***This is the Epilogue if you're somehow here without reading the last chapter first then please go back***

A few centuries later, South Korea, Seoul…

"An interview with the owner of the untold memoir?"

"Yes!!! Think of all the articles I could write about! I'm gonna become a famous journalist!"

Jongwoon puts down a paintbrush and frowns at his best friend, finally giving him full attention.

"If no one has heard of it, how come you found out about it? Wookie, are you sure that it isn't a hoax?"

"Well, remember my vacation at a Viking village in Denmark last month? The village head told me about it when I asked him if there's any interesting local urban legends. I thought it was just a made-up story too until he showed me a memoir that has been passed down for centuries. Centuries! Jongwoonie! Can you believe that!!?"

"So, you've already read the memoir? Why don't you do articles based on it then? Why bother looking for this guy?"

"I'd love to. Unfortunately, the memoir isn't in the best condition. There are some parts that I can't make out and I can't write anything based on incomplete information. So, I asked the village head if there's more copies of the memoir. Turns out it did! Apparently, the author left another copy with his sister and she was the ancestor of this guy we're going to see!"

"Why are you telling me all of this though? I'm just a painter."

"Because we're going to use you as an excuse to meet him! I heard that he likes collecting artworks."

"Sigh, fine, who is he again?"

"He's a billionaire investor who owns many top private hospitals, Cho Kyuhyun."

Jongwoon's heart suddenly skips a beat, much to his confusion.

"Cho Kyuhyun…"

"Yep, now, hurry up and draw something that will catch his eyes!"

"Do I have to draw something new? Can we use that drawing?"

He points at a drawing hanging on a wall— a picture of a town blanketed in the snow with the lone crescent moon shining above it. Ryeowook takes the picture off of the wall and frowns.

"Are you sure, Jongwoonie? Isn't this your first ever drawing that you really treasure?"

"It's fine. I've a feeling that it has to be this picture…"

"Alright, if you say so. I'll take a photo and send it to his email, see if we can get a private appointment with him."

While Ryeowook is taking photos of the drawing, Jongwoon places his hand on his chest where his heart won't stop jumping erratically since he heard that name.

"Cho Kyuhyun… Why does the name sound very familiar to me…?"

***********************

"Oh my God! I can't believe it actually works!!! Jongwoonie, what should we do next!!?"

"Aren't you the one coming up with this whole operation, Wookie?"

Jongwoon chuckles as he tries to calm his friend down. They got a reply from Cho Kyuhyun in only fifteen minutes after the email was sent. Not only did the billionaire immediately agree to meet them privately, but he also sent a cool limousine to pick them up at Jongwoon's studio. Right now, they are in a large reception room waiting for the said billionaire. However, they've been waiting for an hour now but Cho Kyuhyun still has yet to show up. Eventually, Jongwoon got bored and decided to take a walk in the hallway despite Ryeowook's protest. He leaves the luxurious room and walks down a grand hallway decorated with many paintings and drawings. Right, Ryeowook did tell him that Cho Kyuhyun is an art collector. No wonder he has many rare paintings. It puzzles him though. Clearly, this man has access to many famous artists yet he wants to meet a lowly painter like him? What is it about his drawing that catches Cho Kyuhyun's attention?

"You know, all of the artworks here are actually Kyuhyun's least favorite. He keeps what he likes in his study."

A newcomer's voice startled him. Jongwoon turns to his right and comes to face a beautiful woman who is smiling pleasantly.

"You must be Kyuhyun's guest, right? I'm Jessica, his cousin!"

"Oh, nice to meet you, Jessica-ssi, wait, I-I'm sorry for walking around without permission!"

"It's fine~ I have a feeling that soon you'll be walking around this mansion all the time and my hunch is always spot on!"

Jessica grins knowingly before glancing at the painting he was looking at just now.

"As far as I recall, Kyuhyun has always been searching for one specific drawing. He can't tell what it is but he just knows that he must find it, and then you show up!"

"Are you saying that my drawing is what Kyuhyun-ssi has been looking for? How? Why?"

"That, you should ask him yourself! Kyuhyun is currently on a call with some business partners but he'd be done soon. In the meantime, why don't you take a look at our library? It's just around the corner!"

"Is that alright?"

"Absolutely!"

Jessica winks at him.

"As I said, I have a hunch that you'll become a familiar face soon so do explore the mansion as you want! See you later!"

After dropping a cryptic message, Jessica waves and walks away. The lady's friendly personality slightly catches him off guard but he doesn't mind it. He has a feeling that they can be great friends if they get to know each other. Smiling to himself, he walks down the hallway and turns around the corner. As the cheerful lady said, he stumbles upon a large library and steps inside to check it out. There is a wooden cabinet with glass panels sitting by a window that immediately catches his attention. There is only one leather-bound book kept inside the cabinet.

