♒    ♓    ♈    ♉    ♊    ♋    ♌    ♍  -  ♎  -  ♏    ♐    ♑
 

Jeonghan is ten the first time he gets the dream. He's in a forest, and he can hear the birds chirping. Something rustles behind him, and he whirls around, trying to see what created the noise. He sees nothing but bushes, and shrugs and continues forward.

He's wearing a pair of boots, a comfortable sweater hoodie and a pair of jeans, and he is carrying a backpack. He comes across a small stream, and stops to refill his water bottle and splash water on his face.

After resting for a while, he continues on his trek. To where, he knows not. All he is following is the compass on his right wrist, pointing him towards the direction that he is walking in.

He is older in his dream, and a lot taller, and he has long hair. He has no idea what would prompt him to leave his hair long, but shrugs the thought away and continues trekking.

The forest slowly clears, revealing a small rock cave. It is small enough that he cannot even crawl in, but he reaches a hand in, only to be woken up by his alarm clock.

He grumbles, having wanted to know what was inside the rock cave, but gets out of bed before his mother has to climb up the stairs to wake him up.

He scampers down the stairs, and seats himself at the table, greeting his parents a good morning while yawning. They smile at his apparent grumpiness, and his mother kisses him on the crown of his head as she places a plate of pancakes on the table.

Jeonghan cheers, and is soon scarfing down the pancakes. His father laughs at him to slow down, and Jeonghan beams at him with his mouth full.

After breakfast sees Jeonghan grabbing his backpack from his room and his lunch from his mother, and leaves the house with his father, shouting goodbye to his mother. He has to quickly run back in to grab his wristbands though, to the amusement of his parents.

Jeonghan doesn't remember a time where he did not wear his wristbands when they were in the company of anyone else but their family of three. All he knows that the marks on his wrists are unusual, and should only be shown to people that he trusts absolutely.

When he asks his parents how the marks came to be, they said that when he was born, the marks were already there.

Circling his left wrist are twelve symbols that he knows are the symbols of the zodiac, having researched them as soon as he was old enough to be curious about them.

Jeonghan had wanted to try and see if he could make the constellations out at night, but to his horror, his parents had told him that the zodiac constellations had disappeared from the night sky.

The zodiac constellations had started disappearing around forty-two years ago, with the last disappearing thirty years ago. It had, and still has been, baffling to astronomers around the world as they tried to figure out what happened, but no one knew why. If the zodiac still existed, his parents tell him, he would be a Libra.

Jeonghan doesn't know why, but that makes him proud.

A small, black triangle rests on the inside of his wrist, and it lies below the circle of symbols, pointing upwards.

The symbol that it is pointing at has not changed in the twelve years he has been on this Earth, and Jeonghan wonders why the triangle constantly points at the symbol of Libra.

On the inside of his right wrist is a compass that never ceases to fascinate him. Unlike normal tattoos, the compass needle shifts. If he turns to the right slightly, the needle shifts to accommodate his movement, but is always pointing in one direction.

Jeonghan often wonders where the needle would lead him to if he were to follow it, but knows that following the needle now would cause his parents unnecessary grief.

Besides, from his dream that he was so rudely awakened from, he has some time to go before he will be able to follow the needle.

After the first dream, they don't stop coming. It's always the same forest, and he always ends up at the same place, and is always reaching into the rock cave when he is woken up.

He occasionally gets another dream, though. For some reason, in the dream, he is looking down at the Earth, as if in space. He is next to someone whose face he cannot make out, and is having a conversation that he cannot hear.

The only thing he ever hears in that dream is always just before he wakes up and it always rings in his mind. It's a sentence that he says in reply to the other, and always brings him immeasurable sadness for some reason when he wakes up.

It's always, always, "I have to do it, as I'm the only one left that is able to do so."
 

 ♒    ♓    ♈    ♉    ♊    ♋    ♌    ♍  -  ♎  -  ♏    ♐    ♑
 

Jeonghan is twenty when he gets an opportunity to travel to Jeju for one of his modules that he is taking. He is in university now, having moved into an apartment of his own. He packs light, as they are only staying there for five days, and within a month is on a plane to Jeju-do.

His parents have allowed him to study anything he wants, which resulted in him experimenting in various modules, before deciding on Art as his major, with a specialty in graphite drawing. He is currently taking a module that is focused on still life, hence the trip to Jeju-do.

They are going to be brought to a hotel near Halla Mountain, and will be given three of the five days to draw three pieces of various still life. He has brought trekking boots, and his most comfortable sweater hoodies and jeans - he's heard that it might be cold at Jeju-do.

The deja-vu doesn't strike him until the next day, when he's settled into his hotel room and is beginning his first day of trekking through Halla Mountain. He has his phone, his camera, and a walkie-talkie given to them by their teacher, in case they are lost in a location without cellular signal.

He treks until he reaches a sign that tells him that he has reached the periphery of Gotjawal Forest, taking photos along the way, and on impulse, removes the wristbands on his wrists. He checks his watch to see that he still has a few more hours before the sun sets.

He glances at his wrist and slings his camera around his neck, and sets off into Gotjawal Forest in the direction that his compass is pointing in.

About an hour in, Jeonghan is thinking about what he had read up about Gotjawal Forest. It is a naturally formed forest located on the middle slopes of Halla Mountain, and is an enclave of the Southern Korea evergreen forests eco-region that is formed on rocky areas.

He pauses when he comes across a familiar stream - the very stream that he has dreamed about for the past ten years.

He has wondered before if the dream was showing him some place in the world, but to have his questions confirmed like this gives him a weird sense of achievement, for some reason. It feels as if like he has accomplished something by coming here.

There are some differences from his dream and the present, though. His hair isn't long, for one, and he has his camera with him. He stands up from where he had been taking a break, continuing on in the direction that his compass is pointing in.

Sure enough, the forest slowly thins out to reveal a large clearing with various rock formations, one of which is the small rock cave he had seen in his dream. He walks towards the small rock cave, placing his bag and camera by the side of the rock formations.

Taking a deep breath, he reaches his hand in, only to touch cloth. Frowning, he grabs the object  from the rock cave, settling on the ground to see what he has found.

