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Envy and greed were starting to surface in the hearts of those who the stranger helped.

They felt weak once again, beneath someone more powerful than they will ever be. And they confided to Ren, asking him if there was a way she could share her powers with them. During that time Ren had already begun liking the stranger and he thought it was a bad idea because she could get hurt if she does what they ask of her.

"Isn't it more than enough that she helped us get out of poverty?" Ren reasoned with them. But they all shook their head. Ever since then they had cut him off their discussions.

The stranger hid from them in the clouds, resting thereafter granting so many wishes. She would've never said yes to their request if not for Ren's convincing. Then she heard someone call her and although she couldn't recognize the voice, she still descended from the sky to check who it was. She was surprised to see a group of people, those she helped all looking at her as if they wanted something from her again.

"What is it?" She asked, crossing her arm in the process.

"Give us some of your powers."

She laughed. Perhaps too much. She has seen greed but this was another level of it, to shamelessly ask her to lend them some powers. They must've been crazy, bold in fact.

"No." She wanted to see what they were going to do the moment she said no.

"You people at the top are selfish, don't you think we don't know you only agreed to help us because of Ren?" One of them spoke. "Selfish!"

And deep inside, she continued to laugh. The stranger was beyond offended but she was no God to judge them and just as she was going to ascend back into the sky, a knife was flying in her direction. Even if it hit her, she knew the pain would be comparable to a bite of an ant. She managed to catch the knife before it could even pierce her.

"Do you think I'm a fool?" The stranger walked toward the culprit, playing with the knife in her hand with her powers. "You think I'm a fool." She points her finger at the one who threw it and the knife went flying in his direction, barely hitting his cheek.

"Just selfish." Someone spoke and she chuckles, pointing the knife this time at the one who spoke.

"You're right, I didn't help you because I wanted to. I helped you because you were fools who doesn't want to stand on their own two feet, entrusting everything to divinity." She pushed the knife a little closer to their neck.

"What are you doing, stranger?"

Her eyes widened when she heard Ren's voice speak to her. Everyone made space so he would be able to pass through the crowd and talk to her. He stood in front of her, her index finger still pointed at the person still in control of the knife. Everyone was wary because any small movement from her would mean accidentally getting stabbed.

"I warned you."

I warned you that people's gratitude will always be overpowered by greed for more.

He looked down, guiltily as if he knew what she meant by what she said. "Don't hurt them." He pleads. "Please, stranger."

Sighing, she pulled the knife back to her hold and she could almost hear the breath of relief that escaped from their mouths. Ren grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the rest. And once they were far from them, that's when he expressed the feelings he couldn't show in front of the others.

If Jungwon had a skip button, he would've skipped those memories.

Little did he know, the next memory that would come was the apocalypse that she would soon cause.

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Jihee was at the infirmary, laying down on the bed.

It was yesterday when she had almost lost control of her emotions, almost desolating a whole isolated island. But she took deep breaths, reminiscing back to the time when she almost destroyed Ren's reality as a way to remind herself of how destructive she could be. She hated remembering that time but if it meant keeping her powers at bay, then by all means she would exercise it.

She heard the sound of the door opening and when the curtain blocking her field of view started to move, she expected to see the familiar nurse check up on her. Yet surprise washed over her face as she came face to face with Sunghoon, whose eyes were wide open when he saw her. Immediately pulling the curtain to the side, she lets out a soft laugh because of how quickly he reacted.

"Sorry!" He quickly apologized.

"It's fine Sunghoon. The next bed is empty, by the way." She tells him as she pulled aside the curtain blocking the two beds. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sleepy." He confessed, laying down on the bed and then turning his head in her direction. "How about you? You seem mellow today. Is it because Jungwon's sick?"

She shook her head.

She pressed her lips together, looking up to the white roof as she closed her eyes shut. "I have never been any more drained than today. It's like all the energy was sucked right out of me." She couldn't see his expression but she could feel him staring at her.

"That's how I felt when Byeol and I broke up. Not only did I feel like I had no energy but it felt as if I lost something so important to me. I felt incomplete." He explained what he felt during those days.

She opened her eyes to look in his direction. "Byeol's your soulmate, of course, you would feel that way." She comments but he couldn't bring himself to react to that. "I don't think you can love anyone the same way you loved Byeol."

"I don't think so." He looked straight into her eyes. "I think there's a person out there that I would love more than I ever did with Byeol."

"You underestimate your love for her then."

"Do you love Jungwon?"

"So much." She replied.

Ren had once broken down her wall but she never felt like staying with him, no matter how much time they spent, a future with him felt dark. It was only with Jungwon did she feel alive, she found something she never thought she was looking for. Rather, something she never thought she deserved.

She wanted to stay so bad, but she had an agreement.

"I can't believe this reality didn't feel like home before." She mumbled. She closed her eyes once more, staying at peace to keep her emotions stable.

As Jihee made her way out of the school gates, her eyes widened upon locking eyes with Jungwon's mother. She stood by the gates, dressed in a yellow dress as her black hair fell just below her shoulders. Jihee's grip on the shoulder straps of her bag tightened and the sky that was once sunny all of a sudden started to turn cloudy.

