Midnight Tales | ✔

15

Jaehyun

It was a relief that my grandfather left some of his clothes here that I could change into. Four days have passed since I told her about him. Soyoung's been acting normal when she's with me but I could still hear her cry in secret at night. Four these past days I learned how to become familiar with the place and I make sure to not stay in one room with Soyoung except for meal times. Soyoung and I seem to silently agree with the chores though, we take turns in doing the cleaning and the cooking.

I've just finished washing the dishes and now I'm inside the study room to read the journal Min Seok left. I still feel weirded out looking at the picture he left inside the journal. How come we look so much alike? Placing the picture on the last page of the book, I turned to where I stopped reading and continued.

Just as I've explained. Time moves only for a day in that reality, preventing anything from degrading, aging, or dying. You see a rose, you pluck it. The next day you'd find the rose still on that stem, same position, same size. Nothing changes here.

That was my first theory until some changes started to occur during my second stay here.

It was something ordinary, it was the usual bird I see perched on Soyoung's bedroom window. It's always there, around nine in the morning, and stays there for a good three minutes, and then one day it suddenly stopped coming.

Take note of everything around you, the swing of the leaves, the placement of things. If something changed or is amiss.

Then Soyoung is in danger.

I quickly went over to the kitchen and looked for the plate that Soyoung dropped the other day and found it inside the dish cabinet. I should start looking around and see if something has changed.

Soyoung and that reality are in danger. That time loop has existed for too long and has been left out of our reality's time system. The day Soyoung was stuck into is so far from our reality's current time. Soyoung's reality is mirroring us. If something has started to change there, then that means her time is ticking again, and if her time has started to move again then everything in there will start to disappear, and so will Soyoung.

I looked around again and was relieved when I couldn't find anything amiss. Was this the last will of Min Seok? Save Soyoung's reality?

But how?

I was about to go back upstairs when Soyoung suddenly screamed from the back lawn. I quickly ran out of the house to where Soyoung is. I found her crouching in the garden, Lola beside her.

"What is it?"

Soyoung stood up and dusted her skirt. "Ah, it's just the plant. Sorry for freaking out"

"Why? What's wrong with the plant?"

She stepped aside to reveal it.

A contrast to the full green of the garden.

I froze as I stare at it.

"Don't take it too seriously" Soyoung laughed. "It's just a dead plant Jaehyun"