Index:

(YJ) - Young Jae speaking
(DH) - Daehyun speaking
(HC) - Himchan speaking
(BY) - Yongguk speaking
(TY) - Taeyeon speaking
(JU) - Jongup speaking

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A few days had passed before finally, the weekend came. Taeyeon had been living rather well with everyone. In a way, she acted both as their mother and as their friend. Although she had only spent her time here for about a week at most, the three males had come rather close to practically relying on her.

If an argument broke out, Taeyeon was the one whom quickly scolded the one who started it. She was also the one whom was capable of sorting out the problems and deciding on the right course of action. If anyone needed help, then she would aide them as best as she possibly could. Of course, she also laughed and had fun with them as well. After all, she still had a childlike heart and she wasn’t the type to abandon that heart.

Of course, she wasn’t lounging around and living with them for free.

Rent was being paid on time in order to help out with the expenses and Taeyeon did the majority of the cooking. When it came to cleaning though, Taeyeon had created a schedule that showed what everyone was in charge of for that week. For example, if the dishes needed to be washed, then Daehyun had to wash the dishes. If the garbage had to be taken out, then Jongup was the one who took it out. As for Young Jae, he was the one in charge of the vacuuming. Of course, Taeyeon did make sure that the schedule rotated every now and then. That way, everyone had a fair share of what each task had to offer.

For Young Jae, he was rather pleased with Taeyeon’s work. She was fairly responsible and made certain that all of the work was finished before any play could commence. Plus, so far, there didn’t seem to be any sort of connection between Taeyeon and Daehyun.. not that he was suspicious or jealous of such a thing in the first place. After all, Young Jae was a huge catch! Why would Daehyun want to mess up by straying towards someone else? It was just completely illogical to do such a thing.

Maybe she really was the best choice as a wet nurse. If anything, Taeyeon seemed like she would be completely focused on keeping track of the two babies. She just had that natural motherly instinct to her, which Young Jae liked.

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“Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take care of everything here.” (TY) Taeyeon smiled happily as she walked the two males to the front door. As Daehyun and Young Jae put their shoes on, Young Jae turned to Taeyeon. He was going to say something, but he decided against it. He didn’t really have to tell Taeyeon to do this or that, considering she already knew what needed to be done while they were gone.

“You’re doing a great job, Taeyeon. Are you sure that we shouldn’t pay you?” (DH) Young Jae instantly turned to glare at Daehyun. What the heck was he thinking?! If they needed a maid, then they would have hired one! They don’t have the funds to be paying Taeyeon for such things and if anything, Taeyeon was the one who volunteered to live and help around with them anyway. In addition, Taeyeon had also been the one to suggest paying for her rent anyway, so there would be no point in paying her!

Taeyeon, whom didn’t notice Young Jae’s glare towards Daehyun, only let out a small laugh as she shook her head. “Oh, don’t worry about it! I’m the one intruding on all of you, so it’s only fair that I do my fair share.” (TY)

Young Jae let out a small relieved sigh as he opened the door and pulled it open. He was glad that Taeyeon had a sense of mind to her, which was quite refreshing. As Daehyun and Young Jae stepped out the door, Young Jae quickly turned to see Taeyeon standing at the doorway with a smile. “Now, make sure that-” (YJ)

“Jongup does his homework.” (TY)

“And that-” (YJ)

“Jongup is fed lunch and possibly dinner if you two are still out.” (TY)

“And that-” (YJ)

“The apartment remains spotless and burn free.” (TY) Young Jae slightly nodded his head in approval.

“Well.. alright. I will leave everything to you then.” (YJ)

“Don’t worry already! Now, have a good day while at work. Don’t either one of you two overwork yourselves, alright?” (TY) Daehyun and Young Jae both nodded as they began walking. Taeyeon stepped out of the apartment and waved until the two turned the corner and were no longer in her sight.

