Treasure tales

Jaehyuk #23: Epilogue

The lift door opened. As I had expected, Hyunsuk was standing on the roof, alone, looking at something I presumed to be very far away.

Hyunsuk seemed to notice my presence, because a while later he looked back. When he saw me, a look of mild surprise passed over his face.

"I didn't know you were coming here too," He said after a short pause.

"I had a feeling you'd be here," I responded. "I saw you quietly leave the group and go up the lift. Where else in the building would you go? The roof is the most scenic place, after all. But...why?"

"I had alot of things to think about," Hyunsuk responded, turning to look at the scenery again. His hair blew slightly in the wind. "I could not bear to dampen the happy mood at the party, so I decided to come here to think things through."

"Hyunsuk..." I cried. "You...you turned back time, didn't you?"

Hyunsuk turned around to face me. He tilted his head. "How did you know?" 

"Because," I murmured. "All your talks about timelines and all, and how saving Junghwan isn't our responsibility anymore. The Hyunsuk we all know isn't like this. He would give his best to ensure that everybody gets to see a better future. Unless...unless..."

"Unless?" Hyunsuk enquired, mildly curious.

"Unless you haven't actually given up even though you seemed to have," I concluded. "It's not our responsibility, because it is the responsibility of the us in another timeline, in a world where a truly happy ending is so much more possible."

Hyunsuk's face remained impassive. Then his face creased into a joyful smile. "You got it," he said. "I'm okay with this world being like this, because I truly believe that in some other world, there is a future for all of us. It's a sad world here without Junghwan, but in some other world, we're all safe. We all have a beautiful future ahead of us. It's so beautiful when you think about it like that, right?"

His face darkened. "But this world...this world has already reached its best possible ending. There's no way to fix this world anymore. You know, I've always wondered what happens to the worlds I leave behind. It's so odd finally being in this position, as the Hyunsuk who was left behind, and knowing that somewhere out there, there is another me who never has to endure the pain of being in a forgotten world."

He flashed a wry smile. "But at the same time, that me is the one who has to bear the impossible burden of leading all of us to an impossible future. He is the one who has to challenge the impossible and fight against fate itself, again and again and again, if only there existed a timeline where all of us can be happy. He is the one fated to bear the pain and burden that I will never have to deal with. From now on, I am allowed to live a normal life."

"He won't be alone," I reminded him. "You remember our promise, right? That if you had to turn back time again, you've got to befriend me again. Again and Again. You've also got Jaehyuk, and everyone else too. We're all here for you."

Hyunsuk nodded, a defiant gleam in his eyes. "This time, though," he announced. "I did not travel back empty-handed, unlike last time. Thanks to this world, we finally know what happened to Jaehyuk's powers. It will definitely help in our struggle against the otherworld with another hand on deck. And as you said, there's a possibility Bigbang could be a friend, or a foe. The me who has turned back time will investigate that. I'm sure that if this continues, and we gain more information throughout each time loop, it will be possible to seek that future. I believe in the me who has travelled across time in search of time."

"But you should have lost your powers too. Unless..." I murmured.

Hyunsuk nodded. "When we woke up in the otherworld with all our memories of the place erased," He said. "That was when they removed our powers. I already had a feeling something like that would happen, so I used my power ahead of time and travelled back into the past."

"I see," I murmured. I looked up in the sky. The wind blew ever so softly, so quietly. I smiled. "I look forward to that future too. To a future where me and you, and Jaehyuk and everybody else gets to experience a true happy ending."

"But for now, we can return to our normal lives," Hyunsuk agreed. He smiled at me. "Go back to the party, Rin. I'm sure Jaehyuk is waiting for you."

"Our memories! They were tinkered with! What did you do to our memories? What did you do to Junghwan! Our precious maknae?" Doyoung yelled angrily.

Hyunsuk felt his insides go cold. They had lost Junghwan. He had failed his duties as the leader. He closed his eyes tight. Despair began to sink into him when he realised that this world could not show him the future he had so hoped to see.

In such a situation, the only thing he could do was turn back time, in search of a better future. 

Hurry! Hurry! He had already begun to lose strength. He felt his power slowly began to seep away from him. Instantly realising on what Bigbang was planning to do, he held onto his power for dear life, and felt himself slowly surrounded by a dark abyss, something he always felt when he travelled through time.

Hyunsuk opened his eyes. He was back to the world of twelve years ago. Right about the time when the twelve boys received their powers. He was still in his adult form. Based on how his power works, travelling back in time is all right as long as his younger self doesn't see his younger self, so that he wouldn't create a time paradox.

He knew exactly what to do. He had to find Bigbang before they could summon their younger selves. He ran to the playground where they had first met those men.

As he had predicted, they were standing at the playground, preparing to cast a spell to summon them.

"Wait!" Hyunsuk yelled. They looked up in surprise.

"Are we on a different timeline already?" G Dragon asked in surprise. He smiled a wry smile. "Well, I half expected this to happen. What did you see in the future, Hyunsuk?"

"Don't take away Jaehyuk's powers," Hyunsuk panted.

"Why should we listen to you," G Dragon asked, raising an eyebrow. "You kids will go and overuse your powers behind our backs. Before we know it--"

"Look, Bigbang," Hyunsuk said. He straightened up, suddenly feeling confidence overwhelm him. Yes, he wasn't alone. He had all the Treasure members with him. He had Rin too.

"I don't know why you keep warning us of that," Hyunsuk said. "But I'm sure there's something behind it. A good reason as to why we cannot overuse them. You always act so antagonistic, but is there something behind it?"

"What are you trying to say?" TOP narrowed his eyes, suddenly looking very fierce.

"You took away Jaehyuk's powers because it was the most destructive of all. It could easily destroy the earth out of one little mistake," Hyunsuk announced. "That kind of power simply cannot be entrusted to a boy as young as he is. That doesn't sound very antagonistic to me. Look, let's negotiate. You don't take away his powers, and I won't probe further. I'll also take it upon myself to ensure Jaehyuk knows how to use his powers. If I make a mistake and he destroys the place anyway, I'll turn back time and rethink my proposal. How about that."

"Did you think we'd agree so easily?" Taeyang asked with his arms folded.

"I vote we listen to him," The masked man said in his soft voice. "I don't personally see any harm in it."

G Dragon sighed and unfolded his arms. "Alright. But only because D-lite said so," He warned Hyunsuk. "Then we entrust the responsibility of his powers into you, Hyunsuk. Are you prepared for it?"

Hyunsuk nodded confidently. "Leave it to me."

Afterwards Hyunsuk prepared a mask of his own and a suit, and for a few months he personally coached a young Jaehyuk on how to use his powers while in his disguise, effectively avoiding a time paradox if young Hyunsuk were to ever come by. When he determined that Jaehyuk was ready, he returned back to the future, where Rin and Treasure awaited, ready to fight for a new future.

Hey Readers, I suddenly had a thought. Could y'all leave some comments about what y'all hope yo see in future arcs? I've already planned out most of them but I am curious about what my readers are looking for so that I could improve in my writing for this book. Thank you! E.g. more tearjerkers, more drama, more character growth