stranger ‣ y.jw

033

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                   Sunghoon arrived, worry plastered all over his face.

His eyes immediately searched for Byeol that was in the couch snoring softly, still crying. Jihee had put her there because the floor was cold and she didn't really want Sunghoon to arrive only to see his past lover splattered all around the floor. He kneeled to her eye level, brushing her hair as he checked if she was alright.

"What is she doing here?" Sunghoon asked Jihee and she answered with a shrug.

"When I got home she was already here, I think she knows where the hidden key is." She explained to him some of the information that wasn't entirely false but also don't go into full details as to why Byeol really was there.

He looked at Jihee in a way she couldn't tell. "You made her fall asleep, didn't you?" He asked.

"How do you suppose I did that?"

"Jihee, I know."

She already had her suspicions that he knew, she waited for the moment that he would admit it and there it was. Although she did expect in a different situation, she didn't know what she exactly expected but this certainly wasn't how she thought things would unfold.

She nods. "Then you have your answer. I made her fall asleep." There was no need to be cryptic with him about something obvious.

"Then what really happened?"

Jihee sighed and explained everything, already planning on erasing his memory as well before he leaves, that is if he doesn't take the information very well. Unlike Byeol, he desired less to spread her indifference to the public, either because he was aware she could influence everyone's memories or because he doesn't really care. Any of the two reasons would work for Jihee, unless there were more of course.

Surprisingly, he tried understanding everything she was saying and he took it very well in the end. He didn't make any big reactions just slight changes in his expression but that was just about it.

"So she doesn't remember anything." He said. "But why is she still crying? Shouldn't she have forgotten?"

She shook her head. "I can't alter emotions. They're deeply rooted into your souls, far enough so that my powers can't reach it." She explained in the simplest way she could. "So when she wakes up, she'll still be sad and angry. She just won't remember why."

There was a momentary silence between them, as though Sunghoon was thinking of something and she was waiting for him to say whatever he wanted to say.

"Can I ask you to erase one more thing from her memory?" She nods to him in a manner telling him to continue speaking.

"Can you erase her memories of ever loving me?"

Her eyes widened. His favor was surprising and quite frankly, she doesn't even think she could fulfill it. She has seen them long enough to know how much they loved each other, to know how much they meant to one another. She couldn't take that away from the two of them, not when she already robbed them of their original fate.

"No." She firmly answers. "You're not going to run away from Byeol, Sunghoon."

He smiled, shaking his head. "She wants everything to go back to the way it was because of me, and I'm worried for the person she's becoming. I just want her to be happy and if this love is the reason why she's turning like this, I don't want it."

"You know even if I take her memories of loving you, she'll still be in love. She just won't remember it's with you. I don't think you can handle that." Jihee continued to convince him that what he was asking of her was a bad idea. "Sunghoon, your fate is in your hands now. Nothing is pre-determined for you anymore, we will never be sure if you're ever going to end up with her again."