《我明白》-[w.jh]

[18: memories]

Jun opened the door to his apartment, reaching for the knob of the drawer in his room and pulling it open.

Just as he had suspected, the ring was gone. Even the box was too, meaning that Seoyul had really assumed he was dead and took the ring like he had asked her to.

He remembered that when he had woken up on his bed, fresh from an extra long sleep, and found at least a hundred shards of violet glass. Not understanding much, he had just swept them away without really knowing what he was doing. Maybe the shards had been from the soul jar Seoyul had used to contain his soul, come to think of it.

He had waited for her to return. He had waited for a year, in the very least. And when he had found her, he was elated.

And now she was gone. Pulled into the ground by goodness knows what and disappeared without a trace.

Jun really needed her. She had left this gaping hole in his chest, that could never be filled up unless she returned.

And in that desperation, he unclasped the necklace around his neck, removed the cork, and gingerly poured one drop of the violet potion into his mouth...

• • •

"Dad!"

Flames rose around the room, licking at every bit of furniture in its reach and consuming everything in its path...

Jun panicked, the fire was reaching him, and he ran, but yet, when the flames touched him and burned him, he felt no pain.

A little girl was crawling through the burning corridor, choking on the smoke. Jun called out to her, but she paid no notice, almost as if he wasn't there at all...

"Seoyul!"

The girl looked up, she couldn't have been more than six at the time. "Dad!" She called out, before choking on smoke again.

A tall man emerged from the flames, a towel in his hand. "Seoyul!" He grabbed the towel and placed it around her nose and mouth, picking her up effortlessly and running back through the fire.

Jun followed them, watching as the man placed the girl gently on the floor and pulled her up to her feet. "Seoyul, are you okay?"

"Dad..." the girl coughed. "Dad, why was there fire?"

"I don't know..."

And suddenly flames poured from the girl's palms, but the girl didn't seem to notice it. The man did, however, and tried to stop her.

But he got consumed by the flames, all while the girl was screaming, "Dad! Dad...don't leave..."

• • •

Jun watched an older version of the girl run down the street, towards a boy slightly older than her.

"Hao!" She screamed, and wrapped her arms tightly around the boy.

"Yullie!" He said, and hugged her. "You've grown!"

The girl laughed. "Of course I've grown, Hao. Everyone grows."

And the boy smiled at her with the widest smile Jun had ever seen a boy wear.

• • •

The girl was sitting on a large bed with the boy from before.

"Hao, why does Mum hate me? What did I do wrong?"

The boy was silent for a while before speaking. "I have no idea."

"Oh." The girl looked crestfallen, and she continued to play with the edge of the blanket.

And looking at the girl even more closely, Jun knew at once why the man had called her Seoyul, because that little girl was the Seoyul of the past...