Author's Note: Greetings from down south!

So...I was driving my brother to an appointment on Thursday and didn't look where I was reversing into the street in my car with an oncoming car driving in my blind spot. Long story short: I braked and gripped the steering wheel super hard :-S My car and the other car are perfectly fine (no collision whatsoever), but I internally bruised my wrist to the point where it initially felt like a sprain *facepalm*

I'm ok though, it's just a crazy bruise, no fractures or actual sprains. But yeah, I could barely type on Thursday night, much less upload an entire chapter for you lovely folks :-/ But I'm getting better quickly and should heal up properly after two weeks. 

And now, less chatting and more reading. Enjoy the new chapter!

Sehun knocked on Seulgi’s door several hours later.

Seulgi gulped in surprise at his hands carrying heavy plastic bags of her favourite snacks. Naturally, he’d heard her loud crying through his floor and come to investigate.

While slurping through a third cup of ramen noodles, Seulgi finally told Sehun why she was so upset. He couldn’t honestly say that he understood most of it (why would anyone be so broken hearted over a dream?), but he was kind enough not to voice his thoughts aloud.

Instead, he offered Seulgi his shoulder and a chocolate pie.

Seulgi had her lovely sulk, now she was done with it.

After every tear had been wrung from her body, leaving behind a haunting clarity in its wake. She now remembered every detail that had escaped her befuddled mind while she’d been asleep.

She poured all of that newfound clarity into the pages of her diary for days afterwards, immortalising the remnants of her dream which she stubbornly clung to. And whatever memory eluded her, she simply made it up till it flowed into a narrative that was a mere, pretty shadow of the original.

When she was done with her moody musings, Seulgi’s footsteps re-traced the paths she and Juhyun had taken together in those shadowy dreams through the streets of Seoul.

Her hand created imaginary patterns on the front window of the Italian restaurant where she and Juhyun had their dream date. She briefly caught the eye of the waiter she’d dubbed Kimchi Pizza, who stared quizzically at the sly smirk on her face as she sauntered away.

She meandered through the clothing stalls in Itaewon, idly wondering why the popular tourist spot seemed oddly lifeless during the daytime.

It wasn’t long before Seulgi meandered through Hangang Park. She found Jackson sitting on a bench, staring forlornly at his smartphone. She retrieved a box of strawberry flavoured Pepero from her backpack, handing it solemnly to him.

It was his girlfriend’s favourite, after all.

“Gomowo, Seulgi-ah.”

Seulgi smiled wryly at the lovesick boy, patting him comfortingly on the shoulder before walking away.

Seulgi stood for the longest time at that same rail where she and Juhyun had stood during their afternoon date, sharing their ideas on life and love. A small part of her had hoped she’d find Juhyun here somehow, waiting for her.

But Juhyun wasn’t there. All Seulgi had was the imprint of her sweet memory.

Still, it was everything to Seulgi. It was all she had left of Juhyun, the only thing that still made sense now that she was finally awake.

It became embarrassingly clear what she had to do next.

The next day, Seulgi returned to Kyobo Bookstore, her diary clutched tightly in her hands, searching every aisle for any woman with long black hair and way too much confidence to be normal. She even pricked her ears in case she caught the sounds of loud phone conversations happening in close proximity.

“This is impossible, Joy!” Juhyun fumed. She had one hand on her smartphone while the other hand sifted through book after book on the shelf. “How can she expect me to get her a book to help her start her own business - and she doesn’t even know what she wants to do???”

Seulgi tried hard not to eavesdrop - really, she did. But she loved people-watching to a fault. There was something inherently intriguing about watching and hearing tidbits of juicy second-hand gossip that titillated her to no end.

It also helped that the woman she was blatantly eavesdropping on was gorgeous.

Juhyun grunted in frustration. “I love Yeri to bits, but seriously, who’s trying to start a business in this crap economy?! She gave up her law career…”

She leant against the bookshelf behind her, lost in thought.

“…You’re right, Yeri’s a dreamer with her head constantly in the clouds. I know there’s nothing wrong with dreams, but I worry about her, you know? She was the smartest one in our group in university - it just seemed like she had everything figured out. And now…I’m worried that she’s stuck in some weird post Covid-19 limbo like half the planet…”

Juhyun listened on the other end for several seconds before finally hanging up her smartphone.

This was her chance.

“You should try ‘Find The Why’.” Seulgi piped up.

Juhyun swung around impatiently to face whoever had disturbed her thoughts. “Mwuh?”

Seulgi gulped nervously when she encountered beautiful brown eyes with flecks of hazel around the corneas. “Um, ‘Find The Why’ by Simon Sinek. It’s a great book for aspiring entrepreneurs. But, um…I also like it because he calls every business professional to recall what their true passions are in life and what inspires them in their work, with practical ways to find inspiration.”

