When he woke up the next morning, it was still the same. Contrary to what he thought, people had come and gone but life doesn't stop for anybody. He massaged his throbbing temples, aching from the hangover, and sat up. With the sudden action, his phone went tumbling down the floor. He picked it up, and was more than surprised to see a message from Jinsung pop up.

Let's meet at the tea shop. I'll be waiting ^^

For almost a whole minute, Kai stared unblinking at his phone. Was Jinsung's younger brother just playing a trick on him? But no. He couldn't be mistaken. It was the same message he had received a few days ago. He checked the time – 10:23 in the morning of the eleventh of August. 

In a haste, he stumbled up the couch and left – not bothering to wash his face or fix his bed. He was still in his grieving clothes, but it didn't matter. Jinsung wanted to see him and that was all that mattered. He still smelled strongly of alcohol from last night's drinking episode. His head didn't hurt as much anymore, now that he thought of it.

Kai ran down the stairs, even though his apartment was on the third floor. He continued his sprinting to nowhere in particular, now realizing he hasn't read the text message verbatim. He paused by the sidewalk and fished for his phone. It indicated the place, the tea shop they had frequented.

Jinsung's family must be pranking on me, he thought. But his pace never decreased while he dashed. Maybe it was because he slept while holding his phone, and so he had unconsciously opened old messages. But even so, Kai wanted to know for sure. He was full of hope, the desperation blinding him from reality.

Lost in his own thoughts, he had turned to a wrong corner, and now he was unsure of where he was. But he retraced his steps, finding himself a little distant to his original destination. But he ran, nonetheless, wondering what awaits him in the tea shop. It wasn't as if Jinsung could appear and immediately come back to life. Or could she?

Tears pooling in his eyes, Kai pushed his legs to run their fastest. He came to an ear-screeching halt by the tea shop, which had just opened for the day. Cupping his hands against the glass, he scanned the place, not caring if he had looked weird. His heart skipped a beat after seeing a woman sitting by herself with her back him.

Breathless, Kai gulped down nervously. He pushed the door and entered. At the sound of the wind chimes, Jinsung turned her head to look at the newcomer. Slowly, a smile crept up her face just realizing who it was. She waved to catch his attention, although she was the only customer at that time. Seeing her again, the man didn't know what to feel.

In the end, the truth was settled – it had all been a bad dream. Breaking up with Jinsung, her sudden death, the funeral – everything had been but a part of his nightmare. But the mourning suit couldn't be explained. Maybe he sleepwalked and dug in his closet for the garment.

Jongin didn't realize he had been staring at nothing until Jinsung snapped her fingers in front of his eyes. "Ya, did you just hear me? I told you to come and sit with me," she reminded and dragged him by the arm to her previous seat. As soon as they sat, "Why are you wearing that? Did something happen?" she pressed. "Did someone...die?"

He kept his gaze glued to her face, afraid that if he blinked or he looked away, she might disappear very quickly. "Ya, I'm talking to you and here you go just–" Jinsung was about to complain but was cut off as he had already pulled her into a bone-crushing embrace. "Aish, Kim Jongin. You're like a girl on her period." She laughed and hugged him back.

Suddenly feeling hot tears against her shoulder, "Ya, wae geurae?" Jinsung asked and pushed him back by his shoulders. "Did something happen? Tell me." She dried his cheeks with the back of her hand. Instead of answering, Jongin shook his head no and held her tighter. If this was a dream, he thought, then I don't want to wake up.

Pulling himself together, Jongin sat upright and fixed his composure. "Ah, I know what will make our Jonginnie feel better~" Jinsung cooed in a fake, high-pitched voice to which the man just laughed. When the waiter approached, "Two bubble tea, please," she ordered with a smile.

He couldn't keep his hands off of her, as if he was making sure she was real and there with him. Although she was used to him being affectionate, Jinsung pried his hands away, knowing how they were in a public place. "I'm sorry. I just missed you," Jongin admitted and on her shoulder rested his head, fitting perfectly against the crook of her neck.

Patting his head, "I thought you wouldn't come," Jinsung muttered softly.

"I'm here," the man comforted, pressing himself closer to her. "I'm here." And he sat upright to kiss her forehead. Somehow, it didn't feel as different. Her touch was warm and her voice was soothing and she was alive and breathing. "I just had a bad dream last night," he confessed, raking a hand through his disheveled hair. 

"Really?" she asked, smiling as the waiter approached to give them their order. "About what?" Jinsung handed him his tea before taking a sip from her own.

Jongin stabbed his cup with the straw and took a long pull from his bubble tea. "You died," he said finally, to which the woman choked on her drink.

