This Given Time: The Curse of 17 Stars

CHAPTER 2: A BOOK IN MEMORY

Rae-sun POV:

“Yonghoon oppa???” I said in my mind. Automatically, I hugged him. He gave me a pat on the back.

“Hey, are you okay now?” he asked as I still sobbed.

“Did you hurt your head? Why are you crying?” he said, checking my body.

His hair, his face, his eyes, his lips, and his dimples. I’m not wrong. It’s Yonghoon!

“Hey Kyunghan, dude, please pass the ball. Where the hell did you even go?”

His eyes stayed locked on me, and the shout didn’t disturb him at all.

His face had a sweaty look. My mind kept telling me it was Yonghoon, but someone had just called him Kyunghan?

“Kyunghan?” I said, unknowingly, my mind speaking for me.

He laughed at me and messed up my hair.

“So, you look fine,” he said with a bright smile, his dimples visible.

“Dude, won’t you pass the ball? Is that your new girl?” someone shouted.

“Oh, here, dude! Just make sure to play cautiously so nobody gets hurt!” he said as he passed the ball to that guy.

“Lee Rae-sun. Be careful,” he said, then went back to the field, leaving me with the thought of who he was.

I finally got myself together.

What’s happening?

Why was there someone who looked so much like Yonghoon-oppa?

I felt like I’d traveled back in time, but I hadn’t. It was just that my time had stopped for seventeen years.

Wait.

I looked at the sky and saw another shooting star.

While I was still lost in thought, my phone rang.

“Rae-sun-ah. Did you get your uniform?” I didn’t respond, still wondering what had just happened.

“Hey, are you there?” Sis Ali asked, while I stood watching the man who looked like Yonghoon play soccer, a full smile on his face.

“Oh yes, Sis. I’ve just been watching students play soccer,” I replied. I smiled clumsily, and the man and I suddenly locked eyes.

I turned away and began walking back home, headphones on my ears.

I woke up so early. My body seemed to remember how I used to wake early seventeen years ago, when I’d check my favorite band ONEWE’s social media accounts and couldn’t even take a shower without music playing.

Now I was here, staring at the uniform I needed to wear, pretending I was still seventeen. Yes, seventeen in appearance, even in mind.

I hadn’t even had a sip of my coffee yet.

But that man suddenly popped into my head.

Kyunghan.

The way his wet hair touched his face, covered in sweat. I remembered Yonghoon-oppa again, the way he looked performing their songs, that same heavy breathing and sweat.

My tears fell again, thinking about the seventeen years I’d missed.

//

I arrived at school early. Other people were looking at me and gossiping.

“She’s so cute, who is she?”

“Maybe she’s that transfer student.”

They talked among themselves. I felt like an idol they were watching, but I ignored them and found my way to my advisor’s room to fill out some forms I’d forgotten yesterday.

After that, I tried to find my way back to my room, but I couldn’t remember the way.

After minutes of wandering through mazes of hallways, I became exhausted. My body might have looked seventeen, but my soul was thirty years old.

I didn’t realize I’d wandered into a secret room, an abandoned one.

I stepped inside. There was no one there, but the room didn’t feel haunted. Instead, there were lots of trophies, soccer balls, and clothes. It was neatly organized. Suddenly, someone stopped my hand as I reached for a framed soccer photo.

“What the hell are you doing here?” a deep, heavily breathing voice said.

When I turned to face him, it was the guy from yesterday.

“You? Are you following me?” he asked.

He was soaked in sweat, half naked, his sweaty soccer uniform slung around his neck.

I covered my eyes at the sight of him shirtless.

“You? No. I just, I didn’t know where the room was, so I ended up here.”

“Liar.” His hand tightened on me. He looked annoyed. He forced me toward the door, but as he pushed me, I lost my balance and hurt my ankle.

“Ahh!” I screamed. He looked so shocked that he rushed to my side, apologizing.

“Oh, sorry for pushing you too hard. Damn.”

//

“Bear the pain for a minute,” he said after massaging it and applying some ointment. “Just be careful when walking.”

I was just staring at his face.

