I was not sure what to say. I was afraid of losing my memory, afraid of losing Seo Ui-woo of Kwon Jae-jin. I didn’t want the future to change, and yet I was in a situation where I had to accept a changed future. It was a story too long to be summarized in a few short words.
“I thought… I might lose my memories… I felt like… I had to draw the line somehow… So I drank and… on impulse…”
“What did you say?”
“You might find it hard to believe. But what can I do, it’s the truth…”
“…”
“Please believe me, Mr. Seo Ui-woo. Not just sparing me.”
“…”
“Please, believe me.”
Seo Ui-woo, with his long, slender eyelashes lowered, slowly reached out his hand. He gently ran his hand from the peg hammered into the wall along with the silver chain, all the way to the handcuffs. Kwon Jae-jin saw his wrist, marked by a red ring, and as Seo Ui-woo, looked at him, struggling with an inscrutable expression.
“Then, grant me permission.”
Permission for what?
“Memories.”
Not to erase, just to verify.
Seo Ui-woo smiled gently and lazily.
His pale face was dreadfully beautiful. Symmetrically perfect facial features like a sculpted work of art. Gray eyes swirling with extraordinary power and omnipotence. A creature of present humanity that inspires fear and awe and cannot be defied…
Kwon Jae-jin knew. He knew that even at that moment, Seo Ui-woo was sparing him.
From the very beginning, Seo Ui-woo could have restrained Kwon Jae-jin whenever he wanted, could have dominated him. If he had abilities such as psychic powers, he might have erased Jae-jin’s memories anytime he wanted and manipulated him like a tool.
If he had scrapped everything in Kwon Jae-jin’s head and left him with just newborn-like memories… Then, Jae-jin would have turned into a complete fool, a slave bowing to everything, doing everything Seo Ui-woo commanded. Even though Seo Ui-woo could have easily thrown Kwon Jae-jin into the darkest abyss, he didn’t.
In fact, that’s what his life was like.
Having such power… Suppressing such a strong ability within him… Why didn’t he indiscriminately unleash it?
Without anyone’s help, in a place unknown to all, bearing the pain of imbalance alone, enduring, fighting for humanity, getting hurt, sacrificing… Was he not the abnormal, outrageous being that was without a shred of humanity as I thought, but actually…
Maybe Seo Ui-woo was more reasonable and human than anyone else.
If it had been Kwon Jae-jin, by now, he would have flared up, lashing out and turning everything upside-down…
“Whatever, just do it.”
Kwon Jae-jin said with a mix of resignation and sympathy.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re just reading it. Go ahead.”
“Are you really okay with that? I might be deceiving you.”
Jae-jin felt relieved, having opened up, but Seo Ui-woo was still suspicious. Even while looking at Kwon Jae-jin with a softened expression, his gaze remained sharp; analyzing, estimating, understanding, and still doubting Kwon Jae-jin.
It was pitiful.
“Yes, I know.”
“You say you’re just going to read, but you might be intending to scramble my brain and empty it.”
“Are you trying to scare me? As if there are any other options at this point. It’s not like I can just ask you to believe in me with words alone.”
“…”
“I will trust you first, Mr. Seo Ui-woo, and present my memories, so please check them and then trust me, Mr. Kwon Jae-jin. That will do.”
“…”
“What are you doing? Hurry up and look into my head. My arm hurts, it’s cold, and I want to remove this damn thing piercing my hole…”
The frozen gray eyes slightly widened.
No matter what, Seo Ui-woo had not expected Kwon Jae-jin to give up his memories so easily. He must have thought it was a shallow deception to momentarily evade the issue. If he says to read the memories, then…
“It’s real, isn’t it…”
“See, I’ve been telling you that from the start.”
“You really came from the future to the past?”
Seo Ui-woo acknowledged Kwon Jae-jin’s steadfast intention and covered his chin with the back of his hand.
“Ah.”
A blush slowly spread across Seo Ui-woo’s fair and pure face.
He covered his face with trembling fingers, and his head drooped shyly, his earlobes peeking out between his black curls showing a hint of pinkness. His severed ears had completely grown back to their original state.
“So, it’s true. Kwon Jae-jin, you’re really strange. How could something like this happen?”
“I could say the same thing. But to me, you moving objects without touching them, teleporting, and time-traveling are all equally miraculous. I don’t see much difference.”
“Ah…”
“So about the memories? When are you planning to read them?”
“No, wait, I need to calm down for a moment. I can’t touch the head while I’m excited… It’s dangerous…”
Seo Ui-woo took a deep breath.
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