"The Untold Memoir by Martin R. Shelley… Is this the one that Wookie talked about?"

Jongwoon peers closer at the book through the glass panels.

"Second copy? Hm, so, the one with the Danish village head is the first copy? I wonder what happened to the original memoir…"

"It was burned to ash along with the author after his house got set on fire by a radical believer who accused him of Satanism practice."

Jongwoon jumps in surprise at the unfamiliar (yet familiar) voice. He turns back and faces a tall, handsome middle-aged man with deep brown hair matching his eyes. For some reason, his heart starts to act up as soon as the man smiles at him. He also finds himself staring at the man's broad chest as if he wants to lay his head on it.

"I take it that you're Jongwoon-ssi, the painter who draws that picture, while Ryeowook-ssi, your friend, is a journalist, right?"

"Y-Yes!! And you must be Kyuhyun-ssi... Oh, um, I didn't mean to intrude but your cousin, Jessica-ssi, said that it's fine, so…"

"Yes, that sounds exactly like what my prankster cousin would say. Don't worry, I don't mind it. You must be bored waiting for me. I'm sorry too. I didn't expect the call to take that long."

Just a soft chuckle from Kyuhyun is enough to make Jongwoon flustered, and he blushes harder when the taller man smirks teasingly at his rosy cheeks. He casts his eyes down and tries to calm his crazy heartbeat while the house owner comes to stand beside him. Then, he curses himself for picking up a distinct smell of cologne from Kyuhyun that calms him down but also makes his heart thrash louder.

"Do you want to read it?"

"H-Huh?"

"The memoir, do you want to read it?"

"Ah, no, you see, Wookie, I mean, Ryeowook, he's the one who wants to read it, not me."

"Are you sure?"

Jongwoon swallows back a "yes" that he is about to say. Well, he does feel curious about it and if the owner is going to offer it anyway…

"If it's alright with you, Kyuhyun-ssi…"

"Of course it is. Let's move to that couch, Jongwoon-ssi."

Kyuhyun takes the memoir out of the cabinet and takes his hand, leading them to a luxurious leather couch. Jongwoon doesn't understand why he likes the feeling of Kyuhyun's larger hand holding his, or why he feels disappointed when the taller man lets go of his hand. The house owner sits down and taps the empty space beside him.

"Sit down with me, Jongwoon-ssi."

"Okay."

However, instead of sitting down on the couch like a sane person, Jongwoon sits down on Kyuhyun's lap instead and he wants to strangle himself out of embarrassment.

"Oh my God!! I'm so, so sorry! I don't know what has gotten into me!"

Jongwoon quickly removes himself out of the taller man's lap and sits down beside him. His cheeks are burning in shame but his heart is protesting in disappointment. For some reason, it feels so natural for him to be on that lap and it feels so alienated to be out of it. What exactly happened to him? Why do his body and heart seem to gravitate towards Kyuhyun like a magnet?

"I'm sorry again… You must think that I'm a weirdo, right?"

"Actually, I think you're quite adorable, the way you constantly blush and get jumpy around me."

Kyuhyun's smile and gaze shine with teasing but there is fondness hidden in them, and he has lost count of how many times his heart misbehaves today in the presence of this person.

"... Please just give me the memoir."

"Of course."

Jongwoon takes the memoir and starts to read it. The first part makes him laugh and smile softly at the same time (though Victor having "Kyuhyun" as a middle name greatly surprises him). He's genuinely touched by Victor's feelings for Yesung. Although he can't help but raise a brow at Yesung's drawing that sounds exactly like his, but he brushes it off as a coincidence. Then, he sniffles reading the unfortunate events that keep piling up for Yesung, especially when Jessica died (Jessica? Another coincidence…). After that, he blushes profoundly reading Victor and Yesung's first night that was strangely described in full detail. Halfway through it, he stops reading because he suddenly imagines himself and Kyuhyun instead. He simply skips it before he further embarrasses himself by getting in front of a stranger. Then, he smiles in tears reading about the couple's beautiful wedding and their friendship with Martin, no doubt the author. However, the joyful tears soon become sorrowful when he learns that Yesung is going to die. He tries to keep reading, he really does, but he can't bring himself to. Plus, tears keep blocking his vision so he can't even see the pages. Eventually, the memoir is taken out of his hands and he is pulled onto Kyuhyun's lap.

"Shh, don't cry…"

"K-Kyuhyun-ssi…"

"Everything will be fine. I'm here with you."

