"What's going on?"

"Ah, Ms. Kim. Glad you could make it." 

Noa rushed in on the scene in the narrow hallway. "Someone snapped his neck pretty well,"Mr. Gherebo said to her," It was an unfortunate event, finding him here when I came to work." Noa was overcome with a wave of nausea as she laid eyes on the dead man she once knew. Jo..what happened to you. "Are there any suspects?" "No.. but that's why I contacted you." Noa was confused, taking a step back. "W-what are you saying? You..you think I did this!? " You were the last one with him, Ms. Kim. I have reason to suspect." "No! I didn't do it!" She began pacing the hall, Horrified at what she was hearing. It hit her all of a sudden. " Those subjects that escaped! One of them did it! I know it! There's no one else who would of been capable of killing him in such a brutal way." "You have a point- I'll have to look into this further-" "You don't have anyone out there looking for them!?" "We don't have the people necessary to just go running out to fetch them at the moment, Ms Kim. We are in the process of getting the things we need to do so." A terrible realization came to Noa. What if they're trying to get to Ji? W-what if they're out to get him?!"   Without a word, Noa sprinted back down the way she came, bursting through the doors of the building.

Oh no. Ji!

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She never can tell , that I hate when she leaves. No it seems like she always has somewhere to go with those people. Why do I feel you're  slipping away from me?

Ji stood up from the couch, scratching the back of his neck as he walked towards the door. He wanted to get out of the house, leave for a while. But what if she comes back? He debated with himself whether he should open that door. Maybe it'll give me some peace of mind. I can think clearly, and figure out what's been going on.  He set his hand on the knob, twisting slowly and opening it to the frozen cold air. 

  He walked along the side of the road, as if afraid to walk it on his own without her. The wind blew  at his hair as he bent down to inspect a bizzare plant he had noticed. Only then did he remember, yanking it from the ground. A dandelion, with it's bright, prefect seeds displayed before Ji's eyes . "It's a dandelion. I can't remember the last time I saw one of these.."  His mind went back to Noa, remembering the sincere smile he always saw from her. Ugh..Something is missing! I know her, I'm positive I do. I just can't find that one detail that would tell me where!  A sigh of defeat escaped his lips as he fell to his knees. A tear slowly trickled down his cheek. Why can't I remember you? I want to remember!

I WANT TO REMEMBER! 

He sat on the bed of the hospital room, staring into space as the girl slept in his arms. Dark bags were visible under her eyes, her pale face almost frightening. "God..she's exhausted," he murmured. He gently brushed a strand of her black hair from her face, careful not to wake her. A monitor beeped at a constant tempo next to the bed. He caressed her bandaged hand gently with his thumb, comforted by the feeling of her skin. "It's alright," he whispered, kissing the top of her head," You'll be okay..you'll remember." 

God.. what happened to you?!

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"Yaah, Seunghyun, can we turn back?"

"I think I liked confinement better. We've been waiting for such a long time!" 

"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!" Seunghyun screamed. The group slowly made their way through the backside of the mountain, making sure to stay in the shadows. "We're going to stay and wait as long as it takes, understand?! They all went silent, nodding at their leader's orders. "You'll have plenty to do once we get him. I can't kill him on my own." 

______________________________________________________________________________

"Ji!" Noa shouted, bursting through the door of her house. She checked the rooms, calling his name and praying he was there. Where did he go?!  "Ji! Where are you!" She was tired from taking a yet another sprint back from the city, but she realized she was going to have to make another run for the only other place she knew he could be. . 

"Ji!" Noa called, as she headed up the icy slope. The wind howled, blowing furiously at her hair as she continued to walk. She was worried, confused, but most of all, completely terrified. What if they had done something to him. If she had only seen it sooner, she wouldn't be able to live with herself if something happened to him.  "Come find me if you can hear my voice, Ji!"  She reached the top, coming to sight of the familiar clearing that replayed in her mind.  She shivered, seeing it had become colder. A harsh cold, beating her from the inside out. "Ji..Where are you.." She lit up at the sight of tracks in the snow, confident that they were his. "Ji? Are you here?!" She froze as the sound of feet crunching in the snow behind her. "I'm so sorry, he appears to be missing at the moment.  But we'll make sure to take care of him when he figures out where we are." Noa turned around, frightened to see a tall stranger standing in front of her. "Who are you?" Seunghyun chuckled, taking a step towards her. "Don't you remember? Of course not, why would I even ask?" "R-remember what? What do you want with me, a-and what do you want with Ji!?" "Ah, where do I start?"

