Irene has been coughing for days and she is even having a fever since this morning. And she blames the approaching Autumn and the huge temperature drop at night these days.

Well, she definitely wouldn’t blame herself for being a careless girl who never remembers to bring a jacket or a cardigan with her to work. 

All her colleagues have also been telling her to take a rest because she can be such a workaholic sometimes. Eventually, her body urges her to drive and find a doctor after work. 

It seems she has to postpone her dinner date with Onew again too. She has always been too busy, even for a meal. And so does him. Having a meal together seems to be a very impossible task for these two young entrepreneurs.

The person who nags her the most would be a photographer named Kang Seulgi. She has been Irene’s best friend since high school. She, however, is a rather carefree girl whom often travels for both job and leisure purpose, with “yolo” written all over her face. 

There’s one thing Seulgi particularly likes to nag Irene about - to envision herself years later, perhaps when she’s all wrinkled and old, and see if she would regret spending most of her life in the wrong place and person, as the latter only tends to go with the flow without considering her own good or liking.

And Seulgi highly doubts if Irene really enjoys working in a law firm like that, dealing with all those dark sides of humanity every day like that. 

Irene swears those stiletto heels are killing her as her body doesn’t allow her to exert any strength and her tight skirt is preventing her to march faster.

The doctor has maundered over the same thing for 30mins before giving her the prescription when she finally reaches a clinic downtown. He even asks about her habits and hobbies. And he gives her a mysterious smile as she exits the room, as well as the nurses.

Therefore, Irene swears once again that she’s not going to get sick and she’s not going to visit that creepy clinic ever again.

“I’m sorry for tonight.” She texts as she is ready to head home. When she arrives at her apartment, she immediately jumps to the bathroom to get a hot bath and to freshen up. She indeed feels better already. Still, as a patient who is so eager to recover, she takes the medicine according to that creepy doctor’s guidance and goes to bed for a good rest.

Which, it is a rare night for Bae Joohyun because taking documents back home and staying up late reading them is a basic routine for her.

“It’s okay. I got a client to meet too. We can always meet at another day.” His reply eventually comes after nearly an hour.

“I’ll sleep now. Took some pills. See you later.” She types as she yawns.

“Goodnight.”

Irene shoves the phone under her pillow and checks the clock on her nightstand before tugging herself to sleep. It is 9pm.

And despite the fact that she’s an atheist, she prays that she’ll recover as she opens her eyes in the next morning.

-

And so, Irene opens her eyes after a good sleep. She slowly moves her fingers, her toes, then her limbs. They work just fine. The headache, the runny nose, the fever are all gone. But something doesn’t feel right.

So she squirms a little and feels a bundle of warm body next to her. In great fear, she tilts her head and instantly meets another pair of curious eyes. Those gentle huge eyes are staring right at her, and below, there is a warm smile, stopping Irene from screaming on the top of her lungs.

“Hey, sleepy head. Feeling better now?” The unknown girl tenderly tugs a strand of hair behind Irene’s cute ear.

“I-I.. ugh…..” And Irene is officially lost, her ability to speak is lost too. 

“Oh. You’re still sick?” Then the girl presses her palm onto her forehead and her lively bushy eyebrows form a lovable frown while nagging like a mother. “But the heat is gone. I remember you took some pills before going to bed already. Isn’t it getting better already? I’ve been watching you closely all night and I fell asleep when it’s 4-”

Irene shushes the girl and sits up, “I-I feel better now actually.” She thinks this girl is going to blabber until she faints. And who is she anyway? Is it the distant cousin her mother has been talking about? But, she acts a lot more intimate than a cousin should be, so, does it mean….. 

The girl lifts a smile and pecks Irene’s head, “Alright. I’m sorry if I talk too much again. You know I like to nag you and how I would be all nervous whenever you get sick. You’ll sit right here and I’ll fix you something to eat.”

Irene is left in the bedroom agape until the girl hops away. And she starts to realize something more unusual.

It isn’t even her bedroom. And it is not even the apartment she bought about 1 year ago.

But Irene isn’t someone who freaks out easily or insensitive to details. Recalling some spooky supernatural plots of some random dramas she watched while having takeaway as dinner, which is another routine for her, she suspects maybe similar things have happened to her.

Back to her task, she glances around. There is a clock, the same one she has, then a phone which she believes it’s hers, and a photo frame. It is a photo taken by the mysterious girl, where Irene herself is standing behind her, half-embracing her too. 

Judging from the queen-size bed and the look of this bedroom, she figures out they must be something far more than friends.

After face-palming for some seconds, she quickly moves on to unlock the phone. And she sees what’s truly scary - it says it’s Year 2020, which means she has traveled to the future, fast-forwarding her life for exactly 5 years.

Controlling her trembling hands and lips, she clicks into the contact history and the last person she texted is called “Seungwan”, saying she’d be home after seeing a doctor. Well, it is creepy. And it sounds like a boy’s name so she searches the drawers for more clues. Just as she has expected, there are some legal documents from both herself and the girl. 

Bingo, she praises herself a little as she draws out a graduation- hm, a doctoral certificate to be exact, with the name - Son Seungwan Wendy.

So she will be dating a girl who has a PhD degree in Criminology. What? So - for one, she’s not very straight, although she has been aware of that since middle school as she has developed a habit of staring and even touching girls’ butts. And she must have met her at work. They both work for legal departments, right?

And Wendy should be roughly younger than her by 5 years or so, guessing from the year she got that degree.

“Joohyun-ah. What’re you looking for?” A voice interrupts Irene’s investigation and she quickly turns to greet her supposed-to-be girlfriend.

