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Jiwoo watched as Sullyoon continued to bury parts of the ship into the damp sand, her sweat trickling down to her sleeves. All she remembers is that one second, she was dreaming of a black sheep in a bright field, and the next she felt herself getting dragged with the waves whispering through her ears.
They were on their way to MIXX— Jiwoo remembers that much. She remembers the story book and the candy shop and the training they had to do just so they could sail on their journey towards their limitless imagination. She remembers the ship (which is currently half sunk on the coast) crash.
She really has no idea how they were here, nor why Sullyoon was so mad.
The doctor kept cussing under her breath as she dug deeper into the shore, right after she had to bandage Jiwoo’s hand after stepping on it (her nimble fingers were so sore till now even though it wasn't stepped on that hard anyways). Sullyoon was incomprehensible as she muttered to herself, the words ‘Kyujin’, ‘Haewon’, and ‘again’ being repeated like a mantra. It was confusing, to say the least. Where were the rest and why haven't they made a move?
“Jiwoo,” Sullyoon wipes her sweat off as she throws the shovel down the manmade hole along with the rest of the wood of the ship. “I need you to pick Haewon up from the institute, and then save Kyujin from the Monopole.”
The institute?
“Why… would Haewon be there?” The investigator asked as she skipped beside Sullyoon, who had started walking away from the apparent crash.
“Because every time one of you dies, you end up in the same situation as last time. I’ll pick up Bae and we'll meet up back at the outskirts where your dream was, okay?”
What is going on?
It has been 30 time loops where she has tried (and failed) to stop the journey. More than half of those loops consist of Haewon being the first to die manning the wheel.
She should not have opened that damned box.
They all thought that MIXX was a beautiful world where they could expand it with just their mere thought, hell even Kyujin was fooled into making a ship for them (4 loops in, Sullyoon questions if Kyujin even graduated from an engineering program). The journey to MIXX was rough, and it got rougher when the white suited stiffs found out of their plans to take over and save everyone. The only choice was to fight back or stay in the Field, everyone always chose to fight.
For the people of MIXX who are trapped in the clutches of the strict control of the Monopole, just like how they were stuck in the lifeless pace of the Field.
12 loops in, Sullyoon wishes they just went back to their miserable life.
Most times, they all die in the crash and Sullyoon was left to hide the remains until Kyujin gets back from where she reawakens, usually under the clutches of the Monopole. But there were instances— like their current predicament, where one or two members do not die and continue to remember the last loop. Haewon has never made it out alive even once.
The captain always goes down with the ship.
It's either she dies on the helm steering the ship away or she dies trying to get everyone out of the ship. Haewon always loses her life on the journey and it's driving Sullyoon crazy.
She doesn't remember how many times she sees Haewon dead in the cockpit with her hand tightly clutched onto the wheel, or how many times she watches as Haewon emerges from the institution with empty eyes. She does remember that in all those moments, she was trying to save her.
Sullyoon watches as Haewon, Jiwoo, and Kyujin pop out from the other side of the outskirts, walking towards Lily who smiles at the sight of them coming together. She always questioned why Lily always chose to hang out with the sheep when her loop resets, but she never got to ask.
On the other side, Kyujin glances at everyone, catching Sullyoon’s hard stare. The dried blood on her knuckles weigh heavy, and she watches as their captain takes the bat from Bae with a haunted yet determined look.
She braces herself.
Building the ship over and over again, trapped in an enclosed space for days at a time, Kyujin forgot how beautiful the ocean was. But the gold on her fingertips sends dread all over her body. She couldn't help but cry.
The 31st loop starts with just them, Sullyoon and her on the beachfront.
Footsteps slowly come towards her, dragging along the sand. She turns her head away from the horizon and finally looks at Sullyoon. They're both defeated— again. Kyujin doesn't understand why they keep on failing.
The ship grows bigger and bigger in every loop. From a yacht to a full on pirate ship in order to house more people. Kyujin was so sure the impetus radiating from everyone was enough to escape, but she failed again.
Sullyoon doesn't give her assurance, she stopped doing so 7 loops in when their original driver met her tragic fate. They never saw her again on the next loop, it was Haewon who always took responsibility at the helm after. Kyujin knows that Sullyoon blames her for that, and she might as well just stab Kyujin over and over again if Haewon meets the same end.
Kyujin didn't know what to do but nod. She understands now, Sullyoon didn't have to tell her again.
15 loops in, Sullyoon says something that always echoes at the back of her mind.
‘This journey is bound to fail.’
Sullyoon reaches out to Haewon in her dreams, just like how she did for the rest of them on the past loops. She had no ability to speak in their dreams, and so 37 loops in, she decided to learn how to sign.
‘I really hope we can meet again.’
Haewon finds her at a party, jokingly checking if the partygoers are high by shining a light on their pupils. She didn't even get to finish her bachelors, the loops taught her everything.
Except how to save Haewon's life.
Sullyoon walks toward the captain and shows her the planned date of their departure. Bae already scoped out the runway for Kyujin, and Lily has reached out to more Nswers who wanted to come. In this loop, Jiwoo finds the box and opens it. Sullyoon should have known that writing ‘DO NOT OPEN’ on the box will not work on Jiwoo even in the slightest.
34 loops in, Kyujin started working on a new blueprint. Instead of weaving through the sea, she intended to go way past the atmosphere. She persisted that it'll work, and Sullyoon didn't have the energy to disagree anymore.
Sometimes she forgets that Kyujin was just as affected by the loop as she is. Everything kept on breaking and mending like it was all just a stupid dream. Sullyoon had to save Kyujin from drowning in her head multiple times, albeit rather harshly.
Sullyoon had her own problems. She wasn't a major in psychology anyway.
“Sullyoon,” Haewon follows her through the tunnels. “do you think we’ll reach MIXX? Maybe even beyond?”
She hums like she's in deep thought, humoring the question that pains her.
“I hope so.”
‘You feel the same way, don't you?’
On the same loop, against all odds, they take flight.