He inspects the clothed bundle, and unties the knot holding the bundle together at the top. The cloth falls apart to reveal a long, thin wooden box, which he opens, only to find thirteen rings.

The rings are silver in colour, and is inscribed with a symbol each, that he recognises as the symbols of the zodiac. He notices that even though all the other rings are inscribed with the full symbols, only the Gemini symbol is split into 'ㅠ' and 'ㅛ' respectively.

He wonders why briefly, but is soon drawn towards the ring with the Libra symbol on it, and glances at his left wrist, only to freeze as he watches the Libra symbol of his wrist start glowing a pale blue.

When nothing happens after a while of the symbol on his wrist glowing, he slowly picks up the ring with the Libra symbol on it and slips it onto the last finger of his right hand. It fits perfectly, but before Jeonghan can inspect the rings any more, he blacks out.

After a while, he comes back to life with a gasp, having slumped over the box of rings once he'd put his own ring on, and when he checks the time, he realises that he has been unconscious for close to an hour.

Shaking his head slightly, Jeonghan feels a headache start as his brain struggles to accommodate all the memories the ring has returned to him. Rewrapping the cloth around the box, he packs up his things, slipping his wristbands back on and setting off for the hotel, thoughts whirling in his head.

Later that night, when he is about to get into the shower, he realises that he has a new mark. On his chest, placed above his heart, is a balance scale, the representation of the Libra. Running a hand over the mark, he finishes showering.

When getting ready for bed after sketching for a while, he glances at his left wrist, only to find that the symbol on the inside of his wrist has changed. The circle of symbols has shifted to the left, and the triangle is now pointing at the symbol of Capricorn.
 

 ♒    ♓    ♈    ♉    ♊    ♋    ♌    ♍    ♎    ♏    ♐  -  ♑  -
 

The next day, he treks back into Halla Mountain with the full intention of completing his assignment by the end of the day. After snapping photos that he feels are suitable enough to sketch, he returns to the hotel before noon and starts drawing with a vengeance.

He had gotten another dream when he'd fallen asleep the previous night, and in the dream he could see a signboard that indicated that he was somewhere in Jeju-do. Taking it as a sign that Capricorn is somewhere in the area, Jeonghan is determined to finish his assignment by today so that he can spend the last day of freedom searching for him.

He gets into the zone, mind entirely focused on his work, and begins sketching. By nightfall, he is adding the finishing touches on all three of his sketches, making sure that they are good enough to be handed in to his teacher.

Once he does, he packs a backpack, ensuring that his phone is fully charged, and leaves the hotel the next day with a new purpose. He follows the compass on his wrist carefully, taking breaks when needed and stopping at a small restaurant for lunch.

Somehow, as he travels through Jeju-do, the island has never seemed bigger. He had wanted to explore the island, take photos for his parents, but at that moment the only thing that he can think about is finding Capricorn before he has to go back to Seoul.

It's around three in the afternoon when he meets him. Jeonghan approaches a guy that looks to be around his age to ask where he is, and the local gladly gives him the name of the town he is currently in.

Thanking him, Jeonghan turns to continue walking, peering down at the compass half covered by his wristbands. He frowns when he realises that the compass has turned 180 degrees in the opposite direction and that the Capricorn symbol on his other wrist has started glowing pale blue once more, and turns to follow it again before he realises what just happened.

Cursing under his breath, he quickly u-turns and runs back to the young local. "Excuse me, what's your name? I forgot to ask," Jeonghan catches up to the guy and asks. "Me? I'm Boo Seungkwan! Are you new to the area?" Seungkwan introduces himself.

"I'm Yoon Jeonghan. Look, this is going to sound very weird, but I need you to do me a favour," Jeonghan says, slipping the backpack off his back and taking the box of rings out of it.

"Sure," Seungkwan nods, always happy to help. He's staring quizzically at the box, wondering what's in it.

Jeonghan unwraps the cloth from the box, folding it neatly, and opens the box, showing the younger the rows of rings. "What do these symbols mean?" Seungkwan asks, hand lifted as if about to touch them.

Jeonghan doesn't know what he's doing, but just follows his gut feeling. "I need you to tell me which ring you would pick if you were given a choice. Don't touch them yet, please," he requests haltingly, knowing how weird his question sounds.

Seungkwan's hand halts in mid-air, and he frowns as he stares at the rows of rings. Jeonghan stares at him in trepidation, wondering which ring he'll choose.

"This one," Seungkwan points the ring he has chosen out, and Jeonghan looks at the ring he has chosen and starts laughing. "It's you, it's really you," he's murmuring, over and over again.

"Hey, are you okay?" Seungkwan asks hesitantly, wondering why this stranger is so worked up over his choice. "Nothing, it's nothing," Jeonghan says hurriedly, swiping at his eyes. When did he start crying?

It had been too long since he'd been in the company of one of the others. Far too long.

Jeonghan tries to calm down, taking the ring Seungkwan has chosen out of the box. The Capricorn symbol gleams in the sunlight, and Jeonghan offers the ring to Seungkwan.

"You should have it. You chose it, after all," Jeonghan says. Seungkwan hurriedly tries to reject the ring, but Jeonghan insists, pushing it into Seungkwan's palm.

Seungkwan stares at Jeonghan, shocked that he is so willing to part with something that he was crying over, and turns the ring over in his hand. At Jeonghan's insistence, he nods hesitantly and slips the ring onto the last finger of his right hand.

He only has just enough time to think about how it fits him so perfectly before he blacks out, dropping to the ground like his strings have been cut.

It is only due to Jeonghan's quick reflexes that he saves Seungkwan from hitting his head, having expected the blacking out. He carries the smaller boy over to the entrance of a closed shop, settling his head in his lap as he sits down, prepared to wait it out.

About half an hour later, Jeonghan's attention is brought away from his phone when he hears Seungkwan inhale sharply and start frowning. The younger's hands come up to rub at his face, and Seungkwan sits up suddenly, barely missing Jeonghan's chin.

"W-what just happened?" Seungkwan asks. Jeonghan stares at him, unsure of how to reply. Seungkwan shakes his head, blinking a few times, and turns to Jeonghan, this person who he'd just met for the first time that day but at the same time had known for eons.

