“I could get another memory removal,” Haneul suggests one day, in the middle of desperation.

Kibum looks at her incredulously. “You’re completely losing it right now. A third one would mean…”

Haneul interrupts him. “What do you expect me to do? It’s not like I have a lot of options here.”

“You can come clean to Jongin. Tell him why you hid your identity from him and maybe things will work out for the better.”

“Oh yeah, sure. Hi Jongin. You won't believe his, but I've undergone two memory removal procedures to forget about you. As if it were that easy to explain,” Haneul rolls her eyes, but Kibum takes none of it.

“Do you have feelings for this boy?” He asks the question, after a bit of silence.

“Does it matter? We could never be together.”

“You’re avoiding the question.”

“I can’t have feelings for him.”

“But you do,” Kibum concludes out loud for her. “You really can’t ignore what the heart wants.”

“Kibum,” Haneul whines and it’s more of a desperate one.

“Kibum what? You’re acting on your own here, when you should be taking him and his feelings into consideration as well.”

“Believe it or not, it’s with him in mind that I came to this conclusion. I should forget about him, once and for all this time.”

“It’s not fair to Jongin, though. Let him have his say.”

“Kibum, you seem to be forgetting the most important detail of them all. He’ll never consider living here. I can’t live anywhere else other than here. It is easy math. He told me he’d convince the person he was looking for to leave Santa Quaranta with him. Tell me, how exactly can I leave this place?”

Kibum doesn’t reply. He knows what Haneul is implying, but he still believes she shouldn’t be taking decisions on her own. Not when these decisions affect the lives of other people.

“I’m considering the removal. I want a fresh start,” she tells him.

Kibum remains silent. He’s never once thought of going against his own friend, but he thinks he’ll have to intervene this time before it is too late.

Kibum steals Jongin’s number from Haneul’s phone. When she’s not minding it because she’s too busy contemplating another memory removal, it gives Kibum the perfect opportunity to go ahead with his plan: contact Jongin on his own. He sends a simple text to Jongin. Meet me Friday. You decide the time. KEY. He sends a location alongside his text.

It’s a warm afternoon. Jongin orders water, while Kibum settles for a chocolate milkshake. There’s a somewhat awkward silence as they wait for their drinks to arrive, but Kibum takes his time to assess the boy in front of him, who accepted meeting him without many questions asked. He looks like he’s a reserved person, who doesn’t strike conversations first, much like Haneul. So he naturally wonders how they met, not once, but three times, considering the times he was removed from Haneul’s memories. If they keep finding a way to each-other, it must be a deep connection that they share. Santa Quaranta has thousands of residents and tourists, so finding the same person thrice is something special.

The waiter brings their drinks after some minutes that feel like eternity to Jongin, but the first sip he takes, calms his nerves a little. Key, as he introduced himself, messaged to meet him. He knows they’re going to talk about Haneul. Key will most probably ask him to leave her alone and move on and Jongin is prepared to leave the table if their conversation ends up about that.

“You are shockingly silent, when I remember you being quite bold the first and last time we met,” Kibum references that one night at the Mile High Club. “You even asked me a trick question and laughed in my face when I answered you.”

Jongin feels cornered, in a way. He had come to remember the scene Key just described.

“And even though I specifically told you she was not someone you should have looked for, it seems like my warning had the opposite effect on you. Curious,” Kibum says almost in a daze.

“Why did you call me here? To tell me to stay away from her again?” Jongin suddenly snaps.

“I’m not your enemy. I just wanted to tell you the truth.”

“What truth?”

“She wants to forget about you.” A moment of silence follows before Kibum continues. “As in, she wants to clinically erase you from her memories and if she does that, you’ll forget about her as well.”

“She’s done it before, hasn’t she?” Jongin picks up.

“She’s had you erased twice, already,” Kibum confirms. “But this time, it will be permanent. You really won’t be able to remember her. It’s part of the rules.”

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