Going back into the apartment, she closed and locked the front door before turning and humming happily. As she began walking, her eyes landed on Jongup, whom was happily drawing on the floor while watching cartoons. Curiosity peaked her interests as she walked over silently in an attempt to peak over Jongup’s shoulder. Taeyeon had barely gotten a glimpse of what Jongup was drawing before Jongup shifted and bumped into her. Jongup nearly jumped from touching her as he quickly turned and looked up at Taeyeon. “A-Ah..! Miss Kim.. S-Sorry... I didn’t know that you were there.” (JU)

“No, it’s alright. What are you drawing? Can I see?” (TY) Jongup looked down at his drawing and thought for a moment. It wasn’t exactly finished, but.. if Taeyeon wanted to see it, then it should be alright. After all, it’s not like he was hiding it from anyone or anything.

Sitting up, Jongup took hold of his sketchbook before holding it out to Taeyeon. Taeyeon happily took it into her hands before looking at the picture that Jongup was currently working on. From what she could tell just from this one picture, Jongup was into drawing cartoon type characters, but not like the types of cartoons that were currently playing. It was a little more similar to the Japanese type cartoons; what were they called? She couldn’t remember at the moment, but it seemed like Jongup could draw fairly well. “Wow..! This is so nicely drawn. How long have you been drawing?” (TY)

“I started on that today.” (JU) Taeyeon could see the rather happy look on Jongup’s face and as adorable as it was, that hadn’t exactly answered her questioned. With a small smile, Taeyeon opened the sketchbook a bit so that she could look through the sketchbook from the very beginning.

“No, I meant how long have you been drawing all of these pictures.” (TY) Jongup thought on the question for a moment as he tried to think on the answer as best as possible. Once he had the answer, he smiled again as he looked back up at Taeyeon.

“I’ve been drawing for... I think ten years.” (JU) Taeyeon nodded a bit as she carefully examined each and every picture that showed up. It was evident in the sketchbook just how much Jongup had progressed. It showed all of his hard work and dedication, though.. she didn’t necessarily know when Jongup had started on this sketchbook. With one more page turned, Taeyeon’s eyes widened as an embarrassed smile came onto her face.

“Jongup! I didn’t know you drew things like this!” (TY) His eyes showed his mere confusion before they widened in horror. He reached up in an attempt to snatch his sketchbook back, but Taeyeon had turned while stepping away. She continued looking through it, a small giggle escaping her lips as she continued seeing even more pictures that were similar to the first one.

“I-I can explain! Just.. Just don’t tell mom and dad!” (JU) She turned to look at Jongup, whom showed his own embarrassment as he now sat on the couch. Taeyeon smiled a bit as she sat down in the love seat, her eyes continuously scanning the pictures as she flipped through. Jongup sat there awkwardly, his eyes moving from the ground then back up at Taeyeon in a constant pattern.

“Are you going to explain?” (TY) Jongup instantly sat up, his eyes widening as he nodded. Jongup attempted to clear his throat before swallowing the lump in his throat. With a small sigh, Jongup placed his hands on his knees as he gave his knees a light squeeze.

“I.. I really liked how it looked when I saw some things that my parents do and I..  I want to do those things with Zelo.. some day..” (JU) Taeyeon nodded, but quickly paused. He saw his parents do things? What kind of things? No, no.. she didn’t want to know. It would just make her laugh each and every time she saw them. Of course, she couldn’t scold Jongup for it. After all, he’s nineteen and old enough to be thinking of such things. However.. she was going to have to scold Daehyun and Young Jae for getting caught in the first place.

“Well.. I won’t tell your parents about it.. And it’s okay. You’re old enough to be thinking of these things and, well.. you’re a boy. Have you already done... such things?” (TY) As she looked up, she could see Jongup look back down as he shook his head. His face was completely red and it was rather adorable, which made her wonder if he really was nineteen. “Well, that’s even more of a reason why you think of it! You’re a curious, growing boy.. Just make sure that you are very sure about it before you do these things with Zelo.” (TY)

“Okay.. Thanks Miss Kim.” (JU) Taeyeon laughed a bit as she flipped to the next page. Looking back up at Jongup, she crossed one knee over the other as she leaned back a bit.

