The cold night made Kyuhyun shivering during his night walking with Siwon despite the thick brown oversized sweater he’s using. The dark sky is decorated with beautiful bright bits surprisingly evident than any other nights. Together they admire the rare breathtaking view. Not long after Siwon glance at Kyuhyun who has both of his palms on his cheeks seemingly trying to get himself heated. It wasn’t even near winter yet why is the night so cold, they wonder.

This early afternoon Kyuhyun unexpectedly visited the school during lunch break and brought lunch set for him for the first time, later on favored Siwon to take him for a late night walk. He noticed the boy seemed contented despite the previous tiring days of searching. Siwon thought perhaps the boy had something in mind to tell him. Probably Kyuhyun already met his uncle and grandfather and planned to return home.

This may be the moment of goodbye.

Out of blue Kyuhyun release a graceful small laugh, making Siwon quietly bewildered since nothing’s funny. There are also no people aside from them.

“Something’s bothering you?”

“It’s just…It’s been a while since I’m stuck here. Never thought I’d adjust myself here. I miss my family. I want to go home but maybe I’m bound to be here.” Kyuhyun smiled despite the glint of tears that’s forming. During this whole one week Siwon and Changmin accompanied Kyuhyun searching for his grandfather and uncle and ended with zero result.

“How can you say so?” Siwon asked as he doubted what Kyuhyun said.

“I don’t know. Just had that thought in mind?” Kyuhyun wondered, looking up at the night sky. “I arrived here out of my will. I still have no idea why I’m here. What other way to return home other than finding my family first? They’re my only path towards my timeline and if there’s alternative way then that’s miracle.”

There is… Siwon ought to speak but prevents from saying bluntly. The last phone call with Hyukjae made him contemplate about his previously disowned project. He decided to leave it be because he lost his purpose on the time travel device he created. It was his most soon-to-be successful project. He doesn’t know why and had no idea how he made it that far. One thing he knew is he isolated himself in his private laboratory after his wife’s death while working on that device until others found out about it and decided to give him hand that he entirely refused. His colleagues are the only witness of its existence and bounded to protect it at all cost. Their respect for him is immeasurable no matter how much he’d like to forbid them since he’s just a normal human like them.

A thing came to mind on the aftermath of his conversation with Hyukjae. If Kyuhyun won’t able to find his family, perhaps he should try to continue working on SB-010 to help him? No, I can’t go back there. Why are you so confident about it, Choi Siwon? It’s not like you worked it out before, he thought. What if you add more mess in all these? Getting involved in Kyuhyun’s matter, why when he wasn’t supposed to? Is it the sense of responsibility because he witnessed the kid’s attempt to go back to where he belongs or is it because he pitied him? No, there’s nothing to be pity about. The attempt moment could be the point but he could’ve left everything slide and continue with his normal life and let Kyuhyun solve his own problem. He’s a grown up boy big enough to solve his own problem. So, just what made him eager to help Kyuhyun?

“Anyway, isn’t there something you want to tell me?” Kyuhyun halt his step and sit on the nearest bench, Siwon follows. “You could’ve called me after school. Its late night…Could it be that you found my family?”

Siwon tensed. “Wait a sec, aren’t you the one who has something to tell me?”

“I don’t… Oh, I haven’t told you this before but actually I work at Madam Yuna’s shop six years ago!” Kyuhyun exclaimed, “It’s sad she didn’t remember me… Ah …” He yawned closing his eyes then suddenly rests his head on Siwon’s shoulder, “Siwon-ssi I feel sleepy….”

Silence.

Siwon straightened and pat Kyuhyun’s cheek to wake him but it didn’t work. Just like that the boy’s asleep? Confused, Siwon tries calling Kyuhyun again but to no avail. Does Kyuhyun have some kind of sudden sleep syndrome? He’d ask him later. He might have to carry him back to Madam Yuna’s house but he thought he ought staying still and try waiting until Kyuhyun wakes up. The boy is probably tried, he understands that pretty well. They had no rest during the search week.

“Is he asleep?” Siwon turned his head to source of husky whisper to find a handsome grinning man in green coat, thick vanilla scarf wrapped around the neck and hair combed to the back. His head is questioning the man’s presence however before he speaks out the man takes a seat beside Kyuhyun, looking at the boy’s sleeping face smiling full of admiration. What is the stranger doing? Siwon may never guess but as if something’s about to happen he wrap his arm around Kyuhyun’s weak shoulder, pulling him close.

