Work Text:
“Dude, I just got the weirdest voicemail.”
Chenle frowned at his friend as he handed him the box of pizza he had brought over. “What did it say?” he asked, closing the door behind him. The two headed to the living room, where they put the pizza on the small table. Chenle grabbed a piece before turning to Jisung.
“Here, I’ll play it for you.” Jisung took out his phone and went to his voicemail box before pulling up the weird message and hitting play.
“DON’T GO TO SCHOOL TOMORROW. DON’T GO TO SCHOOL TOMORROW. DON’T GO TO SCHOOL TOMORROW. DON’T GO TO SCHOOL TOMORROW. DON’T-”
Jisung clicked off his phone. “It goes on for, like, a minute. The number is all zeros and when I tried calling back it went straight to voicemail and wouldn’t even let me leave a message.”
Chenle took a bite of pizza, frowning. “That’s weird. Are you going to do what it says?”
“Jaemin told me to ignore it, so at this point I’m not sure.”
“I think you should listen to it, man,” Chenle said. “You never know what kinda shit would happen. Plus, didn’t you say that you wanted to ditch school?”
Jisung shrugged. “That was a joke, kinda.”
“Your parents aren’t home, either,” Chenle replied, “as that’s the whole reason you invited me over in the first place.”
“Yeah, they’re on another business trip.”
“In my honest opinion, I think you should skip. Maybe just hang out here and finish that project that Heaven knows you haven’t done yet.”
Jisung smiled. “We’ll see, I guess. Ready to play Mario Kart? You’re going down.”
Chenle smacked Jisung with his free hand before grabbing the controller. “In history as the best Mario Kart player maybe.”
* * *
When Chenle awoke the next morning, he prayed to himself that Jisung would listen to the message.
Before leaving for school, he quickly got on his computer to check the school room, where he and his friends would post and chat. He scrolled through the messages, smiling to himself as he read back over the conversations he had had with Jisung earlier. The most recent ones, however, were between Jisung, Jaemin and Jeno, who were trying to persuade Jisung to go to school instead of ditching. It was hard to tell whether or not Jisung was listening to them, and Chenle bit his lip anxiously before closing the computer and grabbing his backpack to leave.
* * *
“Dude, did you see the news?”
Chenle shook his head as Mark handed him his phone. His jaw instantly dropped, his heart racing a mile a minute, as he read the headline.
“BREAKING NEWS: A CAR CRASH ON 4TH STREET THIS MORNING REPORTEDLY KILLED THREE PEDESTRIANS.”
Chenle didn’t even continue to watch the rest of the news report before slapping the phone back into Mark’s hands and breaking into a sprint, pulling out his own phone as he ran in the direction of Jisung’s house.
He fumbled with the cellphone, trying to pull up Jisung’s contact, his breath shaky and fingers trembling. He was finally able to find Jisung and clicked on his name.
As he ran, he passed the crash scene, which was still surrounded by police cars and the wreckage. His call went to voicemail, and he stopped running for a second to hang up and call again.
“Come on, Jisung, pick up.”
As if it was a commandment by God, the line clicked and Jisung’s voice came over the phone. “Hey, Chenle! Sorry I didn’t pick up the first time, I was in the kitchen.”
Chenle came to a halt and fell to his knees, shaking this time with relief. “Y-you’re okay?”
“Yeah, why wouldn't I be? Didn’t you get my text earlier that I decided to skip today?”
Chenle’s eyes widened. “N-no, I didn’t. So you did skip? Right? You’re okay?”
“Why are you breathing so hard? Yes, Chenle, I’m fine. Why?”
“Did you see the news?”
Jisung didn’t reply, but Chenle reckoned he was turning on the TV.
“Oh damn.”
“Yeah.”
“Damn. I could have been killed.”
“Yeah.”
“How...how did Voicemail Person know? Damn...they saved my life.”
Chenle let out a big sigh of relief before standing up and continuing his walk to Jisung’s house. “I’m nearly at your house, Sungie. How are you right now?”
