a/n: hello! the story is approaching it's end and i'm almost positive next chapter will be the last, so i hope it manages to end accordingly to everyones expectations. but for now, enjoy this chapter!

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Junguen, Haseul, Vivi and Heejin are all sitting down in the first table available as soon as you enter the library.

Hyunjin is barely resting her weight on the edge of it. Yeirm seems even more restless. The girl’s been pacing back and forth since they got there.

Sooyoung had told them to meet at the library. That she’ll first go get Jinsoul and then head to meet them. She had insisted in this place, for whatever reason.

Jungeun's head was still spinning when they left. She immediately called all the girls, one by one, and told them what had happened.

She never thought she’d say the words, ‘I just saw Yeojin’, this early onto their investigation, but she does. And her voice becomes shakier the more she says it.

Naturally, everyone freaked out. But not the loud, freaking out that involves screaming and joyful cheers. Far from that, actually. Everyone reacted in a quiet, confused manner. So perplexed that words just seemed to stop existing. Jungeun gave them all as much detail as possible, which isn’t much, anyway.

She told them to meet now at the library. That they’ll meet with Yeojin, Jinsoul and Sooyoung, and probably get more answers.

No one questioned her about Sooyoung. Jungeun herself wasn’t even thinking about their...situation right now.

Quite frankly, she couldn’t care less.

Yeojin was all in her mind right now.

“Would you stop pacing!” Screams Hyunjin at Yerim, clearly on edge, “It’s annoying!”

Yerim totally ignores her and barely offers a shrug in response. Heejin quietly comforts her girlfriend, taking her hand and whispering something in her ear.

Yerim and Hyunjin were closest to Yeojin, and the news clearly affected them the most. Both girls are in an unimaginable unrestful state.

The doors swing open and everyone turns their head towards that direction.

Jinsoul walks in alone, in a hurry.

“Hey,” She says.

“Where’s Yeojin?!” Hyunjin practically screams it as soon as she sees Jinsoul.

The blonde girl looks frenzy, as well, “She’s outside with Sooyoung.”

“Well bring her in…” Interrupts Yerim,  and quietly adds a ‘please’.

Jinsoul looks at her, and stays silent for a while. Yerim is avoiding her eyes.

“I will,” Starts again Jinsoul, “I just wanted to ask you guys to be careful with her. With what you say. She’s still shaken up from  her encounter with Jungeun.”

Jungeun stiffens at the memory.

Jinsoul ponders for a while. She’s visibly worried for Yeojin, “It could be too much, seeing everyone. She-”

Jinsoul gets cut off by the familiar sound of the doors opening with a loud bang.

Yeojin walks in with Sooyoung behind her, pulling her clothes, trying- and failing to stop her from going into the library.

“I’m tired of waiting,” Yeojin says, trying to free herself from Sooyoung’s grip, “Let go!”

Everyone falls silent as they watch the interaction. Everyone except Hyunjin, who runs towards the smaller girl.

Yerim follows her lead.

They both attack Yeojin with such a powerful hug that Yeojin loses her balance, almost falling backwards.

No one’s sure of when exactly Hyunjin and Yerim started crying. But their faces are soaked in tears, suddenly.

Yeojin doesn’t react. She just stands still, almost like a statue. She doesn’t hug back, she doesn’t push them off. She just stands there.

The hugging girls are talking but their words get muffled into the hug. Do they, themselves, even know what they’re saying?

Once the hug is over, they both look expectantly at Yeojin.

Yeojin stays quiet. The only action she does is lift her hand up to her own face. It’s wet. Is she crying? Why is she crying? A single tear covers one of her cheeks.

“Do I know you?” She asks, voice so soft that it’s barely inaudible.

Jinsoul runs to her sister, and grabs her by the hand. Pulling her away from the two girls that now stand frozen in place, shocked at Yeojin’s reaction- or better said, lack of reaction.

“She doesn’t…” Yerim trails off.

Jinsoul looks almost apologetic at her, “She doesn’t remember anything.”

The look on Yerim’s face is haunting. Sad and nostalgic; lonely. Understanding.

Everyone moves to where Jinsoul is standing with Yeojin. The younger girls looks scared. Looking towards the floor, avoiding everyone’s stare and hiding in the embrace of her older sister.

