and put his phone back down on the nightstand. It made no sense for him to feel disappointed, but somehow he did.

An email came in around nine, just as he was brushing his teeth in front of the bathroom mirror. He squinted at his phone he'd left propped up on the little shelf next to the sink, toothbrush still in his mouth.

Sender: Unknown Domain

Subject: Please

I promise this isn't a joke. This is my first time dealing with something like this because this didn't happen in my own timeline, so I'm sorry for being so messy and disorganised.

As promised, I'll try to give you proof that I'm real. It's hard for me to remember much because it's been seven years since 2023 when I'm writing this, but I'll do my best.

The day you went to Everland earlier that summer, you'd pretended to be fine after getting off the T-Express but you'd ended up vomiting into a bush somewhere on your way to the bathroom. I know this because you'll tell it to me one day.

You have a Domo keychain on your keyring. I'm actually not really sure about this because I don't know the exact date you received the Domo, but I remember you told me it was a gift from a friend.

The password to your hidden photos folder is 451223. There are only photos of you in it at the moment.

I urge you again not to try to figure out who I am or approach me ahead of time. I don't want to set off a chain reaction that changes something in the future. I can't risk it. I'm sorry.

Please reply if you receive this.

Love,

me

Gyuvin sat back down on his bed and started typing. He'd figured out the day before how to get around the unknown sender problem; he'd just have to use the reply function on every email instead of composing a new one each time.

Reply to: Unknown Domain

Subject: Re: Please

Number 1 is true. I don't remember telling anyone that, though. Number 2 is, in fact, not. Number 3 is true, but you might just have spyware installed on my phone or something. How am I to know you aren't watching me type this right now?

Okay, I'm kind of joking. Let's say I believe that you're emailing me from seven years in the future. Who are you? Who are you to me, in the future? Why are you emailing me? I'm sure you can understand why I have so many questions. I suppose we must be close in the future, since you know things about me I didn't tell anyone else, and since you're going to all this effort to send these emails to me.

You said I'll meet you in 4 months. That's December, right, or January? I can't try to look for you ahead of time because I haven't got the slightest idea who the hell you are, so you can rest assured about that.

Sent from my iPhone

Gyuvin was due to meet one of his high school juniors for lunch near campus. He greeted Jiwoong before heading out, putting a playlist on shuffle through his new headphones. Yujin greeted him with enthusiasm at the door of the restaurant they'd agreed to meet at. It'd been two months since they last saw each other, since Yujin had been busy with his school exams.

"Hyung, I brought you something," he said brightly, reaching into the side pocket of his bag. "I got this for you while I was in Japan over the summer, but I kept forgetting to give it to you till now."

He dropped a pink gachapon ball into Gyuvin's hand. Gyuvin slid his nail under the clasp to get it to open. It was a keychain of Domo holding a mango. He tried his best to hide the blood draining from his face as his heart skipped a beat.

"Sorry it's not in the original packaging," Yujin continued. "I opened it first, but when I saw it had a mango I thought I should give it to you instead."

Gyuvin forced himself to look up. "Thanks, Yujin! It's really cute."

"You're welcome," Yujin said, not noticing Gyuvin's sudden change in expression. "I think it'd look good with your keys. That's where I put mine."

Reply to: Unknown Domain

Subject: ?????

I believe you.

Sent from my iPhone