Aelia had the entire morning off, and on a whim she went downtown to look around. It probably wasn't a coincidence that she stopped by the coffee shop where she had met Hyunjin the first time. She immediately noticed. The butterfly sticker was no longer there. Inside she didn't recognize anyone from the last time she was there. She ordered a cappuccino and decided to ask.
«Hey, does Seungmin still work here?»
The girl behind the counter smiled friendly.
«No, he quit, I'm sorry.»
Aelia just nodded and took her coffee with her outside. She walked toward the shop where she had gotten the butterfly phone. It was closed. Out of business, it would seem. There was nothing inside the windows. The sticker was gone.
In fact, she hadn't seen a single butterfly sticker the entire day. That very first day she was out looking she had seen many. Aelia kept walking around until she had to return to the hospital to take her shift.
Aelia couldn't find Hyunjin, so she went to the only person she could talk to.
«So, when you got here I was worried dr Hwang would be too much for you,» Chan said. He was leaning back in his chair, feet on his messy desk and arms folded over his chest.
«No one is too much for me, dr Bang.»
«I'm starting to see that, dr Bell. It's like you're getting back at people who weren't really responsible for you becoming a slave in the first place.»
«You don't know what the hell you're talking about,» she said lowly, her eyes on the floor. They were glistening with fire, though, Chan could tell.
«No? Do enlighten me. Why is it that dr Hwang has taken a leave of absence all of a sudden?»
«I have no idea.»
«Right.»
Her hard face was difficult to read, but he still believed that there was more to this girl than his. Not until he sighed deeply did she look at him.
«Look, Aelia. I hear there is trouble brewing in the butterfly movement. I am not part of it, so... don't tell me anything.» He held up his hands when she lifted her eyebrows. «I don't know much, I just... I hear things are changing.»
«Are things changing... for the Safe House Act also?»
«I'd suspect so, yes. But who knows, there is so much politics in this, I don't really know what to...»
«Please, Chan, is there anything you can tell me?»
«I'm sorry.»
«Please! Hyunjin said he would tell me everything, but now I can't find him. You say he's left. There are no more butterfly stickers in town. My old safe house is gone. Destroyed. You're all I have.»
«You have yourself as well, Aelia. You're stronger than you seem to believe. You can do a lot.»
«I can't even remember my past! Please, Chan! Isn't there something I can do to get my memory back?»
He looked at her for a second, but quickly lowered his eyes.
«No, there is not,» he said. Still, he started looking through his papers. He paused for a moment like he was considering something. Then he gathered up a bunch of papers and handed them to her. «Here. I want you to check out the Bellani-study, there are some useful references there that you need to look through before your next surgery.»
«Fine,» she sighed, a little stumped by the way he was behaving. «Anything else?»
«You're not alone, Aelia. Just remember that.»
She just sighed and left his office.
Her shift was a busy one, and she was exhausted when it was over. In yet another on-call room she slept like the dead before even thinking about the papers Chan had given her. After a shower, she brought some breakfast with her and sat down at a desk in the surgical ward. There were other doctors around, but they didn't bother each other. Everyone were always too busy to care what anyone else what reading. And Aelia quickly realized that she was reading something juicy. It seemed like Chan had put things from her file into the pile of papers. There were diplomas, records from several hospitals where she'd worked. Her education was thoroughly covered, but Aelia wanted to know more. Personal things. Her name was still coming up empty on the internet. It was wiped from existence, like her memory.
In the middle of the pile there was a study. Some things were underlined, probably by Chan himself. It was a weird study, on a truth serum, and how different compounds changed the way it worked. Chan had drawn a star by a segment that mentioned memory loss, which immediately caught Aelia's attention. Had Chan started to research alternative ways for Aelia to gain her memory back? The author of the study... she found the first page and saw the name Bellani. This is what Chan wanted her to see. Why had he been so weird about it, though?
Aelia followed a hunch and quickly gathered up all her paperwork. She wasn't sure how early Chan started working, but it was worth checking. She needed more answers, and she needed them now.
She had been to his office so many times before. She knew something was wrong the minute she saw the door to his office ajar. Not once had she seen that before. You always had to knock to find out if he was there. Aelia stopped in front of the door and pushed on the door with one finger. It opened quietly, only to reveal an empty office. The desk was there, a few chairs and cabinets, but not a single piece of paper. It was completely stripped.
She had seen this before. It was getting familiar, the way people disappeared from her life. Who left voluntarily and who didn't, she couldn't know, but the result remained the same: She was alone. Truly alone.
She had no one.
YOU ARE READING
Take Me Home // Ateez // Stray Kids
Fiksi PenggemarAfter an unexpected escape from the Mansion, Aelia finds herself in a Safe House. Who is a friend and who has alternate motives? And what do the butterflies have to do with it? As a former slave, life looks empty. Aelia has to find her way in life...
