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You woke up with a pounding headache. It had been a fitful night of rest, with the previous day’s events weighing heavy on your mind. You remembered Jiwoo shouting on the phone, accusing you of something. You remembered that you’d rather argue with her face-to-face than through a line.
It wasn’t the first time the two of you quarrelled over the same issues. You were even starting to wonder if this relationship was worth the effort. Jiwoo clearly did not have enough time to spend with you, and you were tired of being her ‘back-up plan’. For once, you wished she could put you first.
24 February 2026, 2:06 pm
You tapped your phone and blinked. Then blinked again. Something felt wrong, although you couldn’t quite place a finger on it.
You spent the afternoon mulling over the argument with Jiwoo. For the life of you, you couldn’t remember what she was so upset about. As hard as you tried, you could only remember the screaming, but not the exact words. You thought that perhaps she was just having nerves about releasing a new single and being busy with promotions. It didn’t matter. You would apologise first, like you always do. And then you would try to get her to see it from your point of view.
24 February 2026, 9:07 pm
By evening, you were sitting at your kitchen table, the leftovers from dinner staring at you like a sad puppy wanting to be picked up. You wondered if you looked like that to Jiwoo too. You couldn’t call her before she called you—some arrangement that you’d agreed to, but no longer remember why. The only option you had was to check her schedule and anticipate her call.
Right as your phone rang, a sparrow landed on your window ledge, chirped once, and flew away. You felt a sense of déjà vu, but shrugged it off as you picked up the call.
“Hi Oppa~ how was your day?”
Jiwoo’s bright voice greeted you, and you were glad that she didn’t sound as angry as the night before.
“Hello Jiwoo-yah, my day was alright, I guess. It’s better now that I can hear your voice.”
“Sweet talker,” she said nonchalantly, though you could hear the hint of a giggle as she continued. “I’m so happy today! We finally fine-tuned the choreography and are fully ready for our first comeback stage on Thursday!”
You swallowed nervously. You wondered if Jiwoo had really let go of the argument from last night. It was unlike her to leave things unresolved. You decided to test the waters carefully.
“That’s great! Your new song is really good. There’s this one part that’s stuck in my head. You know what he said to me? I couldn’t even care… less!”
“Yes! Everyone, including us, can't help but recite that part repeatedly. It’s really catchy!”
Jiwoo laughed, her signature melodious sound filling your ears, and you couldn’t detect any trace of anger in it.
“By the way, Jiwoo-yah, what were you saying last night? Something about fruits?”
She went silent for a while. You expected her to recall last night’s conversation and raise her voice at you again, but instead, her words were steeped in confusion.
“Huh? Fruits? What? Yesterday we didn’t even talk, pabo-yah. My practice overran and you were already sleeping when I tried to call you.”
You jolted as you realised she was referring to two days ago. A shiver ran down your spine. The nagging feeling that something was not right resurfaced again.
“Oppa, you there? You better not have talked to another girl last night and mixed her up with me.”
“No!” You vehemently denied it. “I only have one girl in my life, and that’s you.”
“I know,” she huffed a short laugh. “I was just kidding. Your memory must be really poor and all jumbled up. It’s no wonder why you don’t remember things about me.”
“Hmm? What do you mean I don’t remember things about you?”
“It’s fine, it’s nothing,” she replied in a clipped tone, her voice slowly morphing into the one in your memory from last night.
“It’s not nothing. You’re obviously bothered by something,” you retorted, skin crawling with half irritation and half curiosity. Last night’s argument was something you wanted to resolve, and you wondered if today’s conversation would be steered in that direction.
Jiwoo let out a sigh, her voice growing tired. “I’ve told you many times before, Oppa. I don’t think saying it again will make any difference. So just let it go, okay?”
Déjà vu hit you again with those words, but you were too annoyed and too invested in the argument to think twice about it.
“No, I don’t want to let it go. And I actually hate doing this over the phone, but what other choice do we have? My girlfriend is a huge superstar who cannot be seen in public with me,” you doubled down, sarcasm dripping out of your voice.
Jiwoo finally raised her voice and screamed into your ear.
“Why don’t you understand?! This is my dream that I’ve been working toward since forever. You think I don’t want to go on dates with you, visit pretty little cafes or amusement parks? I can’t do that, not because I don’t want to, but because the situation doesn’t allow it. But my dear boyfriend doesn’t even remember simple things like my favourite fruit!!”
The third and strongest sense of déjà vu coursed through you, and at this point, your brain finally landed on a chilling conclusion: You have already gone through the events of this day.
Reeling from the realisation, you blabbered, “Jiwoo-yah, this is what I was talking about before. We were arguing about this yesterday, weren’t we? You even used the exact examples, amusement parks and fruits.”
“What?! What are you even talking about? Don’t change the topic. Ugh… I’m so done with you! Hanging up now.”
The silence enveloped you as your heart pounded hard in your chest. You hoped that all this—including the quarrel—was just a bad dream and things will make sense after a night of good rest. You went to bed, making a mental note on the date.
