Fruitcake finally turned around, his tail wagging furiously as he bounded excitedly toward Euan. The joyful dog couldn't contain his energy, leaping into the air and landing squarely on Euan, who stumbled back and fell into the soft sand.
Euan laughed, a bright, carefree sound that echoed in the quiet. He playfully rubbed Fruitcake's fluffy face. "You silly dog!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with joy as he rolled onto his back, letting the dog lick his cheeks and nuzzle him with its wet nose. The simplicity of the moment, the warmth of the sun, and the innocence of the dog all felt so pure.
But nearby, Youn-jae was struggling with an unease he couldn't shake. A tension was building inside him, and he found himself frozen, unable to look away. Slowly, he stood up from the terrace, his movements deliberate, as if the world had slowed down around him. His heart pounded in his chest, and his breath caught as his gaze locked on Euan.
What he saw… It was disorienting. Euan's face, the way he moved, even the tone of his laughter—everything about him was so similar to Ji-won. It was as if the person who had been lost to him for so long had come back in a new form, and for a heartbeat, time itself seemed to pause.
Youn-jae's eyes widened in disbelief, his mind racing to make sense of the resemblance. The tilt of Euan's head, the glint in his eyes, the way he seemed so carefree—it was all so familiar, so deeply unsettling. His chest tightened, and memories of Ji-won came crashing back, raw and unbidden. It was as though Ji-won had stepped out of his past and into the present. A painful longing clawed at his heart. He wanted to run to him, to reach out, but something in his chest—something heavy and confused—kept him rooted to the spot.
"What the…?" Youn-jae whispered to himself, his voice barely audible, as he tried to reconcile what he was seeing.
Just then, Euan noticed the figure standing on the terrace. His laughter faded as he gently pushed Fruitcake aside, standing up with fluid grace and wiping sand from his clothes. His gaze shifted toward Youn-jae, and for a brief, inexplicable moment, a flicker of recognition stirred in his chest—a faint glimmer that felt like a memory almost too distant to touch.
Euan squinted, brow furrowing in confusion as his eyes traced Youn-jae's form. There was something familiar in the way he stood, the way the sunlight fell across his features, casting shadows that felt oddly comforting. Euan felt a strange pull, as if the world around him were slightly out of focus, and something important, something elusive, was just out of reach.
A blurry image flashed in his mind—a memory of laughter, of warmth, of a presence that have been forgotten but was inexplicably familiar. His heart skipped a beat. But as soon as the image appeared, it was gone, like trying to grasp at smoke, slipping through his fingers.
Overwhelmed by the intensity of Euan's gaze, Youn-jae's lips parted, trembling as he finally spoke the name he had longed to say, the name he had missed for a lifetime. "Ji-won…" His voice was barely a whisper, but it was enough for Euan to hear.
The name cut through the air like a knife. Euan's entire body stiffened as the word echoed in his mind, sending a jolt through him. His heart raced, and memories began to flood his senses—fragments, flashes of a life he couldn't fully recall. Faces, touches, fleeting moments of happiness that felt distant yet deeply ingrained in his bones.
A sharp pain pulsed in his head as the memories collided, disjointed and fragmented. Euan staggered slightly, his hand flying to his forehead as confusion and pain overtook him. The pieces didn't fit. The feelings were there, but they weren't whole—they were jagged, like shards of glass that cut into him without forming a clear picture.
"Stop…" Euan whispered, his voice shaky. His legs trembled, his body feeling light-headed as he teetered on the edge of something he couldn't grasp. He was lost, caught somewhere between the present and the haze of a past that felt out of reach. Youn-jae's presence was unraveling him.
Youn-jae rushed forward, panic in his eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked urgently, his voice filled with concern.
Euan didn't respond. His breathing became erratic, his pulse quickening as the flashes of memories—of a connection, a life shared—intensified, only to remain just out of reach. His head throbbed, and the name "Ji-won" rang louder in his ears, piercing through the fog.
With a soft, desperate whisper, Euan stumbled backward, as if the memories were a force too overwhelming to bear. "I… I can't…" He shook his head, his chest tightening.
Youn-jae's hand reached out, steadying him, but Euan only shook his head again, his face a mask of confusion. The world around him spun, memories unraveling with each breath he took. "What's wrong? Talk to me," Youn-jae urged, his voice full of both fear and frustration, as he tried to reach Euan.
Before Euan could respond, a sudden voice pierced the tension.
"Oh my god, you're here too!" Tobi exclaimed, her eyes lighting up as she bounded into view. Her theatrical nature came through in her wide grin, and she eagerly descended the terrace, rushing toward Euan and taking his hands in hers. Her voice bubbled with excitement, but she stopped abruptly, sensing the shift in Euan's energy—the same uneasy expression she had seen before at the airport.
Tobi's playful grin faltered as she read Euan's face, her voice shifting to one of concern. "What did you do to him?" she asked, her tone full of curiosity, mixed with worry.
Without warning, Euan pulled his hands free from Tobi's grasp and took off, urgency flashing across his face like a storm. Fruitcake barked in delight, bounding after him with his tail wagging wildly, matching Euan's frantic pace.
"Wait, Euan!" Tobi called out, reaching out to him in vain as he was already too far ahead.
Youn-jae's frustration boiled over. "Hey, do you know him?" he called out, his voice thick with confusion, impatience, and the shock of everything unfolding so suddenly.
"Obviously, yes!" Tobi shot back, exasperated.
"And how? Why?" Youn-jae pressed, his brows furrowing further as his confusion deepened.
"What kind of question is that, Youn-jae?" Tobi huffed, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. "What did you do to him?"
"I didn't do anything! Why would you think I'd do something? I just... when I saw him, I was so shocked. He looks exactly like Ji-Won! I accidentally blurted out Ji-Won's name, and when he heard it, he just... started acting strange. I didn't mean to upset him or make him feel bad," Youn-jae stammered, his voice a mix of defensiveness and uncertainty.
"What?! Again?" Tobi's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What do you mean, again?" Youn-jae asked, his irritation and worry mixing in equal measure.
"I saw the same reaction at the airport, with Andrew and James," Tobi continued, her words tumbling out. "I was just about to tell you about Ji-won when he—"
Before she could finish, Youn-jae interrupted. "What do you mean, Andrew and James?"
Tobi paused for a moment, then sighed. "Yes, Euan is Andrew's lover—the one I've been telling you about," she said, her voice rising in frustration. "You're so clueless about your nephew's life!"
With that, Tobi turned on her heel and stomped back toward the villa, leaving Youn-jae standing in stunned silence.
The world felt like it had stopped moving as Youn-jae stood rooted to the spot. The weight of her words crushed him, his mind racing to process everything he had just learned. Euan was Andrew's lover? And he looked like Ji-won?
The revelation churned in his gut, pulling him deeper into confusion. As his heart hammered in his chest, he slowly began to piece together the past three years—Andrew's strange behavior, the search for Ji-won, Andrew's insistence on moving on, his sudden decision to leave for America... none of it had ever made sense.
"Why was Andrew so desperate to leave, like moving on was so easy for him back then?" Youn-jae whispered, his voice thick with disbelief and pain. The longer he dwelled on it, the more the pieces seemed to align. Euan's face, his striking resemblance to Ji-won—it was too uncanny to be mere coincidence. Was this fate, or was there something deeper beneath it all?
The story doesn't end here...
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