Sungjae immediately pounced onto Gong Yoo. "What's this?" he demanded.
"You left yourself a message," Gong Yoo replied calmly as though he had been expecting it.
Sungjae was suspicious. "How do I know you haven't tampered with it?"
"Because I couldn't," Gong Yoo gave him a wry grin as he handed him a notebook. "You need a password."
Minhyuk pressed the play button.
"Hello Sungjae," the Sungjae on the screen greeted him with a wave. Everyone else in the room switched their attention back to the real-life Sungjae who awkwardly waved back before he weakly sat down, the notebook clutched tightly in his hands.
"If you're watching this, then that means our uncle has confirmed that the mission has been completed."
"Our uncle?" Sungjae was confused.
"Ah, but you've probably forgotten who that is, haven't you?" the Sungjae on the screen gave an embarrassed laugh.
"No matter," he continued. "Inside this video message, I've recorded everything that you need to know.
"All you need to do is input the right password."
Sungjae frowned. How was he supposed to remember a password he forgot?
"You're probably wondering how you're supposed to remember this password, especially if you've forgotten it," the screen-Sungjae once again read his mind. "Well, if everything worked according to plan, you should have been reunited with someone that you trust implicitly.
Screen-Sungjae stared straight at real-life Sungjae, uncannily locking eyes with him. "They will have the password."
With that, the screen faded to black as a window appeared asking for a password. A small hint was written in red underneath the password box.
A word that only they will use.
Sungjae quietly mouthed the words.
He never had the password. He was never supposed to.
But he knew who did.
"Sooyoung," he said as he locked eyes with the woman beside him.
Sooyoung, the woman he loved.
Joy, the woman whose hands he put his life in.
Park Sooyoung, the woman he trusted the most.
He reached out and took hold of Joy's hands. "Help me remember everything," he implored her.
Joy looked back into Sungjae's eyes and nodded.
She motioned for Minhyuk to bring the laptop to her. He did so swiftly, sidestepping Gong Yoo on the way. Ignoring all the eyes on her, Joy slowly typed in the password.
Z-I-M-Z-A-L-A-B-I-M
The laptop's fan slowly revved up as the program that Sungjae had hidden his memories in booted up. Lines of code flashed quickly on the screen before everything stopped and was replaced with another video.
It was a scene that was familiar yet strange to Sungjae. On the screen was an image of a laboratory bench, cluttered with vials, beakers, the odd dripper, stirrer, and a notebook. He had seen it so many times before. He had seen it in his dreams.
In the background, Sungjae could see the upper torso someone dressed in a white lab coat.
Joy looked back at Sungjae.
YOU ARE READING
Who I've Been Searching For | Sungjoy
General FictionThe Breakthrough. That was all it took for Yook Sungjae to be taken away from Park Sooyoung. But she'll find him again. After all, she was in the special forces. She knows exactly what it takes.