After swallowing, she burst out into laughter. "So that's the reason why you were crying earlier," Jinsung muttered in realization. 

"WHAT? That's definitely not funny," the man protested. His expression was stern, earning him a quick peck on the cheek. "Don't worry, baby. I'll make sure I won't die," she reassured him, although there was still a hint of teasing in her voice. Even so, Jongin put his arm around her protectively, knowing how losing her is the worst thing that could ever happen to him.

For nearly three hours, the two just alternated between talking and enjoying tea and holding each other and kissing, all without caring about the time – not that they would rather do something else.

"Can you promise me something?" Jongin asked suddenly, to which the woman just nodded and waited for him to continue. "I'll go back home just quickly so I could change while you wait for me here. You just stay here and don't go anywhere until I come back. And then when I arrive, I'll bring you home. Even if I come later than expected, you stay here, okay? Can you promise me that?"

No matter how silly the reason was for him to say this, Jinsung could only nod blankly. "Good. Now stay here and I'll go back home. I won't take long," Jongin reminded, standing up from his seat. As if forgetting something, he sat back down and kissed her, taking her by surprise. He held onto the side of her face. "I love you."

He walked his talk and hurried home, throwing his door open carelessly. Kai wasn't even halfway in his apartment when he started shedding off his clothes – loosening his tie first and then taking his blazer off together with the rest of his clothes. He was under the shower in the record time of half a minute. Soaking himself through and through, he ran out of the bathroom and ransacked his closet for anything to wear.

The man left his apartment, scurrying down the stairs and leaving wet trails from where droplets of water from his hair splattered. Going out into the streets in a hurry, he forgot what his mother had told him about crossing the street and looking from left to right as Kai bumped against a bicycle, causing the owner to lose balance and drag Kai with him.

Collapsing on the asphalt with his back first, Kai groaned in pain. He used his left arm to sit up, only to feel more sting as the length of his forearm was skinned and bleeding. The man stood up and looked over at the biker, whose leg was still stuck under his bike. He bent down and helped him up. “I’m really sorry for the trouble,” Kai apologized, knowing quite well how it was his fault.

The commotion called the attention of curious onlookers, who did nothing more than stop and stare at the injured two. In the end, Kai pushed his way out of the crowd and towards his original destination.

Shrugging her boyfriend's reminders and knowing how dreaming is just Jongin's subconscious acting out while he's asleep, Jinsung stood up and decided to wait for him by the door. As she stood there, a familiar face passed by. "Wooyoung?" she called out.

The man, hearing his name, turned around. Seeing her, he had a wide grin on his face. ”Hey, Jinsung,” he greeted back, eyeing her from head to toe. Unlike their high school days which were already past and behind them, Jinsung went from girl to woman. She had obviously grown taller and fairer. His eyes lingered on her chest, filling out her shirt nicely. “Haven’t seen you since graduation day.”

She was the kind of girl he met when he was too young, too immature. And then he messes it up and doesn't realize what he has because there was much living to do. But now he's grown older, he realized how perfect she had been before, and more perfect now.

“How have you been?” she asked, blatantly staring at his face and noticing the changes he has gone through the years. “I was actually with my boyfriend, Jongin.” Jinsung shrugged and glanced at her phone. “He just left and I’m waiting for him to come back,” she added, looking from side to side to see if Jongin was already nearing.

Although he has never heard of such name, "Jongin? Your boyfriend is Jongin?" Wooyoung exclaimed a little over the top. 

Jinsung stepped back, almost afraid. "Why? You know him?"

The man nodded and lifted his arm to point at a direction ahead. "I passed by him a while ago. Come with me. I'll show you where he is," he said and grabbed Jinsung by her forearm. Despite her hesitation, Jinsung warily followed him, dragging her feet to where he led her. As they turned streets, his hold on her went from gentle to bruising.

"Wooyoung, I can walk by myself. You're hurting me," she complained bluntly. Turning to look at her, Wooyoung smirked before gripping her tighter. The woman, seeing this, grew terrified and began thrashing around. "LET ME GO!" she ordered him, breaking free from his grasp. She looked behind her, trying to locate Jongin among the sea of unfamiliar faces.

But the man from her past pulled her into an alley concealed from most of the public. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!" she screamed, earning her a hard slap across her face. Her hand reached up to her cheek as she cried. 

"Oh baby," Wooyoung cooed, his hand reaching out to caress her face. "I was such a to break up with you back then." Before he could touch her, the woman had already swatted his hand away. Instead of feeling pain, Wooyoung smirked all the more. But the smirk was wiped out completely as she held him by the shoulders and kicked his groin, making him stumble back.

