Author's note:

Whenever you see ♪♪♪ , please click on it! (open in new tab/window). It's music accompaniment for that part of the story! :)
Also, don't forget to turn off autoplay!

♪♪♪

Kang Daniel – 60 years old

The white light went away, and Minhyun was greeted by a familiar sight.

In fact, it seemed as if they had barely moved. They now stood far away from the seaside, soft grass under their feet.  But it was still the same sight— the same sea, the same house, the same gray sky.

Yet, there was a difference. A striking difference.

There were people. Lots and lots of people.

Kang Daniel’s house had always seemed isolated and far from anything. When the two doctors had first  arrived in their car, there was absolutely no one in sight.

But around them now were men wearing the same simple shirt and the same simple pants— a uniform of some sort. They carried various items and boxes into the house, unpacking and setting things. It felt weird, really, to have the sound of people bustling around and chattering, when Minhyun had grown accustomed to the absolute silence that came with Daniel’s house.

“Hyung, look,” Jaehwan said, pointing at the road in the distance.

Minhyun followed his friend’s finger. He saw a large truck parked on the side of the road, a familiar name of a moving company written in bold letters across the vehicle’s side.

“Must be the first day Daniel moved here,” Jaehwan observed.

“Yeah,” Minhyun answered. One of the workers passed by him, paying no attention to the two doctors wearing white lab coats by the beach.

They were invisible and muted again to the occupants of the memory. But a simple command using their wristwatches would change that, if they wanted.

Occupants as in the men from the moving company—

And Kang Daniel and Yoon Jisung themselves.

The two elderly men stood a couple meters away from them on a flat patch of grass.  Daniel was brandishing a shovel, scooping up piles of dirt and tossing them to a growing mound by his feet. Next to the mound was what looked like a large pile of green leaves. Jisung was staring at him, brows furrowed in concern.

“The guys from the moving company will be done soon,” Jisung said. “The big stuff like furniture was already moved to the rooms and all. But for the little stuff, it’s still in boxes.”

“That was quick,” Daniel commented, letting out a small grunt as he struck the shovel into the ground again. He had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, revealing pale arms smudged with dirt.

“You didn’t bring that many things, anyways,” Jisung said.

Daniel grinned, revealing bunny teeth. “You’re right.”

“I’ll help you sort out the small stuff.”

“Aww, thanks hyung.”

“Daniel.”

“Yeah, hyung?”

“I’m telling you, it won’t work.”

The younger man let out a chuckle. “Oh, come on. Have a little faith.”

“I have faith and hope,” Jisung answered. “But growing peach trees? Next to the sea? With this wind?” As if on cue, a strong breeze came, blowing at their hair and clothes, and also at the small pile of leaves that barely moved. “It won’t survive in this condition.”

“It will if it’s given love every day.”

“You could just have peaches delivered from the nearby town.”

“Yeah but…” Daniel trailed off as he set down the shovel, wiping his brow with a clean part of his arm. He then bent down and scooped up the pile of leaves— which turned out to be a small bush-like tree. “There’s something different with growing them yourself.”

“I know, but…” Jisung watched as his friend carefully placed the tiny tree in the newly dug hole. Daniel was grinning from ear to ear as he carefully covered its roots with soil. With a small sigh, Jisung pulled on a smile. He couldn’t help it. It was times like these that Daniel shined with a youthful glow. With a childlike glee, he was very endearing to the older man. “Alright. If you say so.”

Daniel couldn’t stop grinning. He stood up again, shaking dirt off his hands.

Jisung then glanced over his shoulder. The movers were still bustling in and out of the house. But more were coming out than in. They would be finished really really soon.

“The house looks really nice,” he finally decided to say.

“Thanks, hyung.”

There was a silence, as if Jisung was pondering whether to continue or not.

He decided to continue.

“Daniel, why do you want to live here?”

The younger man didn’t answer right away, instead choosing to stare at the house as well.

“It’s a nice and calming place but… it’s really far from towns and people.” Jisung turned to look at his friend again. “Last year, you suddenly told me that you were building a house near the sea. I thought ‘oh wow, sea, that’s really cool’. But I didn’t expect it to be like this.”

