“So Eun, are you feeling alright?”

So Eun murmured a quiet yes in response, but her manager was unconvinced. She was like this the whole day today- her head lowered to the floor, her eyes far away.

“You need to focus. I’ve been receiving complaints from the photo shoot director and coordinators today. What’s wrong with you? You’re unlike your usual self. How unprofessional of you.”

So Eun let out an agitated sigh, ignoring the surprised look flashing across her manager’s face. Sure she might’ve had a thing or two when it came to temper, but she’s never been one to give attitude.

Let’s just say she woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.

“So Eun, I mean it.” Her manager’s voice dropped deadly low, with a steely edge to emphasize the seriousness of his warning.

Other days she might’ve taken careful notice of his warning, but those days are definitely not today, So Eun decided. She resisted the urge to snort- she had priorities, much more important things to be concerned about, and work was not one of them.

Her dream.

What had it meant?

She wasn’t even sure if it had been a dream.

She’d spent hours staring at the broken vase pieces on the ground, wondering if she had or had not imagined the events that led to the vase being broken, and the things that she saw after.

She left the pieces on the ground, deciding that she’d study it some more after work.

Useless, as that’s all she’s been capable of thinking about since she’s left the house.

She needed a few days off work. She said exactly this to her manager.

He lost his head, of course.

“What do you mean you need a break?” His face was heating up now, as if he had no other way to contain the excess anger. “You’ve had plenty of that. For nearly two months, you were on a break! It was after the accident, so that was understandable. Now you’re barely getting started, and you demand another break? What’ll the CEO say?”

So Eun said nothing, her facial expression void of any emotions.

Her manager paced back and forth, lost for words. “Did you discuss this with the CEO?”

“I’ll save you the trouble and ask him myself,” So Eun offered.

He let out a frustrated growl. “He won’t be happy.”

“I don’t care.”

Extremely unprofessional of her, but this much was true, after all.

Her manager gaped at her. What’s gotten into her? The So Eun he knew was all about work- she’d neglected all her free time from acting to shoot photo shoots and guest in variety shows. She’d agree on every commercial offers, no matter how full her schedule was. All her ambitions seemed to have disappeared since the car accident.

The So Eun standing in front of him now looked like a lost girl.

Searching for a reason to live.

So Eun sighed, wary from the workload the day burdened her with.

When she reached for the doorknob of her apartment home, however, she noticed her heart beating fast and irregularly, anxious to examine the broken vase pieces again.

Breathing deep, she walked calmly to her room- only to widen her eyes in horror when she found that the glass pieces have disappeared altogether.

In panic, So Eun kneeled to the ground, running her palm in big circles across her bedroom floor, hoping she’d find at least a glass shard.

She started sobbing when she didn’t come across even a splinter’s worth.

She was going crazy. She’d imagined the vase pieces in the morning. The dream that she had dreamt is nothing but what it was, a dream. She had not seen the past, present, and future for what it was. And she felt incredibly stupid for thinking, just for a minute, that she had.

She was so, so stupid. And even more desperate.

Her eyes trailed to her cell phone that she’d carelessly tossed on her bed. Sniffling, she grabbed at it, and scrolled through her contact list- Jin Young unnie.

She’d have to be careful with wording her thoughts and questions. If she was really insane, she had no intentions on letting anyone find out. Not just yet, anyway.

“Hi, unnie. It’s been a while since you’ve called, so I figured I should.”

“How are you, sweetheart?” Jin Young was bright and bubbly as always, no different from her usual self. This added extra weight to So Eun’s heart.

If Jin Young had really been with her in her dream, and was conscious of it, she could not be this nonchalant.

“I… I..” So Eun paused. Exactly how did she plan on asking her this question? Did you see me in my dream as a ghost last night to help me realize that the love of my love is destined to be with me?

“Do you believe that dreams… reveal the future?” So Eun asked instead, squeezing her eyes tightly shut in embarrassment.

“What?” Even Jin Young was dumbfounded with this out of blue question.

“You know, like a message that tells you what you were predestined to do, or something,” So Eun continued, fighting against the blood flow that crawled up to her ears.

“I don’t know…”’ Jin Young sounded thoughtful. “But if you ever dreamt of something that seems to answer whatever dilemma it is you’re struggling with now, I suggest you take it to heart.”

“Really?” So Eun started tearing up, thankful of Jin Young’s genuineness. “But it’s just a stupid dream.”

Jin Young laughed. “Did you know that ninety percent of our brain is controlled by the subconscious? Sometimes, the subconscious finds ways for you to overcome the obstacles of the conscious world. If you care enough- think about it day and night, before you eat, sleep, after you wake up- it’ll always find a way to let you realize…. These are your eureka moments. And sometimes, these messages can be delivered through dreams. Remember, dreams are a part of that subconscious.”

“Thank you,” So Eun finally smiled, eyes shining.

“Not a problem, hun. Feel free to call me whenever, understand?”

Thank you for being the messenger, and guiding me through my subconscious.

Reassured by her small talk with Jin Young, So Eun glanced down at her wrist watch- 7:47 PM- and rushed out the door, purse and cell phone in hand.

