There he stood in front of the newly renovated bookstore with his head held low. He didn’t realize how much time had passed by as he debated whether to go inside or not. His grip started loosening on the flower bouquet in his hand as he slowly backed away from the door. Through the glass window, he saw her smiling at the young man who managed to survive after the surgery was a success. He had been longing to see her smile for a while. Her smile was the only thing that could make him forget all his deepest fears, but nothing could cure his broken heart at that moment. Soo-Hyuk already knew he had to carry the weight of responsibilities after what happened, but who knew that the weight of loneliness would be more difficult to carry even after fulfilling every single responsibility that he had.

Sighing, he started walking ahead, still carrying the bouquet with him without registering the presence of anyone else passing by.

“Excuse me. You’re Prosecutor Kim Soo-Hyuk, right??” A voice he found familiar made him stop and turn in its direction. He recognized the face when he finally looked at the person in front of him.

“It’s Attorney Kim Soo-Hyuk now. You must be Jung Sabin’s colleague if I remember correctly,” Soo-Hyuk replied in a humble but straight-forward way.

“Of course, only you have the ability to reply like that. By the way, I have a name and it’s Jae Yi and I’m Sabin’s friend. You were nice enough to acknowledge me as her friend the last time we met,” Jae Yi replied while trying her best not to get annoyed at Soo-Hyuk’s last comment.

“I remember. You’re the 3D graphic designer, right? I will get going then.”

“Wait! You’re going in the wrong direction. Sabin’s bookstore is this way,” Jae Yi said while pointing in the direction of the bookstore.

“I know. I will visit some other day.”

“Judging by the flowers, you must be here to see her. Why are you not visiting then? Sabin will be happy to see you.”

“I saw her just now and she was already happy. I don’t think I will be of any help, especially on her first day.”

“But we’re here today and she is also happy having us all. Even the stalker came! Why don’t you join too??”

“Chun Jongbum is not a stalker anymore Miss Jae Yi,” Soo-Hyuk said with a sad smile. “And she won’t be happy having me over.”

“I know he’s not. I just address him like this from the start that’s why it slips unintentionally at times. But… hasn’t everything resolved between you and Sabin yet?” Jae Yi asked, being concerned for the first time during the conversation.

“Everything is fine. I will just visit another day.”

“What about the flowers then?”

“Oh. You can give them to Sabin,” Soo-Hyuk said while handing the bouquet over to Jae Yi.

“O-Okay? I guess I’ll have to be an errand-runner today,” Jae Yi faked a sad tone.

“Don’t tell her I sent her these.”

“But why?” Even though Jae Yi somehow knew the reason, she couldn’t help getting startled.

“No specific reason. Just do me this favor.”

“What will I say then? Do you even think Sabin won’t notice?”

“I’m sure you will come up with a reason to convince her.”

“Alright. I will be your backup for today,” Jae Yi said with a salute.

“See you next time,” Soo-Hyuk bowed slightly and walked away.

“Hmm Sure,” Jae Yi said while nodding.

She carried the flowers with her and entered the bookstore.

“My friend! Sabin! I’m baaaack!” Jae Yi’s voice was loud enough to resonate through the quiet bookstore.

“Hey!” Sabin said while slapping Jae Yi lightly on her shoulder. “I told you to be quiet. Jongbum fell asleep while reading a book. Your voice can wake him up!”

“You only care about your student now!”

“And you always think what you want to think,” Sabin teased Jae Yi.

“Say that about yourself!” Jae Yi pouted but her tone was more serious than she intended.

“Now what was that about?” Sabin raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing… just saying... You made me greet all the neighbors on the first day of re-opening the bookstore but I can’t even talk freely here! What a great friend you are!” Jae Yi covered her serious tone quickly.

“By the way, I’ve got good news for you Jae Yi. Jongbum recovered the last bit of his memories today! I really wanted to share it sooner, but you were all outside.”

“It means he doesn’t call you Haeun anymore? I don’t know why he would confuse you with someone else. It was strange seeing that, but now I’m relieved,” Jae Yi actually breathed a sigh of relief hearing that.

