Chapter Text
The distinctive hospital smell lingered through the corridors as Sol watched Sunjae’s lifeless body on the hospital bed. The scent made her feel nauseous, bringing back memories she desperately tried to forget but she knew it would always remind her of a time when she lost a part of herself. It was home to her worst memories. She still felt the pain in her chest as she recalled the moment she decided to end her life, how devastated she was when she lost her ability to walk and how she let that frustration out on Sunjae.
Sunjae, who had risked his life to save her,
Sunjae, who had helped her stay alive,
Sunjae, who lay unconscious in front of her.
Just a few hours ago, he stood before her. Lips Sol didn’t know she was longing for, on her own, officiating the start of their relationship, but now, he was paying the price for it. It had been her fault, Sol thought, her tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. If it hadn’t been for her, Kim Young-soo wouldn’t have gotten obsessed with Sunjae and targeted him. Sunjae wouldn’t have risked his life because of her. It should’ve been her; she was the one who Young-soo wanted, so she had to make sure she was the one he got. She had to go back in time again and change the future; She had to save Sunjae.
She looked at the black wristwatch that accompanied her through time and space and waited for the clock to strike midnight. As she wiped away a tear, she gave Sunjae of the present a final goodbye and finally pushed the button.
–
Expecting to resurface in early 2009, Sol was more than surprised when the people around her were all walking in fashionable clothes and the latest smartphones in their hands—both very uncommon for the year 2009. She quickly looked through her pockets to find her phone but when she did, she wished she had stayed unaware about the date. A feeling of panic rushed through her body; her palms sweating as she shivered from anxiety and with each, deteriorating, breath, her heart beat faster. What had gone wrong? Why wasn’t she in the past? Why of all days, was she sent back to the day Sunjae was attacked?
She looked for his number on her phone, yet his name didn’t show up and she cursed herself for not memorizing it, although, if she remembered correctly, at this time they’d already exchanged numbers. In the previous timeline, she had been at work fighting the urge to call him, but now, she was in the middle of Seoul instead with no new numbers nor conversations to be seen. The only logical thing left for her to do was to look him up and figure out where he might be so she could find him but when she typed in Ryu Sunjae , nothing showed up. No news articles, no album or movie covers, and not even a Wikipedia page. It was as if he didn’t even exist.
“No, please...” Sol felt the heavy feeling in her chest weighing her down to her knees, clutching onto her shirt as she tried to stabilize her breathing but she couldn’t stop the tears. Was he not an idol in this timeline? Had he gotten into a scandal and they removed everything about him? Or had everyone just decided to erase any memory about him?
“Why isn’t anything showing up, why, why why?!” She yelled in agony, not caring about the judging looks she got from passersby; She could only think of Sunjae. And the pain in her chest grew stronger the more she did. She had lost him just when they got together, she didn’t even have the chance to process his first death. Sol wouldn’t be able to withstand another loss, not again. She desperately wished to have not failed, praying that she still had a chance.
“Yes, I’m honoured that our company has made it to the KOSDAQ listing. It’s a great accomplishment, but this is only the beginning for Doogo . ” Sol suddenly heard a familiar voice echo in the streets. “We will work even harder and achieve more.”
When she looked up, she saw Sunjae’s smile on a big screen. Her legs were still trembling when she tried to stand back on her feet with the weight on her chest slowly disappearing but she couldn’t stop herself from crying.
“Sunjae...Sunjae-ya, I found you!” She whispered with a note of relief, but as glad as she was, he was still in danger. She took her phone and looked up Doogo, no matter how confused she was about what it was and how Sunjae was the CEO of it. All she hoped for was that the address she found would take her to him.
–
After what felt like an eternity of trying to find the headquarters, she was finally in front of a tall building guarded by security. Before entering, she made sure she looked presentable, and not a complete mess from her both emotional and literal journey. Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked towards the entry and bowed slightly to the guards, hoping that she didn’t look suspicious, though it felt as if they didn’t acknowledge her as a stranger. Judging by their looks, even the people at the reception seemed to be familiar with her.
