As the hours went by, the missing got deeper. So much he almost had to force himself to function properly. True, her number had become a permanent addition to his phonebook. But she was in school then. It was useless to bug her.

The closer the clock was to the time she finished school, it dragged mercilessly longer. Yong Hwa glanced to his watch so much he finally took it off and put it in his drawer.

He was so eager to see her again, he arrived at her school gates 30 minutes before the bell rang.

************************************

Seo Hyeon felt every hours, minutes, and seconds went maddeningly slow. She had slept the night before smiling while clutching her cellphone.

That afternoon, was actually the same like one hundred afternoons before that, when she walked out of her school to the gate.

But it was also different, no doubt.

He was standing there, smiling at her, waiting for her.

Jung Yong Hwa. Real, solid, and true.

The air was out from her respiratory system, before filling her in slowly, until she felt like she could fly.

But really. If he was real. Maybe I could really fly.

That was the last thing she thought before she ran so fast past the schoolyard to him,
smile never leaving her face.

The second she reached him, she hugged him so tight.

So tight she gripped his jacket.

Yong Hwa’s breath was knocked out of him.

She inhaled for one second before coming to her senses and let him go. “I’m sorry. I—
was—was—too excited. I’m sorry! I shouldn’t—“

Yong Hwa could laugh at her after she finished stuttering.

“Hi, Seo Joo Hyeon….”

“A—annyeonghaseyo, Jung Yong Hwa-ssi”

He chuckled. And battling his own insecurities, he moved forward and reached her hand.
She instantly held his hand too.

“What should you do after this?”

“English course in two hours”

“Let’s go to a café to wait for that”

She nodded and let herself being led by him. It felt so easy and strangely familiar.

********************************

He was taking his wallet from his pocket when something almost fell to the floor. Only
he caught it on time before it reached the floor.

“Wait! What is that?”

“Hm? Oh, this? It’s just something I always carry around. Thank God I didn’t lose it.
It’ll be weird”

Seo Hyeon reached out and held a piece of jade in her palm.

She stared for a second before she felt the room spun so she sat on one chair.

Alarmed, Yong Hwa followed.

“Are you alright?”

“Where did you get this?”

“What?”

“This jade! Where did you get this?”

“I always have it. My dad gave it to me when I was really small, I think. Why? Do you
like it?”

Seo Hyeon swallowed before she put her fingers under her collar, pulling out a silver
chain that held an impossibly identical jade with Yong Hwa’s.

He frowned as he too saw the similarity.

With shaking fingers, she put the two pieces of jade together. It fit, down to all
the cracks.

They sat silently for a while, staring at the joined stone at the middle of the table.

The next time he saw her eyes again, it was red and wet.

“This is our answer, I guess” he said.

“This is what connects us together…..”

She reached the jade and held it in her palm, as he reached her other hand and
interlaced their fingers.

It took a while for them to realize that they were in a café and they needed to apparently order something to be able to sit there.

***********************************

“The dreams stopped” he said, after they first met. He was on the phone, eager to hear
her voice before she went to school.

“Me too. I don’t dream about you anymore”

“Hm”

“Maybe because we already meet everyday”

“I guess so. But I kind of miss those dreams”

“What about the reality, Oppa? Am I disappointing?”

“The reality is better than the years of dreaming” he answered easily.

She was silent. So he wondered was she swallowing back tears again over there.

“Have a great day, Oppa”

“You too, Hyeon”

**********************************

Yong Hwa sat on a bench, at a park near her school, when the severe headache attacked.
The pain was sharp and merciless, knocking his skull hard.

And then she saw Seo Hyeon running through, a cross expression on her lips.

“Mianheyo, Oppa, for taking so long. It’s Jin Woon again, he asked me to go to the
cinema. I already said no, but he wouldn’t listen. I left him in the end, he’s a hard
headed fool. I’ve told him—are you alright?”

