"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I remember! I'm sorry!" The words fell from her lips as the tears dripped down her cheeks, staining the path they drew down them. She couldn't help herself. She realized she was in a public place, that this was a place for composure, but the larger part of her didn't care. Didn't care about anything but the memories which had flooded her mind in this room. The paintings around her singing the tales of the life she had left. Of the love she had left. She was sorry that she had forgotten them, all of them. Now, it tore through her like a fire tearing through the forest. How could she have forgotten them?
She clutched her chest as closed her eyes as tight as she could. It was an effort to stop the crying, but the darkness brought back more images to break her heart. The sobs were uncontrollable now. Just as she fell to the floor, she remembered something else… That man, that customer that had come to talk to her at her counter… It was Ji Mong! The thought cut her tears off short, and she jumped to her feet, racing out of the room to try and find him again. She had to find him again.
She flew past the exhibits around her, hallway after hallway. It seemed endless, like she'd never get back to him. It felt like she couldn't run fast enough. The ghost of the past running alongside her, urging her to find him. To find the one and only link she had to that other life. Ji Mong. Ji Mong. I have to find Ji Mong! Her mind was racing. Everything around her was a blur. Nothing mattered but finding him. What if he remembered? What if he could help her find him… The new him… The him from this time… The him that belonged to her. Her person.
Finally, her lungs burning, she spotted him across the lobby. He was putting on his coat and preparing to leave. She had stopped for too long after running too hard. Her lungs were on fire, and she couldn't get herself running again right away. Her legs weren't listening to her. There were too many people here. They were all in her way, crowding her and making it impossible to run directly to the only hope she had left. She tried to get his attention, and called out to him before she realized what she was doing. "Ji Mong!" Her voice echoed around them, and he paused, his hand on the door, ready to push it open. She stopped, praying he would turn. And he did. Their eyes met for a moment, and she opened her mouth to shout again, but he had already turned away, a slight smile playing across his face. He pushed opened the door, and walked out without another glance back.
'Not like this.' She thought. 'I can't lose him like this.' The face of the man she referred to haunted her feverish mind. His handsome face in the painting, looking at her. Looking at her through the hundreds of years that separated them. Always looking at her. She would never forget him. So, in wild abandon, and with the full fire of desperation she felt burning her heart, she pushed the people around her out of her way. She dashed for the door. 'So…' She whispered his name to herself. 'So. I'll find you. I promise.'
The cool spring air brushed against her red cheeks, and cooled the tracks her tears had left. She looked left and right, instantly searching for her hope. Then, finally, there he was. He had made his way down the street to her right and was just about to turn the corner. She kicked herself off the grown, and into a full run again. She let the frantic beating of her heart fill her ears. She paid no attention to the world around her. She had to catch up to him.
Suddenly, a thought hit her like a brick. It made her stomach sink and her heart skip a beat. What if he didn't remember? He had turned at her yelling his name, but what if it had just been because she had shouted? What if he couldn't help her? What if no one could? What if she could never find…? No! She yelled at herself. Miraculously picking up speed. She'd never run so fast in her life. In either of her lives. She had almost lost sight of him. She watched as his shoulder disappeared behind the building at the end of the street. She willed her legs to keep going. Her lungs to keep breathing. Just a bit further. She made her way to the corner she had seen him turn down, dodging around the other people milling about. Just a little bit farther… Just a bit farther… Just-
Her mental push for herself was cut off abruptly. She felt herself hit something solid, and then fall to the ground. All of the work her body had been doing caught up with her again. She tried to stand, tried to breath, but she couldn't catch her breath, or lift herself. She felt the tears rise to the back of her throat again. She had lost him. Her last hope.
"Are you alright?" The question didn't reach her ears right away. The beating of her heart was still too loud to hear much over. She took in a deep breath to calm herself, still looking at the ground, her hands perched on her knees for support. "Miss," the voice spoke again. "Are you alright?" Ha Jin froze. The voice had reached her ears this time. "I'm sorry, you came around the corner so fast, I didn't have time to move." She felt the world around her slow down. As if nothing else moved as she lifted her head to look at the man in front of her… Her breath caught in her chest, and a fresh tear fell, he eyes wide.
His face was just as she remembered. It just didn't have the scar. His hair was short, but it was him. His eyes where the same. "Are you alright?" He asked again. He stood up and offered her a hand up. She took it, her hand shaking as it touched his. Both from exhaustion and utter joy. As their eyes held each other's gaze, his face furrowed. As though he were confused. Or trying to make something out from far away. He never let go of her hand. They just stood there. Together again. She would never let him go again. She would love him. Really, truly, freely love him.
"I'm sorry." He spoke again. "But…do I know you?"