“Good morning, how can I help you?” The receptionist asked.
“I’d like to speak with Ryu Sun–“She stopped herself, realizing that no one here would call him by his actual name– “I’d like to speak with the CEO.” She corrected herself and smiled, fully aware she was deluding herself into thinking this was all it took to meet any CEO ever.
The receptionist must’ve thought she was joking because after hearing her request, she let out a chuckle and looked at her with an apologetic, yet amused expression on her face.
“I’m sorry, but you must know that the CEO doesn’t meet anyone without an appointment.” She explained and waited before she added:
“I don't think they'll accept the offer, it’s no use to keep coming here, PD-nim.”
Offer? PD-nim?
Was she a PD in this timeline as well? Just what had changed then, when everything else remained unaffected? Figuring out how she lived in each timeline had been frustrating, but this one was the most annoying so far; everything felt the same, yet so different.
“I understand, but it’s really important. I have to speak with him!” She urged, not willing to give in to defeat. She saw the receptionist exchange looks with her co-worker and smiled at her forcefully.
“I’ll see what we can do. Meanwhile, please wait in the lobby.” She ended up saying, but Sol knew in reality, this was code for “We won’t do anything and make you leave on your own.”
But she was determined; it didn’t matter how long she would have to wait, sooner or later Sunjae had to walk past here, she was going to see him.
And it didn’t take long, just after half an hour, everyone in the lobby had turned into a flustered mess, bowing and greeting someone who had entered the building, someone Im Sol didn’t have to look twice to see who it was.
“Sunjae-ya…” She breathed in disbelief, taken aback by how he felt like a stranger despite looking the same. He was wearing a suit, hair slicked back and eyes glued onto the tablet in his hand, not acknowledging the people around him. But he was finally here, she had finally found him, and before she knew it, her legs were running towards him.
“Sunjae-ya!” Sol yelled, in hopes he would notice her, but instead, security came and guarded him as if she was a threat.
“Sunjae-ya, look at me! It’s me, Im Sol!” She desperately cried out, yet the men between them didn’t allow her to get closer to him, holding her back as he continued to walk away. There had to be something she could do for them to let her go, for him to see her and stop them, she thought.
“The CEO is in danger, I have to talk to him! Please, let me talk to him!” She shouted out and achieved what she wanted; Sunjae stopped in his tracks and turned to the two men next to him, said something to the one with glasses and returned to his course, without giving her as much as a glance.
However, Sol still counted herself as lucky; Instead of getting thrown out of the building and receiving a restraining order, she was brought into a room to get interrogated by the man in glasses.
“How many times do I have to tell you, your CEO is in danger, I’m not supposed to be here , I’m supposed to be with him !” She pleaded again and was slowly growing tired of the guy sitting in front of her.
“How can we be sure you’re not the danger?” He replied in return, which, to be fair, wasn’t wrong for him to assume. It wasn’t the first time she was thought to be a stalker, but if he really thought so, he wouldn’t have told the security to leave.
“Im Sol-ssi, be frank with me, is this because of the contract?”
Contract?
“I understand your company is desperate for the partnership, but this is a very cheap tactic to use, even for you.”
Sol felt suffocated by the frustration of not remembering her life in this timeline, but for a moment it was overthrown by the feeling of disappointment; the partnership between the companies had meant that they had seen each other before, so why was Sunjae giving her the cold shoulder? Could it be that in this universe, Sunjae grew resentful towards her after her rejection?
“It has nothing to do with that. Please, just…let me talk to him, let me talk to Sunjae.” She sighed, fidgeting with her fingers as she dreaded the reason behind Sunjae’s indifference towards her.
“You don’t even know his name and you think I’ll let you see him?” He exclaimed and took out a phone from his inner pocket.
“I’ll make sure Doogo never cooperates with your company again.” He said and stood up from his seat, walking to the other end of the room.
