The Black Prince & The White Prince

White Plan

The next few memories he had to watch felt the same as he first one did. Although he was only allowed to look into one per day, none of them really gave him a strong sense of familiarity. Most of his memories were spent with the same girl whose name he couldn't even recall. They were reading in one of the memories and playing small pranks on one another. Another memory was of Minhyun greeting her with a back hug and another of them sharing ice cream. He would watch the memories carefully, trying to remember all these events.

The old man tried to reassure him by saying things like memories were tricky and would take time. Today's memory wasn't that much different either. He was on a balcony with his phone, calling the girl and waving to her as she noticed him. He smiled and moved his phone from his ear but the moment he did that, he heard a soft whisper. He froze and looked around.

"Who's there?" He whispered but the memory kept going and he didn't have time to find out what that was. He woke up once the memory ended and found the old man tinkering with the dosage.

"Old man...," he whispered and removed the helmet.

"Yes, Minhyun?"

"What is... a phone?" He asked, looking at his hand and recalling the foreign object he held in his hand earlier. The old man explained that it was a digital device that people used to communicate with each other but somehow, Minhyun didn't feel like it was something he knew of yet he owned one in the memory. "Can I see... this phone?"

His question seemed to make the old man shocked. "I'll see if I can bring one tomorrow."

"Thank you," he said and smiled. The old man nodded and left with the bucket again. Minhyun got up from the chair and did what he usually do nowadays. Make sure the old man entered the same building, check the door to see if it was locked and back to the machine. He felt a strong need to go over to the other building somehow. Although he couldn't really recall much, his emotions said otherwise. His curiosity and suspicions were still lingering in him.

"How do I get out...," he muttered to himself. He needed another day to test again but this time, he would need more time between the old man turning the machine off and him sitting on the chair. He looked around and saw the carpet on the floor. He thought for awhile, recalling how the days play out. The old man would always come in when he was asleep and wake him up after setting the machine up, he knew this because he had faked sleeping once. He couldn't risk waking up and running straight for the door. He didn't know what exactly was the old man capable of.

After giving it some thought, he came up with a plan to sleep on the carpet this time. It was closer to the door and he shifted the machine slightly so the old man's back would be facing him while he set up the machine. He could only hope this would work. He didn't know how much longer he could stand being stuck here with only one memory being played in his mind everyday.

And so he waited for the next day, laying on the carpet. The old man walked him and seemed to give him a light nudge on the shoulder to make sure he was asleep before walking to the machine to set up. Minhyun turned over quietly to make sure the old man wasn't looking his way and pushed himself up. He turned the knob to find it unlocked. He knew the knob and door itself didn't make noise too so it was safe for him to assume the old man just left them unlocked when he was inside. Minhyun quickly laid down again after confirming that when he noticed the old man was done.

Thankfully he didn't get caught at all as the old man shook his awake like always. He pretended to wake up groggily and greeted the other as he was led to the chair. The helmet slid onto his head and his consciousness slipping into another universe. He opened his eyes to find himself at the bridge again. The same fog covering the area. The same doors that wouldn't budge. Then it faded and there was the girl again. This time, they were back at the amusement park. They did the same things again. A repeat of the first dream. Except the ending was slightly different. She turned to him with a wide smile at the end of the date.

"I love you, Minhyun," She said in a happy tone. Minhyun felt his lips move to reply her.

"I. Love." But then he stopped. His eyes stared at the girl's. A static like effect seemed to cover the girl, changing her to a him without a face. Then back to her smile again. "I love..." Minhyun's mouth moved again but he couldn't complete the sentence. Why?

"Who are you?" He asked out of his own accord but the memory started fading all around him and he woke up in a jolt. The old man was startled too since it had been awhile since Minhyun woke up in a shock.

"Was the dosage too high?" The old man mumbled to himself and started removing the crystal. Minhyun watched as he turned the machine off again.

"Wait. The phone," he quickly said before the man left. The old man shook his head.

"I forgot. Don't worry about it. It's not something to be curious over," the old man replied and waved before leaving. Minhyun nodded a little and went to the balcony to watch the old man repeat the same pattern. As long as the pattern never changed, he felt a chance to actually get out of this repetitive pattern. He noticed himself in the mirror as he walked in. Confused, he went closer to see that he had actually cried.

"Why..." He wiped his cheek and wondered when did that happen.