SIGMUND TIMELINE:
Kang Daniel – 65 years old

Dark. Everything was dark.

Jumping into the first memory was like being plunged into a deep sea. A doctor’s body would feel weightless as a feather. Sort of just floating— touching, hearing, and seeing nothing.

That was how Minhyun felt. He had gotten used to it though. This was his eleventh job, after all.

Soon, a light started to fill his vision. It started off gray, growing brighter and brighter by the second until everything was covered in a blinding white.

And the white slowly faded away, revealing the interior of a very familiar house.

It took Minhyun five seconds for his eyes to begin adjusting. Not just his eyes, but also his other senses. The scent of peaches and burnt wood hung in the air, and he let his hand roam over the fabric of the sofa next to him. It felt soft in his fingers.

A familiar voice also confirmed that his hearing had returned.

“Hyung.”

Minhyun turned around to see Jaehwan standing behind him. The shorter doctor had a hand covered in the sleeve of his lab coat, using it to wipe his eyes. It was sort of cute, if Minhyun had to admit— as if Jaehwan was just waking up from a nap back at their shared apartment.

But of course, it was just the after-effect of entering the first memory. Disorientation was common.

“Take your time,” the older said. “Everything’s still a bit blurry for me too.”

Jaehwan nodded, blinking as he looked around. He rubbed at the silver contraption that was now wrapped around his wrist— a small object in the shape and size of a watch. It had appeared once they entered the memory, not only on Jaehwan but on Minhyun too. They were also no longer wearing helmets.

They were in Kang Daniel’s living room. It was exactly how they had seen it a couple minutes ago— the same furniture, the same sound of wood crackling in the fireplace, the same everything.

The difference was a soft humming from the kitchen. Minhyun recognized it as Jisung’s voice. There was also the faint sound of sizzling oil over a stove.

That was how things were during that one memory. But outside the memory, in the real world and the real time, Hwang Minhyun and Kim Jaehwan were still wearing the Sigmund Corp helmets, both leaning back in their separate chairs with their eyes closed. Kang Daniel was still lying in his bed, the same helmet over his head. And in the same bedroom were Jisung and Sungwoon, watching over the doctors and Daniel with heavy hearts.

But if Jaehwan and Minhyun were to go upstairs to that same bedroom in the memory, it would be empty. Their client's head would also be helmet-free.

“This should be the last accessible memory,” Jaehwan said to his friend. “A memory from yesterday. Jisung-hyung is cooking in the kitchen. So Kang Daniel should be outside right now.”

“Yup. Let’s go.”

Of course it would have been awkward and rather concerning if Jisung had heard them talking and mistook them as intruders. That would’ve caused a ruckus. But they didn’t need to worry about even the risk of being caught in the living room.

Minhyun had made sure that the default settings for when they entered a memory would be zero visibility and zero audio. This setting allowed them to appear invisible and also muted their voices to the people residing in the memories. Of course, the doctors were still able to see and hear each other.

Once they stepped out of the house, they saw Daniel standing near the sea, staring at the horizon and the completely gray sky. His back turned to them, they couldn't see his face. He wore a simple white T-shirt and simple blue pants, the water lapping at his shoes.

Minhyun and Jaehwan strode towards their client. The wind was a gentle breeze, blowing at their hair and clothes.

Finally they stopped and stood a couple meters behind Daniel. They didn’t want to be too close for when they revealed themselves, in fear that they would surprise their client too much.

Minhyun stared at the back of Daniel’s head, wondering how the elderly man must have felt during that moment. Then he turned to Jaehwan, who gave him a little nod.

The younger doctor pressed a button on his wristwatch. "Visibility and audio on,” he said softly. Five seconds passed before he cleared his throat. “Excuse me.”

And just like that, Daniel was able to see and hear them. The elderly man flinched visibly and whirled around, his eyes wide.