"Libra. It's you, isn't it, Libra?" It's Capricorn that is speaking, and Jeonghan nods, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. "Capricorn. Seungkwan. It's good to see you alive and well," Jeonghan replied.

"Right. I'm Boo Seungkwan, but I'm also Capricorn," Seungkwan massages at his head, "God, how do you deal with all the memories?"

"You forget what I represent, Seungkwan. It's not hard for me to balance the two sets of memories out so that I can sift through the memories," Jeonghan replies, both hands reaching out to touch Seungkwan's temples. He focuses for a while, and Seungkwan sighs in relief as the memories sort themselves out with Jeonghan's help.

"That helps a lot, thanks, Jeonghan-hyung," Seungkwan says gratefully, before pausing. "Wait, are you older than me here? I fell before you, didn't I?" he asks. "What year were you born in? I was born in 1995," Jeonghan states, and Seungkwan frowns. "I was born in 1998. How does that work?"

Jeonghan shrugs. "Polaris told me before I fell that time works in strange ways when you fall. We're very far away from home, millions of light years away, and that could have affected when we landed here," he says.

"Hmm, maybe. Anyway, hyung, what are you doing here in Jeju? How long are you here for?" Seungkwan asks. Jeonghan checks the time, noting that he still has about an hour and a half before he has to leave, and starts explaining everything to the younger.

He starts from when he first got the dreams, shows him the compass and the circle of symbols on his wrists, to which Seungkwan says, "It's no longer pointing at the symbol you say is mine anymore, hyung."

Jeonghan looks at his wrist, before agreeing. "It's pointing to Gemini, now," he says. "Who do you think we'll find? Both of them? Geni? Mini?" Seungkwan asks, curious. "I guess we'll see," is all Jeonghan replies, heart aching from hearing the nicknames they had given the two halves of Gemini.

He continues on with his story, telling Seungkwan about how he started travelling around Jeju-do after finishing his assignment, finally ending up here.

In return, Seungkwan tells him about his life, and what he's been doing. They exchange phone numbers, and when Jeonghan has to go, Seungkwan whines, "Do you really have to go? Can't I come with you?"

"You know I have to, Seungkwan-ah. You also know very well why you cannot follow me right now. You're the most practical of all of us, you know why," Jeonghan says, drawing him in for a tight hug.

"I'll come find you once I'm able to, okay, hyung?" Seungkwan promises, and Jeonghan nods. They pinkie promise, and Jeonghan keeps the box of rings properly, putting it gently back into his backpack.

Before Jeonghan leaves, he tells Seungkwan, "Check something for me? There should be a mark over your heart by now. Message me to tell me what the mark is, I'm curious to know whether it'll be what I think it is."

The younger nods, and waves goodbye until Jeonghan disappears from sight.

Jeonghan reaches his hotel near midnight, and collapses into bed after taking a quick shower. Plugging in his phone to charge, he turns off the hotel lights and is soon well on his way into slumber.

Just before he falls asleep, his phone buzzes, and he opens his messages only to find that Seungkwan has sent him a photo of the mark over his heart, and smiles sleepily to himself. He was right. The mark that has tattooed itself onto Seungkwan's chest is the representation of Capricorn, the mountain goat.

Putting his phone back on the table and turning around, Jeonghan curls up and is out like a light immediately.
 

♒    ♓    ♈    ♉  -  ♊  -  ♋    ♌    ♍    ♎    ♏    ♐    ♑

Over the next few months Seungkwan and Jeonghan graduate from messaging to video calling, and every time they contact each other in some form they learn more and more about each other, catching up on each other's lives in the time they've been separated from each other.

Every time, Jeonghan ends the conversation with the same sentence: "We'll find all of them, and then we'll go home together. I promise you that."

Gemini turns out to be extremely hard to find. Jeonghan is swamped with exams for a period of time, and barely surfaces on occasion to call Seungkwan to assure him that the older is still alive and kicking. Seungkwan is trying to find a way to get to Seoul from Jeju, applying for all kinds of scholarships.

Finally, Jeonghan emerges from the haze of running on little to no sleep and disgusting but necessary concoctions of Red Bull and energy drinks after coming back to his apartment after his last final and blacking out for close to fourteen hours.

Once he has freshened up and feels somewhat alive again, he first calls his parents to check in with them, before hanging up and calling Seungkwan immediately after.

"Finally alive, Jeonghan-hyung?" Seungkwan's voice is welcome after close to three weeks of barely talking to the younger, and Jeonghan hums, asking, "How are things going?" At his question, Seungkwan becomes so excited that Jeonghan can hear his wide smile.

"I got a scholarship, hyung! I'm coming to Seoul!" Seungkwan's words make Jeonghan smile brightly to no one as he slumps down on his sofa. "That's great news! When are you coming?" Jeonghan asks.

"Well, I still have to sort out all the technicalities, like finding a place to stay and packing all my things, but it'll definitely be within the month!" Seungkwan tells him. Jeonghan looks around his apartment, empty and quiet.

"You can come and stay with me, if you wouldn't mind," Jeonghan offers, mind already imagining all the things he'll have to shift to make way for the younger's things. "Really, hyung? Your parents wouldn't mind me staying with you?"

Seungkwan's gratitude is a tangible thing, and Jeonghan laughs, "Of course I'm sure. My parents bought this apartment for me, and they won't mind if I share it with my friends."

"Really?" Seungkwan repeats, "Thanks so much, hyung! That's one less thing to worry! I still have to get a passport, ensure that my parents will do okay with the farm without me, pack..."

Jeonghan closes his eyes, listening to Seungkwan talk about all the things that he needs to get done before he can even think about moving to Seoul, nevermind finding a place.

Now that Jeonghan actually thinks about it, his childhood was a relatively peaceful one. His parents very rarely had arguments, and frequently talked to each other about whatever problems they had.

Maybe it was his power as Libra making itself known, Jeonghan thought. Even though he hadn't had the memories, he still had the ability to balance aggression with passiveness, allowing his family to discuss things peacefully instead of losing themselves in their anger.