24 February 2026, 2:06 pm
You woke up with a pounding headache. A quick look at your phone confirmed your worst horrors—you are reliving the same day. And the worst part is, you have no idea what to do to rectify this problem.
You spent the first few minutes in a panicked state, pacing around your house while your head throbbed and your heart hammered against your ribcage. You could feel a wave of anxiety spreading from your core to your fingertips.
You threaded your hands in your hair and knelt down, literally forcing your body to stop moving so you could think. You decided to get a bottle of cold water to calm yourself down. This was when you observed that the fridge closed at the same weird angle as the previous two days—or rather, the previous two repetitions of the same day.
You started noticing other repeated events—the stray cat that purred at you from the dumpster as you exited your neighbourhood, the boy who fell from his bicycle while you crossed the road, the customer in front of you that fumbled over his dinner order, unintentionally causing you to receive the wrong dish as well.
24 February 2026, 9:07 pm
And of course, the sparrow that flew to your window ledge just as Jiwoo’s call came in. You were still making sense of the whole situation and trying not to go crazy at the absurdity of it all. In hindsight, you shouldn’t have tried to complete Jiwoo’s sentences. It only served to anger her more and the argument escalated, with her hanging up on you again.
This time, instead of silence and confusion surrounding you, you were filled with rage—at Jiwoo, and at the whole unexplainable situation. Fine, you thought, since she says I don’t know anything about her, I’ll find out every little damn detail about her.
With adrenaline coursing through you, you resolved not to go to bed that night—the thought of pulling an all-nighter planted firmly in your mind. You assumed this will force time to flow normally and bring you to the next day. But a few hours in, your mind felt sluggish, after taking in multiple articles and videos of Jiwoo. The bright, colourful stages only strained your eyes more.
Each blink felt heavier, and heavier, until your eyes closed.
24 February 2026, 2:06 pm
You wake up with a pounding headache. You didn’t even have to check your phone to know that it was the same day again. You remember sitting at the computer table, screen paused on an ‘ending fairy’ pose from Jiwoo, but now you’re sitting up from your bed.
You proceed to resume your research activities, though you didn’t know if anything would even change after this. For now, it is the only thing you can do without your brain spiralling into chaos.
But it is leading you nowhere. And you are getting restless. You decide you have to do something drastically different, something that will finally make the universe take pity on you and stop with the ridiculous prank.
You set out with a plan, taking a cat food pouch with you as you leave your apartment. You spot the stray cat almost immediately—its eyes were already on you. You feed the stray cat, and in turn you receive a long, drawn-out purr of satisfaction.
From a distance, you see the boy wobbling, brows furrowing in concentration. You hurry to him to stabilise his bicycle before he falls. You help him off the bicycle, and he bows and thanks you profusely.
At the restaurant, you articulate the customer’s order before he starts fumbling. He is confused at how you knew his order, but nevertheless was grateful for it, and even offered to pay for your meal.
24 February 2026, 6:28 pm
You are eating your dinner (the correct dish, and free) and wondering what you should do about the sparrow when you have a revelation—the whole afternoon you’ve been putting others’ needs before yours. So why not do the same with Jiwoo?
You go back to your laptop, to the 24 open tabs you have of Jiwoo and Hearts2Hearts, and you start noticing little things—details which you realise Jiwoo has been telling you all along.
She has been referring to her dog all along when she says “Kong”, but you assumed she was talking about food.
She obviously likes strawberries, and has made it clear to you on multiple occasions, but yet for her last birthday you got her a mango cake.
She likes the colour navy, and regularly wears navy- or deep green-coloured clothes, but just last month you gave her a bright red scarf and gloves.
She’s been smiling and giving cute gestures on the stage, but behind it, you can see her exhaustion, her determination and her desire to continue with this career.
It’s her group’s one-year anniversary today, and you didn’t remember. Or rather, you didn’t bother to remember.
You make up your mind at that instant: You have to see Jiwoo today. Not just through a phone line, but in person, to hear her voice without any filters. You grab your stuff and head for Jiwoo’s dorm, picking up a small strawberry cake on the way.
Outside the apartment, you hesitate and stop yourself before pressing the doorbell. You remember that Jiwoo doesn’t like surprises and unplanned visits. You decide to wait for her call, making yourself comfortable at the stairwell.
24 February 2026, 9:07 pm
“Hi Oppa~ how was your day?”
“Hi Jiwoo-yah. Um… I’m actually outside your dorm right now. Is it alright if I come in and see you?”
“You’re outside? What happened? Is anything wrong?”
“No no… nothing happened. I just really wanted to see you today.”
“Okay…? Well, just come in first. Manager-oppa will open the door for you. He was just about to leave.”
You hang up the phone and make your way to the door. Their manager lets you in, and you stand awkwardly at the entrance. You didn’t think that far as to what you’d exactly do. It wasn’t the first time you met the girls, but it was usually at the SM building or music show backstages. This feels like you are intruding into their personal space.
Their manager looks at you and warns, “Don’t stay up too late. Jiwoo has a full day of schedules starting at 8 a.m. tomorrow.”
With that, he closes the door, leaving 8 eyes staring at you in half-awkwardness, half-anticipation. At least there are only half the girls here. You are grateful that the other half of the group is housed in another building.
