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The first time he met her after 1000 years long was at the exhibition "Goryeo era culture".
She would remember, he knew.
She would be heartbroken, he also knew.
But he couldn't do anything about it, because it was fate, destiny, heaven's will or whatever people wanted to call it.
All he could do was saying sorry for being the one who awakened Hae Soo's memories in her. However, honestly, if it hadn't been him, she would have recalled everything anyway. One way or another. Sooner or later.
So he walked out of the Cultural centre with the only hope that time would heal her wound because no matter how painful life was, we still had to live.
No one had an easy life.
The second time he met her was at his university about 3 months after the Goryeo exhibition. They were running some promotions to introduce the students their new cosmetic products.
He noticed her first.
She was smiling brightly in the crowd, earnestly shared her knowledge about cosmetics and makeup to other girls.
This cheerful woman reminded him of the happy and carefree Hae Soo, that he hadn't seen in a long long time. He was amazed by how fast she recovered from her loss.
He barely see the heartbroken Hae Soo anymore.
"Astronomer" It was her who approached him. No one had called him astronomer for a very long time. And suddenly the title sounded so smooth.
"Go Hajin-ssi" He still remembered her name. It wasn't right to call her Hae Soo or Lady Hae Soo in this lifetime.
But she didn't care. She addressed him as Choi Jimong, and he didn't bother to correct her either.
"I met him" She grinned happily as the smile on his face faded away. His pulse picked up both in anxiety and excitement. Had she meant... "Wang So" She stated firmly, answering his wonder. "I met him that day before the portrait of Gwangjong"
Then she told him about their reunion. He had no memory of 4th prince. But it didn't discourage her from pursuing him. She was determined to make him remember, even if she was just a stranger at first. Fortunately, he was interested in her knowledge of Hanja and they became pen pals. And now through the letters, she knew he was having dreams like she used to have. So there was hope for her, for him, for them in this lifetime.
The astronomer looked astonished. There was definitely something odd in her story but the older man was too occupied with his own thoughts about fate and destiny to notice it. Maybe fate truly was on their side this time. Wang So and Hae Soo, the two star crossed lovers, finally had a happy ending. He was glad for them.
"You may not believe it but we still share the same handwriting." Hajin fumbled 2 envelopes from her bag and showed them to him.
He quickly remembered the address on the letters. If miss Go Hajin had met 4th prince in modern time, he would like to see him too.
Unexpectedly, a young student ran up to them, asking for Hajin's telephone number.
"I told you before I have a boyfriend already"
Choi Jimong smiled, amused as the girl politely refused her suitor. Back then or now, lady Hae Soo had always been popular with young men. It took her several minutes to give up on the desperate man. The college student had her number then saved his number in her phone too.
"Remember you will just call me when there are questions about beauty products"
"Yes, noona" Hajin could only laugh and shake her head when the student waved goodbye to her.
But just a second later, after he was out of sight, the smile on her lips disappeared. All of sudden her face turned emotionless. The girl opened her phone and blocked the newly saved number.
He was surprised by her bizarre action. And suddenly the girl looked up, sent him a cold sharp glare.
"Hajin-ssi" He stared at her with concern. But without a word, Go Hajin turned on her heel, walked away, leaving the man behind, lost in deep confusion.
He couldn't help thinking of her the whole afternoon, and even in that evening but came up with no explanation for her abrupt change of behaviour. So he started looking for 4th prince's adresse. Strangely enough, the map informed his input location didn't exist. Did he not remember it correctly?
The next day, Go Hajin still promoted beauty products at his university. He easily approached her this time. She grinned widely once seeing him as if nothing strange had happened the day before. Therefore he said no word about it and just asked her if she could help him meeting up with 4th prince.
She happily agreed and exchanged phone numbers with him.
"I will call you after asking him" She promised, so Jimong waited.
He waited for days but received no response from her. She hadn't been seen at his university either. He felt worried and decided to call her, yet the line wasn't connected. Something must have happened.
He came to find the girl at her workplace the next day.
Go Hajin wasn't there but at least her colleague assured him that she was still fine.
Then why was he unable to contact her? Choi Jimong kept wondering on his way back home. There was no reason for her hiding from him, wasn't it?
She had been totally untroubled the last time they saw each other.
He just asked to meet 4th prince.
4th prince Wang So.
The name called back all the memories in Goryeo when suddenly he caught a sight of the petite girl across the street.
"Go Hajin-ssi" He called for her but couldn't get her attention.
The red light was still on. For one second he thought he would miss her. However, luckily she stopped before a postbox. It took him a while to catch up with the girl.
"Hajin-ssi" He tapped her shoulder slightly and she turned around. But greeting him was a cold emotionless face. And her eyes. Looking in her eyes, he barely realised miss Go Hajin or lady Hae Soo anymore.
She appeared like a... stranger.
"He is busy" She said out of blue, in a monotone voice. He frowned in bewilderment, confused by both her words and her abnormal aura. "Wang So" Go Hajin went on. "He can't meet you and neither can I. Stay away from me."
After saying those, she walked away, leaving him in deep confusion once again.
Go Hajin was definitely not fine.
He didn't call her after that. All the unanswered questions about Go Hajin and 4th prince were pushed in the back of his mind. As a person who believed in fate and destiny, Choi Jimong was too lazy to find the answer himself. In stead, if he meant to know something, fate will reveal it to him at the right time, in the right place.
But he hadn't imagined that the right time was in a stormy night and the right place was an abandoned apartment.
He had been in his car when seeing Go Hajin walking alone in the rain with a chest in her hands. The voice in his head told him to follow her and it led him here before this dark unused building.
He scanned it for a while then after a deep contemplation, the man decided to follow the girl insides.
It wasn't hard to find her in the vast building, because there was only one yellow light casting out from a room at the end of the corridor.
He tried to be quiet as much as possible, while approaching the room.
Peeking through a crack of door, and there he saw the wooden chest on a table with plenty letters scattered on the floor.
Go Hajin was standing before a body-length mirror, mesmerised by her own reflection.
To his surprise, she reached a hand out to caress it then slowly the girl leaned forward, kissing her mirror image.
Unintentionally, Jimong touched the doorknob and suddenly made a small cracking sound. He quickly moved, hiding behind a wall.
Holding his breath, the man hoped Go Hajin wouldn't find out his presence here.
One minute passed and there was nothing but silence. So he poked his head out once again.
In an instant, a hand gasped his throat in an attempt to strangle him.
"I told you to stay away" Go Hajin growled as her eyes was burning in anger.
The man tried to peel her hand off his neck, but the hand was too strong as if it didn't belong to a weak girl. He forcefully pushed her away but failed as the death grip tightened around his neck.
"Hajin-ssi" He whispered, almost out of breath, still struggled to peel off her hand.
"Stay away from her, stay away from Go Hajin" Her raging roar was followed by a loud thunder, which made him feeling like facing the Grim Reaper. And her eyes, those burning evilly red eyes looked much alike the open door leading to hell.
This person wasn't Go Hajin.
"Ha... Hae... Soo" He faintly whispered again in his last breath.
All of sudden, the hand left his neck as the person trying to kill him collapsed on the floor, unconscious.
It took them about 10 minutes after Jimong's phone call for the ambulance coming and taking the passed out body to the nearest hospital.
He intently lingered behind a little longer to collect all the letters and the wooden chest left in the room.
And that was when he found out they were all the letters Go Hajin/ Hae Soo had sent to Wang So's address, the address that was nonexistent anywhere on this planet.