“Good. I put him sleep. Don’t wake and tell him about this.”

Siwon frowned, leaning Kyuhyun even closer to him. How is that possible?

The man smiles so innocently like a five year old boy.

“Who are you?”

“Oh right! That explains why you’re looking so overprotective. I’m Lee Donghae, Kyuhyun’s uncle. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The confident confession ceases his tension as he removes his arms around the boy’s. “Took a while for you to find me?” Donghae chuckled, was that supposed to be a joke? These are clearly like a hide and seek game. Despite the man unexpectedly came out from nowhere the atmosphere strangely feels warm rather cold. The man has that bubbly and kind aura around him. He somehow starting to see the man Kyuhyun described but…

“You knew but why? Kyuhyun has been searching for you all over the places.” This wasn’t how the first meeting supposed to be like. Siwon started to get irritated as he’s reminded of Kyuhyun’s restless week, not to mention Kyuhyun had to experience something that’s hard to believe, for at such a young age. The boy really misses his home and family, sometimes Siwon couldn’t bear seeing that.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been watching you guys from behind but I can’t meet Kyuhyun formally, not now, Kyuhyun cannot see me. I could’ve done this in advance but things that I had to take care of say otherwise. That’s why I’m taking this chance even though it has to be like this.” Donghae smiles sadly, not removing his kind eyes from his dear nephew. “This may be the only chance I have but I hope reality would say otherwise. Thank you for watching over Kyuhyun, Siwon-ssi. He really can’t be left alone.”

This is the first time Siwon meet Donghae yet the man knows his name. He hadn’t even got to properly introduce himself.

“Background check, I see.” Add another, without consent. Doesn’t that considered illegal?

Donghae move his calm gaze towards Siwon, smirking. “I have to know the people who partially got involved in this serious matter.”

“But why can’t Kyuhyun see you?” Siwon asked warily, “He wants to go home. You could bring him back there.”

“Hm…I want to but I can’t.”

That just added fuel to his irritation.

“It’s just has to be done like that. I have to follow the actual timeline flow.” Donghae kicks the pebbles on the ground. It’s as if he’s denying what he just said. “Scientifically you might understand if you know the basic rules between past and present. The slightest thing you do in past and present may re-shape the future. That’s the only alternative explanation I’m able to tell you.”

“I get it.” Siwon nods, “Are you not from here?”

Donghae shook his head, smiling softly. “That, sorry I can’t tell you.” His hand touching Kyuhyun’s cheek, pulling it slightly that his nephew shifted, mumbling incoherent words whilst leaning closer to Siwon’s neck. “I forgot he used to look like this… So adorable…” The soft smile Donghae flashes for his nephew doesn’t look like a happy smile. It’s normal to see a person missing over someone they hadn’t see for years. It seems like Donghae want to be able to talk to his nephew normally, not like this.

“This afternoon Kyuhyun asked me to take him for a night walk, but just now I asked him about it and he said he knows nothing about it.” Siwon sighs, “Were you the one using Kyuhyun to lure me here? Are you able to do that, becoming someone else?” Now Siwon start to think Donghae isn’t human.

Donghae look at Siwon with one eyebrow lifted before moment of realization and heaves a soft laugh that sounded quite similar like Kyuhyun. “What am I? Alien? I didn’t know you can’t see their difference.”

“What?”

“That’s Kyuhyun three months from the future.”

Siwon widened his eyes and look at Kyuhyun again, recalling how the future Kyuhyun who visited him at school looked.

Tucking his hair behind his ear, Kyuhyun smiled earnestly. “Eat well, Siwon ah.”

Siwon was a little bit taken aback and flustered by the sudden casualness and gentleness from the boy but he shrugged them away, thinking they got along enough to remove the formality and start calling each other normally.”Yeah…Thanks.”

“H-how?” Then it hits him. The Kyuhyun sleeping beside him has shorter hair than the one from the future, who has them covering his ears and back of neck. He was too busy to notice them since he’s busy checking the papers.

“There’s been a mistake.” Donghae shook his head, smiling. “Kyuhyun (future) accidentally came here on his way but I managed returning him safely. He also said you’d be bringing the current Kyuhyun a night walk so here I am, taking this chance,” He then look at Kyuhyun who’s asleep soundly. “I kind of feel bad doing this to him.”

