FRANCIS couldn’t help but to feel guilty while watching Irene stand like a fool in front of Seul’s room. She’s been waiting there since 11:30 but no one has come out of the room no matter how much Irene knocked. It was already past midnight.

“Joohyunie…” Francis worriedly called out to her. “Just let it pass for tonight. I believe Seul would open up to you in the morning. She probably just got really tired and went to sleep.”

Irene didn’t even respond to what he said. Francis felt even more guilty. He stood up from the couch and went towards his sister. “I’m sorry, Joohyunie. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have cornered you like that.”

Irene flinched. She wanted to shout at his brother for being insensitive and nosy but she knew he never had ill intentions. He’s even probably just trying to help her.

“It’s fine, Francis. It’s not your fault anyway.” Irene sighed. She took one more look at Seul’s door before turning back. She went to the kitchen to get something to drink with Francis following her.

“Would you like a can of beer?” Irene asked while showing one to her twin. “I suddenly feel like drinking.”

“But aren’t you guys going to the beach tomorrow?” Francis asked but his hand was already asking one can from Irene.

“It’s fine. It’s just one can.” Irene handed him the can she was holding before taking a new one for herself. She quickly opened the said can right after she closed the fridge. “I don’t even know if we will be able to go to the beach anyway.”

Francis looked down. He also opened his can. The two clung their cans before taking their first drink of the beer. “I’m really sorry, Joohyunie. Sometimes I just really can’t stop myself.”

“I already told you that it’s fine.” Irene forced herself to smile. Her eyes would automatically look at the direction of Seul’s room. She’s still worried about why even Gi isn’t coming out.

Irene pulled a chair for herself while Francis just leaned on the table. “It’s been a long time since the last time we had a drink together.” Francis smiled while looking at his can.

“Yeah…” Irene answered. “Those were the easy days. Sometimes I want to go back to our early years in college. The very first time we had a taste of freedom from Mom.”

“Right.” The guy twin smirked. “I sure went crazy that time while you were still uptight.”

They both took another gulp of the drink. “Sometimes I really wonder what I would’ve become if I took the same path as you… Getting all crazy and just letting it all out.”

“Are you talking about getting with the Japanese girl you used to date back in uni?” Francis asked while side-eyeing his sister. “That girl is popular throughout the whole campus then she suddenly stopped with her escapades and settled with you.”

Irene took a deep breath as she leaned back to her seat. Her arms extended with her hands playing with her can of beer. “How many times should I tell you that we didn’t date?”

“And you do regret not dating her, right?” Francis gave her a meaningful smile before drinking. “That’s the reason why I am trying to help you with Seul. I don’t want to see you hurting again because everything’s already late.”

Just as expected. That statement actually made Irene smile. Francis may have a little crush on Seul but he’s still his sister’s twin and he knows well what Irene is feeling.

“Thanks, Francis… But everything is just really complicated.” Irene stared blankly at her can. “It’s not that easy.”

The guy looked worried once again. He pulled a seat for himself so he could see Irene’s face clearly as they talked. “What’s wrong, Joohyunie? I may be crazy and wild like what you are saying but I am still your brother. You don’t have to face everything on your own like you always do.”

Irene let out another sigh as her eyes got misty. She bit her lower lip in frustration.

“Say, what would you do if you like a person, but that person is actually…” Irene ran her fingers through her hair as she sighed. “That person is actually just a fragment of the actual person?”

Francis’ thick eyebrows twitched. “What do you mean, Joohyunie?”

Irene turned to her brother with serious eyes. “Remember when you got kissed by her during your first night here?”

There was a hint of blush on the guy’s cheeks. “Y-Yeah, I was really taken aback and embarrassed that time. That was her sleepwalk—”

“What if I tell you that it wasn’t really sleepwalking?” Irene lowered her stare. “What if I tell you that it wasn’t Seul but someone else?”

FRANCIS remained silent for quite a while as he tried to process all the information that Irene told him. He wasn’t drunk at all. Who would get drunk in one can of beer? But his head was spinning with all the things that he heard.

“S-So, you are saying that there are actually two versions of Kang Seulgi now?” The guy tried to summarise things. “And there used to be 28 of them?”

“Yes.” Irene thriftily answered, now in her second can of beer.

The crease on Francis’ forehead got deeper as he frowned. “The person who kissed me that night and the person who actually goes to your room every night isn’t actually Seul but the alternate personality of Kang Seulgi which you gave the name Gi to?”

“That’s right.”

Francis took a deep, deep breath. “She has disorder which made her disassociate into different alters and she got it from persistent ual abuse during her childhood?”

“Sadly, that’s the truth.”

Irene examined her brother. That’s probably how she looked when she first found out about everything. She looked away. “I know it’s a lot to take but it’s the truth.”

“Wait… If that’s really the truth then don’t you think she’s dangerous?” Francis worriedly asked. “You know, stuff we see at movies.”

“Embarrassingly, I also thought the same when I first knew about her condition. But all of those being shown by the media made a really unpleasant stigma to people with this condition.” Irene’s shoulder dropped as she breathed out. “She isn’t the real monster here, it’s her abuser that led her to break like this. Seul, even Gi… They are both really nice people.”

“I see…” Francis finally finished his first can and decided to go for another one. “I have so many questions in mind but first…” He popped the can open and looked at Irene. “Why are you telling me all of this now? You intended to keep it a secret, didn’t you?”

