"Why would he lie to me?" I questioned, my voice almost breaking. If it was possible to hear a heart stop, I had just heard mine coming to a halt.  

"I know it's going to be hard, but the more you distance yourself from him, the better," she assured me. And then added, "For both of you." 

I was sure that keeping my distance from Sehun would be anything but better. He was my friend, my only support and proof that I wasn't going crazy. I couldn't go through this without him.  

"Why?" I almost cried out, dropping my hands to my sides in frustration. "Why should I? Give me a proper reason. I'm tired of all these speculations." 

The nervous look on her tired face made me sick to my stomach. I hated all this confusion, and it was slowly all the energy out of me, hurting in a way my mind couldn't process. I wanted facts, rational reasons. Even a punch to the gut would be better than those perturbing thoughts I couldn't understand – physical pain would be easier to cure. 

"You know how time travel works, don't you?" she asked suddenly, scooting closer to me. I blinked back the tears welling up in my eyes and nodded, unable to speak. She sent me an apologetic look. "I’ve told you how dangerous it is to travel back and forth between two periods of time. I can do it; I know how to do it. Sehun can't risk his life. But he will try again. And then again and again, just to stop me from doing it myself." 

I closed my eyes for a moment, hoping to calm down. He had always been stubborn, but was that any excuse for just taking the easiest route possible and ignoring him, instead of trying to negotiate with him? 

"Can't we just tell him that we can handle this alone?" I reasoned, not willing to give up on Sehun. I needed him so much, especially now. I looked back at my future self, pleading, begging. "Can't we just remind him that he has a family that needs him?" 

She shook her head. "You think I haven't tried? He just won't listen!" 

"Why the hell won't he listen?!" I burst out. "You said he loves his kids and wife! If you keep explaining it to him, he will eventually get it!" 

"He won't," she said firmly, her voice a few octaves lower than it was just a moment ago. I saw her swallowing hard. "Because Sehun doesn't have a wife and kids." 

I leaned back, shocked and speechless. A long, horrible silence fell as I repeated her words over and over again in my mind, like a broken record. Was it possible I had heard her wrong?  

She reached for my hand, but I pulled it out of her reach in fear. "What did you just say?"  

I was at a loss, not knowing what to do or whom to believe anymore. I just didn't know anything. 

She opened to speak, but a loud, terrifying slam of the window made her dissolve into darkness. I snapped back to reality, breathing heavily and looking around in a daze after waking up. The opened window in my room was hitting its frame with every consecutive blow of the wild wind outside. I leaned back in my chair, embracing myself as another cold shiver ran down my spine. I was shaking with fear and horror. The lump in my throat made it hard to breathe, and I bit my nails in panic, feeling like I was about to die from suffocation. 

God, help me. 

* * * * * 

"Okay, that should be it." Jae gave me the small piece of paper with orders on it, and I quickly took it from him after tying my apron around my waist.  

"Thanks," I muttered, studying the drinks I was supposed to make. "I'm sorry you had to stay so long." 

I had actually come faster than expected, too afraid to be alone in my own room. I wanted to escape from the mess going on in my head, and working was the only option. I decided not to think about my dreams; to keep them separate from my work life. The café had become my only shelter, my sole oasis of peace where I could hide away from my visions and the responsibility that came with them.  

Jae shrugged. "No problem. You looked pretty wasted this morning. Did I miss a good party?" 

He probably didn't know we had been drinking in the café the whole night, and I wasn't about to inform him of us breaking the rules. I tore my gaze from the list and glanced at him in resignation, sighing loudly. He quietly chuckled, understanding what the look on my face meant.

"Sehun's idea?" he asked to make sure, and I nodded, trying to cover up the unpleasant shivers his name caused to run down my body after that last dream I'd had. "He didn't look bad this morning, though." 

"That's a talent he's been blessed with," I stated, shoving my hair out of my face and pulling it up into a bun. "He can drink a lot and even lose the contact with the world, but once he gets his one hour of sleep – bam! He's like a newborn kid." 

"You should ask him for some tips." 

Jae and I turned around to see Baekhyun standing next to the counter. He was wearing our official working uniform – a white button-up shirt and black jeans with an apron around his hips. It suited him and he seemed to enjoy working here, although I doubted Jae had let him touch the coffee machine even once today.  

Jae only laughed at his comment, giving me one last pat on the shoulder before leaving, happy to have finished his shift. My throat went dry as I realized that I was now alone with Baekhyun. I reached for the empty glasses and started arranging them on a tray, if only to distract myself from thinking about Baekhyun and our awkward morning. 

But it was so hard when I could feel his stare on me. 

Baekhyun leaned over the counter, placing his forearms on it. A small, almost unnoticeable smile teased his lips, but his eyes were fully lit up with joy. He looked like something delightful had happened to him, but he couldn't tell anyone about it, as if it was the biggest secret of the century.  

"How are you?" he asked, after a few moments of silence had elapsed and I’d snuck a couple of peeks at him.

"Good, why?" I put the most nonchalant look on my face possible, trying to seem natural, as if I wasn't the least bit bothered by our morning together. That, of course, was a lie, but he didn't need to know that I’d freaked out just seeing him again since we'd separated in the morning.  

"You look stiff," Baekhyun stated, placing his chin on his hand and simply eyeing me, following my every move. I flinched under his stare, and his comment – whether it was true or not – surely made me look even stiffer than I’d been before. 

Luckily for me, I didn't really have a chance to assure him that it must've been just his imagination and that I was perfectly fine, because at that moment someone grabbed Baekhyun's attention. Too bad that someone was Sehun coming out of the kitchen with a frown on his face, making his way toward us. Seeing him approach, I went from stiff to panicky in the blink of an eye.  

"Where have you been?" Sehun asked as soon as he had reached us, his hands still in his pockets and his brows furrowed in annoyance. He clucked his tongue in indignation. "I had to clean up everything alone." 

It didn't take an expert to tell that someone was in a bad mood. 

As I was steaming the milk, ignoring Sehun and his complaining, I suddenly remember he'd been waiting for me this morning in front of my apartment. Since I hadn't been there in the first place, he'd probably spent a big chunk of his morning there. 

"How long did you wait for me?" I asked, feeling bad. Sehun crossed his arms, huffing in irritation. 

"Too long, Su Jin. Too long." He shot me an exasperated look, and if it had been possible, I would've dived under the counter. "But seriously, where have you been? It took you forever to get here." 

Involuntarily I glanced at Baekhyun, hoping he wouldn't say a word about my true whereabouts this morning. With his chin still resting on the palm of his hand, he lazily looked at Sehun, who was standing beside him. He didn't seem to be even considering spilling our secret, and I felt a heavy weight lifting off my shoulders. As I was about to tear my eyes away from him, Baekhyun glanced at me, and his brows shot up questioningly