“This is the second time,” he sighed. “You’re so clumsy.” He laughed, then turned to face me and sat beside me. I still didn’t answer him.

“You’re doing it again. So quiet. And can you stop staring at me? I know I’m handsome.”

Those words hit me, and I finally gave him an answer. “Oh hey, I’m not clumsy. If you hadn’t pushed me, I wouldn’t be hurt!”

He stood up and wiped his sweat again. “Wait for me, I’ll take you to your room.” He went into what I think was a bathroom. It took a few minutes.

What am I doing, why am I waiting for him? So I decided to stand up and leave, but someone grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

“Where do you think you’re going? Sit down,” he said. I looked at him. His face looked irritated, but he was still handsome, even with his wet, messy hair. He was already wearing his school uniform now, unlike earlier, when he’d been topless in his soccer outfit.

“Anyway, where is your room again?” he asked, looking at me.

“Ah... oh, it’s Class D-24.”

“D-24? Hey, are you kidding me?”

“Why? It’s true, look!” I said, showing him the paper I’d gotten from the school office.

“Wait, now it makes sense. So you’re the transfer student?”

“Uhm... yeah,” I answered. He smiled again. That smile was breaking me. He looked so much like him, with or without makeup.

“Lucky you! We’re in the same class.”

"What?”

“Let’s go!” he said, offering his hand as he came to my side.

“Not answering me? Are you really this quiet, or are you shy?”

He talked so much I didn’t know how to answer. I just grabbed his hand and we left.

We walked to the hallway, him helping me walk. Thankfully, there were no students outside, since they were all already in class. Yes, we were late.

“I’m Nam Kyunghan.”

“Oh, uh,” I answered, not looking at him, keeping my face straight ahead as I walked.

"Uh? Not telling me your name?” He stopped walking.

“Why’d you stop?”

“Tell me first,” he said, a playful smile on his face.

“Don’t you see this?” I said, pointing to my name tag on my uniform. “LEE RAE-SUN.”

“Oh, the Ray in the sun?” he said, pouting.

“What?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m just... anyway, let’s go!” he said, leaving my head full of questions.

“Here we are! Don’t forget the way here, huh? And don’t come find me again at our secret room, shh,” he said playfully as he barged into the room.

“Sir, I’m here!!!” he shouted. Our teacher looked at us with an annoyed, shocked face.

“Nam Kyunghan! Don’t you dare do it again! If you weren’t a varsity player, I don’t know what I’d do,” the teacher said, while Kyunghan was already seated with his friends, leaving me standing there in embarrassment.

“And who are you?” the teacher asked, scanning me.

“I’m sorry, Sir. I’m Lee Rae-sun. I sprained my ankle because of someone, so I was late,” I explained. The teacher’s face suddenly turned toward Kyunghan.

“You, Kyunghan, did this?”

Kyunghan laughed hard, and the other students did too.

“Okay, sit now. What are you waiting for? Over there, near the window! They already heard your introduction.”

“Okay, Sir!” I said. I walked slowly. Kyunghan didn’t help me; instead, he kept talking with his friends.

My face turned to sadness as I sat in my chair. Looking out the window, the smell of the classroom brought back the days I used to dream of seeing my idols.

The class ended, as usual. I wasn’t good at using advanced technology. It was 2043, and I wasn’t used to it yet. I was still stuck in 2026, where I’d simply write in my notebook, doodling ONEWE’s name in the margins.

Kyunghan didn’t talk to me again or ask how I felt. He left the classroom with his friends without looking back. I heard them talking loudly about the upcoming soccer match, but I decided not to mind it.

What was on my mind was Kyunghan’s face, so similar to his.

I stayed in the classroom for a while, swiping through my touchscreen desk with the day’s notes.

I was really living in high tech now.

//

It was 7:30 PM when I left the school. I just wanted to feel the night breeze. There were still some students outside the school.

I ended up walking to the soccer field. No one was playing there, but I remembered what had happened yesterday when I first met that guy, Kyunghan.

I just sat on the ground, looking at the field.

I grabbed my old MP3 player and put my retro-headphones on, playing the song I’d missed.

