Then he jolted up.

Eyes wide awake, breath panting as if he's just had a marathon. Instead of a face he really want to see badly, all he saw was the white ceiling of his bedroom.

Seungcheol palm his face with both hand. Taking a deep breath before sit up on the bed. He feels void of life, too tired to function properly. His black eyes slowly shifted to the alarm clock that lost it's job now that he's awake ahead of the designated times. 30 more minutes before it's going off. He reach for the device and turn it off.

now that he's awake, it's impossible to fall asleep again. he groans.

No other option but starting his day.

One of his morning routines, the first thing he does after waking up is going to the bathroom. washing his face, shaving and brush his teeth.

He stand straight when the reflection of his own face is on sight. He paused brushing his teeth, studying the eye bags which getting bigger and darker each day.

He looks like . He groan. again.

It's because of that damn dream. The dream of a stranger who suddenly infiltrating his life like nobody business for the last couple months. he didn't know who this person was.  there's no information regarding that even though he can hear the voice, he can't even decide whether the person a girl or a man. 

It's a little bit vague.

He didn't really remember when exactly he start having this dream. but at first it's just snippets, like a flash of some images on the projector, then over times, it was like slide shows, more images came in his dream, pictorial, like instagram updates of short homemade clips but everything were faceless.

The only things that he could remember were the sensation. The atmosphere, the sight of Meadows, the grass, the wind, the giggles and a long dark brown hair standing against the red sun.

This dream will make him go crazy one day. He swear.

But first thing first..

Coffee. He really ing need coffee.

He reminded himself. before he literally screeching from insanity.

Once in the kitchen, seungcheol turn on the coffee maker, finger tapping on the kitchen counter as he's waiting for it to brew and boiled. he was about to get something to eat from the fridge when his eyes accidentally turn to his CD player on the shelf beside his TV in the living room that was located beside the kitchen.

this morning suddenly sounds too quiet to his liking, he know everyday was the same as today, he live alone and he doesn't have any pets. but for some reason, today is quieter than usual. Like something is missing.

Instead of getting his cereal in the fridge he move his feet toward the living room. He sit on the floor and pick an album from the rack, choosing something that could cheer up his morning.

he's not a fan of music to be honest, but he got quite collection of albums. he wonder why he bought them in the first place if he never listen to it. he eyed many sealed CD album lined up nicely on the shelf, all untouched. he doesn't really have a certain taste on music, but whenever he pass by music store on his way home from work and see the display, if he likes the cover, he would buy it. and it becomes habit.

An album by local musician meet his eyes, this album is not sealed, seems like he ever listened to it once before. he turn it around to read the song list. His eyes somewhat stopped at one of the tittle.

Second life. He repeated in his head.

"When I see my face in your two eyes, As if the world has stopped, I will hug you"

The adorable voice ring in his head, full of admiration within the over diabetic sweet words. the last words he heard before he's awake.

Seungcheol take another breathe. He's definitely going crazy, imagining someone whom he doesn't even know. he frown as he ruffle his hair in frustration.

Even then he put the CD in the player and choose the said song. soon enough the mellow Melody start flowing in his quiet living place, offering him a solace, the calmness and the voice of the singer is really soft. Really fitting the nuance of the song. a smile escape his lips unconsciously.

+*+*+*+

It was at the train on the way to his office that a question suddenly popped up in his head.

What was his response at that person's question? He tilt his head, arms crossed in front of his chest as he lean his body sideways on the door of the train. Head on the Clear window. eyes watching the scenery of the city.

What was the question again?

"If a second life that's different from now is to come to me. Will I be by your side? Will you be by my side?"

Seungcheol wonder, what was the he in the dream answer would be?

Is the person his lover? Husband? Wife? Mistress maybe?

Is this person even real? Or just a fruit of his imagination?

Maybe snippets of a movie he brought to dream? Or maybe a novel? A story he heard from other people perhaps?

But all of that sound unreasonable to him. Firstly, he's not an imaginative person, never, so this is so out of character for him. Give him numbers, he'll deal with it without complaint. but never art. any kind of art that involve imagination, it will give him brain freeze.

Heck he was almost failed at literature class in high school, for seungcheol's standard that was embarrassing. if not the kindness of the teacher who definitely had soft spot for a good role model student like him, he would already found himself repeating the damn subject like some of the kids in the class. At least he only had to deal with another classic literature book to decipher.

It gave him headache for a whole week with wonwoo laughing on his tail without mercy. Since then he never want to look at any kind literature book anymore.

So this is quite surprising for a Choi seungcheol to be so infatuated by something abstract like this.

Only because it kept appearing in his dream, which until now still unexplainable. The dreams has become more frequent too. at first it's once every few weeks and then it become once or twice a week. it's been 2 months already.