She had been avoiding confronting Jae Rim, because she feared the obvious rejection. The wedding ring on his finger spoke for itself.

He was engaged to Min Young because he was in love in her. And Min Young, with Jae Rim.

So Eun had thought it would be selfish to confess her feelings when previously she had ignored his feelings for her. She thought it would be wrong to break the happiness he managed to find in the present.

And then she dreamt her dream.

How strange, really. She couldn’t even confirm that the dream really unraveled the truth of the past, present, and future. She wasn’t even quite sure if she understood the message this dream was trying to tell her.

Why was she on her way to the hospital now, then? Neglecting work, friends, family, and all other priorities. Her hair was a mess. Her makeup was ruined from crying. And her stomach was complaining about the lack of food it had to digest.

But something was stirring deep inside of her- restless, and passionate…

In her dream, So Eun had come to the conclusion that the marriage was a definite no go because...

One. Min Young is not in love with Jae Rim. Min Young had broken up with Jae Rim because she had lost the attraction she felt for him. Years later she decides to keep him next to her only to cope with the emotional hole her previous relationship had bore in to her heart. She was keeping Jae Rim as a cover up. He, to her, was a puppy. Always offering companionship, unconditional love, and full attention. None of which could be returned to him.

Two. Jae Rim is not in love with Min Young. If he is in love now, he’ll fall out of it, eventually. For some unknown reason, he’ll grow to love So Eun, herself. Jae Rim and Min Young’s marriage will shatter, unfixable and unstoppable. If the marriage isn’t stopped now, there would be no way to prevent it in the future.

Three. And the most obvious reason. So Eun is in love with Jae Rim. She has no idea how long it’ll last. But she certainly doesn’t want to find out after Jae Rim gets married.

BUT. What about but, So Eun? There’s always a but to consider. The dream might not even be real. After all, dreams only happen in your head.

Okay, so Jae Rim and Min Young may be sincerely in love with each other.

So Eun isn’t as naïve or desperate to deny this much.

But her feelings mattered, too. And this much, her dream allowed her to realize.

She chose not to go through the piled up workload of her celebrity career, despite causing trouble to her agency and the partnership parties.

It felt good, beside her feeling guilty about everything.

She never once told Jae Rim she loves him, ever. She never once told him when she thought she didn’t.

She was horrible with confrontation, because she was scared of rejection. She was scared of real intimacy. One of the reasons why the celebrity life was so appealing to her. People saw her through the screen. She had a certain reputation, image she projected of herself. No one would see the human inside of her- and she liked it like that.

Feelings like love… scared her. It was so unpredictable.

It had been relatively easy to repress, until he brought it out of her. There was no way to contain such powerful feeling, now. Seeking order and control was laughable. She could barely maintain her sanity; how did she think she could control a situation such as this?

She couldn’t control Jae Rim and Min Young from falling out of love.

She couldn’t control Jae Rim from marrying Min Young.

She couldn’t control Jae Rim to regain his past memory of her.

She couldn’t control time, and will it to turn to the past, before the accident.

But she was definitely in control over her own feelings. Or rather, they were in control over her. And they were screaming love.

They wanted- nay, demanded- they be expressed. Her lips, even now, were twitching with need and desire to express the emotions she’s been harboring to say since the day she realized she felt such feelings for him.

Her stubbornness to repress these emotions backfired, and love expanded into something even greater than love. It would be impossible to find a word that’s half as close to describing the feeling that she was feeling now.

She’d have to settle with what she had.

“I love you.”

I doubt anyone of the readers had the patience to put up with my sorry updating and false promises. With that being said, welcome new Solim fans and readers!

The story was lost and broken and unstable in terms of it being updated, but I know better now than to make any more promises with new chapters. 

If there are any of you still keeping touch, I want to apologize and thank you for sticking with this. 

As I said, I honestly intend to finish this story- be it one month or years.

I am alive, and well. I haven't been writing, so if my writing is a bit off and rusty, then you know why. Still, writing is fun, as long as I don't torture myself with it, and that's how I plan on keeping up with this fic. I don't have it prewritten, by the way. If it was, I wouldn't have been so inconsistent with updates. I think it's better this way, as this brings out the creativity and prevents the story from being contained to a certain idea. Many times I changed the direction of the plot, the events I planned previously to happen.

Not much going on in this chapter, but it's pivotal in terms of character development. Dare I say... please bear with me.

Enjoy! And see you next time (hopefully, sooner). Comments are appreciated, and are a great source of motivation boosters. 

SoshiYul9: A commentor I often come across. Thank you so much for putting up with inconsistent updates, and whatnot. I wonder if you're still into Solim, but I wouldn't blame you if you've lost interest. I've been rewatching Our Gapsoon, by the way, and that brought out good ol' nostalgic feelings from back in the days, from WGM.

YEighty: Merry Christmas! From years ago, it appears. I'm awfully late with the follow up, I'm afraid. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.

Eatchorice: I'm glad you said it was worth the wait. I don't think you were prepared for just how long the wait is, haha. Here it is! 

lilinkecil: Here you are! Thanks for your comment; glad to know that Solim shippers are still out there, in the world. Hopefully they interact some more in the future to give us shippers the feels. ;)