“Hngh…”

Survival instinct whispered for him to run. Ju-eon briefly looked in the direction people were heading. Tap tap tap. But soon he started running in the opposite direction from where people were going.

“…This is strange…”

Ju-eon knew that ability. Some image flashed through his mind so quickly it made him dizzy. He felt nauseous.

Ju-eon ran without stopping until he reached another subway station. The space between his thighs trembled like a spasm.

“Are you okay? Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?”

A woman next to him asked after noticing his concerning complexion.

“Thank you, but I’m fine.”

Ju-eon said while bracing his hands on his knees. Sweat that had run down his temples hung from his chin before dropping to the ground.

-The train will arrive shortly.

The woman seemed to want to insist again and lingered around, but soon the announcement that the subway was arriving was heard.

It was when he barely managed to get his body into the subway. The ceiling spun round and round. His strength drained completely as if all the blood had instantly rushed to his toes.

‘…I need to get home.’

But where was my home again? That thought flickered through Ju-eon’s mind for just a moment, but soon slipped through his fingers like sand before taking shape.

“Someone collapsed here!”

The woman who had asked if he was okay shouted. He should have just said he wasn’t okay. This collapse seems even more troublesome.

That was his last thought before losing consciousness.

**

It was already late at night when he arrived at the station. Ju-eon’s shoulders felt heavy the entire way back.

Rrrr.

It was a call from Gu-young. Ju-eon answered the phone before going inside.

“Hello.”

As soon as he answered, Gu-young poured out words as if he’d been waiting.

-Hyung. Why weren’t you answering? Where are you? Nothing happened, right?

“I’m in front of my house now.”

-Weren’t you going to see your boyfriend yesterday?

“……”

-Did something happen? Your boyfriend came looking for you at the cafe where I work. I told him I thought you went there… but he said he didn’t meet you.

Gu-young trailed off mid-chatter. Tension filled his voice as if he thought he’d made a mistake.

“…I’ll go tell him myself. Don’t worry.”

-Really nothing happened? Your voice doesn’t sound good.

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

I just have a few things I need to ask. Yun-jae would try to convince him with an unbothered face.

-That’s good then. Keep in touch.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

After hanging up, he stood in front of the door. Only after the automatic sensor light turned on and off several times could Ju-eon finally muster the resolve to go in.

It must be a misunderstanding from lack of communication, and soon we’ll regain our boring but peaceful daily life again.

Ju-eon swallowed dryly and adjusted his clothes. It had been such a long day. A day so long it could change a person.

Beep beep beep-

Click.

The heavy door opened. His eyes met with Yun-jae who had been pacing right in front of the door.

“Ju-eon.”

Yun-jae strode over and hugged Ju-eon with all his might.

“Ju-eon, why did you… I told you to just stay in this neighborhood. Your body hasn’t fully recovered yet.”

“…I went to see you.”

Despite Ju-eon’s calm demeanor, Yun-jae couldn’t easily regain his composure.

“Yeah. I heard. I know but… I hope you won’t go anywhere next time. I’m grateful you wanted to come see me but… don’t do it again next time.”

Ju-eon stepped back one step and observed Yun-jae. He stared blankly at Yun-jae who was pressing his forehead as if frustrated.

Now he could only doubt whether those words were truly out of concern, or if they were just words from a doctor to his patient. Everything had been jumbled since waking up in the emergency room.

“Yun-jae. Before I lost my memories… was there really no one I was close with?”

Yun-jae’s face froze coldly.

“…Why are you asking that? Did you meet someone there?”

Yun-jae looked anxious, as if Ju-eon had asked a question he shouldn’t have. If he backed down now, later when he asked again Yun-jae would be prepared like an iron fortress to answer all questions. The Yun-jae that Ju-eon knew was thorough like that. So asking when he wasn’t expecting it would draw out the most honest answer.

“Was I a guide?”

“What?”

At the sudden jump in questioning, Yun-jae bit his lower lip. That’s his expression when he’s flustered.

“I’m asking if I was a guide.”

Ju-eon asked again. When he collapsed in the subway, perhaps due to the shock of falling, strange memories had surfaced. It was too detailed to not be real, too vivid to be just a dream.

‘I need to guide you so give me your hand. Is that okay?’

‘Wouldn’t that lower efficiency? Ah, is it because of ——?’

‘No, it’s not that.’

The peculiar sensation flowing through his fingertips. Ju-eon knew this unfamiliar sensation. The unique feeling when guiding.

