Amnesia

XX.

Remy was staring into Jeongguk's eyes. They were black in real life, she realized, not brown like they often appeared in pictures. Sunlight was shining throughout the room they were in, creating a soft glow. There was a comforting warmth in the room. It felt like having a blanket draped over oneself. Even the wood floor under her back felt soft and familiar. It gave the sensation of coming home.

She let them stare at each other for what felt like a long time. Remy saw every detail in his face as if he were a piece of art in a museum she was admiring. She saw every eyelash, every freckle on his cheeks. She admired the small marks that remained from his former ear piercings that had healed over, and she admired the iconic scar on his cheek.

They didn't say anything for a while, just stared at each other.

Then, quietly, he whispered, his lips barely moving. "This isn't real."

That should have shattered the moment, but it didn't. Birds sang through the pinewood walls and Remy couldn't help but wish that this was really happening. The moment just seemed so quiet and serene compared to what had been happening the past few days.

"This isn't real," Jeongguk whispered just a little more strongly. He was still under the trance.

He was right, though. Remy struggled to remember what she had said before jumping off the cliff. That if they gave up and stayed in the dream, they were giving up on the people that needed them.

But something about this was different. It occurred to Remy that all of the encounters she had with Jeongguk had been in the dream. In real life, they had never even spoken to each other. In real life, they were still complete strangers, and she didn't want that.

So she picked herself up and leaned over him, her hair falling all around them. "It doesn't have to be," she said.

He looked bewildered. "But this is all just in our heads," he breathed out softly.

"That doesn't mean it's not real."

He smiled then, his black eyes glassy. She was smiling too, for some reason that she couldn't name. She stood up and reached out a hand to help him stand as well.

It was only then that Remy actually looked around the room they were in, and she felt the blood drain from her face.

"You know this place, right?" Jeongguk asked.

Remy swallowed, trying to dampen her dry throat and nodded.

"I figured. I didn't think I had ever been here before. Where are we?"

Remy closed her eyes and let out all the air in her lungs through one long exhale. "It's an antique shop," she said. "It used to be my favorite place in the world when I was a child. Back when I was called by my middle name, rather than my first name."

He looked confused for a second, then nodded. "Oh. That makes sense."

"You figured out that I was Lacie, didn't you guess where the name had come from?"

He faltered over his words. "I didn't want to be rude."

Remy glared at him.

"Besides, you don't want to be called that, right?" he sounded a little anxious.

"No, I don't. Never call me that again, please and thank you."

"God, you're complicated."

She scoffed. "You ain't seen the half of it yet, beautiful. Anyway, I-"

Remy stopped talking when she heard a noise from behind one of the tall shelves that reached to the ceiling. "What was that?" Jeongguk asked. He looked like he was either ready to run or to fight, and Remy had a feeling that whatever she did next would determine the outcome. But she wasn't scared. Or frightened. She knew what was behind that shelf, and she was going to choose to not be afraid of it. She had been afraid of it for too long.