After a while more, Seungkwan and Jeonghan hang up, and Jeonghan drags himself up from the sofa to do the things that he had been too busy to do when he was studying.

He stuffs all of his dirty laundry into the washing machine, then starts washing the dishes and clearing the apartment of all the rubbish strewn around from his desperate attempts to stay awake and cram more information in his head by eating various snacks.

Later that night, he gets another dream. He hadn't been getting the dreams since he'd found Seungkwan, and wonders if his stress levels have anything to do with it. He doesn't know where he is this time.

All he can see is one of the many bridges that are built across the Han River, and tries to look around before realising that he is walking towards someone in his dream. He squints, trying to see what the person is doing, and his heart jolts when he sees a silhouette leaning against the railing of the bridge, looking down at the water.

It's a solemn image that the silhouette presents, but Jeonghan wakes up before he can do anything more.

The next day, after attending the classes he has for the day, he finds himself walking down the Han River, trying to see if any of the bridges that he is walking past looks like the one in his dream, following his compass at the same time.

Jeonghan walks until his compass is pointing away from the Han River, and calls it a day when the sun sets, hailing a cab to go find something to eat before he goes home.

As Jeonghan is beginning to learn, the closer he is to finding Gemini, the more vivid his dreams get. Over the next week, Jeonghan finds himself being able to identify more and more landmarks in his dream, allowing him to familiarise himself with the area in order to figure out exactly which bridge he will meet either Geni or Mini.

Seungkwan sounds happy at the fact that Jeonghan is going to find the next zodiac constellation, but is too busy trying to arrange things before he leaves that they don't have much time to talk. Jeonghan leaves Seungkwan to it and walks down Han River everyday after his classes, covering section by section.

It isn't until the sixth day that he's having the dream that he finally finds the bridge in his dream - he had been worried that he would have to comb through all 27 bridges in Seoul in an attempt to find the bridge in his dream.

To his relief the bridge he's looking for is the nineteenth one, and when he checks his compass, he realises that the needle is still pointing away from the bridge.

"It isn't time yet, huh?" Jeonghan muses out loud. He takes note of the bridge (Dongjak Bridge) and turns away, heading for home.

It isn't until the ninth day when Jeonghan dreams the same dream, but he is able to get a lot closer to the person than the first day he had the dream.

The sense of urgency that he is feeling from the tense atmosphere weighs heavily down on him, and when Jeonghan wakes up he knows that today is the day.

As soon as classes let out, he's rushing to make it to Dongjak Bridge, hurriedly hailing a taxi. It's nearing five in the afternoon when he finally makes his way onto Dongjak Bridge, taking measured steps as he follows his compass.

When he looks up from his compass and spots a familiar silhouette, he breaths a sigh of relief, but quickly starts running when the figure starts climbing the railing. "Wait!" he shouts desperately, trying to stop the person.

As he draws nearer, he takes in the tousled hair and small eyes of one half of Gemini, book in hand. He glances at his left wrist, not surprised to see the Gemini symbol glowing a familiar pale blue.

"What are you doing?" Jeonghan asks, panicked. The guy turns, climbing off the railing. "I'm wondering what it's like to fly," is his odd reply, and Jeonghan tilts his head in confusion.

"Look, I don't know what you were trying to do, but I don't think you should climb the railing like that. You could fall!" Jeonghan says, trying to ignore all the warning bells in his head. "Who says I don't want to fall?" the guy replies calmly.

Jeonghan panics even more, grasping at straws. Desperate to do something about the weird silence that has overcome them, he quickly takes out the box of rings from his backpack. "Before you do anything more, I need you to do a favour for me," Jeonghan says hurriedly. The guy isn't fazed, just looks at Jeonghan calmly.

Jeonghan opens the box of rings, and asks as calmly as he can, "Which ring would you pick if you were to choose one? Don't touch anything yet, just point it out to me."

The guy peruses the rows of rings slotted neatly into the cushion of the box, and points one out after a while. Jeonghan looks at the ring he has chosen, and smiles, but stops as he remembers what the other had been doing before Jeonghan had called out.

He takes the ring with the 'ㅠ' symbol on it out of the box, and passes it to the other before anything else happens. "Please put it on, it's yours," Jeonghan says. The guy furrows a brow, and asks, "You're just giving it to me?" Jeonghan nods, and says, "Please put it on."

The guy looks at him for a beat, before nodding and sliding the ring onto the last finger of his right hand. By now, Jeonghan expects the crumpling to the ground, and belatedly remembers that he didn't even know Geni's current name before giving him the ring.

(He could only be Geni. Mini is sociable, always ready to have fun and rambunctious, while Geni is more gentle, serious, with a tendency to think over his words a lot before he said them, unlike Mini, who tends to blurt out whatever's on his mind at that point in time.

What they do have in common, though, is endless curiosity and affection for the people they care about.)

Jeonghan closes the box of rings after sitting down on the ground, keeping it back into his backpack. Geni's head is arranged on his lap, and Jeonghan leans against the railing, waiting for Geni to wake up.

Geni coughed slightly as he came back to consciousness, and Jeonghan helped him sit up, patting his back lightly.

"You okay, Geni?" Jeonghan asked worriedly. "I'm fine, don't call me that here, my name is Wonwoo. Jeon Wonwoo," Wonwoo rubbed at his temples before Jeonghan reached out and helped him the same way he helped Seungkwan, and Wonwoo gave a small sigh of relief as the memories sorted themselves out neatly.

"You're Libra, right? Only Libra can do that," Wonwoo said, squinting at Jeonghan. "Libra Yoon Jeonghan at your service," Jeonghan mock-bowed. "What's that on your wrists?" Wonwoo couldn't help but ask, noticing the marks.

"Oh, these. They're what helped me find you," Jeonghan said, launching into an explanation once more. This time, though, the explanation took longer, as Wonwoo asked questions that he had never considered before.

("Why blue?"

"..."

"Do you think our DNA are different before and after we remember?"

"..."

"How did the rings end up in that rock cave?"

"...I wish I knew, Wonwoo-ah. I really wish I knew.")

