Back then: again

02 | 19th Day

박지민

ha..

A heavy sigh filled the house. Many liquor bottles were visible next to Park Jimin, who was sitting with his arms draped over the sofa.

Jimin, having drunk heavily, tilted his head back and slowly closed and opened his eyelids. December 31st. It is the anniversary of Kim Yeo-ju's death.

박지민

Why did I let you go to that bastard...

박지민

Then you wouldn't have had a reason to go first...

Park Jimin liked Kim Yeoju. So he let her go to Kim Taehyung, whom Kim Yeoju liked. He was sad. He was sad, but...

[ Kim Yeo-ju is dead, she was hit by a truck... It's my fault... ]

The phone call from Kim Taehyung that day. The words Kim Taehyung had said still lingered in Park Jimin's ears.

Yes, it's your fault. The female lead died because of you. I wanted to say that. However, I held back, and the words wouldn't come out of my mouth.

박지민

김태형 개새끼. 미안하면 다야?..

박지민

You rotten bastard.

"You rotten bastard." Those words sounded endlessly sharp.

And then, my vision shook dizzyingly. Thump, my head slammed onto the floor with a dull thud.

The time was 11:59.

• • •

My ears were ringing as if I were floating high up. When I opened my eyes, a faint light was seeping through the gap in the slightly parted curtain.

I didn't dream.

김태형

........

김태형

Are you stopping this now that you've been doing it for 10 years?

Is there really a God? He burst into a sarcastic laugh, finding it absurd.

But, what is this? Why does it look familiar yet awkward? Something felt off. Why did the house interior, which used to be all black, suddenly turn out like this? It even feels very familiar.

김태형

Am I going crazy because I'm not dreaming?

김태형

This is the house I used to live in.

Kim Taehyung grabbed my cheek tightly and pulled it wildly. It hurt. It hurt like hell. Tears welled up in my eyes. But that was beyond Kim Taehyung's control.

김태형

It's a dream, but it feels so vivid. I must be crazy.

And I turned on the cell phone that was by the bedside. The date displayed on the screen was none other than March 4, 20...

The year Kim Yeo-ju died and the day he first met Kim Yeo-ju. Kim Tae-hyung checked his phone and quickly left the room.

김태형

mom!!

"huh?"

Mom, who was preparing breakfast, turned around at the sound of Kim Tae-hyung. He is young. Mom has become young.

Kim Tae-hyung's jaw dropped open as if it were about to fall off at any moment. His mother, who had turned off the gas and was personally closing his jaw, spoke.

My jaw is going to drop, son

김태형

........

김태형

Mom, what day is it today?

“Today? It’s March 4, 20....”

How did this happen? Everything feels vivid. Kim Taehyung's body stiffened like a stone.

So... did I go back 10 years?