Unforgettable You {Extraordinary You Sequel!}

epilogue: III

Forgotten Winter ends on a high note, as is expected of a college romance novel.

Pulled out of school by a family emergency, Baek Gyeong and Eun Dano bid their last goodbyes. Accepting that he's lost this fight, Oh Namju resorts to a venture of self-discovery, taking his time to learn how he'll win over the next woman he loves. Lost in a bliss of happily ever after, Haru and Shin Saemi lay face-up together in the vast university field, observing as autumn slowly melts into a sky of winter. Silently, they both hope—as the cold settles in—that nothing will be forgotten.

•••

It's October 10th.

"Haru-ah..." Dano calls absentmindedly. Haru chuckles, clutching her hand a little tighter.

"What is it? Stop saying my name."

"Haru-ah..." she bleats. "I can't. It's stuck on my tongue. It's stuck in my mind. I don't want to forget it—Haru-ah..."

He laughs, "You won't forget it."

"But still, I don't want to stop saying it."

She continues to call his name, draws it, sings it into the fading day. He lets her.

Their hands are securely threaded, locked in place like pieces of a puzzle, and sit between the two of them.

"We made it this time," Haru murmurs out loud, just barely heard over Dano's incessant bleating. She stops speaking to listen to him. "It's October 10th. We're here."

"Yes, it is," she agrees in a clownish tone.

"We didn't make it last time, remember?" Haru's iridescent doe-eyes are stuck in a look of remembrance. "We ran... I ran... but we were past our time."

Dano falls quiet at this. Her brows furrow thoughtfully. She casts a glance up at the tree above them: it's leaves and branches spread, dome-like, throughout the night sky, protecting them.

"Honestly, I'm surprised that today is October 10th," Dano says, thick with thoughtfulness. She cocks her head. "Of all the days for the book to end on, the writer made it October 10th..." she blinks slowly. "Why?"

A moment passes. Haru realises what she's getting at. He looks down at their entwined hands, grasped securely together—like they won't be parted by even a thousand lifetimes.

Haru exhales the faintest laugh, his lips tugging into a warm smile, "Maybe, we were wrong about the writer..." he turns and meets Dano's gaze. His smile broadens "...maybe he's on our side after all."