Finally though, they got up and started walking back across the bridge. A thought occurred in Jeonghan's mind. "What made you want to jump, Wonwoo-ah?" he asked gently, unsure of how to broach the topic.

Wonwoo kept silent for a while, thinking about how to answer the question. "Since I was a kid, I always felt that I was missing something in here, you know?" he gestured at his chest, "I guess I just got sick of feeling that emptiness. Now that I remember, though, I know it's because I was missing Mini."

Jeonghan nodded in understanding, before looking at his wrist. "It's pointing towards Aries, now," he said. "Aries, huh. Who else have you found?" Wonwoo asked.

"You're the second one my compass and dreams have led me to. The first was Capricorn, he's called Seungkwan, Boo Seungkwan. Oh, that reminds me," Jeonghan took out his phone, dialling Seungkwan's number and pressing video call.

Seungkwan picked up, and yelled for joy when he saw Jeonghan and another guy. "Is that Geni or Mini? Oh my god, hi!" Seungkwan said excitedly. Wonwoo flinched at the first yell and laughed. "I'm Geni. Jeon Wonwoo."

"Jeonghan-hyung, you really found him! I can't wait to be there!" Seungkwan said, running around his room. "How long more will you need until you're here, Seungkwan-ah?" Jeonghan asked.

"A few more days! I just have one or two more loose ends to tie up before I'll be on my way to Seoul!" Seungkwan replied, showing the two older ones his bedroom, nearly empty and with some boxes strewn about.

"Okay, I hope you get here soon! Anyway, I called you to show you Geni, and also to tell you Aries is the next one," Jeonghan said. "Oh, Aries? I hope we find him soon!" Seungkwan said. They chatted a while more before hanging up.

"Is Capricorn always that loud?" Wonwoo asked, rubbing his ear. "Only when he's excited," Jeonghan chuckled. Jeonghan and Wonwoo exchanged numbers, with Jeonghan giving the younger Seungkwan's number as well, and decided to walk to a nearby cafe to catch each other up on their lives.

When Jeonghan asks the next day, Wonwoo confirms that there is a mark on his chest over his heart, a pair of twins.
 

 ♒    ♓  -  ♈  -  ♉    ♊    ♋    ♌    ♍    ♎    ♏    ♐    ♑
 

When Seungkwan moves into Jeonghan's apartment, both Wonwoo and Jeonghan are there to help him. After they have shifted all of Seungkwan's boxes up and into the room that used to be a guest room, they collapse on the sofa, and lie there tiredly for countless minutes.

The silence is peaceful, up until Seungkwan groans loudly, stretching to get rid of the kinks in his back from carrying so many boxes. Jeonghan huffs, pushing himself up to go and get drinks for the other two, and Wonwoo sinks down even further into the sofa.

"It feels so weird without the rest," Wonwoo can't help but comment as Jeonghan returns, three cans of soda in his hands. Seungkwan makes grabby hands at the soda, and Jeonghan passes him one, careful not to shake the can too much.

He passes the other to Wonwoo, before thumping heavily onto the couch again, opening the can and gulping a mouthful from it. "Wonwoo-hyung," Seungkwan says, and Wonwoo hums, his warmth pressing into Seungkwan's side. "How does it feel like?"

"Missing Mini, you mean?" Wonwoo clarifies, and Seungkwan nods. "Like I'm missing a piece of me that I don't know how to find. Like I only have half my heart," Wonwoo says, melancholic.

"It's okay," Seungkwan bumps his elbow into him, jostling him gently, "We'll find him soon. Right, Jeonghan-hyung?" When Seungkwan's question is met with silence, both Wonwoo and Seungkwan turn to see Jeonghan snoring softly into the arm rest of the sofa, can close to tipping over in his hands.

Wonwoo saves the can of soda, placing it on the coffee table, before looking at Seungkwan and shrugging, continuing to chat with the younger softly. 

Jeonghan wakes up with a crick in his neck, and realises that he fell asleep on the sofa. He feels a weight slumped over him, and turns his head to see Wonwoo and Seungkwan both leaning on him, cans on the table. It's the middle of the night, and Jeonghan slides himself out of the tower, slowly helping Wonwoo lie down.

He carries Seungkwan to his new room, tucking him in, and goes to find a blanket to cover Wonwoo with, arranging him into a better sleeping position on the sofa. Yawning, he goes to wash up properly before knocking out on his bed.

The next day, he wakes up from a new dream. There's not much in the dream this time, and Jeonghan can't remember anything from it except for a strong bass beat thrumming through his veins.

When he gets out of bed, he finds Wonwoo already up, preparing breakfast. "Thanks, Wonwoo-ah. Is Seungkwan up yet?" he yawns, shuffling to one of the seats at the table. Wonwoo shakes his head, and replies, "He was still out cold, last I checked on him."

Jeonghan watches Wonwoo make breakfast quietly for a while before he says, "I had a new dream last night. Not much to learn from it though."

Wonwoo hums questioningly. "The only thing I remember from it is a strong bass beat, but nothing else," Jeonghan elaborates, stirring the cup of coffee that Wonwoo hands to him and adding creamer and sugar.

"Maybe he works with music in some way," Wonwoo offers. Jeonghan hums in assent. The conversation is interrupted by Seungkwan shuffling into the kitchen, eyes glazed with a film of sleep still.

Wonwoo shoves a cup of coffee into his hands, and Seungkwan takes it like a lifeline. Once the caffeine hits his system, it's all systems go, and Seungkwan is as noisy as ever, for someone that just woke up less than fifteen minutes ago.

"Do any of you have anything on today?" Jeonghan asks as Wonwoo serves breakfast to the eternal (loud) gratitude of Seungkwan. Wonwoo shakes his head no, and Seungkwan replies, "I need to go down to my university to finish up the application process and whatnot."

"Do you need us to go with you?" Jeonghan asks. Seungkwan shakes his head, "I should be fine. I'll call you when I'm done, yeah? I just need directions on how to get there." Jeonghan snorts, telling him, "Go find it online instead, country bumpkin."

Seungkwan gasps as if Jeonghan has mortally insulted him, and exclaims, "Jeonghan-hyung, why are you so mean?" Jeonghan rolls his eyes, used to this reaction.

