"You look better these days," Hei-won observed as they both tried to catch their breaths. They just finished practicing the choreo for RAVN's upcoming comeback, and the group—as well as their crew—are now cooling down before they all go home.

"Of course he is! Our boy is in love," Asher wiggled his eyebrows and teased in a sing-song voice.

Kio chuckled, shaking his head while wiping his sweaty neck and arms. He took his shirt off and leaned back, his weight being supported by his arms. "Stop worrying about me, Hei. I'm doing well, seriously," he looked at the other older members, reassuring them all.

Yohan smiled, "we can see that. We're happy for you."

He smiled back in gratitude, his chest filled with pleasurable warmth. It's been a week since Lilac left for China, but despite the distance, their feelings never wavered. They consistently found time to talk every night, either through video or audio call.

God, he's beyond happy. The past days were like a daydream. The nightmares disappeared, and his past has become a long-forgotten memory. It's like his demons got wiped out and his broken pieces got glued together. There are no lingering worries anymore. 

It was as if Aera's words were the key, and Lilac giving him a chance was the lock getting undone and him being completely free. When he said his girlfriend is his salvation, he wasn't the least bit joking.

The others left one-by-one till it was only him and Asher. He felt rather lazy after tonight's practice, and took his time to change into a new shirt and organize his stuff.

"You coming, Kio?," his remaining companion asked, already carrying his bag and holding the door open.

"You should go first. I'll rest a little longer."

The older guy shrugged, "okay, drive safely. See you tomorrow," he saluted before leaving.

He sighed, stretched his arms and legs a bit and finally stood up, phone in hand. A smile automatically brightened his face, seeing a message notification from his girl.

From: My Brightest Star
The thing I miss—second—most about SK is the food... of course, right after you! I might go online later than usual, but I'll try to call when we take a 10-min break. I love you, my Ki-Ryeong xx

Just to tease his girl, he decided to stop by Hongdae and buy some street food—something to taunt her with once she calls. Maybe he can tempt her and convince her to come home earlier? Hmm... good planning, Ki-Ryeong.

It's been a while since he visited the place. The bustling commercial street had been his reprieve whenever he's stressed, or when he had some free time to take a walk outside and enjoy the night. It's not a secret that he's fond of the place, many of his fans have spotted him there already, and he was even photographed more than once.

Strolling through the familiar paved walkway felt nostalgic. His usual all-black get-up mixing well with the other pedestrians, even with his baseball cap and mask, he doesn't look out of place.

He paused, hearing a busker singing a familiar tune. He can't help but smile and sing along his group's own song; 'The Tale of Smeraldo.'

While muttering the lines, he glanced around and his eyes abruptly stopped at a newspaper stand in front of one of the stores. He was compelled by the headline on the single piece of tabloid left in the stand. Once close enough, he stopped and adjusted his cap so he could read the print clearer.

Petition for K4RMA Disbandment Initiated by RAVN Fans Trended Worldwide

The chaos online is something he can't ignore forever, he's aware, but he's too caught up by the bliss to even bother posting his own statement. Seeing the current news, he reminded himself to talk with the chief tomorrow and ask his permission.

It's about time he do something about this.

"I see, you've been busy."

He stilled, and as his shoulders turned rigid, an ominous feeling charged into his entire being. The familiar voice seem to always make his heart nearly jump out his chest. And though in the past, he brought him good news, he's certain that tonight is a different case.

"Why are you here?," he didn't turn to look at the old man, his head still swimming in disbelief.

"To warn you."

As his heartbeat almost deafened his ears, he finally turned to the old hourglass maker. There he is, looking the same as the last time he saw him, with his cane and fedora hat.

"I still have more than eight months left, and I haven't done anything wrong. I don't think there's something you should warn me about."

Elius Spencer faintly laughed, his mustache bouncing above his lips. "You haven't done anything wrong? How can you be so sure, boy?"

A frown masked Kio's face, "I'm sure. I haven't hurt anybody or caused any problems. All I've been doing is make Lilac happy!"

"How can you explain that?," the man nodded in the direction of the newspaper stand—the tabloid, in particular—and his eyes instantly averted back to it.

"That's..." he hesitated, "something unavoidable."

The man's laughter seemed to get louder and more taunting. "That wasn't the plan," he pointed at the paper with his cane, "the plan was help her be happy without you, Ki-Ryeong. Be a bystander, or be her good friend. Love should have been out of it."

"You can't blame me—"

"This is not your world."

Fuck. You don't need to remind me.

Before he could refute once more, Mr. Spencer already beat him to it. "So you already met your fellow traveller?"

"Fellow traveller?," his brows furrowed before realization hits; "are you talking about Aera?"

Elius nodded, "did she tell you how she was able to stay? Did she convince you to do the same?"

"I might stay."

"Hmm... then destroy the hourglass."

Kio took a deep breath. Will that make him stay permanently? That must be it. It makes sense though, the hourglass is his connection with the original world and without it... he won't be able to go back. But why does he feel like there's something more to this than what the old man is letting out?

"I still have enough time to decide, I should keep my options open," he added.

"Trust me boy, you don't."

He wasn't able to control the snap in his voice, "you said one fucking year, old man. We had a deal."

"You didn't follow through the initial plan!" Elius completely faced him, taking a few cautious steps while the bottom of his cane makes soft thudding sounds against the pavement. "She's not meant to be with you in this world."

"What?"

"Your mistake is making her fall in love with you. The moment Lilac started loving you, there was a shift in fate and reality."

He hid his trembling hands inside his pockets and faced the man as well, "what's so bad about shifting fate and reality? We're both doing great, like I said earlier—Lilac is happy. Everything going just fine."

"Everything may seem like it now, but it's not. Picture this, Ki-Ryeong, there are two lines parallel to each other and another line connecting them," Elius wrote what looked like an uppercase letter 'H' on the ground with the tip of his cane. 

"The connection in the middle is the hourglass, the parallel lines are your original universe and this one. The parallels had their own paths; away from each other and never colliding. But you... you changed this world's path and it's a domino effect. The connection got compromised, the hourglass got weaker, it started acting up."

"The parallel lines are in the verge of collision," Kio concluded himself.

"And once they collide, they will begin travelling the same path. You know where the path of your original universe lead."

Dread. His legs almost gave up as dread gripped his heart.

"You either break that hourglass to severe the connection, or go back to your original world. Else... Lilac's fate will be the same—death," the old man finished.

"No! Why didn't you—"

He was about to confront the man when his phone vibrated.

"Better check that first, boy. Looks like it already started."

From: Bae Seo-mi
Lilac collapsed in the middle of tonight's shoot. Call Manager Hak for updates.