Han goes out of her bed lazily, doesn't even bother looking at her phone to check up on the date. She drags herself to the kitchen, preparing the food that Felix will request in a few minutes.
Last night was chaotic.
She went home and told Felix about the whole situation, and the poor guy was confused a little bit, but tried his best to comfort his sister. Han exchanged numbers with both Hyunjin and Seungmin during the hangout; she waited for any messages that Hyunjin would send after the incident.
But nothing came in last night. Literally nothing.
She must've disappointed him a lot. Or, he might've not taken her situation pretty well that he needed some time to clear his mind. Whatever the reason could be, Han knew that there wasn't any point in trying anymore.
Today, she decides to let time flow as usual—no attempts should be made on Hyunjin to get her out of the time loop. The events that happened yesterday had made her exhausted mentally, and she isn't ready for another one today.
Han prepares Felix's lunchbox with a very dark mood. She wraps everything up nicely however, knowing that her state should not affect her innocent little brother.
"Sis!" Felix pops out and looks at her in surprise, "Y-You're awake?!"
"Does that surprise you?" She chuckles dryly, but the boy doesn't notice.
"Of course, since you're a heavy sleeper and te—YOU'RE MAKING MY BENTO?!" He yells again in complete shock, "AND WITH ORANGE SLICES?! DID YOU PREDICT THE FUTURE—"
"Yes, Felix. I'm a psychic." She tries to play it off as a joke, too tired to come up with some crap. Felix's mouth opens wide, before he points at the direction of his room, "I've got some questions to ask but maybe after school!"
He disappears from her view, into his room, probably preparing to look nice in front of his crush—who will definitely, reject him again. Han sighs at the phenomenon, knowing for sure that time has once again, repeated itself.
The girl has her day repeated just like the first day of the time loop—except that she prefers ditching class (which obviously makes Jungkook skip his as well) and instantly tells Chan to forget about the museum exhibition before he could even text her first.
Han doesn't want to do anything but isolate herself from the world temporarily. However, her heart is telling her to visit the exhibition once again—to see how Hyunjin's doing, even though she knows how emotionally draining it will probably be.
She had herself in a dilemma for almost the whole day, but she listened to her feelings anyway—being a dumbass she is.
Therefore, Han packs up and leaves the apartment for the museum exhibition. She doesn't know what to expect, but she has no plans running in her head. She is determined to let things happen naturally without her controlling it.
Upon arriving at the destination, she sighs upon the time. She is apparently a little bit late than usual, but it isn't a problem anyway.
This time, Han takes her time to roam around the museum; and it is actually relaxing. She forgets that she has been too focused on getting out of the time loop—completely ignoring all the art around her.
Also, she decides to ignore the sculpture for the time being. It has been multiple times for her to see the same one all over again, so she heads for a different area, finding a beautiful photograph this time.
Being amazed at the piece, she took a picture of it—multiples she would say, to get the perfect portrait.
"Excuse me."
Han stops taking pictures, feeling her whole body filled with chilling sensations upon the voice she heard.
The female slowly turns back, and finds her one and only soulmate, standing right behind her. Why?! She wasn't prepared obviously—she knew she was late, but she thought the two boys would spend more time at the sculpture. Or maybe not.
"I'm sorry." Han bows and slips behind Hyunjin, "I'll leave now."
Hyunjin blinks at her action. "I just wanted to get pictures too. You don't have to leave." He says, in a matter-of-fact tone.
"I-It's okay." She sweats a little bit, not sparing a glance at her soulmate and heads out to the café of the museum. Despite having very little interaction, Han feels her mood going worse per second. True, she wanted to let things occur naturally...but guess that she wasn't ready after all.
Han goes to the counter and orders a cup of green tea, before sitting somewhere in the area. She observes the people around her and sighs—today's a break for her, but time is going to start repeating again tomorrow; she'll have to start planning tonight.
Maybe Felix can help...again. She weakly smiles at the thought of her little brother. At least she has someone who wants to genuinely support her. Maybe she should give something as a form of gratitude to Felix one day.
"Green tea for Lee Hanseol!"
She gets up from her seat to get a drink, but pauses to see Hyunjin, alone this time, looking at the menu at the counter. Just why does he start appearing all over when she doesn't feel like seeing him now?
And where the heck is Seungmin? If he were by Hyunjin's side, probably the boy wouldn't be here at the café.
Ugh. I should've stayed at home. Han sighs and grabs the cup. At the same time, Hyunjin orders his drink, and notices her next to him.
"You." He calls her out, making her breath hitch. "Did you take some good pictures?"
Ah? Han is somehow confused, thinking that he would ask something even more serious. Hyunjin then walks closer to her, a questioning look is plastered all over his face. "I interrupted you just now."
Why does he talk a lot now? Han thought. Every time the loop repeats, Hyunjin tends to be quiet or talks only when he needs to. Doesn't he hate girls anyway? Why is he initiating conversations with her?
Then, it hits her.
She should act like a stalker to get away from him. It will definitely work, but is the drama worth it?
No no no. She debates in her mind. She's supposed to let things naturally happen anyway.
"Are you okay?" Hyunjin peeks at her, "You're pale."
His words remind her of the hangout they had yesterday. And it nearly makes her cry again.
Han bites her lips to prevent those tears from rolling down, and flashes him a fake smile, "I'm f-fine! Thanks for a-asking..."
She turns around from him and instantly runs to her seat, having her back facing him. That's probably very awkward, but she can't face her soulmate right now. The pressure is just too much.
