Sari covered her face with her palms as she exhaled. She was at the park that morning and had just finished her morning run. But it seemed that even jogging wasn't enough to clear her mind from all the thoughts that bothered her over the past few days.
And now the photos that Professor Geunhee gave her the other day began occupying her mind, as well. She hadn't talked to anyone about what she had just seen that day. She felt that, at the moment, she didn't have the need to tell them anything. Not when everything was beginning to get confusing for her.
"You're out here again."
She raised her head to the source of that voice, only to be surprised to see Professor Soohoon approaching her. He seemed to be doing his own morning run, as well.
"Professor..."
He frowned as he stopped only a few meters in front of her. "Are you okay? You look out of it."
"Yeah... I'm okay. Just thinking." Well, that was the truth.
He sat down on the bench next to her. Sari looked up to him after a while until she noticed he was watching her intently. She took this opportunity to take several deep breaths before continuing.
"So... did you finally see the pictures that Geunhee gave to you?" he asked, breaking the silence between them.
But his words were enough to surprise him once again. "Y-you're the one who compiled those pictures?"
He nodded, seemingly guilty. "I'm sorry if I pried too much into this. But the time you asked Professor Park if he knew about your father, I wanted to know the truth. There was a story that only your father knew but never managed to tell you. And I just... wanted to make it easier for you somehow."
It really didn't take her long to notice how concerned he was about her. And yet, she appreciated the gesture nonetheless. She'd never considered him to be very intrusive or nosy, though she couldn't help but feel grateful for what he said now.
"Well... I'm not angry at you for doing that. In fact, I appreciate it. Truly."
They both fell quiet once more. A few minutes passed in an almost awkward atmosphere. They hadn't seen each other often lately, since they were working in different universities.
But it was easy for Sari to forget what it was like to hang out alone and have someone around without worrying about any gossip or judgment.
Professor Soohoon eventually broke the silence again, though this time Sarina was ready for it. It didn't bother her this time, knowing that he wanted to ask her something important.
"How have you been after seeing those pictures?"
Sari took a deep breath and looked at the sky. "I still can't process it. When I asked Professor Park that day if he knew my father, I asked it randomly because of the way he stared at me. As if... he's seeing someone he hated in me. But I never thought... he and my father truly knew each other."
"Of course, we still have no idea about their real connection, other than the fact that Professor Park seemed to hate your father."
That was when Sari faced Professor Soohoon with a frown. "Seemed? Are you implying ㅡ"
"Those pictures and the way he looked at you with hate ㅡ something doesn't add up. Don't you think? Had your father done something unforgivable that you ended up garnering that hate just because you're Yoon Hocheol’s daughter? There has to be a story there that we have to figure out."
"We?"
To her surprise, Professor Soohoon faced her with a knowing smile. "Yes, 'we'. I'm going to help you find your father."
"B-but... why would you do that? Is it because your father was my father's friend?"
"Hmm... That's just a small reason. And it's not also because I'm doing this as a reward for saving my life that day."
This time, it was Sari’s turn to smile. "So what is the main reason?"
"You mean, aside from trying to figure out why your father had sketches of the same items as I had sketched before?"
Sari couldn't help laughing at this time. "What the heck? Just how many reasons are you trying to give me, Professor?"
"I can give you a lot of reasons just so I can stay by your side. But for now... the main one is to let you know I care for you."
This time, Sari had to put her hand over her mouth in order not to let out the loud squeal she wanted to release. Instead, she simply shook her head. How could Professor Soohoon say things like that so seriously and matter of factly?!
"But... why? We're practically strangers, right?"
He didn't find her statement offensive, though. In fact, he smiled. "Strangers? You still consider us strangers to each other when we've practically met more times than any other strangers or even acquaintances would."
"Well..."
"I know you're worried about what people would say again. But let's take advantage of what my father announced at the principal's office that day about us being engaged, even though we both know we're not. We can use that small connection just so we can work together trying to find answers to the questions that haunted us for a long time."
Sari couldn't think of anything to say as a response to his words. But she could feel her heart swell at the thoughtfulness that Professor Soohoon was showing to her.
"You're really into this, aren't you, Professor?"
"Why? Is it a bad thing?"
She shook her head and smiled. "No. Of course not. In fact, I appreciate the enthusiasm."
