Awakening in the Past

Yeon-ji's vision was shaded with darkness as if someone had blindfolded her. She reached out for help, but only silence answered, leaving her afraid. As she waited endlessly, she heard a distant voice. It became clearer as she focused.

"Yeon-ji-ya, wake up." As she heard the voice distinctly and opened her eyes, she escaped the obscurity. In front of her was a familiar face. Park Mi-sook, Yeon-ji's mother, was looking at her with a concerned frown. "Yeon-ji-ya, are you feeling sick? Why are you crying?" She wiped the tears from Yeon-ji's cheek as she asked.

Yeon-ji, still dazed, shook her head slightly to snap out of what felt like a dream.

Mi-sook, who was cleaning the house, had found Yeon-ji crying in her sleep. Seeing that her daughter was still out of sorts, she gave her a glass of water and asked, "Did you have a nightmare?"

At the mention of 'nightmare,' Yeon-ji recalled the accident and trembled uncontrollably. It had been too vivid to be just a dream.

Seeing her daughter tremble, Mi-sook hugged her to comfort her. When Yeon-ji felt the warmth of her embrace, she burst into tears. She cried out loud, telling her mother how scared she was. "It was so painful, Mom. I was very scared."

After Yeon-ji stopped crying and calmed down, Mi-sook made her rest and went back to her work. Once the door closed, Yeon-ji got off the bed and instantly fell to the floor. It felt as if her legs had become too short for the bed.

The pain from the fall made Yeon-ji realize she was not dreaming. Hastily looking around, she was aghast to see her reflection in the mirror. It was her, but she looked incredibly small. It was her face from when she was 8 years old. Pinching her cheek to wake herself up from this strange dream was futile. "This is real. If this is reality, was the accident a dream? But it felt so realistic, including the pain."

Yeon-ji stood up immediately and looked for a calendar. The calendar read 2014. Investigating more from her family, she found that the events happening now were the similar as those in her memory. Finally, she flopped onto the bed, accepting the fact that she had traveled back in time to the year 2014.

FEW DAYS LATER

Yeon-ji blended into the new time easily, having lived through this period before, but she was still preoccupied with her thoughts.

"If I'm here right now, then what happened to my body? Did I die?" she wondered. "What has happened to Kang-dae? Would he have avoided the accident if I hadn’t reached out to him?"

Spring had arrived, and the season was in full bloom. Yeon-ji’s mother decided to take her and her brother to visit a friend who had recently moved to the city.

"Yeon-ji-ya, we're going to visit Auntie Soo-jin today. She moved to a new neighborhood, and I want you to meet her children," Mi-sook announced.

Min-jae, Yeon-ji's brother who was two years older han her sulked at the couch since he didn't get to go out with his friends but had to accompany his mother.

"But, Mom, I don’t remember Auntie Soo-jin," Yeon-ji replied, puzzled.

"You were very young when you last saw her. Don’t worry, you’ll like them," Mi-sook reassured her.

However, something felt off. Yeon-ji didn’t remember visiting her mother’s friend in the past, and the neighborhood was different from the one she recalled. It was like everything was the same, but they had suddenly become part of a new neighborhood.

When they reached their destination, Mi-sook greeted her friend, Choi Soo-jin, a kind woman with a warm smile and short, curly hair. Soo-jin welcomed them inside her cozy home filled with potted plants and the scent of freshly baked cookies.

“Yeon-ji, Min-jae, this is Mrs. Choi,” Mi-sook introduced her children.

“Hello, Mrs. Choi,” they both said in unison.

“Hello, Yeon-ji, Min-jae! Please make yourselves at home. My children are around your age. Why don’t you go and play with them?” Soo-jin suggested.

As the children were shown to the living room where Soo-jin's children were, Yeon-ji's curiosity got the better of her. "This is Soo-min and her brother went out for a while," she introduced. "Why don't you all get to know each other while he returns?"

While the adults chatted in the kitchen, Yeon-ji, Min-jun, and Eun-ji’s children played together. However, Yeon-ji couldn’t shake the feeling of unfamiliarity. After a while, she excused herself to explore the house and the surrounding area.

"I'll just be outside for a bit," she told the others, stepping out into the backyard. The garden was lush with blooming flowers and a small path leading to a park.

She wandered down the path, her mind racing with thoughts of her strange situation. As she explored, she noticed that the neighborhood looked slightly different from what she remembered. The layout of the streets and houses seemed off, adding to her sense of confusion.

Lost in thought, Yeon-ji realized she had wandered farther than intended. The surroundings were unfamiliar, and she couldn’t find her way back. Panic set in as she tried to retrace her steps but ended up more disoriented.

Suddenly, she tripped on an uneven patch of pavement and fell, scraping her knee. The pain was sharp and immediate, grounding her in the reality of her situation. She looked around, trying to recognize something, but everything seemed alien. Tears welled up in her eyes, partly from the pain and partly from the frustration of being lost. She stood up, trying to orient herself, but the surroundings seemed unfamiliar.

The sky began to darken, and a light rain started to fall. Yeon-ji hurried to find shelter and took cover under a large tree. She sat down, holding her injured knee, and watched the raindrops fall, feeling a sense of despair. The sight of people gathering on the nearby road, their umbrellas forming a crowd, reminded her of the accident. Her heart raced with fear and anxiety.

As she sat there, shivering and lost, she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up to see a boy about her brother's age, holding an umbrella. He came closer and lifted the umbrella, revealing his face.

Yeon-ji’s eyes widened in shock. It was Dae-hyun’s baby face. The resemblance was unmistakable, and she felt a mixture of relief and confusion wash over her.

"Are you okay?" the boy asked, his voice filled with concern.

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