Chapter Text
it started off like it usually did.
yoona awoke on the fateful day with a sigh.
it never really changed.
a warp here, a shift there.
because, of course, yoona remembered everything this morning.
—
yoona has spent seven timelines watching.
she keeps a list of the things she Knows:
1. yoona only Remembers on the eve of her 19th birthday.
heaving out a sigh, yoona kicked her feet out from under the blanket and began the treacherous journey to her kitchen.
at least in this timeline, she knew how to cook.
flicking on the kitchen light, yoona nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of her beloved cat, jio, resting lazily on the counter.
“off, you fat cat,” yoona groaned, shoving him unceremoniously off the surface.
jio yowled in annoyance, swiping an unsheathed paw at her pajama leg before skulking off.
yoona dropped her head against the cabinets. it was hard enough having all the memories rush back every 19th birthday, but having to deal with actual real life at the same time was just… infuriating.
pulling away and ignoring the growing red mark on her face, yoona busied herself with breakfast.
what she didn't know was what this timeline would offer.
what she did know was that jiwoo was waiting for her.
—
“good morning unnie!”
yoona couldn't help the smile on her face at the sight of one of her favorite people as she entered the convenience store where they both worked.
jiwoo always knew how to make her feel better, especially during the early morning shifts.
“good morning, jjyu. how has it been so far this morning?” yoona asked, shrugging her coat off and hanging it on a hook next to jiwoo's own.
hands behind her back, jiwoo approached slowly.
“pretty good, but better now that you're here because…”
as jiwoo trailed off, she pulled out a small cupcake from behind her back, lit up with one candle that had to have been stolen from one of the shelves.
yoona gasped, already having forgotten that it was indeed her 19th birthday.
jiwoo smiled up at yoona. “make a wish, unnie.”
swallowing down the growing sob in her throat, yoona smiled shakily, clasping her hands in front of her with closed eyes, and finally… finally making her wish.
“please let my friends live this time…”
yoona blew out the candle.
—
“do you ever think that you want to do something different in life, unnie?”
yoona turned to jiwoo, looking at her as if trying to memorize her.
the girl who had been through too much, but would never remember any of it.
the girl who had survived horrors only to be thrown into even worse.
the girl who was too busy kicking rocks down the road to notice the emotional conflict on yoona’s face.
turning back to face the street and its sunset glow, yoona thought about what she should even say.
“i wish i had the choice to do something different,” was what she settled on.
“what do you mean?” jiwoo asked, tilting her head to the side like a puppy. yoona chuckled at that, being reminded of a past timeline where jiwoo and her fought briefly due to yoona giving jiwoo the nickname of “pup”.
yoona shook her head to clear her thoughts.
“just,” she began tentatively, “whenever i consider anything else, i… i don't feel like i’m allowed to actually do it, you know?”
yoona didn't wait for a response, instead taking jiwoo by the arm and dragging her up onto the sidewalk. she wouldn’t let them catch her so easily on the road.
“be careful, jjyu,” she said softly, “we can't let traffic get us.”
jiwoo furrowed her brow, confusion written all over her face. “o–kay?”
with a smile, yoona continued to drag jiwoo along, content to spend this time with her…
while it lasted.
—
another thing that yoona didn't know was that this timeline was accelerated.
she hadn't met any of the others yet, and still their paths intersected.
and it ended as it always does.
—
“you have got to be kidding me.”
yoona turned, chuckling a little bit despite the blood running down her forehead.
“i had hoped you escaped,” was her simple response.
the speaker, removing her hood to reveal a highly-annoyed kyujin, sighed and crossed her arms. “well, i was hoping the same thing!” she huffed, gesturing toward the wreckage of the ship she had been attempting to build. “this piece of junk didn't even have a chance to try! they got to us first this time!”
as they stood in the junkyard where the remains of kyujin’s “ship” lay, yoona had to laugh at the gravity of the situation:
they were already here.
they were still trying to hold them captive.
and
they had already destroyed the ship.
kyujin tilted her head back and let out a loud groan, frustration over her hard work being burned seeping out.
yoona smiled, despite it all.
kyujin always remembered, was the only other person who ever remembered, which made it both easier and harder for yoona to deal with the… situation.
so yoona added to her list, as always.
1. yoona only Remembers on the eve of her 19th birthday.
2. yoona is one of the only two who remember.
—
things in the accelerated timelines always went down way too fast.
they always found lily first.
then jinsol.
haewon.
kyujin.
jiwoo.
and finally.
yoona.
unfortunately for yoona, that meant being forced to remember the screams.
the agony, the sobbing, the pain.
however, they found them even quicker this time.
yoona barely had time to breathe before kyujin was being shot at point blank range in front of the ruins of her own ship.
in front of yoona.
the others had all been caught by them, executed, and left to rot in the ruins.
yoona felt the telltale tears falling down her face.
it always ended like this.
of course it did.
—
yoona is grateful for their mercy.
at least she wouldn't be bleeding out too much.
—
yoona thinks of her list.
1. yoona only Remembers on the eve of her 19th birthday.
2. yoona is one of the only two who remember.
3. yoona is going to die last, she always does.
—
“no… no, please… not again…”
yoona strains to hear the voice.
it sounds so familiar.
“wh-who…” yoona inadvertently cuts herself off with a cough, the pain in her abdomen growing worse by the second.
the arms surrounding her grow tighter, desperate.
yoona looks up once more, only to see a curtain of hair blocking her view of the stranger’s face.
“please… no…”
yoona recognizes that voice… but who…
“this happens every time…”
the curtain moves.
yoona’s eyes widen, the pain in her abdomen fading away from her mind.
“jiwoo?”
—
yoona has spent seven timelines watching her friends, her family, go up in flames.
because of this, she knows a few things:
1. yoona only Remembers on the eve of her 19th birthday.
2. yoona is one of the only two who remember.
3. yoona is going to die last, she always does.
?. yoona doesn't realize there is another set of eyes watching them.
—
End of Chapter 1.