Slowly, Taeyang sets the notebook down and backs away before leaving out the open apartment door. He steps down the stairs, holding onto the wall to steady himself, rushing to get out the shop front. Through Hachiko’s loud, confused barking, he can hear Chaerin following after him. By the time she’s down the stairs and outside he’s already started into a running pace down street. She stands out in the rain yelling after him but he doesn’t look back.

His chest burns and his lungs feel raw but all he can do is run. He runs until he reaches his house, walking through the doors of his mother’s restaurant. The two customers seated by the windows look up at him as he enters but he ignores them, his chest heaving as he attempts to catch his breath.

“Youngbae-ah, why are you soaking wet?” His mother asks in surprise as he walks into the kitchen.   

“It’s raining.” He answers simply, watching his mother as she cooks. She can’t even dress herself in the morning but she can still make spicy rice cake soup. He wonders if he’ll be like that one day, doing something until he dies. Going upstairs to his house, he changes out of the soaked clothes before going back to help his mother.

“Taeyang, how you been lately?” A voice asks and Taeyang pauses before turning to the customer in an oversized black hoodie lounging in his chair. “It’s been so long since anyone saw you. You were twenty back then, right?”

Taeyang silently nods.

“Hey, I saw you at church earlier with some girl. I almost couldn’t believe it. Does she know you’re a murderer?” The second customer asks with a laugh. Taeyang tenses up and his jaw clenches.

“Wu, you’re crazy.” His friend smacks him, laughing.   

“Ah, calm down, Choice. He knows I’m just joking, right Taeyang-ssi?” The customer asks as Taeyang walks away, his fists shaking at his sides.

The young man angrily washes dishes in the back kitchen, letting water scald his hands as he scrubs away at the pots and pans. He feels sick to his stomach but he isn’t sure why. All the taunting, the stares. He should be used to it by now.

He shuts off the faucet but can still hear the sound of water dripping. He turns around to see Chaerin standing in the doorway. Her dress is soaked through, clinging to her every curve. Droplets of water fall from the fabric, dripping slowly down her tanned legs. Her shorts hair sticks up in a wild disarray of curls, small strands slicked against her face by the rain.

“Your mother told me you were back here.” She tells him, her voice hoarse from when she had been yelling earlier. “I want to explain…”

“Explain what?” He cuts her off, going back to cleaning dishes.

“The photo, the notebook. I don’t know much you saw but I can explain everything.”

“There’s nothing to explain.” He says curtly. “I’m sorry for going through your belongings, it wasn’t my business.”

“Why are you ignoring it?” She whispers desperately. He turns back in frustration and sees her soaked and shivering, her skin almost pale from the cold.

“You’re gonna get sick like that,” He mumbles as she stares at him in confusion. “You need to take your clothes off.”

“What?” She asks loudly in surprise and he hides his face with his hands.

“No, I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant, I didn’t mean it like that.” He stutters, still hiding his face. “You should take a shower and wear warm, dry clothes.”

“I’m not leaving until you let me explain myself.” She tells him stubbornly.

“I won’t listen to you until you shower and change.” He cautiously grabs onto her sleeve with his index finger and thumb, guiding her up to his house on the second floor. She follows him in obstinate silence. He leaves her standing outside the bathroom, then comes back with a handful of clothes before nearly pushing her through the door.   

He waits outside patiently, listening to the sound of the shower as he leans against the wall. The shower stops and he straightens up, staring ahead at the wallpaper in front of him. He hears the doorknob rattle and Chaerin steps out, a towel draped around her neck lazily. Taeyang turns to look at her and is thrown off guard by her bare face.

“Pretty.” He says out loud accidentally. She raises her eyebrows in surprise before gazing down at her sandaled feet without speaking. He swallows hard, looking at her wearing his tee shirt and sweatpants. Droplets of water fall from her hair and he takes the towel, putting it over head and attempting to dry her hair.   

She puts a hand on his wrist and he stills, letting the towel awkwardly hang in his other hand.

“Why are you acting like this? Aren’t you shocked that you saw something strange?”

“Don’t worry about it.” He sighs, neatly hanging the towel over a clothesline.

“How can I not worry?” She asks him with a high pitched voice. “I want to at least explain that I’m not some weirdo stalker!”

“Then what are you?” He asks, a hint of pain in his voice as he studies the sincere glint her eyes that reminds him of his mother.

“I’m from the future.” She says slowly and he looks up in surprise.

“The future?”

She nods.

“I can prove it.” She starts to say earnestly but he shakes his head.

“You don’t need to prove it, I believe you.” She’s been so kind to him, he can repay her like this, he thinks to himself.

“Just like that, you’re believing me that easily?” She asks incredulously. “You don’t even want to know why? You don’t want to know how?”

“I don’t want to know.” He barks at her and the look in his eyes makes her step back. He hands her a bag and she peeks in to see her still damp clothing. “I’ll give you an umbrella.”

“What?”

“I want you to leave right now.” He tells her sternly. “I need to continue helping my mother down at the restaurant. You don’t have to give back those clothes, they’re old.”

Chaerin roughly the bag from him, looking him in the eye defiantly.

“You seriously need to let go of this anger and stop beating yourself up.” She starts to walk out in a huff but turns her head to look at him. Her expression softens slightly but he can tell she’s still irritated. “I know you didn’t kill that family.”

He feels as if he’s been punched in the throat as she walks out the door. He wants to go after her but he’s losing his balance and her words won’t stop echoing in his head.

“I did.” He says to an empty room that turns into a dark road with sirens blaring, the scent of smoke and gasoline heavy in his nostrils. The flashing lights blind him and he feels dizzy. His throat is dry and it feels like he’s going to suffocate. “I did kill them.”

