Hey, you. 

Yes, you.

Do you believe in dream?

You do?

Great. Awesome.

But the thing is.

SinB doesn’t.

And that’s going to be a problem for her.

Because her dream is about to get real.

For the first time.

In forever.

 

*****

 

The bell rings when a customer walks in and as usual SinB greets them with 

“Welcome to-” 

Uhh, maybe not today. Seeing the person who just walk in, SinB immediately hide herself behind the counter. Eunseo who’s walking down from the second floor sees the weird behavior SinB is portraying. 

“Welcome to Attic’s bookstore” Eunseo takes over the greeting and put up a smile for the customer.

“What are you doing?” Eunseo asks when she stands right next to SinB who’s still crouching behind the counter

“Is she gone?” SinB asks in whisper tone

“Who?”

“The customer who just walked in”

“Ahhh. She’s at the fiction section” Eunseo’s eyes manage to locate the customer whose SinB is referring to

Not believing Eunseo, SinB takes a peek a little to make sure her friend isn’t pranking her and when she’s sure the customer isn’t here, SinB stands up finally

“Phew, that was close” She says as she continues to scan the new books that were returned today.

“What was that all about?” 

“Nothingggggg” SinB continues to ignore Eunseo

“Huh” Eunseo takes out her phone and shows the video she manages to record just then “Maybe I should post this on instagram”

And in a split second, the phone exchanges owner and SinB quickly escape

“Heyyy, give me my phone backkkk, Hwang Eunbi!!” Eunseo chases SinB who’s running between the bookshelf 

Luckily not a lot of customers are around that time or else they are about to see two 25 years old adult behaving like 5 years old kid.

“Juyeon! Catch!”

SinB pretends to throw Eunseo’s phone

“Give me back my phone nicely or I’ll-” Eunseo’s eyes shoot towards the place where the customer SinB is hiding from is at

“Okay okayy” SinB surrenders, she had to “Here’s your phone” SinB gives Eunseo her phone back “I’m truly sorry” She bows pretending to regretting her behavior 

“Yeah rightttt” Eunseo locks SinB’s head in her arm and drags the latter back to the counter while laughing at each other.

 

A pair of eyes are looking at them with a smile blooming on her lips

 

*****

 

“Wahhh, I think I’m going crazy. For real” SinB monologues with herself while she arrange the books into a box. Or so she thinks.

“You’re always crazy. Don’t tell me you just realize that today?” Eunseo who overheard SinB interrupts 

“Huh?”

“Jokinggg” Eunseo grins “What’s wrong with you today though?” Eunseo continues as she helps SinB packing

“Nothing is wrong with me today though?” SinB answers nonchalantly although she knows what Eunseo is referring to

“Tch. You aren’t yourself until that customer walked out” Eunseo smirks “Don’t ask me which customer or else I’ll post that video on my instagram” 

“Hmm...” SinB puts down the book she’s holding before covering her face with her palms “Do you think dream is real” She mumbles

“Uhhh what?” Eunseo can’t hear her very well

“Dream. Do you believe in dream, Juyeon?”

“Ahhhh” Eunseo gets the hang of where this is going. Her friend right here, never once believe in the words dream comes true at all “I do” She nods

“Even when someone who appeared in your dream suddenly stands right in front of your eyes?”

“Yes” Eunseo nods again

“Even when you never met that someone before? Like you never knew who that person is?” SinB asks again just to be sure

“Another yes from me, Eunbi” Eunseo nods with a smile “Why? That person appeared in your dream?”

“Hmm...” SinB closes her eyes and nods as she leans against the shelf “It doesn’t make any sense and it’s impossible, very impossible, Juyeon”

Eunseo lets out a tiny laugh before she gives her answer 

“That’s what dream is all about, Eunbi. It doesn’t make sense at all, seems impossible too sometimes but when it happened, your life changes”

 

*****

 

“Goooooood morning!!” SinB walks into Hill’s cafe with a cheerful mood. She remains unbothered by a few set of eyes who are staring at her, some finds her action amusing. She’s been humming to her favorite song all the way to here too. 

“Morning” Yerin, the cafe owner returns SinB’s greeting “What’s up with the super good mood from you this early?”

“Nothing. I just feel good today. That’s all” SinB’s smile widened and her eyes continue to browse through the menu at the board above the counter “Trying out new recipe today, Yerin?” She points towards the salted egg cruffins on the food display. Her first time seeing one too.

“Uhuh” Yerin nods “Yuna has been staying up all night for a few days trying to perfect it” 

“Poor you” SinB gives out her empathetic looks 

“Huh?”

