Sehun opened his eyes, having shut them tightly when Tao pulled him with him as he fell.

 

He’d failed. In a way, he knew he wouldn’t be able to save Tao. In a way, he felt he wouldn’t be able to save himself.

 

But as he looked around himself, he realized he was alive. Tao seemed to have managed to bring them into the past, just like he wanted, and now the two of them were standing at the place which they used as a station between the Earth and the Moon. It was their field, with the Earth’s Tree of Life watching over them silently. It looked different than he remembered; its leaves were yellow and red, most of them scattered on the ground around it.

 

It was autumn. So they had traveled in time, but how far did they manage to go? Had Tao taken them both as far back into the past as he’d promised? Because if that was the case, there was nothing for them on this world, and they were doomed. How would they even leave the planet if no ship would arrive to this place for another couple of thousand years?

 

His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds Tao made as he cried. The beautiful autumn day was in such a contrast to their mood; how could any problems exist when it was so sunny and warm, when Sun had given another warm day before things wrapped up and gave way to the coldness of winter?

 

He went over to Tao’s slumped form in the grass. Tao was someone who cried often, but this was not just a product of him being emotional like usual - this was an avalanche of emotions he didn’t know how to fight against.

 

“Tao,” he tried as he put a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll try to work this out, I promise. Bring us back to the present now. You’ve proved your point, so let’s go back now - there’s nothing for us here.”

 

Tao sniffed and turned towards him. “I’m sorry, Sehun. I wanted to help…”

 

As new tears rolled down his face, Sehun nodded at him and offered him an embrace which Tao gladly took. Sehun was the maknae of the team, but Tao was the true child, always seeking comfort and using every chance to hug.

 

“It’s okay,” Sehun said protectively as he hugged his brother. “I know you didn’t want to do anything bad - that’s why I’m here with you now. But you didn’t manage to bring us that far back, or we would’ve been surrounded by dinosaurs. We wouldn’t be able to change anything anyway, since we can’t leave the planet, so let’s just go back to the present.”

 

Tao nodded, finally seeing some sense. “Okay,” he whispered, ending the hug. Sehun put a hand on his shoulder as he put a hand high into the air, standing in his signature pose with just his index and middle finger facing forward while the others were flexed.

 

But as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the leaves on the tree did not bloom again.

 

Nothing happened.

 

Tao put his hand down in defeat. “I… can’t, Sehun. I can’t reach my powers.”

 

Sehun nodded, trying his hardest not to show his disappointment or anger. Okay. That wasn’t unexpected - they all had problems with controlling their powers ever since the maze. He tried not to think about the possibility that it wasn’t a problem with controlling his power, but instead with having enough energy to use it. If Tao couldn’t reach his power because he was already too weak…

 

They would have to stay at this timeline forever. All he wanted to do was scream at Tao for having brought them into this situation, but Sehun knew it wouldn’t have solved anything, and regardless, Tao was already halfway broken. He didn’t need a pointless lecture about the mistakes he knew he’d made and already felt bad about.

 

So Sehun sighed and got up. “Okay, Tao, then let’s see how for back you’ve brought us. It’s autumn, so maybe half a year? A year and a half? Do you know?”

 

Tao shook his head. “I was aiming for thousands of year back - that’s why I threw myself from the roof. When I’m in a dangerous situation, my powers tend to work better so I thought I’d be able to do such a big time leap if my life was in danger.”

 

Great reasoning. What if the powers didn’t work and he’d died? Sehun wanted to scream at him and try to shake him to his senses, but Tao once again showed that he did have the ability to learn from his mistakes. Upon seeing his face, he immediately put both of his hands in front of him. “I know, what I’d done was stupid and I won’t do it ever again. I won’t ever even think about making such a stupid move - where did I even get that idea?” He laughed forcefully as he scratched the back of his neck, and Sehun couldn’t help but find him adorable.

 

He hugged his shoulders. “You really are something, you know that? I can’t even get mad at you, you baby panda.”

 

Tao now laughed truthfully with that high-pitched laugh of his. “Well, it’s not my fault that I’m adorable! I’m still your hyung though.”