“Nothing. I was just trying to see if we need a bigger cabinet.” Irene smiles. 

She can’t lie that Wendy, who is currently leaning on the doorframe, is very good-looking and has a very nice body proportion even though she seems slightly shorter than herself. And she likes how she is just wearing a white tank-top and a pair of grey sweatpants. She looks hot- What again? 

“You sure you’re alright?” Wendy quirks an eyebrow while crossing her arms on her chest.

“Oh, nothing.” Irene forces a chuckle. “Maybe the drugs are too strong so I am still out of my sense for a little.”

“Fine.” She chirps. “Breakfast’s ready. Come after brushing your teeth.”

Irene unknowingly checks the girl out as the latter walks away. And she finds at least one more reason why she would date this girl - Wendy got a cute .

Both settling down by the dining table, Wendy eats happily while Irene has been stealing glances at her and every corner of the house. It looks decent, better than the one she’s living in 5 years ago. And there are more photos of them on the living room’s wall.

“I took a sick leave as you did...... just in case,” Wendy speaks first as she fiddles with her fork. “So, don’t worry. I’ll be here for the rest of the day.”

Irene gives a stiff nod, “G-great.”

“Joohyun-ah. You seem bothered. You’re acting strange since this morning.”

“I-I ….. ”

Irene is in the biggest dilemma she has ever faced in years - to tell Wendy the “truth” or not? Would Wendy “help” her  And .. how would Wendy react, would she be scared or would she not believe her “crazy story”? 

But Wendy loves her, right? For she seems to care for her so much.

“You know you can always share things with me.” Wendy’s voice sounds so soft. “No matter it’s good or bad.”

Irene makes up her mind the moment she looks up and sees those eyes again, “I-Wendy…... I think I have time-travelled to here. All I ever remember is 5 years ago, when I went to bed after taking some pills because I was sick…… ”

Her dear Seungwan blinks so slowly and her lips move, it takes her quite some time to vomit the words, “This isn’t a joke, right?”

“I am not.” Irene leans forward as the other girl is sitting across the table.

“Oh......” Wendy rests her head on her palm, mumbling. “So you don’t remember me…... Or, you don’t know me. Well, you just called me Wendy. I know now.”

“I’m sorry. But please, help me.” Irene pleads.

“To go back, right?”

“Y-yes?”

Wendy takes a deep breath and leans her back on the chair with her eyes closed, “Okay.”

“Thank you.” Irene quietly expresses her gratitude. She knows the struggle and pain Wendy is facing. But it would be far worse if she decides to keep it from her.

“If I send you back, perhaps I can get her back.” The younger girl is more like talking to herself.

“You will.” Irene flashes her a friendly smile although she won’t see. She just wants to reassure, comfort her. They will be dating in the future after all.

She then stands up without sparing her another look, “Then you should think of all those questions you might wanna ask me when I am cleaning. We can’t be this awkward if we have to work out a solution together.”

The older girl gives another nod. 

-

“We met at work…... Or, the you belong to this dimension or whatever. But to make it simple…...” Wendy sips on a cup of coffee and it’s milk for Irene. So the older girl knows herself hasn’t changed much in 5 years. “I work as a forensic linguist for the Police sometimes. I was the expert testimony for the prosecutor and you were the defense lawyer that time. You lost the case but you earned a date with me.”

“It’s...... great.” Irene bites her lips lightly. “When was that?”

They are sitting on a L-shape couch and it’s still awkward.

“About 4 years ago. The case was on the news too. A teacher kidnapping a rich kid of his school.” 

“I see…... ”

“Aren’t you asking about him?” Wendy places the cup on her lap and asks calmly. “Onew.”

Irene gulps, “You know about him and me? Like…... When did we break up? H-how?”

“I didn’t know you back then, but I certainly know something.” She shrugs. “You two broke up before you met me. You told me about that, I have never met him myself. And you still keep contact with him nowadays, but rarely. So it was a peaceful break-up.”

“Alright then.” She tightens her grip on the glass, thinking maybe they would break up sooner or later if she didn’t happen to time-travel. “I understand now.”

“Anyway, just so you know,” Wendy taps her fingers on the ceramic object. “We bought this house together. Less than a year ago. And your family is all good in Daegu, your parents are all healthy. So no need to worry.”

“How about yours?” Irene earnestly asks as she thinks it’s not a bad idea to know about her future girlfriend more.

“You don’t need to know much about me.” Wendy just shakes her head and gives a small smile. “Basically, my name is Son Seungwan, and I am from Canada, 3 years younger than you. I came here to work 5 years ago. I am an associate professor in a university. There are two cars in the garage - the black one is mine and the white one is yours. Find Seulgi if you need more information about yourself. She’s back from Turkey a week ago.”

Irene is taken aback by Wendy’s sudden coldness but it seems like she still cares about her by giving such a good suggestion, “Thank you. I’ll call her or something.”

The young girl holds her coffee and paces to her study room. It looks like they both have a room themselves for work. “I’ll be in my room if you need anything. And you’ve recovered, haven’t you? Not sick anymore?”

“I have. Thank you again.”

Irene picks up her phone and scrolls through all the applications in order to know more about her life 5 years later. 

And it seems she’s doing very well, never better. 

Clearing up her mind, she dials the number as her fingers bring her to “Seulgi” in the contact list, hoping the girl could help her in any possible way. She can’t bear to hurt Wendy anymore.

So, do you like the plot? And the characters?

Anyway, hope you enjoy another weird story of mine.

xo