The airplane lands, bumps and scuds to a stop without difficulty. I'm as surprised as I am relieved. There was turbulence earlier in flight and I already had my seatbelt unplugged, ready to grab as many humans as I could and dive off the plane.

Jisung and I pick up our suitcases and leave the airport in a shuttle. I can see the city in the distance; the skyscrapers slope into a modest skyline, buildings bathed in sunlight. We chose this city for its size, but also its tagline — 'music is essential, sleep is not.' It's known for its impromptu district-wide jamborees that only appear at night. Jisung and I agreed that music was something we both needed more of.

The shuttle lets us off downtown. It's a short walk to the graceful, vine-covered Hotel Rorty. I don't think I've ever seen a building made of actual stone before. We check in and head up to our room. Mints on the pillows, windows overlooking the street below, sun streaming in.

"Beautiful," I murmur.

Jisung struggles out of his backpack. "Very. Feels weird to stay in a normal hotel for once."

"As opposed to Oracle's dungeon?"

"No, love hotels."

I swallow. "Okay, never mind then."

"It was innocent — and cheap, unlike this place. We need to start apartment hunting soon."

"Is that a right-now thing?"

"Now is dinner, TV and sleeping off the jet lag." He unzips his suitcase and pulls out his old man slippers. "And slippers."

So we're lazy for the evening, channel surfing and eating room service in bed. We end up watching a show called 'Lab of Nightmares,' a soap opera-esque take on what happened in Oracle. We nearly fall off the bed laughing. I record some of the better bad moments to send to Haruko and the others.

The jet lag catches up with us — we can't stay awake past 7:30. I fall into a fitful sleep, dreams trying to wriggle into my mind. All I see is static.

I wake a few hours later to a giant glowing head outside the window. For a second I wonder if I've somehow managed to reverse the dream-ectomy Oracle gave me. Then my body thaws and I realize it's real.

I jolt up and run across the room. Holograms are flickering against the night sky, projections of the people dancing in the street. Vendors line the sidewalks with all kinds of snacks and games, music blares from speakers on every street corner.

"Jisung, are you seeing this?" I say, squinting against the lights.

I hear him groan. "No — close the curtains."

I didn't expect to see a festival on our first night in the city. People are smiling and dancing like it's been years since the last. I want to feel it for myself.

I close the curtains, change out of my pyjamas and pull on my jacket. I'm about to ask Jisung if he wants to go with me — though I probably already know the answer — but he's fast asleep with the pillow over his face. I leave a note on the bedside table.

I walk out onto the street, gawking up at the holograms. Dresses, suits, shawls — I've never seen these fabrics before. I follow the current down the sidewalk, craning to see what the vendors are selling.

Crowds like this usually repel me. All the infinite ways disaster could hit, all the humans that wouldn't make it out. There's something about this place, these people — the night is when they come out to play. I wonder how long it's been since something awful happened here. I wonder if they remember or care. There's no one to save here.

I step off the curb into the street. A beam of light follows me, towering high above. I move my hand and the giant me moves his as well.

A surge of people pushes me into the middle of the street, talking all at once, encouraging me to join the parade. I bluster and say no, embarrassed; they tell me to loosen up, then try to teach me how to move my feet. I think I'm getting the hang of it but they're laughing pretty loud.

Eventually I lose them in the crowd. The music is loud and rhythmic, changing every time I pass through an intersection. I watch the booths go by, families playing bean bag toss, a medium telling fortunes, a kid getting their face painted like a butterfly. One booth is empty, just a chair and a human with a machine in their hand.

I realize they're a tattoo artist, the thing in their hand is a tattoo gun. I should have guessed; a skull is inked on their face, sleeves of serpents coil up their arms.

The tattoo artist catches me staring and motions me over.

My hand automatically moves to my collarbone, where my tattoo used to be. A dark blue key to match Jisung's lock. One time I asked him what he missed most about who he lost, and he gave the tattoo as an answer — probably trying not to get too specific.

It stuck with me. They were a symbol of love. The key meant something and it was erased like it meant nothing at all.

The next thing I know I'm under the needle, wincing against the pain. It's rash, I know. I'm remembering back to that night in the Sub-levels, speaking openly with Jisung for the first time. We were drunk, should've been asleep, but we passed a tattoo parlour and couldn't help ourselves.

The tattoo artist finally lets up and gives me a mirror.

Oh my God. It looks better than the reference I drew. Like a fairytale, it's the kind of key an evil godmother would use to lock her daughter in a tower.

I'm about to say I love it, but a thought makes me pause. Does this... make me a clone? Was that what I wanted? I'm not trying to replace anyone or pretend I'm Minho... or the other Minho...

"Can I bandage you up?" the tattoo artist asks.

"Um... no. No, I have another idea."

Tattoos are more expensive than I thought. I'm glad I took Jisung's jacket by mistake — there's enough in his pocket to cover me. I walk against the current, back toward the Hotel Rorty. My ass hurts from the hard chair and my chest feels like it's been sunburnt. The music is still going as I retreat into the hotel lobby, bouncing up on my toes while I ride the elevator.

I open the door to our room slowly, hoping not to wake him. But he's already sitting up in the lamplight, gnawing through a bag of candy. His face lights up as he sees me, his shoulders relax.

"You went out," he says.

"Have you been waiting up?"

"Yeah — just for an hour or so. I saw your note and I wasn't sure whether to come find you or wait for you to get back or... am I being overprotective again?"

"A little."

He sighs. "Sorry. I just didn't expect you to willingly go outside."

"I know, weird impulse." I sit on the edge of the bed. "It's so cool down there — everybody's happy. I didn't know people could do that, you know, collectively."

"Sounds beautiful, I should have come with you. Did you buy anything?"

I smile, feeling my cheeks flush. "Yeah. Look, I was being spontaneous or whatever, and I did... something..."

"Well? Keeping me in suspense?"

I scoot toward him, pulling my collar down. Suddenly he's looking right through me. His lips fall open, wordless.

"Is it awful?" I ask nervously.

"No... no. It looks so... similar." He moves closer, gently touching the clear bandage over the keys, one after the other. "Why three?"

"I dunno. It felt wrong with only one. I thought it could mean something, like, one key for every life I've lived. One for every life I... I've loved you."

He smiles so wide. His eyes are glassy. "I can't believe you." He lets his head down on my shoulder.

"It's important to me. I know there's more you miss, and we're not... the same as we were..."

He nods softly. Then he lifts his face and presses his lips to the side of my neck.

"I love you, Minho. However you want me to love you, that's how I'll do it."

I'm made of butterflies. He looks up at me, our eyes catch, don't let go. Don't let go.

I kiss him. His hands raise to hold my face. Every breath of love in him, it's all mine. Ours. The keys inked on my chest, the ghosts whispering in my ear.

I could be anyone in the world. Just as long as I'm somebody to him.

—

the end <3

i feel evil for ending it the moment they finally kiss :') oh well, ending the story is really the only way for my characters to escape the endless torture i put them thru skjkkskjk (sorry boys ily)

anyway thank you for reading till the end! hope you have a lovely day/night ❤️💛💚💙💜💖🖤