Jinsoul, however, looks more calm. There’s something more in her, but she’s calm, regardless. Ready to talk.

“How?” Jungeun speaks for the first time. That’s all she manages to ask, but it’s all she needs to know.

Jinsoul blinks once.

Then twice, slower this time, as if she’s taking a moment to properly articulate her thoughts.

“Yeojin no longer belongs here.”

No one dares to speak. No one asks a single question, though everyone has thousands.

“She doesn’t belong in this…” Jinsoul stops herself and looks self-conscious, almost embarrassed, about what she’s gonna say next, “She doesn’t belong in this dimension anymore. Neither do I or Sooyoung, but we never did, in the first place.”

A beat passes.

No one says anything. Of course no one says anything.

Jungeun can’t even begin to understand how, but that makes sense. So much sense. It’s the most senseful thing she’s heard in years. It’s like a single piece that’s been missing for years finally got put into place and now everything works accordingly. 

From the way that no one questions Jinsoul’s words, Jungeun knows that they’re all thinking the same.

Yes. Yeojin had been sent to a different dimension.

*

 “But, how?” Haseul is the first one to speak again, “How did Yeojin end up there?”

Jinsoul looks at Yerim. A secretive look that says a lot. A look that’s a promise. A look that understands that answer is not for her to give.

Jinsoul shrugs, “She was just being protected.”

“Protected?”

Jinsoul nods, “If she stayed in this dimension...she- that wouldn’t have lasted much longer."

By the look on Yeojin’s face, it is safe to assume this is the first time she’s hearing this too.

“Protected by what?” Asks Jungeun.

“Let’s just say by a strong force.”

Her words sound definitive. It’s clear that she won’t say much more than that, as much as they ask. And ask they do, but Jinsoul keeps on giving the same answers with different words.

Everyone tries their luck at asking. Everyone fails- everyone but Yerim, who is uncharacteristically quiet as she looks at the scene unfold in front of her. She only speaks after all the girls have asked at least three questions each.

“How did she end up with you?” Yerim’s question has an undertone that no one but Jinsoul  understand, “Why didn’t you tell me-” She shakes her head, and corrects herself. “Us. Why didn’t you tell us?"

Jinsoul sighs, “I didn’t know who she was. I first found her roaming around the forest. She couldn’t remember anything, other than the fact that she clearly didn’t belong in my world. It’s not the first time I offered help and shelter to someone stuck in the wrong dimension, that happens more than you would think. But it was the first time they had no memories of who they were before arriving…she stayed for so long that I just started introducing her as my sister, it was easier that way.”

Yerim shakes her head, “Still...you could have easily inferred who she was. You should've told me that-”

“I found Yeojin four years ago.”

Yerim squints at the reply. Confused.

“No,” Interrupts Jungeun, “She only went missing last November, that- that doesn’t make sense.”

“Yeah, well,” Jinsoul stars, "Neither does the idea of multiple dimensions, and travelling between them and portals that bring them together, but here we are...”

Junguen bites her lips. Jinsoul is right.

The talking girl grimaces at her harsh tone, but continues talking, “ Nothing makes sense. Time doesn’t make sense. Especially when trying to compare it between two completely different universes. Do you know how much impact crossing over can cause?”

No one responds. Not even Sooyoung or Yeojin, who are more aware of the situation.

“The entire universe is bending for that to happen, time and space all stretch for that one moment. Sometimes it causes an effect, and other times it doesn’t. This time, it did. And majorly so. Yeojin crossed over into a world that was four years younger than what it should have been.”

Jinsoul is breathing heavily, now, from all that talking, and emotions currently traveling through her entire body.

Vivi clears , “Can that…can it affect our memories?”

Jinsoul raises her eyebrow at the questions, not sure of what it means.

“Well I was starting to forget about who, uh, who Yeojin was. I’m sure that most of our town already have.”

Heejin seems to agree with Vivi, cause she nods along to her every word.

Jinsoul thinks deeply about an answer. She thinks about how her life before Yeojin has become practically impossible to remember. Was it ever there? She thinks about how Sooyoung never teases her for not mentioning Yeojin in all those years of friendship. Had she somewhat forgotten that part, too?

