Chapter Text
Ikjun
Ikjun only saw it from his peripheral vision but the pair of shoulders still caught his attention. From the moment he swung the door of the steakhouse open, the way that pair of shoulders moved, the way the fabric of her clothing draped over it, the way that even from a distance, he knew that his hands would fit right in that space between her neck and the beginning of her arm. He knew.
She was dressed sophisticatedly, with her hair falling into place perfectly, not a strand of it misplaced. Just as he remembered.
Just as how she would always come to him in his memory lately.
He hasn’t had a chance to catch a glimpse of her face yet, but somehow he already knew what she would look like. Though he cannot help but wonder, would her face change?
Seeing that his appearance stayed completely the same, he no longer indulges in his question. Instead, he tries to revisit his vivid memories of her face, tracing her exquisite features with his mind; trying to prepare himself for when he finally faces her again.
But he thinks more than anything, he misses looking into her eyes. Though his memories always showed him her eyes, he’d do anything to see those eyes again. Those eyes that give off a slight glower when she’s focused. Or those eyes that cave into lines when she laughs.
The table that would give him a slight view of her side profile was free like fate was finally on his side. It was the perfect spot. As he skims through the menu, his eyes occasionally linger over to her table. Catching on her little habits and mannerisms, a shudder ran through his spine. It was eerily akin to the ones in his memory. It was like he was watching his favorite movie, the one he’s seen hundreds of times. Only now, he was finally given the privilege to witness the actress perform with his own two eyes.
The way she clutches the mug of her coffee. The way she closes her eyes as she takes a whiff of the beverage. The way she feels giddy and does her little dance at a bite of her favorite cake. The way she cards her fingers through her hair. The way her feet cross with each other, and how it swings as it dangles from her seat, slightly brushing the ground.
It was like she never changed. Like she stayed completely the same.
And the sun, in its perfect timing, shone on her, illuminating her petite figure. He likes to think it was the Deity’s way of telling him.
For as long as he can remember, she had only been alive in his head. He fought even the cruelest laws of the universe to keep her alive–through her memory.
She was only with him in his memories, and at times, it became excruciating.
But it was without a doubt.
He finally found her. He finally got to exist in the same lifetime as her, again.