"Hic… Kyuhyun-ssi, d-do you think…?"

"Is the story in the memoir our past life?"

"Y-Yes… I mean…"

"There seem to be too many similarities to brush off as a mere coincidence. Most importantly, the feelings in my chest…"

Kyuhyun gently brushes his tears away with his thumbs while holding their gazes.

"There's this yearning, tugging sensation in my chest whenever I look at you, Jongwoon-ssi. I want to hold you close to me and protect you from the world. And now that you're right here in my arms, I feel as if…"

"You're home?"

"Yes…"

"I feel the same too… Being in your arms…"

Jongwoon lays his head on the broad chest and listens to a heartbeat that puts his mind at ease. At the same time, Kyuhyun keeps patting and kissing his head, all the while embracing him tighter as if he's afraid of losing him again.

"I finally found you… Jongwoon…"

"You did. I'm sorry for taking so long to come to you, Kyuhyun."

"It's alright. You chose that drawing because you sensed it, right? It reaches me and we're together now…"

Kyuhyun cradles his face and makes him look into his brown eyes b with affection.

"Will you move in and stay with me from now on? I don't want to spend any more second without you by my side."

"Of course. Just the thought of being separated from you again makes me unable to breathe. I don't want to feel like that ever again…"

"Jongwoon…"

Noticing a gleam in the taller man's eyes, Jongwoon slowly closes his eyes and waits with an erratic heartbeat. Soon, his heart flips and swings wildly when he feels warm breath brushing his lips, giving him a goosebump. The tingling sensation then becomes a full-blown free fall as the touch of soft and warm lips caressing his own. His heart finally implodes from the overwhelming happiness and he sheds a single tear while reciprocating the feelings he never realized that he has, not until Kyuhyun unlocks them. He throws his arms around Kyuhyun's neck and pulls the man impossibly closer, not wanting to leave any gap between them. Kyuhyun who shares his sentiment holds him in a way that they have become one and deepens the kiss, temporarily taking him away from their present…

"Ah, you're here! Jongwoonie, do you know how long— What the hell!!?"

"Oh my, please take your time! Ryeowook-ssi, let's go!"

"Wah!!? How!!? When!!?"

"Later, later~"

Jongwoon feels like he heard Ryeowook and Jessica's voices but he ignores it. Right now, the only thing he wants to give all of his attention and heart to is Kyuhyun, Kyuhyun and Kyuhyun, alone.

"Jongwoon…" Kyuhyun smiles after the kiss, "I'm home."

"Welcome home, Kyuhyun."

After his words, they lean into each other again as if they're drawn in by magic. The unfinished memoir is left forgotten beside them but neither of them is interested in it. They don't care how the story of Victor and Yesung in the memoir ends.

Because their own stories have started now, at their home in each other's arms.

~~Fin~~ 

*****************************************

Author's final note:

To answer some questions you might have:

- Yes, Ryeowook is Martin, the author of the memoir.

- Yes, the whole fic that you read is the original memoir that got burned and forever lost.

- Yes, Martin died, or rather, was murdered before he successfully published the memoir so there were only 2 copies left in the world.

- Ultimately yes, all of the main characters in the memoir died (Kyuhyun, Yesung, Jessica, Martin) except Gustav.

- Yes, they all reincarnated in the present time and met again.

- No, none of them has memories from the past life, though Kyuhyun and Jongwoon could sense a connection between them by hearts.

- Yes! Kyuhyun and Jongwoon in the present live happily ever after! Hooray!

OMG I did it! Kyusung Frankenstein au is donnnnnne! *cry* Compared to the Phantom of the Opera, this one is easier cuz it's not tricky but also harder cuz it relies on heavy emotions. I personally think I did well though and I'm happy with it!

Sooo how much did you cry? Sorry not sorry for the last chapter but at least it's happy ending :p  If you've read the original novel before, you might notice that I actually stay quite faithful to the OG plot (but kept it kyusung) hence the overall angst tone~ Another point that I'm proud of is matching the season with the tone of the events in the story (I love symbolism!) and I'd be happy if you notice it too.

Now that this story comes to an end, I want to thank you everyone for sticking with me until this. I know that my fic can be wordy, tiring, and too long, (not to say that there's more rambling note at the end!) but I can't change my style or who I am :(  That's why I want to show my gratitude for still reading my fic despite all of that. Everyone! Thank you! Your comments, upvotes, and subscriptions are the support that keeps me going :) 

Last but not least, the covid situation around the world seems to take a turn for the worse again with the new variant. No matter where you are, I hope you're healthy and stay safe!

Take care and love you!  <3