“I—it’s a headache. It’s something—“

Believe it or not, Jin Woon chased her, he came to the park, breathless and regretful.
Mindless of Yong Hwa, Jin Woon said, “Seo Hyeon, I’m sorry. I know I’m troubling you. I
just—can’t stop trying. But I think I get it now. You’re not interested and I—“

She looked at her shoes and Jin Woon reached her elbow.

Yong Hwa’s head felt like it almost exploded into pieces.

Seo Hyeon pulled herself out from Jin Woon’s grasp. “You better go now. Or I’ll never
talk to you again”.

Jin Woon glanced to Yong Hwa. “Hey, is he okay? He looks rather…..sick”

He was right. Yong Hwa’s face was as pale as a sheet.

Seo Hyeon ran to him. “Oppa? Oppa! Are you alright? What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”

He held her hand as if it would help him ease the pain. Miraculously, it did. He grasped her hand tighter, and the other one.

Jin Woon, who couldn’t bear to see the scene, walked away bitterly.

After closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Yong Hwa said, “I guess I know what
happened. I think, Joo Hyeon, whenever you touch a guy who have an interest in you, I
would feel pain. I mean real, physical pain”

Joo Hyeon looked down to him. “How come Oppa? It’s impossible!”

“It’s true” Yong Hwa said firmly.

“But—but why?”

“Look. Do you see that girl over there? She’s been staring at me the whole time I sit
here. I’ll go and talk to her. We’ll see what happen with you”.

That girl pretended to look another way. But when she saw Yong Hwa approached, she
nervously tidied her hair and stood up abruptly.

“Annyeonghaseyo. My name is Jung Yong Hwa. May I know your name?”

“I’m….I’m Shim Hee Jin…..” the girl said shyly.

“Shim Hee Jin-ssi, hello!” Yong Hwa said, smiling a little and offering his hand to be
shaken.

The girl received his hand and shook it, seeming like she was in a daze.

Meanwhile, Seo Joo Hyeon who was watching from the other side of the park, only looked
at the interaction with mild curiosity.

But when he touched hands with hers, she instantly felt the world spun, the air
disappeared, and she lost strength in her limbs. Just like that, she fell on her knees,
as the sky felt like it fell heavily on her.

Something painful pricked at her eyes and tears started to fall without her really
understanding the reason why.

Yong Hwa left the girl after a quick bow and ran to Joo Hyeon.

“Are you alright?” he asked, holding her wrist, which was shaking.

“No, I’m not alright. I feel so sad. I feel like fainting. What—what is this?”

“Because I shook hands with that girl, Hyeon” he answered, taking her to the nearest
bench.

“Oh. Please don’t do something like that again. It—it feels terrible”

She looked definitely in pain, so he circled her arms around her and pulled her into a
hug. He just held her in silence for some time, until he asked, “How do you feel now?”

“I—I feel better. The headache just—disappears”

“I think, Hyeon, if we touch our opposite who have interest in us, the other one
would feel pain”

“Really, Oppa?”

“Look, last year, around September, I went out with a girl. For a month. How were you
then? Do you remember?”

“September. Last year?”

“Yes”

“Around September……I was ill. I had bad headaches. I fainted a lot. I had no appetite.
Fever…..The doctors said I was exhausted. Or have some kind of stress……it was…..was it
because of you?”

“Oh. Joo Hyeon……I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Had I known, I would never hurt you like that.
I’m so sorry”

Seo Hyeon stared at him. Gradually, as she understood it, her tears pooled and fell.

“Oppa…..I—it’s….it will always be you. From now on. I promise”

“So do I, Hyeon. So do I”.

********************************************

Seo Joo Hyeon was selecting a dress. The choice had narrowed down into light blue and
white. In the end, she chose the white dress.

And then Yong Hwa remembered.

“Hyeon?”

“Hm?”

“I’ve seen this before”

“What?”

“I’ve seen this before. You. Picking this dress. I remember this dress. White. And you
were wearing a hair band with a butterfly on it”

She frowned.

