“Wook! Are you sure about walking home alone? It's past 11..."

"You've asked this literally every Friday! I'm fine am I not? Stop worrying, noona!"

"But a few days ago... didn't you... you heard... "

"Noona, noona, I'll be okay. I take over on Fridays, that was our deal!" Ryeowook could almost hear his sister’s upcoming rebuttal, "Besides, your boyfriend is waiting for you, so go!"

Letting a small sigh escape, Ryeowook waves goodbye with a tight lipped smile to his sister who finally gave up on convincing the stubborn former. The door opens and closes as Ryeowook is standing alone in the little cafe left in his care, letting in a wave of cold air. He shivers, but nevertheless grabs a towel and cleans the now unoccupied tables. Half an hour later, he stops, proud of his work and takes his leave, grabbing his scarf and a too thin jacket, shoving the place's keys into his pockets.

A little absent-minded, still thinking about how in the world did he manage to fall asleep in the middle of his shift (Having little to none customers is no excuse), he walks out and mechanically locks his restaurant to shove his hands into his jacket's pockets and hides his nose behind his scarf, trying to find as much heat as he could in the algid wind which was blowing towards him like little knifes leaving painful tiny carvings. Fitting the ear buds of his mp3 smugly into his ears, head slightly down, he walks against the howling wind, focusing on his footsteps and the sweet ballad playing in his ears.

Something doesn't feel quite as usual, and his heart constricts inside his chest, making him picking up in pace. He wants nothing less but to go home at that point, back in his warm and safe apartment. He tries to hum the melody in his ears, blocking out the eerie sound of the wind and rustling of the leaves. As he turns into one deserted street after another, frowning at the lack of night life in his city. Paranoia is taking over: he has the impression of being watched. Yet, as he turns back, breath cut short, only the empty and barely lighted street came to his view. He just knows something isn't right, and feels frustrated because he can't figure out what.

"YAH" he yells in the empty air, more to give himself a little extra push of courage than anything else. Like a reply, a strong current of wind sends a garbage can to the ground, producing a loud sound disturbing the midnight silence and he jumps, startled. "What the hell", the petite man murmurs under his breath, ready to continue marching forward.

There is a shadow, a movement, and he freezes on the spot.

Someone is following me, the thought rings like an alarm in Ryeowook's mind, and he could only pick up his pace, heart pounding in his chest. You are being paranoid, just listen to your music and continue walking, he thinks forcefully. The footsteps are still heard. The person is right behind me. Why?

Ryeowook prepared himself to start running, and adrenaline filled his every nerve, burning against his frozen limps. Focus! Run! He calls out in his mind. His legs finally respond to his order. And so he kicks his feet against the ground and prepares to dash.

The footsteps halt behind him. A gunshot.

He doesn't manage to turn back when the bullet pierced his heart, and so he dies.

"Ryeowook! Wook!"

He wakes in a gasp, drenched in sweat and hands immediately flying to his chest to check for damage, only to hear his heart pound erratically. I survived, I survived, he chants inwardly, only to realize with confusion that he isn't hurt at all. In fact, he is in sitting on one of the small tables in his workplace, still in his uniform, and most importantly, in one piece.

"Are you okay? You seems like you had a nightmare"

A nightmare? He thinks, and dismisses the idea as soon as it came to him. It was all too realist, too detailed and too vivid for it to be a dream. Unable to make sense of his situation, he looks up to come face to face to his sister's worried expression.

A strong sense of déjà vu seizes over him. He has seen the same expression, him dozing off on the cafe's table, his noona waking him up... Visibly shaken, he glances at the clock hanging on the side wall of the warm cafe. Its 9 minutes past 10. Shaking his head, trying to clear his mind, he manages to voice out a weak "what date are we today?"

"It's... Friday, are you sure you are okay? You might need the weekend more than I do!" Ryeowook could only nod dumbly, barely registering the fact that the older is trying to light up the atmosphere.

So it was a dream after all.

"There's still a customer here?" The next words came out of his mouth on their own, and he could only wince at how terribly familiar the words sounded.

Yeah, He is my boyfriend's best friend actually, the answer rings in Ryeowook's mind, or is that a fragment of his nightmare?

"Yeah, he is my boyfriend's best friend actually; it’s okay for him to stay right? I'll tell him that we are closing soon" his sister sounds apologetic.

He could only nod again.  

He is struggling to do his last check on the cafe, about an hour later, when he is called by his sister by the entrance.

"Wook! Are you sure about walking home alone? It's past 11..."

Fear.

It sends his body shaking involuntarily and his hands cold and numb. He is being followed again, and this time, he hears the footsteps clearly in the silent night.

