The next morning, Jang Mi slowly woke up, sitting up and stretching. She slowly opened her eyes, her hands reaching up to feel her hair. She felt the braid resting on her back and a small smile appeared on her face. “I’m still in the past.” She whispered to herself. “This is real. It isn’t just a dream.” She said as she pinched herself again, just to check once again that she was awake. Her smile grew as she jumped out of bed, throwing her curtains open and letting in the early morning light. Memories from last night flooded through her. “I did it. I rejected him.” She said, a note of pride in her voice.

She went into the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. She put on some music, letting it fill the kitchen as she sang at the top of her lungs, not caring if her neighbours could hear her. She finally felt like she was back in control of her life, even if she couldn’t understand how it was happening. “The old man was right, maybe I was meant to find that watch.” She said as she took her food through to the living room to eat. Her phone beeped with a message, Hoseok's name flashing on her screen. She couldn’t contain her laugh as she read his pitiful cry for her to bring him some food to help him recover from his hangover.

She laughed as she replied, telling him she’d be at his place soon. She quickly finished off her breakfast, thankful that she wasn’t prone to hangovers. She packed up the extra food that she had made, knowing that Hoseok always called her the morning after he had been drinking to bring him food. She threw on some comfortable clothes and headed to his apartment. She let herself in, their passcodes not a secret from the other. She laughed at him, sprawled over the couch, a blanket haphazardly covering his legs, his t-shirt lying on the floor beside him.

She knelt down on the floor beside him as he cracked open one eye. “Jang Mi, I think I’m dying.” He whined. She laughed at him, “Hobi, it’s just a hangover. Why are you half by the way?” she asked, noting his state of undress. He looked down at himself as if just realising that he was half . He shrugged as he tried to push himself into a sitting position. “I have no idea. I somehow have sweatpants on though.” He said as he pushed the blanket away. She handed him his t-shirt and he slipped it over his head as she pulled out the food she had brought with her.

“Have some of the soup first, it will help with your hangover.” She instructed as she handed him the cup from the top of the thermos. He took a deep breath, letting the smell of the food wash over him. “You are honestly the best person in the whole entire universe, you know that right?” he said. She chuckled, “Yeah, yeah.” She said as she made her way into the kitchen to grab some utensils. She came back into the living room and sat beside him on the couch. He was leaning back on the couch, a blissed out expression on his face. “I feel better already.” He said, turning to face her, a smile on his face.

She smiled at him, his tanned skin almost glowing in the bright sunlight that streamed in through the window, his eyeliner slightly smudged around his eyes from his makeup from the night before. She reached out and wiped the eyeliner, his eyes glued to her. “I should have brought you some makeup remover.” She said with a chuckle as she showed him her black fingertips. “I think you left some in my bathroom.” He said offhandedly. They often stayed at each other’s apartments meaning that they had both accumulated a lot of each other’s possessions over the years.

“Ah, really? I’ll go grab it.” She said as she moved to stand up but Hoseok wrapped his hand around her wrist, pulling her back onto the couch. “Just sit with me.” he asked gently. She nodded and curled up beside him, letting his head rest on her shoulder. “Oh, I forgot to tell you.” He said after they had been sitting in silence for a few minutes. “Do-Jung asked me for your number last night.” She froze at her best friends words. “What? Did you give it to him?” she asked, desperately wishing that he hadn’t. She felt him nod against her shoulder and her heart sank.

As if he felt her sudden change in attitude he lifted his head to look at her. “Should I have told him no?” he asked, worried that he had done the wrong thing. She sighed, “It’s okay, him having my number isn’t a big deal.” Hoseok gave her a strange look, “Do you really not have a crush on him anymore? I thought you were just being shy last night.” He asked, feeling guilty. She shook her head, “I wasn’t being shy. I really did get over my crush. He just doesn’t seem to be the guy I thought he was. I guess I just made him out to be more than he was in head. But after talking to him I realised that my crush was just kinda in my head, not my heart.”

