Baekhyun reads out the frequencies as Chanyeol types the information into the machine. There is a beep.

“I think we’re good to go,” he announces to the room.

Baekhyun waves to Kyungsoo.

“You should know that Sehun’s condition is deteriorating fast,” Kai announces to the room.

“Please be quick about it.”

“We’ll be as quick as we can,” Chanyeol responds tersely. “We don’t want to be here any longer than we need to be.”

Chanyeol turns to Baekhyun.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”





They flick their way back through Sehun’s memories, until they find themselves once again on the white bridge, leading into Sehun’s earlier childhood memories. A soccer ball sits in the middle, the last link that they had.

“Here we are,” Chanyeol yawns.

“I suppose all we can do now is send the signal and hope,” Baekhyun states.

He looks down at his laptop, running the stylus over a small bar at the bottom of the screen. It looks like the machine in their reality is working, but just in case Baekhyun re-enters the codes into his own device.

The whole fabric of space trembles.

“Something’s happening!” Baekhyun shouts. He runs over to Chanyeol and clings to his arm fearfully.

This has never happened before to him, but he’d heard of this kind of thing from their superiors. When a patient is on the brink, everything starts to shake; the memories are breaking down as the brain deteriorates more rapidly.

Baekhyun is scared.

“We need to get out, now Chanyeol!” he screams.



“There’s something wrong,” Kyungsoo tells Kai as he walks over to the machine. There’s a massive flashing red light on the top of it, one that’s stayed the same colour throughout the whole procedure and has only just started changing colours now.

“What’s going on?” Kai asks.

Baekhyun looks at the monitor.

“It’s not good!”

The line on the monitor is abnormal. A line that Kyungsoo assumes to be Sehun’s heartbeat splays itself across the screen, jumping up and down at random intervals. Intervals that Kyungsoo is sure are not normal.

Kai tries his best to stay composed, but he cannot for long when Kyungsoo is staring at him apprehensively. He walks over to the machine and looks at the monitor.

Kyungsoo is right.

Something is definitely wrong.

“What should we do?” Kyungsoo asks fearfully.

“I don’t know,” Kai grunts.




“It’s been destabilized,” Baekhyun tells Chanyeol loudly, panic in his voice.

“What does this mean?” Chanyeol responds.

Chanyeol has never seen Baekhyun like this before, the smaller has never gone berserk at Chanyeol, not even when he set their apartment ablaze by accident. Chanyeol realises he is truly anxious when Baekhyun gets like this.

“Get out!” Baekhyun yells.

“What?”

“Get out of the memory, Chanyeol!” Baekhyun is hysterical now.

“Why?”

Baekhyun knows that Chanyeol never fully understood his job and got through finals with barely a pass, but this was getting ridiculous. This was the one thing that anyone working at the institute should know!

“Chanyeol, get out of his memory, now!”

“What’re you talking about?”

“If the system doesn’t re-stabilize soon, the shock might permanently damage whoever’s in here.”

Chanyeol shakes his head vehemently.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Wait, Baekhyun. Why aren’t you getting out yourself?”

Baekhyun kisses Chanyeol on the forehead.

“You know I can’t leave you. And if we both get out right now, all of our work will be reset. We don’t have enough time to redo it all before Sehun…”

Chanyeol’s eyes widen.

“You mean…?”

“Yes! Now just get out, Chanyeol! Save yourself!”

“!” Chanyeol shouts. “Don’t pull that contrived crap on me! This isn’t a movie and you’re no hero, Baekhyun! You’re being a moron!”

“You’re being one too!” Baekhyun snaps back.

“We can’t both get stuck in here, OK? Get out Chanyeol! I know you’d do the same for me!”

“Which is why I’m not leaving!” Chanyeol bites. He grabs Baekhyun’s arm and holds on for dear life.

“If we’re going out, we’re going out together!”

“Damn Chanyeol! See, this is what I get for helping you cheat your way through exams!”

Chanyeol looks hurt at Baekhyun’s words, but Baekhyun knows that this is for the best.

Baekhyun feels tears in his eyes as he secretly presses a button in his laptop screen.

“Goodbye, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol fades out, yelling profanities at Baekhyun. Baekhyun continues to stand on his place on the bridge.





“NO!”

Chanyeol’s back in the bedroom, and Kyungsoo and Kai stare at him, confused at his sudden reappearance.

“What happened?” Kyungsoo asks alarmed.

“Sehun’s unstable… Baekhyun’s still in there!”

Kyungsoo gasps.

“Can we get him out?” he says nervously.

Chanyeol runs an exasperated hand through his hair.

“I… I don’t know. Baekhyun’s got the controls in there.”

“Can’t he get himself out then?” Kai asks.

Chanyeol shakes his head.

“He’s too stubborn for that.”

“What do you mean?”

“If we both leave, all our work will be undone. There’s not enough time to do it again…”

Kyungsoo nods slowly.

“Baekhyun’s putting the job before himself?” Kai questions.

Chanyeol walks over to the machine, tears in his eyes, ignoring the statement.

“He’ll be alright; he knows what he’s doing,” he tells himself.

But he doesn’t believe it.

He waits and watches the screen anxiously for a few minutes.

“Oh my God…” he whispers, grabbing onto Kyungsoo as the red light stops flashing. He pulls the smaller man with wide eyes into an enthusiastic embrace.

“He’ll be OK!” he shouts.

Sehun’s heart beat starts to slow, becoming once again a steady, monotonous beat. Chanyeol stares for a few more minutes to be sure.

He turns to Kyungsoo, smiling widely.

“I’m heading back in. If anything else happens, well… let’s hope it doesn't.” And with that, Chanyeol is back.




“Wait a minute…” Baekhyun mumbles to himself. The place has stopped shaking, and he places a hand on his head, trying to steady himself. He feels a little vertigo coming on, but he tries his best to ignore it.

“Baekhyun!”

He turns around quickly.

“Chanyeol?”

“You’re alright, thank God!” Chanyeol exclaims, ripping Baekhyun from his spot.

The taller holds Baekhyun in his arms; the latter’s legs completely off the ground. Baekhyun moans as Chanyeol spins him around and around.

“Chanyeol, stop. I feel dizzy…” Baekhyun groans.

Chanyeol stops straight away, lowering Baekhyun to the ground carefully. He straddles the smaller and presses his lips to Baekhyun’s forehead.

“I’m sorry… I’m so glad you’re OK,” he whispers into Baekhyun’s ear.

Baekhyun giggles. Chanyeol is silent for a few seconds.

“Baekhyun, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to call you a moron, I was just scared.”

Baekhyun nods.

“It’s OK.”

“Lets gather the mementos quickly, Baekhyun. Before that happens again.”

Baekhyun kisses Chanyeol on the forehead, pushing the larger off of him.

“Come on, then!” he says cheerfully.

Baekhyun knows he will never take his relationship with Chanyeol for granted.