Professor Soohoon gave her another smile. This one made Sari think about butterflies. It was a genuine smile. The kind that told her he meant every word he was saying.
"I rarely show the enthusiasm that you're talking about to other people aside from my family. So this is new to me, as well."
They stayed silent for a bit, just gazing at the sun shining in the distance. After some time, she turned toward him with a serious look.
"Professor, are you sure you want to do this? It sounds like a lot of pressure to deal with."
Now it was his turn to shake his head. "I won't back down from this, now that I've decided to help you find your father. I know it's going to be a lot of pressure. But I have to be there for you."
"Professor..."
Sari couldn't believe what was happening. Here she was thinking how she should talk to him about some personal stuff, instead she had found out a couple of weeks ago that his father was a friend of her father!
"Don't worry, I'll protect you from the worst of the consequences," he added.
Her eyes widened at that.
Honestly, why would someone like Professor Soohoon decide to go that far to help her? He seemed like the type of person who wouldn't give a damn about something as trivial as this. Yet he kept offering it despite knowing how hard it was for her.
"I... Thank you."
He smiled again. "Anything to help the lady who saved my life."
Sari was lost for words.
xxxxxx
A lot had changed. That was one thing that Sari was sure of. She didn't mean for those changes to happen to her. But it looked like returning to Huijin to find out the truth about her father's disappearance and unexpectedly saving Professor Soohoon from that mysterious rider who tried to kill him became the catalysts for those life-changing moments to occur.
All she could do was to sigh as he kept flipping the pages of her father's journal. She had done that a lot of times, more than she could count. But no answer could be found there.
Or maybe there was an answer. She just wasn't aware of where to exactly find them. At the moment, however, she was just tired.
"You know, there's something called rest. You've been browsing nonstop on that journal and the photos that Professor Geunhee gave you. You're only seeing the same things over and over, anyway," Sejin said as she offered her a cup of hot chocolate and placed it on the coffee table.
Sejin decided to sleep over at Sari’s apartment the moment her parents had allowed her to go out of the house. Thankfully, Detective Seo was with her friend and gave her a ride there.
Sari was thankful that Detective Seo was giving her updates on the case of Professor Park. He was most likely aware that it affected her at some point, that was why he was doing this.
"'Look beyond what you see...' My father had that mindset, for some reason, making him know things that were sometimes strange to many."
"Do you really have to make a reference to 'Hakuna Matata' movie with that line?" Sejin said with an incredulous look on her friend's face.
Sari smiled. "Well, that's the closest quote I could think of, okay?"
Sejin shook her head but laughed nevertheless. She herself had already gone through all the documents Professor Geunhee brought home and compared to what they knew of Professor Park's history with Yoon Hocheol, they didn't have much to go off of. Not enough information to come up with a whole theory that might help them find out more about what made him end up brutally killed like that.
"There's something that we're missing. Or maybe even overlooking that we're not aware of. And that's why I have to do my best to find out the truth. Especially now that I know my father has long been aware of Professor Soohoon’s past lives," Sari said and took a sip of the hot chocolate.
"But why would he want you to find your mother's killer, as well?"
"He said that the killer was linked to my current lifetime and Professor Soohoon's past lives. His link to my current lifetime probably has something to do with my mother. But there's the link that I have to figure out with regard to the professor's past lives and that killer. I don't know how they actually connect to one another."
Sejin remained silent as they both looked at the documents and pictures strewn on the table.
But before any of them could say anything once again, the doorbell rang. The sound startled them both and made them face each other after facing the door.
"That scared me!" Sejin hissed.
"I'll go check on it." Sari then stood and went to the door of her apartment.
Once she opened it, she couldn't believe what she saw next. There was a guy standing in front of her apartment who had brown hair and brown eyes while wearing a black sweater with a blue plaid pattern and gray jeans. A pair of red sneakers completed his look and if it weren't for the way he had held himself, she'd have thought that he was a teenager.
However, Sari knew better. He was dressed differently in a different style to that of other students who were in their school uniforms. He was taller. His appearance, too, seemed to differ quite significantly.
"Umm... Who are you? Do you need anything?" she started. And it looked like it was enough to snap the man out.
"O-oh, yes. I'm actually looking for you."
She frowned at that. "Why are you looking for me?"
She saw the man take a deep breath and faced her with a grave expression. "There's something that Professor Park wants you to have and he entrusted me to give it to you personally."
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