⊱Changer le passé⊰

Change the past

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Something poked me while I was drowning in darkness as numbness curled around my limbs and cut off my senses. My body was floating in abyss but my mind was flying back to reality by the tiny sensation and the muffled voice that stirred me awake.

"—for school. Come on, my baby sparrow."

The blurry room I was sleeping in became clearer as my eyes adjusted to it. From the corner of them, I saw my father leaving the room. He had his work suit on and my senses jolted fully awake.

I was... actually sleeping...? Me? A Heavenly Virtue?

That was absurd. The concept of being asleep was long forgotten that I sat there on my old bed, dazed and lost in thought. Not in the way humans did whenever they woke up early in the morning.

But what did father say? Something about school?

"Ah, right," I exclaimed, remembering my university days that unfortunately did not last long. Sooner than I wanted, I had to withdraw because of health issues back then.

When I rolled off the bed, everything started spinning and I clutched my head that was throbbing like an alarm. I had forgotten how susceptible to pain I was.

After my headache subsided, I walked into the bathroom to wash up and stared at my reflection in the mirror. Dark hair flowed down my arms until my hips and I had not gotten used to seeing my white hair gone. I looked... normal... and myself. It was so easy to mistake that I was actually living again... as the daughter of my father.

"Sae, are you up yet?!" My father's voice bounced off the walls, startling me.

I flinched and snapped out of my daze. "I'm up!"

"Hurry and eat your breakfast then!"

Finishing my routine (that I believed I butchered), I dashed into the kitchen and sat down at the table before my father who was already eating and messaging someone. The smell of coffee permeated the air and I scrunched my nose a little. My father always drank coffee like water and I used to dislike the smell but I could never tell him. Now... the smell made my heart ache and I wanted to keep smelling it no matter how unreal it was. It mingled with the warmth of my father sitting before me.

"Sae, how many classes- Sae! Why are you crying? What happened? Are you in pain?!"

I snapped my head up to stare at him in surprise. "Huh?" When I brought my hand up to my face, it wiped off some tears I didn't know were falling from my eyes.

"Sae, are you okay?" His voice softened and it made me want to whimper. He kneeled down beside me to brush my hair back and look at my face closer. "Does anything hurt?"

I shook my head and gave him a smile. "No, dad. I'm just... I just yawned. Don't worry."

After I assured him three or four times that I was physically fine, he finally sat back down at the table and continued to eat his eggs. "How many classes do you have today?"

"I don't remember," I said and scooped an egg into my mouth. It tasted nostalgic and a bit salty just like how he used to cook. "I'm sure I won't attend any so it doesn't matter."

He nodded, my words definitely flying past his ears. "I'll work late. I'll eat somewhere so don't worry about dinner. Just make something you want."

Working late was the only thing I hated about him. He was rarely ever home, especially since the day he got promoted to a senior manager at Snowberry entertainment which must be not long ago. It was when I was sick that he would stay home with me. Otherwise, he was always overworking and I really hated that.

"Dad, can you..." I began but the words died on my lips. Can he what?

My father looked up at me as if my words actually reached him, but I couldn't continue. The rent of this new apartment we recently moved into was very high and my tuition burdened him with a huge debt. I couldn't obtain a scholarship since my grades were inconsistent due to my health problems. After all this, me asking him to work less would be absurd. He would disagree.

He scanned his clothes and grabbed his jacket collar. "This suit? I bought this with a lot of money so it's fine. I should wear it all the time. What about you, Sae? You should wear more stylish clothes now that you're a university student."

My lips parted in surprise. Buying useless clothes while he was always wearing the same suit to work? "Why would I even do that? I don't need to, dad."

He smiled and tucked his phone in the inner pocket of his jacket before standing up. "Okay. But if you need new clothes, tell me. You shouldn't let other kids bully you because of the clothes you wear."

I shook my head. "They won't do that."

The door bell suddenly rang and we both whipped our heads to the doorway. My father was quick to walk up to the door and opened it before exclaiming, "Oh! Is it you, Jimin?"

My eyes popped out in horror and I dashed to the entrance with a scowl. What the heck is he trying to do now?!

"Good morning, Mr. Jung," Greed chimed with a wide smile. "I'm here to greet my new neighbor, but to think it's you! Ah, I'm glad."

Glad about what? Having it easy to misguide my father?!

"I'm sorry but my dad's a busy man and he's a bit late for work so," I cut in, shooting glares at Greed who simply smiled back.

