Hyomin’s pov

“Why are you keep staring at me?” Jiyeon’s voice pulled me back from my deep thought to the reality.

“I’m not. I was just thinking” I look away, trying to look like I’m really thinking of something that doesn’t include her in it.

Tonight is my first time meeting Jiyeon after I met the grandma with Qri the other day. No matter how I think of it, it always feels like a dream meeting that ageless face grandma.

I ask Jiyeon to have dinner with me tonight. I feels like want to meet her ever since that day. This person, even if she is supposed to be my past, I wonder how was it back then? And what if she is the right one?

With this thought on my mind, I strangely feels kind of discovering new feelings whenever I look at her, an unexplainable feelings, a mixed of confusion, curiosity, bewilderment and anything similar.

“You are. Did I look different today?” Jiyeon raise her phone to her face to check on her reflection on the screen.

I smile at her, shaking my head.

“Let’s have a walk outside. I think I need fresh air” Yes. I think that might help to clear my mind.

Jiyeon raise her brow, examining my face. “Alright” She then said.

...

“It’s getting colder these days” Jiyeon start the conversation as we both walk along the empty park. It was almost late night and just one or two peoples walk passed us. Cars on the main road continuously passing by though, being the only sound that filled the whole place and putting life into the night.

“Yea” I responded, losing of words to say.

We walk very close to each other. Sometimes, I can feel her fingers brushed on mine. After quite a while of the slight contact, she finally grab my hand. I was a bit surprised but try hard to not show it.

“Let’s share the heat” She said, looking at me, smiling.

When was last time my heart skip some beats like tonight? I don’t remember. I feel like I am once again a high school girl, holding hand with a crush for the first time.

“Is there anything bothering you? You seems out of place” After a brief silence among us, Jiyeon break the silence.

I stop walking and look at her.

“Do you believe in previous life, the reincarnation thingy?”

Jiyeon show me an obvious stunned face, didn’t expect to get that kind of question out of sudden.

She think for a while before she open , dragging me to start walking again. “Hard to say but my logic didn’t believe in that kind of thing” She pause for a while before adding “But Deja vu is kinda interesting. Instead of saying that happened from recalling our previous life experience, I’m more to believe it’s related to our dream, the subconscious memory”

I look at her, fascinate with what she just said. “Wow, you sound wise there”

She flips her hair proudly and said “Of course” We both laugh at that.

She then turn to look at me and ask “Why are you suddenly asking me that kind of question?”

I lead her to sit on one of the bench under the lamp post to talk comfortably.

“You might not believe me but last Saturday I met with someone who told me about something unclear related to my previous life and that really bother me until today” I said, looking into her eyes to check on how she react to that. She didn’t throw any judging look, she just look like she can’t absorb what I just said to her.

“How?” Jiyeon now tilt her head looking at me with unreadable expression.

“It’s a long story” I responded, hesitate to answer her as I don’t know how.

“Make it short” She show me serious expression which surprised me but then she laugh “I’m just teasing you” She then lean her back on the bench.

It took a moment before I finally told her how I ended up going with Qri to that remote area, how the grandma that we met look like, act and how is that whole place but I didn’t tell her about what that grandma told me.

She is above me though to pick up the story even when I didn’t tell her because then she ask “So that young looking grandma told you something about your previous life. What did she told you?”

I guess I got no way to run with Jiyeon cornering me with that question, so I told her “She tell me someone around me is my previous life partner”

I examined her face again to look at how she react to what I just said and I swear I saw how obvious the change on her facial expression from anticipating look to unreadable look.

“Did she tell you who is that person?” She ask, again leaning on her back.

“No” I think I can just tell her that. It’s not like I can tell her ‘if it’s not you, then it’s the adagio person the other day’

“That was rather confusing” She then said.

I peek at her again. She pursed her lips in thought. I wonder what is on her mind at this moment.

“Yea, I guess so” I said, softly. I then peek at her again and said “We know each other for quite a long time and hang out a lot, right? But you don’t really talk much about yourself”

Jiyeon smile as she heard what I said, again tilting her head to look at me. “I don’t know how we ended up to be friend” She said. “It was like from that first time we met we always bump into each other. You are everywhere!” She then laugh and I can’t help but to joined her, thinking about how we first met.

We met at a cafe. I was ordering a drink without realizing that I left my purse. She happened to stand on my back, noticing my act and ended up paying for me.

Jiyeon looks like a cold person on first look but she show her very opposite personality even from that first meeting of us. She even accused me hitting on her when I ask for her phone number with the intention of paying her back. She gave it anyway and the rest is history.

“Yea you even accused me hitting on you and stalking you” I push her shoulder, showing unsatisfied expression, reminiscing that old memories of us.

Jiyeon laugh with all her heart. “It does feels like that”

“What I want to say earlier is...” I paused and look at her again. She now stop laughing and smile at me, anticipating what I’m going to said. “You never told me about who own your heart. Come on! I’m your friend. I want to know” I pouted, trying to show that I’m hurt that she never told me anything like that but deep inside I’m nervous for what she going to say.

How it will make me feel if she happened to told me that she is into someone, someone else, who is not me? I wonder.

