the summer of 1993 ── dohwa baek - Chapter 12: Chapter 12
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A copy of Murder on the Orient Express rested idly on Dohwa's desk.
Obviously, a recommendation, because he wasn't very fond of reading.
Obviously, a recommendation from someone who mattered to him, because he wouldn't have taken it into consideration otherwise.
Obviously, a recommendation from a certain girl who he couldn't stop thinking about.
Tiny branches of red highlighted themselves against the whites of his swollen eyes as he darted his gaze across the class, searching for something mildly entertaining. Something distracting. Something not Y/N.
Y/N. Y/N. Y/N.
He'd look at a bottle and see her face. He'd look at the ceiling and find her staring back at him. He'd look at his friends and mistake them for her. She was everywhere, in everything, and Dohwa was starting to get irritated. He wanted to rule this out as a bad case of 'curiosity'. A mere desire to know her better. Wasn't that what normal people felt while initiating friendships? Then again, there was the dream.
It was fun. Sweet. And quite frankly, unreal. It couldn't have actually happened, right?
It had to be impossible. Y/N was a real person who existed somewhere in Seoul and talked to him every single day without fail. She couldn't be a fragment of his imagination. Or a product of his sleep deprivation. Or a girl from 1993.
1993. How very specific. He remembered each detail like he had lived the evening with her in real-time, but he couldn't have.
Dohwa Baek was getting creeped out of his mind. He stared blankly at the monitor of the computer in front of him, the suffocating scent of snacks wafting through the cyber cafe's dull atmosphere. His original plan was to play games with Su'ae. However, somewhere along the way, he had plunged into a rabbit hole of bizarre Google searches.
'Is it possible to lucid dream?'
'Can I talk to a person from the past?'
'Does a parallel universe exist?'
'Recurring nightmares about someone dying'
"I think my karma is catching up to me. This is some serious paranormal shit." Dohwa grumbled under his breath, his index finger rapidly clicking the mouse to dive through more websites. He had long forgotten about his surroundings, so when his phone vibrated in the pocket of his jeans, he was rendered motionless for a brief moment.
Catching a glimpse of the quaint wooden clock on the wall, he realised that it was the time. For some weird, weird reason, his heart was wildly thumping against his chest. The longer his gaze locked with the cellphone booth's number, the more erratic his beats grew. He breathed in, and out, reshaping his composure so as to not make a fool of himself.
"Hello?"
Y/N's uncertain voice echoed from the other end, "Hey."
Well, this was going to be one awkward call.
"Missed me, partner?" Dohwa garnered whatever was left of his charm, "I certainly didn't. Life has been going suspiciously well."
"Great," was all she replied with.
Okay. He did not have many options at his hands, but he sure as hell was not going to hang up. He wanted to talk to her. He liked to talk to her. She could be a ghost for all he cared, he enjoyed her company more than anyone else's.
A small sigh tumbled out of his full lips. "Are you okay? No matter how upset, you're never this... uh, silent. Not like I particularly care or anything! Just asking. Partner to partner, y'see?"
"You really suck." Y/N, contradictory to her harsh words, released a snort of amusement. "I just... I just had a strange dream."
"...Does that include stargazing, stealing, and eating with a certain blond?"
"You're fucking joking."
"So it happened again. Just like the nightmares."
"But unlike the nightmares, I was alive." She stated, sounding rather relieved.
"And you could talk to me."
"We technically met. We technically know what the other looks like. I didn't die."
Dohwa swallowed thickly. "I think something's seriously wrong. You said something strange last night. Something like you were from a whole another deca-"
"I know." She interrupted. "And I meant every word, Dohwa. I proved it to you. But yeah, I agree. Something is wrong and we need to stop."
"...Stop what?"
"Talking. Calling. This is freaking me out."
There were a few moments of complete silence. Dohwa's mouth fell agape, inviting in a tiny chunk of air; a pathetic means of respite to his crashing lungs. He could understand what she was trying to say. He was a mirror image of her, if anything - scared and confused and desperate to run away from all of it. But... there had to be a but.