“Yeah,” She finally says, “Yeah, I guess it can also alter our memory.”

Jungeun’s eyes wander through the room. Everyone’s wearing a confused expression. Some have their mouths slightly opened, others got a frown and others got knitted eyebrows. Her eyes land on Sooyoung, finally. She’s staring right back at Jungeun and doesn’t hide it. She only looks away after a few seconds of intense eye contact that leave Jungeun feeling all types of way.

Only then it’s when realization hits Jungeun. Jungeun raises her hand to ask a question. Vivi mocks her for acting like a high schooler while Jinsoul almost sounds pissed when she tells her that there’s no need to do that, and to just ask the damn question.

“How are you here right now? In our dimension, I mean.”

Jinsoul hesitates, but subtly enough to go unnoticed, “Well, certain places work as bridges between two worlds, somehow. The library being one, for example.”

“The dance academy being another one…”

“Mhm,” Nods Jinsoul, “I don’t know what bounds them together. It’s some sort of unbreakable attraction. Like magnets, almost.”

Jungeun is pensive for a while, she gets a thought she doesn’t like but pushes it aside.

“So,” Interferes Hyunjin, “Now what? Can Yeojin come back?”

Jinsoul grimaces, and looks down to the floor, “It’s complicated…” She starts playing with her hands. The atmosphere suddenly feels awkward.

“What do you mean it’s complicated?” Hyunjin speaks between teeth. It’s a little scary.

Jinsoul sighs for what seems like the hundredth time in the last hour, “Well, with Yeojin not only crossing over but staying for so many years in a dimension that’s not hers...I fear that the Yeojin that once was in her original dimension simply does not- she does not exist anymore.”

“But you-” Sooyoung speaks, voice tight, “You travel through them all the time and remain unaffected.”

“Well, yeah…because that’s my nature, I guess. I’ve been able to do so all my life, without even trying. Yeojin, though, she was never supposed to. She just-” Jinsoul struggles with the words, not wanting to say something she shouldn’t just yet.

“A bunch of circumstances aligned and that allowed her to do so. And like, even then, her memory was altered for it, clearly. The time as well. Hell, even her own dimension suffered side effects in their memory. I don’t think it’s smart to try, I don’t think it is even possible anymore. Whatever force allowed it the first time, just isn’t there anymore.”

“So Yeojin can’t-” Heejin starts, but her voice breaks a little, “She’s stuck in your dimension?”

Jinsoul nods, quietly.

“But her family,” Says Haseul, “Don’t they have the right to know? They think she’s…”

“There’s no need to,” Jinsoul’s voice sounds deeper than ever, “I doubt they remember her at this point. And if they do, it must be an extremely faint memory. There’s no need to tell them anything...it’d only hurt more.”

Hyunjin sits down, grabbing her head, “God, this is so messed up.”

“That’s not fair,” Vivi mumbles.

“Life is not fair,” Sooyoung sounds detached. Her eyes looking at nowhere in particular.

Jungeun thinks she knows what Sooyoung means by that.

“And what about us?” Asks Hyunjin, “Are we gonna forget Yeojin too?”

Silence settle into the conversation as Jinsoul considers the question.

“Well you guys could still see her, just like right now…that should stop that from happening, no?”

Hyunjin shrugs. Who is she to have an answer to that, shouldn’t Jinsoul be the one to have all answers.

“I’d like that,” Yeojin speaks for the second time since she’s arrived, her eyes look slightly teary and her nose is tinted by a pale red,“I don’t, um...really remember you guys. But I wanna be here, I should be here. It’s what feels right.”

It’s a nostalgic feeling that Yeojin didn’t even know she was missing. Finding immediate comfort in strangers; she’s never felt anything like that before.

Maybe Jungeun finds herself paying too much attention at Sooyoung once again, cause she notices the sudden shift in her expression almost immediately. Sooyoung looks worried. The girl notices Jungeun staring, and once again, returns the eye contact.

Sooyoung speaks to Jinsoul, asking about Yeojin’s situation, but she never stops looking at Jungeun. It’s as if she’s trying to tell her something. 

