Sungmin stirred awake in a stark white room, one he didn’t recognize. It had a white couch against the wall in front of him, with a white rug placed on top of a white marbled floor. He was sitting on (of course) a white plastic chair, and there was nothing else in the room. Not a window or door in sight.

It had to be a dream; he had been in the hospital only seconds before, rushing to see if Kyuhyun was okay-

Sungmin felt like he was going to be sick.

It was his fault. He wasn’t there, he’d been so preoccupied with his job, with everything but his lover. He couldn’t even keep himself awake because he was weak, couldn’t even do that for the one person in his life who’d loved him unconditionally. Kyuhyun shouldn’t be the one in a coma, it should be him. Damn, why couldn’t he remember anything more than that?

A sudden movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention, and his eyes snapped back up from where they’d been staring at the floor. A man with dark blonde hair and a dimpled smile walked into the room through two sliding doors that hadn’t been there before. When they closed behind him they disappeared as if they hadn’t been there at all; the white wall stared back at him unchanged. The man walked across the room, sitting down on the once empty couch. He was wearing what Sungmin could only describe as some kind of body suit. It was dark grey, made of a material that looked closest to faux leather. It looped around his body like ropes, seemingly thick.

“Who are you?” Sungmin croaked, his voice surprisingly raw. He tried to clear his throat, but it hurt and his head was throbbing painfully. He was oddly aware of every detail, and felt completely in control of his actions. The dream seemed stunningly like reality.

“My name’s Leeteuk,” the man introduced himself, only offering a small smile and nod.

“What am I doing here? Where’s Kyuhyun? I want to see him.” His mouth moved before his brain gave it permission to speak.

Leeteuk uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You really don’t remember? Think.”

Sungmin felt irritation bubble inside him. Who was this guy? He had been at the hospital, that was clear as day-

The deafening sound of Kyuhyun’s heart flatlining, followed by the image of his shaking hands pouring out pills from orange bottles shocked him in an instant.

Sungmin in a breath, holding his head in his hands. He’d done all that, Kyuhyun was gone. What was this goddamn place?

“I’m dead.”

“Do you feel dead?” Leeteuk tilted his head slightly.

“I took too much- there’s no way I’m alive. Where am I?” he demanded, attempting- and failing- to collect himself.

“Now that, you see, is both easy and hard to explain. Simply put, you’re at the center of the United Earth headquarters.”

“The United Earth headquarters?” he repeated, eyes narrowing. “Look, Leeteuk, as far as I know, there’s no such organization. Earth is the farthest thing from united,” he scoffed. This man, with his unbothered attitude was started to grate Sungmin’s nerves. He stood up, taking a few steps closer to this so called Leeteuk. ”Enough with the ing games.”

“Computer, show files,” Leeteuk demanded coolly, and the wall behind him disappeared. In its place appeared file cabinets as far as the eye could see. That was impossible. Not seconds ago the room was no bigger than his bedroom; now it seemed never ending.

“Behind me are the names and histories of every person to ever live and die on earth, categorized by date of birth, , race, region. As we speak, more and more files are being made as another human is born. Of course, these physical files are just for visual aid but well, you get my point.” Leeteuk stood up and paced.

“What does any of this have to do with me?” Sungmin questioned, more than a little apprehensive.

“You’re human. Your file is here,” Leeteuk stated, clasping his hands behind his back. “Computer, show me file for Lee Sungmin, male, born January 1st, 1986 in Los Angeles, United States of America,” the man spoke to nothing in particular, and all the cabinets disappeared except for one, which had a drawer open. He walked toward it and pulled out a file, flipping through it. “Your accomplishments were many for someone so young. You were a distinguished surgeon, working at one of the best hospitals in your area. Under personal information, let’s see. You married at 31, but had a strained relationship with your parents. Owned an adopted puppy, named Henry,” he paused here for a second before closing the file. “Notice what’s missing?”

Sungmin stared at him, mouth agape, before stuttering. “That- that’s me up until- I still talk to my parents.” There was some kind of mistake. “I don’t have a dog, I’m not married-,” he paused to breathe. “Why does that file say those things?” he whispered, because his voice wouldn’t come out any louder and he couldn’t make heads or tails of anything.

“Computer, find file for Cho Kyuhyun, male, born February 3rd, 1988 in Toronto, Canada.”

Sungmin’s heart clenched at the mention of Kyuhyun’s name. Another different cabinet appeared, with a drawer open and Leeteuk once again removed a file from inside it. He read from it. “Intelligent kid. Graduated in the top 5 of his class, with honors. Attended a prestigious university, worked as a freelance writer. Published 7 books in his lifetime, all best-sellers. Married a Sungmin Lee, adopted a dog and lived to be 93. Still don’t notice what’s missing?”

“What the -’” Sungmin couldn’t breathe. This was a hoax, it had to be. What was he talking about? He and Kyuhyun weren’t married, for god’s sake, the memory of a flatline and his overdose proved that. He also didn’t live to be 93, he thought bitterly.

“Sungmin, neither you nor Kyuhyun were meant to die this early. Kyuhyun’s premature death incited your suicide, which has caused a string of events that, though separately seem insignificant, greatly impact the timeline of events in our universe.”

Sungmin’s mouth felt unbearably dry, and he tried to swallow before speaking. “I- we argued. The last thing we did was argue.”

Leeteuk stayed quiet, as if waiting for him to continue.

“I accused him of cheating-” familiar jealousy and anger rose inside him. He clenched his fist. “If Zhou Mi hadn’t taken him to go hiking in the first place none of this would have happened. Do your little files mention that Zhou Mi’s been trying to get into Kyuhyun’s pants for years?” Sungmin spit out. He took a second to breathe in deeply. “So, was he?”

Leeteuk’s face contorted into confusion. “Who?”

“Kyuhyun. Was he cheating on me?”

Sungmin wasn’t sure, but Leeteuk’s face read like disbelief and almost fury.

“Why do you think I’d know something like that?”

“You seem to know everything else about my life,” Sungmin scoffed.

“He died- yet all you care about is finding out whether he cheated on you? I would’ve thought those few days after he passed would have knocked some sense into you.” For someone with so much emotion on his face, his voice was surprisingly level.

What could he even say to that? Goddamn futuristic freak was right.

Leeteuk shook his head. “This was supposed to be pretty cut and dry. I’m supposed to tell you what to fix, then send you back so you can fix it. But I don’t think it’s going to be that easy, you’ll just make the same mistakes again.”

“Wait, send me back? What do you mean?”

“Computer, run prepared program Beta-82-Charlie-7492.”

There was a set of beeps and the room transformed. They were back in Sungmin’s old college dorm, and they were watching two young guys playing video games. Sungmin gasped as he realized it was himself and Kyuhyun, albeit much younger versions. He remembered these nights, stored somewhere deep into his memory. He reached out but was met with an invisible wall keeping him from doing so.

“Forcefield. It’s a hologram,” Leeteuk stated, voice even. “We retrieved these scenes by going back in time and some memories from you while you were unconscious.”

Sungmin should have probably felt like his privacy had been violated but he wasn’t focused on what Leeteuk had said. Instead, he was watching the scene unfolding before him. Kyuhyun had taken a second from staring at the TV screen in front of him to look at Sungmin and smile, and Sungmin could see the fondness in his eyes- but his younger self was too absorbed in the game to notice.

Like cold water being splashed onto him, the scene in front of him changed. Now it was them, on their first date. Kyuhyun had asked him to go bowling, something simple, and he’d been perfect. Sungmin watched as Kyuhyun rolled the ball; he’d never