“It’s a…” Daniel said, his voice soft. His gaze then drifted to sea, and there it was— a wistful and glazed look in his eyes. “It’s a long story.”

“Long stories are nice.”

“You sure?”

“Have I ever been more sure in my life?”

“Okay, then.” Daniel chuckled. “It was eighteen years ago... Seongwoo, he…”

He paused, like how he would always do whenever he mentioned his late husband’s name. Jisung patiently waited.

“Seongwoo took me on a drive,” Daniel finally said. “Like how he would always do when we were young. When we were young in our 30's, we... we would randomly hop in the car and we’d drive off in random directions. We’d go out of the city, roaming around unfamiliar areas and exploring little towns. Sometimes visiting cafes and coffee shops.” He smiled fondly at the memory. “We were both in our early 40's when we randomly hopped into that car again. Seongwoo drove really really far. He told me that he was feeling very adventurous that night. And we came up to that road right there.” Without taking his eyes off the sea, Daniel pointed at the road where the moving truck was still parked. “It was a full moon that night. And the stars were so pretty.”

Jisung nodded, listening carefully and absorbing every word.

“Seongwoo was driving slowly. So from the car, I still had a good glimpse of the sea. I dunno, but the view just looked really really good— the sea and the moon and everything. I wanted to get a closer look at it. So at that moment, I told Seongwoo, ‘stop the car!’.”

“That must have surprised him.”

“He’s gotten used to me suddenly shouting so I’m sure he didn’t mind.”

“And then?”

“So we stopped. Seongwoo parked the car near the road and we just ran towards the sea. It was already late at night too so we couldn’t see the ground that well. We both nearly tripped a dozen times.” Daniel laughed. “We took off our shoes so we could feel the sand and water. It was really really nice.” He stopped, the gaze in his eyes becoming distant. “For the longest time, we just stared at the horizon for a while. And then…”

Jisung waited. More seconds passed.

“…and then we went home,” Daniel finished, and his eyes left the sea, focusing now on the ground underneath his feet. "That was... eighteen years ago."

Jisung bit his lip, as if wanting to ask more. He let out a small sigh and nodded.

When the younger man spoke again, his voice was so quiet that Jisung had to strain his ears to listen.

“I’ve always wanted to come back here. To see that horizon again.” Another pause. “After Seongwoo passed away, the feeling intensified.”

Jisung put a comforting hand on Daniel’s shoulder.

“And so I went back here. After Seongwoo’s funeral, I—” The words caught in his throat. Jisung patted his shoulder comfortingly. “—I drove here. By myself. Hours and hours on the road.”

“So that’s where you went that day,” Jisung said gently. “I’ve always wondered.”

Daniel nodded. “It was so late at night when I made it here. I parked the car, got out, and went to the sea. And I just stared at the view in front of me. And at that moment, the memory hit me full force— of me and Seongwoo at that same spot, years ago.” His gaze left the ground, setting itself on the sea once again. “Then I cried. I just cried and cried and cried and I lost track of time and everything. I don’t know how many hours I was there, but…”

“…But?”

“But I was sure of one thing. Somehow, being by the sea calmed me. Comforted me, even. And when I went back to the city, I kept yearning to return there. Years passed and the feeling never went away. It took some thinking, but I finally decided to have a house built here.”

“And here you are,” Jisung said.

Smiling, Daniel replied, “And here I am.”

“How long do you plan on staying here?”

The silence that followed was enough of an answer. The look on Jisung’s face showed that he knew— that Daniel planned on living by the sea for as long as he lived.

“Thanks for helping me move in, hyung,” the younger man suddenly said. He was looking at Jisung now. “You’re always there for me, and I’m very grateful for that.”

A pause.

“I wanted to give you something as a parting gift— something for you to remember me by.” Daniel dug into the pocket of his pants, taking out a small object for Jisung to see.

It was a small, pink seashell. It looked tiny in the palm of Daniel’s hand.

“I found it when I was walking by the sea today. Remember when I dyed my hair pink?”

Jisung laughed, his eyes glistening. “Yeah.  I was so surprised. You were 21 years old at that time, right? You were running up to me, your hair this shocking pink color, and you were yelling at my face ‘hyung, I’m debuting, hyung I’m debuting!’”