Is it a premonition? does it have any means?

His stops is announced, and he become the first person to leave the compartment. He inhales the fresh air, snow has start melting, a sign that autumn is coming. Which he's glad, he's not a fan of winter.

Talking about winter, the person in his dream seemed the same too. the person's hands were as cold as ice. it still imprinted in him, how the instinct of protectiveness was strong and the helplessness when he hold the cold and trembling hands it makes him feels like he's the most useless human in this world. if winter was a human, he would fight them without no doubt.

he take a walk to his exit, blending himself among the throng of human who's focus on their own business. when he's young, he always wanted to be an adult quickly, working in a huge company, wearing ties and suit and carrying briefcase. It looks cool in his eyes, but the older he become and started his journey to adulthood, he realized that although it was just like what he imagined, this life felt empty. everyone is a living individual. the thing they only care about is themselves. No one look at their surroundings, eyes straight to the front.

So does him.

just after few steps into the city, once again his brain reminded him of his unanswered question.

What would be his answer?

"If I am given a second life I may live and breathe differently compared to now, Among the streets, when we'll walk past each other without knowing, I hope we remember each other. Even in our next life. Even at that time, I'll go to you."

Seungcheol stopped in his track. Eyes widened, breath panting harshly from hyperventilated. Suddenly he feels weak, as if his heart is being clenched, tight. Leaving him no space to breathe.

The surge of feeling of missing this person is back. like a flood, as if he's attack by an unknown power of wanting to touch the person. never want to separate. it's so strong as if someone just hit you on the gut and leaving you breathless.

This is getting severe.

Whose voice was that just now? He's panic. It sounded like him, but seungcheol know he's not one who's able to say something like that. Moreover speaking with full of love he feels like puking.

He bent and support his hands on his knees. His brief case fell, but he's careless about it. He try to inhales as much air into his lung. He closed his eyes, this time trying to calm his heart beat. He counted to 10, taking his time to relax his mind.

until he feel a presence in front of him.

The first thing that greet his eyes are a pair of huge white fur paws. he's stilled in his place. seungcheol blink his eyes to make sure what he saw was right.

When he's sure he's not imagining things he look up and face to face with a rabbit mascot holding a wooden basket of tissue sample.

"Are you okay sir?" The rabbit ask. The voice of the person inside sounded worried.

"No words are necessary.
The gaze, the touch.

When I see you, I'll know it's you.

I'll find you"

It's back. The sugar words. Gosh, he's sounded so cheesy. But it felt so sincere.

"Sir?" Seungcheol blinks.

It's quite embarrassing seungcheol has to take time to answer that long due to shock. he cursed silently at another reminiscent of voice rang in his head just now, this is really not funny how his life suddenly filled with some Shakespeare romance bull that haunting him more than a ghost story could. Not like he ask for it. He hate ghost in the first place.

"I'm okay, thank you," he stand back up, exhales weakly.

Suddenly a small sample of tissue was shoved into his hand. Seungcheol accept it awkwardly.

"You're sweating,"

"N-no, it's okay" he shoved the sample back, but the rabbit quickly cut him.

"It's okay sir, it's sample anyway." The mascot says then run back, with stumbling - almost falling, makes seungcheol worry for his safety - to his (judging from the voice tone the rabbit is a male) post, in front of a small cosmetics store. Across the street.

In This shopping area there are a lot part time worker wearing animal Mascot costume to grab customer's attention. So it's not weird to see any kind of animals mascot roaming around carrying sample or brochures.

Seungcheol find it ironic, that when he's weak like that the one who help him was not the same white collar worker like him, but a rabbit mascot. He put the tissue sample to his coat pocket, picking up his briefcase then proceeding his journey to his office.

he take a deep breath. Just 2 blocks away to his office, he sigh weakly.

Among the streets, if we'll walk past each other without knowing
I hope we remember each other.
Even in our next life.
Even at that time, I'll go to you.

He paused in his steps again, this time instead of hyperventilating like before, his heart feel calmer, warmth has spreading inside his body. He turn his head to the rabbit mascot who is busy giving out tissues.

The guy's voice sounded familiar.

He shake his head in disbelieve. Turn around and continue walking.

+*+*+*+

The rabbit mascot look to his right where the guy he saw just now walking farther, hands inside his coat pockets.

"your friend hannie?" someone ask him from behind.

The rabbit mascot has to turn 180° to see his friend who laugh at the cute  awkward movement. he pout behind his costume, the other guy couldn't see it unfortunately.

"Shut up! You're the one who make me go through this you punk,"
He throw some tissue to the man as if it's salt to get rid of bad luck.  the black haired boy in suits and bunny ears bandana laugh harder while picking up the tissue.

