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"So where were you?"

They were still in Jungwon's family house, fighting the awkward atmosphere surrounding them. When they snapped out of it, they both let go from the hug each coughing and pretending to talk about something that the other had no absolute interest in. Only when he had asked where she was did they both actually get themselves together.

She crossed her arms, leaning on the couch. "I was visiting fate."

"You can visit fate?" He asked. "Didn't fate lock you in this reality?"

She nods. "There's a spell where I can send my soul to the library of realities but my body remains to wherever reality I am. It's a spell created so we strangers can communicate with fate without having to leave the reality."

The time where he will grow tired of this fascinated facts about her magic will surely never come because the more she talks about being a stranger, the more amazing facts there were to learn. But there was one question that he has yet to ask her.

"What really is a stranger?"

She knew that question would come sooner or later. And she was more than prepared to answer that question.

"A stranger is a person who left their old reality to find a new home. Hence the gift to step foot in the library of fate. Fate called us strangers because that will always be who we are to the realities we enter. No one knows us, no one will be familiar of us. We're simply strangers to everyone." She explained.

He paused. "That means..."

She was once a human too but she left her reality to find a new home.

Jihee smiles. "Yes, I was once like you all. Ordinary. I gave that up to look for a new home, I don't remember my old life but I'm sure it's bad otherwise I would've never left."

"Then there's more of you?"

She shook her head. "Fate only allows one stranger at a time. When a stranger picks a reality they want to live at, they have to find a replacement first."

"Being a stranger is so hard." He frowned to which she only laughed at.

A sad realization hit him. Her past life must have been so hard that she agreed to become someone with no home, no place to go, no people to confide in. But if he think about it being a stranger has its advantage. She could freely do things and she is not restricted by any sort of law (aside from the rule fate gave her not to show her powers).

"So that means you can stay in this reality if you choose to?"

She nods. "But that's a huge risk. That's why fate gives us ten months to make a decision."

He didn't know why a slight glint of hope appeared on his chest after hearing that there was a chance she could stay but he understood how big of a decision it was.

"Do you know where my favorite place is in this house?" He asked, the side of his lips raising a little as he stared at her.

She raised her eyebrow, probably a way of telling him that she had no idea. He stood up and she had no choice but to follow him to wherever he was heading. They entered his old room to which she had already gone into one time while she was exploring the house.

Her eyes widened when he opened the window and walked through it. Reluctant, she continued to follow him and with his guidance she was able to climb to the roof. Now they were sitting on top, admiring the twilight that had now turn into dusk. The darkness had now engulfed most of the sky and the heat from earlier was replaced with a colder wind.

"Sunoo and I used to go here every time to hide from our parents. We would play games here all day long." Jungwon said, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the wind.

She smiled as she watched him. She has never ever felt so relaxed with someone. "Why did you bring me here then?"

He looked at her this time. "Just because."

She chuckled. "I've entered a reality once that had the most beautiful clouds, it was like cotton candies filled the sky." She says. "But then again it was a world made of candy so I guess that explains the sky."

He laughed and laughed the whole night, and so was she. It felt as if that was the only moment Jihee had ever been genuinely happy with someone in a place with no worries. She never would have thought the reality could be as peaceful as it is.

And she couldn't be more happier that it was with Jungwon.

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As summer approached, Jungwon was still in his relentless mission of figuring out the difference between what he's feeling for Byeol and whatever he's feeling for Jihee.

Stuck in his problem, he decided to finally ask his most trusted friend which so happened to be Sunoo. The last thing Sunoo expected that day was a visit from his friend who almost never visits.

"We literally just saw each other in school, why didn't you just tell me then what you wanted to say?" Sunoo asked, closing the door to his room.

Jungwon frowned. "That's because Byeol was with us and I was going to talk about her and um.. Jihee too."

Sunoo's eyes widened, an amused smirk appearing on his lips. "Alright I'm interested, what do you have for me?"

He rolled his eyes first before telling Sunoo everything that needed to be said. Jungwon trusted him so much that he could just talk about these things without feeling an ounce of embarrassment. By the end of his narration, it took Sunoo a fat minute to speak as he tried to absorb everything Jungwon had just dropped on him.

He took a sharp breath before speaking. "I think you like Jihee but you're confusing yourself with Byeol because you liked her so much that you got used to it."

Jungwon's jaw dropped after Sunoo had shared his conclusion after everything he said. Could it be possible that he was just convincing himself that he liked Byeol because that's what he's been doing for a very long time?

"I like Jihee?"

Sunoo rolled his eyes. "Why are you asking me that? You of all people should know the answer to that."

"I like Jihee?" He repeated as if his head was trying to wrap around that fact. "That's..."

"Have you never considered it at all?" Sunoo asked him, his facial expression filled with disbelief. "You basically spend everyday with her. You always look for her, wait for her, eat with her, go home with her, and you haven't considered it at all?"

Jungwon gazed away guiltily. "No."

"You're insane. And besides there's nothing wrong with admitting you like Jihee. A lot of her classmates likes her too." Sunoo shrugged.

There was nothing wrong with liking her, even he could admit that but she said it herself. Liking her was dangerous, it was a huge risk that not anyone could take very easily. He had to keep in mind that she only has about 7 months left before she has to leave.

Unless, she chooses to stay.

He remembered vividly the smile she wore that night they spent on the roof and all the feelings he felt as he watched her. She made him want to take the risk, to like her despite knowing the fate that lies ahead.

No, she once said my fate is now in my hands.

And he wanted to rewrite his fate with her. He still had seven months, seven months to convince her that he was worth staying just as she was worth the risk he was taking.

"I like her, Sunoo. I'll take the risk."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE :

dw besties im not forgetting any details ;>