Beginning to run away, Jinsung shakily fumbled for her phone and dialed for Jongin who, by then, breathlessly entered the tea shop and nearly had a heart attack not seeing her inside. They both ran – Kai ran from the reality that was slowly dawning on him, and Jinsung ran from the man about to grab her again. Neither succeeded, as he didn't know where to go next and she was pulled back by the hair.

"HELP ME!" the woman screamed, but her next call for help was muffled by Wooyoung's hand on . 

He panted against her face, the smirk returning. "The name's Wooyoung, baby," he said, his other hand groping all over Jinsung's body. "That's the name you should scream." 

Kai fell on the ground, earning stares from his bleeding arm. But he ignored them and racked his brain to remember. There was the waiting, he thought. In the dream, I waited for her. And then I left angrily because Jinsung didn't show up. Then I headed back to my apartment. "They tell you one thing and then they go and do another..." And then...

The man stood up hastily and resumed his running. It was almost the exact same time as his dream, though he only believed in coincidence. He pushed his legs to their limit, taking sharp turns on corners. He wasn't quite sure where the exact alley was, and so he paused for a while to catch his breath. But he knew he had been on the right track all along after hearing the same muffled cries.

"Wooyoung, please..." the voice cried helplessly. Wasting no time, Kai ran to the source of the voice and immediately kicked the man out of the way. Although the man had threatened to punch him back, Kai had already foreseen it and twisted the man's arm. It was his anger taking over his being, leaving Wooyoung bleeding and almost lifeless.

He grabbed Wooyoung by his collar. "You touch my girl again and you're dead," he hissed before letting him go  Jongin then turned to Jinsung, only to see the fearful gleam in her eyes. Before she could open to speak, he already took his shirt off. Turning his back on her, "Your shirt's torn. Wear mine instead," he offered.

Too shocked to protest, Jinsung went ahead and changed, just as he told her to. "You're bleeding," she commented, using her torn shirt as bandage for Jongin's wounded arm. 

Instead of responding, Jongin put his arms around her protectively. "Are you alright? Did he touch you? Are you hurt? Do you want me to call the police?" he blabbered all at once, to which the woman just cried, shaking her head no. Although he didn't know what that meant, he pulled her into his embrace and ran his hand up and down her back in comfort. 

"I'm sorry I was too late," he muttered softly. When she had calmed down a little, Jongin wrapped the cloth tighter around his injury and led her back to her own house. He couldn't risk having his nightmare come true. Just to be safe, they decided to take a cab, not without having people stare at the shirtless Jongin. But he kept his gaze on Jinsung, afraid she might burst like a bubble if he looks away.

The cab came to a halt in front of her house, and he tossed bills towards the driver without counting. As they walked up the porch, he kept an arm around her. He pressed the doorbell. "I'll call you, okay?" Jongin reminded and stepped down the porch.

"Where are you going?" she asked, eyeing the goosebumps on his skin from the cold.

With an innocent expression, "I'm going home," he replied curtly.

"Shirtless?" 

"Oh come on, Jinsung. Your parents would think horribly of me if they saw me like this."

The front door opened. "It's cold. You have to wear something to keep you warm," Jinsung insisted, gesturing for him to get inside. With a defeated sigh, he gave in and entered, bowing multiple times in front of Jinsung's parents in apology for him being shirtless. In the end, they reacted in contrary, thanking him for being there for their daughter and looking after her carefully.

When Jongin came out of the door, he was bundled up and fully clothed, full from the dinner Jinsung's mother had prepared, and reassured that his girl was home safely. Even though he was only a few blocks away from Jinsung's house, Jongin called her as he walked back to his own apartment. Of course he still felt embarrassed being the usual flirty, lovey-dovey they were in front of her parents.

"Wow, you're home so quickly," the woman greeted as soon as she answered.

He chuckled. "Not yet, but I'm on my way," he replied, looking up at the skies growing dark. "Were you about to sleep?"

Jinsung sighed. "No, but I'll sleep as soon as I get back home."

Jongin stopped in the middle of his tracks. "Where are you?" he asked worriedly, and began dashing back to her house. 

"Relax," Jinsung assured, giggling at his unnecessary panicking. "Omma asked me to go to the convenience store because we ran out of milk. It'll be quick,  I swear. I'm just about to cross the street."

"WAIT, DON'T! Don't move an inch. I'll be right there in–" But he was cut off as the loud screeching of tires was the only reply he could ever hear from her.