Bittersweet Memories (A Stray Kids Short Story Collection)

Magic Epilogue

     September 3rd, 2028.

     The newspaper office is celebrating today.

     Even after so many years, people are a sucker for love stories. And the story of the two Soulmates who have just gotten engaged is the latest buzz in the office. Everyone is congratulating the new couple and begging to see the ring.

     Lee Minho, age 30, smiles at hearing the commotion, even though nobody will see it. He doesn't bother to congratulate his workmates. Nobody minds that he doesn't. They know Minho's own skeletons in his closet prevent him from meaning the praises he's supposed to sing, and they much prefer it when Minho means what he says.

     He's not a bad person. Minho is happy for the pair. They're living a story everyone dreams to be the main characters of. Who's Minho to tell people that stories don't always have happy endings? Some truths are best left in the drawing books.

     Minho knows that eventually, he too will settle down. His future partner won't be a Soulmate, but still someone who means something to him. Both will know that each other's hearts will always belong to someone else, but that's okay. It will be a comfortable relationship and that's all Minho can ask for.

     Minho settles to think about the nice things of today. His boss has been hinting at a promotion for quite some time, and one of his articles has been put into consideration for the New York Times. Dreams don't always come true but Minho's happy that his has. That's the one gift he's been given.

     Remembering it's September 3rd, Minho reaches into his wallet, taking out a small photo that has never left its shelter for the past 12 years. A single seashell is taped at its corner.

     The photo is stuck in time. A 16-year-old boy's grin is plastered there forever and although time has swept Minho along, he forever belongs back in the years of this picture.

     The second photo accompanying it, of his 18-year-old self giving a polite smile while his Soulmate sticks his tongue out at the camera with no shame, only proves this point.

     "That's a nice photo. Who is he?"

     Minho didn't notice someone was by his desk. He doesn't mind the company. "That's Han Jisung."

     The photo in his wallet already speaks volumes. It spells out Minho's entire story and Minho is thankful for that. It's one too painful for him to tell anyways.

     "Are you the one who wrote that Soulmate story?"

     Right, that story. The story that did manage to escape town. The story can got more people talking than Minho had originally predicted. It's still not a story the world knows. But it's a story that people will still be talking about, even today. Even if one more person in the world can look at a pair of Soulmates and congratulate them no matter who they are, it will be enough. Even if one more person doesn't ask about a lifemark and the future it's spelled out, that will be enough.

     "Yes, that's me."

     "Han Jisung... who is he to you? If it's okay for me to ask."

     Minho pauses all of his actions. It's an odd question. But the person asking the question asks it with caution, but also openness. They ask it in present tense, like they understand that a Soulmate is a Soulmate forever, whether in life or death. Their tone holds sympathy, but also perhaps a story of their own. For the first time in a while, Minho finds himself curious to know it.

     He looks at the photo one last time. Who is Han Jisung? Years ago, he sat at a desk, struggling to find the right words to answer such a question. Now, the answer comes quickly, because it's an answer he's grown accustomed to over the years. It fits perfectly.

     Minho doesn't believe in the word. But perhaps it's also a word he's believed in ever since a young boy offered him a blue pencil crayon, reading him whole with a single gesture. Maybe it's something Minho has believed in all along.

     "He's magic."

     This is a story about a boy who is magic. His name is Han Jisung.

The End of Magic

Ahhh, we've completed another one, thank you so much for whoever has stuck with me to this point!

In two weeks, I am going to be posting the final story for this collection (for the time being) in one go. There is another one-shot I thought about including in this collection but I've realized it's veryyy long for a one-shot and probably warrants its own book, so stay tuned for that too!