Daniel let out a giggle. “I must have scared the out of you.”

“No kidding. I was really happy for you though. You finally debuted after those years of training.”

“My pink hair was awesome though, right?”

“It did catch a lot of people’s attentions, I’ll tell you that.” As if something just clicked in his brain, Jisung stared at the seashell in Daniel’s hand. “Oh.”

Daniel nodded. “Yup. The shell’s the exact same color as my hair at that time.”

“That’s cute.” Jisung carefully took the shell in his fingers, examining it up close.

“You’ll stay for a couple nights, right? Help me settle in?”

Jisung didn’t answer. Daniel continued, the hope evident in his voice.

“I can call for someone to pick you up when you need to head back to the city. You saw the guest room on the second floor, right? The one next to my room? I can get the guest room ready for you right now—”

“I’m staying.”

Eyes wide and mouth slightly open, Daniel stared at his friend.

“I’m living here with you.” Jisung stared back. “What? How could I leave my child here, all alone, to fend for himself? What if there are bugs? How would Kang Daniel protect himself? He’s only a big baby after all.” Then his face broke out in a big smile. “But he’s my big baby.”

Without any warning, Daniel suddenly threw his arms around his friend, enveloping him in a bone-crushing hug. They nearly toppled over if Jisung hadn’t taken a step back to regain their balance.

Jisung laughed, patting him on the back. “I can’t breathe,” he said jokingly.

“Thanks, mom,” Daniel sniffled, voice muffled as he buried his face in Jisung’s shoulder.

“Since I’m not leaving, there’s no need for any parting gift. This means that the pink seashell is yours.”

“I’ll treasure it forever and ever.”

“Aww.”

Eventually, the two gray-haired men broke apart. Grinning and linking arms, they returned to the house.

Minhyun and Jaehwan stood next to the newly planted peach tree, their minds churning with all sorts of thoughts. They had listened intently to Daniel and Jisung’s conversation, whilst also paying attention to their facial expressions and body gestures. Anything that might help them decipher Daniel’s motive for his final wish.

The doctors' hearts already felt heavy, and they were just beginning.

“We should get going,” Minhyun said, breaking the silence.

Jaehwan nodded. He glanced down at the small plant that Daniel had placed with gentle hands. “I guess Daniel’s peach trees didn’t make it.”

“Yeah. I didn’t see any of those when we first arrived.”

The younger doctor suddenly crouched down, arms on his knees. He stared intently at the small, fragile peach tree. “Well, little guy. You fought hard.” Jaehwan then noticed a round, tiny fruit on one of the branches. He smiled. “Thanks for giving Daniel a little hope.”

“Come on,” Minhyun said, though he couldn’t help but let a small smile linger on his lips. Jaehwan could get sentimental at times, and this was one of them. “Let’s go.”

And they set off towards the house. Inside, Daniel was fast asleep in front of the fireplace, curled up in one of the sofas. Jisung was dozing off in his room. The movers had already finished their job, nowhere in sight.

Minhyun and Jaehwan explored the house, looking for the next memento.

The first memento that they received from Daniel— the small pink shell necklace— had disappeared from their hands the moment they stepped into the memory.  After activation, the necklace had automatically turned into raw data, inputting itself into the Sigmund Corp machine for processing. That data, along with the other mementos that would go through the same process, would serve as a link from memory to memory. The doctors would then be able to perform memory leaps easily from the ones they had already visited.

Now it was time for them to search for the next memento. This time they couldn’t ask Daniel— he didn’t know them yet (and perhaps Sigmund Corp as well) in this part of the timeline.

It wasn’t easy. The memento could really be any object. Anything lying around.

First they checked the living room, not opening any drawers or picking up things. It wasn’t as if they wanted Daniel to think the house was haunted or anything (they were still invisible, after all).

It was a hard feat. All the furniture was set up but most of Kang Daniel’s belongings were still sealed in boxes. There weren’t many of them, but it would still be a hassle to have to search them one by one.

Hoping that the memento was somewhere in plain view, the two doctors trudged upstairs. Minhyun slowly opened the door to Daniel’s room. Jaehwan slipped in, his friend following.