“I want to go home.” A weak voice begs as Taeyang watches his mother lay in her hospital bed. Her thin frame is swallowed in comparison to the large hospital gown. He her bony hand with his fingers, making lazy designs on her wrinkled skin.

“We’ll go home soon.” He reassures her as he looks up at the clock. Just as he starts to get up to go and find someone the door opens to reveal the doctor in her bright white coat.

“Dong Youngbae, could I speak to you in the hallway for a moment?” The doctor asks and he nods.

“Omma, I’ll be right back.” He tells her before getting up to go. He studies the doctor’s face and swallows, sick of hearing bad news.

The doctor clears .

“I’m concerned about your mother living alone.”

“She’s not living alone.” He interrupts. “She lives with me.”

“Yes, but you can’t watch her at all times. She needs constant, 24/7 care.” The doctor says calmly. “It’s not uncommon for schizophrenic patients to develop physical deterioration. Your aunt took care of her while you were in pri… gone, but after her sudden passing, your mother’s condition has rapidly worsened. She spent that time in the hospital until your return and against my advice went to live with you. I highly recommend that you continue with hospice care.”

“You mean you want to take her away?” He asks in disbelief.

“You can visit her any time, Youngbae-ssi.” She reassures him with a smile. “In fact, visitation is highly encouraged. It’s not like she’s being locked away in a jail.”

The doctor pauses, realizing her mistake and clearing awkwardly. Taeyang runs his hands through his hair in frustration.

“I can’t.” He tells her with a pained expression. “I was away for six years, I can’t leave her again.”

“You won’t be leaving her. This is the best option your mother has, this is the best you can do for her.”

“When would you want me to come back with her?” Taeyang asks finally.

The doctor smiles in victory and Taeyang wants to cringe.

“You can take her home to pack up and come back the next day.” She says cheerfully.

Taeyang goes back into the hospital room and his mother lights up when she sees the doctor.

“Dr. Kang, my Youngbae-ah has a girlfriend. He brought her home.” His mother informs her as she checks the chart at the end of the bed. “She’s such a pretty girl.”

“You must be very happy, of course he’d have a pretty girlfriend.” The doctor replies with a smile.

“Omma, it’s time to get dressed and go home now.” He says calmly, bringing her clothes to her. A nurse helps her take off her hospital gown and he helps her slip her dress over her head. “You’re dressed so prettily today, is there anywhere you want to go?”

“I want to go to Mr. Choi’s bookstore.” She tells him and he frowns.

“Omma, the Chois don’t own that bookstore anymore.”

“But Yeobo, that’s where we met.” She asked in shock. “What happened?”

Taeyang falters and the nurse gives him a sympathetic look.

“The bookstore isn’t there anymore? What happened?” His mother keeps asking, upset.

“It’s still there.” He tells her slowly. “Someone else owns it now.”

“Who?”

“They’re new to the neighborhood.” He shrugs.

“I should go greet them and welcome them to the neighborhood.”

“Sure,” Taeyang grimaces. “We can go.”

He sighs as he helps his mother out of the taxi, seeing the familiar shop front and looking up at the window. He remembers the first and last time he was in that apartment. His heart beats in his chest out of anger and excitement.

Chaerin was fun to be around and beautiful and she treated him like no one else had ever treated him. She was kind and she looked past his tattoos and his hairstyle and his scars. The assuredness in her features when she spoke about time travel made him nauseous. He knew he couldn’t deny her reality any more than he could tell his mother where he’d been the past six years or that his father was gone, she no longer needed to make three plates of fried rice omelettes in the morning.

He follows his mother into the bookstore with a heavy heart, only to be greeted by an enthusiastic bark.

“Youngbae-ah,” His mother exclaims happily as the dog bounds toward them with its fuzzy tail wagging. “It’s a Hachiko, Youngbae-ah!”

He nods with a smile as he holds a hand out for the dog to happily .

“Pet her carefully, omma.” He cautions, guiding the older woman’s hand to the dog’s soft fur.

“Hachiko-yah, how did you get downstairs?” A voice yells out in shock as she rushes out of the shop’s office. His breath catches as he sees Chaerin, her cheeks flushed and her short hair pulled into a bun on top of her head like a dumpling.

“Are you Mr. Choi’s daughter?” His mother asks and Chaerin turns her head to the side in confusion.

“No, omma, this is Lee Chaerin.” Taeyang corrects her gently. “She bought the bookstore from the Choi family.”

“Miss Lee,” The older woman holds out her hands to grasp onto Chaerin’s as she glances at Taeyang. “Is this the miss who came to the shop? Oh my goodness!”

“It’s nice to meet you, omoni.” Chaerin kindly smiles as Taeyang looks on silently. “Are you looking for a book? Shall I help you find something good to read?”

The bookstore owner guides the older woman by the arm through the small store. Taeyang follows, continuing not to say anything as he watches the two women interact. Chaerin picks out several books and makes suggestions, grabbing books that may be out of the older woman’s reach.

“Chaerin-ssi, let me hold those for you.” He offers, noticing that her arms have become full with books and she’s having difficulty carrying them all.

“It’s fine, Dong Youngbae.” She declines but he can see in her face that it’s too heavy for her, watching her shift and adjust the load of books.

“Chaerin, let me help you.” He says sincerely, holding out his arms. She stops, looking him in the eye for a moment before finally letting him hold the books. She smiles at him, just a little small smile, but his heart pounds in excitement.

He likes her. He likes Lee Chaerin, even if she thinks she's from the future. He really, really likes her.

- - -

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has subscribed and upvoted this story! I'm amazed by all of the support and interest. Thank you to everyone who has commented, I really appreciate all the feedback! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I enjoyed writing it and I can't wait to further explore their relationship and Taeyang's character so please look forward to it :)