As confused as she was with his remark, she saw this as an opportunity to sneak away to find Sunjae. Slowly tiptoeing her way to the door, she opened it gently so it didn’t make any sound. When she got out, she made sure to be completely quiet until she heard a loud “ YA! ” coming from the room she had just left and sprinted toward the elevator. Though he hadn’t caught up to her until after she was in the elevator, she was now left to figure out which floor Sunjae might be.
“CEOs are usually at the top, aren’t they?” She spoke to herself and pushed the button with the highest number, hoping that she was right.
When she arrived at the floor, she carefully looked for the word 'CEO' while passing the offices though when she finally found the sign, she was puzzled by the name written next to it.
“Ryu Shioh? Do they have two CEOs?”
Sol made her way towards the door and opened it just enough to peek into the room without entering it, but when she saw him standing in front of his desk, she was certain it was him and walked in without hesitating.
“Sunjae-ya…” her voice was barely above a whisper but loud enough for him to hear and turn around, finally acknowledging her presence.
Suddenly, the image of him lying unconscious flashed before her eyes and she felt her lips quiver with tears warning to come out.
“Looks like I have to hire new security, they just let in any lunatic storm into my off–“
Sol’s sudden embrace stopped Shioh mid-sentence and took him off guard as she wrapped her arms around him.
“What a relief.” She breathed out, as if she had been holding her breath all along, unaware of how startled the man she held was. He put his hands on her shoulder and tried to push away but she was clutching onto him tightly; she couldn’t let go yet. She had to be convinced that this was not an illusion.
Although her hands were still behind his back, he eventually loosened her grip and placed her in front of him to face her properly. When she lifted her head, he saw her damp face and reddened, teary eyes, that widened as her gaze shifted to his neck.
“What is this?! Sunjae-ya, did you get hurt, did someone hurt you?” She put her hands around his neck and tilted his head to examine him. He watched her shaking fingertips carefully trace the pulsating veins on his neck, her brows furrowed as if she was the one in pain.
Normally, Shioh wouldn’t have hesitated to push her away and put her in her place, yet he seemed paralysed by their unexpected intimacy.
“It must hurt so much…”
The concern in her voice bothered him. They barely knew each other so why was this stranger worried about him? It annoyed him. It was agitating how nervous her touch made him, striking an emotion he hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever. As much as he didn’t like the power she had over him at the moment, he couldn’t bring himself to stop her. He followed her distressed eyes until they acknowledged him observing her. Shioh was used to the fear that followed upon meeting his eyes, after all, he had a widely spread intimidating reputation but when she looked at him, he felt warmth and affection. She wasn’t scared or alarmed by him, even with the black veins along his body.
“Don’t worry, Sunjae-ya. I’m here now.” Sol told him, her thumb softly caressing his neck. “You don’t have to hurt anymore. We’ll figure it out.”
She didn’t know what the Sunjae of this timeline had been through but it appeared life hadn’t been easy on him. It was as if he was a stranger to touch, his gaze cold with disregard toward any form of care. But Sol couldn’t let that stop her; she was tired of holding in her feelings so she had to show him her heart whenever she got the chance. First, she needed to find him help and grabbed his hand to bring him out of the room, but she was only pulled back into his arms.
“You…” He started, grabbing her hands and slowly letting them down.
“Just who are you?”
The heavy feeling in Sol’s chest suddenly found its way back, accompanied by the fear that their relationship in this timeline was rather strained.
“It-It’s me, Im Sol. Don’t...Don’t you remember me?”
Maybe he had started to hate her after she rejected him. But she wouldn’t blame him. In fact, it would’ve been better for him not to get involved with her. All she needed was for him to be safe, that’s all she was asking for.
“Im Sol…” He started walking towards his desk, repeating her name over and over, making it impossible for her not to notice the lack of affection in his tone.
“Ah! The PD?”
He suddenly turned around and sat against the table, his eyebrow slightly raised and an insincere smile on his face.
“I didn’t think that company would go so low for a mere contract.” He let out a chuckle in an attempt to hide his bitterness. Almost falling for her ploy made him feel pathetic.
