Tears welled up in his eyes as they slowly opened. His pale eyes remained still, unwavering, as if he were still lost in a long, agonising dream. The faint light filtering through the sheer curtains seemed to signal to the one awakening from their slumber that a new day had arrived.

 

Jerome finally learned the whole story, a story that caused him such excruciating pain—no, not just learning the story, but rather "remembering" it.

 

The special ability that Jerome thought was foreseeing the future was actually "reversing the past." Jerome didn't see the future; he went back in time, back as he wished, back because of the wish that Jinn had given him.

 

May all his wishes come true.

 

The days without Jinn by my side are the slowest and loneliest days anyone could ever imagine.

 

Jerome remembered everything, the joy and the suffering. He remembered every second. Yet, he didn't feel like a sixty-year-old man. He still felt like a twenty-year-old with memories of a "past life." Perhaps it was because he didn't remember it all at once, but gradually, through dreams that he mistook for visions of the future. Therefore, he didn't instantly transform his twenty-year-old self into someone with the mind and spirit of a sixty-year-old overnight.

 

He was incredibly far-sighted at that time.

 

“Thank God,” Jerome clasped his hands together in front of his chest, closed his eyes, and focused his thoughts on his “God,” the God he would worship forever.

 

Surprisingly, now that I could remember everything, I didn't feel the same sadness as I did in my dreams. Perhaps it was because I knew the whole story, the cause and effect, and Jinn was still with me now. Everything had been resolved correctly. He hadn't lost anything, and no one had lost anything. God had given him a second life, a life filled with happiness from now on.

 

A large hand stroked the space beside him, a hollow feeling in his chest. His body, still lying down, quickly sat up. He hastily opened the wardrobe, grabbed a shirt, put it on, and ran out of the room.

 

"Hey, Jay! Where are you going, kid!" Jenny, who was sitting and drinking coffee in the living room, shouted after her son, who was running down the stairs, seemingly jumping five steps at a time.

 

“Go to the house across the street!” Jerome shouted back to his mother, but his pace didn't slow down at all.

 

"What's with all this fuss, you little rascal!"

 

“My heart is about to break!”

 

The young man ran out of his own gate, crossed the street, and stopped to peer in front of the gate of the house opposite. Seeing Jan watering plants in her small garden, he immediately shouted her name.

 

"Aunt Jan, is Jinn awake yet?"

 

"Oh, why are you here so early? He's still sleeping," Chan turned off the water and walked to open the gate for her son's boyfriend, who looked so unfamiliar, like she hadn't seen him in a long time.

 

Anyone seeing Jerome right now would know he'd just woken up. His hair was messy and unkempt, his face still half-asleep, he was wearing a faded t-shirt that he rarely wore, long pyjama pants, and his usual house slippers. If it were anyone else, it wouldn't be considered strange, but this was Jerome, the one who refused to leave the house unless he was dressed nicely. Weird, yet endearing.

 

"Then, may I intrude? I had a strange dream, and I wanted to tell him about it."

 

"Sure, the room on the left," Chan didn't say anything, just shook her head affectionately.

 

"Thank you," Jerome bowed respectfully to his lover's mother, trying not to stand too close as he hadn't brushed his teeth yet. He slowly walked into the house, then paused briefly and turned back to look at the mum once more.

 

That small back made Jerome's eyes well up with tears. She was so small, yet she carried the lives of two big men. Without her, the whole world of Jett and Jinn would crumble. It was something small, yet incredibly valuable.

 

"It's alright now. From now on, my family will be happy," he murmured to himself before turning and walking up the stairs to the room of the person he most wanted to see.

 

Knock, knock, knock.

 

Jerome knocked on the door frantically, making a loud noise that I bet meant whoever was inside was furious.

 

"Hey, who the hell is it!" an irritated shout could be heard.

 

“It's me!”

 

"Jerome?"

 

"Oh, it's me."

 

"What's wrong with you? You can't be away from me for even one day! Oh my god! What's the problem?"

 

“I miss you.”

 

"Huh?" Jinn blinked, taken aback.

 

Just as I opened the door to the room, the person who'd been bothering me since morning lunged forward and hugged me so tightly that I stumbled backwards. Jinn looked at the person who pushed him into the room and closed the door behind him, feeling dazed. Did it really have to be like this after just one night apart?

 

"Are you okay, Jay?" But after the confusion subsided, surprise took its place. The owner of the room stroked his lover's back and asked softly.

 

"Not really okay," the muffled voice of the person, their face buried in his shoulder, made Jinn frown. His drowsiness vanished completely.

 

"Are you...finished dreaming already?" At this moment, Jinn could only think of this one thing that would make his lover act strangely since waking up.

 

"Why are you so smart? Haha. Yeah, it's over. That's why I wanted to tell you." Jerome looked up and smiled sweetly at his lover, cupping his hands on the other's cheeks, his sweet eyes gazing at him as if wanting to see deep into his soul.

