Hello!

I redid this chapter because it was terribly written. Completely different plot.

           Fear. There are times when memories scare me. There are times when I just want to forget what happened in the past. There are also those kinds of moments when one just want to go back in time and fix whatever was wrong, do anything that could make tomorrow a better day. There are times I hope it was really all history and it will never come back again. I fear humiliation, regret. Therefore, I keep looking forward, forget who I was, become who I want to be. Or is it really who I want to be?

           I cannot become. I cannot change. I am unmoving through time. Who was I before? Was I a man like any other? Was I the one everyone loved? Hated? Is there truly another life? Sanghyun, who were you before we met?

           Memories bring happiness, as well as heartwrecking realities, aded in one's mind. Some of them make one smile, cringe, or cry. Should I close my eyes to the truth, blind myself to hold on to happiness? "Yes" is not the likely answer. Memories, although some hurt, are what made one to be who one is. They are all the experiences and the knowledge of life that brought one to where he is now. And to become someone else, I have to let them go.

After a month, I was freed from the hospital. It was a big day for me and Sandara.

            I remember when I first entered the humble apartment. Since she moved when Sanghyun wasn’t there, it was natural for me to not recognize the place. I recall the moment I saw Sanghyun’s room. Sandara had arranged a room for him with all of his belongings – well, at least what she could take with her. As I glided my finger on the night table, there was barely any dust; Sandara had cleaned everything for she knew Sanghyun was coming back.

           I laid myself on the bed, facing the ceiling. The familiar feeling of resting on the bed disgusted me. I was strucked by the fact that I was doing exactly what I always do each day. I should not stay like this. It would hurt me to admit that my new life was the same as my previous one. I knew it was not; at least it should be different.

           The sun had already fallen; I felt like it left sooner than it usually would. The monotone ceiling capted the sky's light and brighten little of the room. I brought my left wrist in front of me and looked at the hanging bracelet. The chain was a little loose, but not enough to get it off. The ribbon felt a little out of place, considering that the rest of the accesory was made of metal. It was mostly white with a slight shade of cream that shone and glittered as the light passed over it. There was a hook that kept the bracelet  from leaving my wrist. I played with it a bit, and figured that if the tiny trigger was pushed, I could unlock the chain. My clumsy hand couldn't do the trick, so I just left it as it is and rested my arms.

"I don't know if I should be happy that you're clumsy," A voice came from the dark corner of the room.

           I looked around.

"Don't tell me you already forgot me!" The white kitty appeared from the obscurity laughing. "Hahaha! Kids these days!"

"Soonja?"

"Yes, it is I." He sighed and wiped off what it seems to be a bead of sweat from his forehead. "I came right in time, as it seems."

"What do you mean?" I sat up on the bed.

"If you had gotten of that bracelet of yours... let's just say you wouldn't be alive anymore."

"What?" I stared at my bracelet. Such a small thing had such an impact on my life.

"You did realize it was the same ribbon on the bunny, right?"

           I nodded and paid more attention than ever.

"Well," Soonja continued, "It is what links you to Mr. Man and Mr. Bunny."

"So, if I break this, my mission is over?"

"Precisely. But you're not the only one who can break it. Any external physical force can destroy it and most importantly, the Council, meaning also I, can break it."

"How?"

"If someone ever discovers your true identity, I will have to cut your ribbon of life. That's the worst thing that can happen to you if you break the rules."

"You mean there are other consequences?" I did not think there would be so many things to look after in this life.

"Well yes. For example, your time will be shortened."

"Time?" This is for sure : there are now too many thing I am unaware of. "What am I supposed to know that I do not?"

"Anyone who has signed the contract has a limited time to fufill his mission. It has been evaluated by the Council. You have nine months."

           At least nine months is a large range of time.

"You might think that is a lot, but time ticks pretty fast, you know. Anyway, good luck Cheondung. You'll figure things out as time goes by."

"But –"

           In a flash, Soonja left, leaving me dumbfounded. I learned to many bad things in one shot. I threw my head back in frustration. For once I felt like loneliness was uncurable.

"Gae dong!" Sandara called. "Come eat dinner!"

"Coming Noona!" I sat at the edge on the bed and wore the slippers. I hurried went to the kitchen.

           Sandara had prepared a whole meal. I felt my stomach rumbling at the sight and the smell.

"Come on! Sit down and dig in!" she invited me.

"Sure! I'll eat well!" I sat down on the pillow and picked up the chopsticks to start eating. The first time I used chopsticks, I was so clumsy. I remember stabbing my food with the sticks to grab the food. Luckily, I became better at it. At the first bite, Sandara looked at me with anticipation.

"It's really good Noona!"

           She smiled at my response and started eating. "I didn't know if I prepared enough for both of us." She looked at the food while chewing. "You know I've been eating alone for a long time."

"Don't worry. I don't eat much. I'm sure this is fine for both of us. And just seeing you eat is fine for me, Noona." She sort of choked on her food. Was I too cheesy?

"Yah, Gae dong! You have to eat, you skinny kiddo." She said, pointing her chopsticks at me. "And when the heck did you start calling me 'Noona'?"

"I didn't... call you like that before?"

