Something felt a little bit… off. Wait – no, scratch that. Something was really, really wrong. I had taken the road to the bus stop as the woman in the hotel commanded, but on my walk here I began to notice a few things that were just a bit… off. Was it ‘dress like you’re from the past’ day or something?

Were those FLARED jeans? Everyone was just so incredibly old looking that I felt ridiculously out of place. Did I miss the memo? After passing off everyone’s strange fashion taste as just how the locals that lived on this particular street dressed, I made my way to the main road where the bus would be stationed at.

Cue confusing event number two - Action.

I could’ve sworn I’d been to this bus stop before, several times even, but it seemed that the shelter they had here was taken down. I thought back to a few days ago when I had driven down this road and I could’ve sworn it was still here. This was turning out to be very, very confusing day. Maybe I needed my head checked. Honestly, it was a bit worrying that I woke up in a hotel with no recollection of how I got there.

I read the little signpost on the side of the road, making sure that I had the bus number right – and thank God I checked. Apparently the bus numbers changed too. Well, it had been a while since I had actually taken this bus route, or any public transport besides a taxi for that matter, but it felt like everything had just been revamped without me even realising it. According to the sign, I still had another twenty or so minutes before the 4419 bus would come, and my semi anxious state was making it hard to just sit here and relax while waiting for the bus. I wished I could’ve just known what was going on.

This memory block was killing my brain.

I decided to take a short walk and visit the coffee shop that I used to visit a lot when I was younger and less famous. Being there without my manager probably wasn’t the wisest move, but I figured standing in a public area and waiting for a bus not so far from the S.M building was where may fan girls roamed wasn’t exactly a good idea either. I just pulled my hood over my head and hoped that no one would recognise me.

Apparently, today was my day.

Well, sort of. If I just disregarded the whole start of the morning, things were going quite well. No one had recognised so far. I finally reached where the coffee shop was supposed to be after a few paranoid minutes of walking, before I tool a double take. In place of my favourite coffee shop, there was a small bakery instead. I looked up and down the street to confirm my location, but it appeared that this was the street. I recognised the bookshop a few buildings down and the Church was still where it belonged.

I felt personally offended that they had gotten rid of that shop. I had so many memories of sitting there after practice when I was only a trainee, exhausted and downhearted, but the coffee and staff there always seemed to cheer me up. I felt a pang of loss in my chest. I used to come here with my father sometimes.

Whenever we happened to bump into each other at work he would take me here late at night and we would just sit and chat, catching up on each other’s lives. I nibbled my lip as I felt my stomach clench up at the memories. I turned away from the shop dejectedly and made my way back to the bus station.

Forget what I thought before. Today was not my day. 

I scuffed my feet on the pavement, watching the bus near the stop. I climbed on and took a seat, relieved in knowing that at least I would be somewhere safe and comfortable soon. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do about the money I had spent on the hotel, but I just ignored that thought for now. All I wanted was a warm shower, food, and a familiar face.

I hopped off the bus at my stop, walking the rest of the way to my destination. I took the back alleys in hopes of avoiding any unnecessary attention. So far, no one had recognised me – well at least they didn’t call me on it if they did – but I wasn’t about to test my luck. I made my way through the usual shortcut, taking a few side paths here and there before I stopped abruptly. In front of me was a wall that was slightly taller than I was, blocking my way.

I frowned in confusion. Since when was there a wall here?

I came down here the other day and there was nothing here. Surely they couldn’t have built it in such a short amount of time. I thought that maybe I had taken the wrong route, back after back tracking a little, I realised that this was the path I usually took. I shook my head in disbelief, my headache growing. I felt like I was going crazy.

I ended up walking back to the main street where the bus dropped me off and walked the more public, yet straight forward way, my head down the whole time. I walked past store after store, trying to block out the incessant honking of horns from impatient drivers.

I didn’t bother looking up from the gray tiled pathways, trying to hold back my frustrated tears. What the hell was going on?

My frustration turned to relief when I finally caught sight of S.M. I forced my legs to work a little harder, pushing forward until I finally made it to the front door. I noticed a large sign hanging off the buildings wall and stopped to read it. ‘Do you have what it takes?’ The board was trying to lure in new trainees, talking about all the things you could achieve if you were an idol. I snorted at the corniness of it and was about to move on when I caught sight of the date printed on the bottom.

‘Auditions are held on the 25/03/2004!’ I almost choked on my tongue. How could they make such a big mistake like that? Especially since the poster was hanging on the front of the building. Ismacked my palm onto my forehead but was interrupted by a voice behind me.

“Are you going to audition?”

I turned around to face a teenager who was slightly taller than me with black spiky hair. I would’ve called him ugly except for the air of confidence he had around him that made him stand out. He reminded me of someone but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I assumed he was a trainee here, so I just shrugged, letting my hood fall from my head. I expected him to gasp in surprise and apologise for being so rude but he kept a steady gaze trained on me. I was a bit baffled. Surely he would’ve known who I was. I hadn’t been with my group for five years for nothing.

“If you’re going to, you’ll need to send in a tape soon,” He remarked, nodding his head to the poster.

I turned to the poster and examined the date again. “Is that the right date? The 25^th of March, 2004?” I asked, putting extra emphasis on the year. Once again, he didn’t do what I expected him to.

“That’s right.”  

I blanched. Maybe he didn’t hear me correctly, that was all.

“I better go…” He mumbled, looking down at his watch then giving a brief bow from the neck, “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

I bowed back and watched his retreating figure walk into the office. What the hell was going on? I considered just walking into the building and announcing my presence, but I just didn’t feel right about walking in there. I had to work something out before I did anything else. I walked a little way up the road, standing still and waiting for someone who looked approachable to walk past. I spotted a girl in her late teens and poked her back to get her attention. She turned around and looked at me strangely, bowing slightly while raising an eyebrow.

“Excuse me, but what year is it?” I questioned, feeling absolutely ridiculous that I had to actually stop some person on the street to ask them the year.

She gave me this look as if I was crazy. “It’s 2004,” She answered politely but looked really uncomfortable.

“Oh…” I muttered, feeling twice as confused as before.

I quickly abandoned the awkward conversation, shuffling away and waited for another person I could ask. It was possible that somehow the two people I had approached were mentally deficient and didn’t know what year it was. I just had to keep asking.

I interrogated a few more people, getting more and more desperate each time – getting weirder and weirder looks as I became more desperate. Maybe the mentally deficient one was… me. I felt like I was going insane. Unless… unless somehow, no matter how crazy it sounded, somehow I ended up in the past…

No. That could never happen.

It suddenly struck me who that person I met outside of S.M reminded me of.

It was Eunhyuk, my father’s friend.