He feels his energy drained out and his teeth chatter against each other, and it was not because of the cold. The once lively and lighted street only appears more and more terrifying to him as it is now deserted. No sounds, no signs of life. Is it how I die? He thinks, fixing at the sets of footprints on the snow. Thoughts are piling up one over the other. I should run. Maybe I should call out for help. It’s useless. He is already close behind me, I can feel it. What did I do wrong? Who is after me? Maybe he just wants money. Stay calm. Do not act brutally. Turn back.

The sound of his loud and rapid breathing soon fills the dead silence of the night. Shaking, his nails digging in his palm, he manages to turn around to face the one behind him, ready to raise his arms up and offer whatever is left in his wallet.

He catches a glimpse of red hair, piercing eyes, a black mask. Details he isn't sure how he managed to notice with the gun pointing at him.

It feels like a déjà vu when the bullet kills him once again.

Ryeowook wakes up once more on the familiar counter, letting the warm and welcoming smell of coffee and sandwiches fill his nostrils, staring strangely at his sister who supported the exact same worried expression as the previous times. The clock shows 10:09, and that fact alone brings so much confusion and fear that the shorter male feels paralyzed.

"This... this is the third time that I am living the same day" He whispers with little energy to his older sibling as if it was a conspiracy, earning a slightly weird look from the latter. "Really! I... I wake up and its nine minutes past ten and you are here and then I get..." He pauses, and eyes his sister with wide eyes, who is looking more and more worried by the second. 

"You look really out of it, did you have a nightmare?"

"It... it can't be..."

"You are completely pale. Are you sure about walking home alone? My boyfriend can totally wait."

The silence perplexes the older sibling, who was expecting an usually stubborn reply from her little brother.

"Actually, can... can I get a lift today?"

She bits back a surprised remark, noting the terrified look on the younger's face.

"Sure, Wook, anytime"

"Today seems like a really bad day for everyone" the older calls out to break the silence as she guides Ryeowook to her car parked on the east side of the cafe. "Yesung oppa looked completely out of it too."

"Who?" Ryeowook frowns at the foreign name, a little absent-minded.

"Oh, right, you don't know him. It's the last customer you asked about, you know, the one who's my brother's best friend? My, he told me that one problem made his project fail when it was already close to success and he was spending all his energy to fix it... yet he looked as if he was forced to jump down a bridge. But you, Wookie, you look like you've seen a ghost, what happened?"

At these words, a shiver takes over Ryeowook. Where could his murderer be? Would he have followed even if he changed his trajectory? Ryeowook is torn between scrutinizing every corner of the street and never look up from his feet, but chooses the former. Every nerve fills with attention and an overwhelming stress takes over when he sees a mop of red hair his left.

“Noona... hurry, let's go in the car” , he urges, eyes never leaving the red spot and pushing his sister forward. “Please”, his tone is alarmed and hushed. If the same things are doomed to happen once more, it is a bullet that will come right at him. “Noona, go open your car, fast!” he urges on, not wanting the red haired murderer to harm his older sister.

The latter is fumbling in her pockets with frozen hands to find her keys when Ryeowook, whose eyes never left the shadow on his left, notices the head of the gun pointing at him, reflecting the faint light of the street lamps. Shaking uncontrollably, he takes a step back, wanting to keep a minimal distance between him and his sister. His legs barely hold any strength in them, weakened by fear and the ultimate knowledge that he will die yet once again. The white snow on the pavement seems to glow a little more than usual, and it suddenly comes closer and closer to his eyes.

He barely hears his name being called in distress but clearly notes the sound of the gunshot. Here it goes again, he thinks, waiting for the impact of the ground and the burning piecing of the bullet.

It takes him seconds before realizing that he isn't falling forward, but held by the hands of his sister. The hold on his shoulder falls apart and, eyes wide in shock, Ryeowook could only stare while the hands, which were supporting him, become limp, and his sister falls lifeless in front of him instead.

The red haired murderer.

Ryeowook's eyes dart up, clouded with anger, disbelief and something stronger than fear, and meet with the hitman's.

It seems like the returning bloodshot eyes hold the exact same emotions.

Ryeowook isn't sure if he is passing out or getting shot as he loses his consciousness.

When his noona's voice calls him back to life, he barely notices the clock on the wall which shows the same grim 10:09 and the hard counter which left an imprint on his right arm. He is back to the same night. His sister is alive again.

Impulsively holding the latter in a deadly tight hug, he whispers "thank God, thank God" again and again.

For the first time, he is more glad than afraid that he is stuck in what seems like a time loop.