“In my dreams. I dreamt of this”

“Oh. Is it special? I mean, I dreamt of you too. Almost every day”

“Yes. But I remember I dreamt of this two years ago”

“De? Two years ago? How do you know?”

“I remember because earlier that day, I bought a new guitar. Besides, this is 1
February. So it’s easy to remember”

“Do you mean…..you dreamt about my future?”

“I guess so” he said.

They looked into each other eyes. Revelations and revelations hde carried them away.
It’s overwhelming to feel such a strong attachment to someone. As if they were meant and
destined to be together by the universe. At moments like these, all they could do was
just clutching tight into each other’s hand, grateful with the fact that they had
finally found each other.

************************************

They introduced each other to their friends and parents. But they didn’t tell about the
real story between them. That invisible red thread of destiny that bonded them together.

It’s too precious. Too private. Besides, they doubted anybody would believe them.

************************************

Yong Hwa had to go to Macau for his university trip. His university had a project with
a five star hotel there. Since he is learning about Business, he spent days with his friends 
and professors watching and absorbing how they managed the hotel.

It was the first time he was away from Seo Joo Hyeon. Usually if they couldn’t meet
everyday, they talked on the phone or texted each other.

Because they couldn’t really see each other, he dreamt of her again.

But this time, it was a different dream. He dreamt of making love to her. In his dream,
she was so passionate, so eager to please him. His dream was so vivid, from his desire
for her, to her moans and ragged breaths and sweet sighs to her lustful voice that
called out his name over and over again, asking, begging for more, while professing her
love for him. It all sounded, felt, tasted so real until he was sorry when he woke up.

He laid quietly for a while on his back. His body felt hot and he was aroused. And then
the guilt surged in, attacking him in full force. 

How can I think of her like that?

He woke up and opened the balcony. The wind cooled his head and inhaled.

And then he remembered. Every dreams of her had never been nothing. 

Does it mean….in two years they will?

His lips slowly formed a smile. And then he completely laughed by himself. He’s just a
plain guy after all. And he’s very much in love. And he thought his girlfriend was
absolutely beautiful. He kept feeling that strong physical attraction for her which he
tried to control. But it seemed that one day it will be fulfilled.

He suddenly felt so alone, so he called her.

“You’re not sleeping?”

“I—was. But you called”

He could hear her laughing from the other line, way back there in her bedroom in Seoul.

“The dreams start again”

“Me too” she said,”I guess it’s because we can’t meet”.

“What did you dream?”

“You. drinking white wine with your friends after going around in a hotel”

He sighed, her voice gave a warm feeling all over him, “That’s what I did today”

“I thought so. What about you? What did you dream of me?”

“Hm…..just….us. Being together”

“Oh……”

“Did you have a nice day?”

“Yes. I practiced for that English debate…..”

“Ah. That one. You’d do well. I’m sure of it”

“Oppa?”

“Yes?”

“When will you come home?”

“I’ve told you right? Three days from now”

“Can’t it be sooner?”

He laughed. “No….not if I want to pass this subject”

“I know that…..”

“I miss you too……”

“N—ne?" 

"That’s what you want to say, right? At least that’s what I’m hoping you want to
say……”

“I miss you, Oppa”

He sighed. “I’ll see you as soon as I come back”

“I’ll see you at the airport”

“What? Really?”

“Of course, Oppa”

“I’ll wait for that”

“I’ll be there”

“And I’ll wait for you”

“What? You’ll wait for me? What do you mean?”

“Nothing. I just will”

“Um….okay. Maybe you need some sleep, Oppa. Go back to sleep”

“Alright. You too. Take care of yourself for me”

“You too, Oppa, don’t get sick. Eat and drink properly”

“Okay. Sweet dreams, Hyeon. Or maybe, dream of me again”

She chuckled. “I guess I will. Good night Oppa”

“Good night”

*******************************************