“I’m good! Just working on- wait…”
“What?” Chenle asked. “What is it Jisung?”
“My house smells weird.”
“Well, that’s what happens when you don’t take a shower.”
“No, I’m not joking…” Jisung paused. “It smells kinda...kinda like gas?”
Chenle froze. “Jisung.”
“Yeah?”
“Get out.”
“What?”
“Get out of your house, right now!”
“What? Why?”
“Jisung! Fucking listen to me and get out RIGHT NOW!”
“Chenle, what are you-”
A loud bang sounded from the other line of the phone before going completely silent.
“JISUNG!”
* * *
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE
REWIND TO
DATE: APRIL 1 2018
TIME: 17:00
CONFIRMING USER-
ACCEPTED
REWINDING: USER-ZHONG-CHENLE
DATE: APRIL 1 2018
TIME: 17:00
REWIND SUCCESS
* * *
“Dude, I just got the weirdest voicemail.”
Chenle frowned at his friend as he handed him the box of pizza he had brought over. “What did it say?” he asked, closing the door behind him. The two headed to the living room, where they put the pizza on the small table. Chenle grabbed a piece before turning to Jisung.
“Here, I’ll play it for you.” Jisung took out his phone and went to his voicemail box before pulling up the weird message and hitting play.
“TAKE A DIFFERENT ROUTE TO SCHOOL TOMORROW. TAKE A DIFFERENT ROUTE TO SCHOOL TOMORROW. TAKE A DIFFERENT ROUTE TO SCHOOL TOMORROW. TAKE A DIFFERENT-”
Jisung clicked off his phone. “It goes on for, like, a minute. The number is all zeros and when I tried calling back it went straight to voicemail and wouldn’t even let me leave a message.”
Chenle took a bite of pizza, frowning. “That’s weird. Are you going to do what it says?”
“And go the longer way? Heck no; I already walk a long enough route as it is.”
“I think you should listen to it, man,” Chenle said. “You never know what kinda shit would happen.”
Jisung shrugged. “I don’t know…”
“I can take you to school tomorrow morning if you want, so you don’t have to walk the longer route.”
Jisung grinned. “This is why you’re my best friend. You ready for Mario Kart? You’re going down.”
Chenle smacked Jisung with his free hand before grabbing the controller. “In history as the best Mario Kart player maybe.”
* * *
The next morning, Chenle woke up and instantly went to check his computer. The conversations were different this time; Jeno and Jaemin were teasing Jisung for listening to the message, and Jisung had just replied with “Say the two that have to walk to school tomorrow.” Chenle smiled and unplugged his phone before picking up the incoming call from Jisung.
“Hey Bighead, I’m ready, where are you?”
“On my way, sorry! Need to find my math book! Found it. Wait, no, this is my bio notebook. Wait, got it! Sorry, on my way.”
Jisung chuckled. “See you soon, Bighead.”
* * *
“Guys, did you see the news?”
Both Chenle and Jisung shook their heads as Mark handed Chenle his phone.
“BREAKING NEWS: A CAR CRASH ON 4TH STREET THIS MORNING REPORTEDLY KILLED THREE PEDESTRIANS.”
“Oh shit,” Jisung said. “That’s the route I usually take to school.”
Chenle just took a deep breath of relief before looking up to Jisung, whose eyes were wider than the moon.
“Lele, you and Voicemail Person saved my life, oh my god...oh my god…”
“Voicemail Person?
Chenle and Jisung looked at Mark, who had an eyebrow raised.
“Did you read the School Room last night?” Jisung asked. “I made a post about it.”
“I’ll look when I get home,” Mark replied, taking his phone back. “I gotta go, see you two later! Stay safe, okay?”
“Thank you, Mark-hyung!” Jisung said. He turned to Chenle, his mouth hanging open. “Damn.”
“Damn is right,” Chenle replied. “Do you want me to take you home?”
“No, I’m staying after to borrow the dancing room for a bit. You go ahead and go home, I’ll be okay!”
“You sure?”
“Positive.” Jisung grinned and Chenle pulled him into a hug before turning to leave.