 

Now Sehun was the one to laugh. “Yes, you are, but nobody would say that if they looked at your crying face right now.”

 

Then he pinched his cheek, and Tao immediately protested. “Hyuuuuuuuung!” he whined as they both laughed.

 

Sehun ruffled his hair as they walked over to the Earth’s Tree of Life. “You’re lucky that your brilliant dongsaeng is with you, or else you’d be doomed at this place.”

 

He could feel Tao rolling his eyes. “Yeah, right, as if you have any idea where we are…”

 

Tao’s words faded as he noticed something very strange. He’d been at this place so many times - he knew it by heart. It was a small detail, but it was enough to catch his eye and attention.

 

As he kneeled in front of the tree, he saw that there was something carved into its trunk, close to the ground. It was small and delicate, but as his fingers traced it, he read it without difficulty.

 

영원히.

 

Forever.

 

He suddenly had a feeling that something was very wrong with this place. The words weren’t supposed to be carved into the tree - the carving shouldn’t have seemed very old, he had been here last autumn, when Lamiya had woken him up in the grass and the autumn before that, when Lu erased them both, and the trunk was not damaged in any way-

 

He got up, suddenly panting while Tao obliviously kept talking - he could not focus on his words, he could not focus on anything but his impending panic.

 

He raked a hand through his hair. How could this be?

 

But more importantly than that, what did it mean? Why forever? Why in Korean? Who was it meant for? Who had carved it into the tree?

 

His mind was racing with questions, though deep inside of himself, a part he pushed down as far as it could go knew all the answers. It was impossible, though. Tao had brought them into the past so it was impossible.

 

Then Tao suddenly said, “Sehun, there’s someone-”

 

“I know,” he whispered, having heard the sound too and they quickly hid at the safety of the woods. Someone was coming to the field - how did anyone know about this place? It was very well-hidden, so a random passerby would not have been able to find it easily.

 

It was a miracle that she’d ever even found it. He knew immediately she was special, moreover when she said something in this place had called out to her. He knew it was the Tree of Life, seeking her energy and happiness to feed on, but she was not a product of its self-defense mechanism like he was.

 

He’d spent many nights wondering where her powers came from, but he always came out empty-handed. The power in her didn’t even feel like the Earth’s, but she was obviously its native inhabitant. It must’ve been some kind of a trick from SM - perhaps she was a diversion, meant to draw them to this planet while SM attacked their home planet…

 

Sehun forgot how to breathe.

 

His whole world - his whole existence was suspended as a person entered the field. She was smiling, her curly hair now long and almost reaching her waist.

 

She looked so much different, but he would’ve recognized her anywhere, anywhen.

 

She was not the source of all of the different sounds, though - the wrinkles around her eyes deepened as she smiled sweetly at the little girl whose hand she was holding.

 

The girl was… a miniature version of her with Asian features, hopping around in the grass as her little hands caused a wind which reached all the way to him, through him and straight into his heart.

 

Could it be…

 

As they walked towards the Tree of Life, which was only a couple of feet away from where Sehun and Tao were hiding, their words became discernable.

 

“Why are we here, mommy?” the girl said with an excited voice, confirming one of his suspicions. “I love it here! Can we build a house and live at this place forever?”

 

His miracle laughed - it really was her, the real her. She seemed to be shining, or it was just his messed-up eyes playing games on him.

 

He did not understand a single thing, but at the same time, he understood everything about this place Tao had brought him to. He did not know if he was blessed or damned or both at the same time.

 

“I wanted to show you something, honey,” she said with obvious adoration as she ruffled her daughter’s hair. “I’ve been coming to this place for more than ten years; I thought your birthday was the perfect opportunity for me to give this secret to you as a gift.”

 

The girl’s eyes widened, as if the aspect of hearing a secret was something she’d never thought about before. “Really?” she whispered conspicuously. “What kind of secret, mommy?”

 

Tao was whispering something to him, too, but he couldn’t hear him. He didn’t know about anything except for those two creatures that have now reached the tree.

 

She was never that beautiful to his eyes before. Her eyes were so light, its color warmer than he remembered it. Her build was more petite, her movements more deliberate. She’d said ten years…

 

She’d once told him she found the place at the first road trip in high school, so did that mean…

 

Five? Six years?

