[ONESHOT] Time-Machine Day
Seohyun lay curled in bed, one hand on the remote, the other hand absent-mindedly fingering a barely-eaten bowl of sweet potato cookies. Her hair lay unkempt; she was dressed in her Keroro pajamas. They hadn't been washed in a long time; it smelled faintly of sweat and tears.
Although it was midday, she had drawn the curtains, blocking out the sun. The room was dark; she liked it that way, especially for today. Although the alarm clock beeped futilely, she ignored it, lazily panning out her right hand to silence its squeal. Any other day, she would've jumped up, washed her hair, applied her skin cream, smiled at her reflection in the mirror, and started the day in high spirits. But not today.
No, today was special. Today was time-machine day.
--------------------
Time-machine day was something that she had thought of a few weeks ago, when she was casually rifling through her old drawers and had come upon a dust-covered layer of her childhood sketches. Keroro, Snow White, the Little Mermaid - they were all here, waiting for her.
She had sat there for the better part of the day, going through her elementary-level drawings, one by one. And it was only when the sun had set and she couldn't see her pencil marks anymore that she realized that she had been swept away in a wave of nostalgia that she hadn't felt since.
Seohyun had bounded into the living room, hands clutched around her new-found precious drawings, when the harsh glare of the overhead lights had hit her squarely in the face and she was reminded, brutally, cruelly, that she wasn't a child anymore.
She was an idol. The year was 2013. And she was all grown up. The thought had filled her with an inconsolable sorrow; the drawings fell with a swish around her legs. In despair, she had sat, cross-legged, on the couch, tears welling up in her eyes (she didn't cry often), reminiscing.
But then she had reminded herself that no, this was unhealthy, she needed to live in the now, the present.
However, a small part of her mind had asked, why couldn't she escape to the past every once in a while? Why couldn't she fondly remember her rose-tinted days? What was the problem in smiling at the Seohyun of old?
Nothing, she had concluded. And thus began the new ritual of time-machine day. As long as it didn't hurt anybody.
--------------------
Today marked the four-month anniversary of time-machine day. Once a month, on the first day of each, she would lock herself in the room and wander off into wherever her memory called her. Getting the time off hadn't been easy; it had required some discreet favors, a delicately thrown tantrum here and there, and some juggling of promises, but in the end, she had won. Seohyun now had one extra holiday a month. The rest of the Girls' Generation members had complained, but what did she care? It had been such a long time since any of them had been 'family'. Perhaps she would re-visit that time, too, in another one of her time-machine days.
In any case, she was having a hard time thinking up of what time period she should travel back to. Seohyun had already ruled out the debut stage - it had been a confusing mess, anyway, and Tiffany hadn't helped matters - and her first kiss, last year, hadn't been anything special. In fact, she had been secretly disappointed.
And then, her mind randomly fell on a single topic, like uncovering an eroded glyph in the desert. It had been, comparatively, a long time ago; more than three years. It was a distant memory by now - the cameras, the house, the couch, the guitars.
She strained to remember his face. Strangely enough, his mouth was the first thing she could decently make out; the irregular teeth had always fascinated her, to a slight degree. And then, slowly, piece by piece, came the rest of the face. The tousled brown hair, the slightly misshapen nose, the squid-like eyes.
Seohyun remembered Jung Yong Hwa.
Then she remembered everything.
--------------------
The yellow couch sat there, invitingly, the sun shimmering on its slightly dusty facade.
Seohyun stood at the entrance. The mixer sat on top of the kitchenette, decorated with pink hearts that (she remembered now) she had cut out herself. The wood floor creaked at the same place that she now remembered.
She took a step forward, and nearly stubbed her toe on the music player that was plugged into the outlet near the floor. Cursing inwardly (in her imagination, of course), she walked into the living room. It was much smaller than she had remembered; or had she just grown that much taller? Taking care not to bump her head into the red Avatar doll suspended from the ceiling (yes, she remembered! - it was the first film they had watched together), she sat down cautiously on the couch and marveled at how real everything seemed, before remembering that this was all in her head - of course it would be as real as she could make it.
