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I PROBABLY SHOULD'VE mentioned this earlier but you kinda only started with four chances. You have now entered the last one. If things don't work out this time round, I'll have no choice but to send you back to the unaltered present.
It's February 3rd, 2019, 7:55 a.m. exactly, and Naeun is ready to give up on this whole abnormal time travel thing.
She's done everything she can and had no luck because maybe that was just her problem. Maybe Naeun isn't fit for love because of her tendency to always run from her feelings. Maybe Hanbin is better off with Junhee from dance. Could Naeun ever be like Junhee from dance? Not that she resents Junhee. Junhee's so lovely. Junhee's pretty but never flaunts her beauty. Junhee's favourite coffee is the same as Hanbin's (and don't ask how Naeun knows). Junhee's a sweetheart and never plays with others. Junhee is independent and has poise. Junhee's got her future all figured out and dodges all the obstacles in life without breaking a sweat. Junhee seems to be everything Naeun wishes she was, but it feels like she can never obtain such likeable traits. Junhee's...
"Oh, shit." Naeun groans when scorching hot coffee presses onto her skin, making her hand flinch away from the contact. What a way to ruin her morning.
She grabs a paper towel to wipe the coffee off the kitchen island surface before she feels all her energy and motivation deplete from Barely Hanging In There to Just Gone, leaning forward on her hands as they press onto the cool marble counter.
Naeun feels she should clear her mind before seeing Hanbin again. Call it a cleansing of her memories from the day before. Call it retail therapy, if you will, because that would probably be the best explanation as to why Naeun finds herself standing in the middle of Sephora after dragging herself onto the subway with no prior planning whatsoever.
"You know," a deeper voice says from behind her, making her jolt up from the mirror she was using to test a red lipstick she randomly took from the display, "I saw this hack on social media that said if you pinch the top of your finger, it'll help you find your ideal lipstick shade match. Though, I think Hanbin still loves you regardless of whether you put on makeup or not."
"Wasn't planning to buy any," Naeun begins but turns around at the mention of Hanbin and her eyes don't hide her surprise when she sees who's talking to her. "Hao?"
Zhang Hao crosses his arms. "Yeah, in the flesh. You know, I wasn't going to show up at all, but you just keep making things worse for yourself! I can't believe instead of watching you confess to Hanbin, I had to watch you cry to Laufey. Am I just bad at my job? Do you think Ricky was right when he told me to just take up a normal career and sit in front of a computer screen all day?"
As the older man continues to ramble, Naeun tries to understand what he's telling her.
When it clicks, her eyes expand and she cuts him off. "Wait, you're the one sending me back in time and communicating through sticky notes?"
"Duh!" Hao huffs. "And this time I have no other choice than to guide you through the process, because, no offence, you're kinda terrible with words."
"Uh-huh."
"So, the solution I'm offering you here is to just shut up and listen to Hanbin talk about you. Trust me, this guy wants to love you like oxygen but your self-doubt seems to prevent him from doing so every time. You could be nothing compared to that other girl and he will love you anyway. Hear it from him, just this once Naeun."
Naeun crosses her arms. "And what if I get rejected?"
Hao groans, placing his hands on his hips to show he means business. "Do you want him to?"
"No. At least, I don't think I do..."
"Well, good grief! Look how easy that was! You want him to love you back and vice versa. Isn't that lovely? Now come with me so we can make that happen before I get my head blown off and my job contract terminated."
On the subway fifteen minutes later, Naeun whispers to him, "So what exactly are you?"
Tilting his head up, Hao pretends to think. "That's for me to know, and you to find out," he sasses. "Or if you're not bothered to, just think of me as the best man at you and Hanbin's future wedding."
At the mention of their wedding, Naeun smiles softly. It's not like she never thought of the possibility before.
If the heavens had been so certain that they were meant to be, then who is Naeun to forbid herself from that fate?
Her mind runs a playback of their older moments together, from the best to the worst, all the laughs to all the tears. And when they fade out of Naeun's internal vision, her mind relocates to just thoughts.
Thoughts of whisker dimples and Injeolmi toast. Frosty mornings spent in warm bakeries and the comfort of shared jokes. Antique record players and slow dances choreographed by two high schoolers with no bigger plans. Sleepless nights over the phone, a turquoise prom dress and a newly bought suit and tie. Suppressed confessions in meadows of roses and youth running under the shade of trees. A friendship etched into a heart, and then, a love that births from it.
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