Again

Nari let out a frustrated sigh, dragging a hand through her hair.

She didn't have time to think about this.

"Okay, yeah, Mom, I get it," she said quickly, already out of bed and moving toward the door. Without hesitation, she pushed her mother out into the hallway.

"Hey, wait—"

Bang.

The door shut in her mother's face.

Nari leaned against it for a second, closing her eyes.

Third time.

She'd heard those exact same lines three times now. Same tone. Same words. Same everything.

It was starting to get exhausting.

She pulled away from the door and grabbed her phone, her first instinct kicking in.

Minjae.

Maybe if she talked to him earlier...

Her thumb hovered over the screen.

Then she froze.

"...Right."

She never asked for his number.

And even if she did... it wouldn't matter. The day would just reset again, and she'd lose it anyway.

Nari let out another sigh, dropping her phone onto her bed.

"Forget it."

There was no shortcut.

She had to go through it all again.

-------

The routine felt even worse this time.

Brushing her teeth. Washing her face. Getting dressed.

Every movement felt repetitive. Mechanical.

Like she was following a script she didn't want to be in.

Again.

And just like before

She ended up late.

Again.

By the time she reached the classroom, slightly out of breath, the scene played out exactly the same. The door. The looks. The teacher's voice telling her to go to her seat.

Nari didn't even react this time.

She just walked to her desk, already knowing what would happen next.

As she sat down, her eyes flicked toward the back of the room.

Minjae.

He glanced at her briefly, just for a second, before looking back out the window like nothing mattered.

Like she didn't matter.

Nari narrowed her eyes slightly but said nothing.

Not yet.

Before she could think further, her friend turned around, the same familiar grin already forming.

"Cute, right—?"

"Yes, he's cute," Nari cut in immediately, her tone flat, slightly irritated.

Her friend blinked, caught off guard.

Nari exhaled quietly, resting her chin on her hand.

She was already tired of this day.

And it had barely even started.

------

Finally, the lunch bell rang.

Chairs scraped loudly against the floor as students stood up all at once, conversations filling the room as everyone began filing out. But Nari didn't wait.

The moment the bell rang, she was already moving.

She pushed past a few desks, making her way straight to the back of the classroom, toward Minjae.

He was already standing.

Waiting.

His expression was the same as always. Blank, unreadable, but his eyes were fixed on her, like he had been expecting this.

Nari stopped in front of him, slightly out of breath, her thoughts rushing faster than her words.

"Please tell me you also don't remember going home last night?" she said quickly, her voice low but urgent.

Minjae didn't answer right away.

He just stared at her for a second, studying her face like he was trying to confirm something.

Then--

"No," he said calmly.

A pause.

"I don't."

His gaze darkened slightly as he continued, "This... hasn't happened. Not once. Not in all sixty-eight loops."

Nari blinked, then let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

"Oh, thank God," she muttered, a hint of relief in her voice. "I thought I was actually losing it."

Minjae didn't share her relief.

"That just means your stupid plan didn't work," he said bluntly.

Nari's head snapped up. "What!? It was not a stupid plan," she shot back immediately, irritation flashing across her face.

She crossed her arms, thinking quickly. "We just need a different approach."

Minjae raised an eyebrow slightly but stayed silent, letting her continue.

"It's not that it didn't work," Nari said, her voice more focused now, her mind clicking into place. "It did. We stopped Hajun from getting injured the way it was written."

She leaned in slightly, her eyes narrowing with realization.

"The problem is... the script changed."

The words hung in the air.

Minjae's expression shifted, just barely.

Nari straightened, determination settling in.

"So," she said, her tone firm, "what if we make sure it doesn't change at all?"

Minjae's brows furrow slightly. "Not change... at all?" he repeats, like he's trying to process what she just said.

"Yeah," Nari says quickly, already thinking ahead. "Think about it. The moment we interfered, the story adjusted. It replaced Hajun's injury with something worse."

Her expression hardens.

"So what if... we don't let it adjust?"

Minjae crosses his arms, still skeptical. "That doesn't make sense. If the story wants something to happen, it'll just force it another way."

"Then we stop everything," Nari fires back immediately. "Every possible way it could go wrong."

There's a pause.

Minjae just stares at her.

"...That's impossible."

Nari shrugs. "So was me remembering. And yet- here I am."

That shuts him up.

For a second, neither of them speaks.

Then Minjae sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Fine," he mutters. "Explain your genius plan."

Nari smirks a little at that.

"First," she starts, counting on her fingers, "We keep Hajun away from anything dangerous. No practice. No gym. No 'accidents.'"

"And Ye-rin?" Minjae asks, his tone sharper now.

Nari's expression falters slightly, but she quickly recovers. "We watch her."

"Watch her?" Minjae repeats.

"Yeah. She's the biggest variable now," Nari says. "If she's the one causing the changes... then we stop her before she even gets the chance."

Minjae's eyes narrow slightly.

"...You're assuming she's doing it on purpose."

Nari hesitates.

The image of Ye-rin standing upstairs flashes in her mind..shocked... scared.

"...I don't know," she admits quietly. "But she was there. And that wasn't in your notebook."

Minjae doesn't respond right away.

Instead, he reaches into his bag and pulls out the notebook, flipping it open.

Both of them lean in.

The pages are still there

They both let out a quiet breath at the same time.

Relief.

The pages hadn't disappeared. The timeline hadn't spiraled out of control again. And most importantly...the writing that had changed after Hajun's accident...

...it was back to normal.

Nari's shoulders relaxed slightly. "Okay... that's good," she murmured, more to herself than to Minjae.

For once, it felt like they hadn't completely messed everything up.

Minjae closed the notebook slowly, his expression still unreadable, but the tension in his posture eased just a little. "So..." he started, glancing at her, "what do we do about the teacher's affair getting leaked?"

Nari paused, thinking it through.

"We can wait on that one," she said after a moment, her tone steadier now that she had something resembling a plan. "It happens at the end of the day anyway."

She crossed her arms, replaying the memory of the video in her head. "And we already know who the guy is. So when the time comes, we just stop him from meeting her. Simple."

Minjae gave a small nod. "Yeah... I guess that one's manageable," he admitted. "But Ye-rin and Hajun..."

His gaze darkened slightly.

"...those are a bit more complicated."

Nari exhaled slowly, running a hand through her hair.

"Yeah," she muttered. "No kidding."

For a second, the weight of everything settled back onto her shoulders. The loops, the changing script, the fact that one wrong move could reset everything again.

She looked back up at him, determination pushing through the exhaustion.

"Well... ready?" she asked. "Because I really don't feel like repeating this day again. So we have to get this right."

Minjae met her gaze for a moment, then gave a small, firm nod.

"Yeah," he said simply. "Let's go."

He turned and walked out of the classroom without hesitation.

Nari followed right behind him.

This time...

They couldn't afford to mess up.

To be continued.

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