Suddenly, she had a stroke of remembrance. She excitedly turned her head to the ceiling, and let out a small squeak of joy. The cloud wallpaper had always been her favorite part about the house. She could nearly smell the kimchi stew wafting from the downstairs landlady's apartment.
The biggest surprise awaited her, however. It wasn't until when she had opened the door to the bedroom that she found out what it - or, rather, he was. Yong Hwa was sitting on the bed, nonchalantly humming something. His guitar lay crooked on the bed itself.
"Hello," he now said, looking askance at her, brushing his bangs out of his eyes.
Seohyun wondered if she should respond. Her imagination frightened even her, sometimes. She hesitated on the precipice. Yong Hwa smiled. "Don't worry - you're right. It's all in your head," he grinned.
And just like that, Seohyun woke up.
--------------------
She lay in bed for a long time. Not thinking about anything in particular; in fact, she preferred not to think about anything at all, because she wanted the memories to stay inside her head as long as she could. But just like all dreams do, the more she tried to remember the details, the faster they slipped through her fingers.
Seohyun finally groaned and turned over, sliding into her padded slippers. Ambling over to the windows, she flung open the curtains. It was nearly nightfall; the last vestiges of the sun were disappearing behind the mountains in the distance in a fiery encore of red and orange.
Where was he now, she wondered. They hadn't seen each other outside work in a long time. There had, of course, been times on broadcast when they appeared together, but that was just work, after all. A simple 'hello' had sufficed.
She cursed inwardly again (this time, it wasn't her imagination). This was what she had been afraid of when she had started time-machine day. She had vowed not to get caught up in the past, but curiosity kept pushing her toward a direction she wasn't sure she wanted to go.
Unconsciously, her hand had reached for her phone. Seohyun sighed and unlocked the screen, scrolling quickly through her list of contacts, until she found it. Three letters, sandwiched between Jung, Nicole and Jung, Yun Ho.
It was right before her finger hit the 'call' button that her mind spoke to her. Today is time-machine day, it told her. That means you can't do anything to hurt anyone. We agreed on this. Time-machine day...as long as it didn't hurt anybody.
Seohyun hesitated a moment, her finger hovering over the virtual button on the screen. It was fully dark now; the room was bathed in moonlight. Therefore, she reasoned, time-machine day was now over and she could do anything she pleased.
She placed the call and waited for it to ring.
Although it was midday, she had drawn the curtains, blocking out the sun. The room was dark; she liked it that way, especially for today. Although the alarm clock beeped futilely, she ignored it, lazily panning out her right hand to silence its squeal. Any other day, she would've jumped up, washed her hair, applied her skin cream, smiled at her reflection in the mirror, and started the day in high spirits. But not today.
No, today was special. Today was time-machine day.
--------------------
Time-machine day was something that she had thought of a few weeks ago, when she was casually rifling through her old drawers and had come upon a dust-covered layer of her childhood sketches. Keroro, Snow White, the Little Mermaid - they were all here, waiting for her.
She had sat there for the better part of the day, going through her elementary-level drawings, one by one. And it was only when the sun had set and she couldn't see her pencil marks anymore that she realized that she had been swept away in a wave of nostalgia that she hadn't felt since.
Seohyun had bounded into the living room, hands clutched around her new-found precious drawings, when the harsh glare of the overhead lights had hit her squarely in the face and she was reminded, brutally, cruelly, that she wasn't a child anymore.
She was an idol. The year was 2013. And she was all grown up. The thought had filled her with an inconsolable sorrow; the drawings fell with a swish around her legs. In despair, she had sat, cross-legged, on the couch, tears welling up in her eyes (she didn't cry often), reminiscing.
But then she had reminded herself that no, this was unhealthy, she needed to live in the now, the present.
However, a small part of her mind had asked, why couldn't she escape to the past every once in a while? Why couldn't she fondly remember her rose-tinted days? What was the problem in smiling at the Seohyun of old?
Nothing, she had concluded. And thus began the new ritual of time-machine day. As long as it didn't hurt anybody.
