The early morning sun spilled onto the floor of their room, a gentle breeze seeping through the crack of the curtains. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, a faint chill sent down her spine. She felt arms wrap around her from behind, a ghost of a smile tugging at her lips.

"We left the window open again," The older girl drowsily murmured, squinting as the sun blinded her. Chaeyoung lifted up her hand to block the light from her precious eyes (her loving, warm eyes).

Chaeyoung shivered in her arms, retracting her arm back into the blankets. "It's cold," She faintly whined.

Dahyun pulled the younger girl closer to her. "I got you love, I got you."

The corners of her lips curled up into a faint smile, "Thank you."

Dahyun pressed a ghost of a kiss on the younger girl's shoulder. A faint smile reached her lips, sleep slowly weighing down her eyelids once again.

("I got you..."

She could feel her grip loosening, her hand slipping from hers.

Where did it all go?)

She woke up to find Dahyun absent, her eyebrows furrowing as she sat up. Rubbing the sleep away from her eyes, she decided to get up to search for the older girl. Upon opening the room door, the sweet scent of pancakes filling the air hit her.

"What are you doing?" She asked upon walking into the kitchen.

"Thought I'd make us breakfast. I got hungry," She said with a small smile. Chaeyoung could only let out a soft chuckle, "Get ready for the day love, breakfast is almost done."

("What are you doing?"

"Reminiscing."

They would always look at her with the same pitiful gaze. Her fingertips gently grazed against the countertop, a sad smile finding its way onto her lips.)

That particular morning was rather frigid, the temperatures dropping as the days passed by (she should've taken this as some sort of sign, some sort of premonition.)

"What has you thinking so hard?" Dahyun asked raising an eyebrow, amusement evident in her tone.

"About how sweet it was that you went out of your way this morning to make breakfast when you usually prefer to sleep in," She softly giggled, her hand running through her messy hair. The older girl jutted out her lower lip, a small pout now formed.

"I'm not the only one who loves sleep," She whined.

"I know baby, neither of us are morning people. I mean it’s kind of a miracle that we're awake today," She marveled, a small sense of pride spreading through her chest. Dahyun laughed, the air around them seeming to grow lighter.

"You're not wrong love," She said, "Anyways, did you hear that Jihyo unnie landed the job?"

Chaeyoung went into thought trying to remember. Her face lit up as the memory came back to her, "Oh, the one at the dream extraction place?"

The older girl hummed in response, heartily chewing on her pancakes.

Dream extraction, it was the process of going through somebody's memories through the form of dreams and deleting the ones they don't want anymore. The very thought of it filled the younger girl with discomfort.

"Doesn't it scare you?"

Dahyun furrowed her eyebrows, "Dream extraction? It's not all that scary to me, why?"

Chaeyoung rested her chin in her palm, her elbow resting atop the table. "I don't know it's just...the idea of someone going through your head like that sounds a bit frightening."

"Wouldn't you like to forget some memories? Like something that embarrassed you or past traumas?" Dahyun asked, "It's like a miracle treatment to some. They'd be gone just like that." She snapped her fingers to prove her point.

"I know but...those things are what make us a little more human. We all live with our own experiences which makes us unique in our own sense," Chaeyoung commented.

"As they say, to each their own," Dahyun quoted, a faint smile dancing upon her lips. She reached over, placing her hand atop Chaeyoung's. "Don't worry love, I won't let those scary people near you and your big brain."

Chaeyoung softly laughed, her thumb gently grazing over Dahyun's knuckles, "Thank you my knight."

The older girl placed a soft kiss onto her hand, "Anything for you."

(Did those words mean anything or were they just an empty promise?)

"So, are you saying Jihyo unnie is scary?" Chaeyoung teased.

"Don't put words in my mouth Son Chaeyoung," Dahyun said, "I said no such thing."

Silence blanketed the conversation momentarily before they both erupted in laughter. Despite the frigid temperature outside, that morning was warm and lively in their shared household.

*

(Their story started when they met in high school. It wasn't some sort of fairy tale like beginning, no it was just two people becoming friends through mutual friends. Chaeyoung didn't immediately harbor feelings for the older girl but as time passed by, she realized she was falling for her fast and hard. Dahyun on the other hand could feel that there was something peculiar about her, something that drew her towards her.

"So, you seem to be closer with Chaeyoung," Jihyo brought up, "What's up with that?"

Dahyun raised an eyebrow, "What are you implying?"

"Oh nothing, nothing at all," Jihyo waved off. Dahyun chuckled, her head shaking, "You know you can't lie to me. Well, spill woman spill."

"Why don't you just ask her out already?"

Dahyun froze, her gaze meeting Jihyo's, "Have I been that obvious?"

"To me, yes. To Chaeyoung? Not much. She seems a little distracted by something or should I say someone else to even realize."

The younger girl furrowed her eyebrows, "Distracted? By what? By whom?"

"Geez Dahyun, must I spell everything out for you?"

Realization hit her like a truck, her eyes lighting up. She didn't even need to ask Jihyo where she was, the older girl being one step ahead of her.

"She's on the roof, good luck. Not that you need it.")

"What are you smiling about?"

Dahyun looked up to see Chaeyoung standing beside her, a smile tugging at her lips.

"Just thinking about when I finally asked you out," She answered, her hand reaching Chaeyoung's, "Can't believe it took me that long to realize you also liked me too."

The younger girl let out a chuckle, "I guess we were both fools."

Dahyun brought the younger girl's hand up against her lips, pressing a soft kiss onto her knuckles, "But we're here now, aren't we? I have you."

