Four years ago — 2016, December

“You look horrible.”

Jongkook says this in a teasing tone, light enough for her not to take it to heart (they all knew she had a temper), but firm enough so she knows he’s showing concern. He doesn’t want to sugarcoat it, but she does look pretty bad — dark circles under her eyes, sunken cheeks and a blank look to her face. Knowing her, she's probably filming a drama or preparing for one. 

Jihyo scowls deeper than he’s ever seen before, literally shooting daggers out of her eyes. “I put on makeup today.”

“Not enough.” He continues messing with her, smiling cheekily. “I know it’s cold, but if you’re going to be on camera, you should at least smile.” 
 

She does, the smile not quite reaching her eyes. Jihyo still has the ability to look like a goddess though, no matter how tired she is. He tries to cheer her up, promising a good meal after filming. "After the shoot, I'll treat you to dinner. You in?"

"No." She turns him down, her forced smile fading away. "I'm busy."

"Better get more rest." He replies, disappointed. "Your eyebags are horrendous."

Again, she glares at him, so cold he feels the shivers down his spine. “Who cares?” She shrugs, glancing over the river as she's reminded of their upcoming task. “We’re going to be swimming again.” 

Jongkook sighs, looking out over the chilly waters. He likes the Han River, he really does. Just not enough to take a swim in it. The PDs have thought up of another crazy plan to cross the Han River again, this time swimming. With the floats and the proper attire of course, but they aren’t growing any younger. They did this once, what seemed like a million episodes ago, but he had the fortune of staying on the boat. Plus it’s mid winter, and he would like to film comfortably for once without the running and occasional unconventional missions.

“I would have quit like Kang Gary.” Jihyo grumbles, not quite finished. “Seems a lot easier than this.”

“Hey,” He drops his cheerful tone, slightly confused. She doesn’t usually complain so much (they leave that to Sukjin). “You okay?”

Like a switch being flipped, she straightens up and completely changes her expression, brightening up. “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Jongkook holds her gaze her a beat longer than intended, until she looks away. He’s known her for a long time, long enough to see through her and predict her actions. But she’s not usually so pessimistic, not even in the harshest of winds.

Back then, he didn’t press. He should have, asked if she was alright and if she needed any help. He should have done more, he should have insisted that the PDs planned a different game instead or ditched the plan entirely. 

Instead, he laughed it off. “You’re not thinking of quitting to run off with Kang Gary, are you?”

“Yah, what nonsense are you sprouting, oppa?” Jihyo scowls, her bad mood returning. “You make horrible, boring jokes.”

“It will be fun.” Jongkook promises, smiling away. “You like water games.”

“In summer!”

“Don’t worry, Jihyo.” He shakes his head, giving up on placating her. “I’ll make sure Kwangsoo follows you. You can demand that he pulls you along if you get tired.”

“What for? I can take care of myself. I don’t need the giraffe to guide me.” She rolls her eyes. “I think I’ll manage better than him.” 

“Just go change, Jihyo.” He pats her on the shoulder, his touch lingering a few seconds longer. “I’ll see you in a bit.” 

He regrets it now. There’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t think about what he could have done do stop her from going under the waters, or at least be by her side when it happened.

He could have prevented this.

But he didn’t. 

Now — 2020, December

“Okay, mister. I don’t know you, but can you please stop staring at my face?” 

Her eyes, widened in confusion and he’s taken aback by her classic mong face that he’s missed for three years. She must have gotten a good look at him now, but for some strange reason, there’s no look of recognition in her features. He pauses — he must have gotten the wrong person?  Perhaps his thoughts have influenced him to think of her so much that he’s seeing things so late in the night. 

But then the woman’s eyes flash as she takes a step back from him, and Jongkook is all the more sure this is Jihyo. There’s no one who can mimic her expressions, a very good impersonator or not. 

How can this be?

The woman that looks everything like Song Jihyo, but knows nothing about him, is starting to get annoyed, putting her hood up in attempt to hide. Little does she know that it does nothing to mask her face, and Jongkook is very sure that this is Jihyo. The mannerisms, the expressions, everything screams Jihyo.

