Cursed | Yang Hongseok

•22

My jaw dropped the moment I realised where we were. Although a thousand years have passed since this very day, the whole scene looked exactly the same like it did back then. For most of the people who were there that day, it was probably just another regular day. But not for me.

For me, this was the day I met Hongseok for the very first time.

"Look," Yeeun said, interrupting my amazed observing of the whole green market. "There's one more thing that you should know."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Whatever you do, you must not be seen by the past versions of yourselves, and no one can suspect that we are from the future." She explained. "Becuse, if that happens, huge problems will be caused in the universe. I can't really elaborate that properly, because that's something bigger than all of us. But just be careful, okay?"

"We'll try." Hongseok said. "As a matter of fact, I think we should start trying right now."

After saying that, he immediately pulled me by the hand and hurried towards a shelter of some kind. I blindly followed him, not even having the time to look behind and check if Yeeun and Hyunggu were following us.

We finally stopped only when we made sure that we were completely hidden behind an old wall, not so far away from the market.

"Hongseok, look!" Hyunggu said, pointing at the place where we were standing just a minute ago.

"I know, I saw them... I mean, I saw us coming." He said, a bit confused by his own words. "That's why I ran to hide."

I looked at that direction, my eyes becoming wide the moment I saw the two familiar men dressed quite normally for two opposing soldiers. Those men were Hongseok and Hyunggu, the same Hongseok and Hyunggu that I saw that day at the green market for the first time.

Hongseok was carrying a sack of apples quite easily, although it seemed pretty heavy.

"Xia, I think this is where you appear." Hongseok whispered to me from the back.

And he was right.

Just a second later, a girl that looked exactly like me appeared, seeming rather lost in her own thoughts. Like re-watching a favorite movie, I could suddenly feel all of the emotions that I felt back then. Ever since my eyes met with Hongseok's that day, I knew he was going to take a special place in my heart.

If only I'd known him earlier, if only I'd met him before my actual husband, non of this would have happened. We wouldn't have been cursed. We wouldn't have suffered like this.

Then, just like expected, the past versions of ourselves accidentally bumped into each other, causing Hongseok to drop the sack that he had been carrying.

"I told you to give them to me–" Past Hyunggu started complaining, but then, he suddenly stopped – and looked directly at us.

"I knew it!" Present Hyunggu said, gritting his teeth and leaning closer against the wall in order to hide himself better.

"Knew what?" Hongseok wanted to know.

"That day, I stopped scolding you, but I thought I did that because I was shocked by your reaction when you saw Xia. I was wrong." He said quietly. "I actually saw something by this wall. I saw myself."

"Dammit." Hongseok cursed. "Are you sure that was what you saw?"

"Yes." Hyunggu nodded. "I saw future versions of us, but up until now I wasn't even aware of that. I just thought I was perhaps hallucinating because of the sun or something."

"I think we're safe then." Yeeun said. "If you only realised that now, that means your past version isn't supposed to come to that conclusion any time soon. Just make sure not to be seen again."

Hyunggu nodded, but I knew that this warning was adressed to all of us equally.

"Anyways, Yeeun, I don't think this is the right period of time." Hongseok said. "This is the first time we saw each other, the commander couldn't have possibly known about us yet."

"I agree with Hongseok, but I have no idea what we're supposed to do in order to know when exactly he found about us and asked the witches for help." I stated.

"There might be one way to found out." Yeeun said pensively. "We can read his thoughts if we find one of his possessions."

When she got closer to me, I immediately realised what she was talking about.

"I– I am not his possession." I stuttered, remembering the awful, toxic marriage I had with that monster of a man.

"I know you're not." Yeeun said with an empathetic expression on her face. "But he thinks you are, doesn't he?"

"...I guess you're right." I sighed. After hearing that, Yeeun gently placed her hands on my temples, closing her eyes in order to focus on reading my mind, or to be more precise, the mind of my ex-husband. I closed my eyes, too, and in one moment, both of us saw it.

"I know when it happened." She said calmly after opening her eyes again.

Then, she ordered us to make a circle again.

"I'll try to take you there." She said. "I'm not sure if I'll be strong enough, but it didn't happen so long after this moment, so I hope I'll succeed."

"We believe in you." Hyunggu gave her an encouraging smile, taking one of her hands gently. That sight made me smile, but the calm feeling inside of my heart got replaced by a loud heartbeat once Hongseok took my free hand.

"The circle–" He explained to me softly, looking at my blushing cheeks, and then at his other hand that was holding Hyunggu's. "We have to go."

"Of course." I said, my fast heartbeat getting changed to my regular one once again. Hongseok and I couldn't afford to be gentle towards each other now, especially because one kiss was separating us from me dying yet again, starting this cruel game for the hundredth time.

That was why I closed my eyes, not being able to look at his perfect face, because I knew that, if I did so, I definitely wouldn't be able to stop the tears from escaping my eyes.

And of course, when I opened my eyes again, the surrouding changed for the second time, sending us to the place that was also very familiar to me.

That place was my old house, the one where I used to live in with the commander.