“Stay safe, kid,” he said before getting into his car and pulling out.
* * *
Chenle sat down at his computer, reading the comments on the School Room, a small smile on his face. He did good. Jisung had lived through the day. He was safe.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by his phone, which had started buzzing. He looked down to see that Jaemin was calling him.
Putting it to his ear, he answered, “Hey Jaemin, what’s up?”
“Ch-Chenle, please.”
Chenle sat up, his face falling. “What is it, Jaemin?”
“It’s Jisung, it’s Jisung, Chenle oh my god, please get to Saint Patrick Hospital right now, please just-”
“Jaemin, what happened?”
“I don’t know, somebody found him i-in an alley bleeding out from his stomach, p-police said he probably got mugged on his way home from school. Fuck, Chenle, oh my god, oh my god, please get here.”
“I’m on my way.”
Chenle ran out the door and jumped into his car, his phone still in his hand just in case Jaemin needed to call him for anything else. As he was driving, it started buzzing once more, and he put it to his ear.
“Is he okay? Jaemin, please tell me he’s okay.”
“Ch-Chenle…” Jaemin’s voice was shaking and Chenle could tell he was crying, “i-it’s too late. Chenle, he’s gone. He lost too much blood.”
Chenle pulled over to the side of the road, trying to catch his breath. “A-are you sure?”
“I’m sure, Lele. I-I’m so sorry.”
Chenle didn’t say anything else. He just hung up and let his head fall to the steering wheel, sobs shaking his body.
* * *
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE
REWIND TO
DATE: APRIL 1 2018
TIME: 17:00
CONFIRMING USER-
ACCEPTED
REWINDING: USER-ZHONG-CHENLE
DATE: APRIL 1 2018
TIME: 17:00
REWIND SUCCESS
* * *
“Dude, I just got the scariest voicemail.”
Chenle frowned at his friend as he handed him the box of pizza he had brought over. “What did it say?” he asked, closing the door behind him. The two headed to the living room, where they put the pizza on the small table. Chenle grabbed a piece before turning to Jisung.
“Here, I’ll play it for you.” Jisung took out his phone and went to his voicemail box before pulling up the weird message and hitting play.
“DON’T DIE. DON’T DIE. DON’T DIE. DON’T DIE. DON’T DIE. DON’T DIE. DON’T DIE. DON’T DIE. DON’T-”
Jisung clicked off his phone. “It goes on for, like, a minute. The number is all zeros and when I tried calling back it went straight to voicemail and wouldn’t even let me leave a message.”
Chenle took a bite of pizza, frowning. “That’s really weird…”
Jisung nodded. “I’m freaked out, honestly. Do you think it’s some kind of April Fools prank?”
“Maybe,” Chenle responded. “That’s most likely it. Are you okay?”
“I don’t know, I’m getting paranoid about everything. What if it’s not a joke? What if I’m really going to die soon? Chenle what if…”
Chenle just stared at the floor, tears welling in his eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
“What?”
“I’m so sorry, Jisung. I’m so fucking sorry I couldn’t save you in this universe. I tried so fucking hard, Jisung, I really did.”
“What are you talking about?”
“This is not where you get to live. But I’m not going to stop trying. I’m going to try a different universe.”
“What the fuck, Chenle?”
“Goodbye, Jisung.”
* * *
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE
REQUESTING PERMIT TO CHANGE UNIVERSE
CONFIRMING USER-
ACCEPTED
ENTER UNIVERSE CODE
CURRENT UNIVERSE CODE: 90718139
411281371
PROCESSING-
CODE VALID
ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO LEAVE THE CURRENT UNIVERSE?
YES
MOVING USER-ZHONG-CHENLE TO
411281371
UNIVERSE EXCHANGE SUCCESS
* * *
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE STATUS INFORMATION
PROCESSING-
NAME: ZHONG CHENLE
AGE: 17
OCCUPATION: TRANSFER STUDENT
STATUS: ALIVE
USER-PARK-JISUNG STATUS INFORMATION
PROCESSING-
NAME: PARK JISUNG
AGE: 16
OCCUPATION: STUDENT
STATUS: ALIVE
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE AND USER-PARK-JISUNG RELATION STATUS
PROCESSING-
RELATION STATUS OF ZHONG CHENLE AND PARK JISUNG:
NONE
* * *
Chenle opened his eyes to a new ceiling.