“Ooohhh so poetic!” he teased. She chuckled and elbowed him in the side. “Shut up.” she mumbled. “Are you angry at me for giving him your number?” he asked worriedly. She shook her head and gave him a reassuring smile. “Nope. Don’t worry about it.” He smiled at her before dropping his head into her lap. “Good.” He said as he snuggled into her lap. “Yah, you should keep eating, it will help with your hangover.” She said. He let out a content sigh, “Just five minutes… please.” She sighed, a gentle smile on her face as she started to run her fingers through his dyed brown locks.

Over the following days, Jang Mi slowly began to adjust to being in the past. She sat down and wrote down everything that had happened since the date she had returned to until the date she had gone back in time. She was careful about what she said to everyone around her, not wanting to sound suspicious, even if she was desperate to tell Jungkook about how well he was going to do in his exams when he called her complaining about how stressed out he was, or that Namjoon was going to end up dating the pretty redhead from the bookstore that he had the biggest crush on. She was too afraid of telling them what she knew in case she somehow ended up changing the outcome.

Also, over those days, Do-Jung had called her no less than ten times. She could never remember him calling her that many times when they had been together. She often ignored the calls but on the times she did answer, she refused his offer for a date, telling him that she was too busy with work. She had hoped that he would give in, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.

“So how many times did he call last night?” Hoseok asked as he sipped on his coffee. They were sitting in a small café near their dance studio, taking a break from their busy day. “Three times. I didn’t answer any of his calls. I don’t know why he's being so persistent.” Jang Mi replied as she crossed her arms over her chest. Hoseok frowned at her. “He must still think that you like him and that you're just being shy or something. Or he honestly just believes that you're really busy.” He said with a shrug. “But still.” She protested with a pout as she took a sip of her tea. “I don’t get why he's suddenly so interested, any normal person would have given up by now. Especially with someone like me.” she said.

“What do you mean someone like you? He's obviously smarter than he looks if he's got his gaze set on you. You're amazing.” Hoseok said, his tone warm and gentle. She looked up at him and he blushed. “W-what I mean is… you’re cool! Who wouldn’t want to be with you? I mean be friends with you!” he stuttered, his face burning as he grabbed his mug again, trying to look calm. She smiled at him, “Thanks, Hobi. You always know what to say to make me feel better.”

He grinned back at her, his face slowly returning to a normal colour, he looked at his watch and panicked. “Crap I need to get back but I promised Jimin I'd get him a coffee!” he said as he stood up and grabbed his jacket. “I can get it, I still have some time.” she offered. His signature bright smile appeared on his face. “You're the best. I’ll see you back at the studio.” He said as he gave her a brief hug before hurrying out of the café.

She finished her tea before making her way up to the counter, waiting in the long line to get served. She stared out of the window as she waited, watching the colourful autumn leaves blowing by the window. She was brought out of her thoughts when someone tapped on her shoulder. She jumped and turned around, coming face to face with Do-Jung.

Her chest clenched at seeing him. “Are you alone?” he asked. She shook her head. “No, I’m here with Hobi. Well, I was, he just left. ” She said, desperately wishing that Hoseok would run back into the café. Do-Jung frowned. “The two of you are always together, it’s practically impossible to get you alone. I thought you said you were working today?” he asked, his tone accusing. Her eyebrows furrowed at his tone. “I have back to back classes almost all day. Hobi and I just came here to grab a drink since we had a short break.”

He hummed in response as her phone began to ring. She gave him a forced apologetic smile as she answered the call. He stared at her intently as she spoke, listening to her every word. She mentally cursed when their receptionist told her that her last client had cancelled their class at the last minute. Do-Jung was standing so close to her that she was certain that he had heard the entire conversation. “Sounds like your evening just opened up.” he said, a smile on his face. “How about I finally take you on that date?” he asked. She bit her lip, part of her wanting to tell him that she wasn’t interested in him, but she didn’t know how to say it.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He said as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the café. She stumbled along behind him as he led her to his car. He opened the door and she slid in. “What the hell am I doing?” she muttered to herself as he walked around to the driver’s side and got into the car. “Buckle up, sweetheart.” He said with a grin as he started the engine.

This is a huge mistake…