"Do you think I'm ugly?"
"Huh? Not really."
"Something wrong with my personality?"
"...I guess you're rather overbearing, but nothing I can't handle."
"Then why are you saying that?"
He actually couldn't believe how vulnerable his seemingly innocent question came out to be. How there was an unnoticeable tremor, that was veiled under a heavier question.
Are you choosing to leave me too?
"Dohwa?"
"I get it. We don't belong in a timeline. We can never really see each other. It's scary and unbelievable and terrifying. But we're both alive and against all odds, we met."
Y/N didn't say anything, so the boy took it as a cue to continue.
"There must be a reason why we crossed paths. I'm glad I found you. Even if you're not here, not in my Seoul, I'm just... glad."
He could feel her hesitance. Feel her inhales and exhales, her doubts, as if she was losing her balance on a tightrope. His eyes fluttered shut. This wouldn't be the first time he'd lose a friend, and he couldn't put it against her either, keeping in mind the questionable circumstances.
Friend.
Had he ever called her a friend?
He thought it was something mutually decided upon by them after the first few weeks. Though, he had to word it out for her when they established their partnership. Maybe he would have to do it again for friendship. Maybe-
"As long as I don't die... I suppose we can be... partners."
Ah ha.
He had hit the nail right on the coffin.
"Partners? You wound me!" His taunting voice exclaimed. "You're my dearest companion. My friend, if I may be so bold."
Y/N paused. "That's some very quick promotion there. Did you fall in love with me after seeing me or...?"
"I'll despise you for an eternity if you ever say that again."
"I'll get over it."
"No, seriously." Dohwa pressed, "What did you think of me after seeing my gorgeous face? After interacting with an idol trainee who's going to make it extremely big because he's just so perfect and talented-"
"Calm down, Narcissus. I did not have the time to drown in your otherworldly beauty because I was busy being scared that I'd be crushed to death by an overspeeding car." She spoke much too sweetly for the blond's distaste. "To feed your ego a little bit, I did pause for a moment to think - woah, he looks pretty. But just for a moment. A tiny moment."
"Uh huh."
"Microscopic moment. Not even a single second."
"So you do think I'm pretty!"
"Your face is pretty. I can't say the same about your unsightly manners." Y/N tutted. "Sitting in a shopping cart like a toddler..."
He dramatically cried out, "You old hag! There's never an age limit to shopping cart rides!"
"You're a grown man!"
"I'm a frail seventeen-year-old boy!"
"Nice way to say you're immature."
"Even Eunhyeok would never say this to me."
Y/N laughed. She laughed for fairly a whole minute before reverting to her normal self. Dohwa was aghast at her audacity, with his jaw dropped to the ground and his nose scrunched up like a middle-aged gossiping aunt. He was the personification of exaggeration, after all.
"What are you giggling about?!"
"You and Eunhyeok will make a great pair."
"That's it. I'm hanging up."
"Okay!"
Dohwa gasped. "You're not even trying to stop me? I mean nothing to you?"
"...I'll pretend to be bothered for your sake." She cleared her throat, raising a couple of decibels to get into her role. "Please don't abandon me! However will I brave through the adversities of the universe without my beloved by my side!"
"I won't, since you can't seem to live without me."
"You're the one who begged me to not stop talking to you because you love me so much it will ki-"
"I only said that you're my friend!"
"Dearest companion."
He groaned, loud enough for everyone in the cafe to hear. The majority gave him a quick once-over before getting back to their computers.
"Of course you'd cling onto straws to piss me off."
"Like you cling onto me so you can keep having a human diary."
Dohwa smiled. A soft, tender smile that found the corners of his mouth. Two small exclamation points, his dimples, popped themselves in his cheeks, the evidence that he once felt a surge of affection for the girl on the other side; even if it was for a heartbeat.
"That, I will. Always."