"It's been such a long time since I saw you last, Noella Kim."

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Ji stood on the side of a boulder just inches from the path leading up to the mountain. He had a pounding headache. Pieces of his memory were surging through his mind at full speed, he couldn't take it. It felt as if he was dying as the pain progressed.  Ngh,  what is this?! The memories are eating me from the inside out. This seething pain.. how can there be so many at once!?

He walked into a bookstore, hoping to find some interesting new material. He passed by numerous sections, picking up a book here and there, reading as he walked. Suddenly he spotted that familiar face. She was reading a novel, obviously engrossed in the story by the look of intense interest across her face. He suprised her, and started coversation. "Now that we're pretty good friends now, would you like to come and have dinner with me and a friend? I can assure you, he doesn't bite. "Oh, I have to see what I'm doing this week, but I'd love to!"

"Let me in!" He opened the door, and she stumbled in, coming face to face with her panicked expression. "What happened? What's the matter?" She tried to speak, but all that came out was a burst of tears, streaming down her face, as she found comfort in his arms. "I didn't do anything, and Seunghyun just came at me. H-He wasn't like himself, I didn't know what was going on with him. I told him no, but he just wouldn't stop! I managed to get away..a-and I had to come to you. I felt you were the only person I could come to! It was horrible Jiyong! Seunghyun.. he tried to me! 

"Is this how it's going to be forever, Mr. Kwon ?" He laughed at her cute remark, tracing his fingers down her . "Only if you want it to. I'd say forever started right after we decided to do this." He gently kissed her, leaving smiles on both their faces. "You're mine, and I'm yours. I'll stick around for as long as you want me." "Then I always want you here, Jiyong

 "How is she doing?" Seunghyun said. He turned, seeing his friend standing in the doorway. He exhaled," She's getting worse. I should've expected this, the doctor told me she wouldn't have forever to live."  He gripped her hand, hoping it would keep the pain from bursting out of his chest. "I'm sorry. She was lucky to have you. Certainly no other guy could've taken care of her the way you have." 

"You're here!" She said as her face lit up. Jiyong walked into the room, taking off his coat and pulling up a chair. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "So wonderful! I feel like I could do anything!" "Now, be careful don't get too excited, you'll get worn out." " Oh but please Jiyong-sshi! I want to walk around like all the other people I see pass by my room!"  He held her shoulders firmly, trying to prevent her from bouncing up and down. "The doctor said you can't act like this, it's bad. You need to rest." "Okay, I'll listen to you, only because your my only friend here and I trust you ."  Her words brought a smile to his face. even if she didn't remember, what they had now was enough to keep him satisfied. " Thank you for being my friend ! " 

Seunghyun? Who is he, I don't remember anthing about him.

but Jiyong? ...I-Is that my name?

"My name is Jiyong!  

He quickly began attempting to piece together the memories, deciphering to try to uncover the messages. Ugh, why can't I remember who she is! Her name.. Noa Kim. Something's missing. Noa..

Noal..

Noael..

Noel..

He froze, realizing he had found his voice, shouting the name to the face he had seen for so long. 

"Noella Kim! Your name is Noella Kim!"

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"W-what? That's not my name, what are you talking about? Y-you've got it all wrong!" Seunghyun chuckled as he took steps closer to her. For some reason she couldn't back away, her legs wouldn't move. "This is exactly what Jiyong has to see." "Jiyong? That sounds like-" "Indeed it does, Noella. Is it all coming back to you now?" "No, No I don't know what your talking about! Stop this! What have I ever done to you?!" Seunghyun cackled, turning away from the trembling girl. "What have I ever done to you.. makes you really go back, doesn't it? Back to all the pain I had experienced because of you and him. You , you insignificant piece of trash, you know what you did!" Seunghyun growled,  reaching for , when he was stopped by an eerily familiar voice. 

"Dont you dare touch her."

A/N: This is it! We're one step from uncovering the truth! What else exactly lies in Jiyong's past with Seunghyun and Noa, who's name has been revealed to be Noella! Only one more chapter, and then the epilogue! Until the next update !

Cheriamb