“Oh, you can just call me Taeyeon! Think of me like.. a big sister! Miss Kim makes me sound old.” (TY) Jongup quickly nodded, causing Taeyeon to laugh once more. “You don’t have to if it makes you feel uncomfortable. Just... grow into it over time.” (TY)

Once she had gotten to the last picture in the sketchbook, Taeyeon leaned forward before holding the sketchbook out to Jongup. Jongup nodded a bit, keeping his head down as he took the sketchbook into his hands and onto his lap. He still felt embarrassed that someone else, especially a girl, had seen the few drawings that he didn’t want anyone else to see.

Well.. he was glad that Taeyeon was helping him at least.

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“I just don’t understand why I have not had any sort of development with this damn research! There has to be a reason behind these flashbacks..!” (YJ) Young Jae slammed his fist on the table as he stared angrily at his notes. No matter how many times he went over the numbers and tried to breakthrough the walls that kept popping up, the answers that he actually wanted to find just would not show themselves to him. It was frustrating and he was very close to just giving up altogether.

“Dammit.. Even if I die doing all of this research, I’m going to prevail even as a damn ghost!” (YJ) Picking up his notes, he started flipping through them as he began making his way towards the time reversal device. There has to be a reason, right? If these memories were legit and had been implanted into him by the time reversal device, then he should have remembered them instantly like the fragmented memories he had last year. There had to be a reason behind why he was just now receiving them, unless...

Was he going mad? Possibly insane? Maybe the entity above was implementing false memories in him! As much as he did not want to admit it, it was definitely a possibility. After all, if they were able to manipulate time in terms of reversing it, then it was definitely possible for there to be an entity with a sadistic streak.

If anything, he was most definitely going insane! The fact that he was constantly talking to himself whenever he became frustrated was already proof enough of his insanity. Did that matter though? Not at this very moment. It was necessary for him to be able to collect his thoughts and solve the problems that are thrown his way, otherwise.. he would have pages filled with nothing but scribbles and scratched out words.

He glared down at the time reversal device as he slowly flipped one of the pages over. This cursed thing was just getting on his nerves, but he wasn’t going to let this flimsy device best him. Bending forward, he leaned in close as he examined the device. “I greatly dislike you... Do you realize this? I swear, I will best this obstacle you’ve thrown at me..” (YJ)

Young Jae would have hit the device, but he knew better than to do something as idiotic as that. Who knows what kind of repercussions would occur if he ended up hitting the device? For all he knew, he could end up reversing time all the way back to the stone age, or even when time first began! He wouldn’t be protected, considering he hadn’t been alive during that time. Plus, there could be all sorts of complications that end up arising. He was not about to risk all of those possibilities to occur.

If anything, it would have been a better idea just to create a time travel device. Although it was still a long and tedious process, they were well on their way to figuring out how time travel works. After all, they did figure out how to reverse time; why not figure out how to travel forward?

Of course, there were a number of problems with that as well. They had already changed the past at least once thanks to the time reversal device. Going back even farther could end up changing the past altogether, which would be a big no no. Then again, there were a number of things he wouldn’t mind changing.

No, no.. He couldn’t do it. Changing the past could ultimately change the future far too drastically. Anyway, with being able to travel into the future, one may end up changing it that way as well. Going into the future had its dangers and if things went horribly wrong as in, that person died while in the future, then it could end up changing the future. Basically, anything can end up changing the future in a drastic way.

Those were only the obvious problems too. Young Jae could go on and on about how time travel was only a menace to society and should never, ever, be used for personal reasons, but he had quite a number of things to do. Plus, for some odd reason, he felt like he would end up being a hypocrite if he lectured someone on such a thing.

However, because of that feeling he had, a sudden throbbing intruded on his thoughts. His notes soon fell to the ground as Young Jae held his head in yet another attempt to dull the oncoming pain. Why was this happening?! These memories, these feelings, it felt like they were happening now and yet... he was almost positive that they never happened!