‘Come back quickly! This side is struggling!’

‘Thanks, Ju-eon!’

Scenes too full of life to just brush off. What reason would there be for scenes completely unrelated to reality to suddenly appear?

There was only one fact he could deduce. That perhaps these memories were fragments of his past.

“How did you… know that.”

Yun-jae’s face turned deathly pale.

“…So it’s true.”

No other answer was needed. Yun-jae’s face, white as a corpse, was answer enough. When Ju-eon smirked, Yun-jae instantly came close and grabbed both his arms, shaking him.

“How did you find out? Who did you meet? Who did you meet? Is that why I couldn’t contact you?”

With bloodshot eyes, Yun-jae looked down at him menacingly, demanding an answer. The grip on his arms was fierce.

As if there was someone in Earth 1 he shouldn’t meet. Unlike Yun-jae who hadn’t been prepared for this conversation, Ju-eon had thought about it many times on his way back. What questions to ask, and how to respond if he got certain answers.

“I remembered.”

“What? You remembered? From where to where. How?”

“Is that such a surprising thing? Why are you so shocked?”

Ju-eon walked past Yun-jae and sat on the living room sofa. Yun-jae quickly followed after Ju-eon. Standing right in front of Ju-eon, Yun-jae looked down at him. He was smiling, but the smile was incredibly awkward.

“You said you were going to see me in Earth 1, then I couldn’t contact you all day. And now you suddenly remembered memories that weren’t easy to recall until now.”

“……”

“I couldn’t contact you. Of course I’d be worried. Nothing happened, right?”

Yun-jae forced his expression to relax but couldn’t hide his stiff tone. His jaw stood out from clenching his teeth so hard.

At Ju-eon’s ominous attitude, Yun-jae asked again. What happened? That man’s face came to mind again.

Something did happen.

He had done something that could never be undone. Ju-eon knew he wasn’t in a position to be angry right now. If weighing the severity of wrongs, his would be greater. The tip of his tongue was bitter, like being forced to take a mouthful of bitter water.

If he had just gone straight to Yun-jae, no, if he hadn’t gone at all… he might have felt anxious but wouldn’t feel this dirty.

“Yeah? Ju-eon? Where did you go? Who did you meet? Why couldn’t you come yesterday? And why were you late coming back today? What happened?”

Looking at Ju-eon who gave no answer, Yun-jae belatedly remembered there had been a dungeon break near the agency station this morning. By morning he had already realized he couldn’t contact Ju-eon, so all his attention was focused on Ju-eon and he hadn’t paid attention to it.

“Were you at that scene?”

“……”

But if Ju-eon was there then. Yun-jae recalled the news content he had carelessly passed over. He’d heard Attack Team 1 Leader Kang No-hun had been dispatched. Yeo Myung-hwon’s name wasn’t among the dispatched personnel.

“Right?”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“…What do you mean is that all?”

Yun-jae faltered at Ju-eon’s indifferent response. He met the gauging gaze head-on with his chin raised.

What on earth was he hiding?

They said when receiving treatment at the hospital, it was better for recovery if important memories were recalled on their own, so they didn’t tell patients unnecessarily. But they had an obligation to inform patients of their basic personal information from before losing memories.

“You’re the one who said I had no one to meet in Earth 1, so why do you keep asking?”

“……”

And in that personal information, there wasn’t a single line about him being a guide. Unpleasant thoughts kept connecting one after another.

The ground beneath felt like it was caving in and he couldn’t move, but he couldn’t just stay still either, so even knowing this conversation would not end well, he had no choice but to press forward.

“If I were in the opposite position… since a grown adult could be late sometimes, I think I would be happy about the memories returning, or want to do tests first since you were so persistent about finding those memories.”

“……”

“But right now, you. You don’t seem happy at all that memories have returned. You don’t seem to care that I’m shocked either.”

“……”

It wasn’t the reaction he expected either as the attending physician or as a lover. His blood ran cold.

“As if you were someone who hoped my memories wouldn’t return.”

At Ju-eon’s cold observation, Yun-jae lost his words and his lips trembled.

“…I… haven’t made you do anything harmful.”

“……”

“Ju-eon.”

“…Say something, anything.”

Ju-eon had changed overnight.

‘No, he didn’t change.’

It would be more accurate to say he became similar to how he was before. Back to when he had clearly drawn lines with him. Making the belief that he would never go back there seem foolish, Ju-eon was starting to draw lines again.