[One Month Later]
A month had passed since Haneul returned home.
And slowly things began to change.
The residence no longer felt like a place Haneul had returned to.
It had started becoming home again.
His belongings were scattered around Taekyun's room.
And every morning, when Haneul opened his eyes, Taekyun was there.
The fear that had once lived constantly inside Taekyun's heart had slowly begun to disappear.
He no longer woke up in the middle of the night just to check whether Haneul was still beside him.
He no longer looked frightened whenever Haneul left the room.
He was finally beginning to believe
Haneul wasn't going anywhere.
The children changed too.
Haru behaviour changed a bit.
She became soft, cheerful again.
In fact, sometimes she behaved as though the five years apart had never happened.
"Umma, which one looks better?"
"Umma, can you help me with this?"
"Umma, I want this for dinner."
"Umma!"
Haneul often found himself smiling helplessly at how quickly she had returned to being his little girl.
Taeha was different.
He needed time.
A lot of time.
But slowly.....
He began taking small steps toward Haneul.
At first, he would only stand nearby.
Then he began asking simple questions.
"Can you.... help me too?"
"Can I.... get this?"
Sometimes it was his clothes.
Sometimes his food.
Sometimes something as simple as opening a bottle.
He still became shy whenever Haneul helped him.
Sometimes he would quietly look away.
Sometimes he would hide behind Haru afterward.
But he no longer ran away.
He would even allow Haneul to feed him occasionally.
On some mornings, Haneul would help him change his clothes for school.
Taeha would stand there quietly, cheeks slightly pink, still unsure how to understand the strange warmth he felt around this person.
He still didn't completely understand that Haneul was his mother.
The word Umma remained something he couldn't fully connect to Haneul.
Haru tried her best.
"Taeha, say Umma."
"No."
"Why?"
"I won't. "
"He's our Umma!"
Taeha would simply stare at her.
Sometimes Haru became frustrated.
"Taeha!"
The little boy would immediately pout.
But Haneul always stopped her.
"It's okay."
He would smile gently.
"Don't force him."
And Taekyun was doing the same.
Every day, he quietly helped Taeha understand.
He never forced the child.
He simply reminded him.
"This is your Umma."
"He's the one who loves you."
"You don't have to understand everything today."
"Just give him time."
And slowly...
Taeha was.
Even though Haneul had been absent for five years, Taeha had never truly called anyone else Umma.
Not Jina.
Not Bora.
He simply hadn't understood what the word meant.
For him, family had always been Taekyun, Haru, Jina, Bora, and the people around the residence.
Now there was someone new.
Someone who somehow felt familiar despite being a stranger.
And Taeha needed time to understand why.
Haneul accepted that.
Because after losing five years with his children.
he didn't want to rush the next five minutes.
[Two Days After Returning]
There was one thing Haneul had almost forgotten.
Doyeon.
And the strange object he had placed inside Haneul's pocket before they separated.
That evening, Haneul was putting away some of his clothes when his fingers suddenly touched something inside one of the pockets.
He paused.
Slowly, he pulled it out.
A folded piece of paper.
And a small box.
Haneul stared at them for several seconds.
His heart tightened.
He carefully opened the letter.
The first line immediately made his eyes sting.
>Haneul.
If you're reading this, then you've finally returned.
I don't know whether you'll be angry with me.
I don't know whether you'll hate me.
Maybe you should.
There are many things I couldn't tell you when I had the chance.
Not because I didn't want to.
Because I was afraid.
I was young when I first became an officer.
I thought duty was everything.
I believed that if I followed every order, protected every secret, and completed every mission, then perhaps I would eventually understand what my life was supposed to mean.
I was wrong.
I didn't have a family.
I was an orphan.
I grew up without anyone waiting for me at home.
So I chose duty.
It was easier to serve something than to admit that there was nobody waiting for me.
Then I met you.
And somehow you became my family.
I never said that to you because I didn't know how.
But for those five years, Haneul.....
I watched over you.
I protected you as much as I could.
I know you probably remember that place.
The room where you woke up.
The place you believed you were being punished.
It wasn't where you spent those five years.
I couldn't leave you there.
I moved you.
You were kept in my own home.
The machine was there.
The treatment was there.
And every day, I checked on you myself likewise.
You probably don't remember most of it.
That's okay.
Maybe forgetting is kinder.
There is something else you need to understand.
What you saw in Eunoia....
What you remember from that world....
wasn't truly your life in the way you believe it was.
The memories you could see so clearly were mostly connected to Taekyun's world.
