Her boyfriend was to return in the evening, and with neither of them being able to think up a proper explanation as to why this Chanyeol from the other world was present, they decided that it would be best for him to step out temporarily until nightfall came and everyone had gone to sleep.

A key scraping against the door, soft padding against wooden boards, a dip in the bed behind her and arms pulling her close, signaled her boyfriend, the man she was planning to spend the rest of her life with, was finally here. Turning around in his embrace, she was met with charcoal eyes and equally dark hair. Her Chanyeol smelled of soap and spring waters. His temperament was calm, his voice was smooth, he was safe, but most importantly, he was content.

"Not going out to look at the exchange of the sun today, Iris?"

"No, I'm not feeling well."

His eyebrows knitted with concern. "What's wrong?"

"My stomach has been feeling upset since this afternoon."

"Did you remember to take your vitamins?"

"Yes."

He lips pulled down into a pout. "Maybe it's best to visit the doctor's tomorrow. Do you want me to schedule an appointment for you?"

Yes, this was her Chanyeol. The one she was drawn to naturally, just as how fish swim upstream during mating season or how the planet rotates on a tilted axis. This was her Chanyeol that she was always content with. But thinking about it now, content was just not enough. This taste of love she had received, maybe her stomach was upset because it was unsatisfied.

"Chanyeol, have you ever heard the crow birds sing?"

He was silent for a moment, gently carding his fingers through her hair, until finally his lips parted and he responded, "They can't. Crow birds don't sing."

"I thought so too until just recently."

The quietness of night fell over them once again. Why did she think to ask that question? Had it been a week ago, a month ago, she would have never even thought of it. What was she like before? She was content. But is she content now? It was difficult to determine. She wanted to feel other things besides contentment. But what was the risk of that?

She was going in circles with the endless questions that riddle her mind. There was a simpler time, she was quite sure of it, but it seemed so far away now. 

"Hey, Chanyeol?"

He hummed in response.

"Why did we get together in the first place?"

"Because we just did. It's just the way things are supposed to be."

"But why? Can you explain any further than that? Like, what feeling do I give you?"

"Feeling?" he pondered this for a moment. "Well, you make me content."

She shut her eyes at this, reminding herself to stay composed. This was the most he could offer her, she reasoned with herself. There was no need to get upset.

"Do you love me?"

He stared at her face for a long time, trying to read between the creases of her brows, the corners of her lips. "I have a deep affection for you."

These were the limitations of the world. They couldn't feel love, they weren't supposed to. But now there was someone who loved her, and the person who she was probably going to spend the rest of her life with could not.

"Iris, I'm tired. I had a long day at the lab. Why don't we talk about this in the morning?"

She wiggled out of his grasp and sat up then, leading him to follow suit. "What if I told you I wanted to love you."

"Love," he repeated with a sigh. "But you don't even know what love is. It isn't necessary. That's for the people on the other side. You know how dangerous it is to tamper with this idea of emotions. At work they--"

"What do they do at work," she demanded with arms crossed.

He sighed once again. "Well, we've been testing different compounds to see their effects on emotions. A way to induce the emotions the other side is capable of feeling without all the repercussions. But it's not working out well. So please, Iris, let's just go to bed. It does you no good to think about it. I've witnessed first hand the danger of deep emotions. I promise you that as soon as we find some solid ground, you'll be the first to know."

In the morning Chanyeol was gone, and in the morning Iris writhed in bed with a most excruciating pain blooming from her insides. It was beyond the feeling of bloatedness or constipation. The feeling was as if a thousand needles were pricking her from her stomach, and her gut was about to burst of hot air.

Suddenly, she was consumed by the instinctive urge to vomit. Throwing open her bedroom door and making a dash for the bathroom, she bent over the toilet, forcing the contents up. A vibrant color liquid spilled forth from her lips, but it did nothing to soothe the pain or nauseousness. She opened wide and gagged, placing a hand over her stomach to pressure something out. However, she immediately froze and retracted her hand from her belly. There was something squirming beneath the surface.

"Iris! Morning! You're awake fin-- Hey, are you okay?"

Chanyeol eyed her crumpled form with wide eyes: hair matted to her forehead with sweat, shirt lifted past her abdomen with strange outlines wriggling against her skin, a toilet bowl filled with a colorful, chunky liquid.

"Chanyeol," Iris croaked with tears in her eyes. "There's something wrong with me."

Feeling the thing begin to flutter and beat against her, she cried out in pain.

"Wait. Iris. Let's go to the hospital--"

"No! We have to take it out now!"

Frantically, she dug through the bathroom cabinet and wrapped her fingers around a pair of scissors. Inhaling once, exchanging a look with Chanyeol, then exhaling with eyes closed, she ed the weapon into her abdomen, tearing through flesh and oozing a dark gray blood.

Through bleary eyes, she shoved her finger into the hot fresh blood and pinched the fluttering thing before ripping it out of her insides. When she finally lifted it for examination--with antennas glued together, legs twitching, and wings the size of her palm fighting against her grip--Iris felt the need to throw up once more.

It was a butterfly. She had a stomach full of butterflies.

"It's my fault," Chanyeol whispered as he rubbed soothing circles into Iris's back.

After they had extracted all twenty-eight butterflies with a pair of tweezers, wrapped them in a paper towel and disposed of them properly, they inspected her wound to find that thankfully, it was only skin deep. Chanyeol treated her with alcohol, salve, and gauze before bringing Iris back into the bedroom to allow her some rest. Currently, she was sitting cross-legged on the bed, hugging a pillow.

"Chanyeol, is this what love is? Is it always this painful?"

"It's not supposed to be."

Time was ticking away. The hands on his broken watch would soon begin to move and he had to leave before that happened. Although he came to this world with five days and eight hours to make her happy, he was instead causing her more harm than good. And now he had only four days left. Observing the current situation at hand, it was too much to ask her to leave with him to extend their time together. There was no telling what would happen to her.

"What happened between you and your boyfriend by the way? I saw him leave as I was heading back."

"He said I needed time to reflect, so he left. And that I should contact my doctor to get my dosages adjusted." She paused. "He also said we should spend some time apart from each other, so I guess that's that."

"And how does that make you feel?"

"I feel ... upset. Disappointed. I'm not sure if it's the same as your definition, but there's a slight sadness within me."

"I see."

"Chanyeol, what happened to the Iris of your world?"

He stopped his