Young Jae unknowingly fell to his knees as he tried to combat the throbbing pain that continued to assault him. Memory upon memory flooded into him as sadness soon began to fill his very being. Tears forced their way through as an anguished scream erupted from the person being tortured with all of this sudden influx of memories and emotions.

Before anything could be done, Young Jae fell to the ground as he succumbed to the pain.

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“Wow... this place is huge.” (HC)

“Are you sure about this, Daehyun? I thought you needed to save money.” (BY)

“I’m sure. It’s... It’s just perfect.” (DH) Daehyun looked around, his eyes gleaming at the very thought of Young Jae’s smiling face. He walked around slowly, taking in as much of the building as possible.

He had read reviews on this place and so far, although it had received low ratings in the past, the Porter House has been receiving higher reviews recently. Daehyun had also read that the menu wasn’t too bad either. It had a large variety of wines and the appetizers were said to be really good. Of course, the steaks were apparently not as good as some other restaurants, but it wasn’t exactly bad either. Not only that though, both the inside and the outside gave a.. rather classy feel to it. He had specifically asked for a table by the window, which would give them a rather lovely view of Central Park.

All of this.. was for Young Jae. Daehyun didn’t care how much he had to pay. As long as Young Jae was happy while he was here, then Daehyun would be happy as well. Sure, it may have been rather expensive for these items, but it’s New York after all. There weren’t many places that didn’t have expensive prices to begin with and with the location that the restaurant was at, the prices weren’t that bad to be honest.

Stepping out into the hallway, Daehyun stretched a bit before letting out a relaxed sigh. It was settled. This place was definitely the best place to bring Young Jae for his birthday. Plus, it had been quite a long while since they’ve actually had a romantic evening together, so maybe this date he had planned would definitely be special for Young Jae. “Yeah.. I definitely like this place.” (DH)

“It looks great. I bet Young Jae will like it.” (HC) Daehyun hoped that Himchan was right. He knew that Young Jae was the type to hide his true feelings, so it would be rather difficult for him to actually display what he was thinking at that very moment. There have been very few occasions when Young Jae would actually show how he felt and, well, Daehyun hoped that this dinner would be one of those moments.

“Well.. Let’s get going. Young Jae’s probably waiting to get picked up now.” (DH)

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I want you to quit being a police officer! I don’t want to see you getting hurt. Do you realize how painful it is to just sit and wait for you to come back after you go out on some sort of mission or whatever it is that could possibly kill you?!

I.. I have to think about it Young Jae.

This... hadn't happened, had it? Young Jae was certain that he hadn't had this argument with Daehyun. In fact, when they talked about Daehyun's job, Daehyun had willingly decided to quit as opposed to just thinking about it.

Um... Mister Yoo? H-How do you know whether you’re really in love or not..? Well.. you and Mister Jung are really close and Jongup says that you two are always saying that you love each other, so.. I want to know!

Okay.. fine. I will tell you that then. Let me see.. how do I feel when I’m with Daehyun. I feel.. irritated, annoyed, angry, frustration, like I want to take a hammer and bash his head in, and I feel like Daehyun is completely irrational and just doesn’t seem to want to think things ahead of time. However... Daehyun seems to just have this ability on me to make me feel happy, to feel warm inside and NOT in the erted way. Anyway.. he makes me feel like I can actually.. be myself. He somehow manages to always calm me down, to make me feel just.. happy. When I’m far from him I feel lonely, like I’m missing something that was once a part of me. I always wait for him, always.. wanting to see him again. Like now.. but right now, I feel like.. something’s wrong. However, I cannot be sure. With no evidence to support these feelings, there is no way that I can tell for sure.

“What is this..?” (YJ) What were all of these words that were being spoken? Different voices, including his own, were interacting with one another, but.. they weren’t exactly intertwined into one memory. These were fragments... Fragments of various different memories coming together to create something else. It didn’t make any sense, but.. these words all held truth behind them. He was certain that he hadn’t encountered any of these moments, but.. they all felt true.

Suddenly, a familiar and normally white cell phone flashed before his eyes. However, there was something clearly wrong with it. There was... blood on it, the blood showing that a person had been holding it. Whether they were dying or not, Young Jae hadn’t wanted to know.