Wonwoo huffs in laughter when a few seconds later Seungkwan says embarrassedly, "...I did forget that I could search it up online, though."

Over the next few days, Jeonghan's dreams get detailed enough that he can recognise it as Myeongdong, but has no idea what Aries is doing there apart from the music thrumming in his ears.

The more he dreams, the more shop faces he can make out, and he soon realises that Aries is some sort of performer, as he can hear people clapping once the music ends. He tells Wonwoo and Seungkwan about it, and they soon decide to go to Myeongdong.

Between the three of them, they are able to narrow down which part of Myeongdong appears in his dream when their schedules allow it, and he goes to that area as often as he can, usually with Wonwoo in tow, as Seungkwan settles into his new classes.

(Despite his dreams telling him to go to Myeongdong, his compass always leads to somewhere that isn't, which confuses Jeonghan for a while until he realises that the compass is pointing in the direction where the person actually is, not where he'll find the person.)

After a few more days, Jeonghan walks into the area only to hear music being blasted. He looks around in confusion, and realises that there is a small dance competition being held.

"That would be why I hear music in my dream," he mused, and sent off a text to Wonwoo and Seungkwan to inform them of this information. When he checks his compass, he's glad to see the needle pointing towards the stage as well.

Seungkwan replies with ten exclamation marks and a 'Hwaiting!', but can't do much else, as he's still in class. He's enjoying himself, though, so he can't complain much.

Wonwoo, however, is just getting out of class, and replies Jeonghan's text with a 'I'll be there soon.' Jeonghan smiles at his reply, and looks up from his phone as a familiar beat starts.

He sees a boy go up on stage, and raises his eyebrows. "This is Aries? He's still a kid," is all he has time to think before the boy starts dancing, and his eyes widen when he sees how talented the kid actually is.

He stays until the end of the competition, during which Wonwoo sidles up to him quietly. When the competitors file out onto the stage, Jeonghan points out the kid he thinks is Aries to Wonwoo, only to get a raised eyebrow in return.

When the competition ends, Jeonghan surges to the front, trying to catch the kid he thinks is Aries. "Hey, Lee Chan!" Jeonghan calls out the name he heard the announcer call when the kid won second place, and the boy turns.

"May I help you?" he asks. "Erm, this is going to sound weird, but can you do me a favour and tell me which would you pick if you were given a choice?" Jeonghan takes out the box of rings and opens it.

Wonwoo snorts, remembering thinking how weird Jeonghan was when he did the exact same thing a few weeks back.

Chan frowns in mild suspicion, but figures that it can't hurt to amuse this stranger. He picks out a ring, and Jeonghan beams, taking the ring out of the box and handing it to him.

"Here, you can have it!" Jeonghan says, holding out the ring. "What, I get the ring just like that?" Chan says, startled. He looks at the other guy, who nods for him to take the ring.

Chan does, and slides the ring onto the last finger of his right hand. Jeonghan closes the box and catches Chan in one swift move, and Wonwoo moves to help him. They wave away all the concerned passers-by as they move to one side, settling down on the ground.

"We have to find a way to do this somewhere that is preferably isn't in a public setting," Jeonghan pipes up, after Wonwoo has helped him keep the box of rings and they have been sitting there for a while.

Chan's ring catches the sunlight, and the Aries symbol reflects the sunlight into Jeonghan's eyes.

"How about we try to make friends with them first, so that when we do ask them about the rings it won't be so weird?" Wonwoo suggests dryly.

Jeonghan rubs the back of his neck. "I guess I could come off as weird or creepy at first," he says sheepishly. "You think?" is all Wonwoo replies, and Jeonghan laughs.

"It all worked out, though," Jeonghan says, "I do have to wonder how old is Chan, though. He seems really young."

"I guess we'll find out now. He's waking up."

Much like Wonwoo and Seungkwan did before him, Chan sits up and promptly grabs at his head. Jeonghan sighs, and touches his temples, before Chan sighs in relief and opens his eyes.

He flinches when he sees Jeonghan and Wonwoo staring at him, and stammers, "W-who are you guys?" 

"I'm Jeonghan, Libra, and this is Wonwoo, Geni. Are you okay, Aries?" Jeonghan questions worriedly.

"Call me Chan, and yes, I think I am. Libra, you said? Thanks," Aries says. "What am I, chopped liver?" Wonwoo says, insulted that Aries didn't talk to him.

"Hey, Geni. How have you been?" Chan asks. "Call him Jeonghan, and call me Wonwoo. I'm fine,  missing Mini, thanks for asking. How old are you here, exactly?" Wonwoo queries.

"I was born in 1999," Chan replies, and Jeonghan and Wonwoo stare at each other wide-eyed. "That's barely legal, what the heck," Jeonghan mouths, and Wonwoo nods, just as shocked.

"What about you guys?" Chan asks. "I'm a 95-liner, and Wonwoo is a 96-liner," Jeonghan replies. Wonwoo makes to stand, and Jeonghan helps the current youngest up.

"Cool. Who else have you found?" Chan stands up, slinging the bag that had dropped to the floor and Wonwoo had picked up over his head. 

"So far, only Capricorn. You're the third one Jeonghan-hyung has found," Wonwoo said. "You'll meet him soon enough."

They could tell that Chan wanted to ask more questions, but all three flinched when they heard someone call Chan's name. "That's my umma calling me. Look, I really need to talk to you guys. Can I exchange numbers with one of you?" Chan asks, taking out his phone.

Jeonghan rattles out his number and Chan inputs it into his phone, before running off while yelling goodbye.

"Well then, let's hope he texts soon," Wonwoo says as they watch the boy run off and disappear into the crowds. Jeonghan nods in agreement, then takes a look at his wrist. "Oh," the sound escapes out from his mouth and hangs in the air.

"What is it? Who are we finding next?" Wonwoo asks, looking at his wrist as well. Jeonghan looks at the symbol a while more, before turning to Wonwoo and smiling hugely.

"We're going to find Pisces."