“Let’s forget that, as now he remembers everything,” Sabin smiled nervously as she didn’t share the details of her past life with anyone else, and it was hard to keep it from her close ones. Only the ones who went through the cycle of rebirth with her knew, and buried this secret in their hearts.

“By the way, see what I’ve got for you,” Jae Yi handed over the bouquet to Sabin.

“Oh? This is the first time you’re being this nice you know,” Sabin said in a teasing tone as she took in the fragrance, but her heart suddenly started beating faster for unknown reasons, and it showed on her face. She closed her eyes and frowned a little, seeming to be in a deep thought.

Reading her expression, Jae Yi suddenly asked, “Sabin? Are you okay?”

“Of course. I’m okay,” Sabin finally smiled as she replied. “It is just that my heart suddenly started beating faster, but don’t worry it was beating fast in a good way as if something is waiting to be explored by me.”

“Sometimes you talk really deep, out of nowhere,” Jae Yi replied as she crossed her eyes in order to annoy Sabin.

Sabin wasn’t annoyed by her act, but instead asked, “Do you know the meaning of these flowers you brought? Isn’t it weird for this occasion?”

Jae Yi was so indulged in her own world that she forgot to fully observe the bouquet. Usually, she wasn’t the type to know the meaning behind the things, but this time she knew when she finally observed it.

“This breed represents the depth of love. They are lighter in color… so they represent first love to be exact,” Jae Yi spoke effortlessly, but she seemed to be deep in thought at that moment.

“You knew?” Sabin was genuinely surprised. “I thought you never paid attention to these things.”

“Normally I don’t, but for this one I know.”

“Why is this the only exception?” Sabin was curious.

“If you want me to embarrass myself then listen! Once I got them for my crush, but guess what? I was dumped the same day by him. I wish I didn’t remember the meaning behind these flowers, but with the effort I put in research back in the day, my brain doesn’t let me forget,” Jae Yi pouted as she finished explaining but Sabin couldn’t control her laughter after hearing this.

“So, do you want me to get dumped too? That’s why you brought me these?”

“You’re already hopeless, my friend.”

“Hey!”

“Okay! Okay! Calm down! I got you these for a reason. Umm… you know… the books have countless stories about first love. Whether it is a first love you have for a person, or your ambition, everything is saved in the books. People change in real life, but the stories in the books are preserved. Even if you read them centuries later, only the edition changes, not the story,” Jae Yi was just coming up with every possible excuse she could, but the words she said affected Sabin in a way Jae Yi didn’t know. There was only one person on Sabin’s mind as she was hearing all this. She tried not to think about Soo-Hyuk these months, but she didn’t know she would be missing him more than ever at that moment.

“You know… sometimes you also talk really deep,” Sabin said with a sad smile.

“Hey! Did I say anything wrong?” Jae Yi asked in a confused manner.

“Actually, everything you said made sense, but this is the thing about you… you don’t even know how deep it was yourself,” Sabin laughed it off in the end with her final remark.

The day was longer than usual for everyone. Jae Yi noticed Sabin zoning out many times during the day, and finally guessed that the reason must be related to Soo-Hyuk. Something inside her compelled her to do something to bring those two individuals together, but both of them were so secretive that she couldn’t know where to start putting her efforts. On one side there was her best friend and on the other side was Soo-Hyuk who was the loneliest person she had seen in her entire life. She wanted to knock some sense into her best friend to start first but knowing how stubborn Sabin could be, she didn’t know what to do. A part of her knew that Sabin was more at fault, but Jae Yi also knew that Sabin would never know she was the wrong one unless someone made her realize the things she didn’t see.

It was late at night when Jae Yi prepared to leave for home after seeing everyone off. Everyone left in the car Sabin’s uncle brought, but she was the only one who chose to stay behind as the car’s capacity was already full. She went to a convenience store to have a little snack before going home, and took out her phone to check the schedule for late night transport options. As soon as she opened her phone, she saw an alarming number of calls from Professor Yoo Seo-Young that she missed because of her phone being on silent mode. She dialed Professor Yoo’s number and was called straight to NFS. It was the first time she was getting an urgent call like that in the years she served as a part of the 3D restoration team.

Jae Yi hurriedly hired a cab and left without eating. She didn’t know what awaited her, but the urgency of the situation made her feel as if something was more wrong than it feels.