 

How much had changed in five years? The girl looked to be around that age as well - could that mean...

 

To him, it seemed like nothing had changed. Was this how Kris had felt, having been suspended in time while the world kept going? Was this the unfairness of their lives - never being able to settle down, never being able to move with the world, too, instead watching it revolve around its axis undisturbed while they screamed and begged it to stop and wait for them?

 

His butterfly kneeled, just like he had a couple of minutes ago, and she took her own butterfly’s hand and traced the letters that were carved into the tree with their fingers.

 

“Yeongwonhi,” she whispered, but his heart heard. It whispered back the words that awoke a memory from deep inside of him, the words he’d come back to her and tell them over and over again as they intertwined their hands.

 

Were they really never going to come back? Were they going to stay trapped in this future forever, unable to change or even be a part of the events that took place more than five years ago, whereas for them it was mere seconds ago?

 

“What does that mean, mommy? I’ve never heard that word before. Myongmo… mi?” The girl bit her lip and Sehun smiled, his smile mirroring the one on Lamiya’s face.

 

“Yeongwonhi,” she repeated patiently as she took the girl into her arms. “It means forever in Korean. For eternity. Ever-lasting. You say that when you don’t want to part from someone or something, and when you want to stay with them,” she then suddenly began to run with the girl in her arms and shouted, “forever and ever and ever, until the day you die!”

 

The girl turned into a giggling mess, spreading her hands as if she was flying. Sehun’s whole body ached to approach them, to take them both in his arms and spin them around, but he wouldn’t move until he was sure. He didn’t know how or why, but his whole being was revolving around the two girls, wishing desperately it was somehow real.

 

“I love you byongwonnie, mommy,” the girl said as Lamiya put her flailing legs back onto the ground, her own legs immediately being embraced by little hands. “Is that the secret you wanted to show me? I was hoping it was some kind of a secret castle full of unicorns or some superpower…”

 

Her mother laughed out loud as the girl pouted with her lips, obviously not satisfied. Sehun struggled not to laugh too, so he settled for biting his lips - she was adorable. If only he knew… He wouldn’t dare hope, though.

 

“I think you have plenty of secret superpowers already, young lady. But no, that’s not the secret. I wanted to show you something else. You see, when you grow up, you’ll become the guardian of this place, sweetheart.”

 

The girl nodded along but not truly listening to her mother’s words, her head instead following the flight of a butterfly. A second later, she raised her small hands and brought the butterfly into her open palms. It was violet - as pretty as her grinning face, as strong as her small heart.

 

He did not dare hope, but he wished it was true with his whole being.

 

“Come here, baby,” Lamiya called out to her, now standing a bit farther from the tree. “Do you know what this is?”

 

Sehun did not see what they were looking at - there wasn’t supposed to be anything there. He again got a dreadful feeling that something was wrong, and he thought he knew exactly what.

 

“It’s… some kind of stone tablet with strange symbols on it?” the girl tried, and her mother nodded at her.

 

“It’s a monument, baby. And written on it is Oh Se Hun in Korean. Sehun was the one who taught me to be the Earth’s guardian, just like I will teach you someday, baby.”

 

He braced himself for what was bound to come next; this was no shocking news anyway. So they hadn’t come back after all…

 

So, maybe the girl that was holding her hand tightly was not…

 

“Sehun was my first love, baby,” she finished in a broken whisper. Was. His heart broke with her voice.

 

“Why is there a mom- molument with his name on it, mommy? Had something happened to him?”

 

Her mother kneeled and embraced her daughter, and now he could finally see her face - it was a road for tears streaming down it, just like his heart felt.

 

“He was a brave man, honey. He was so brave, and he sacrificed himself to save his brother.”

 

“Oh? So his brother is fine, at least?” The girl was sniffing now, too, probably not because the detail-less story was so sad for her, but because her mom was crying and she didn’t like it, at all.

 

Lamiya shook her head. “No. They… they were both taken somewhere far away, where nobody can find them or ever bring them back.”

