Seoul

Friday, October 17th, 2025

“How long have you known Unnies?”

Yujin stopped humming and turned to the girl next to her. Wonyoung was looking at her curiously. The younger girl seemed astonished about the relationship between the older girl she just met a month ago with the unnies. They look so close and never awkward with each other, unlike other relationship with quite long gap in general. They’re like siblings with different parents.

“Hmm..” Yujin muttered. Her eyes narrowed like she was thinking about something. “Long enough. Since senior year in high school.” Yujin smiled bitterly as she said that. For that question, she chose to not tell the truth to Wonyoung.

Wonyoung counted using her fingers slowly, and Yujin knew she was counting how long she has known the unnies. Wonyoung nodded as she finished.

“You met them when I was in Quebec. That’s why I never see you.”

Quebec.

So that’s where the Delta Team hid Wonyoung from them. Yujin only nodded and smiled, hiding her emotion from the younger girl.

“I had an accident while on vacation in Quebec and was in a coma state for almost two months. When I awake, I didn’t remember anything,” Wonyoung talked casually and let out a chuckle, but Yujin noticed the bitter tone from her voice. “The last thing I remember at that time, I just moved from Osaka to Seoul.”

“Any interesting stuff in Quebec?” Yujin decided it would be best to put aside the heavy feelings in her heart and chose to give her small talk that would makes Wonyoung feel comfortable.

“Oh, there is,” Wonyoung nodded enthusiastically. “I really like the winter festival there. The winter festival in Quebec felt so warm. It’s a shame I didn’t have time to go skiing and vacation at a resort. I wasn’t there for too long. Only six months during the recovery period. After that I lived in ia with Gyuri Unnie until I graduated high school. Every now and then, the Delta Team Unnies visited us. After graduation I parted ways with Gyuri Unnie. She moved to Osaka to take care of my father’s company while I continued my studies in London with Chaeyeon Unnie until I moved to this college.”

Yujin nodded. Jang Gyuri or Gianna Veronica Jang is Wonyoung’s eldest sister. Their is quite far, and when Yujin met and be friends with Wonyoung, Jang Gyuri has already studying abroad. That made Yujin never meet the older girl.

“Why did you choose to come back here? Does London bore you?”

“I always want to come back and live in Seoul. I feel called. After I talked about this with Kaeun Unnie and Eunbi Unnie, I decided I should go back to Seoul. The place where my Pillar is and look! It’s so nice because I found you too, my last pillar. Maybe that’s the reason why I felt like I must come back.” Wonyoung smiled broadly. She leaned back comfortably in her seat and glanced at Yujin. The older girl looked seriously staring at the streets and made Wonyoung smile, remembering how Yujin behaved in college and in front of unnies.

In the college, Yujin looks mysterious, and distant and is more often seen with her close friends. While in front of unnies, Yujin looks so free and naughty. Every time they met, Yujin always amazed her with her antics that bothered the unnies until they were annoyed. For some reason, seeing that routine became a small happiness for Wonyoung.

“I’m glad to meet you in this situation. It wasn’t easy to get my memory back and it took me quite a while to remember Hyewon Unnie, Yena Unnie, and Chaewon Unnie. Even now my memory stuck to the New Year party with Unnies in Jeju. I don’t remember what happened after the New Year party until the accident happened.”

The New Year party in Jeju that Wonyoung just mentioned was the New Year’s celebration when Yujin hadn’t joined Gallia yet.

“Honestly, I feel sorry for them. They are my Pillar. How can I forget the most important people in my life?” Wonyoung sighed, her expression turned grim.

Hearing what Wonyoung said made Yujin bite her lower lip and quietly took a deep breath. She made the right decision by not telling the truth to Wonyoung. Wonyoung would feel hurt and guilty if she found out there was a forgotten person in her memory.