Irene pressed her lips together. “I did. Though I actually got the permission to tell you about this from Gi but Seul doesn’t know about this yet…” Irene looked up to somehow get a hold of her tears. “But I just don’t want Gi to disappear without you knowing about her. As much as possible, I want you to remember her as well.”

Francis’ heart clenched at the sight of his sister tearing up. He then realised that it is Gi that Irene favours more between the two. It’s Gi that she likes and this Gi is destined to disappear sooner or later since she isn’t the original Kang Seulgi… just like the other alters the body once had.

“Joohyunie…” Francis looked down at his can. “Let’s say when she gets integrated into one person and gets to remember you after that and you guys work out, it would still be difficult for you knowing that she has that reputation in Korea. Mom would lose her .”

“I don’t really care about what Mom and Dad would say. I don’t care if I lose the company too because of her.” Irene’s voice started cracking. “I don’t even know if I would be able to continue being with her. It would already be a miracle if the day that I will face Mom and Dad with her on my side comes. I don’t even know if Gi feels the same towards me or is just using me to keep herself entertained.”

“It really is complicated.” Francis gave her a weak nod. “But for some reason, I agree with Seul in this. I believe it is better to let go while it’s still early. It would be harder for you if she disappeared while you are deeply in love with her. It may be really sad that she would be leaving with no good memories at all but what about you? What will happen to you when you’re left alone? I believe Seul’s just really worried about you.”

Irene fell silent. That was also just as she was expecting. A normal person would actually care for her more than an alter that would disappear and would cease to feel. She would be the one left with all the memories, she would be the one left feeling.

“Is it really a bad idea to somehow give her good memories before everything ends?” Tears started falling down but Irene was quick to wipe them away. “She didn’t do anything wrong but she suffered a lot all this time. I just want to give her good memories to somehow ease the pain…”

Francis wanted to reach out for his sister but he just let her be. “Sometimes completely forgetting about things and starting anew can be the best pain remedy…”

“But I don’t want to forget about her…” Irene’s head hung low, her tears kept on pouring. “Ahh… Why does it have to be like this? If only I just really dated Sakura back then then I wouldn’t be hurting and conflicted like this now…”

“Joohyunie…”

While the twins continued with their talk, the door closed. Gi wasn’t able to let go of the knob for quite a while. She just stood there staring blankly at the door but she didn’t dare to eavesdrop any longer.

“What would you do now?” Gi twitched at the sound of the voice inside her head. “Snow White is already regretting meeting you.”

Gi didn’t respond. She just went back to her bed and lied with her arms spread.

“Snow White is even thinking that dating the girl called Sakura would be better than actually meeting you. What a shame, isn’t it?”

“It’s fine.” Gi answered as she rolled to her side and coiled. “I don’t really care. It’s better this way.”

“Better this way?” the voice mocked. “The rascal Seul is already setting a line between you and the pretty girl while her brother doesn’t support her being with you. To top all that, Snow White also regrets meeting you. Too bad! You even consulted Wendy if it would be fine for you to stay just for her—”

“Stop.” Gi hugged her knees. “I said it’s better this way. Seul is right. We better just get away from Irene. We don’t bring anything good to her life.”

“We haven’t even had with her…” The voice sounded really sad with that. “I badly want to hear her moans.”

“Shut the up.”

The voice just laughed at Seul’s hostility. “Why not just erase Seul’s memory again? You have every power to do that.”

“No…” Gi shook her head. “I promised everyone not to mess with her memories again. I can’t be here forever to keep handpicking good memories for her. I even stopped being co-conscious with her for who knows how long now.”

“Boring…” The voice whined. “I guess we’ll just disappear like this? If I were you, we would disappear with a BANG~!”

Gi scoffed. “Aren’t I you?”

“Ohh~~” The voice was certainly pleased with the meaning of that question. “I like where this is going~”

The idea of Irene regretting the meeting with her filled Gi’s thoughts and her heart ached for real. She had many questions in mind but she tried to understand the situation. But there’s still one thing in her that hasn’t been resolved and it will continually show no matter how hard she tries to control it–-anger.

“Let’s wreak havoc on the beach. Let’s show Irene what true regret is.”

She heard how the voice laughed maniacally inside her head. “Right! I like that! This is you that I know!”

The voice slowly subsided and the hollowness in Gi’s eyes came back and one thing is for sure—she’s now back to being completely one with anger as she lost hope once more.

And it probably consumed her a little more than what she expected.

IRENE watched how Seul enjoyed herself on the beach. Her eyes were filled with sparkles as if it was her first time on a beach. Irene was relieved that the girl wasn’t awkward towards her. Seul actually greeted her with a wide smile in the morning, telling her how excited she is to go to the beach.

Irene didn’t manage to talk with Gi at all. She didn’t know whether she just didn’t surface or Seul left a note that caused her not to meet her and be angry at her just like what happened when she went to Joy's. They’d stay at the beach for a few days anyway, Irene believes she would have some time to talk with Gi again.

But for now, it’s important to clear everything to Seul. She has every right to know her intentions on why she’s trying to delay the meeting with her mother.

The two just finished stuffing the fridge and are now getting ready to go back to the beach. Bambi was left at home with Francis looking after him. Francis wanted to go with them just in case something unexpected happens but Irene