“S-Sorry!” Jaehwan said quickly. “We didn’t mean to scare you—”

Daniel seemed to in a couple deep breaths, as if calming himself down. “It’s— It’s okay,” he finally said, voice still shaky. “And who might you two boys be?” He sounded just like how Minhyun remembered on television— deep and husky, but this time with fragility and less energy.

It wasn’t just the voice that gave off a feeling of fatigue. Kang Daniel simply looked very very exhausted. In the real world, the dark bedroom had masked the details of his face. Now, in the gloomy and faint daylight, his sunken cheeks and dark eye circles became even more prominent. 

And there was something in his gaze that made the doctors want to step back. 

It was that same fragility— something that seemed so easy to break if they weren’t being extra careful and extra cautious. Not only fragility, but also a vulnerability.

Jaehwan seemed to be treading carefully on his words as he said, “I’m Kim Jaehwan and this is my partner Hwang Minhyun.”

“Partner?” Daniel asked, looking at the both of them. A small smile then made its way onto his face. It seemed as if the sky grew brighter with that smile. “Ah, it must be nice to be young and in love.”

It took Jaehwan three full seconds to process the words. The young doctor nearly choked as he spluttered, “Wh-what?! No, I mean… work partner.”

Daniel blinked. “Oh. Sorry about that, then.”

“It’s o-okay,” Jaehwan said, stuttering.

Minhyun tried to ignore his own heart banging violently against his chest.

“I’m Daniel,” the elderly man said, flashing an eye smile. “What brings you two to these parts? Not many people come to the beach in this area.”

 It was time for the mandatory introduction.

“Are you familiar with the Sigmund Agency of Life Generation?” Minhyun asked.

The smile slowly disappeared from Daniel’s face. “Yes, I am,” he said. “Oh, you two are from Sigmund Corp? I was wondering why you’re both wearing lab coats.” He then paused, and the soft sound of waves crashing filled in the silence. “I contacted Sigmund Corp a couple days ago, but… they said that the doctors would come to perform the memory procedure once I was…” Another pause, and it was heavier than the one before. “…once I was on my death bed.”

Here goes, Minhyun thought. He hated this part of the job— having to drop the news on the client.

Jaehwan took a few steps forward, slowly. His voice as gentle as ever, he began, “I’m sorry to say this—”

Daniel caught on quickly. A realization passed over his eyes, and a small, sad smile made its way on his face. “Ah. I see. I’m already on my death bed and we’re in my memory, right?”

Silently, Jaehwan nodded.

Clients had many ways of reacting to the news. The two doctors had encountered a variety of people in their previous jobs. There was the type to deny everything, the type to break down and sob, the type to be calm and accepting, and many more.

Kang Daniel was one of the calm and accepting types.

“Well then.” The elderly man turned to look at the sea again. The same smile still lingered on his lips. “I guess I lived a good life.”

Jaehwan gave another nod. “We’re here to fulfill your last wish.”

“To go to the moon,” Daniel said. He was looking straight at them now, eyes no longer on the horizon.

“Yes,” Minhyun answered. “But before that, can we ask why you want to go to the moon?”

“I…” the elderly man began. He then scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I’m sorry that this might frustrate you boys, but…”

The doctors waited.

“I don’t know,” Daniel finished.

Everything was so silent that Minhyun was sure he could hear a pin drop.

“I really don’t know,” Daniel continued. “I just… feel like I should go there. I’m not even sure when I started wanting to go to the moon, but… I need to go there.” Another pause. “I have to go there.”

Jaehwan nodded. “And you will. But we need a motive. The reason why you want to go there. Are you sure nothing comes to mind when you thought of going to the moon?”

“I’m really sorry but… Nothing. Nothing does. But the feeling is there.” Daniel then took a step towards them, this time surprising the younger doctor. “Can’t you guys just take me there? To the moon? Is a motive necessary when I already know what my wish is?”

“We’re sorry. It doesn’t work that way,” Minhyun said. “But yes, it’s necessary. Because we’re not the ones that will take you to the moon. The one that will take you to the moon is yourself.”

Confusion made its way onto Daniel’s face. The doctor continued quickly.