Jiwoo clears her throat and breaks the silence, approaching you and pointing to the paper bag in your hand. “What’s that?”
“Oh, right. Happy one year anniversary to Hearts2Hearts!” You say as you take out the cake. The other three girls start crowding around you, wanting to get a better look.
“It’s a strawberry cake,” Stella says, “Jiwoo-unnie’s favourite!”
You scratch your head with your free hand and reply, “Yeah. I don’t know if it’s enough for everyone to share. Honestly, I bought this with only Jiwoo in mind.”
The girls dissolve into teasing remarks and giggles as they disperse, giving you and Jiwoo privacy.
Before stepping away, Carmen pipes up, “You two can go into Jiwoo’s room. And if you’re sleeping over I can room with the others. But no naughty business!” She glares at you while saying that, before retreating to the couch.
“Carmen, don’t be ridiculous. We don’t do that stuff. We’re just going to talk. Thanks for giving us the room.” Jiwoo says, her cheeks flaring red, as she quickly pulls you into her room and closes the door.
The atmosphere turns serious as Jiwoo gives you a once-over, concern painted all over her face.
“Oppa, are you okay? Did something happen? You’re not usually the type to do surprise visits.”
“Something did happen—it’s still happening actually, but it’s a long story,” you sigh, “But it made me realise that I’ve been paying very little attention to you, and that I don’t even remember your favourite fruit or favourite colour. I’m sorry, Jiwoo-yah. You’ve been upset with me over this, haven’t you?”
Jiwoo contemplates your words in silence, before responding in a calm, even tone.
“Honestly, yes. It feels like I’m repeating myself many times, but you were just not listening. On top of that, you keep asking me to spend large amounts of time with you, which you should know it’s not possible.”
“I know, Jiwoo-yah. I know. It was unreasonable for me to ask that of you. I get it now. It’s not about the quantity of time spent, as long as we spend it well. I’m happy to just hear your voice for a few minutes each day. I feel like we’ve been wasting all those minutes quarreling,” you say as you pull her into a hug.
“But what really happened, Oppa? I’m not complaining though. I’m happy that we’re finally on the same page. I was really touched when you remembered my group’s anniversary. And brought my favourite cake!” She responds, leaning into your embrace with a smile. “It just feels so surreal that you’re here with me now, in this room.”
“It’s hard to explain, but I will try, if I succeed today. So you’re no longer mad at me?” You pull apart briefly, searching her face for any signs of unhappiness.
“What do you mean by—”, she shakes her head, “Okay, I will wait for your explanation. And yes, I’m no longer angry. I feel relieved. And I have to agree that seeing you in person is so much better than talking over a phone line. I’ll try to meet you more often, even if it’s just for a short while.” Her eyes start welling with tears as her face lights up with a bright smile.
You feel something shift in the air, and you wonder if this is a sign that you have succeeded. You feel the weight of the past days lifting from your shoulders, and your own tears start flowing in a burst of cathartic release.
“I’m also so relieved, Jiwoo-yah. I feel so, so tired. It feels like I’ve been nursing a headache for the past four days and I haven’t been resting well.”
Jiwoo wipes your tears away and gently leads you to the bed. “Oh no, is this because of what’s happening? Come, lie down and I’ll pat you to sleep, just like when we were young.”
You close your eyes, feeling the exhaustion of the past days blanketing over you. Jiwoo settles in beside you, patting your back in a slow, rhythmic motion. You breathe in time with Jiwoo’s pats, and for once, your mind is free from all thoughts.
For the first time in many days, you finally fall asleep.
25 February 2026, 7:09 am
“Morning oppa~”
You open your eyes to Jiwoo standing beside you, bending down to greet you. The sunlight bathed her in an ethereal glow, and for a moment you thought you had crossed into another realm.
“I’d have let you sleep more, but we need to get ready soon. Manager-oppa is arriving in less than half an hour. He offered to drive you home after dropping us off at the salon, so you really need to get up now.”
You bolt up, half-registering Jiwoo’s words as the previous day’s events surface in your mind. Your head feels surprisingly light, and you notice the absence of a headache.
“Jiwoo-yah, what time is it? I mean, what’s today’s date?”
“It’s slightly past 7 a.m. Today is the 25th of February. Why?”
25th. You did it. You broke the loop. A rush of exhilaration overcomes you, as you scramble to your feet, gathering Jiwoo in your arms and spinning her around.
She screams while half-heartedly pushing at your chest. “Why are you so happy Oppa? Is this related to what happened to you? Ahh— Put me down!”
“I promise I’ll explain everything to you tonight. I’m ready to tell you what happened. For now, just know that this is my second happiest moment in my life, the first being meeting you.”
She laughs, a sparkling, merry sound that you will never tire of hearing. “You’re so sappy today, Oppa. Please put me down, we’re going to be late.”
You still don’t know why yesterday happened, or how exactly the loop broke. But as you say goodbye to Jiwoo—with her promising to call you tonight—you are simply grateful that the universe gave you a second chance to cherish this relationship.