03/ / the way back

“What you have just experienced is slipping.  We have entered a gap from our world into this fragment of another parallel universe.  People go missing when they accidentally slip into these gaps in our world and don’t know how to get back.”

Soojung was just coming back to her senses when she realised how tightly Jin was holding on to her, the smell of his musky cologne hitting her senses.  She tried to regain more balance in her feet and awkwardly retracted her arm from Jin’s broad shoulders.  Jin politely obliged and took his arm away from hers naturally, not noticing Soojung’s sudden embarrassment.

“But you know how to get back?”  She asked trying to mask her shyness.

Jin nodded and took her hand again, which made Soojung stare back him strangely.

“I’m not trying to take advantage of you.  We need stay in contact just in case this world collapses although this one is quite stable.  I don’t want to lose you here.”

Jin had said it like it was the most normal thing in the world to say.  But for someone like Soojung whose presense was usually considered a hindrance instead of a good thing, it made Soojung feel a small burst of happiness. 

Even though she knew that Jin didn’t mean anything by it.  Jin was by nature very nice and always a gentleman.  Something that Soojung saw as a good and bad thing because he tended to break hearts without meanin