"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Chanyeol shrieked in horror. "Have you gone bonkers, Sunmi? It's the love sickness doing this to you isn't it?" he felt Sunmi's forehead worriedly.

Sunmi pushed Chanyeol's hand off her head and shook her head, pressing her lips into a firm line. "No, I'm completely clear about this, Chanyeol. This is what I choose to do."

"Now now let's be logcial here." Baekhyun clapped his hands to get their attention, clearing his throat. "Sunmi, what you're suggesting is that you use this ONE-TIME-USAGE mirror to go over to the other side of the mirror to save Sehun, is that correct?"

Sunmi nodded, avoiding all their gazes because she knew they thought she was mad.

"Are you aware that since this mirror is a one-time-usage time of thing, it would be practically impossible to return back here?" Baekhyun's voice raised unintentionally as he gazed at her. "It means you have to say goodbye to everyone on this side, including us."

Sunmi closed her eyes, not willing to let her guilt show. She was sacrificing everyone here just for Sehun and she knew she was a great disappointment. But...but...she couldn't just let Sehun suffer while she was here living her life as if nothing happened. She just couldn't do it.

After all, there was more than one of these enchanted mirrors here on this side of the world, so that means there must be multiple enchanted mirrors on the other side as well. She just had to find another one more to get back here. Easy.

Except maybe it would take a few decades to find one.

Of course, she would be the most unfilial daughter ever on earth to just abandon her parents like that. And to think she was their only daughter too. The thing that held Sunmi back was this love for her parents and reluctance to leave them. The other Sunmi would be a terror in the house, disappointing her lovely parents and wrecking havoc everywhere she went.

"I know." Sunmi whispered. "I know I'll have to give up everything here, but that doesn't mean I won't be able to come back. I can find another mirror after saving Sehun and I can return-"

"One question." Suho cut in, frowning. "How in the world are you going to save Sehun from jail then, how do you propose? A nineteen year old girl wanting to barge into jail herself and to save a wanted murderer? You don't have a plan, Sunmi."

Sunmi bit her lip to stop it from trembling. Yes she didn't have a plan but she didn't care. She HAD to save Sehun somehow or another and sitting here waiting for things to turn better wasn't a concrete plan she approved of.

"When I get there, I'll find some way somehow..." Sunmi shifted under the boys' gaze, sheepish. It sounded exceptionally foolish for her to just sacrifice everything she had on this side, but she had to hold on to the hope that there would be a way of returning once she went over to the other side.

If one wanted to be technical about weighing the benefits and costs, it seemed Sunmi going over to the other side seemed to be more sacrificial than Sehun coming over to this side and staying forever. Sehun didn't have a family, he only had one friend which he thought he was in love with and besides living in misery of being the school's loser, he also suffered a heart break.

Sunmi on the other hand had loving, doting parents, friends who loved her and a happy life altogether.

Seeing who had to give up what, it seemed Sunmi was on the losing side of the scale. However Sunmi didn't want to think of it that way. Love wasn't something that you could just be calculative of like you were going to the market to bargain for vegetables.

Love was this rush of emotion you felt for someone that urged you to do unthinkable things without regret, because you love that someone. This was the love that pushed Sunmi towards her decision right now, even if she knew she sounded absurdly foolish.

"You can't just leave us." Kai whispered, gazing at her. "You can't just leave everything here. I know that saving Sehun is important but..." he struggled with his words. "But Sunmi, you're giving up everything here!"

"I'll just find another one of those enchanted mirrors and I'll be back in no time, big deal." Sunmi brushed the matter away, not letting the others see her tremble with hesitation. "I'll be leaving by tomorrow morning-"

"SO SOON?" Chanyeol shrieked, his eyes wide and face pale.

Sunmi ignored his outburst, swallowing hard. "-so I guess this is farewell for the time being." she forced a smile at the rest of them. "Live well, you boys."

She hugged every single one of them, even D.O. who refused to be hugged to show just how he opposed to her idea even if he thought it was insanely romantic. Sunmi sighed softly and waved. "I guess I'll be returning home to spend more time with my parents. See you boys next time....when I come back."

She hugged herself even though it wasn't the slightest bit cold and trudged back to her house. The decision was the hardest part of it, people said. But they didn't mention how it was also difficult to carry out these acts either.

"Umma, your food is really good today." Sunmi murmured as she chomped down her rice and stuffed as much as she could into .

Mrs Kim looked over at her daughter, amused. "You never really appreciated my cooking much." she commented, chuckling. "It's refreshing to hear your compliments."

"That's because I was secretly jealous of your culinary skills, Umma. God knows I'm helpless in the kitchen." Sunmi muttered, biting her lip. She smiled brightly at her parents and dug in with gusto. "But really, the food is extremely good."

Mr Kim laughed and Mrs Kim shook her head, looking obviously happy. To be completely honest, Sunmi's mom wasn't the best cook. There were moms out there that could cook like a five-star restaurant chef and Sunmi's mom wasn't one of them.

She made okay dishes, dishes that were very obviously homecooked and served the purpose of just filling your stomach. Sunmi's lack of culinary skills could have originated from her mother, even, but the curse was obviously more serious on the later generation.

However this may be her last chance eating something that her mother had cooked, a last chance to sit there at that old wooden dining table with her parents for dinner. How many times had she skipped dinner in the past? How many times had she ended her meal early to go back to her room?

When you didn't think you were going to lose what you owned, you didn't value the mere existence of it being in your life. Such simple acts of dining together can be something you would sorely miss should it be taken away from you some day.

Everyone had to have heard of such stories once or twice in their lives, had to have gone teary for a moment and guilty the next, blaming themselves for the lack of love they showed to their parents and loved once. Within that short few days, one would go back home and watch adoringly as their mother cooked and their father read the newspaper. Such love and devotion reflected in their eyes were completely rare and unprecedented.