"I'm not the one who's bad enough at picking draw. I got this pretty uniform while you get that. blame your own hand."

He get a kick on the shin, it's not hard since the kick was covered by a soft fur paw but he still winced in shock, well he deserve it.

"Yoon jeonghan, Hong jisoo stop playing and get to work!"

"YESS TEAM LEADER KANG!!" the 2 part timer students hurriedly run back to the front store. jeonghan stumble in his costume, but this time jisoo help him before he fall flat on the ground.

"So, you haven't answer me," jisoo ask in between his smile when he gave some tissues to female students who walk pass by them.

"Who is he?" He turn to the mascot.

"I didn't know him."

"But I saw you talk to him,"

"He look sick so I came to look at him and gave him tissues,"

"Heh, yeah sure" the dragging tone sounded too insincere. Jeonghan turn to his left side.

"The man looks older than us, but cute. Not my type, but I can see whose type he is,"

"I told you I didn't know him~!" He tried to punch the skinny boy again but with his big bunny head he can't really see his opponent, nor measuring the distance, the hit is a miss. It met the air and he's stumble, again. He grumbled.

"Just you see, once I get out of this hideous costume, I'll kick your skinny ,"

"whyy~ You looks cute in that costume hannie, oh hello miss~ please have this tissue and visit our store~,"

Jeonghan huff at the distraction.
Once again his attention return to the spot the man in coat went. He really didn't know who the guy was, but when he saw the handsome man walking among the the crowd, his eyes just stop at that certain person.

somehow, deep down in his heart there was this lump of excitement when he saw the figure even from a far, it's jumping and his heart beat was pacing abnormally. and when the man suddenly stop walking and bend down in pain, his feet just automatically ran toward him.

and when he saw the man looked up at him, his heart felt like it stop beating.

sure the older man was handsome, and just as jisoo's predicted, his face was totally his type. and he's older too. he likes older man. maybe that play part on why his body was trembling with excitement.

But what is this feeling he has right now? The restless feeling, he bite his bottom lip out of habit.

He want to see the man again.

+*+*+*+

"You look like ,"

"Good morning too wonwoo," seungcheol answer flatly as he take off his coat and hang it in the coat room.

His best friend wonwoo is watching him from the pantry on the opposite side. Holding a mug on each of his hand.

"Bad sleep again?"

Seungcheol humming his answer. Lifelessly walking toward the taller guy and grab his share of drink. wonwoo always make 2 cup every morning. 1 for himself, another one for seungcheol, which he felt grateful because he doesn't have energy to make one right now.

"Do you want to go to psychiatrist?"

"It's not that severe," he answer before sipping his coffee. He moan in delight after the taste.

"You're really the best coffee maker,"

His long time friend only rolled his eyes at the empty compliment.

"But it's been months right? And honestly everytime you got that dream, your condition is getting worse. Good thing it didn't affect your work."

"at least not yet," he added.

The 2 guy walk together to seungcheol's office. some staff greet him a good morning and he nod his head at them. for a 28 years old, one can see that seungcheol is living a successful life. at the age of 26 he's already a senior auditor in this big plastic resin company, the no.1 man under their CFO. independent, single and handsome.

while wonwoo is the team leader of their IT dept, too bad his department seating placement is an open space with his table in front of his staff.
no private place to chit chat.

So the only place they could have private talk without being seen (and basically hang out) is seungcheol's office.

They've been friends since junior high school, separated in University due to different course yet end up working together when seungcheol told the younger guy about the job vacancy for IT dept. Some people said it's nepotism. But there was nothing wrong with helping friend, besides wonwoo got accepted with his own skills and passed the test that's was held in Mass. 1 among 50 ratio. That should be a testament about how good he is in what he did.

"I don't think it's necessary to meet psychiatrist over some random dreams,"

"Does any of the dream become reality?"

Seungcheol take a sit in his chair and place the mug on the table, thinking. Finger tapping the wooden table.

"Nope,"

"So it's not a premonition..."

"Guess so," he shrug. "But today it's getting clearer."

This peak wonwoo's interest as he put down his mug too and lean forward from his seat across seungcheol.

"you can finally see their face?"

"Just their lips, but I can hear the voice clearly now. it's a bit high pitch, not too deep, but i still can't difference it as woman or man. And somehow my own voice was mixed in it too. it felt so real wonwoo ya"

Seungcheol turn his chair around, facing the bright sky through his window.

"When this person laugh, i can feel the me in the dream's heart soar with happiness, I just want to hold this person close, protecting them from every evil thing in this world," a small smile escape his lips along with his explanation unconsciously.

Reminiscing the warmth when the person in his dream snuggling closer and giggling in his chest is like a new pleasant feeling he never felt before. Seungcheol doesn't know what to do with this information.

