Time to walk down memory lane
The moment I entered the classroom, I felt as if my feet were tied to the spot, and it was Min Yoongi who shouted in my stead. He approached them with a rather angry expression on his face and acted threateningly.
“I told you to shut up.”
“What, what did I do! I, I was just telling you because Jeon Jungkook was curious!”
"If you mess around one more time, it won't end with a warning. At least show some courtesy to those left behind. Don't you think so?"
When Min Yoongi warned with a sharp glare, the brawler and everyone nearby fell silent. Of course, Jeon Jungkook did the same. Jeon Jungkook wasn't at fault here. He just transferred to our school today, and more than half the students remembered Lee Joon, which is why this happened.
I started hearing ringing in my ears. My stomach ached, as if my organs were being twisted. The scenes from that day unfolded before my tightly shut eyes, and I became disoriented. I thought I was feeling better. No, I knew I wasn't. Eventually, I lost consciousness and collapsed on the floor.
I had no idea where I was. The once-white background suddenly took shape. My eyes widened in surprise, and I slowly looked around. This was... a school. But something felt off. There were no students besides me, and darkness settled in outside the window.
“What the… Where the hell am I…”
As I was busy trying to organize my mind, which was filled with confusion, I saw a calendar located inside the classroom. I moved my feet that had been stopped in the hallway into the classroom and stood in front of the calendar.This calendar also felt a bit odd. It was clearly the end of August 2022... Could this be a dream?
“November 18, 2020…”
November 18, 2020. It was a date I'll never forget. The winter of 2020 was a very cold and lonely season for me. November 18th was Lee Jun's birthday and the anniversary of his death.
Now I finally knew where I was. This was the school. More precisely, the school of November 18, 2020, the very day Lee Jun died. I turned around and checked the time on the clock at the back of the classroom. It was 9:46 PM. Fifteen minutes before I found Lee Jun dead.
“Maybe… maybe I…!”
My eyes are reddening, and tears are welling up in my eyes. But I don't have much time. I found Lee Jun dead in the photo studio, and it's 15 minutes from now. There must be a reason I'm dreaming back 15 minutes. Maybe even in this dream, I'm given a chance to save Lee Jun.
Hope blossomed in my heart. Leaving behind the tears that fell one by one, I ran straight to the photo studio. My breathing was ragged, but I hurried open the door with a bang.
“Lee Jun…”
The moment I opened the photo studio door, I thought my heart stopped. I saw Lee Jun standing there, holding a white medicine bottle in one hand. With a tearful face, I called his name. Lee Jun smiled faintly and called my name.
“Kim Yeo-ju, it’s my birthday today?”
“I know… I know everything… Congratulations. Thank you so much for being born, for being here in front of me.”
“You know my birthday, even though my mom and dad don’t. Thank you.”
"I'll understand from now on. I'll... I'll catch you. So, let's go. Run away with me, Jun-ah. Please..."
Tears streamed down my face, dripping onto the floor of the photo studio. So many tears were streaming down my face that I couldn't see Lee Jun clearly, standing before me. The lights were off in the photo studio, and I was crying. You were definitely smiling. Even though I couldn't see clearly, I could clearly see the corners of Lee Jun's lips rising.
“…You know what? I liked seeing you smile the most.”
“……”
“When I feel suffocated as if my insides are blocked up, sad as if I could burst into tears at any moment, and lonely as if I were left alone in the world, I feel better when I see you.”
Every word Lee Jun said resonated with me. I knew it all. I knew you so well that there was almost nothing I didn't know about you. That you loved my smile, that your life was so difficult. I know it all now.
That's why I cried even more. It felt like this was Lee Jun's last greeting to me, and I wondered if you, who worried about me that day, had finally come to see me.
“Just smile one more time, my lady. For me.”
I was sobbing so hard I almost choked, trying to hold back my tears. Finally, I gave up and raised the corners of my mouth. Tears were still streaming down my face, and the corners of my mouth, raised at Lee Jun's request, trembled.
I wiped away the tears with my arm. I wanted to see what expression Lee Jun was making right now. Lee Jun, who had been wiping his eyes, had a similar expression to mine. He was clearly smiling, but a tear was falling from his eye.
As I took a step closer to grab his trembling hand, everything shattered and vanished. Soon, a voice calling my name pierced my ears, and I opened my eyes. I had finally awakened from a dream I refused to awake from.