“Sorry, it’s just...” Jongkook pauses, watching as the woman folds her arms, still baffled by the similarities. “You look like someone I know.”

“Well, I don’t know you, so I’m going to go now.” She looks at him weirdly, still a little irritated and confused. 

“Wait!” He should just let this poor woman go and pretend like this interaction never happened, but he can’t. He catches her wrist before he can even stop himself, preventing her from turning to leave, and it makes her look down at his hand in alarm.

“What the hell are you doing? Let me go!” She shrieks, frightened now. Jongkook didn’t mean to scare her, but she’s looking more worried than shocked, and he’s holding onto her wrist too tightly. In fact, he accidentally digs into some sort of band hidden beneath her long sleeved shirt, just peaking out of her coat. 

Boldly, he raises her sleeve, never mind that she’s practically a stranger. There’s a bracelet around her thin wrist, but it’s not jewelry — it’s a hospital band. 

There’s no doubt about it; the band doesn’t look old either, and it’s certainly not a fashion statement. Jongkook knows he’s overstepping, but he stares at it for a good few seconds, and so does she. 

Eventually, the woman snatches her hand back, rolling her sleeves down frantically. “Do you just do that to every stranger you cross? I’m calling the police!” She threatens boldly, stepping away from him.

“Wait!” Jongkook repeats belatedly, unable to let her leave. “You haven’t told me your name yet.”

“Huh?” She frowns, annoyed. Who the hell was this man? First he bumps into her, out of the blue on a random street at night like a drunkard. Next he stares at her face for the longest time. Now he wants to know her name?

She’s not as scared as she should be. Not even when he called her name, and her first reaction was to act confused, thinking he was one of the staff at the hospital who recognized her. She’s technically not supposed to be out here at night, or even out of her room.

“Why should I tell you?” She questions instead, holding her ground. “Are you a stalker?”

“No, no.” Jongkook quickly denies, still staring at her. Is this possible? Unless Song Jihyo had a twin they didn’t know about, it was more likely that his eyes were deceiving him. Yet when he analyzes her face, he can’t spot a singe feature that is unique to this woman and not seen on the Jihyo he knew...

“You know what? Never mind.” It didn’t seem reasonable to unload all these questions on a stranger. He decides that the least he can do is to make sure she reaches her destination. “Can I walk you somewhere? It’s not really safe to be here so late at night.”

“That’s exactly what a stalker would say.” The woman takes another step back, biting her lip nervously. It’s one of Jihyo’s bad habits, and Jongkook does another double take. He needs to spend more time with this woman before he goes crazy trying to decipher this mystery. 

“I’m not a stalker.” Jongkook insists, trying not to read too deeply into it. He realizes that she’s a little frightened, but also has no clue who he is. “Wait, you don’t know me?” 

He’s not usually so proud of his celebrity status, but he’s sure a woman her age should know him. Maybe this woman just wasn’t into pop culture?

She frowns, looking him up and down. “Am I supposed to know who you are? Ahjussi, please let me continue on my walk.”

“Ah-Ahjussi?” Jongkook questions, flabbergasted. Did this woman just call him an uncle? Of all descriptions to use? “You really don’t know who I am?” 

He doesn’t mean for it to sound so self-centered, but the woman before him takes  it the wrong way. She scoffs in a way that’s all too familiar and heartbreaking at the same time, “No? Are you a celebrity? Do I know you?” 

He squints, upset. He was hoping maybe... No. It’s impossible, why would he ever think of that? Song Jihyo is dead, and this is purely a coincidence. Somewhere up there, Jihyo’s probably laughing right now. 

That makes him a little sad to think about, so he steps back, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I thought you were someone I knew...”

“I don’t think so, mister.” She looks at him apologetically. “I don’t think I recognize anyone like you.”

“It’s okay.” Jongkook replies, even though it’s really not. He’s on the verge of a mental breakdown at how striking the similarities were, and it’s killing him that he can’t quite reason with himself that this isn’t Song Jihyo. 

“Um, you shouldn’t be here so late at night though.” He continues, ever the gentleman. 

“Why not?” The woman points out, unbothered. “I can take care of myself.