“Having to sleep alone without your girlfriend” SinB continues to tease 

“At least, I have a girlfriend” Yerin smirks “Because you don’t” 

“Ouch” SinB pretends to be hurting “Lol, as if I wanted a girlfriend” 

“You sure?” Yerin points towards a customer who just walks in. Not someone that she knows but she seems to be matching with SinB. 

“Ohhh shaitz!” And the next thing they know, SinB is already hiding behind the counter with a perplexed Yerin looking at her. SinB begged her in silence to pretend like she’s not here while her finger points towards the customer who’s walking closer to the counter.

“Hi, good morning. How may I help you?” 

“Hi, one iced chocolate please” 

“Sure. And your name is?”

“Sojung” The customer flash off a smile before handing her card 

 

“She’s gone?” SinB asks after waiting for a few seconds since Yerin gives the customer, guess we can call her Sojung now, her drink.

“Yeap” Yerin nods “You can stand up and order your drink now, SinB” 

SinB slowly stands up on her feet after making sure Sojung is no longer on sight.

“That’s alright. I’ll passed” She says before she makes her way out of the cafe. She’s already 5 mins late, and Eunseo is for sure going to nag at her.

But a few seconds later, she’s already walking back into the cafe

“Huh? Change of mind, SinB?”

“One iced chocolate and lots of tissues please”

“You don’t like chocolate dri- Oh wait...” Yerin sly smile is blooming “One ice chocolate for you it is”

 

Sojung still couldn’t process what just happened to her. She walked out of the cafe in a good mood but in just a split second, someone bumped onto her, spilling her iced chocolate on her shoes and the worst thing is, the doer just ran away without saying sorry. 

 

As she’s trying to compose herself, someone passes her a new iced chocolate before the latter crouch down to clean up the mess a little bit. 

“Tissues for you in case you need it and that drink is on me” The latter says before she runs towards the bus that’s already arrives.

 

*****

 

“Hey Juyeon…”

“Yow, what’s up?

“I think I’m about to experience another déjà vu” 

“Huh?”

“Remember what I told you yesterday?” SinB grabs Eunseo’s shoulders

“The incident at the cafe?”

SinB nods “That and the day Sojung came to our bookstore for the first time”

“Okay? So you’re telling me she’s going to come here again today?”

“I’ve a feeling she will…”

“Uh…Hwang…” Eunseo stutters

“What?”

“She- Your déjà vu- dream- Uhh” Instead of finishing her sentence, Eunseo turns SinB around to face the said person.

And in a blink of an eye, SinB pulls Eunseo down but it’s kinda too late since Sojung is actually already standing at the counter when she did that.

“You know you looked like an idiot by doing this right? She already saw us”

“I know. I rather look like an idiot now than later”

“Okay but how long are we going to stay like this?”

“For another 5 seconds”

And they started the countdown.

5…4…3…2…1

Up on their feet the two go.

Well…

SinB almost plop back on the floor when Sojung greets her with a smile blooming on her pink lips.

“Hi” She says directing it to SinB

“Uhh…” SinB rubs her nape “Hi…” She smiles sheepishly

“I’m outtttt. Nice meeting you again” Eunseo left them immediately after before SinB could stop her. 

SinB is lost of words, not knowing what to say, her eyes couldn’t even look at the stunning gorgeous woman standing in front of her. 

And she’s telling the truth when she said she’s going crazy. Because she currently is. 

How the hell it is possible for her to meet a person who once appeared in her dream out of nowhere in real life, not once, not twice, but for the third time. 

And they said, third times a charm. 

Yeah.

The saying is absolutely right.

Sojung is really charming.

Even without having to do anything. 

Someone send help!

 

“I’m here to give you this” Sojung breaks the ice, passing a small notebook to SinB.

“Ahh, no wonder I couldn’t find it this morning. Thanks” SinB takes away the notebook and keep it in her back pocket. And here we go again. Another short stretch of SinB being speechless. 

“And I’d like to say thanks for yesterday too”

“No sweat. That was nothing. Is your pants okay?” 

“Sent it for dry cleaning, it’ll be fine”

“Cool” 

Okay, SinB is really looking like a fool in front o Sojung right now and Eunseo who’s looking at them from afar can’t handle it anymore so she gives SinB a call.

 

“Yow, stop acting like a fool. You stuttered too much” 

“What am I supposed to do then? I’m still trying to brain all these thing mannn” 

“Ask her out maybe? Go and get an ice cream? It’s perfect for this hot weather, duhh?” 

 

“Is everything okay?” Sojung interrupts, SinB looks like she’s having an emergency to settle on.

Yes, Sojung.

SinB does.

You’re her emergency

Huh? Yeah, everything’s okay” SinB replies Sojung “It’s just, Juyeon told me to ask you out on an ice cream date”

“Huh?”

