You stood in the middle of the bustling street, scanning your surroundings. The large capsules which used to be bobbing up and down in the sky weren't there anymore. Instead, you saw many skyscrapers which were threateningly close to the Sun. The flying solar-powered cars were replaced by the vehicles on the road, the exhaust fumes polluting the air around them.

"I made it!" you exclaimed after doing a tiny victory dance.

You were in the 21st century, and you were probably the first person from the year 2200 to travel back in time. It wasn't because time travelling wasn't possible, but rather it was because everyone preferred travelling to the future instead of to the past. You took a quick glance at the people walking past you. They were all dressed... weirdly. You caught some of them staring at you; some even took a second glance. You looked at the bright yellow oversized jumper made of Kevlar that you were wearing and the steel band on your forearm.

"Perhaps I'm the one out of place," you thought.

"You look," You heard a voice from behind you which made you snap out of your trance. You turned around to find a young man. "diff - unique!" he continued. You let out a soft giggle, surprised by his sudden change of words. "I'm sorry!" He quickly apologised, rubbing his hand behind his neck.

"It's alright. No hard feelings!" you replied. To you, he was the one who was dressed abnormally. He pushed his thick-rimmed glasses up and cleared his throat.

"Do you need help?" he asked politely. "Pardon me, but are you lost?"

"In a way, yes, I'm lost." You let out a deep sigh as you tried pressing the various buttons on your steel band. He stared in amazement. "Do you believe me if I tell you that I'm from the future?"

He gasped. "Well, me too!" He chuckled lightly. He didn't seem to take you seriously.

You narrowed your eyes and tried again. "I'm serious." You hissed. This time he didn't answer back. "What year are we in anyway?"

"2008." He shot a look of disbelief and answered. "What's your name?"

"I'm Jasmine!" You smiled brightly. "You?"

"Lee Jung Hwan!" He extended his hand. You rolled your eyes. You took his hand and pulled him in for a hug. Apparently, he was taken aback by your action as his eyes widened. Just as quickly, you released your grip on him.

"Wait, what did you say your name was?" you asked again. You thought you heard this name somewhere before. You scrutinised his facial features. He did look familiar. "Have we met before?" You scratched your head.

"Aren't you from the future? Is it possible that we have already met each other in the future?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Oh right, I forgot. You should probably be in the heavens at 2200." You squinted.

"Anyway, are you a Korean?" He brushed off the remark which you had made earlier. "I mean, you're called Jasmine, so..." He paused.

You nodded your head in response to his question. "My great-grandmother named me. She heard this word in one of her favourite songs and she thought that it would make a great name." He definitely wasn't the first person to ask you this question; your classmates had asked you about this before.

"I suppose you have nowhere to go now." He stated, matter-of-factly, while grinning back at you.

"I assume you have a place for me then," you retorted.

He chuckled and gestured for you to follow him. He didn't seem like a bad person. You shuffled beside him as you tried to keep up with his pace.

 "Where are we going?" you finally asked.

He shrugged. You pouted - you never liked suspense. Besides, it wasn't a good idea to trust someone whom you had just met. Maybe you shouldn't have followed him. Maybe you should have gone back to the future. Maybe you shouldn't even have come here. You stopped in your tracks, contemplating whether you should just run away from him. Noticing that you weren't moving, Lee Jung Hwan stopped too. He turned around to face you, but you were so deep in your thoughts that you didn't realise.

"If I run away now, he'll probably chase after me." You were calculating your chances of escaping in your head. "I can say that I have a stomach ache and request to go to the toilet though. That seems like a better choice."

"What's the matter?" he asked, breaking your train of thoughts.

"I think I have a stomach ache." You groaned, hoping to convince him with your mediocre acting. "I need the toilet." You tried to make yourself look in pain.

 "Relax," He chuckled. "I'm not going to harm you. I'm nice!" He winked.

"Damn," you thought. He saw through your pretense. You forced a smile.

"First, we'll have to get you new clothes." He took your hand and dragged you into the nearest clothing store.

 "But," you protested.

He grabbed a few pieces of clothing and shoved you together with them into the fitting room. Looking at the clothes he picked for you, you had to admit that the clothes you were wearing were a misfit. No one would wear a jumper with random buttons on it. Not in this century. You changed into the clothes he passed you reluctantly. Who would be stupid enough to give up on a Kevlar jumper? Who would change into some defenseless clothes which weren't even pretty? You just did both. You sighed. Then you pushed open the door slowly.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed. He took a few more clothes and made his way to the cashier. "We're taking all these!" He pushed you towards the cashier, pointing at the white top covered by a blue cardigan and brown shorts which you were wearing too.

"How do I pay you back?" you asked after stepping out of the shop. You didn't want to owe him anything.

 "You don't have to pay me." He smiled.

 "Fine, then I'll owe you a favour."

 He grabbed your right arm forcefully. You yelped in pain.

"I'm sorry." He quickly loosened the grip. "Aren't you going to take that funny thing out?" he asked, pointing to the steel wrist guard on my arm.

"Oh, that!" you mumbled and slowly shook your head. After all, that was the only device you had to communicate with your fellow family members.

"Let's go then!" He nudged you. You ambled behind him. He was a really nice person, paying for your clothes and even helping you to carry them. Your lips involuntarily curved into a smile, and there was a spring in your step.