           She looked at me in surprise. "No, you didn't. You normally call me 'Dara', 'sis'... I don't know, but just not 'Noona'... Is this some new aegyo you're trying?"

"Ae-gyo?" I mentally slapped myself. Indeed, there were too many things I did not understand. Nevertheless, I do not know how to pretend I did.

"You know like 'boing boing', 'aing~', 'oppa~'..." Sandara placed her chopsticks on the table and brought up her fisted hands to her cheeks, moving them in a paw-like motion, opened and closed the eye-lids really quickly... I did not know how to react to her gestures. Due to my lack of reaction, she stopped and came back to being the cool Sandara again. She sighed. "Gae dong-ah... Let's go to sleep earlier today, okay?"

           I nodded and continued eating. I finished my glass of water, but I was still thirsty. "Noon– I mean Dara? Can I have more water?"

"Sure. It's in the fridge on the door shelves."

           I stood up and went to what I supposed was the fridge and oppened the door. A very cold breeze made me shiver. I searched for a bottle of water. When I found it, I also looked at what was inside the fridge. There was a lot of food, jars, bags, drawers and whatnot. I closed the door, opened the bottle and poured water into my glass.

"Dara, how do you get the food in the fridge?"

"You mean how I get the money?"

"Eum, yes?" I came to my seat and finished my food.

"Well, I have to work. It's not permanent, but a part-time job does help to pay the rent. I guess you'll have to start working too."

"...Work?"

"Well yeah. One person can't feed two people that easily. Especially if that person doesn't have a stable job."

           She turned back and looked at the time. it was almost six in the afternoon. "I normally don't eat this early, but I have to go to the restaurant to work. Wanna come with me?"

"Sure!"

"I could also introduce you to the boss to see if we can find you a job there."

           We went outside. It was so cold, our warm breaths were visible in the air. We walked to what Sandara said was a bus stop, and we went on the bus when it had arrived. There weren't many people and everything was pretty quiet. I sat next to the large windows, and looked outside. Because of the darkness outside and the light inside, I could not see much of the city but I could see my reflection on the glass above all. I had always found that Sanghyun was skinny, but handsome. I analyzed his face and noticed that his eyelids were different from one another. I smiled at the imperfection. No one is perfect, that I knew far well, and I guess Sanghyun's appearance and belongings do tell a little about himself. I just have to figure out who he is exactly.

"Sanghyun, stop looking at yourself in the mirror. C'mon, we arrived." Sandara whispered to me.

           We left the bus and walked to the restaurant. The door made a ringing sound when it was opened.

"Good afternoon, chef!" Sandara said brightly and waved at the man in the stand. "How are you?"

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you. Come put your uniform and start working!"

"Yes, sir!" she started taking off her scarf and coat. "Sanghyun, come. I want to introduce you to the boss."

           She took my hand and we advanced to the man.

"Sir, this is my brother!"

"Hello, sir. I am Park Sanghyun."

"Ah! Nice to meet you!"

           He put his hand in front of me. Is this some sort of greeting? I too pull out my hand from my glove and repeated his gesture. He took my hand and shook it.

"Weird fellow, isn't he?" He laughed and let go.

"Sir, I was wondering if I could work here with my sister."

"Huh, well, have you had any experience with cooking? waiters? administration? something like that?"

"...No, but if you give me a chance, I am certain I can do it. With practice I'll be able to do it."

"Since one of our employees is sick... I'll give you a chance. Try working here tonight. Tell your sister to explain to you what to do."

"Thank you sir!"

           After wearing the uniform, I observed Sandara at work. She smiled at the customers, greeted them when others came in, took note of all of their orders, carried the large bowls of ramyeon from one place to another... She seemed very used to it. The other waiters shared a great teamwork with her. It would be fun if I could do the same.

           I decided to be helpful.

"Good afternoon. Here is your ramyeon." The bowl made a clank sound on the table. I looked at the lady. She quickly thanked me as if to make me leave as soon as possible. It made me feel bad. I left and asked Sandara what did I do wrong. 

"You have to smile. You were to... eum... direct."

"Smile?"

"And when you smile," she told me subtily, "it's not only the mouth. If you don't have an eye smile, you'd look like plastic more than anything else."

"Plastic?"

"I meant to say artificial."

"Oh..." She tapped me on the shoulder and slightly pointed at a customer.

"Try taking the order of that group of girls over there without messing up."

           I gulped and nervously advanced to the table. I looked at Sandara. She was worried about my performance and indicated me to smile. I took a deep breath, and turned to the customer. I tried to smile but the latter probably looked very weird, for they seemed intimidated. They looked at me in utter awkwardness. I messed up again. They had left the restaurant just after my humiliation.

"Don't worry, Sanghyun." Sandara told me. "Maybe with more practice."

           I sighed. I really did not like social interaction. I was grateful Sandara tried to cheer me up, so I tried to survive the night.

           My bad attitude was probably very apparent at the time, but it did not matter to me. I became wary from my surroundings, some customers' rude and ungrateful demeanor. I was tired of receiving orders. I guess I was not made for work. I decided that this guy would be my last order. Exhausted, I came to his table and lazily addressed him. "Are you ready to or-" I stopped when I saw the man's face. "Yang Seungho?" I was not ready for this.