 

The girl was silent for a moment while Lamiya grieved. Meanwhile, all Sehun wanted to do was scream We’re here, Don’t cry, please, I’m here…

 

Then the girl made a happy sound as she quickly said her next words, “But mommy, that means him and his brother are fine! Even though they’re both far away and lost, they’re both okay... right?” Then she turned towards the direction in which he was standing as she wiped her mother’s tears and his whole heart did a leap. “Don’t cry, silly! They’re both alive!”

 

He wanted to take the girl into his arms and embrace her as tightly as he could. She was so pure and innocent. He still wished…

 

“But baby, I’m not crying because of that,” Lamiya whispered then and all thoughts disappeared for the millionth time since he arrived into this strange world. “I’m crying because… because I’ll never be able to see him again and I miss him so much.”

 

The little girl frowned, obviously not understanding her mother’s logic.

 

Meanwhile, Lamiya continued her story. “You see, baby, a long, long time ago, Sehun and I promised we’d stay together, always…”

 

“Yeongwonhi,” he whispered as he closed his eyes, wishing she’d just let him kiss her already. He was becoming impatient - it was as if she was bothering him with all these questions about Korean on purpose.

 

She laughed, still holding him at an arm’s reach.

 

He glanced at the Tree of Life and the patch of grass just in front of it - he remembered it as if it’d happened yesterday, though since then he’d had his memories erased and so much had happened.

 

He tried to get closer to her, but she fled him expertly. They were getting closer and closer to the trunk of the tree as the seconds passed and his patience edged away, which was exactly where he wanted her to be able to ambush her. Just a couple of inches more...

 

She laughed at him as she shook her head. “Just one more, Sehunnie. One more and I promise-”

 

“No more,” he growled as her back hit the trunk of the tree and he finally got a chance to throw himself on her without her being able to run away - it was a chance he immediately seized.

 

She laughed against his lips, still not responding, not playing along to his wishes. “What has gotten into you today? Usually you’re afraid to even touch me because you’re afraid I might break or somethin-”

 

He shut her up with a kiss. As much as she was complaining, he would’ve thought she’d put up a bigger fight; instead, she just leaned into him and moved her lips against his.

 

“Today,” he growled in-between kisses, “Today I want to treat you the way I want to. We’re going to the base tomorrow - this might be the last time we get to be at this field, so we might as well make use of the time we have left.”

 

How wrong they were. More than five years later, here they were - still two different worlds colliding, but this time they could not touch.

 

This time, it was the end - he was merely watching the credits of a movie after it finished playing, trying to cherish the feeling he’d felt whilst watching it. He didn’t want it to end, but the truth was, it had ended already, and in a few minutes, the music would stop playing and he’d have to face it.

 

For now, he lost himself in the music, reassuring himself he’d be able to savour the feeling - if only for a few more minutes, for a minute more…

 

“A second more,” she whispered as she kissed the top of his nose. Why was she so innocent today? Usually it was the exact opposite - he was the one who had to pry her off him while she desperately tried to worm her hands beneath his shirt.

 

He frowned, about to protest that she had to be like this on the sole day when he allowed himself to be anything but proper, but she shut him up with a finger on his lips. “If we spent eternity at this place, I’d still want to have a second more.”

 

His stomach did a flip - did she have to say such meaningful things when, out of all days, this was the sole day he was out of such words?

 

Today, he wouldn’t tell her how much he loved her - today he’d show her.

 

He kissed any words she might’ve wanted to say off her lips and proceeded to take her breath away.

 

I love you, his hands told her as they moved down her arms, finding their rightful place in-between her own.

 

More than anything in the world, his lips whispered as they put kisses - one after the other - all over her face, stopping by to whisper in her neck, just below her ears, to proceed and clarify it to her shoulders as well.

 

He did not know what was wrong with them today - why was she suddenly crying as her hands pulled his shirt over his head?

 

Why were his lips as gentle as an autumn breeze as they went straight down her chest, stopping at her stomach?

 

Why couldn’t either of them lose themselves in the sensations as they instead lost each other while looking into the other’s eyes?

 

She was panting as the hand that was in his hair pulled his face towards hers for another meeting of their lips. It seemed like every touch was hurting her, because she kept whimpering as he tried - and failed - to kiss her roughly, wanting to distract her from the feelings neither of them could turn away from.