(Jeonghan gets a call from a hysteric Chan later that night, because he freaked out when he saw the mark on his chest and "JEONGHAN-HYUNG MY UMMA CANNOT SEE THIS SHE WILL FREAK OUT AND MURDER ME-")

(Jeonghan laughs, and sits there for half an hour trying to come up with believable excuses for the younger in case his umma ever sees the mark of Aries, the Ram. Seungkwan joins him for five minutes before Jeonghan kicks him out for giving too many ridiculous excuses that Chan could use.)

Chan turns out to be some kind of prodigy dancer, and Seungkwan is amazed for all of ten seconds before he's asking Chan to teach him some moves. Chan obliges, and Seungkwan drags Jeonghan and Wonwoo into the lessons as well.

Chan tries to teach them one of the easier dances that he remembers, but gives up after half an hour of watching the three of them massacre his beloved idol Michael Jackson's dance. He instead just lets them watch while he practices, vowing never to teach them dance again.

After the disastrous lesson, they are on the way back to Jeonghan and Seungkwan's apartment when Wonwoo gets drawn to a bookstore and cannot seem to be removed from his spot in front of the shelves, browsing the various books.

The three of them leave Wonwoo to his book immersion and walk into the shop next door, which is a cafe. They're queuing up for food when the music playing switches to a new track, and Jeonghan finds himself paying more attention to the track rather than the conversation that Chan and Seungkwan are having.

When they finally reach the counter, he distractedly places his order, trying to hear the track better. In the end, while he's waiting for their orders, he asks one of the waitresses for the song title, and she goes to find out what it is.

In the end, he gets the name of the track and the singer. When they finish their food and manage to drag Wonwoo away from the bookstore, they walk around for a while more before they head back to their respective homes. 

When Jeonghan falls asleep that night, it is at his table in his room, laptop on and running, with a Youtube window still open. The soft strumming of a guitar can be heard, with a sweet voice accompanying it.

The title of the video reads: Joshua Hong - Sunday Morning Cover (Maroon 5).
 

 
♒  -  ♓  -  ♈    ♉    ♊    ♋    ♌    ♍    ♎    ♏    ♐    ♑
 

Jeonghan soon finds himself a fan of this Joshua Hong's work. He listens to his covers of popular songs, and even some of his original songs, but not once does Joshua show his face in any of his videos. He realises that Joshua is a Korean that lives in America, which explains the mostly English covers on his channel.

The morning of the Monday after that weekend, Jeonghan wakes up with another dream. This time, he dreams of music. He was in a dark room, and the only thing that echoed was strains of music that he cannot remember.

Lying in bed, he can hear Seungkwan stumbling around the apartment, getting ready to go for class. It turns out that Chan is attending the affiliate school of Seungkwan's college, and hence he'll be meeting the younger at the entrance to the compound.

Once he hears Seungkwan yell "I'm off!" and shut the door behind him, Jeonghan slowly gets out of bed to get ready for the day. Before he does though, he goes to his laptop and powers it on, and turns on a playlist.

Music starts playing from the speakers of the laptop, guitar being the main instrument, and Jeonghan carries his laptop out of his room and places it in the kitchen after he washes up, preparing his breakfast while nodding his head along to the songs.

Apart from the weekends, the only times that the four of them can meet up are on Thursdays, when Seungkwan and Chan get out from school. They do have a group chat on KakaoTalk, though. It is constantly spammed by Seungkwan, unless he's in a class that requires his complete attention.

Chan replies when he can, during breaks, and Jeonghan and Wonwoo try to keep up with Seungkwan, but mostly fail.

As Jeonghan finishes up breakfast, he powers his laptop down and slides it into his bag, ensuring he has the materials he needs for his classes, before he grabs his valuables from around the apartment, locking the door behind him.

As he travels to his university, he thinks about what Wonwoo suggested, about getting to know the person he's looking for first before asking them to put on the ring. Not only would it make them seem less weird, but it would help for them to already have a friendship going by the time their memories are returned to them. 

He makes his way to his first class and takes out the necessary materials, pushing all thoughts about finding the next person to the back of his brain and focusing on the class.

The dreams get more specific and detailed over the next few days, as expected, but what's different this time is that Jeonghan cannot make any sense from his dreams like he could previously. His compass didn't help as well, pointing in the direction of who-knows-where.

The only things that Jeonghan sees in his dreams are things he knows belong to someone that produces some form of music. He sees a keyboard, a guitar, a microphone, a mixer, and a laptop hooked up to the mixer and some speakers, but other than that, there is no clue as to how Jeonghan will find Pisces.

He gets an inkling of where Pisces might be when one day Seungkwan shoves his phone into his face when they're eating breakfast. "I found Joshua Hong's Instagram, hyung. You should see it, since you like his music so much."

Jeonghan takes the phone and scrolls through the Youtuber's feed. Once again, he notices that there aren't any pictures of his face, until he scrolls past a photo and has to go back again to take a closer look.

The caption reads "My workspace where I record all my covers and songs!" and Jeonghan's brain stutters to a stop.

His studio looks exactly like Jeonghan's dream.

"...Hyung? Jeonghan-hyung. Jeonghan-hyung." Jeonghan breaks out of his stupor when Seungkwan shakes him slightly. "What's wrong, hyung?"

"He's Pisces," Jeonghan says, the end of his statement sounding like a question. "Hyung, what do you mean?" Seungkwan asks.

"The photo of his studio... It's the same as my dream," Jeonghan explains, still in shock. Seungkwan gets excited immediately. "Hyung! We found Pisces? That's great!"

Jeonghan shakes his head. "No, you don't get it, Seungkwan-ah. He lives in America. How are we going to meet him?" Seungkwan reclaims his phone and scrolls upwards. "But that was what I wanted to show you, hyung! He's coming to Korea!" Seungkwan once again shoves the phone into Jeonghan's face.

Jeonghan takes the phone, looking at Joshua's most recent post. It's a photo of a air ticket, from Los Angeles, America, to Seoul, Korea. He abruptly stands up, letting Seungkwan's phone clatter onto the table.

"I need to talk to Wonwoo immediately," he says, leaving his breakfast half-finished. "Hyung? Hyung!" Seungkwan calls after him.