Juhyun frowned quizzically at Seulgi and the latter panicked all over again, knowing full well that she’d crossed an invisible social boundary.

The raven-haired woman turned away from Seulgi and found the aforementioned book right under her palm where she had rested it during her phone conversation. Then she turned back to the strange woman.

“It’s rude to eavesdrop on other people’s phone calls. But, thanks.” She waved the book, throwing a small smile at Seulgi before heading to the cashier.

That was the first time they’d met.

And ever since, Seulgi had been hungrily eavesdropping on Juhyun’s every phone call in the bookstore for two solid months. And even when she wasn’t talking to anyone, Seulgi would ensure that she stayed in close proximity to Juhyun whenever they were there at the same time.

She knew every aisle that Juhyun loved to walk through. She even knew which chair she preferred in the intimate reading corner at the back of the store.

“Juhyun!”

Seulgi rounded the corner, her heart expanding with happiness. It deflated just as quickly when she encountered absolutely no one down that same aisle Juhyun usually haunted.

Seulgi leant pitiably against a bookshelf and racked her brain for an answer.

Maybe she isn’t here because she doesn’t actually exist. Maybe I inceptioned Juhyun into my memories and dreams.

And now, I’ve officially gone insane…

Seulgi felt a little less crazy when she heard merry whistling in close proximity.

It was the security guard she always greeted whenever she came to Kyobo. He was tall and oddly handsome in a dorky way with wavy brown hair that fell over his eyes. He always smiled widely and showed all his teeth, which gave him a strange serial killer vibe. But all in all, he was harmless and seemed perfectly nice. 

Maybe I’m not crazy. Maybe somebody around here remembers Juhyun.

Someone else besides me has to know her…

“Chanyeol-oppa, is she here???” Seulgi asked of the security guard.

“Dugu?”

“The woman with the black hair who comes in here often.”

Chanyeol clicked his tongue impatiently. “Heol, jjinja? I don’t know faces. I just work here.”

“Her name is Juhyun and she loves browsing through books in the ‘Self-Help’ section. And she’s always talking on the phone.”

Chanyeol gave a noncommittal chuckle and went back to scanning the store for pickpockets.

Seulgi shook her head and sighed. “I’ll come back tomorrow,” she promised herself.

Chanyeol shrugged and hummed a melodious tune as Seulgi jogged out of the bookstore.

True to her word, she came back the next day, and the next one after that. But it was no use - she didn’t see Juhyun once.

A week later, Seulgi was browsing moodily through some comics when Chanyeol tapped her on the shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.

“I saw your yeoja.”

“What yeoja???” Seulgi demanded distractedly, poring over Archie and Jughead’s latest shenanigans.

“Your girl! The one who always complains about her friends on the phone! She’s my style...”

Seulgi’s eyes widened and she gave the security guard her undivided attention. “Juhyun? Where did you see her?”

Chanyeol pointed to a section in the reading nook, which turned out to be Juhyun’s favourite spot. “Over there. Yesterday.”

“Yesterday?!”

“Yah, why didn’t you come? She was here for 20 minutes!”

Seulgi wanted to scream bloody murder. “The one time I don’t come - and she was here?!”

She made an impulsive decision and took out her smartphone. “Chanyeol, I’m going to give you my phone number. The next time she comes to the bookstore, I want you to text me on Kakaotalk.”

Chanyeol scratched his shaggy hair warily. “I don’t know, Seulgi-unnie…”

“Chanyeol-oppa, chebal! I really like her! My whole future depends on me seeing her again!”

When the homely security guard wasn’t swayed by heartfelt words, Seulgi reluctantly took out ₩50,000 from her wallet. If Chanyeol’ eyes had been any shinier, they would have actually had dollar signs in them.

“Daebak! When your yeoja chingu comes, I’ll tell you first!” Chanyeol promised.

Seulgi sealed their agreement by giving her now favourite security guard dap. “Daebak.”

This was a relatively short chapter, but there'll be a new (and final) chapter next week. Hopefully, this new update explained how Seulgi dreamt about Irene and other characters who appeared in her dream :-) 

Here are the Korean phrases used in this chapter:

1) 'Dugu' is Korean for 'who'. 

2) 'Yeoja chingu' is Korean for 'girlfriend'. 

I don't know why Chanyeol is always the weirdo in my stories, I love him to bits and pieces. I guess he just has that face ;-P

Thank you so much to all of you for subscribing, voting and commenting on this story (including the well-wishes on my wrist). If all goes well, I'll post the final chapter of this story next Thursday (and hopefully without adding a new and bizarre injury to my life experience, lol). 

Take care and stay safe, all of you lovely people <3