"You're not possessed are you?"

Seungcheol turn his chair around to face a deadpanned wonwoo and frown at the words, feeling insulted.

"Do I need to go to church and ask for exorcism? i'm afraid it's a ghost who possessed your dream"

"Go away if you don't want to listen to me," he pout.

wonwoo chuckle. He lean back on the chair and stare at his friend's still pouting face. Seungcheol does look borderline worrying, for how long he know the guy, he never see seungcheol look like this. and when the first time he listened to the man's story, he thought it's just some meaningless dream, then seungcheol said the same person keep coming back to his dream, he's kind of interested.

he thought maybe it's some premonition, like maybe seungcheol dreaming of his future, maybe he will meet this person. just like in the movie. seungcheol need to get laid, period. and maybe it's a premise that this is the person who'll break his friend's zero point of love life.

basically, he's just lonely.

"but today something happened. i almost got hyperventilated in the city, the feeling was so strong. it's like a punch in the gut."

wonwoo's brows knitted at what his friend's say. seungcheol turn around to the large window behind his chair again. his office get one of the best view in this building. and when it's a bit cloudy like today, the scenery is so amazing and a feast for the eyes.

"it feels like the person is near. but how can a dream be reality? this person is just imagination, right wonwoo?"

there's no answer from his long time friend. seungcheol turn his chair back, facing wonwoo who have this concern look.

"wonwoo,"

"Hmm?"

"Do you believe in reincarnation?"

wonwoo raise his eyebrows high. Seungcheol have this serious face when he said it. Looking down at his cup of coffee while voice as soft as whisper.

wonwoo was one of those people who believe in supernatural things, he believe some things happens in circle, cause and effect. you reap what you sow. karma. and sometimes when you did something, the karma doesn't always come to your face right away. human save the deed, and some people reap their karma in their next life. be it bad or good karma.

that's how some people share some connection deeper than what they know. how some live good life despite their bad doing or how good someone in this life but their life is full with misfortune.

so in conclusion, yeah, he believe in reincarnation.

but it's not the question that make wonwoo raise his eyebrows, it's the questioner.

seungcheol was never a religious person. didn't go to church, or temple. both his parents were never a pushover for this kind of things too, so seungcheol didn't think this is an important matter.

"why?"

A small pout which appear whenever seungcheol was in serious thought is appearing on his face. elbow prop on the table, supporting his chin.

"the person in my dream was asking about second life."

"second life?"

black orbs shifted to him, looking calm but confused.

"humm, the person asking if we're living a second life, will i be by their side or will they be by my side?"

"so?"

seungcheol take a few seconds to paused, eyes staring far away at the painting on the wall on his left. a drawing of meadow, which now seems familiar,

It reminds him with the one in seungcheol's dream. he remember a sequence when the person in his dream, walking leisurely, finger touching the tall grass while it sway along to the wind. he remember his eyes focusing too much on the small touch as he walk behind the person and it warm his entire being. fills with so much love, and a small thought of how he wish the peaceful moment will last forever.

"Among the streets, we'll walk past each other without knowing
I hope we remember each other.
Even in our next life.
Even at that time, I'll go to you."

seungcheol blinks, sit straight up and rub his face with both hand frustratedly.

"and i said that. can you believe that?? i'm really going crazy"

wonwoo cackle, amused at sight presented across him. a little surprised at the long  romantic poetic words his friend spurt out, but managed to control his expression and though he failed at keeping his laugh hidden.

"are you sure you're not copying from some romance novel?"

"you know me for 15 years. do you think i'd read some romance ?"

"definitely not." wonwoo replied without losing a beat.

the IT team leader watch his friend whimpering as he lean his head on the table. he feels kind of sorry to be honest.

"get some break. it's probably accumulative stress."

"cannot, last quarter is starting. i need to start making report for carousel meeting."

wonwoo make a small o, now really is sorry for seungcheol's well being.

glancing at the clock on the wall wonwoo stand up, taking his coffee with him. he need to start working, he steal 10 minutes of his working time already. not a good example. he said bye toward the immobile auditor, who humm in response to his leave, but his steps paused when he reach the door. wonwoo turn around.

"when did the dream start again?"

seungcheol look up, ruffling his hair once again and turn on his computer.

"around 2 months ago. after i get back from japan, around that time. why?"

wonwoo tilt his head a little,

"are you sure it's not some japanese maiden ghost following you here?"

seungcheol almost throw the calculator on his left if only wonwoo didn't quickly shut his door. but second later his head is peeking again between the white wooden door again.

"i need you to tell me in detail whatever you did in japan. everything. Anything that you didn't told me before. see you at lunch,"

the door is shut close again. leaving the auditor ready to swore and roll his eyes.