Even so, it’s not easy for Yujin to accept the fact that she has never been in Wonyoung’s past. An Yujin, nothing more than the last pillar that the Delta Team introduced to Wonyoung a month ago, at least that’s what Wonyoung knew. And Yujin… A few weeks of interacting with Wonyoung really destroyed her slowly. They really started their relationship from the beginning. Quite awkward but comfortable enough to stay in the same room for hours. Yujin, who was too tired to fight their fate, decided to stop fighting and just go with the flow. Wonyoung returned, alive, and Yujin had no other wish than to look after the second chance she was given.

“There is nothing interesting about them so it’s okay. At least now you have remembered their existence.” Yujin chuckled dryly.

“Not entirely, Unnie.” Wonyoung took a deep breath. “After the New Year party, I remember the number of events, but all seemed to be blurred. I also don’t remember what accident happened to me.”

Yujin turned her head to Wonyoung when her car stopped at a red light. Wonyoung was seen staring out through the window. Staring at the rain that starting to wet the streets. From the side, Yujin could see the sad look of the younger girl, an expression that Yujin had memorized. Wonyoung always gave an expression like that every time she sent Yujin off for the mission given by The Elder. Wonyoung would hold her so tightly that Yujin had to persuade Wonyoung to let her go. Usually, Yujin would ruffle the younger girl’s hair, gently her back, and tell her everything would be fine.

Remember that, Yujin reached out her hand to Wonyoung’s back, but her movements stopped midway. Yujin took a deep breath and pulled her hand back.

“There are many reasons why or how it can happen.” Yujin’s words made Wonyoung turn her head. “There are things you better to forget because perhaps it would hurt you to remember it. Maybe it was your self-protection to deal with the bad memories you don’t want to remember. You’ll be okay, Wonyoung-ah. Maybe that’s the way your subconscious works.”

“Do you think I will be okay knowing that there are so many things I have forgotten?! What if the opposite happens?! What if I forget something important and precious to me?! I don’t remember Unnies. I forgot my Pillar. They are important and precious! It is possible that I also forget other important things!” To her surprise, Wonyoung suddenly snapped at her.

Wonyoung looked emotional and busted when she said that. Her body was tense with hands clenched tightly on her lap. Clearly, she was flustered and disturbed by what happened to her. Wonyoung had endured that for a long time because she didn’t want to burden her unnies with the problem. But in front of Yujin, for some reason, Wonyoung was so easy to bring out her emotion.

Next to Wonyoung, Yujin could feel her heart squeezed seeing how painful it was in Wonyoung’s eyes. Yujin could only stare at the girl wordlessly. Hearing how Wonyoung’s voice filled with sorrow and looked frustrated with her condition affected Yujin’s mood.

Just like this…

The first rain of fall…

The time when their eyes meet in distrust, longing, and foreign feelings…

Yujin’s jaw hardened as she heard voices echoing in her ears.

Voices from the past.

Their voices.

“I’m happy to celebrate my birthday with you, Unnie. Your birthday is exactly the day after my birthday! It’s like a destiny.”

“We are gonna be together, right? As we are gonna be together for a long time in the future. Happy birthday, Wonnie!”

“Jinnie-Jinnie.. My Dear Yujin.. Now, we’re the same age...”

“Yah! I’m still your unnie!”

“Not until midnight, Yujinie.”

And then laughs. And smiles, with their arms around each other.

“Yujin Unnie, happy birthday. I will always love you. I’m glad Yujin Unnie made me laugh a lot. Thank you for always being by my side! Promise me, it’s going to be forever, right?”

“Yeah, I promise I'll be by your side, forever. I can’t see myself without you. Because Wonyoungie was here, my heart felt safe.”

Yujin can feel the pain in her chest. She wanted to say something, but tightened and her tongue stiffened. She tried hard to hold back her emotions. Restraining her own feelings to not shout back and tell the younger girl what it feels like to be in her position.

To be someone who was forgotten by her precious one.

Yujin sighed in her seat. Even after all these years, Jang Wonyoung is still able to be the