At least now I knew what to do. I didn’t have answers to all my questions, but at least I knew there was a solution for Baeck. Yes, it was complicated; I would manage, but… what did he mean by saying I had never experienced these events? Then why was I here... what else did I need to remember besides Baeck at the moment? Would all the letters lead me into such time loops? Would everyone collide with death? I probably needed to prepare myself because I was going to find out those answers soon in my reality.

I knew the time zones of the present that I had to adhere to: 9:37, 15:23, and 19:37. The longer I stayed, the faster time passed and got lost in nothingness.

I stood up from my spot and left the room, the people around me walking in sync with me. It seemed that when I was calm, time flowed normally. If everything was in my head, it made sense for my reactions to control time, right? I saw Baeck’s figure, knowing what was going to happen. As the stranger had said, I shouldn’t step out of the time zone, which meant I had to let time flow in the direction it went the first time. I closed my eyes, and for seconds everything happened, and I was already on the ground.

“God, Keith, are you okay?!” Baeck said, immediately reaching out his hand to help me up, and I didn’t miss that chance.

“Yes, I’m fine,” I smiled.

“Sorry, I really didn’t see you... your uniform… oh, I’m sorry,” he mumbled, as his cup of coffee spilled again onto the ground and onto me.

“It’s all right, really!” I took the tissues he handed me and started cleaning myself with them.

I felt as if I hadn’t saved the game and had to watch the same cutscene over and over to move forward.

“It’s not okay; I feel bad because I wasn’t careful enough. Let me make it up to you, okay? And besides, I didn’t even finish my coffee,” Baeck shook his almost empty cup, laughing, and I nodded my head.

Again, there was that jump in time that made you feel like your guts were being ripped out, and before I knew it—we were back in the café.

“You seem lost in thought, Keith. Is something bothering you?” I heard the man’s question as I returned my attention to him, the strawberry smoothie in front of me still delicious. The clock on the wall showed 15:21, something that made me make life-and-death decisions.

“Well, actually, yes. I wanted to ask you for something. Don’t go anywhere tonight,” I spoke quietly, and Baeck looked at me confused.

“What are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere tonight,” he laughed, and I shook my head.

“You don’t understand. You mustn’t go anywhere, no matter how he threatens you and with what. You shouldn’t even answer his phone call.” I pushed the smoothie aside, locking my gaze with Baeck’s.

“Keith… I don’t know what you’re talking about, but no one has called me to arrange anything—” As he spoke, his phone rang, and Baeck only glanced at who it was before returning his gaze back to me.

“Okay, this is starting to get creepy. What’s going on, Keith?” the man asked, as the clock showed 15:23. This was it. The time I could skip for that one minute.

“Listen to me carefully. I know it sounds ridiculous, strange, even insane, but if you pick up the phone, you’ll die. Tonight, exactly at 19:37, you will lose your life. The one you answer will be your end. I know you won’t believe me, but I saw it with my own eyes... seven times... I don’t want to see it again. I want to help you. I know I can, so just trust me… don’t answer the phone.” I spoke, quickly articulating my words correctly for him to understand.

“Okay, I won’t answer the phone if that’ll make you feel better,” Baeck said slowly, placing his phone aside, clearly deep in thought about what he had heard. He was probably wondering whether to believe it, but even if I were in his place, I’d be in the same situation. I couldn’t blame him.

The clock already showed 19:24, and I still hadn’t jumped to the next time zone, which meant I somehow managed to change the future. I smiled, burying my fingers in my hair and taking a deep breath. So far, everything was going well; I had the time I needed to prepare.

“I know he’s threatening you; you were the one who told me. I promise this will be the end. But I need to know you trust me, no matter how strange it sounds. I’m not crazy, even though it seems that way.”

“Keith, I’ve known you for a long time, so I’m inclined to believe your words. You’re not the kind of person who would sit and tell me such things with a mocking attitude… you usually hardly ever speak. Probably only with 5µŋgⱯē you are yourself. You smile more,” he said, and I felt like he paused for a second.

“Excuse me… I didn’t catch that, with whom?”

“5µŋgⱯē” He said with a giggle, but I didn’t hear any sound coming from his mouth. His lips were merely moving. I didn’t understand why, but I shouldn’t focus on that right now. I had a bigger problem to resolve.

“Okay… I’m glad you trust me. I have a plan that will get you rid of this guy for good.” I reached my hand behind the bar, took a piece of paper, and with the pen given to me by Baeck, I began to draw on the sheet.

The plan was simple. I had to do everything possible to ensure Baeck survived after 19:37. After that, everything would be saved. I only needed police officers, and since I knew what was happening, I was three steps ahead of the killer. I knew how he would attack and where. The plan would be activated the moment I contacted the precinct. Now you might wonder, “Why not just go somewhere and hide until after 19:37?”

Now I’ll answer that question. If we went and hid, I would either return to point “A” and have to start over or the world would continue until that hour came again in the future, where Baeck was at the exact place where he would lose his life. As the stranger said, “From Daegu, you depart to Seoul, but ultimately you find yourself back in Daegu, even though you were supposed to stay behind.” No matter how much we run and hide, fate will take us exactly where we need to be. This wasn’t in my favor. I had to put an end to it now to prevent future events.

So, with a bit of luck from fate, I got two police officers. I didn’t call the precinct in the end, even though that was my plan initially; as strange as it seemed, it felt like something was telling me not to do it. Upon reflection, it made sense. If I called the precinct, they wouldn’t allow us to participate in capturing the killer. Ultimately, it seemed like we were hiding, and if they didn’t manage to catch him—Baeck’s death was certain in the future.

Baeck said that evening checks were often done, which was the safer way to ensure things developed in our favor. With his help, we easily convinced the officers that we needed to participate so that capturing him would be certain. We only needed to show them a few chats where the killer displayed threatening behavior and tell them about my plan.

Unfortunately, there was still something else that needed to happen. I shouldn’t participate. Everything had to happen through the help of the police, but not with Keith. So, I stood aside, staring at the numbers on the phone that changed every 60 seconds.

Before you ask, I’ll answer. What the stranger told me, if these aren’t memories I’ve ever experienced… it means I shouldn’t relive them. I believed he was somewhat right, but on the other hand—not. Probably part of my memories was here. Baeck was undoubtedly a part of my life, but his death had nothing to do with my memories. Why? Think about it, why would I be able to change something that has already happened? If I were to change something, why couldn’t I change everything from start to finish? For example, instead of colliding in the hallway, why not do it in some diner or in the classroom? Why were the time zones hours where their only common point was Baeck’s death? 15:23 and 19:27.