Ring on my ears by Onewe. I felt like this song suited my mood.

After the song finished, I left the soccer field and went home.

[THE NEXT DAY]

I went to school early so I wouldn’t be late. I just stayed in the room, staring at the window. I hadn’t talked to my classmates yet, and they didn’t seem interested in me either, so I kept quiet, until...

“Hey Rae-sun!” a voice called. I turned to see who it was.

“I’m Lee Dan,” he said. How to describe him? He just looked like a nerd, average in every way. “I’m the class president. Don’t be so quiet, tell us about yourself.”

Kyunghan appeared then. We locked eyes for a moment while Lee Dan waited for my answer.

“Rae-sun-ah!” Kyunghan called, walking to my side. Lee Dan looked at him too. “Come here.” He pulled me to his table and made me sit in his chair, grabbed a spray bottle from his bag, knelt down, and started removing the salonpas patch I’d put on my sprained ankle the night before.

“Who the hell told you to put that on? You’re making it worse,” he said, removing the patch slowly from my foot. His face looked like he was the one in pain while he did it. It kind of made me smile. He sprayed a cooling mist on my ankle, his expression serious.

I’d thought he wouldn’t want to talk to me again, or even bother with me, but this act of care made me wonder about his intentions.

“Hey Kyunghan, I was talking to her, why steal her from me?” Lee Dan said, following us.

“Steal?” Kyunghan smirked but didn’t bother answering him again.

“Rae-sun, it’ll be fine soon,” he said. ”Back to your seat now!” he suddenly commanded, his tone cold, his face turning more serious.

“Me, stealing? President, what are you talking about?” Kyunghan said, laughing hard and messing up Lee Dan’s hair.

“Dude, look, our class president seems jealous, hahaha.” The sudden shift in Kyunghan’s mood made me wonder again.

What exactly was this man’s mood?

Sweet, cold, then playful.

“Rae-sun, hello! I’m curious, how does your skin look so smooth and radiant? Anyway, I’m Jihyun.” Another classmate came to my side, trying to talk to me. I took a peek at Kyunghan; he was still talking and laughing loudly about soccer with his friends, not looking at me.

“Oh right, tell us!” another classmate said.

I didn’t know how I was going to answer. Even I didn’t know why my face still looked like this.

“Oh, I just woke up like this,” I said. But I was telling them the truth.

“Hey, you’re so secretive. Just tell us your skincare!” They laughed, and so did I. But deep inside, I started to wonder too. Maybe the seventeen years in the hospital were the reason I looked like this. Isn’t it?

//

My day ended the same way. I was alone again. Although my classmates Jihyun and Minha invited me to dinner, I didn’t join them. I wanted to be alone at school, staying until nightfall to feel the breeze again.

My feet led me to the soccer field again, but I was wrong to think there wouldn’t be students there.

“Dude! Get him!!!”

“Hey dude, look to your left!”

“Kyunghan, go for it!!”

“Yaaaaaaaaa!!!!”

There was a soccer practice going on. And there he was. Kyunghan.

He was drenched in sweat, his hair messy, his clothes dirty, breathing heavily, but none of it seemed to matter to him.

I wanted to leave, but my feet wouldn’t move. So I sat and watched him play, my old MP3 player and retro-earphones on.

Watching him play seemed to soothe my eyes and my heavy heart. Why was I feeling like this?

Then, suddenly, a tear fell down my face, so I covered it with both hands and cried.

The song playing in my ears made me so emotional. It was ONEWE’s song, “A Book in Memory.”

The song was actually about the way we curate our most precious moments. It’s about being brave enough to look back at the past, page by page, and choosing to love someone endlessly in those preserved moments. It’s the kind of song that makes you want to hold onto your memories like a treasure, no matter how much time passes by.

My heart still hurt. Why was this happening to me? Why, out of everyone, was I the only person whose time had frozen for seventeen whole years, right when I’d finally met the man I loved most, Yonghoon?

“Hey, why are you crying?” a familiar voice said, draping his uniform blouse over my head to cover me.

Kyunghan.