"Sorry for my daughter," my dad told him, making me grimace that he was apologizing to Greed. "It's a pleasant surprise to have you as my neighbor, Jimin. But aren't you supposed to live at the dorm of Snowberry? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I got permission, don't worry, Mr. Jung."

My hands were trembling with the urge to shove him out of our apartment. This wasn't supposed to happen. I couldn't let him get his way no matter what. If I had to be rude, I had to be the rudest I had ever been. He was changing the course of the past.

"Well then, I look forward to it," father said and shook Greed's hand that was outstretched with a smile before turning to me. "This is my daughter, Saejin. She's a university student."

The infuriating man smirked with his devious eyes set on me. "Oh. Where do you study, Saejin?"

"At a university, Jimin. Didn't you hear? Or are you stupid?"

"Saejin." My father gawked at me, shocked at my behavior. I was always polite to everyone so it may had seemed very surprising.

"I simply wanted to know which university, sorry," Greed chuckled, somehow unfazed. "I haven't introduced myself. Name's Jimin and I'm a dancer and a model under Snowberry. A rookie."

"He's two years older than you," my father added before turning to him. "You're not a rookie anymore. It's only been a year but you're a famous celebrity now!"

"Please don't flatter me," Greed laughed and looked back at me. "So you're eighteen? Are you a freshman?"

I rolled my eyes, feeling irritated for no reason. "Why would it matter to a 'celebrity' like you? If you're done saying hi, can you leave already? My dad is gonna be late to work because of you."

My father widened his eyes as he stared at me for a moment but I kept glaring at Greed. He let out an awkward laugh and said, "I'm sorry for my daughter but she's only looking out for me. Do you need anything else, Jimin?"

The Sin shook his head with a small smile. "No no. I don't want to be a bother so I'll take my leave as Saejin wants." His eyes darted to mine and his lips curled up into a smirk. "Until next time."

Crossing my arms, I watched him walk out the door and close it with a scowl.

"What's wrong, Sae?" My father asked with a worried look. "Don't you like him? If I didn't know better, I'd think you hate him, but you don't. As far as I know, you like watching him dance."

He was right. If the situation was different, I would have been all smiles when meeting him back then. I was a fan. That was the past when things were simpler. That was the past when we didn't know each other and didn't antagonize each other. We were two normal humans... but not anymore...

"Sorry, dad. He seemed... different. Like he wasn't good..."

He hummed before fixing his suit. "Don't worry. He's a good kid. I'm sure you'll come to like him again."

I breathed out a humorless laugh. Don't be so sure, dad.

"I'm really late for work, goodness," he huffed out and snatched his bag before placing a quick kiss on my forehead. "Bye, my baby sparrow."

I grinned and waved at my father as he jumped out the door. "Bye, daddy."

After he left, I scanned the apartment in deep thoughts. I could care less about university and whatever I used to do, but would I be allowed to skip classes? If Greed could do whatever he wanted and change where he lived, it was only right that I could as well.

Then again, why couldn't I get a gap year? I wasn't allowed to do that. If I had done that, our financial situation would have been better and it would have been better for us.

I didn't want my father's loan to go to waste, but planning my way to change things was better than aimlessly going to classes that wouldn't amount to anything. I sat back down at the kitchen table and started thinking about where it went wrong. Perhaps when he became the director of Snowberry? When Greed retired from the industry? Or when I was hospitalized for the last time? I could only make guesses and act on them.

When I only blinked, the sun had already gone down at the horizon. It was dark outside and I let out a yell of frustration at the way time was passing so irregularly.

The doorbell rang and I glanced at the clock. Father was still at work around seven and I didn't have any visitor.

Confused that the time skip stopped here, I took a look through the peephole to find Greed standing outside. Frowning, I swung the door and crossed my arms. "What are you doing here?"

He leaned an arm against the doorframe, towering over me, and chuckled mockingly. "Your father asked me to watch over you when he's working late. Dinner is included, too."

My frown deepened. "How are you off work earlier than him?"

"Are you worried about me?" He cocked an eyebrow, making my skin crawl.

"You don't have to 'watch over' me. I'm uncomfortable. Go back to your work."

He walked past me and into my apartment, ignoring my protests. "I don't have a reason to work late now. I have plenty of time to do whatever I have to."

"I don't care," I grumbled.

"Wanna eat out?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What?"

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It's been such a long time, are y'all still here?
Hope you enjoy 👉👈

Thank you for reading 🌸