The state of gratitude didn't last long, and no long after, the mechanical tick tock of the clock and the harmonious setting of the cafe only brought more distress to his mind. Unknown to him, none of the three individuals in the cafe is at peace in its comforting silence and warmth. The older sibling is growing greatly worried at Ryeowook's out of usual behavior, the latter is blank in the corner, yet his thoughts are like torrents washing over the shore, furious and uncoordinated, furious that someone is after him and he didn't know why, nor who, nor what to do; Furious that he is powerless despite experiencing the same deadly situation over and over again. Even Yesung seems to be in his biggest mental debate, as his hands clench to the hood of his black hoodie covering his head, with strings of red hair poking out.

Time seems to have froze, until Ryeowook abruptly stands up.

Let's close down the cafe now, he says to her sister and feels the latter's surprised eyes on him as he marches in big steps to the so called boyfriend's best friend. He has never been an impulsive person, but with his life on the line, he needs the client to leave as soon as possible to shut the cafe down and maybe, just maybe, head out early and avoid his sort.

Yesung also senses the presence coming over, and turns his head in mild interest to inquire what is wrong. Eyes lifting up to meet the source of the rushing footsteps, for the split of a second he couldn't hide his surprise but soon pulls back to a neutral expression.

Before him stood Ryeowook, eyes wide in recognition and fear.

It perplexes him. This Ryeowook guy is the first complication he has gotten in years. Nevertheless, it is impossible that he is recognized. Gaining back his professional composure, Yesung is about to ask if Ryeowook didn't mistake him for someone else when the latter suddenly turns around and springs in the kitchen.

He hears a shaky voice whisper, but couldn't make out the specifics words. He frowns when he hears a bright laughter as a response.

"You are kidding right? I mean, Yesung-oppa is a bit weird and I also question my boyfriend's friend choices but you can't expect him to be a murderer! That's going too far!"

Ryeowook is desperate trying to convince his sister that he knows, and really knows personally, because he himself has been killed by the red head murderer, three times.

He hears the worry in the reply which leaves him upset and unsatisfied: "Wookie, you look completely pale. Listen, I'll go tell Yesung oppa that we are closing now, and I'll drive you home early so you can rest. Then I'll listen to you tomorrow, alright?"

“But it impossible that I tell you tomorrow!” His protests aren't heard, and so half dragging his sister back behind the counter and half being pulled out of the safer kitchen, both pairs of eyes search for the same person with very different motives.

Yet, all they encounter are empty chairs and tables.

Ryeowook refuses the lift that night, afraid of the same situation in the previous night repeating once again. His eyes are closed when the bullet reaches him somewhere from a building above.

On the ninth night Ryeowook is woken up at 10:09, he could've sworn that he has tried everything he could have done to save his life. He has tried the irrational, impulsive way by trying to hit the murderer with a frying pan to running, to staying inside the cafe, to calling the police.

On the sixth and seventh night, he asked a bunch of questions to his sister, ignoring the teasing look the latter had on her face. It was a weakness he was trying to find, or any crucial information he could make life out of. Yet all he first learnt was that Yesung has a strong liking for philtrums and fried kimchi, and Ryeowook didn't find how the hell he was going to use those information.

When he asks about the murderer's job and the older sibling replied that she only knew that the former worked with contracts, his logic told him that he might be a contract killer. A part of him wonders who is against him to a point of wanting his life: he has stayed out of people's business and his love life was uneventful since the third grade. Yet, a bigger part was dominated by anger and impuissance when he imagined how many innocent souls might have died under his hands.

He lost his temper that he kept for years on the eighth night, barked "You are a cold blood murderer!" and pointed accusingly at the red head. The cold yet professional expression on the hitman's face made his blood run cold. "Maybe I am" he replied then, and Ryeowook wasn't sure if it is bitterness he heard underlying the killer's distant tone.

The ninth night, Ryeowook learns that Yesung has a brother named Kim Sungji. And as he is trying to stare a hole on Yesung's forehead out of frustration, he feels a pat on his back and sees a teasing face he knows so well.

"You know," his sister says, "If you are going to stare at him like that, you might as well go talk to him"

He wonders slighly if it is his numerous negative judgments about the hitman which hid the idea from him. But as he approaches the red head in half an attempt to convince him by giving an speech about ethics or trigger his sympathy, and barely managed to let a "hello" leaving his mouth, the latter gets up brutally and curses under his breath before dashing out the cafe.

On the tenth night, a plate of fried kimchi in his hands and with the friendliest smile he could have mustered, he joyfully starts to chatter with the killer about their shared passion for singing. His efforts are rewarded with stutters and flashes of conflicting emotions on the red head's face before he runs out once more.

