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Although he had gone in twice, Hye-ryeong didn't believe it was a good idea to let him in (and she still didn't know how he got inside the house).

She served cookies and orange juice that her younger brother had purchased the previous time he visited. However, fifteen minutes had passed, and the drinks and cookies had not been touched. There wasn't even a single word exchanged. It created an unsettling atmosphere.

She gave him a quick glance, trying not to appear nervous in case he struck up a conversation.

He had been gazing up at a plain, dark sky devoid of stars, with only a crescent moon visible through the passing clouds. When she took her cup to drink, she heard him take a soft deep breath in.

She knew well that she was inept at entertaining visitors, and she didn't know how to persuade him to take a cookie and drink the juice. "Have some," she pushed herself to say. She placed the platter in front of him. He took one and nibbled on it.

"Thank you," Seokjin said.

With a tight smile on her face, Hye-ryeong just nodded. She placed the platter near Seokjin and awkwardly took her cup to drink.

Seokjin spoke up out of nowhere. "We've been buddies since we were children. We used to be neighbors." He paused, stuffing the rest of the cookies into his mouth. The crunching sound created a transient disruption in the silence around them. He licked his inner cheeks as if trying to get rid of the cookie crumbs lodged between his teeth. "It's kind of a childhood vow," he continued. "We promised to marry once we were successful, and it happened. She ended up being my fiancée."

He smiled at her when Hye-ryeong looked at him, then returned his attention to the sky.

"I'm a businessman. She used to be a model. We're just a regular couple who fight, spoil, and support one another." He paused again, feeling another moment of stillness and the chilly breeze of the summer night. "She was quite famous. She's gorgeous, and other businessmen always favored her."

Hye-ryeong did not know what was going through his head during the stillness, but the glitter in his eyes told her that he missed his fiancée so much that it wounded him.

"We were looking for our wedding items one day. A gang of masked men in black kidnapped her. I was helpless to save her. They dragged me somewhere, beat me, then stabbed me." The man lifted his brown coat and white shirt, revealing two three-to-four-centimeter-long wounds, one at his waist and the other near his stomach.

She despised seeing deep, lasting wounds. Her skin crawled with goosebumps. But she kept looking at them, recognizing the stitch marks and irregularities.

Seokjin continued after slipping his shirt down. "Their knife came close to severing my kidney, but I survived. And my Hye-ryeong? When I opened my eyes, there was no news. I waited for her every day. Days turned into years, and there was no word from the police." He let another moment of silence pass. "It was then, they said, that they found her in 1965. I didn't believe it was her since the corpse's attire wasn't the same as what my Hye-ryeong wore the last time."

"The kidnappers could've changed her clothing," Hye-ryeong chimed in.

"That's what the others were thinking as well. As a result, everyone thought my Hye-ry

eong was dead. Her body would have been a skeleton after eight years of waiting, but they found a decaying corpse. In the past, the investigation and system weren't as good as you have now," Seokjin said, sighing.

"Still, corruption is likely these days," Hye-ryeong said, raising her shoulders.

Seokjin exhaled a sardonic sigh. "There was a lot of corruption back then too. People didn't give a damn until the accuser had a lot of solid evidence."

Hye-ryeong just nodded and said nothing. But then she questioned, "How did you get the stopwatch?"

"An elderly lady called me when I was on my way to the office. She merely informed me that she knew I needed it and then showed me how to use it."

"Oh," the young lady exclaimed. "Can I look at it?"

Seokjin looked at her, smiling awkwardly, and said, "I lost it."

"What?" she exclaimed, flustered.

"I lost it."

"How come?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"After our meeting at the café, I went to the Han River. I sat it next to me on a bench, and out of nowhere, a dog appeared and took it. I couldn't catch it."

"What breed is it?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't get a good look at it, but it's hairy, chubby, and light brown, and it's big." He opened his arms to show its size.

Hye-ryeong snorted. She desperately wanted to tell him how dangerous it would be to leave minor items alone in this generation, and that even a monkey could appear out of nowhere. But Seokjin seemed to have learned his lesson, so she kept her mouth shut. "By the way, why did you actually think she was reincarnated?"

Seokjin gave a sad, faint grin. "I simply believe. Living things go through a cycle, and I..."

His pause had Hye-ryeong's eyebrows raised. She said, "Well?"

There was yet another void in the air. Then, with a sigh, Seokjin broke the silence and replied, "We have promised words. We make a promise to meet again in the next life, and we hope to recognize each other in that promise."

"And that is?"

The man's gaze drew to her, sternly staring at her for a brief period.

Hye-ryeong became perplexed. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Seokjin spoke, "Know this, sometimes lies will try to tear us apart. Hardships will try to deceive us." After that, they only stared at each other, as if something had compelled them to be closer. It was getting a little closer, yet still a long way away. "My Hye-ryeong would definitely say, 'just focus on me then. In the darkness, just the two of us is enough'."

Then Hye-ryeong remembered the line she had scribbled in Seokjin's journal on the yellow sticky note. Seokjin continued to stare at her, as if expecting something from her. "It may just be a coincidence, you know," she said, shaking her head.

Seokjin remained silent.

"It was just a random creative response for me. I still believe everything is a coincidence and nothing is predetermined," the woman replied, her rounded frame spectacles catching Seokjin's gaze.

Seokjin chuckled but said nothing else. The way he laughed was painful. It was almost quiet and forced, nearly brief. Hye-ryeong couldn't help herself in this situation. She wasn't sure

how to cheer him up most. After all, she was part of the 'problem'. She didn't want to get into another argument with Seokjin. Although she had never lost someone she cared about, she comprehended his predicament.

She still believed his beloved had never been reborn but that he had traveled across time in quest of his reincarnated fiancée. It was absurd to assume she had believed that one.

Hye-ryeong suddenly asked, "How did you know my number?"

Seokjin showed a confused look. He asked, "What number?"

"My phone number," the woman answered.

"I don't know your phone number," he said.

"You don't?"

Seokjin nodded his head. "I don't even have coins to use the payphone, and I don't have that screen-touching thing you all have," he said, looking at Hye-ryeong's phone.

Hye-ryeong let out a chuckle. "This is a phone. Touchscreen phone. Most people in this generation own one."

Then Hye-ryeong wondered who had called her the previous time. Who was it who told her, "it's you"? She gazed at the man eating the cookies, and it occurred to her that the deep voice from the previous call didn't sound like Seokjin. He spoke with a gentle, deep voice that was a little nasally. The caller, on the other hand, had a deep, dark tone.

'Who was it?' She wondered. She brushed the thoughts away and turned her attention to the man's clothes. She remembered him wearing the same brown outfit the first time she saw him at her place. "How long have you been here?" she asked.

Seokjin buzzed, looking up while he thought, and then said, "I think it's been a month or two."

His clothing drew the woman's attention once again. "And you never change your clothes?"

Seokjin lowered his gaze to his coat. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I was only wondering if you'd cleaned yourself up since arriving in this generation. The air quality in this place is quite poor. Do you have a dust allergy?" She asked.

"I do," he answered, scratching the back of his neck. "That explains why I've been sneezing and scratching for the past two days."

Hye-ryeong took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "You'll need a face mask when the dust index is high, and possibly a shower. I can do the laundry for you."

"What am I supposed to do with myself after I shower?" Seokjin asked, his brows furrowed. "Do you mind if I walk around naked?"

Hye-ryeong palmed her face. "I'll give you my brother's clothes to wear," she said, laughing nervously. "Not sure if they'll fit you. But it's better than leaving you naked." Then she noticed the light mustache and goatee on his chin. "And I think you need to shave." Her face showed a fake smile.