“What if, for some reason, both dimensions stop being connected?”

“Shut up! What the hell!” Screams Vivi at Sooyoung, “Why would you even say that…"

Sooyoung rolls her eyes, “Well it’s happened before. It just did, actually.”

Everyone looks at Jinsoul, waiting for an explanation. She doesn’t have one, “Well, all we can do is just hope that doesn't happen.”

“That sound reassuring…” Mocks Vivi.

Junguen crosses her fingers and hopes, prays, that it never happens again.

She wishes so for selfish reasons.

*

Jinsoul and Yeojin had to left the library fifteen minutes ago. Most of the girls had left a few minutes after them as well. Desperately needing to go home and process everything that just happened. It’s been a lot, to say the least.

Right now only Yerim, Jungeun and Sooyoung are left.

There’s tension in the air. Tension that does not involve Yerim at all.

“Hey,” Says Yerim to Jungeun, “Wanna walk home together?”

Jungeun is tempted to say yes. Some company at night never hurt anyone. However, when she feels Sooyoung’s stare in her, she knows better.

She shakes her head, “You go ahead. I wouldn’t want to hold you back.”

Junguen prays that Yerim understands what she’s trying to do.

“Oh, it’s fine! I can totally wait for you.” Yerim starts.

Jungeun decides to be more bold, and as Yerim speaks, she uses her eyes to signal Sooyoung. That’s when Yerim stops speaking and her eyes widen, ‘Aaaah’ she says as she realizes how much of an obstacle she’s being right now. She mouths a sorry to Jungeun.

“Oh, no! I just remembered something!” Yerim says with some horrible acting, and winks to Jungeun...Sooyoung probably sees it too.

“What did you remember?” Jungeun says, monotone voice, failing at acting convincing.

“I need to head home right now!!! I have a uh- thing. I have a thing,” Yerim literally smiles as she says that, almost proud of her awful lying skills, “I won’t be able to wait for you, friend!”

“Oh no!" Jungeun can’t wait for Yerim to get out of here.

“Well, bye Jungie” She gives Junguen a hug, and whispers ‘good luck’ in her ear.

She screams goodbye to Sooyoung as she exits the door.

Now it’s only Jungeun and Sooyoung, finally.

“And then there were two,” Says Sooyoung as she gets closer to Jungeun, “...I should head home too, no?”

“Uh, actually,” Jungeun takes a deep breath, “Can we talk?”

“Oh, now you wanna talk?”

“Well yeah...now that I know you weren’t just ignoring me, yeah.”

Sooyoung keeps closing the space between them and Jungeun yearns for that proximity.

“I would never do that…”

“And I was supposed to just know that? I mean, imagine how bad the entire situation looked for me.”

Sooyoung’s shoes are now touching Jungeun’s.

“Yeah. I know,” Sooyoung looks down for a while, escaping Jungeun's cautious stare. Something sweet yet bitter seeps through it, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t,” Jungeun’s voice is impossibly delicate, “It’s fine, it’s not your fault.”

Sooyoung manages to get even close, somehow, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

Jungeun shrugs, “I get why you didn’t.”

“I’ve missed you.”

Sooyoung’s words catch Jungeun off guard. They always do. Her voice is disgustingly sweet as she says that. It's a soft, yet strong whisper. Like a secret, one that Junguen wouldn’t mind keeping.

Jungeun flinches as she notices how close Sooyoung’s face is to hers. She practically feels Sooyoung's breath as the girl speaks again, “Have you missed me?”

This time her voice has more to it, still sweet. But there’s something else. Jungeun watches her lips as they talk.

Somehow this feeling takes Junguen back to that day in the forest. That trance like state she had fallen into, almost like being hypnotized by euphoria, by being closer than ever to what you want, what you need. Now it’s even closer, at reach length. It’s in Sooyoung, it’s always been Sooyoung.

“Well I was mad,” Jungeun changes the angle of her face, just to avoid herself from accidentally brushing lips with Sooyoung, “I was mad at you.”

Sooyoung suppresses a smile.

“Hm,” She starts playing with a strand of Jungeun’s hair that falls over her chest. It feels nice and comforting. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

Jungeun is too immersed in the feeling, in Sooyoung herself.