“We’re only here to help. But the one that’s striving to fulfill the wish is you.” Minhyun tried to put on an encouraging smile. “It has to come from you. The past you would reach for the wish— doing whatever means necessary to fulfill it. And you will reach it. But to do that, you need a drive— a motive.”

“I… I see,” Daniel said slowly.

“Which is why your motive for going to the moon is essential,” Jaehwan said. “But if you really don’t know, that’s okay. We can help you find it.”

Daniel gave a nod.

“Yes.” Minhyun then tried to speak as clearly as he could. The mechanisms of the Sigmund Corp machine were not to be taken lightly. “What we’ll do now is travel backwards through your memories. Somewhere in there, Jaehwan and I will uncover the reason— or the motive— of why you want to go to the moon. That discovered motive will then be your drive to fulfill the wish.” He paused for a bit, letting the information sink in before continuing.

“Hmm… to be an astronaut, then?” Daniel asked.

 “That makes sense,” Jaehwan said. “It’s the only plausible way of going to the moon. Did you want to be an astronaut before?”

Daniel shook his head. “Never thought about it, actually.”

“That’s alright.”

“We can’t go straight to your childhood,” Minhyun said. “That’s impossible. Instead, we’ll take gradual backward leaps through your timeline. Starting from here.”

“Alright.” Daniel clasped his hands together. “Sounds good.”

“To take the leaps, we’ll need something called mementos.” This time it was Jaehwan doing the explanations. “Objects that are important to you. A precious belonging— something you’ve had for a long time.”

“Oh!” Daniel’s hand flew to a necklace that he wore around his neck. He slowly and carefully took it off. “I have this. Here.”

Jaehwan carefully took the necklace and examined it. It was a simple, thin chain necklace with a small seashell attached to it. The seashell was quite a unique color— a shocking, bright pink.

“I’ve had it for five years,” Daniel added.

Wondering how one seashell differentiated from the other thousands of shells spread across the beach, Minhyun nodded. “Thank you. We can begin the time leap now.”

“W—Wait,” Daniel suddenly said. “That necklace… Can you give it to Jisung-hyung? The real necklace. In the real world, I mean.” His eyes glanced at the small house. “Right now, at this very moment, in this memory, in that house… Jisung-hyung’s cooking dinner. But…” Voice slightly shaking, he continued. “But in the real world…?” He trailed off, his gaze becoming distant.    

“He’s by your side,” Jaehwan finished quietly.

Daniel nodded, as if he already knew the answer. “Sungwoon too?”

“Yes. Sungwoon-hyung too.”

Daniel bit his lip, trying to keep himself steady. “Okay.” He then took a deep breath, turning towards the doctors. “Okay, I’m ready now.”

“Okay.” Jaehwan held tightly onto the necklace as he pressed a few buttons on his wristwatch. “Here we go.”

As Minhyun waited for his partner to prepare the memento, he stared at the sea. So this was the view that was engraved in Kang Daniel’s mind before unconsciousness took over him.  Before Yoon Jisung would come running out of the house, desperately calling his friend's name—

“It’s ready,” Jaehwan said, gratefully interrupting Minhyun's thoughts.

“Alright.” Without allowing himself to think anymore, Minhyun wrapped his fingers around the necklace that Jaehwan held, covering his friend’s hand as well. “First memory leap.” He turned to Daniel, who gave them a nod.

“Thank you, boys,” the elderly man said. And he gave them one last eye smile. “Really, thank you.”

Don’t thank us yet, Minhyun wanted to say, but held himself back. He was confident that they would succeed, but there was always that small possibility that a Sigmund Corp doctor would fail—

Jaehwan cut into his thoughts again. Voice loud and clear as he said, “Activate memento.”

And a blinding white light filled Minhyun’s vision again. He saw one last glimpse of Kang Daniel and the sea—

Before the white completely engulfed everything in sight.

Author's note:

Hopefully the next chapters can be longer :")

Thanks for reading ❤