“So do you” She said, softly. Her husky voice turn huskier when she talk that way. “Ah no. I forgot” She then said, in a bit higher pitch voice, turning to look at me. “You like that masked singer. Did you ever meet her again?”

Now my turn tilting my head, making sure that I throw her a proper judging look so she can clearly saw it. “You avoid to tell me what I want to know by distracting me with a question”

Jiyeon show me apologetic smile, sensing that she can’t get away from it. “I think I’m cursed” She said.

I look at her, raising my brows, asking for further explanation.

“You know right I’m pretty much popular” We both laugh to that but actually I can see that, how a lot of peoples try to hit on her but I don’t have any idea if she secretly ended up with one of them, I can’t tell.

“I think my continuous act of breaking peoples heart formed a curse on me” She look far away to the front before turn to look at me.

“What do you mean with that?” I ask, can’t really get of what she try to tell me.

“I did have someone in my heart. Someone that doesn’t feel the same way and I guess will never be” She then said, playing with my hand that still on hers.

“100 percent confident?” I show her challenging look.

She just smile. “Hey you should tell me too, your story. Now that you start it”

“It’s late. We have to work tomorrow” I said, quickly rose from my seat and leaving her.

“Hey! That’s unfair!” She shouted, chasing for me.

“You didn’t even tell me anything!” I shouted back, turn to look at her before entering my parked car.

“Drive carefully. Text me when you are home” She said, giving up and approaching her own car.

Like that, we both parted that night.

...

Life keep up the fast pace as time goes by, putting everything on the back of my mind. I finally think less of it but fate always have it way to remind me as I saw her again today, right before she fade from my busy mind. Her. That mysterious someone.

I was having a runny nose and it’s really uncomfortable to the point of me having a heavy head that I need to got myself a medicine to stop it, so I went to the nearest pharmacy.

I was standing on the entrance of the pharmacy, replying to some texts when I heard a yell from my back, asking me to move away from blocking the entrance.

“Sorry” I said, giving way and even hold the door for that person to enter. She carried a large box with her and move to the counter. As soon as she put down the box, there I saw her face. That face that I remember, that face that I haven’t seen in long time.

She then walk to leave, obvious stern expression was showing. She didn’t look at me. She just leave.

Abandoning my original intention to get the medicine, I follow her. She enter a van that look like a delivery van and drive away.

Without much thinking, I’m following her with my car, watching her doing every delivery until she goes back to her workplace, returning the van and start to walk away, leaving.

I parked my car and follow her. It was quite a walk and seems like an endless walk until we got into residential area. I heave a long relief sigh thinking that this is the end of the walking but I didn’t see it, the slope that she head to.

I can’t just stop so I follow her walking up the slope. My feet start to ache as I’m wearing a heels. It’s slowly getting dark too, I start to questioned myself is following her a right thing to do?

She finally enter a small house and I quickly crouched down tiringly, hiding and making sure that I’m not anywhere on her sight.

So here is where she lived.

I observed the whole place from where I was crouching down and think that she must be living a hard life, judging from the way this place looks like.

The moment I’m worried about how to walk back to my car, I saw her leaving the house again. I gasped on the sight of her with her tank top, revealing her abs. She was halfway putting on her shirt and before it was covered, I caught the sight of patches on her back. She then wears a black jacket on the outside.

Looking at her, I contemplate for seconds whether should or not I follow her again. Few seconds after, I sigh and quickly follow her right before she disappear on the corner.

Following her this time leading us to the nearby bar. I saw her getting a beer and gulping down before heading to the stage.

Pretending to be the customer, I found a comfortable spot to observe her. I guess she going to sing.

It’s been a while though, hearing her singing.

She smiles brightly on the stage. Her stern face from before is nowhere to be seen now. I guess this is what she enjoy doing the most.

Again, like that first time I heard she sing, it touched me deep inside. The way she convey the song is emotionally wrenching for me. My jaw gape open through all the song that she sang, until it’s almost midnight. She then bid her farewell and grab another beer on her way out.

I stunned for seconds before leaving too. She is nowhere on my sight outside the bar. Feeling tired, I peek at my phone and think about asking Jiyeon to pick me up. I’m too tired to walk.

I was about to call Jiyeon when a drunk person bumped into me, resulting me to fall on the ground. That person fall right beside me. Feeling terrified looking at his scary face glaring at me, I tried to stand on my feet and run away but before I even did, he grab my hand, yelling ‘You !’ to me.

Feeling offended and scared at the same time, I kicked him aimlessly with my heels. Sensing that he got hurt, I yank my hand and run away. Before I could run far, another hand grab me from the dark corner. My head landed on that person shoulder as I lose my body balance. I almost scream but realizing it’s her, I swallow my scream.

Feeling really scared, I hug her, not caring of how she will react to it. It was just a moment before I realized how awkward it is with her didn’t say anything, so I move away from her. She look at me with her annoyed face.

“Sorry” I said before attempting to leave her. I was checking for the guy from earlier when she grab my hand again, forcing me to faced her.

“Why are you following me?”

I don’t know is it because of her thunder voice, my fatigue of too much walking, my heavy head or the unconscious amount of alcohol intake earlier that caused me to collapsed, in front of her.

I was a bit conscious when I feel her shaking me and said something but I can’t hear her. A moment later, she carry me on her back and right then, I out.