“What was the question again?”

This time, Sooyoung let’s a smirk show.

“Did you miss me, Jungeun?”

“I did,” Jungeun says, “I missed you.”

Sooyoung moves to close the distance. Junguen lets her.

They’re about to touch when a loud bang comes behind them. It startles them both, making them jolt. Sooyoung turns around towards the sound and puts a protective arm over Jungeun.

The sound had been just a book falling off the shelf.

Both girls laugh at the situation, though Jungeun can still feel her racing heart- which is caused by more than the sudden sound.

Sooyoung turns back to face Jungeun and softly caresses her cheek with a single finger, “I should actually go now.”

Jungeun nods, “Yeah. Me too.”

As they’re both about to walk through the door, they know they won’t see each other in the other side.

“Hey, Sooyoung?” Jungeun says right before exiting the library.

“Hm?”

“We can try again, right?”

Sooyoung smiles.

“We can try again.”

It sounds like a promise. 

Jungeun believes it.

*

Jungeun and Sooyoung are both sitting on the floor of the convenience store.

Sooyoung is snacking on some gummy bears that Jungeun would occasionally try to steal. Emphasis on try because every time her hand gets near the bag, Sooyoung slaps it and puts the gummy bears in Jungeun’s mouth herself.

Her attempts at stealing keep failing but, honestly...is she really losing?

Hanging out in the store has become a bit of a routine for the two. It’s only been a few days since they started spending hours, just sitting there, talking, not doing anything in particular. It’s only been days but for Junguen it feels as if she’s been doing it her entire life. 

For Sooyoung it feels like that too.

No one mentions it. They don’t tell each other those feelings. You can’t just tell people, ‘Hey, I know we kinda just met but it feels as if i’ve known you all my life and i’d like it if you could stay for the rest of it.’ That’s a little weird, isn’t it? It’s a little too soon for that.

A topic that comes often between the two is Yeojin. Sooyoung would tell her about how Yeojin is technically like a younger sister for her. She assures her that there’s no one better than Jinsoul to take care of her. 

It’s bittersweet.

Jungeun has come more at peace with the idea. It’s been easier to accept than what she thought it’d be. Almost like it makes more sense for Yeojin to be there, instead of here.

It is a little scary, though. It makes her think, a lot; about things that she never even knew were possible to have thoughts about. It’s haunting, honestly. A universe so big, big enough for it to become unimaginable. For it to be easy to lose control, just like Yeojin did. Be at the mercy of something no one truly understands.

It makes Jungeun shudder.

Thoughts like that have been infesting her mind lately. It’s kinda hard to just move past it, honestly. It’s changed the way Jungeun interacts with the universe.

Are things in life meant to be or are they all just pure coincidence? Can coincidence turn into fate? Where is the line drawn between those two- is there even a line?

But then there are times when Jungeun looks at Sooyoung’s eyes and thinks that maybe those answers aren’t that important. Who cares if she’s not special in the grand scheme of the universe. Who cares she’s a tiny lonesome stat in the midst of an infinite universe? A millisecond of an eternity worth?

None of those things really matter when Sooyoung looks at her like that.

It’s easy to feel small in such a huge universe. But when Jungeun’s eyes fall into Sooyoung’s? She feels grander than ever.

When there’s all those things in life to worry about and yet she’s still what Sooyoung decides to put her focus on...wouldn’t that moment alone make her special? Make her unique? Make everything worth it?

Jungeun thinks it does. And she wouldn’t change it for anything.

“What are you thinking about?” The voice of Sooyoung brings Jungeun back to the real world.

It grounds her.

Jungeun blinks, “Hm?”

“You completely zoned out,” Sooyoung smiles, “Did you just go to another world?”

“Well technically...I kinda am in a different world right now.”

Sooyoung playfully rolls hers eyes, and her tone is warmer than it should be as she calls Jungeun a . 

Sooyoung suddenly looks smug and Jungeun knows she’s up to something…

She squints her eyes at the suspicious girl, “What is it?”

Sooyoung smiles and shows off those characteristic bunny teeth of hers, “Let's have a movie date!” Seemingly out of nowhere she pulls out a laptop and a pair of earphones from behind her that totally weren’t there before.