But that would last a few days. A week, tops.

And then you would be back in your ordinary, normal life where you started to take everything for granted again until some other tale was flung in your direction and you grew emotional once more.

It wasn't until such separation was happening to you that you realize just how much you were taking for granted, how much time you have wasted in the past by being foolish. Sunmi sighed softly and she watched her parents eat their dinner from the corner of her eyes.

Just when was the last time she looked at her parents, really? Really really looked?

The fact that they were constantly around her all the time made it easier for her to not notice the gradual changes in her parents' appearances as they aged. It would be really weird if she just stared at her parents daily to note the differences here and there too.

However now as she really gazed at her parents, taking in every detail her mind could absorb....it striked her hard then and there that time had passed. She had grown, and regretfully, her parents had aged in the process as well.

She never noticed how her mother had so many more wrinkles around her eyes when she smiled. How her Dad's chin was slightly more rounded and how his features were more worn with fatigue. It shamed her to think that she would have noted these changes if she met a high school teacher from a few years back but she didn't manage to point out these changes on the two people she lived with.

If she went over to the other side of the mirror, how long would it take for her to get Sehun out of his predicament? How long would it take for her to find another one of these precious enchanted mirrors to get back here, especially since Ahjusshi Han on the other side was already dead?

A month? A year? Two years? Two decades?

When she came back to this world once more, everything would have changed. How would her parents look then? Most probably the same as how her "parents" would look on the other side, but they still weren't her real parents.

Sunmi swallowed, feeling herself tearing up once again and stubbornly telling herself not to.

"Umma, Appa." Sunmi whispered, not looking at them for fear that her eyes would give her away. "For the next few weeks to even months, if I kind of....change, and uhm, become completely different from how I am now, please don't be alarmed."

Mr Kim raised his brows in question. "Like what? Sunmi, you're not thinking of going afro or something are you?" he joked, grinning.

Sunmi forced a laugh. "I uh...I mean to say that if I become completely different character wise, if I don't seem like the daughter you know and everything, please please remember that I love you and I will come back." she whispered, biting her lip. "Please don't give up hope on me."

Mrs Kim touched her daughter's hand. "Is something wrong, Sunmi? You seem really disturbed. Is something about to happen that you're warning us of?"

"No." Sunmi shook her head and beamed as brightly as she could. "I was just joking. Did I scare you two? One of my friends at school told me to try this."

Mr Kim made a face and continued eating. "Youth these days..." he grumbled. "The sort of things they come up with is just hilarious. I thought my afro comment was funnier. What do you think Yeobo?" he looked at his wife.

"Just eat your food." Mrs Kim laughed.

-----

Sunmi swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

Okay. She was going to do this. It wasn't going to be difficult either. All she had to do was say a few magic words and look into the mirror. The next day, she would be where Sehun was. How amazing.

So why couldn't she do it?

Sunmi's hand trembled as she stared at her own reflection in the wooden mirror. Why was she such a coward? She made up her mind long ago didn't she?

Ahjusshi Han sighed softly as he stared at the young girl in front of him. Whoever said anything about this new generation being selfish obviously never saw enough. He never thought anyone could be so selfless but then he met Sehun, who was willing to give up everything to be with Sunmi. And just when he thought that was all, Sunmi showed him otherwise again.

Why was fate so cruel to this two poor souls?

"If you don't want to do it, you can choose not to. There must be ways to help Sehun even though we're in a different world." Ahjusshi Han offered kindly.

Sunmi shook her head. She had gone over to the Ahjusshi's shop to perform the ritual because she felt like she needed moral support. The EXO-K boys didn't know where she was and she wasn't about to tell them. She had a feeling they would rush over to stop her if they knew and she had set up her mind on this.

Even if it really took quite a bit of courage to do it.

Sunmi took a deep breath. She had to do this. She could do this. For Sehun.

"Black and white," she whispered. "Day and night. Switch us opposites by-"

"STOPPPPPP!!!!!"

Sunmi snapped her head up and gasped when she saw the five other EXO-K boys hopping off a cab and running to her at top speed. Her eyes darted over to Ahjusshi Han accusingly and the latter shrugged. "They had to know."

The EXO-K boys skidded to a stop in front of Sunmi and very nearly huffed smoke. "What were you thinking? Going off just like that?" D.O. complained. "You never even waited for us or told us you were here."

Sunmi bit her lip. "I've already said my goodbyes. I didn't want to make it harder for us."

"There's no such thing as harder because there's no goodbye." Baekhyun muttered.

Sunmi's eyes widened and she looked at her friends. Suho gave her an encouraging smile and Chanyeol beamed at her, even if his eyes looked a little puffy.

"We're your friends, Sunmi. Yours and Sehun's." Suho murmured, gazing at her. "If you're going to take this dangerous trip over to the other side, we're going with you. We'll all save Sehun together."

Sunmi gasped. What? Did they know what they were offering exactly? It was highly possible that they couldn't find another one of these enchanted mirrors on the other side and what if they really didn't? These boys are willing to sacrifice their entire lives and families here for her?

"Before you retort, we are going to find another one of these mirrors to fetch us home." Kai cut into her thoughts. "Law of Attraction, haven't you heard? No negative thoughts."

Sunmi looked around at her friends, swallowing back her tears. "Guys...." she croaked, her voice breaking.

Chanyeol beamed at them and huddled them close with his long arms. "Come on guys, let's all do this together." Suho nodded and held the mirror in front of the six of them such that everyone was visible.

"Black and white, day and night. Switch us opposites by daylight!" they chorused in unison.

They felt a shiver down their spines even though nothing physical happened. It almost seemed as if everything was the same and nothing was changed.

But they knew better. They had to wait till daylight.