Obviously, a recommendation, because he wasn't very fond of reading.
Obviously, a recommendation from someone who mattered to him, because he wouldn't have taken it into consideration otherwise.
Obviously, a recommendation from a certain girl who he couldn't stop thinking about.
Tiny branches of red highlighted themselves against the whites of his swollen eyes as he darted his gaze across the class, searching for something mildly entertaining. Something distracting. Something not Y/N.
Y/N. Y/N. Y/N.
He'd look at a bottle and see her face. He'd look at the ceiling and find her staring back at him. He'd look at his friends and mistake them for her. She was everywhere, in everything, and Dohwa was starting to get irritated. He wanted to rule this out as a bad case of 'curiosity'. A mere desire to know her better. Wasn't that what normal people felt while initiating friendships? Then again, there was the dream.
It was fun. Sweet. And quite frankly, unreal. It couldn't have actually happened, right?
It had to be impossible. Y/N was a real person who existed somewhere in Seoul and talked to him every single day without fail. She couldn't be a fragment of his imagination. Or a product of his sleep deprivation. Or a girl from 1993.
1993. How very specific. He remembered each detail like he had lived the evening with her in real-time, but he couldn't have.
Dohwa Baek was getting creeped out of his mind. He stared blankly at the monitor of the computer in front of him, the suffocating scent of snacks wafting through the cyber cafe's dull atmosphere. His original plan was to play games with Su'ae. However, somewhere along the way, he had plunged into a rabbit hole of bizarre Google searches.
'Is it possible to lucid dream?'
'Can I talk to a person from the past?'
'Does a parallel universe exist?'
'Recurring nightmares about someone dying'
"I think my karma is catching up to me. This is some serious paranormal shit." Dohwa grumbled under his breath, his index finger rapidly clicking the mouse to dive through more websites. He had long forgotten about his surroundings, so when his phone vibrated in the pocket of his jeans, he was rendered motionless for a brief moment.
Catching a glimpse of the quaint wooden clock on the wall, he realised that it was the time. For some weird, weird reason, his heart was wildly thumping against his chest. The longer his gaze locked with the cellphone booth's number, the more erratic his beats grew. He breathed in, and out, reshaping his composure so as to not make a fool of himself.
"Hello?"
Y/N's uncertain voice echoed from the other end, "Hey."
Well, this was going to be one awkward call.
"Missed me, partner?" Dohwa garnered whatever was left of his charm, "I certainly didn't. Life has been going suspiciously well."
"Great," was all she replied with.
Okay. He did not have many options at his hands, but he sure as hell was not going to hang up. He wanted to talk to her. He liked to talk to her. She could be a ghost for all he cared, he enjoyed her company more than anyone else's.
A small sigh tumbled out of his full lips. "Are you okay? No matter how upset, you're never this... uh, silent. Not like I particularly care or anything! Just asking. Partner to partner, y'see?"
"You really suck." Y/N, contradictory to her harsh words, released a snort of amusement. "I just... I just had a strange dream."
"...Does that include stargazing, stealing, and eating with a certain blond?"
"You're fucking joking."
"So it happened again. Just like the nightmares."
"But unlike the nightmares, I was alive." She stated, sounding rather relieved.
"And you could talk to me."
"We technically met. We technically know what the other looks like. I didn't die."
Dohwa swallowed thickly. "I think something's seriously wrong. You said something strange last night. Something like you were from a whole another deca-"
"I know." She interrupted. "And I meant every word, Dohwa. I proved it to you. But yeah, I agree. Something is wrong and we need to stop."
"...Stop what?"
"Talking. Calling. This is freaking me out."
There were a few moments of complete silence. Dohwa's mouth fell agape, inviting in a tiny chunk of air; a pathetic means of respite to his crashing lungs. He could understand what she was trying to say. He was a mirror image of her, if anything - scared and confused and desperate to run away from all of it. But... there had to be a but.
"Do you think I'm ugly?"
