The Phenomenon: Time Loop

Chapter 6: Not Dead Yet

Injeonghagi sileo ajikdo geuriwo

How could I forget?

I glanced at the phone. Chris' number, saved now by his name, was on the screen. I felt my heart clench, watching it ring, listening to his sweet voice lament.

He didn't deserve this.

He didn't deserve to die, day in and day out, on this stupid Monday, over and over and over, until he fell in love with my stupid ass.

The song ended with me watching. What if he never did? What if we were stuck in this time loop for the rest of eternity, unable to live or die, trying to live a perfect day until the Sun exploded in the sky?

Would the time loop protect us from that end?

Injeonghagi sileo ajikdo geuriwo

How could I forget?

I turned the phone off, expecting to die by tree or sink hole or freak earthquake. Whatever the Book threw at us this time. I closed my eyes and fell back asleep again.

The next time I woke up, it was to Chris shaking me. His face was drawn, worried. "You didn't answer the phone today."

I left my head on the pillow, moving only my eyes. "I'm sorry."

For far more than worrying him by not answering the phone, to be sure. But the fear of telling him that was stronger than the melancholy that was keeping me pinned to my bed more than any other force could. A thought occurred to me. "How did you get in, anyway?"

He shrugged. "The door wasn't locked."

I scrunched my nose up. "I know I locked it. That's strange."

"We're repeating the same day every day, and you think you locked the door the Monday before this one is what's strange?"

I sighed. "It doesn't fit the pattern, except the pattern is fucked, so who even knows?" I turned my head to bury it into the pillow. My voice sounded muffled even to my own ears. "Why are you here? Won't we die if they find the car gone?"

"We're going to die anyway," he muttered. "And I'd rather talk to you than repeat yesterday."

"Yesterday was the longest we survived in weeks," I said, still talking into the pillow.

"I don't think surviving the day is going to help," he said slowly. My bed dipped under his weight as he sat down. "And I think you know that."

I was silent. I did know that. I did know that he'd need to fall in love with me, and even then this nightmare was not done because Lee Know would follow, and then Han. I had a feeling Han would not be too difficult after the talk yesterday.

But Lee Know...

"Yeah. I do know that." I rolled over to look up at him, at the handsome Kpop boy band leader whose heart was solid gold and should never have been subjected to this. "I don't think I can tell you what the goal is. That seems to be the one thing the Book doesn't want me to say."

"So... Did you call the shop where the book came from?"

I nodded, chewing my lips. "Oh! They gave me a spell to freeze our phones, so we can keep our texts, calls, and photos day to day." I held out my hand. "Here. Let me see it for like ten minutes."

With a measure of trust I didn't expect from him yet, he dropped his phone into my hand. He followed me curiously to the closet where I set up the spell as I had for my own.