Mira stared at the message on her phone.
"Ten years ago… I was in Seoul."
Her heart was beating so loudly that it almost drowned out the silence in her room.
Then his next question appeared.
"Were you?"
Mira slowly lowered the phone.
Because suddenly, a distant memory started forming in her mind.
Not a clear memory.
Just fragments.
Like old photographs scattered across a table.
Ten years ago…
She had been younger.
Still in school.
And yes—
Her family had taken a trip abroad for the first time.
"South Korea…" she whispered.
Her breath became uneven.
Because she remembered something else.
Her father had always loved traveling.
And during that trip, he had insisted they explore small streets and local cafés instead of tourist places.
Mira quickly stood up.
Her hands trembling slightly.
"If that trip really happened…"
Then there had to be proof.
She walked toward the small wooden cupboard in her room.
The one that held old family albums.
Albums her mother carefully kept every year.
Mira pulled one out.
The cover said:
2016 – Family Memories
Her fingers moved quickly through the pages.
Birthday pictures.
School events.
Festival celebrations.
Then suddenly—
A page appeared with photos from a trip.
Her heart started racing again.
Because at the top of the page was written:
"Seoul Trip"
"Okay… okay…" she whispered.
Her eyes moved across the photos.
Her parents standing in front of a palace.
Her younger self holding street food.
Group selfies on crowded roads.
Everything looked normal.
Just a regular family vacation.
Until she turned to the next page.
And froze.
Her breath stopped.
Because the photo in front of her looked painfully familiar.
It was a small street.
Quiet.
Warm lights glowing from a building behind her.
And that building was the café from the dream.
The exact same one.
Mira slowly sat down on the floor.
Her heart pounding wildly.
"This is impossible…"
The photo showed her standing outside the café.
Smiling.
Her father standing beside her.
The sign above the door was clearly visible.
Haneul Café
Her fingers trembled as she touched the picture.
"That means…" she whispered.
She had actually been there.
Ten years ago.
But something else caught her attention.
Something she hadn't noticed at first.
There was someone else in the photo.
Standing a little further behind.
Near the café entrance.
Mira's heart started racing again.
The person wasn't looking at the camera.
He was looking somewhere else.
At her.
She leaned closer to the photo.
Trying to see the face clearly.
And then she recognized him.
It was him.
Ten years younger.
But still unmistakably the same person.
Mira's hands started shaking.
"How…"
Her phone buzzed again.
Another message from him.
"Did you find something?"
Mira stared at the photo again.
Still trying to process what she was seeing.
Then she quickly took a picture of the album page.
And sent it to him.
For a moment, there was no reply.
Ten seconds.
Twenty seconds.
Thirty seconds.
Then his message finally appeared.
Only one sentence.
"That's the café."
Mira's heart raced.
Another message followed.
"And that's you."
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
Then the third message appeared.
"And that's me."
Mira felt a chill run down her spine.
Because the photo had proven something unbelievable.
They had actually been in the same place.
Ten years ago.
Before the café closed.
Before the rooftop.
Before Café Aurora.
Before everything.
And somehow…
Neither of them remembered meeting there.
Her phone buzzed again.
Another message from him.
"Mira."
She typed quickly.
"Yes?"
His reply came slowly.
"What if that was the first time?"
Mira stared at the photo again.
The warm lights of the café glowing behind her younger self.
Her heart whispered a terrifying possibility.
What if their story didn't start three months ago?
Or two months ago?
What if it started ten years ago?
And somehow…
They had both forgotten the most important part.
Because the photo showed something strange.
Something Mira hadn't noticed before.
Her younger self wasn't just standing near the café.
She was holding something.
A small piece of paper.
And when Mira zoomed in on the picture…
She could barely read the words written on it.
But they were clear enough to make her heart stop.
"See you again."