A light pink hue bloomed across her cheeks, a small squeal escaping from her when Dahyun pulled her into her lap, "And I don't need anything else."

She wrapped her arms around her neck, "Well, you seem to be in a loving mood."

A faint smile tugged at her lips, "Reminiscing does that."

What she didn't notice was the flickering flames gradually dimming hiding behind her eyes, the older girl remembering how she felt then.

*

"Is everything alright?"

She blinked once, twice before looking up, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you look out of it," Jihyo pointed out, "Is everything okay with you? You're usually a lot more lively."

Dahyun let out a breathless chuckle, "You worry too much unnie. Everything is alright."

"I have a gut feeling that you're not telling me the truth," Jihyo stated.

"Unnie, I'm fine," Dahyun reiterated hoping to get the older girl off her back. Jihyo narrowed her eyes at her before letting out a soft sigh.

"If you ever want to talk things out, you know where to find me," Jihyo said, "Don't be afraid to take that step forward."

"Thank you unnie," Dahyun murmured, a ghost of a smile tugging at her lips, "We didn't come here to talk about my life though. How are things on your end? How's the job and everything?"

Jihyo softly laughed as Dahyun seemed to bounce back to her normal self (maybe it really was nothing to fuss over). "Well I can't go into too much detail because of company policy and patient confidentiality. It's going well though, interesting to say the least."

Dahyun nodded in understanding although curiosity has been itching at her ever since Jihyo got the job.

"Am I allowed to ask the most common reason?" She finally asked, eyes shimmering with wonder. The older girl went into thought, pursing her lips before responding. "Promise me you won't tell anyone else."

"Not even Chaeng?"

"I'll make an exception for her," Jihyo laughed before turning serious in the snap of a finger. "The most common thing people come in for is to get rid of some sort of grief, usually heartbreak. In extreme cases, trauma."

The younger girl frowned at her answer.

"I was expecting the trauma but grief? Heartbreak?" Dahyun questioned, her eyebrows furrowing. "Does that mean...you erase all memories of that person?"

"It depends on the person themselves and what they want," Jihyo explained, "That's as much as you'll get out of me though. If you ever want a full explanation, you're going to have to come and get a procedure done. I doubt you'll ever need one though."

(Was this what Chaeyoung meant?)

"Does...does anybody ever regret it?"

"Well...they don't remember afterwards Dahyun-ah. That's the whole point of the procedure."

Right. But to forget a whole person? Wasn't that a bit too much?

"What if they run into the person they chose to forget? I mean they still have their memories intact," Dahyun said. "Or if the person they lost comes up in conversation? What happens then?"

"Unfortunately, that's out of our control," Jihyo answered, "What happens afterwards is entirely in their hands. All we do is extract and make sure they get back safely."

Was that really it? Dahyun didn't know what to think anymore after hearing all this.

"Now that I answered your questions," Jihyo said breaking Dahyun out of her trance. "How are you and Chaeng doing?" She went to answer but hesitated which thankfully went unnoticed by the older girl who was currently occupied with her drink.

"Fine, we're fine." (Why? Why was the hesitation there?)

"Fine? That's it?"

"I mean yeah, what more do you expect?" Dahyun asked (although she was quite unsure herself). Jihyo could only shrug, perching her elbows onto the table.

"I mean you two have been together for a long time now," Jihyo said, "You ever thought of marriage?"

Dahyun groaned, her head falling into her arms "Oh don't turn into my mom Jihyo unnie, please. I already hear that enough from her."

Jihyo laughed, "Just saying, you two have been together for what, five years now? You're not getting any younger." Dahyun lifted her head up in an instant, narrowing her eyes at the older girl. "You're not, I'm still fresh and pristine!"

"Yah! I'm only one year older than you, one!" Jihyo frowned.

And just like that the topic of their relationship was quickly dropped.

Chaeyoung greeted the girl with a sweet peck to the cheek upon her arrival, a smile tugging at Dahyun's lips (yet it didn't quite reach her eyes).

"How was your day baby?" Chaeyoung asked, "Jihyo unnie told me you were meeting up."

"Oh, just caught up on life, nothing too interesting," Dahyun responded, sounding far away. The younger girl furrowed her eyebrows at the sudden tone Dahyun was using, the older girl almost sounding...despondent.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just tired is all love," Dahyun responded, a ghost of a smile on her lips, "I'll be in bed if you need me."

"Okay," Chaeyoung murmured, looking down at her hands. Dahyun pressed a ghost of a kiss against her forehead, murmuring out a hushed, "I love you."

A faint smile tugged at Chaeyoung's lips, "I love you too."

The younger girl joined Dahyun in bed soon after, Dahyun's arm naturally reaching around Chaeyoung's waist. She carefully studied Chaeyoung's features, before speaking up, "Chaeyoung." Dahyun's steely gaze met Chaeyoung's, "Would you ever erase me from your mind?"

She didn't even need to give it much thought, her answer already slipping from , "No. Never. I love you too much to do that." She reached up to cup Dahyun's cheek, "Baby, why are you asking me this?" Dahyun furrowed her eyebrows, memories of what Jihyo said earlier that day echoing in the back of her mind. "I asked Jihyo unnie the most common reason why people go there to forget. I knew she'd mention trauma, I mean who wouldn't want to forget that?" She grew silent for a second, trying to gather her thoughts.

"What I wasn't expecting was grief and heartbreak. People just...erase everything, even the memory of the person they once loved," She murmured. Chaeyoung's eyes slightly widened at the revelation. She already wasn't very fond of the idea of being picked like that but to completely erase a person like that. It brought a se