Chapter Five

"Catch me if you can, babe."

"Ahaha...Peach…Peach, I love you. My Peach, stop tickling me, babe, haha, stop it!"

"Are you alright? I told you not to move too much… Yoon! Yoon! Babe?! Yoon…"

 

"Kring…!!! kring…!!!" The sound of the alarm clock reverberates throughout Jimmy's room, pulling him out of his bizarre dream.

 

"Ugh! My head!" Jimmy massages his throbbing temples. "Is that a dream again?" Who are these Yoon and Peach? Why do they keep coming out in my dreams? It has been a month now. Who are they? Why can't I remember their faces the moment I wake up?" Jimmy is still massaging his pulsing temples.

 

On the other hand,

"Are you alright? My name is Yoon. Let me clean your wounds and bruises before they get infected." "What is your name?"

"Peach, Peach Ren."

"Nice meeting you, Peach. Why do those thugs beat you?"

"They were asking for money, but I don't have any money. I am only a mere member of the restaurant crew at the small restaurant near this park."

 

"I see, does your employer treat you well?"

"Hm...actually not...he hasn't given me my salary for two months now as I accidentally broke some plates and glasses."

 

"Quit your job and work for me instead; you will be my personal assistant."

"Really?" My face brightened but abruptly went down the moment I thought about it.

"Yes."

"But my boss won't allow me to leave. I still haven't paid for all the things that I accidentally broke."

"Don't worry, let me handle your boss. Don't go back to that restaurant again." "Where do you live anyway?"

 

"Why?" 

"Let's get all your things there, and you will come with me." "You'll be living in my house starting today."

"Aren't you afraid of me?" 

"Why should I be afraid of you?"

"We just met a moment ago."

"And so?" 

"Aren't you trusting a stranger too fast?" 

"Who is the stranger here?" I already know your name, so we ain't strangers any longer— Peach...Peach...Peach... Peach."

 

"Hyun-ah? Hyun, honey, wake up! Hyun-ah! Hyun-ah! Jaehyun Chan!!! wake up!!!" Margaret yelled and slapped her son, who couldn't seem to wake up and kept on mumbling in his sleep. She has been trying to awaken Jaehyun for many minutes now, but Jaehyun keeps calling the name "Peach" repeatedly despite how vigorously she shakes him up. 

 

"Hah?!!! M-mom?!" Hyun woke up, breathing heavily. His forehead was sweating profusely, and he was panting erratically.

"You scared me, honey," Margaret says, hugging him. "You're dreaming again; are you dreaming the same dreams as before?"

 

"Yes, mom, but I still can't remember their faces. It's been almost a month now. Why is this happening to me, Mom?" Jaehyun asked while enduring the pain in his chest. He's been like that every time he wakes up from his dreams. as if there is a big hollow in his heart. 

 

"Son, I'm worried about your health." Maybe the new university is stressing you so much. Do you want to take a rest and go on vacation?" Margaret caresses Hyun on the cheek. She was worried, and it was bothering her so much. It was so unnatural to keep having the same dreams almost every night. Jaehyun is her only son; she loves him so much that it worries her if something ugly happens to him.

 

"Mom, this has nothing to do with the university," replied Yoon, assuring his mother. "I'm happy with my new UNI, and I already have friends except for Matthew." "The students and professors at the university are kind, and the place has a very friendly atmosphere." Hyun is trying to ease his mom's worries. He understands her mom's concerns, but it really isn't something that needs such precautions. Though it feels like a nightmare, it always goes away whenever he is at the university, especially when he is with someone he takes a liking to. 

 

"Then I will not force you. Get up now and have your breakfast. Don't think about those dreams too much, alright?"

"Yes, mom, thank you for waking me up." Hyun then embraces his mother before freshening up and having his breakfast meal. Sometimes her mother was babying him so much. But Jaehyun never complained. He was very thankful instead for having such loving parents who love pampering him so much.

 

After breakfast

"Mom, dad, I'm going to walk around the park." "It's Sunday, and I don't have any activities at the university today." Jaehyun while putting on his sneakers. 