He hadn’t met Jisung yet.
His phone buzzed, and he looked to see that Mark was calling him.
“Hey, Mark.”
“Hey Chenle! Just calling to make sure you’re settled in. I know the dorm isn’t much, but I hope everything’s going okay.”
“Everything’s fine, Mark-hyung, thank youuu,” Chenle replied, closing his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“I’m glad,” Mark said. “Anyways, your class starts early tomorrow, and I’m in charge of showing you around first. Be ready at around seven and meet me downstairs. Any questions?”
Chenle sat up and leaned against the wall. “Yeah, one. Is there a kid named Park Jisung at this school?”
“Uhhh...not in this dorm, no. But I’m like, ninety-nine percent sure he’s the famous star athlete at this school. Real talented. Why?”
“Just heard about him before moving here.”
“Well, I don’t know him but he seems pretty friendly so it wouldn’t hurt if you wanted to befriend him.”
“Okay, thank you hyung.”
“No worries. Get some sleep before tomorrow morning, okay?”
“You too.”
Chenle hung up and set his phone down on his bed before taking a deep breath and rolling over to search the computer for the school’s School Room.
* * *
When Chenle got home, he wore a smile on his face. He talked with his mother a bit before retreating to his room and pulling up the School Room to see if Jisung had posted anything.
The two had met earlier that day, and Jisung continuously teased him about how it felt like they had known each other for years. Unknowingly to Jisung, Chenle had known him for years.
Chenle smiled as he saw the selca that Jisung had taken with him before lunch. The caption read, “Bumped into this little dude on the way to the bathroom and by lunch I can already tell that we’re going to be best friends. It’s like we’ve known each other for years!!!” Chenle smiled and clicked through the comments, recognizing his friends from the last universe. Mark was commenting about how he “already made friends with that Jisung kid?? Damn chenle you go! Proud of u” and Renjun talking about how he was jealous. Chenle chuckled to himself before shutting off his computer and pulling out his phone to text Jisung.
Chenle sighed before texting “goodnight” and clicking his phone off. He rolled over, praying that the next day would go smoothly.
* * *
USER-PARK-JISUNG STATUS
PROCESSING-
USER-PARK-JISUNG STATUS:
ALIVE
USER-PARK-JISUNG STATUS BY APRIL 11 2018
PROCESSING-
l/*(#*&ERROR@&/#<<404*>>/#!STATUS NOT FOUND
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE STATUS BY APRIL 11 2018
PROCESSING-
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE STATUS BY APRIL 11 2018:
ALIVE
* * *
“Chenle!”
Chenle ran down from the stands to meet up with Jisung, who had by now changed out into his regular clothes. “Hey, Jisung!”
“You actually came!”
“I had to outscream everyone, duh,” Chenle replied, smirking.
“Dude, that was an impressive high note, though! Don’t tell me you sing…”
“Kind of,” Chenle responded, a smile on his face. “Took you long enough to notice.”
“Oh my god, Chenle! I’ve been looking for a vocal for months I can’t believe I’ve finally found one! Chenle, please!”
“For...for what?”
“I...I may play guitar and I’ve been thinking of posting covers to my Youtube channel. All of my friends have so far denied me, and I really really want someone to do it with, Chenle, pleeeease?”
Chenle grinned. “What’s in it for me?”
“What would you want?”
“Hmm...ramyun. Cook me ramyun and we have a deal.”
“Sold!”
* * *
Two nights later, after filming with Jisung, Chenle got on his computer and opened up the School Room, scrolling through the latest posts. He got to the one that Jisung had posted about their upcoming cover, and replied with “ready or not, here we come!!” before liking his friends’ replies and looking through other posts.