--------------------
Today marked the four-month anniversary of time-machine day. Once a month, on the first day of each, she would lock herself in the room and wander off into wherever her memory called her. Getting the time off hadn't been easy; it had required some discreet favors, a delicately thrown tantrum here and there, and some juggling of promises, but in the end, she had won. Seohyun now had one extra holiday a month. The rest of the Girls' Generation members had complained, but what did she care? It had been such a long time since any of them had been 'family'. Perhaps she would re-visit that time, too, in another one of her time-machine days.
In any case, she was having a hard time thinking up of what time period she should travel back to. Seohyun had already ruled out the debut stage - it had been a confusing mess, anyway, and Tiffany hadn't helped matters - and her first kiss, last year, hadn't been anything special. In fact, she had been secretly disappointed.
And then, her mind randomly fell on a single topic, like uncovering an eroded glyph in the desert. It had been, comparatively, a long time ago; more than three years. It was a distant memory by now - the cameras, the house, the couch, the guitars.
She strained to remember his face. Strangely enough, his mouth was the first thing she could decently make out; the irregular teeth had always fascinated her, to a slight degree. And then, slowly, piece by piece, came the rest of the face. The tousled brown hair, the slightly misshapen nose, the squid-like eyes.
Seohyun remembered Jung Yong Hwa.
Then she remembered everything.
--------------------
The yellow couch sat there, invitingly, the sun shimmering on its slightly dusty facade.
Seohyun stood at the entrance. The mixer sat on top of the kitchenette, decorated with pink hearts that (she remembered now) she had cut out herself. The wood floor creaked at the same place that she now remembered.
She took a step forward, and nearly stubbed her toe on the music player that was plugged into the outlet near the floor. Cursing inwardly (in her imagination, of course), she walked into the living room. It was much smaller than she had remembered; or had she just grown that much taller? Taking care not to bump her head into the red Avatar doll suspended from the ceiling (yes, she remembered! - it was the first film they had watched together), she sat down cautiously on the couch and marveled at how real everything seemed, before remembering that this was all in her head - of course it would be as real as she could make it.
Suddenly, she had a stroke of remembrance. She excitedly turned her head to the ceiling, and let out a small squeak of joy. The cloud wallpaper had always been her favorite part about the house. She could nearly smell the kimchi stew wafting from the downstairs landlady's apartment.
The biggest surprise awaited her, however. It wasn't until when she had opened the door to the bedroom that she found out what it - or, rather, he was. Yong Hwa was sitting on the bed, nonchalantly humming something. His guitar lay crooked on the bed itself.
"Hello," he now said, looking askance at her, brushing his bangs out of his eyes.
Seohyun wondered if she should respond. Her imagination frightened even her, sometimes. She hesitated on the precipice. Yong Hwa smiled. "Don't worry - you're right. It's all in your head," he grinned.
And just like that, Seohyun woke up.
--------------------
She lay in bed for a long time. Not thinking about anything in particular; in fact, she preferred not to think about anything at all, because she wanted the memories to stay inside her head as long as she could. But just like all dreams do, the more she tried to remember the details, the faster they slipped through her fingers.
Seohyun finally groaned and turned over, sliding into her padded slippers. Ambling over to the windows, she flung open the curtains. It was nearly nightfall; the last vestiges of the sun were disappearing behind the mountains in the distance in a fiery encore of red and orange.
Where was he now, she wondered. They hadn't seen each other outside work in a long time. There had, of course, been times on broadcast when they appeared together, but that was just work, after all. A simple 'hello' had sufficed.
She cursed inwardly again (this time, it wasn't her imagination). This was what she had been afraid of when she had started time-machine day. She had vowed not to get caught up in the past, but curiosity kept pushing her toward a direction she wasn't sure she wanted to go.
Unconsciously, her hand had reached for her phone. Seohyun sighed and unlocked the screen, scrolling quickly through her list of contacts, until she found it. Three letters, sandwiched between Jung, Nicole and Jung, Yun Ho.
It was right before her finger hit the 'call' button that her mind spoke to her. Today is time-machine day, it told her. That means you can't do anything to hurt anyone. We agreed on this. Time-machine day...as long as it didn't hurt anybody.
Seohyun hesitated a moment, her finger hovering over the virtual button on the screen. It was fully dark now; the room was bathed in moonlight. Therefore, she reasoned, time-machine day was now over and she could do anything she pleased.
She placed the call and waited for it to ring.