Jungeun gives her the softest smile.

That’s an offer impossible to say no to.

*

Sooyoung and Jungeun’s first movie date had been a complete and utter mess.

Sooyoung thought that watching an angsty movie about star crossed lovers fighting against time would be a good idea- she had been wrong. By the end of it they were both sobbing uncontrollably. It was a little embarrassing, to be honest.

On top of that they had to share earphones which not only made the movie ridiculously difficult to hear over the crunching noises of the popcorn they were eating, but it also made Sooyoung have to stop it every five minutes cause Jungeun would move too much, continuously making the earphone fall off from Sooyoung’s ear.

More than once Jungeun would scream back at her with a “Fine! Let’s just not use earphones, then!” To that, Sooyoung would immediately pout and say, “Well I didn’t say I want to stop sharing...I just said that you need to stop moving so much.”

Jungeun would just shake her head and hit play again. Secretly, though, she’d be glad that Sooyoung hadn’t accepted, because sharing them gave her the perfect excuse to brush shoulders with the older girl. During a particularly emotional scene, Jungeun even made the move of resting her head on Sooyoung’s shoulder. 

She pretended not to notice Sooyoung’s entire body tense up at the action.

It was nightmare. They both loved it.

After that rather horrible experience they decided to have a second one, naturally.

This time Jungeun gets to pick the movie. She seems to have learned absolutely nothing from last time cause she went for another emotionally charged movie: The Notebook. She chose it after Sooyoung mentioned that she’s never seen it. Jungeun dramatically gasped at that and made it her life mission to make Sooyoung watch it.

“That’s it!” Jungeun had said, clapping, “We’re watching The Notebook next!”

Sooyoung twisted her face in disgust, cliché movies such as that one have never been her style. But for some reason Jungeun seems to be obsessed with them, so what could Sooyoung do? Say no? Well….she could have, technically. But the thing is, she didn’t want to. How could she say no when Jungeun was looking all excited and adorable. She could never be that heartless.

So now, here is Jungeun, chirpily skipping to the convenience store to meet Sooyoung. She carries her laptop with a recently downloaded file of The Notebook, a fresh batch of cookies- not that she prepared them for Sooyoung specifically or anything like that, not at all, she just was in the mood to make cookies, really-  and a single pair of earphones, even though she could have easily grabbed a second one.

She gets there first, and sits on their usual spot. She’s practically bouncing with excitement and feeling a little ridiculous for it, just a little. 

Junguen is not the type of person to get too far ahead of things, but she likes where this is going. Her relationship with Sooyoung. She feels confident on it. 

It makes her happy.

*

Sooyoung is late.

Jungeun has a bad feeling about it. 

A feeling that is too familiar in the worst way possible. It starts when it’s been an hour and Sooyoung still hasn’t arrived. It’s the type that comes with a tummy ache, and as though your heart is beating in your ear.

Jungeun wants it gone as soon as it starts.

She knows she can just call or text her. Ask Sooyoung why she isn’t there yet. But she’s too scared to. Jungeun only gets the courage to do so when two hours have passed.

The cookies are cold by now.

She tries texting her first, she just writes a ‘hey’. Jungeun winces when all that she gets back is a red lettered ‘Not Delivered”. Maybe there’s just bad reception in this place, right? 

She leaves the store, in hopes that it’s just the signal and tries calling this time.

It doesn’t even connect.

“No,” She whispers softly. 

She calls again and gets the same result. She tries over and over again. Nothing changes.

“No, no, no, please no, not now,” A tear falls in her phone’s screen, “Sooyoung, pick up! C’mon!”

She doesn’t.

Jungeun’s mind goes back to that one thought that she had when Jinsoul first told them everything, that day in the library. The thought that she so badly tried to push aside cause she didn’t like what it suggested.

Their dimensions are like magnets, Jinsoul had said. As much as magnets attract each other, they can also cause repulsion; depending on what pole they’re meeting on.

Jungeun and Sooyoung are meeting in the wrong pole.

The more their respective dimensions are pulled into one another...the more they repel each other.

The closer they get, the farther they’ll be.

It feels like a sick joke from the universe, and no one is laughing.