Seona, his mother, forced a smile for Jihee. "Calm down, stranger. I'm only here to tell you everything. Everything you need to know. Do you know a place where we can talk in private?"

Then, she followed Jihee to a pastry shop that wasn't packed. It seemed like the place just opened considering everything about the place felt new. They sat by a seat at the very corner, making sure that no one was close enough to hear what they were going to talk about. Truth be told, Jihee didn't even know there were still some things to talk about. As far as she knew, the only truth she needed had already been revealed to her.

"Before you speak, how's Jungwon?" Jihee asked her first about the well-being of the other that was currently suffering from a fever. As far as she knew, Jungwon has been asleep for a day straight now.

"He's fine. His temperature hasn't decreased nor has he woken up yet but fate assured me he's going to be alright." She explains to Jihee, whose concern did not falter.

"You spoke to fate?"

"Oh no, we lost our connection the moment I relinquished my powers. She told me by hacking my laptop." Seona explained and Jihee smiled, softly chuckling because that was something fate would do.

"You can tell me now whatever it is you have to say." She insists, leaning on her seat as she waited for whatever it is the latter had to say.

Seona took a deep breath before speaking. "What do you want to know first? Jungwon's protection spell or who you were before you became a stranger?"

Her life as a human didn't seem to pique her interest. As she long said before, she didn't dread the fact she couldn't remember her past because she was sure it was horrible. She knew she would have never left such a peaceful reality if her old life wasn't messed up. Seona must have noticed her reluctance because she called her name to bring her back to wherever her mind brought her.

"Do you not want to hear about your old life?"

Jihee shook her head. "I'm sure it's sad."

"It is, otherwise you would've never willingly left at such a young age. But you know part of the reason why I like you so much is that you were such a great person even before you became a stranger." Seona smiled in a motherly way towards Jihee, a rather odd feeling sparked in the chest of the younger as that was the very first time someone had smiled at her that way. "If only you were given a better life, that's the least you deserved."

"If I were given a better life, I would have never replaced you," Jihee tells her. "You would've struggled to find a replacement while taking care of your son, I'm glad I could help you back then."

I wouldn't have fallen in love with Jungwon.

"Since you don't want to know about your past life, how about I proceed to Jungwon's protection spell?" She suggested and Jihee nodded, leaning on her seat as she waited for whatever bomb that was coming at her.

"There's another stranger in this reality."

That made her sit straight, wondering if she heard the latter right.

"The reason why the magic didn't disappear, isn't because I stayed here. It's because there's another stranger." She says which confirmed that Jihee wasn't hearing things.

Another stranger.

"That can't be. Fate only allows one stranger." Jihee says. She remembered back then when she had asked fate why she was the only one, fate said it was a hassle managing multiple strangers given that Jihee alone was already hard to deal with. "Do you know who it is? Wait, how long have they been here?— I'm sorry but nothing makes sense."

Seona gives her a nod. "I know it doesn't make sense but it will. It was my second month here when I got pregnant, and I was scared about not surviving the labor. Giving birth as a stranger was my only way of evading the bad outcomes, but I didn't want to do it because I was afraid the child would become a stranger."

Don't tell me...

"During the eighth month of my pregnancy, I was in the process of staying but I got into an early labor."

Jungwon...

"I gave birth to Jungwon as a stranger, and my fears were right. He wasn't just a human, he was also half a stranger."

... is a stranger

"I cast a protection spell on him as a precautionary measure because I didn't know what his future would be knowing that he wasn't a full human. Who knows what he'll encounter? What fate would send after him?"

Jihee was dizzy, her head was spinning and she was only carrying herself to not fall to the ground. Every puzzle piece has fallen into her hands and the answer was right in front of her now. Fate would surely be unhappy with his existence and yet she kept him alive despite having the power to change the run of time as she pleases.

"That explains how he can talk with fate," Jihee concludes which earned a nod from the elder.

"I didn't just tell this to you because I wanted to let you know the truth," Seona adds but she has already figured that out when she tried connecting the story to her current situation. "I told you this because there's still a chance for you to be together, and I know Jungwon is currently working on that. That's why he hasn't woken up for a day straight."

Her eyes widened. "T-There is?"

She nods. "Jungwon is going to explain to you everything but it has something to do with his stranger side, and I want you to know that whatever you both choose, I will be fine with it."

"You of all people deserve happiness."

I don't deserve it.

"The world was horrible to your old self, that's why you have the power to cause an apocalypse to realities that deserves it."

I was horrible.

"You know you sound just like fate right now," Jihee commented on how cryptic she sounded, and Seona chuckled softly.

"400 years with her is enough to catch her personality. But keep in mind what I said today." Seona smiled at her as she grabbed the younger's hand. "Stranger, choose what makes you happy, you've been through enough to deny yourself happiness."

Three days later, Jihee learned that the decision she had to make was a lot harder than Seona made it seem.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE :

lmao this chapter hurts my head to write

very excited for the last three chapters ehehe #authorissadandsleepdeprived