"Huh? Not really."
"Something wrong with my personality?"
"...I guess you're rather overbearing, but nothing I can't handle."
"Then why are you saying that?"
He actually couldn't believe how vulnerable his seemingly innocent question came out to be. How there was an unnoticeable tremor, that was veiled under a heavier question.
Are you choosing to leave me too?
"Dohwa?"
"I get it. We don't belong in a timeline. We can never really see each other. It's scary and unbelievable and terrifying. But we're both alive and against all odds, we met."
Y/N didn't say anything, so the boy took it as a cue to continue.
"There must be a reason why we crossed paths. I'm glad I found you. Even if you're not here, not in my Seoul, I'm just... glad."
He could feel her hesitance. Feel her inhales and exhales, her doubts, as if she was losing her balance on a tightrope. His eyes fluttered shut. This wouldn't be the first time he'd lose a friend, and he couldn't put it against her either, keeping in mind the questionable circumstances.
Friend.
Had he ever called her a friend?
He thought it was something mutually decided upon by them after the first few weeks. Though, he had to word it out for her when they established their partnership. Maybe he would have to do it again for friendship. Maybe-
"As long as I don't die... I suppose we can be... partners."
Ah ha.
He had hit the nail right on the coffin.
"Partners? You wound me!" His taunting voice exclaimed. "You're my dearest companion. My friend, if I may be so bold."
Y/N paused. "That's some very quick promotion there. Did you fall in love with me after seeing me or...?"
"I'll despise you for an eternity if you ever say that again."
"I'll get over it."
"No, seriously." Dohwa pressed, "What did you think of me after seeing my gorgeous face? After interacting with an idol trainee who's going to make it extremely big because he's just so perfect and talented-"
"Calm down, Narcissus. I did not have the time to drown in your otherworldly beauty because I was busy being scared that I'd be crushed to death by an overspeeding car." She spoke much too sweetly for the blond's distaste. "To feed your ego a little bit, I did pause for a moment to think - woah, he looks pretty. But just for a moment. A tiny moment."
"Uh huh."
"Microscopic moment. Not even a single second."
"So you do think I'm pretty!"
"Your face is pretty. I can't say the same about your unsightly manners." Y/N tutted. "Sitting in a shopping cart like a toddler..."
He dramatically cried out, "You old hag! There's never an age limit to shopping cart rides!"
"You're a grown man!"
"I'm a frail seventeen-year-old boy!"
"Nice way to say you're immature."
"Even Eunhyeok would never say this to me."
Y/N laughed. She laughed for fairly a whole minute before reverting to her normal self. Dohwa was aghast at her audacity, with his jaw dropped to the ground and his nose scrunched up like a middle-aged gossiping aunt. He was the personification of exaggeration, after all.
"What are you giggling about?!"
"You and Eunhyeok will make a great pair."
"That's it. I'm hanging up."
"Okay!"
Dohwa gasped. "You're not even trying to stop me? I mean nothing to you?"
"...I'll pretend to be bothered for your sake." She cleared her throat, raising a couple of decibels to get into her role. "Please don't abandon me! However will I brave through the adversities of the universe without my beloved by my side!"
"I won't, since you can't seem to live without me."
"You're the one who begged me to not stop talking to you because you love me so much it will ki-"
"I only said that you're my friend!"
"Dearest companion."
He groaned, loud enough for everyone in the cafe to hear. The majority gave him a quick once-over before getting back to their computers.
"Of course you'd cling onto straws to piss me off."
"Like you cling onto me so you can keep having a human diary."
Dohwa smiled. A soft, tender smile that found the corners of his mouth. Two small exclamation points, his dimples, popped themselves in his cheeks, the evidence that he once felt a surge of affection for the girl on the other side; even if it was for a heartbeat.
"That, I will. Always."
End of the summer of 1993 ── dohwa baek Chapter 12. Continue reading Chapter 13 or return to the summer of 1993 ── dohwa baek book page.