The room was more or less the same as they had seen in the real world. The only difference was the lack of photographs and other little possessions. Minhyun made his way to the window at the far end of the room while Jaehwan opened drawers and rummaged inside.

“They’re mostly empty, hyung,” the younger doctor said.

“If we can’t find it here, we might have to look in those boxes after all,” Minhyun replied. He ran a finger through his own dark hair, thinking. He  glanced out the large window of Daniel’s room, then at the table in front of it.

In the real world, it was the same wooden table where he had set the Sigmund Corp machine. But here in the memory, the table was empty.

Empty except for one thing.

It was a flower. A white carnation set in a glass vase.

At first glance, that’s just what it was. But after staring at it hard for what seemed like an eternity, Minhyun saw the slightest flicker.

It was like a television image that had lost signal— where everything would be a black and white grainy mess— flickering like crazy.

It wasn’t as if the flower flickered exactly like a lost TV channel. It was very subtle, barely any difference from a normal flower.

Minhyun bent down to examine at a closer proximity.  He didn’t dare blink.

And there it was again— the tiniest movement of grain all over the white of the petals. The tiniest and subtlest flicker. The sign of a memento. He grinned. “Jaehwan, I found it.”

Jaehwan was at his side in a second. “Nice.”

Carefully, Minhyun removed the flower from its vase. He scanned it with his wristwatch. The following beep that followed from the small Sigmund Corp device gave them the confirmation they needed.

“Yup. This is it.” Minhyun pressed a couple more buttons on his watch, preparing the memento for the next memory leap.

“I wonder where this’ll take us,” Jaehwan said. “It’s a white carnation, though… It means remembrance.”

“I… I think I know what we’ll see next.”

The younger doctor smiled sadly. “Me too.”

Another small beep told them that the memento was ready. Minhyun held the flower out to his partner, who also wrapped two small fingers around its stem.

Jaehwan took a deep breath. Minhyun did the same before closing his eyes, letting the words fall firmly from his mouth.

“Activate memento.”

The same white light greeted them like an old friend.

  ♪♪♪

Kang Daniel – 56 years old

Minhyun had grown accustomed to the darkness of Kang Daniel’s home. The sky seemed to always be overcast, the house itself bathed in a constant, dim light. It wasn’t a bad thing, of course. It was just very distinguishable.

So when he saw bright colors of orange, yellow, and a vast blue stretching high above him, he knew that they weren’t at Daniel’s house anymore.

There were more colors. And noise.

His eyes were still adjusting, everything still a colorful blur. Like usual, his hearing was the first to catch on. He heard birds chirping, the faint sound of a car honk, and equally faint chattering of people. People. There were people here.

He breathed in. No scent of the sea. None at all.

Then everything began to slowly slip into focus. He could see the clouds in the blue sky, the tall buildings in the distance, and the trees with their warm autumn colors of orange, brown, and yellow.

They were back in the city.

“Hyung, you okay?”

Jaehwan’s voice grounded him back.

“Ugh.” Minhyun blinked a couple times. “Still a bit blurry. I can hear you fine, though.” He tried to focus on what was in front of him. He was standing on grass— he could at least make that out. Scattered across the grass were gray objects. A lot of them.

Ah. His hunch was correct.

“Where are we?” Minhyun asked, but he already knew the answer.

“A cemetery,” Jaehwan answered quietly.

Minhyun nodded. “And Daniel…?”

The younger doctor seemed to always regain his sight rather quickly after entering a memory. Jaehwan raised his arm, pointing somewhere to Minhyun’s left.

Ten seconds passed and Minhyun could finally see, everything returning in a sharp focus. He finally saw their client— quite far from them in the large cemetery.

Kang Daniel stood alone in front of a grave, holding a bouquet of white carnations.

Author's end notes:

Seongwoo will make his first appearance in the next chapter.

What do you think of the story so far, guys? :D The mystery of Daniel’s wish has begun!

Also, if you’re confused with parts or have questions, please do ask! :) Sorry if some of my descriptions are confusing or messy or not clear enough :”) I try my best to improve.

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Also to those who played the game To the Moon:
For the sake of the plot, I’m not going to 100% follow the game’s mechanisms. So some things might be a little different here and there regarding how the Sigmund Corp tech and rules work.

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Thanks for reading! ❤