The Next Life (다음 생에 만날래)

The Bridge

Dead leaves crunched under my shoes as I walked past the cafe. The same one outside which Wendy and I had met up with the other members of Red Velvet before heading off to Blackpink Mansion. The sound barely registered to me, my thoughts preoccupied with the events of yesterday.

Judging by what the Prince and Jisoo said to each other, it would be safe to assume that what I saw wasn't just a dream, but a look into the past. Jisoo's past. If I were to guess, the dream was from the point of view of the Prince. But that sounded insane. Why was I dreaming of the memories of a Prince I'd never met? I wasn't even sure if the... thing which I'd brought to the mansion was the Prince. Maybe the centuries of being in this world affect different ghosts differently?

I just hoped that Jisoo would've calmed down overnight. Part of me wondered if I should've gone back to the mansion myself the moment she'd teleported me away. She might've done worse to me out of anger had I returned immediately, though.

I guess we'll find out soon, I thought to myself.

While walking, I pulled out my phone to see several texts. Nothing major, just a couple from Wendy saying that the others were at our place, and one from Yerim asking where I was. Also, there was an automated text alerting me to the renewal of my phone's datapool.

Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I continued my mindless walk, making my way to the mansion. In my head, I went through possible scenarios that could happen once I showed up at the mansion. Either she could chase me away by lashing out, or teleport me again, or maybe she'd be calmer and talk things through. Yeah, fat chance of that. There was a chance that she wouldn't even be in the mansion when I got there. Surely she didn't spend all her time holed up in that dingy, dusty, dark, old... cafe?

I stopped dead in my tracks as I stared in disbelief. The cafe, the exact cafe I'd walked past only minutes ago, stood in front of me. I could've sworn I hadn't been turned around.

I let out a sigh. Maybe I made a turn on the way while I was distracted, looking at my phone. That's what I tried to convince myself of. Whether or not I believed it was another matter. Turning back in the direction of the mansion, I continued.

After walking for a good 5 minutes, my hand reached into my pocket mindlessly and I whipped my phone out. I stared at the lock screen, with the logo for Reply 1988 as the wallpaper, aimlessly checking the time. 11 am. My phone went back into my pocket as I looked up.

This couldn't be happening.

My heart sank as I saw the cafe once more, as if I'd never left. There was no way I could've been turned around without noticing twice in a row. Especially not in the few seconds I'd been distracted by my phone both times. Had I been imagining walking the entire time, while staying put right in front of the cafe? That surely couldn't have been it, judging by the creeping soreness of my feet.

Despite the unusual circumstances, I attempted to reach the mansion several more times. Once, I stopped to check my shoelaces. Another time, a phantom prick on my upper arm caused me to react, distracting me from the path. Even when I made an active effort to stay focused on the path, a speeding car caused me to break my focus and distance myself from the road. Each journey had some sort of inexplicable distraction and led me right back to the front of the cafe.

After an hour of trying, I gave up and made my way back home. All the way, I went over what I knew of the four Mogwai and their abilities.

Of the four, Jennie's skill set would be the most suited to what I was experiencing. The confusion of being gaslit by my own senses was not dissimilar to when she'd lured me right into her and Chaeyoung's grasp, using an illusion of Wendy. If it really was her doing, this changed what I thought I knew of the limits of her powers, or the powers of all four of them for that matter. I supposed it made sense that their powers would be expanded beyond their basic capabilities, given their centuries of experience in this world as Mogwai, but the thought instilled an unsettling concern in my stomach.