Young Jae... they’re... they’re dead. Daehyun he.. he asked me to give this to you..

No... That... That can’t be true. They weren’t dead. They never died! Young Jae had been speaking to Daehyun just this morning, so this memory.. It was a false memory! It just HAD to be a false memory! It never happened... It couldn’t have happened.

His heart hurt as he watched the memory progress, the cell phone opening and revealing the background image of him with Daehyun and Jongup. However.. there was blood here too, trailing on him and Jongup. This couldn’t be real, right...? It was evident that.. if what Yongguk had said was true that... Young Jae and Jongup had been the last thing on Daehyun’s mind before his death.

Yongguk.. bring me to them. I.. I have to see them! I need undeniable proof that.. that they are no longer alive...

Undeniable proof? No, he didn’t want proof. Young Jae didn’t want to see them truly dead in front of his eyes. Even if this was a false memory, Young Jae never wanted to see it actually come to fruition! This isn’t what he wished for, so why was this memory showing itself to him?! However, instead of flowing forward, the flashback skipped once more to the laboratory.

Young Jae... you need to take a break.

Don’t tell me what to do.

Young Jae... even if we get it working, you could end up going back too far! Do you realize tha-

I SAID THAT I DON’T CARE! You’re not my mother! I don’t need you to tell me what I can and can’t do! I know full well the risks that I am taking with using this machine on myself, or did you think that I am that idiotic to not realize this?! I am willing to take these risks if I can save my family! You don’t understand because at least you have Yongguk! He’s still alive, right?! Just STOP reminding me!

Young Jae could feel the frustration at this point. He could feel how all of his hopes were on this one device, the only device that could help him bring back his family. Then.. does that mean that he had been the reason behind the device working? Does that mean that he had used the device to bring his family back? Does that mean... that he had changed history at one point?

YOUNG JAE!

His eyes shot open before quickly sitting up to a sitting position. Young Jae was gasping for air, his eyes looking around as his hands unknowingly felt around for something to hold onto. When he finally took hold of his note pad, Young Jae pulled it in for an embrace as he held it close to his chest. He brought his knees close to his chest and lowered his head as he covered his face with his knees. This was the only thing that could calm him when he had been a kid and it seemed like it was the only thing to help him now.

“Daehyun... What... What the hell did you get yourself into..” (YJ) Young Jae shook his head as he shut his eyes tightly. None of that happened. It was all just some sort of illusion to make him believe that he had lived through such a thing, but... he knew that he was just lying to himself. All of this had happened at one point and the only moment he could think that this had happened was before Daehyun had used the device.

Young Jae instantly shot up from this realization. Of course! Why hadn’t he thought of that possibility?! It made so much sense now that he actually took the time to think about it! He smacked his forehead three, maybe four times, before getting up to his feet. It made sense. Since Daehyun had been the last one to use the device, he had changed history and thus, made it to where he technically had not used the device whatsoever. But then.. why was it that he had these memories in the first place?

If he technically had not used the device, then why was he getting these flashbacks?! Young Jae ruffled his hair in frustration as he turned to look at the device once more. One way or another, he was going to figure all of this out. The answer was most likely something obvious and it was bothering him greatly.

Slowly, Young Jae took in a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down. Now that he was had gotten even a small step closer, he just now realized that his cheeks were wet. Reaching up, he briefly touched his cheeks before quickly using his sleeves to wipe his cheeks dry. He wasn’t going to waste tears on something he had little to no knowledge on, although.. it was technically impossible to run out of tears as long as he kept himself hydrated.

