Naeun bit her lips and clutched onto the ends of her shirt, uneasiness creeping up onto her so much that she felt like retracting her words.

Myungsoo simply watched quietly with a calm expression as he waited.

Naeun swallowed a gulp and diverted her gaze out of the window.

“You were right,” She began, “I don’t really like this job. I never wanted to be in this industry. Ever since young, all I liked to do was draw. So that was what I did all day long, but no one appreciated my ambition. My parents didn’t give me an eye when I showed them my pieces, but doted on my brother who was training in the military. It was expected, though, since they’re both military people.”

“That’s why you joined the military? So you could become who they wanted you to be?”

Naeun turned back to look at Myungsoo while leaning on the window sill.

“Yes. I gave up too easily, didn’t I?” Naeun laughed lightly at herself.

“I can understand how you wanted to gain your parents’ recognition, but if they only love you for what you can do, then that’s not true love. Giving up your passion must have hurt; it’s like taking away an essential part of you.”

“It changed everything,” Naeun said, her voice cracking, as she turned away again, “I don’t even know who I am anymore. I’ve become so accustomed to such a lifestyle, to this character I’ve made for myself, that I only vaguely remember when I used to smile at the sight of autumn leaves and sunshine. It all seems so distant now.”

Myungsoo nodded.

“It happens to be autumn now,” He said, “Do you want to take a stroll?”

Naeun looked up, forgetting that her tears would sparkle under the light and give her away. She smiled in the slightest and nodded.

Myungsoo was busy capturing pictures of his favourite season as Naeun walked silently beside him.

“So… Do you feel better now?” Myungsoo said when he paused from photo-taking to browse the pictures in his gallery.

Naeun nodded meekly and mumbled a soft “Thank you”. Then, she pointed to a plain grass patch not far away and said, “Let’s lie down there for a while. It looks comfortable.”

As Naeun ran towards the grass patch, Myungsoo chuckled to himself and shook his head.

And so they laid down on the grass patch, facing the azure blue sky. They didn’t speak a word for a couple of minutes, but basked in the warmth that Naeun had missed so dearly.

Naeun turned to face Myungsoo and said, “Tell me that you've been lying all this while and that you're actually from this universe.”

Myungsoo did likewise and laid on his side as he replied, “I thought you were already convinced.”

“I guess I am. It’s just that…” Naeun started, and then shook her head and turned back to face the sky.

“Why? What’s the matter?” Myungsoo probed.

Naeun smiled softly as she shook her head again. She propped herself upright and then turned to Myungsoo, “Should we head back now?”

Myungsoo knew better than to push on (what rights did he have to do that, anyway?), so he got up swiftly and they started on their way home.

As the orange hues of the sunset illuminated the pathway, Naeun drifted away into her thoughts.

You make me feel like being myself. Without any worries. Just like him. Him, whom I thought I’d given up on finding. Why did you appear?

It was another lazy day where Myungsoo and Naeun watched a travel programme on television together. Incidentally, a map was brought out by one of the show hosts.

“Ah, the map!” Myungsoo exclaimed, and then hit himself on the head with a fist, “Why didn’t I think of that earlier?”

“What is it?” Naeun asked.

“If I found the ring at a particular place in my universe, there might be another one at the same place in your universe!” Myungsoo explained excitedly, “I just need to figure out how to get to that place.”

Naeun’s gaze shifted to the ground as she stiffened.

“Do you have to go?” She muttered to herself.

“Huh?” Myungsoo made a sound as he turned to face Naeun.

“Good for you,” She said, “Find that ring and leave quickly.” With that, she got up and went into her room.

Leave quickly so I won’t be tempted to make you stay.

Myungsoo switched off the television and then let out a deep sigh. He’d hoped that their relationship could remain as simple as it was to prevent complications. But he heard that line. Obviously, things would never go as smoothly as intended.

As Myungsoo shuffled back to his room, he thought about how he should stop blaming her and start controlling his own feelings instead. They can never be together, not in a million years, and Myungsoo knew that. Because that would be a fairytale, and fairytales don’t exist in real life.

Myungsoo was about to enter the room when he realized that she was doing that again. Naeun sat by the window, gazing intently at a dried daisy chain she held loosely in her hands, seemingly afraid that she would tear the fragile flowers apart by accident.

He stood by the door and watched quietly. (He always did.)

She still remembered how shocked she was when she first saw the little boy silently watching her from behind a tree as she drew. They were only thirteen then.

They never talked much, but she always looked forward to their frequent meetings under that same tree. Because, at least, there would always be someone there – someone who was willing to listen.

One day, she broke down into tears while drawing. It was the day right after she quarreled with her parents over her desire to pursue arts. They were fifteen then.

The boy gently wiped her tears away with the back of his hand.

“If you have to change something for them to love you, then that’s not unconditional love,” He said, “Eventually, your parents will still love you no matter what you decide to do, so don’t give up.”