 

"Sure, son, just take care, okay?" replied his dad.

"Yes, Dad, bye mom, bye, dad." Hyun kisses his mom and dad's cheeks before leaving the house. Marius occasionally teases him whenever he does this to everyone, even to him and his uncles and aunties, but Jaehyun doesn't mind it and retorts back instead for being grumpy. He just loves showing his love for his loved ones. He's just one lovely and sweet soul.

 

"Hon, what about the things I've asked you to do?" asked Margaret after Jaehyun had gone.

"I found some information about Yoon and Peach; here, look at this." Arthur took out a brown envelope from his briefcase and laid out the two printed photos on the table. 

 

Margaret got goosebumps seeing the photos that her husband laid out on the table. 

 

"This is Peach Ren; I can't find any other information about him." And this is Yoon Choi. Although I found numerous names for Peach Ren and Yoon Choi, these two people gave me real goosebumps as well. 

This Yoon Choi looks like our son. I can't see any difference except that these photos were taken with an old-model camera. And as I remember, Hyun-ah has a friend named Jimmy who really looks like Peach Ren," explained Arthur.

 

"Where are they now?" Asked Margaret. Arthur took a deep breath before he spoke.

"They've already left a long time ago. "Yoon Choi died in 1975, while Peach died one year later." Arthur takes another deep breath before he continues. 

"And they were a couple; they were married to each other. According to the information I've gathered, Yoon Choi died of terminal cancer. And after one year, his husband's lifeless body was found at the lakeside. I tried to dig up some information about them and asked someone to go to the place where they found Peach. But the place was closed and had a high wall. The old man who guarded the places didn't allow my people to enter. He said the place was private property. Only his master can go in there. I asked my secretary to gather some information about the owner of the place and..." Arthur takes another deep breath before he proceeds again.

"The owner's name is Mr. Peach Ren Choi, who is the husband of Yoon Choi." Arthur's lengthy explanation

 

Margaret wiped the tears that trickled down her face. Their goosebumps didn't go away.

They stayed silent for a moment, then Margaret broke the silence after she composed herself.

 

"Honey, do you believe in reincarnation or rebirth?" Asked Margaret.

"I don't know, honey, but if it's true, do you think our son is the reincarnation of Yoon, and Jimmy is Peach?"

 

"Hon, our son was perfectly fine when he was living with his aunt and studying in the US. He only began dreaming when he transferred here to the new university and met Jimmy. They've even lost consciousness at the same time. That's the only explanation I could have possibly thought of," explained Margaret. 

 

"What should we do now?" Arthur picked up the photographs and stared at them again. He still couldn't fully believe it. Something like this could only happen in fairy tales.

"If our assumption is true, then let's wait until they both find out for themselves. We weren't sure about it either. This will only confuse them and might affect their lives. Let's just wait while observing the situation."

"I thought so too."

 

Meanwhile, Jimmy decided to go to the park because he wanted to loosen up after the weird dreams that keep haunting him every night. He took his skateboard with him and thought of practicing to avoid thinking too much. 

 

Jimmy is riding on his skateboard with a headset plugged into his ears. He was busy scrolling on his phone, choosing the right song to play, so he didn't notice the stone on the pathway. His skateboard stumbled, and Jimmy was knocked to the ground.

 

"Uhh! Argh! Shit!" Jimmy winced in pain while trying to soothe his wounded elbows and bruised arms.

 

"Here, don't touch it; it may cause infections." Jimmy looks up to see the owner of the sweetest voice handing him a white handkerchief. 

 

"Yoon?"

"Peach?"

They uttered it in unison. Just like Dejavu, Jaehyun thought hard when this similar event occurred, but he can't seem to recall exactly.

 

Jimmy was once again hypnotized by Jaehyun's ethereal beauty and brighter smile while offering his white handkerchief to him. A vague event flashed inside Jimmy's head but then disappeared in an instant.

 

"Yoon," Jimmy mumbles.