So far, everything had gone well. It had been a little over three weeks, and so far there had been no threat of danger, and Chenle and Jisung had grown closer and closer.
He pulled out his phone, deciding to call Jisung just to check up on him. He smiled as he found the contact, then clicked on it.
It rang for a few seconds before Jisung picked up. “Hey Chenle!”
“Hey Jisungie!”
“Thank you so much for your vocal today! Seriously, it was so good I’m so honored to even be in your presence! And only for the price of ramen...I’m truly blessed.”
Chenle chuckled. “Anything for you, Sung. When will it be up?”
“Soon! Just need to finish editing this little bit before I put it up. Maybe tomorrow after I go for a quick swim.”
“Alright, sounds good! Just wanted to call and check in, it’s nice to hear your voice.”
“Aw, Lele, you’re the sweetest. Anyways, I gotta go. I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“Bye Jisungie!”
Chenle hung up, taking a deep breath before locking his phone and climbing into bed.
* * *
After hanging out with Jisung the entire day, Chenle went home, again happy and content with the day. He was sure that nothing bad would come upon Jisung anytime soon.
When he got to his room, he pulled out his backpack to finish the homework he hadn’t completed while at school. He reached in to look for his math notes, but after not being able to find them, he remembered suddenly that he had left them at Jisung’s house the day before.
Pulling out his phone, he pulled up his texts to message Jisung.
* * *
After three hours, Chenle had finished his homework, and still hadn’t heard a reply from Jisung. Something began to feel weird, so he pulled out his phone once more and shot the other boy some quick texts, but received nothing in return. His heart began to race, so he resorted to calling his friend, hoping that he would pick up.
The phone call went straight to voicemail.
“Jisung, how long are you planning to swim? Please reply to my texts or call me, I’m getting really worried.”
After waiting about ten minutes, Chenle called again, but got the same result.
“Jisung, this isn’t funny.”
* * *
USER-PARK-JISUNG CURRENT STATUS
PROCESSING-
:&$@:>>$:?&^ERROR&)^&3:-9USER-PARK-JISUNG-NOT-FOUND+)(3#@%^&
SYSTEM+REBOOTING
SEARCHING-
USER-PARK-JISUNG
FOUND
STATUS:
01000100 01100101 01100001 01100100
USER-PARK-JISUNG CURRENT STATUS
PROCESSING-
USER-P@R!K JIS#NG STATUS:
DEAD
USER-PARK-JISUNG DEATH CAUSE
PROCESSING-
USW3R-P4@RK%-J!SUN6 DEATH CAUSE:
DROW#NING%>*
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE REWIND TO
DATE: APRIL 6 2018
TIME: 20:30
CONFIRMING USER-
DENIED
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE REWIND TO
DATE: APRIL 6 2018
TIME: 20:30
CONFIRMING USER-
ACCEPTED
REWINDING
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE TO
DATE: APRIL 6 2018
TIME: 20:30
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
ABUSE OF REWIND POWER MAY RESULT IN PERMANENT SYSTEM FAILURE.
CONTINUE?
YES
REWIND SUCCESS
* * *
“Hey Chenle!”
“Hey Jisungie, how did you sleep last night?”
“Good! I got the weirdest text this morning, though.”
“Oh? What was it?”
Jisung showed Chenle his phone.
“See? How dare they bother my healthy lifestyle!”
Chenle just raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know, Jisung. Maybe listen to them.”
“It might just be some random kid who wants the pool to themselves.”
“It’s...it’s not that, I just feel like something could go wrong,” Chenle argued. “I’m not joking, Jisung. I have a strong instinct, it’s weird.”
“You think so?”
“Just for tomorrow, at least.”
Jisung smiled, punching Chenle playfully in the arm. “Somehow you sound like you know exactly what’s going to happen. Let me guess: you’re a time traveller.” Jisung froze, his mouth slowly opening. “Wait! That actually makes sense! That’s how you knew me so well, oh my gosh! We must be friends in different times!”