Just as he took a step forward, Young Jae jumped as he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. He turned his head to look at the head that was now resting on his shoulder, a smile clear on his face. Young Jae felt a sense of relief as he let out a sigh before placing his hands on the person’s arms. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be working?” (YJ)

“My shift ended about an hour ago. Did you forget?” (DH) An hour ago?! Young Jae quickly looked up at the clock that hung on the wall. He had been unconscious for approximately four hours?! So much time had been wasted all because he had fallen unconscious. He mentally cursed before letting out another sigh in an attempt to calm himself down once more. “Are you alright..?” (DH)

“Yeah... I’m just quite splendid at the moment...” (YJ) Young Jae mumbled the rest of his words as he leaned back against Daehyun. He closed his eyes as he rested his head against Daehyun’s, letting out yet another sigh as he took in as much warmth from Daehyun as possible. “So.. Are you ready to depart?” (YJ)

“I am.. But are you?” (DH) In all honesty, as much as he didn’t want to admit it, Young Jae didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay in Daehyun’s arms, to feel safe and assured that Daehyun really was here with him. But... he couldn’t make it obvious. If Young Jae said anything, it would only prove to make Daehyun worry even more and it was already unnecessary for Daehyun to worry in the first place.

“Yeah.. I’m ready. Let me just clean up first..” (YJ)

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“Hey... Are you busy next week on Saturday?” (DH) Young Jae thought on the question as he tried to figure it out. WAS he busy on Saturday? He mentally ran his thoughts over his schedule before coming to the conclusion that he was currently free that day.

“No, I’m not. Why? Is Saturday some important day?” (YJ) Daehyun briefly glanced at Young Jae with surprised, but quickly composed himself. Had Young Jae forgotten that next Saturday was his birthday? Well.. no matter. That meant that it would definitely make it a surprise for Young Jae when they went out.

“Oh.. uh... It’s nothing. Just don’t make any plans that day, okay?” (DH) Young Jae eyed Daehyun with suspicion. What was so important about that day? It’s not like it was anything important and anyway, Young Jae hadn’t planned to create anything for that day. With work constantly creeping up on his schedule, it would make a nice relaxation day. So, in a way, it just so happened to fulfill both their requests.

“Do not worry. I won’t have anything planned that day and I don’t plan on changing that.” (YJ)

“Ah.. Good.” (DH) Daehyun grinned happily as he turned at the next stop light. Everything seemed to be going well and he hoped it continued going this way. He just wanted everything to go perfectly. After all, Young Jae deserved to be happy.

“Daehyun..?” (YJ) Daehyun hummed in response, half of his mind still trying to plan out Saturday as perfectly as possible. Young Jae folded his arms and furrowed his eyebrows as he looked downwards. Should he ask Daehyun? It could only end up causing Daehyun to worry, but.. it may not. No. He had to ask. As a scientist, his curiosity was too greatly pushed to let it be ignored at this point. “Had I.. used the time reversal device before you had done so?” (YJ)

Daehyun thought on the question before shrugging. “I’m not really sure. I just know that you were wearing it the day I used it. Why are you asking now?” (DH)

Young Jae cleared his throat as he quickly looked away to avoid Daehyun’s glance. “It’s nothing. I just needed to clarify. It’s as simple as that..” (YJ)

So.. He really had used the device. Still, why was it that he was remembering all of this? Could it possibly have been because he was still in contact with Daehyun when he had used the device? If that was the answer, then Young Jae was this close to kicking himself for not coming to this conclusion sooner.

Still.. he didn’t want these flashbacks anymore. They were filling with his so many different memories and emotions that he couldn’t really tell which one had actually happened and which one was before all of this nonsense.

Plus.... He didn’t want to see Daehyun or Jongup when they had..

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[[ My Own Thoughts:

Okay.
This would have been finished sooner, buuut...
I ended up changing what I originally had planned for this chapter.
I don’t know, but I just didn’t like how I had it before.
This one seems more interesting and.. Well..
I quite like that I added some words that had been spoken in Rewound Time.

Uh..
So yea.
Now we know what Daehyun has planned. x3
Now I just wonder how I should have Young Jae react when he sees the surprise.. xD

Comments are loved >3<..
I love talking with everyone!
I also like to see how everyone feels about each chapter. x3
Suggestions are loved too.
I mean, if it helps improve the fanfic, then by all means, go ahead. x3
Of course.. they have to be understandable suggestions. xD ]]