 

He looked at the woman who now got back up, taking her daughter by the hand again and returning to their place in front of the tree.

 

The place where he’d given her his heart. The place where he was forever changed - where they made that promise. It was the place where he’d fallen in love and fallen apart, and only she had the ability to bring him back together.

 

Her face now looked the same as it did back then - determined not to cry, even if it took her everything to keep a steady grip on her emotions.

 

“Sehun,” she whispered hollowly and desperately. “Sehun, I love you so much.”

 

He shut his eyes tightly - damn it, what was wrong with him? Was he now crying, too?

 

“I know, beautiful,” he said as he embraced her back, feeling as if the whole world was now resting in his arms. He turned them so that his back was now touching the tree’s trunk as she fell apart in front of him. “You know I love you too, more than anything.”

 

“If Suho does not let me…” she started, and he finally understood why she was a sobbing mess, even as he kissed the place on her neck under which he could feel her heartbeat.

 

“He will,” he growled, more sure of it than anything else in the world. It would be harder to convince Kris she wasn’t SM’s spy, but he’d do anything to prove him wrong. He’d fight if he had to - he’d stay if they didn’t let her take her with him.

 

He didn’t care about anything but the beauty inside of his arms.

 

“But if he doesn’t or something else happens,” she proceeded as her hot tears fell on his chest - she was tracing his collarbones with her fingers and he suddenly wished the tears dried and he was able to think about nothing else but her again.

 

She paused to sob, and he tried to comfort her with his hands in his hair, bringing her closer to his bare chest, knowing their heartbeats matched, knowing she was his other half and no one would ever take her away from him.

 

“I just want you to know that there’ll never be place for anyone else in my heart but you,” she somehow managed to finish, her hands now clutching his skin as she sobbed openly.

 

He lifted her chin. “Look at me, beautiful,” he said with strength when she wouldn’t lift her eyes.

 

“If by some strange and impossible turn of events the two of us were separated,” he started seriously, staying strong for her, though his heart was breaking at the very thought. “I want you to promise me that you’d fall in love with someone, marry and have a family.”

 

She shook her head at him, her sobs now drying out as she closed tightly and bit her lips, but he proceeded, leaning in so that there was nothing in her vision but him.

 

“I want you to promise me that you wouldn’t be sad and that you’d try to forget about me. Keep me as an old memory in your heart, like a story that you’d read once, and don’t reminisce often.”

 

She closed her eyes and fell apart, so he shut his eyes too as he brought her head into his chest and rocked her slowly. He realized he was crying again, too, so he embraced his world tightly, not wanting to lose her, ever.

 

Why were his words coming to haunt him now - the words he only now recalled ever having said? Why was he forced to watch her turn around and laugh as a man approached her from the edge of the field?

 

Why did it have to be him?

 

He couldn’t shout I’m here, I’m alive, no matter how much he’d wanted to.

 

The credits had almost stopped rolling - how long did he have until it was truly over?

 

What would happen to him when the screen turned dark?

 

“Promise me,” he whispered, trying to hide his state from her and failing - she raised her head and her shaking hands desperately gripped his face, finding all stray tears and drying them.

 

They were both a mess - this was not what he’d had in mind when he’d brought her here on this September morning. He’d wanted her to paint his world in gold and the setting sun in-between the leaves that were falling from their tree, but instead everything was pearl-white as the sincerity of the tears that wouldn’t stop streaming down her face.

 

Why did it feel like they were parting instead of celebrating the start of a new life together?

 

“Beautiful,” he tried again, not wanting her to hurt anymore - not wanting her to hurt because of his words ever again. But he had to make sure that she wouldn’t spend her life grieving for him - he wanted her to always stay happy, even if it was not with him, even if it was not because of him.

 

She was happy - it was evident in her whole posture, in her open arms and the giggles that came out of as the girl ran towards the man, screaming, “Dad!”

 

He didn’t dare hope, yet he couldn’t help but do it with his whole body. And now the hope was crushed as the Asian took the girl into his arms, embracing the woman he’d once called his. The woman that, he realized, was never meant to be with him - he was merely a station she passed by in a train a long time ago, leaning outside the window and waving at him as she passed.