Even if Ryeowook has imagined the fear and regret which flashed in Yesung's eyes, he is convinced that that night, he died later than usual.

And he certainly doesn't know what to expect anymore.

On the eleventh night, Ryeowook manages to stop Yesung from leaving.

He has told to his sister that night that he wanted to get to know Yesung more but also wanted some privacy, and quickly his wish was granted with a "I never expected you to be this straight forward, but I like it". Before his sister leaves, Ryeowook whispers that if anything happened to him, Yesung is most probably the cause of it, maybe is it in the seriousness in his tone or the choice of his words, his sister only nodded in return.

He brings the same dish of fried kimchi and the same friendly smile to the table where the red head sat. The words he rehearsed rush out like water spilling out its container.

"Hey, I heard that you sing? You haven't eaten anything this whole night, do you want some kimchi? What about..."

The chair makes a loud noise as Yesung abrutly stands up, cutting his words and train of thought. Out of desperation, Ryeowook yells out to his retreating back:

"What do you think Sungji is going to think if he knew you are a murderer?!"

The footsteps halt, and the red head's face and narrowing eyes are once more revealed to Ryeowook.

"How do you know my brother's name..."

For the first time he caught his attention, Ryeowook debates between the choices he has next, but finally decides to settle for the truth.

"Listen... I'll just be completely honest with you. I know that you are planning on killing me tonight, how can I not, this is the eleventh time that I am living in the same time, and eleventh hope of not being shot by... well, you, Yesung-ssi. As useless as this is, I want you to know that the other worker you know is my sister, and you must be able to tell how it would feel to leave a sibling you love. And I don't know why I got the opportunity to revive again and again, but I just thought... maybe it is a lesson for both of us... You can believe me or you can not, and I know that I probably do represent a sum of money once your contract is complete.  But at least, I... I just want to know... who is after me? "

He is out of breath with he concludes his sentence, and his blurry vision betrays the fact that he is on the verge of crying. He is scared, frustrated, hopeful. And as his thoughts drifts off to that third night his sister got shot, he is brought back to reality when he hears a reply.

"You are right..."

He holds his breath and closes his eyes.

"You are right; you do represent a great sum of money for me. And you are right that I wouldn't want to lose my brother because I am losing him right now. And killing you... I was planning on it for him, Ryeowook-ssi. His treatment costs money that I don't have and I didn't have any hidden talent except my good aim, and you know what, I don't want this either, because nobody is after you."

Ryeowook's head snaps up at these words.

"Nobody is after you... You represent that great sum of money because of a small mistake of mine. You must remember when you heard a bullet shot near you. That was me. I was supposed to get rid of a , and didn't notice that there was a witness. The organization I work for knew, and refused to pay me unless I got rid of every possible trace. I am not going to pretend that my job is morally correct, but I do have my own set of rules, and your case is... against them."

"Then... why... why..."

"I convinced myself that one time is okay, that my situation needed it. But... you are right, I don't want to imagine the guilt that will take over me if I did it, and I wouldn't be able to face your sister nor his boyfriend ever again. And I am sorry, I've made you suffer. I don't expect you to keep all of this a secret, but I guess it will be useless to shoot you know because you would remember"

"I... I will... keep it a secret" Ryeowook says, and he means it.

That night, Ryeowook sits at the table which has long been deserted. The clock above strikes midnight.

It is the start of a new day.

TWO YEAR LATER

Ryeowook is running late to work.

He is wondering how in the world he had fallen asleep in his calculus class (the fact that he has taken up criminology and was doing an extensive research the night before until late is no excuse), causing him to have to stay after class to catch up. Distracted, he opens the door to his car, a car he brought not long ago. He is still avoiding walking alone in isolated or dark areas, but didn't want to burden his sister furthermore.

The one who finally decided to let him live went overseas that Friday night. And the face his sister made was almost comical as she inquired "what the heck did you say to him to scare him away?"

He opens the door of the cafe and hears laughter and excited chatter. There's a newcomer? He wonders.

Almost on cue, the newcomer, who now sported brown hair, turns to face him.

It is the face he would never forget. An initial fear hits him, but soon was replaced by comprehension and relief.

Yesung-ssi has a small smile on his lips.

"Its Kim Jongwoon" he says, "my real name"

"Hi, the one who scarred my life" Ryeowook replies, half teasing, half accusing.

"Hi, the one who changed mine"

The end

A/N: This is inspired from the movie "Groundhog Day" (which is a great movie, really). It's pretty rushed but I am proud to have written this in time for the deadline. Hope you enjoyed it and thank you for the support!