Chenle chuckled awkwardly. “Uh ohhh, guess I’ve been found out!” he said, putting his hands up.
“Wait, tell me!” Jisung said.
“About…?”
“About my past lives! Were they awesome?”
Chenle bit his lip from anxiety, his mind racing. He knew that Jisung wouldn’t believe him even if he did tell him, so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before nodding. “The first Jisung was a crown prince in the Silla Kingdom. You know the Silla Kingdom, right?”
Jisung nodded. “What about you?”
“I was the crown prince of Tang Dynasty. And even then we were friends. Of course our names were different, but it was still us, you know? And then in the Joseon Dynasty, you were a merchant, and I was too, and we became friends that way. In the 1900s, the world was chaos, and somehow we still ended up together. No matter what timeline, we’re always friends.”
Jisung’s eyes widened. “Duuude, that’s so cool. We are soulmates!”
“Don’t know if we are but we’re definitely destined to be best friends,” Chenle said, putting on his backpack. The bell was about to ring.
“I know this is gonna sound cheesy,” Jisung said, also putting on his backpack, “but let’s become those best friends who grow up together. Like stay-in-the-same-house-until-retirement best friends! Forever!”
“Yeah, that sounds great!” Chenle replied, smiling, although he knew that that would never be possible.
* * *
Later that day, Chenle got another text from Jisung, He unlocked his phone and quickly responded.
Content with his solution, Chenle clicked off his phone and continued working on his homework.
* * *
The next day, after school, Jisung hadn’t arrived. Worried, Chenle called him, his lip nearly bleeding from how much he had been biting it from anxiety.
When the line clicked and Jisung picked up, Chenle felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “Hey, Jisung! Where are you?”
“I’m on my way! Sorry, got caught up with something my teacher needed after class. I’m on my way right now!”
“Okay, good! Your class is in the B Wing, right?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Ew, that means you have to cross the street. Careful, there’s a lot of students going home right now, so make sure you cross safely.”
“Okay, Mom, I’ll make sure to look both ways.”
Chenle sighed. “Can we just stay on the phone please? Just so I know that you’re safe.”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Thank you, Jisungie.”
“Hey, so I wa-”
Jisung’s voice was cut off by the sound of tires screeching and screams before the phone call failed, leaving Chenle in silence with the sound of birds' singing behind him.
Chenle jumped up, tears already falling down his face as he raced from the park, not even caring as he shoved past students to get to the street that led to the B Wing. As he neared, he found his knees getting weaker and weaker, and the next thing he knew he was on the ground.
“Jisung…”
* * *
USER-PARK-JISUNG STATUS
USW3;WR-PA@4K-JISU@~<*#G IS DEAD
USW3;WR-PA@4K-JISU@~<*#G IS DEAD
USW3;WR-PA@4K-JISU@~<*#G IS DEAD
@&$*$&^(@*<<<ERROR>>>????>**##@&ERROR(*)#&&$
YOU-CANN0T-S@VV3#$-P#RK-JIS*&UN)G
* * *
REBOOT SYSTEM
REBOOTING+SYSTEM
PROCESSING-
REBOOT SUCCESS
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE REWIND TO
DATE: APRIL 6 2018
TIME: 20:30
CONFIRMING USER-
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE HAS REWINDED 41,449,357 TIMES
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE CAN NO LONGER REWIND TIME
!ABUSE OF POWER MAY CAUSE PERMANENT SYSTEM FAILURE!
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE REQUESTING TO CHECK FOR VALIDITY FOR TEMPORARY REWIND
PROCESSING-
INSERT DURATION FOR TEMPORARY REWIND
3600 SECONDS
PROCESSING-
RESULT:
VALID
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE TEMPORARY REWIND TO
DATE: APRIL 6 2018
TIME: 20:30
DURATION: 3600 SECONDS
CONFIRMING USER-
ACCEPTED
AFTER THIS USER-ZHONG-CHENLE WILL NO LONGER BE GRANTED ACCESS TO GO BACK IN TIME
CONTINUE?