“Oh ” SinB is too late to take her words back so she quickly ends the call. She has nothing to lose anyway

“Would you like to-“ 

“Yes. I’d love to” 

 

***

 

“Come to think about it, we haven’t properly introduced ourself, don’t we?” SinB takes the courage to break the ice this time instead of Sojung

‘Yes” Sojung chuckles 

Bad choice Sojung, bad choice. 

You’re making things even worse for SinB with your cute laughter and that killer smile

“Kim Sojung. You can call me Sojung”

“Hwang Eunbi. You can call me Eunbi or SinB whichever you like”

“Eunbi... Hmm” Sojung’s smile just get lovelier “Can I call you Eunbi?”

“Emm” SinB nods and she takes a quick look at Sojung before she averts her eyes away 

“My name sounds so beautiful when it’s you who says it” SinB monologues 

“Wait, Eunbi” Sojung grabs SinB’s wrist to stop the latter from taking another step

“What, why?” SinB feels the shiver running down her spine

“You’re bleeding” Sojung quicky rummage through her handbag looking for tissues

“Huh? Where?” SinB touches her face with her fingers trying to find the spot “Ahhh, my nose” She lift her face, facing upwards, to prevent the blood from oozing out and Sojung quickly passes her a tissue paper.

“This is nothing. My nose is kinda sensitive to hot weather” SinB says after making sure blood is no longer coming out of her nose anymore. 

Tsk. Out of all day, must it came out today.

“You don’t like summer then?” 

“Yeap, I don’t. I like winter the most” SinB tells a little bit about herself, unconciously

“That’s great” Sojung’s smile becomes wider

“Huh? Why?”

“Because I was born in winter”

 

***

 

“So? How was your déjà vu?” Eunseo throws herself right next to SinB on their sofa bed at the living room

“Shut upppp” SinB covers Eunseo’s face with a pillow

“Whaaatt” Eunseo continues laughing “My best friend finally went out on a date. On a freaking ice cream dateeeee” 

“Yeah yeah, go ahead and tease me” SinB knows there’s no use of stopping Eunseo, the latter won’t stop teasing her anyway.

“I’m just kidding, Eunbi” Eunseo stops laughing at her friend who looks like she’s about to go crazy soon “You doing alright? Still thinking about that dream and all those deja vu thingy?”

SinB nods

“It doesn’t make sense, don’t you think, Juyeon?”

“Yeap, it doesn’t. But if you think of her as your soulmate, maybe it does make sense”

“You know I don’t believe in such thing called soulmate”

Of course, Eunseo knows. They have been friends since kindergarden. Eunseo knew SinB stops believing in love what even soulmate when her parents got divorced back in her high school days. 

“Give yourself a chance, Eunbi”

 

*****

 

“She’s coming today as well?” Eunseo who just come back from the store ask SinB when she sees the latter is looking at her watch.

“Yeap, right after that customer walks out. Watch” 

And there Sojung is... 

In her floral cream dress, walking towards SinB whose eyes can’t stop looking at the latter.

SinB regains her conscious when Eunseo elbows her a little before she goes up to the second floor giving the two some privacy.

“Hey” 

“Hi”

Short greetings but enough to make their hearts flutter

“Looking for another book today, Sojung?”

“Emm” Sojung nods “Any chances you have a book on how to turn your dream into reality?”

“Huh?” SinB is dumbfounded a little, she can be quite slow in things like this, I can assure you that “Uhh, I don’t think such book exist though”

“If that’s the case, can you help me turn my dream into reality?”

“Huh? How- uh”

“Go out on a date again with me today?” 

“Ahhh...” SinB grins, she suddenly doesn’t know where to look at, definitely not at Sojung, SinB has to hide her cheeks that are turning pink. That’s when her eyes lands on Eunseo who’s peeking at them from the upper floor, mouthing the word ‘Go’ creating an okay sign 

“I- I’d love to but my work will only be done in an hour though” 

“Not a problem for me. I can read some books while waiting for you” 

“Emm” SinB nods, she tries her best to hide her excitement “Let me know if you need anything” 

 

Guess who can’t do her job properly after that?

Yeap, you guessed it right.

The one and only Hwang Eunbi.

Will she ever stop making herself look like a fool in front of Sojung?

From accidentally trips against a chair, to causing a row of books fall down from the shelf, and going out of the store with an unscanned book which triggers the alarm. 

Perhaps, we need to wait and see. Grab a popcorn while you guys are at it. 

Sojung too can’t even focus on the book she’s holding. Still on the same page ever since she took a sit.  

All because she finds SinB way too adorable. Clumsy but cute. She giggles in silence.