“Welcome, sir. What can we do for you?” The receptionist behind the desk politely asked with a professional smile, eyes trained straight at Choongjae’s tear-stricken ones. She was like a robot, the smile and gaze never breaking, not even bothering to relate to him in a human way. But Choongjae didn’t really care about that right now. He closed his eyes to avoid looking into hers and ran his right hand through his hair, sighing deeply before he uttered the very words that could change his whole existence forever.

“I would like to make use of the Clockwork Rewind service.”

He was stupid. No, beyond stupid. Park Choongjae had the perfect life with the perfect relationships- a supporting set of friends, accepting parents, and a loving boyfriend, Sunho. But all of that came crashing down because of one small mistake, thanks to his utter idiocy. He continually blamed himself for it, because he knew that it was entirely his fault.

If only. Those were the two words that echoed over and over in his mind on the night Sunho died.

If only he hadn’t been so petty when Sunho was only trying to help. If only he didn’t direct his frustrations at him. If only he set out his priorities properly. If only he didn’t blame him for everything wrong that happened to him that day, even though none of it was his fault. If only he had been more patient with him.

If only he ran after Sunho when he stormed out of their apartment and did everything in his power to stop him from driving away at that time of the night.

“You are well aware of the different rules, warnings, and clauses that we have for the usage of this service, correct?” The receptionist’s sickly sweet voice cut through his deep thought, as his eyes shot open to stare back into the same professionally friendly eyes.

Choongjae shook his head, as he only knows one thing about the whole service: he can only use it once, so if he messes up this chance… he doesn’t get another. But he should be all right, as long as he follows the rules.

Right?

“Alright then, please read through this contract, it contains all the information and warnings and all the necessary whatnots that you need to know.” The receptionist handed him the contract, which was a sizeable stack. “After getting yourself acquainted with everything, including the fine print, please sign at the end of the document and present it to me when you are done, along with a short statement on what exactly you need to change in your past so we may mark it accordingly. Any other questions, you are free to ask at any time. Desks are right over there, thank you for availing of this free service provided for you by the government.” She finished off with a bow as she gestured to the room where the desks were situated, finishing off the speech she must have said more than a hundred times perfectly. Choongjae slowly shuffled to the room, and read through all the important points in the contract in detail, careful not to agree to anything he might regret.

But if it’s Sunho, it would take a whole lot to stop him from bringing him back.

Clockwork Rewind

Dear Citizen, thank you for availing of the Clockwork Rewind service, provided for you by the government to ensure better, happier lives for all. This contract contains all the necessary information you might need, as well as reminders and warnings that you also need to know.

A. Rules

1.This service can only be used once per person in a lifetime. No exceptions. Please ensure that you give our clerks only the most necessary information on what you want to change in your past.

2.You are not to touch, defile, mark, move, kick, scrape, or do any other unnecessary action to anything, living or non-living, unless marked by the clerk, as doing so will immediately result in a change in your desired outcome.

3.You are only allowed to touch your own markings- should there be anything else that has been marked for others, you are strictly forbidden from tampering with anything that does not have anything to do with your own past. Rarely there is a case where there will be markings intended for another person in your past, such as if another person close to you decided to partake of the Clockwork Rewind service at the same time you do; but if there is, you are not allowed to touch it in any way, shape, or form.

4.Should there be other people, animal, or any living thing that show up in your past, you are strictly forbidden from interacting with them in any way shape or form, including but not limited to: talking, whispering, shouting at, touching, kissing, hugging, kicking, punching, etc. Under no circumstances (no exceptions) are you allowed to interact with them, as it runs the risk of changing your desired outcome.

5.You are not to venture off to anywhere in your past except to the place where you are supposed to change what we have marked. Deviating from the path may result in a change in your desired outcome.

6. Occasionally, there will be certain parts in your past that might reflect someone else's past (usually someone close to you). You are strictly forbidden from tampering with anything that might not relate to you.

7. Any actions not covered by the above rules aside from changing what we have marked and staying on the path, please refrain from doing as it may result in a change in your desired outcome.

B. Important Information

1.You will be subject to a mandatory health and psychology check to ensure that you are fit to partake in this service.

2.Marking your past may take from a few minutes to a few days, depending on how many things and how difficult are the events, things, etc. you want to change in your past. Please be patient, our clerks will get back to you as soon as you can.

3.After the service is finished, you will be marked with a permanent tattoo of the Clockwork Rewind insignia, so as proof that you have partaken in our service and also to ensure that you do not partake of the service mistakenly or intentionally again.

4.Should you accidentally or intentionally erase your identity or existence through your error, you are required to partake our sister service Clockwork Renewed, where you will be assigned a new identity or existence either similar or different to your old identity or existence. Failure to participate in this service will declare you a Fugitive.

5.If the loss of your relationship, identity or existence is proven to be our fault, a trained error fixer specialist will go back to your past and change it for you, so as to prevent any further errors that might arise.

C. Warning

1.You may experience some uncomfortable symptoms during the ride in the time machine, including but not limited to: headache, nausea, nosebleeds, coughing, sudden blindness by white light causing temporary loss of vision, temporary loss of hearing, painful ringing sensation in the ears, loss of directional and space orientation, loss of sense of balance.

2.Do not partake in this service if you suffer from serious illnesses including but not limited to: heart diseases, cancer, any forms of brain illnesses such as amnesia, brain tumors, Parkinson’s disease, etc.

3.We are not responsible for any loss in relationships, identities, or even entire existences whether done accidentally or intentionally, unless it has been proven that it was caused by errors in our systems, machines, or by our clerks.

4. We will do absolutely no re-dos. All results of this service is final; if desired outcome is not achieved, we can do nothing for you.

Choongjae gripped the pen tightly as he held it over the blank space where he was supposed to sign the contract. Once he had put down his signature, there was no turning back. He will either fix everything, or break everything; there is no middle ground.

But Choongjae was not ready to let Sunho go. The chance, even the slightest chance, to see Sunho smile again, to feel him relax in his arms again, to kiss his soft lips again, to see him alive and breathing again, threw all logic, fear, doubts, and uncertainties out the window. The sound of pen upon paper seemingly reverberated in the empty room, as the black ink stained pure white with a simple scribble that could change his life forever.

It was done.

He handed the contract in to the receptionist, and everything went by in a blur after that. He was subjected to the mandatory health and psychological tests, which he both aced, and the markings in his past were done in a few minutes as he knew exactly what he wanted to change: that damned presentation that was the cause of all his frustrations that day. He was determined to finish it this time around, and watch everything fall back into place with his beloved laughing beside him once again.

As the door of the time machine closed behind him, Choongjae closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he secured his seatbelt, before nodding to the operator to signal that he was ready.

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A/N: Bulk Update Masterlist