On Borrowed Time

At the Beach

As they continued walking towards the lighthouse, he noticed her smiling as she glanced at her friend's family in the distance. Their daughter and the younger son are playing tag while the parents Hong Ji-suk and her husband laughed along not far from them.

"Have you ever thought about having children, a family of your own?"

"I never really thought about it for myself. Right now I'm just completely focused on keeping Si-ho safe and helping her with her baby later on. I dream about it for her though. I want her to get married to a decent man and have at least three daughters, just like us sisters before. As for me, I'm just going to be the best aunt in the world."

"You know, I've met the reincarnations of my family a number of times; my father, my stepfather, my wife, and lately my son. They all still have the same face except for Do-yun who became older. Some of them even have similar personalities, but they're completely different people now."

"Is that why you don't want to be reunited with them anymore?"

He nodded.

"They all have their own lives. They have different families. They have different names. They don't have the same memories that I have of them. Time has flowed for them. I'm the only one who is still stuck in the past."

As the afternoon wore on, the bright blue sky slowly started to turn into a darker shade of gray. The sea breeze blew harder, and stronger waves began to crash on to the breakwater. The dark clouds looming above seemed to have mirrored what she was suddenly feeling at that moment. She realized that his decision to die with Ok Eul-tae still stands despite her previous protests.

Was this what these past few days were? He was just making amends before he will die? Was this the meaning of his tears when they first kissed? Was this the reason why he rejected her at first? The questions rang in her head.

"Are you still going to go through with your plan, even when you know I was Bulgasal in the first place? Even when you know I still have the soul I stole from you?"

She understood where his decision was coming from. That the reincarnations of his family will continue to suffer from the curse until both Bulgasals die together at the same time. This was what Kim Hwa-yeon was set out to do before she was murdered. She understood what needed to happen. This will benefit Si-ho too. To ensure that her sister will give birth to a healthy baby. But she hated that he had to make the sacrifice.

She thought to herself of what she can do to stop him. She had to say something. She has to try to change their fate somehow. She had to convince him that there's another way. Like they can resolve the effects of the curse using advanced medical technology. Just like how Do-yun was able to see after an eye transplant. They can do the same for Si-ho. There are many different ways to birth children even in the most disadvantaged situations in this day and age. But if she spoke her mind now, they would just end up arguing about it, just like the last time they argued in the kitchen. She wouldn't want that. So she fought the urge. She bit her tongue.

"Regardless of who was Bulgasal first, you or me, I think this is the only way for me to be free of these memories, and to end this curse once and for all."

As soon as Hwal poured out his thoughts, he realized that Sang-un was no longer walking beside him. He should've held onto her hand, he thought. When he looked back to see where she was, she was not within his arms reach anymore. She stood a few steps back, looking far away at the horizon where the sky met the sea.

He never took his eyes off of her, while she was lost in her own thoughts. Seeing her smile fade away, he had expected this. He was hurting her. It only made him question himself again if he did the right thing by kissing her, by embracing her, by making love to her. When he knew she would only become even more attached to him. But he was not sorry. He didn't regret the past two days they've spent alone together. What he regretted was not telling her and not showing her how much he loved her sooner. Of how much time he wasted hesitating.