Han quietly sips her green tea to calm herself down, but the chair in front of her is then dragged out by the one and only, Hyunjin. He clears his throat and places his Iced Americano, "I'm sorry for intruding... you don't seem okay."
Now his true nature comes out. Han knows that it's because she doesn't react much when he talked to her previously, both in a fangirling or rude manner. For once, she disliked being herself.
"I cannot leave someone just like that." Hyunjin mutters quietly, probably feeling shy.
Han finds herself unconsciously smiling at her soulmate, "Thank you for caring, but I'm fine. Seriously."
Now that she sincerely smiles, Hyunjin's eyes flutter multiple times before they start wandering elsewhere. "Re-Really..."
His attention then goes back to her, a nervous smile appearing on his face. "The name is H-Hyunjin. Hwang Hyunjin."
"Lee Hanseol." She replies, though she's very surprised internally. After recalling everything, she has never known his surname at all. All she knows that he's Hyunjin. Just that. It's amazing that when she lets things happen naturally, she gets to know and see more.
"Oh, but call me Han." She adds, but soon regrets her decision. She isn't supposed to be interacting with him, yet here she is; being friendly and all as if yesterday didn't happen. But then again, she didn't have any choice—especially when Hyunjin initiated sitting together.
"Han...Reminds me of an old friend." Hyunjin mumbles, and Han remembers how he said the exact same thing yesterday too.
The things occurring are giving her lots of flashbacks, and though Hyunjin's being sweet as always, Han really wants to leave. Interacting further would emotionally drain her eventually, and she needs to start her plan for tomorrow ASAP, too.
"Uhh, it's nice to meet you, Hwang Hyunjin, but I think I should leave." She gets up uneasily, feeling bad yet knowing that it's the right thing to do. "I-I'll see you around!" Han turns around to escape, leaving her green tea there.
But unfortunately for her, she bumps into someone when she attempted to run. The cold sensation hits her body, making her shocked. Her sky blue sweater is stained by the iced-chocolate, and of course it feels bad.
"I-I'M SO SORRY!" The person in front of her yells, instantly bowing 90 degrees, "I didn't expect you to abruptly leave like that, but I should've been more careful!"
"N-No, it's fine!" Han chuckles, when in reality, is literally dead inside.
"Jisung...?" Hyunjin calls out, gaining the attention of the two. "HYUN! I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU FOR SO LONG!" He runs to the boy and gives him a huge hug, instantly making Han's dead state so much better. At least this Jisung guy looks wholesome.
"I was about to greet you just now, but you were too focused on this girl. And well, in the end..." Jisung apologetically looks at Han, and frowns, "I'm very sorry for that! Please let me do something about it!"
Han just stands there, blinking in confusion. She doesn't know if she's mad or not—getting herself involved in another drama, technically.
"Oh Han, this is my old friend that I refer to as 'Han', too." Hyunjin speaks up, finally snapping her out of her thoughts. "Jisung, meet Hanseol."
"We've got the same nickname?! How cool is that!" Jisung grins, but soon chuckles apologetically, "I'm sorry, uh, I shouldn't be too excited. Will you let me wash your sweater?"
What is this drama? Han chuckles silently because she meets an unexpected person today. Despite the unfortunate event, she's grateful that Jisung is being responsible for his mistake. He exchanged contacts with Han, knowing that they'll probably have to get in contact later to deal with the sweater situation.
"Hyunjin's friend—or shall I say, Han." Jisung clears his throat dramatically and shows his gummy smile, "I'll get you a new sweater for now, and I'll do something about your dirty sweater later! AND HYUN."
His emphasis catches Hyunjin off guard. Han gives him a sneaky look, "After buying the sweater, let's catch up, okay? I have a bunch of shit to tell you."
"Of course." Hyunjin smiles.
And with that, Hyunjin's old friend excuses himself to leave. Han stares at Hyunjin with many questions, but he giggles lightly at her reaction. "That's Han Jisung. He's a really nice and responsible person. A ray of sunshine I would say, since he makes everyone happy."
"Oh?"
Hyunjin smiles gently in the direction where Jisung has disappeared to, "That boy has been my best friend for ages. But he had to move away and go to a different high school due to family issues, and naturally, our bond became weaker...We barely contact each other, nor play at each other's places."
"Are you sad about it?" Han asks, somehow understanding how Hyunjin feels. It reminds her of her bond with Chan; they used to be the best of friends until he started dating his current toxic girlfriend.
"Of course. I know it's unintentional, but the fact that we have this invisible wall somehow leaves a hole in my heart. There's nothing much I can do."
"That's...a surprise." Han raises a brow at Hyunjin, hearing his sensitive words—almost like a confession.
"Are you perhaps...?"
"I DIDN'T MEAN IT THAT WAY."
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Author's Note: OOF THE CHAPTER SEEMS TO BE LONGER THIS TIME I HOPE YOU ALL AREN'T TIRED OF READING IT LMAO
I thought of ending the story in 15 chapters but look, it's already chapter 16 :') I honestly don't know when I'm gonna end this story, but overall, I want everyone to enjoy this story until it ends :D
And BAAM WELCOME HAN JISUNG/HYUNJIN'S BESTFRIEND! It's a sudden appearance but again, like I said, I'm planning to prolong the story so it would be nice to add characters that can bring impact to the story ^^ (instead of interactions between Hyunjin n Hanseol only lmao)
Also... I'm planning to write a story featuring the Aussie line (yass I'm talking about chanlix), focusing on friendship and maybe light romance? Is anyone willing to read it? I'm new to SKZ pairings but I hope I can make it interesting :O
ANYHOOT STAY SAFE PPL