I turned to look at him, still sobbing, tears on my face, music still in my ears. He didn’t have his usual playful look; instead, his face was confused and suddenly worried. He waited for my answer, staring at me while drinking from a water bottle he was holding.

I wiped my tears away with both hands and started to stand up to leave, but he stopped me.

“Cry as much as you want now. I’ll be looking out,” he said, sitting down next to me. I looked away, but he started patting my head, which made my heart ache again. I was still listening to the song.

Minutes passed, and I completely stopped crying. Kyunghan just stared at me.

“Woah! Finally, you stopped!” he sighed in relief.

“Uhm, oh, here,” I said in a low voice.

“So, you’re fine now?” he said, taking back the shirt I handed him. “And what is this? You’re too old-fashioned for using this,” he added, grabbing my earphones. “Look, we’re high-tech now. Where did you even buy these? They look so old. You like vintage stuff?” he asked.

“You have so many questions. How am I supposed to answer that?” I said, putting them back in my bag.

“Okay, I won’t ask. Let’s go,” he said, grabbing me without asking. “Let’s eat. I’m hungry, and it’s your treat, okay?” I couldn’t pull my hand away, since he was stronger than me.

“Here, sit. It’s delicious here. This is my favorite spot,” he said, bringing me to an old hotpot place that looked just as old. He sat across from me, a big smile on his face.

He didn’t look irritated with me. This was very different. I had a feeling his mood could shift fast too.

“Kyunghan!” I said. He raised an eyebrow in answer, busy putting ingredients into the pot.

“Is there anyone who’s told you that you look like someone else?” I asked bravely. He laughed.

“Haha, who? Hey, this handsomeness doesn’t have any lookalikes,” he answered, still busy making the hotpot.

“Oh, you resemble someone I know,” I said.

“Wait, one of our classmates says I look a lot like Hwang In-youp! That actor! But I can’t accept it, I’m more handsome. Look,” he said, looking at me and posing with a peace sign using his chopsticks.

“Hwang In-youp? Is he still an actor?” I asked.

“Huh? What a sudden question. Of course, he is. Don’t you know his popular movie about soccer? That was a big hit. Wait, thinking about that, maybe our classmate’s right, maybe I do look like him, haha,” he said, laughing, then tasted the broth he was making.

“But what I know is...”

What I know is his last drama, Dream to You, was in 2026. Seventeen years ago.

“What?” Kyunghan said, his mouth full of tteokbokki and sauce.

“Ahh, oh, nothing,” I said, laughing. “Hey, look at your mouth, it’s a mess.”

We laughed as we ate.

“Ahh!!! What delicious food. Classmate, it’s time to pay,” Kyunghan said, standing up.

“Auntie, she’ll pay for our food,” he added, heading outside and leaving me there. Damn this guy, leaving me again?

“Thanks so much for the food,” Kyunghan said when I got outside the restaurant. I’d thought he’d left me after making me pay.

He was smiling so brightly at me that I just let it go.

“You’re welcome, though I thought you were the one paying,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Eyy. I accompanied you while you were crying, it’s only right that you pay me,” he said. “So, let’s go now? I’ll take you to your bus.” He grabbed my hand softly, dragging me toward the road. When the light turned green, we started to cross, and I felt a strange feeling.

A feeling that still lingered in my body.

“Rae-sun-ah, watch where you’re going!!!” Kyunghan shouted. I looked up to see a car about to crash into me. Thankfully, Kyunghan pulled me to his side.

We fell to the ground, and the car slammed into a streetlamp. I looked at Kyunghan; he had a bruise on his arm from catching me. But this feeling...

“Rae-sun-ah!!”

“Hey, that’s my daughter!”

“Doc, we need blood.”

“Yonghoon, Kanghyun, Harin, Dongmyeong, Giuk, ONEWE, Saranghae.”

“It’s been seventeen years, Rae-sun-ah, since the accident happened.”

My head was spinning. I was trembling with fear, so much that it hurt, so much that I couldn’t stand, until I passed out.

“Rae-sun-ah!!” Kyunghan.

To be continued....