 

For others, time had a meaning. They drove around in trains, passed by beautiful sceneries and brought memories with them.

 

Him, on the other side, was condemned to always stay at that station, watching the trains come and go, wondering if he’d ever see a flash of curls as she leaned outside of the window to take his breath away.

 

She had never been his to have.

 

“Mine,” he whispered harshly against her lips, trying again - but she wouldn’t budge. “You’ll always be mine, but if I’m gone, I…” He stopped, taking a deep breath and collecting all the strength he had. “I hope you’ll be someone else’s.”

 

She sobbed again, this time kissing him desperately and all the while shaking her head, as if she was in a state of shock.

 

“Yeongwonhi,” she said as new tears rolled down her cheeks.

 

“We’ll be each other’s forever.”

 

She then left his embrace - he did not like the idea, but she protested weakly so he let her do as she pleased. He watched her intently as she searched for something in the grass, coming back a couple of seconds later, triumphant.

 

“Help me,” she said when he didn’t move. She’d returned with a small, sharp stone in her hands so he raised an eyebrow. He had no idea what she could’ve needed it for.

 

Then she began to carve a letter into the tree’s trunk behind him, and he understood immediately.

 

He turned so that he was embracing her once again, watching as she stopped after carving a line in, not knowing how to proceed further. “Help me, Sehunnie,” she said again in determination.

 

So he helped her. His hand on top of hers, he led her as they carved the word into the tree. He did not know if this was what she’d wanted, but he hoped it was good enough.

 

He now remembered. He now knew why it had looked so wrong; it was carved in his handwriting.

 

How many more memories were still hidden from his reach? Did Lu hide these from them on purpose, not giving them back to him with the rest, because he knew what awaited them in the future?

 

He felt tears prickling the backs of his eyes as the man leaned down to kiss his wife.

 

He was supposed to be happy for her, because she’d done what he’d desperately asked her to. Even though his heart had wanted him to be selfish, in the end, he was selfless enough to not make her suffer like he’d done.

 

But that did nothing for his heart, which broke into a million pieces. Out of all people… why him out of all people?

 

Was this how it ended? Would he be cursed to spend an eternity at this place, watching their happiness and dying because he could not be happy for them, no matter how much he tried to?

 

It was unfair.

 

Then the girl laughed and started running back towards the tree, and his pain disappeared as if someone sent a breeze to caress his head in an attempt to make things better, to take his burden away.

 

“Yeongwonhi,” she whispered as she traced the carving with her fingers, trying to imitate the moves he’d made as he wrote the word. “It’s beautiful.”

 

She was finally smiling as she turned towards him, her eyes warm again, the tears having dried away.

 

Her eyes were the desert where he’d spent his early days - his torture and liberation, the one place that understood him, no matter how harsh or pointless it looked to the outside eye.

 

His - their - butterfly landed at her shoulder then, hiding behind her curls, and all coherent thought disappeared.

 

Now she was the one to pull his face towards hers. Now she was the one who pressed her lips against his roughly, sealing the promise.

 

Forever.

 

“Yeongwonhi,” they whispered in unison, the butterfly and the tree the sole witnesses of the exchange.

 

They were the guardians of their love - in this place it would stay frozen forever, and time would not be able to take it away. Even if they never met at this place again, in their mind it would stand as a monolith, watching over their promise.

 

Forever.

 

The girl bit her lip, turning her head towards the side as she looked at him with her dark eyes - he did not know where Tao was. He did not know if what he was seeing was even true or if he was dying together with Tao on the cold concrete, having fallen from the building and having failed in trying to save him.

 

He did not know if he wished it was true - would it be easier if this was not true?

 

He kneeled as the girl approached him, as fearless as her mother. She must’ve felt that he was not a stranger, not really, for the blood running through her veins was very similar to his. It sang to him, and he wondered if she was the strongest guardian to ever exist in this world - he hoped she was.

 

“Thank you,” he whispered as he opened his arms to embrace her as she ran to her uncle. She was not his daughter - he was sure of it now, and somehow, he reconciled with everything.

 

“Tell her I said thank you.”

 

The movie credits stopped rolling.

 

Thank you.