YES
TEMPORARY REWIND SUCCESS
TIME REMAINING: 3595 SECONDS
* * *
“Hello? Who is this?”
“Jisung, it’s me. My voice may be different or disguised, but it’s me.”
“Who?”
“Listen to me. We sang Forever today. By Lewis Watson.”
“Ch...Chenle?”
“Yes.”
“What the fuck, Chenle? Why not call me from your actual number? Why some creepyass number with all zeros? What the hell?”
“Jisung, I don’t have much time. I don’t know how I can make you believe what I say, because this is going to sound like a load of bullshit but everything I’m about to tell you is real and you have to believe me, I...I need you to believe me. Please just...just listen.”
Jisung’s voice was shaky when he responded. “O-okay.”
“I-I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I tried, I really did.”
“What do you mean?”
“No matter which lifetime or which universe you always ended up dying before you could reach eighteen, and I was the...I was the only one who could save you. But I couldn’t. And I still can’t. I go back in time, I jump from one world to another, I adjust and befriend with a different yet same Jisung every damn time and yet…”
“I still ended up dead?”
“Ye-yes...I don’t know what we, what I did wrong but it was like we were destined to be together yet you had to die before our life even began. It’s been so hard, Jisung. It’s been so damn hard.”
“Why...why do you keep trying to save me?”
“I want you to live. Jisung, I couldn’t let you die when you’d always talk about your future. About having a family, about climbing Mount Everest, about building a farm in New Zealand. Just before I rewinded back here, you were talking about how you wanted to become the next Michael Phelps. I want you to have them, Jisung, even if I can’t be a part of it. As long as...as long as you live long enough.
“Chenle…”
“I want you to live your life to the fullest, even if it’s just once. Just one universe where you get everything you wanted. I would trade everything I have for it. But...now there’s nothing. If you die, I can no longer rewind to save you. There’s only one chance I have left to make a difference.”
“How?”
“Come with me.”
“What?”
“We can escape our fate together, Jisungie. We can travel to countless universes ahead, and the human rules no longer have to bind us. But...we have to leave everything behind. Our friends, our family. We will never be reborn again. All we have will be each other. But we do get to visit every place you want, do anything you want. We would be free, Jisung. I know the cost is a lot, and I understand if you don’t want to, and whatever decision you make I will go with it.”
“To...to be honest, I’m having a hard time processing all of this. And I still don’t know if I believe all of this, but...I trust you, Chenle. I trust you, and I’ll go with you.”
“God, Jisung, I’m so relieved, oh my god, thank you so much. Just sit tight.”
“Wait...before you go…”
“Yeah?”
“WIll we still have our music? Will we still be able to play our music?”
“Of course, we’ll still be living in this world. Just constantly moving, to put it simply.”
“I have one good song to start our trip.”
“What is it?”
“Midnight, by Lewis Watson….what do you think?”
“That’s perfect, Jisungie.”
* * * *
TIME LEFT: 1329 SECONDS
USER-ZHONG-CHENLE AND USER-PARK-JISUNG REQUESTING TO LOGOUT WITH ACCUMULATED AMOUNT OF THEIR POWER
PROCESSING-
.
.
.
.
ARE YOU SURE?
YES
PROCESSING-
ACCUMULATED POWER OF ZHONG CHENLE AND PARK JISUNG:
REWIND TIME: -
UNIVERSE LEAP: INFINITE FAST FORWARD
TIME: INFINITE
LOGGING OUT MEANS YOU WILL NO LONGER BE A PART OF YOUR CURRENT LIFE CYCLE
LOGGING OUT MEANS FULL CONTROL OF YOUR POWER WITHOUT AIDING DEVICE AND ALL CONSEQUENCES WILL BE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED?
YES
DELETING ALL LIFETIMES-
DELETING ALL EXISTING MEMORIES IN MULTIVERSE-
DELETING LIFE CYCLE-
DELETING COMPLETE
SHUTDOWN SYSTEM
SHUTTING DOWN…
GOOD LUCK.
* * *
“This is not the end.”
“This is just the beginning of our endless journey.”