Then, he gave her a warm smile which always soothed her heart, no matter how much it hurt. But that time, something else struck her.

“What are these marks on your palm? And your arm too…” She said, her voice trailing off, as if in fear of what she might hear.

Initially, he looked away uncomfortably, avoiding her relentless gaze.

“It’s okay. You’ve listened to so many of my complaints. It’s time I did something for you,” She said.

The boy bit his lip, took a deep breath, and then turned around to face her again.

“They’re memories. Painful ones. But they remind me of how much I’ve already been through, how can I always hang on just a little more.”

“Did your parents do this?”

He nodded, a little reluctantly.

“This one,” He pointed to a scar at the back of his hand, “is by my mum just a couple of months after I was born. My aunt told me. She was suffering from post-natal depression.”

“And the rest? It also happened recently, didn’t it?” She asked, looking at how some marks were redder than others.

He shrugged, “Depression can come from many different sources. That’s why I don’t blame them. They’re struggling, too.”

She smiled lightly, “If only I could be as strong as you.”

“Of course you can. What’s stopping you except yourself?”

She grinned and nodded a few times.

She still remembered how she couldn’t stop smiling as he gently tied the daisy chain around her tiny wrist.

“There,” He said as he took a step back to look at her, “You look pretty, princess.”

Her cheeks flushed as she turned away.

“Thanks,” She said, “I really like it. I’ll keep it forever.”

“It’ll wither,” He laughed, “Don’t worry; I can always make more for you.”

But then, he disappeared from her life just as suddenly as he appeared. She never saw him again, ever since the day he gave her the daisy chain.

(She didn’t literally mean to keep it forever when she said it, but she ended up keeping a dried daisy chain. Because it was a memory. Because it was more than a memory. Because he never kept his promise, and that was the only one he made for her, the only hope of finding him again.)

She regretted not asking more about him, because all she knew was that he was called Soo, just Soo. And he liked photography and quiet afternoon naps under the tree. And maybe, just maybe, he liked her.

They were seventeen then, and she was twenty-one when she sat by the window gazing at the dried daisy chain yet again.

Naeun felt like someone was watching her, so she turned around and indeed, there Myungsoo was, standing quietly by the door.

She felt her heart tighten as feelings of déjà vu washed over her; it was in the same way that she had met that boy, whose warmth no one could compare until Myungsoo came along.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to creep up on you like this,” He explained, “I just wanted to tell you something. But it seemed like you were… in the middle of something important.”

She shook her head and said, “It’s okay; come in.”

As Myungsoo walked in and sat himself down, Naeun quickly kept the daisy chain in her drawer.

“What is it?” She asked as she sat down beside him.

“Oh, I’m going to the Hongdae district to find the ring,” He said, “Just letting you know, because I might take quite some time.”

Myungsoo turned around to look at Naeun, and saw that she was staring straight ahead blankly.

“Um, I’ll go now then,” He said as he got up to leave.

He felt a tug on his wrist and stopped in his tracks.

“Must you leave?”

The last syllable quivered.

He creased his brows and swerved around to look at her.

“What are you talking about? Of course I have to go back – ”

“Can’t you just stay here with me?” She blurted out, and then froze when she realized what she was doing.

“Naeun…”

“I know I’m being very selfish,” She said, “But since I’ve already said all these, I might as well tell you everything.”

She bit her lips, wondering where she got such courage from.

“I like you. If you feel the same way too – ”

Myungsoo pulled his hand out of Naeun’s loosened grip and blinked a couple of times nervously as he looked at everywhere else except at her.

“Let’s talk about this another time, okay? It’s getting late, so I should get going,” He said and rushed out of the door.

No Myungsoo you can’t you can’t you can’t don’t even think about it you can’t –

He kept on persuading himself in his mind, because he was afraid that he might just give in to the temptation and throw away his past life for one girl he’d come to know and liked dearly. But liking doesn’t equate to love, does it? And even love does not necessarily equate to a lifetime together. How could this love justify messing up two people’s lives, and possibly the order of two universes?

Naeun was walking along the streets when she saw a familiar poster with the words: Find this ring and get a reward of five hundred thousand.

She stopped to stare at the poster and then tore it down with one hand.

Maybe I should stop this search now…

Is it wrong that I'm feeling like this? She wondered.

Just as she was about to call her subordinates and order them to take down the posters, she received a call from one of them.

“General Son!” The soldier said, “It seems that someone has found the ring for real this time!”

Naeun’s eyes widened as her whole body stiffened.

Myungsoo looked carefully on the ground, at the region he had identified as the one where he found the ring in his universe. After two hours of meticulous searching, Myungsoo was exhausted. Just as he was about to leave the place, he caught sight of a familiar red glow among the grass patch just beside the traffic light.

His heart made somersaults inside of him, and he wondered why he didn't feel as relieved as he thought he would be.

He reached out for the ring and wrapped it securely inside a fist.

At that moment, his thoughts were mostly garbled, but the one which resonated most clearly was, "Now what?"