“How did he get here?” Siwon said, a little bit surprised from what Donghae just spilled. Could it be they found a way to bring Kyuhyun back? Donghae stayed silent before groaning, regretting what he just did.

“Oops, please forget what I said.”

Siwon sighs again, “Donghae-ssi.”

To which Donghae only childishly grinned while shrugging. “Those people will tell you the details.”

“Who are they?”

“They’re…others who got involved in this other than us.” Donghae smiled. “By the way…Did Kyuhyun tell you everything?”

“Yes.”

Donghae hummed, shifting to cross his legs. “I’ll make this short. It appears that there isn’t only one problem here. Kyuhyun’s situation may be the main but it leads to other ones, unfortunately. I can’t really say his stubbornness and curiosity are to blame because at that time it wasn’t initially his fault. The watch was currently broken, Kyuhyun knows nothing about it. It was an accident. He doesn’t know what he’s getting into. The broken watch or to be precise, the time travel device created a havoc due to its broken state, the situation also caused… timequake that destabilized the entire… timeplane which led Kyuhyun here. It all started on April 13^th, I thought everything went back to normal until another timequake happened on April 19^th. Something triggered it. That’s when Kyuhyun went missing.”

Siwon rest his hand on his chin, “Timequake…”

“Hmm? You know something about it?”

“It’s…” Siwon halted, doubting whether he should spill that he used to work on that case before. He just met Donghae and didn’t fully trust the man yet, despite he’s Kyuhyun’s uncle. During the first trial on his time travel device he fortuitously caused timequake that gave him two months to stabilize the timeplane. It was a tough work to do that he swore to never mess around with it anymore. Yet, who knows another timequake happened that eventually led Kyuhyun six years to the future? “Familiar.”

“In case if you don’t know, it almost has the same term as earthquake but its time and timeplane is…” Donghae looks up while tilting his head, “Is…How you explain unscientifically? It’s…The entire time flow in our universe. I’m sorry it’s quite complicated.”

Siwon nods, although knowing Donghae was quite inaccurate on the timeplane part. Instead it’s the flow of timeline that’s connected to our universe. “Also…Almost no one remembers Kyuhyun while some people do, why?” Siwon puzzled, “You remember him too…”

Donghae bit his lower lips while playing with his fingers, something that Kyuhyun also do whenever he gets nervous. Siwon can finally see their resemblance. “It runs through the family. Everyone was once a holder until they reach their time to assign the new owner. We inherit the device and ability once we reach 18. If we die, only our blood-line can remember us. Our loved ones, friends and people that know us wouldn’t able to remember our existence. Just that moment after we die, we will completely disappear from their world.” Siwon frowned. Does that mean Kyuhyun is considered dead? Surely he doesn’t like how it sounds. As if reading his mind Donghae answers,

“In his original timeline he’s considered dead.” Donghae caresses his nephew’s soft baby-like hair before standing, taking off his scarf wrapping them around Kyuhyun’s neck carefully as if he’ll break him if he made a wrong move. He then delicately pecks his forehead. He looks at his nephew again, smiling fondly at him. Siwon didn’t miss a tear that fell from Donghae’s eye.

“Anyway the people you mentioned who remember Kyuhyun they’re not part of the family’s blood-line but you’ll find out more about it soon and…I’m…I’m…Sorry you got tangled in this as well, Siwon-ssi. I…I have to go now and please do me a favor.” Donghae paused, looking at Siwon with teary eyes and placing his hands on his.

In a blink of eye Siwon gasped softly. Donghae wasn’t there anymore. He turns his head to right and left direction, searching for Donghae only to find no trace in sight. There are still question left unanswered however he remembered the man said someone will be there and explain the details. Surely he’d look forward to that. Hopefully it wouldn’t be that long. The warmth on his shoulder disappears when Kyuhyun yawns softly, sighing as he look at him.

“Sorry Siwon-ssi I fell asleep.”

“Don’t mind.”

“Did you wait long? I don’t know why I fell asleep.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Good but a little bit dizzy… Hmm…You left me here and bought this?” Siwon only smile at the question. Kyuhyun touch the scarf around his neck, closing his eyes as he’s smelling the lavender scent from it. “Feels warm and smells good, like someone I know.”

Siwon darted his eyes from Kyuhyun to his hands rested on his lap, remembering the last words from Kyuhyun’s uncle.

“In the mean time until the time comes, I’m leaving my nephew in your hands.”

He thought, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to re-consider Hyukjae’s invitation.