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Warning: Alternative Universe

Summary: Convinced that Yi Jeong merely sees her as a substitute, Ga Eul vows to give up on him. However, Yi Jeong is not about to let her go without a fight. During a game of Truth or Dare, Ga Eul chooses an alternative option: a promise. To her dismay, she has to agree to fulfil five of Yi Jeong's fantasies.

Fleur de Fantaisie

prologue

She stands on the top of a low building, hoping and praying, wishing that this is it, that one of those darkened billboards is the elusive needle in the haystack that she has been hunting for. The sky changes, the sun shows its face. And in the moments that follow, there is light and she sees those magical words, words that she has whispered in her secret heart before.

I love you, Yi Jeong.

The exhaustion of those endless nights of searching is still there in her bones, the fatigue does not melt away magically. But the key to moving his hands again has been found. He needs to face loss and not run away from it. She'll take him back in time, to the place he missed. Hopefully, it will not be in vain.

………………

He sits in darkness, wrapped in silence, hovering between the past and the present, and the possible future. He remembers a young woman handing him a present, a puzzle with words whose meaning he had never been able to unlock until it was too late. The wind had come and gone, slipped through his fingers, as though it never had been.

He remembers a young woman, a firm touch, a fierce determined voice. "I'm going to make your hands move again," she declares and as much as he wants to tell her to give up, he can't. Because she might be right; she could be the one to breathe life into him once more.

And the silence is broken by the sound of running footsteps. Even before he sees her face, he knows in his secret heart that it is her. She comes to him again and he is not alone anymore. She stumbles in, pale and worn and unsteady on her feet, but smiling. It is instinct to go to her, to pull her against him, into his arms and make sure that she doesn't fall.

"Yi Jeong sunbae, I've found it."

He feels somewhat perplexed. But he knows what she means. She thinks she has found the key to ensuring he will not give up. He just wonders what it is that she wants to show him.

…………………

The drive is a tense and short one. Her eyes flutter shut every now and then, and he knows that she is fighting extreme tiredness. Her lips are cracked. He wonders how many nights she has spent awake, searching for a way to help him. Why does she even care for him? He has given nothing, perhaps because he has nothing to give and she has given everything, all that she knows how to give.

He follows her quickly, perhaps affected by the sense of urgency that she is exuding. She presses the lift button impatiently, her eyes always on her watch. To his surprise, she leads him to the rooftop.

"Here, come with me." She tugs on his hand, leading him closer to the edge. She moves him gently into position. Again she looks at her watch. The sky lightens, he wonders what exactly she is up to. Deftly she steps behind him and to his surprise she places her hands over his eyes. It is not surprising though, that he stands still and lets her. This is a woman whom he trusts.

The warmth on his face is from her hands. Then there is light all around as she removes them. He blinks, eyes narrowed against the sudden brightness. And all the breath disappears from his body. He knows what she has done for him.

I love you, Yi Jeong.

One lifetime, one chance. Somewhere near him, he can hear her speaking, but it is merely a familiar sound, it hardly registers. It is hard to think. He imagines Eun Jae waiting here alone for a chance that will never come. He remembers himself lying in bed, next to one of those women from the previous night, wondering where the other had gone. Unknown to him, all too clear to her, their lifetime had disappeared.

His knees buckle and he falls to the ground. His chest hurts and he presses a hand against it. For the moment he has no pride left, there is too much regret, so much pain. Time rolls back and he is submerged in the past. Chance after chance, moment after moment. He has no choice but to release them now, to let go of what cannot be held onto, because he had wasted it all by running away.

He curses, he cries. He begs for another chance. And then he screams because he knows he is asking for the impossible.

And all this time, he is aware, marginally, but still aware, that she is there with him. He senses her tears. She is standing perfectly still. She won't leave.

……………..

She knows he is somewhere far away. Her voice cannot reach him now. And so she lets him be, she has done enough.

He drops to his knees. She looks down at him, strangling the urge to touch him, to comfort him. He is not hers to comfort, not now.

"Fool. You knew I was such a fool, the world's greatest fool. How could you make it so hard? Once more, just once more. Give me another chance."

His words fall on her like invisible blows. And like another woman standing there three years before, she silently cries. She lifts her head and blinks hard to trap the tears. The wind whips her hair across her face. It is a slap, a reality check.

She has her answer. He has always been in love. He would go back to Eun Jae in a heartbeat if he could. Still, she cannot leave him. Not like this. She will wait quietly until he is ready. And then she will have to begin her own journey into the future. By leaving him behind.

………………

In the days that follow, she suffers one near fatal moment of weakness. Call it a fantasy, an indulgence, a small taste of what might have been that leaves her hungering for more even as she curses herself for a fool.

She remembers it all too clearly.

She stumbles backwards. He grabs her. Their eyes meet. She knows she needs to extricate herself fast before it is too late. But he weaves his magic and she is lost in him. Words are exchanged, spoken and unspoken. He leans down and like a willing victim, she closes her eyes. And fate intervenes yet again, separating them once more.

…………….

One chance, one lifetime.

Second chances.

He looks at the young woman seated before him, her hands nervously clasped around her unwrapped food. He needs to seize his courage before it deserts him.

"Ga Eul yang, isn't it time that we talked about us?"

She looks afraid and for a moment, so is he. But he presses on.

……………

The stairs lead down and for a moment, he wonders where this will bring them. He tells himself there will be no more running this time. He is sure that she will be there, she always has been. He thinks of happy endings.

"Ga Eul yang—"

"Let me go first."

Suddenly he knows somehow that she too, is slipping through his fingers. It is written all over her face. And so he stands there as her words fall on him like invisible blows. He wants to shake her, to tell her to shut up, to say it isn't true.

Instead he stands there with a blank look on his face as she turns and walks away. The sound of her boots echoing as she fades into the distance. He is paralysed. He does nothing. If he moves, everything will fall apart.