They find out that Joshua Hong is coming to Korea on a holiday, not anything like a mini concert, which means that it will be hard for Jeonghan and the other three to find him.

As it turns out, they don't have to, as Seungkwan and Chan burst into the apartment to tell him. Wonwoo and Jeonghan are in the living room, papers and laptops strewn about as they do their work.

"Hyung, Joshua Hong is coming to our school to perform! They made the announcement today!" Chan shouted excitedly, even as Jeonghan frowned. "Isn't Joshua coming here on holiday? Why is he still performing?"

"It's a personal request from the principal of the school, apparently. He seems to know Joshua's mother." is the reply, and both Jeonghan and Wonwoo nod in understanding. 

"Anyway, hyung, so what are you going to do?" Wonwoo and Jeonghan exchange a look, brushing aside their papers and putting aside their laptops as they begin to plan. Seungkwan and Chan sit down next to them, ready for the discussion.

In the end, it's easy for Seungkwan and Chan to approach Joshua after his performance and offer to bring him around Seoul.

Seungkwan's enthusiasm and Chan's more sedate friendliness allow Joshua to feel more at ease, and soon they find themselves setting a date and exchanging numbers so that it's easier for them to arrange where to meet up and the like.

Seungkwan and Chan introduce Joshua to Jeonghan and Wonwoo, claiming them to be the more experienced guides since a) they're older, and b) they lived in Seoul all their lives. Joshua finds the two older ones to be very welcoming, and watches as the four of them bicker with each other like they've known each other for years previously.

He does notice Jeonghan's wristbands, but make no mention of it. Everyone has their reasons for hiding things, after all, and Joshua doesn't want to risk offending anyone in his short stay in Korea.

Soon, the combined efforts of Jeonghan, Seungkwan, Chan and a quieter Wonwoo is able to drag out a few facts from Joshua. He was, in fact, born in Korea, and his Korean name is Hong Jisoo. He's Jeonghan's age, and a year older than Wonwoo, which makes him three and four years older than Seungkwan and Chan respectively.

The entire two weeks of his stay in Korea is spent with the four of them, and Joshua can't find himself to regret it. Throughout it, he can't help but notice the exchanged glances between the other four, but doesn't ask about it.

Four days before he is to fly back to Los Angeles, they are in Jeonghan's apartment when Jeonghan goes to his room to retrieve something. They have just finished lunch, and Seungkwan and Chan are setting up a game with the console that Wonwoo brought over.

"Jisoo-ah," Joshua turns at the sound of Jeonghan's voice. After he had told them about his Korean name, all of them had insisted on calling him using his Korean name, even though they sometimes did use his English name.

He sees Jeonghan carrying a long, thin wooden box, sees his bare wrists, wristbands absent for once, and tilts his head to the side in confusion. He notices Wonwoo quietly close his book and the younger two stop setting up the console in his peripheral vision, and thinks that this must be why they have been exchanging secretive glances over the period of time he has known them.

"Can you do me a favour, and pick one from these?" Jeonghan opens the box to reveal rows of rings, and even though Joshua is confused, he does think it through seriously. Weirdly, he finds himself pulled towards one of the rings, and picks it up.

"This one. It feels right, for some reason," Joshua shrugs. Jeonghan smiles, then, and urges, "Put it on. It's yours now." The anticipation in the room is tangible as everyone holds their breath when Joshua slips on the ring.

"What's going on?" Joshua is barely able to get the first two words out before a excruciating pain comes over him, and he blacks out. Wonwoo is there to catch him, and Jeonghan quickly puts away the box, before returning with some pillows.

"Rest his head here," Jeonghan says, arranging the pillows on the floor, and Wonwoo shifts Joshua so that he is lying comfortably on the pillows, Seungkwan and Chan helping.

"This happens to all of us, hyung?" Chan asks, curious, and Jeonghan nods. "You guys should continue setting up the console first. This is going to take a while."

Wonwoo turns back to his book, and Jeonghan sits next to Joshua's motionless body, staring off into space and waiting for the younger to wake up.

Like all of them before him, Joshua wakes up clutching at his head in pain. He feels a soft touch against his temples, and memories slot themselves neatly into allocated sections in his brain. When he's sure his head is not going to split open from pain, he opens his eyes, only to see Jeonghan bent over him worriedly.

"Are you okay, Pisces?" Jeonghan asks. "Y-yeah, I'm fine," Pisces says, trying to figure out who exactly is the one saying it. The other notices his inquisitive gaze and introduces himself.

"I'm Libra. Wonwoo is Geni, Seungkwan is Capricorn and Chan is our dear Aries. Do you remember what happened, Joshua?" Jeonghan says. Joshua nods, saying, "I just have to orientate myself. Thanks for the help, Libra."

Once Joshua is sitting up and taking small sips of water, Seungkwan deems it safe enough and barrels into Joshua, chattering at a mile a minute. Joshua looks at Seungkwan, Capricorn, fondly, and nods a greeting in Geni's direction (Wonwoo's character makes a lot more sense now), and opens his arms for a hug from Aries.

Later that night, in his hotel bathroom, Joshua will look at his bare chest and see a mark like Jeonghan told him to expect. It is a pair of fish, locked in a neverending circle, chasing the other's tail. The mark of Pisces.

For now, as Jeonghan looks at his wrist after hours of explaining things to Joshua, he freezes as he sees the symbol that he had hoped would not come. The elephant in the room is growing too large to be avoided, and Jeonghan doesn't want to see what he watched the others go through again.

The choice is taken away from him, however, when Joshua feels him freeze from where he's sitting next to him, watching the younger ones play. "What's wrong?"

Wonwoo looks up from his book at the question. He notices Jeonghan's uncharacteristically blank face and frowns. "Jeonghan, who's next?"

It takes a while, but Jeonghan breaks out of his reverie and looks at Wonwoo and Joshua. There is undisguised panic in his eyes, which only causes them to worry even more. Chan and Seungkwan pause the game, aware of the growing tension in the room.

Jeonghan speaks, and sees the same mixture of emotions flash across everyone's faces. Guilt. Grief. Panic. All things they should be feeling when it comes to this particular zodiac.

After all, they were the ones who caused him to fall.

{end of part i}