“Why does everyone think I'm here because of a contract?! Sunjae-ya, do you really not recognize me?!” She hoped that some of their memories had been rekindled by now, however, he seemed clueless about her. Either that, or he was playing out the worst joke on her.
“Sorry but, who is this Sunjae? You keep screaming for a Sunjae, maybe he’s the one you should seek out,” he asked her, an arrogant smirk on his lips. He couldn’t figure out her motive; he only knew her as a pd yet she didn’t seem to have approached him because of work. Whatever it was, she provoked his curiosity with each passing moment.
Sol, on the other hand, was slowly growing impatient with him. Sunjae was right in front of her yet he was someone entirely different. His arrogance, his lack of manners- had he always been like this? There was no way Sol just ignored that out of love.
“It’s you! You’re Sunj—“She let out a sigh of irritation before the man in front of her interrupted her—
“Shioh. My name is Ryu Shioh,” he said indifferently, not even looking at her, which irritated her to the point where she suddenly started laughing.
“Ya!” she exclaimed out of nowhere and started striding in his direction, not knowing only a few dared to call him out like this, which made her even more intriguing.
“So what? You’re saying you’re not Sunjae? Your face and voice are the exact same; what are you then, his clone? Does that make sen—“
“Also,” he stopped her again, disregarding her outburst, and agitated her even further. “you keep talking informally to me; Am I your friend or something?”
She pressed her eyes together one step away from him and exhaled sharply. Even the teenage version of him hadn’t annoyed her this much; not that he would remember.
“There’s no need for formalities between us, right?”
She said through her teeth and forced a smile. If he really didn’t know her, she was indeed being impolite but she didn’t want to believe that he genuinely didn’t remember her. Even if he despised her, she wanted him to remember at least their happy memories.
At the same time, Shioh felt amused at her display of frustration, and leaned into her, hardly leaving any space between them.
“Between us?” he asked, his face only a breath away.
“And what exactly is there, between us ?”
Sol’s sudden burst of temper had vanished the same way it’d appeared, and she was left to deal with the lack of distance between them. Naturally, having his lips in immediate proximity, Sol’s mind was brought back to their first kiss. The excitement had been taken away from her so quickly that she didn’t have the chance to think about it properly. Her arms around Sunjae's neck, his hands on her waist, getting pulled into the other’s warmth with their lips pressed against each other. Short breaths and forehead touches as he led her against the wall—
She felt her face heat up and pressed her lips together, biting them to fight against the urge to kiss him, unaware of the mischievous grin before her.
“This Sunjae must be lucky.”
He whispered, watching her rosy cheeks get even more flushed, and straightened his posture.
“Still, you have the wrong guy.”
Just when he was about to walk away, Sol grabbed his hand once again and held it firmly, taking a deep breath as she closed her eyes. Although she remained clueless about the mess she had been pulled into, she knew there was a reason she’d arrived in this timeline. There was a reason for meeting this version of him and if he claimed he didn’t remember her, or that he wasn’t Sunjae, she’d have to accept that as well.
“Listen, I only have one favour to ask.”
Nevertheless, she had to ensure he didn’t face the fate that was destined for her, she couldn’t lose him again.
“Please let me stay by your side. Just for one day.“She opened her eyes and pleaded.
“And why is that?” Shioh still couldn’t figure her out; what was it that she so desperately wanted to achieve?
“So I can protect you.”
Shioh stood silently, watching her with awe as he didn't expect this outcome. It was a first; to have someone who cared about him with such sincerity, who worried about him and put him first.
It scared him.
Because he wanted to believe her; the stranger who barged into his life and turned it upside down within minutes.
“Whether you’re Sunjae or Shioh—I don’t care. It doesn’t matter what your name is, or where you are, or who you’re with—“She held his hand even tighter and looked him straight in the eyes—
“I will be there to keep you safe. I won’t let you be alone.”
Shioh inhaled deeply; these were the words he had longed for his entire life, yet upon hearing them, it felt too good to be true, especially coming from someone he barely knew.
However, one thing was certain.
“You…”
Im Sol had changed his life for good.
“are truly something.”