Jongin wakes up in cold sweats every morning. The last thing he remembers from his dreams is Haneul, saying she will undergo the memory removal to erase him. It happens for many weeks and each time, Jongin wakes up in fears he has already been forgotten. He hasn’t gone back to Santa Quaranta ever since that night Haneul asked him not to complicate things between them. Even though there are multiple times he’s tempted to go back just to see her face, he chooses not to push his luck. He prefers waking up from nightmares, but realizing she hasn’t erased him, than waking up and feeling void.

Instead, Jongin starts a new search for her in the physical world. The first thing he does is look up her name in all of the social platforms he can think of, but nothing ever comes up when he searches for Shin Haneul. Nothing also comes out of searching for Shen Tian, her alias. Haneul told him that they aren’t equals in the real world and the thought scares Jongin. People can choose the age they wish to have when they enter Santa Quaranta. If she doesn’t appear in any social platform, does it mean that she is older in real life? The Haneul he met looks 23 years old at most, but there is a possibility that she is much older than that. Jongin doesn’t let that thought consume him, though. If there was an between them, Haneul wouldn’t insist on keeping it a secret. She would also run the same risk, because Jongin could be much older than 28 in real life. Everyone is aware of the age rule before they enter Santa Quaranta, either as a tourist or a resident. There must be something else, Jongin figures, something more complicated than age forcing Haneul to keep her location hidden.

After almost five months of not going back to Santa Quaranta, Jongin decides to visit the place where it all started. The headquarters. The last time he was there was when he signed up to be part of the simulated reality and received the chip which allowed him to enter the city. It’s foolish of him to think someone in there will tell him something about Haneul, but he still goes ahead and gives it a try. He has nothing to lose at this point.

The receptionist at the front desk greets him politely. Jongin reads her name tag. Anna Lang.

“Welcome to SanQ Virtual Reality Headquarters. How may I be of help?”

“I am looking for someone. Shin Haneul. She’s a resident in Santa Quaranta,” Jongin says and waits.

“I’m sorry, sir, but we cannot provide information on anyone to anyone, no matter their status,” Anna calmly responds, her face betraying no emotions.

At that moment, the glass door that leads to the reception opens and in comes a man Jongin assumes is in his fifties at most. He only has a few wrinkles in his face to testify his age. He wears a black tailored suit and walks with determined steps. The man looks like he’s someone important around the headquarters.

“Good day Anna,” he greets the receptionist.

Jongin turns his head to see him and finds the man looking at him as well.

“Welcome Mr. Shin,” Anna greets him back and Jongin thinks the world stops there.

“See me in my office when you’re done,” Mr. Shin tells Anna.

She nods at him, but he’s only looking at Jongin. Meanwhile Jongin can’t believe his ears. Mr. Shin, she called him. Could this man in front of him be somehow related to Haneul?

The office smells like fresh coffee mixed with the light fragrance of the peace lilies Shin Segi keeps on his desk. He sits in his chair, ing his jacket. Next, he opens his laptop. A few moments later, there’s a knock on his door.

“Come in.”

Anna delicately steps in. “You asked to see me, Mr. Shin.”

“What did the boy want just now?” He references Jongin.

“He came asking for Haneul, sir,” Anna simply provides her boss.

Segi is silent for a few moments.

“Curious boy,” he says after a while. “He must have finally connected some of the dots. Alert me the next time he comes to visit. Block his accessing chip in the meantime.”

“Yes, sir,” Anna responds. “Anything else?”

“I will instruct you to meet Kibum later and have him tell you a few things I need to know.”

Anna only nods.

When Jongin goes home that day, the first thing he does is open his laptop. Why up until that moment had he never thought of doing a simple search on who had created Santa Quaranta? He hadn’t gotten curious about it and he felt dumb for that. Maybe he could find a few answers there.

The website introducing Santa Quaranta can be best described by two words: minimalism and harmony. The aesthetic of the site is quite pleasant to the eye and the information is written in a forthcoming way. Jongin quickly clicks on the ‘About’ link and waits for a few seconds until the page loads.

Santa Quaranta is a simulated reality where you can live or visit, inhabiting your younger selves’ bodies in a time of your choice, even after death. Created to provide a happy ending and a carefree life, Santa Quaranta is a fun-loving beach town, where the weather is always sunny and fun is guaranteed in every corner. The city was designed by renowned architect Shin Segi and projected by SanQ Virtual Corp…

Jongin stops reading when he gets to the name. Shin Segi. He immediately puts it in the search engine and confirms his doubts. It’s the same man he saw earlier at the headquarters. But the more answers he gets, the more new riddl