His memories.
His life.
His people.
The time you spent in Eunoia wasn't something that could simply be lived normally.
It wasn't a real home for you.
It was never meant to become your future.
And Haneul...
you don't need to carry it anymore.
You don't need to keep searching for something special in that world.
There isn't anything there that you need to return to.
Your life is waiting somewhere else.
With the people who love you.
With the children who have been waiting for you.
With the man who never stopped looking for you.
I know memories are difficult to abandon.
I know part of you may feel guilty for choosing to forget.
Don't.
Forgetting isn't betrayal.
Moving forward isn't betrayal.
You survived.
That's enough.
I tried my best for you in every way.
I know soon they'll discover about me helping you went to that world without removing your memories.
But I'm not afraid
I choose to help you
Cause I really wanted you
And I will never regret helping you and going against our own world law as a officer.
I just wanted to let you know
You...were someone really special for me.
That I will never forget.
Let's move forward happily.
I placed medicine inside this box.
Don't take it until you're ready.
But when you are.....
start taking it.
Slowly, your memories of Eunoia will fade.
Not all at once.
Not violently.
They'll simply become quieter.
Like a distant dream you once had.
And eventually, you won't feel that constant pull toward a place that was never meant to be your home.
You'll be able to live.
Really live.
Peacefully.
Without fear.
Without wondering whether you're supposed to return.
I want you to have an ordinary life, Haneul.
I want you to wake up beside the person you love.
I want you to watch your children grow.
I want you to grow old with him.
Have all the ordinary days that people like me never learned to appreciate.
You once asked me who I had.
The truth is.....
I had nobody.
But for those five years, I had only you.
So don't think of me as someone you need to remember forever.
Remember me if you want.
Forget me if you need to.
Either way.....
I'll be happy if you're safe.
And if there is one thing I want you to remember, it's this:
You are allowed to choose your own life.
Choose the people waiting for you.
Cause I saw alot in your memories I know you like you know yourself.
Choose the home where your heart belongs.
Goodbye....
Doyeon
Haneul remained completely still.
The letter trembled between his fingers.
For several minutes, he couldn't move.
Then his eyes fell toward the small box.
He slowly opened it.
Inside was the medicine Doyeon had mentioned.
Haneul stared at it.
He understood what it meant.
Choosing to take it meant letting go of Eunoia.
Letting go his childhood,parents, brother and his uncle.
He quietly closed the box.
[Later That Night]
Taekyun noticed immediately.
Haneul was sitting silently near the window.
The letter rested in his hands.
Taekyun approached slowly.
"Haneul."
Haneul looked up.
His eyes were red.
Taekyun's expression changed instantly.
"What.... happened?"
Haneul didn't answer immediately.
He simply held out the letter.
Taekyun read it.
The longer he read.....
the quieter he became.
When he finally lowered the paper, his eyes met Haneul's.
Taekyun could see the fear there.
The fear of choosing.
The fear of losing something.
The fear that if Haneul forgot Eunoia, perhaps some part of himself would disappear too.
Taekyun slowly reached for his hand.
Haneul whispered,
"If I take it....."
His voice trembled.
"I'll forget."
Taekyun squeezed his hand.
"Then forget."
Haneul's eyes widened slightly.
Taekyun smiled softly.
"Choose what you can."
He gently lifted Haneul's hand.
"Whatever you choose...."
His voice remained calm.
"I'll be there."
He pressed Haneul's hand against his chest.
"Whether you remember everything."
"Or whether you forget all of it."
"I'll still be here to hold you."
Haneul's eyes filled with tears.
Taekyun continued,
"You don't have to carry another world just because you're afraid of letting it go."
Haneul looked down at the medicine.
Then he looked back at Taekyun.
After a long silence....
he nodded.
"I want to stay forever with your memories only."
Taekyun's expression softened.
"Then stay."
Haneul took his first dose that night.
And from that day onward.
he continued.
Slowly.
Day by day.
The memories of Eunoia began fading.
Not disappearing like they had never existed.
Just becoming softer.
More distant.
Like pages of a book slowly losing their ink.
And with every passing week.
Haneul found himself remembering something else instead.
Haru's laughter.
Taeha's shy little glances.
Taekyun's hand holding his.
The warmth of the residence.
The sound of his family around the dinner table.
The life waiting for him.
The life he had chosen.
And for the first time.
Haneul wasn't afraid of forgetting.
Because he finally understood
he wasn't losing his past.
He was choosing his future.