 

"Should I prepare myself for this?" Jinn started to feel anxious for no apparent reason.

 

"No need," Jerome said, gently stroking his lover's cheek with his thumb. "Because even if you did, you'd never expect what I'm about to tell you."

 

"Really? Is it that bad? Ow! You bit my cheek, you bastard! Your breath stinks, Jerome! I'll kick you against the wall!" 

 

When Jerome leaned down, Jinn thought he was going for some kind of morning kiss, but instead, he bit his cheek hard!

 

"I'm punishing you," Jerome completed the sentence in his mind, without caring whether the other person understood or not. "Punishing you for leaving me alone for seventeen years, you cruel bastard!"

 

"What kind of punishment is this?!"

 

"Ugh! You kicked me with all your might!" Jerome, who had been kicked so hard he almost hit the door, clutched his stomach and groaned in pain.

 

"Yeah! Damn it, that bastard. He's asking for trouble." Jinn glared at the other man with disgust.

 

"It's just flirting as lovers do. You have no idea."

 

"That's such a flirtatious act, your cheek looks like it has teeth marks on it. Do you even understand the word 'flirtatious', I'm seriously asking?"

 

"I understand. I was just being playful. Yeah, look, those are real teeth marks," Jerome scrambled back to stand close to his lover again, shockingly stroking the pale cheek where the prominent teeth marks were now clearly visible.

 

"Of course it is. And the bite wasn't light at all, you know," Jinn flicked the forehead of the person who bumped into him.

 

"That's all I can do, huh? Come on, I'll tell you this incredibly unbelievable story." The person who had been kicked led the room's owner to sit down on the bed.

 

"How dare you let other people see you in this state?" Jinn finally got a good look at his lover and couldn't help but tease him.

 

"Because it doesn't matter anymore. Screw this shitty image. I don't care about it now."

 

“Huh?”

 

"Listen, I didn't see the future, I just travelled back in time."

 

"...!!! Ha?"

 

“It all started after we graduated. Back then, we weren't dating like this. It was the same old thing, fighting and competing. After graduating, I flew to America to see Vince for three months. After that…” Jerome looked into his lover's eyes the whole time he told the story, holding his other hand tightly, as if to comfort him and convey his own sense of security.

 

Jinn felt like he was listening to the most absurd thing in the world, something he never thought he'd hear in his life. But the unwavering gaze of the speaker made it impossible for him to disbelieve. Jerome held his hand tightly, conveying all his sincerity. The young man swallowed hard, his body trembling slightly from the cold that chilled him to the bone. His face was wet with tears; he didn't know when they had started flowing. His mind couldn't believe it, but his body and soul believed it without question.

 

"They asked me to tell you they're sorry. This life is a gift to you. May your life's path be smooth and happy forever." Jerome gently kissed the hand he held and embraced the trembling, sobbing person. Jinn’s expression changed throughout the story as he spoke, as if he couldn't believe it.

 

"You..." Jinn could only say that much before falling silent. He could only hug his lover's broad back tightly, offering his deepest apologies to the one who had been abandoned and left alone for seventeen years. Seventeen years, such a long time, yet the longing never reached the other side.

 

“I’m okay. Actually, it feels like a dream now, something that has passed. This is what God gave me. I’m slowly remembering the past. Seeing it often enough, I’m used to it. All the feelings are coming back slowly, not all at once. That’s why I don’t feel that changed. It’s like my past life and this life are being merged completely, bit by bit. I remember everything, but I don’t feel that much pain or sadness anymore. Because even though I’m here, even though you’re still with me, everything has changed, Jinn.” The two young men embraced each other tightly, sharing their sorrow, pain, suffering, and joy in each other’s arms.

 

Jinn couldn't imagine what he would have done if he were Jerome back then. Would he endure living because his lover told him to, or would he die and end it all? He would have chosen the latter. He could never have endured living like that for seventeen years. That's why Jinn always said Jerome was smarter than him, but for some reason, he felt the other man was utterly foolish.

 

It was foolish to endure such pain and sorrow, but I'm grateful to be alive.

 

Huh, what a contradiction he is.

 

"I think that your previous insomnia, if you slept somewhere else, might be a consequence of something from a past life. Now that Aunt Jan is still around in this life, everything has changed, and the symptoms have disappeared. They just vanished, as if they never existed." Jerome thought this was the most logical explanation. Otherwise, why would the other person have similar symptoms, though much less severe, but still similar?

 

"That's possible. Because by the time I realised it, I was already like that. Mom doesn't know why, but it just disappeared out of nowhere when we went on vacation. Maybe it was because everything was resolved by then, so my soul was truly reset?" Jinn understood even more easily than his lover. Jerome said that when he went back to retrieve his soul, this symptom could be a consequence of his past life, just as the other party suspected.

 

"Jerome felt there was a huge gap in his perception of his lover's story. He was on the ground, while the other was floating in the sky"

 

"That day, you were going to take Aunt Jan out, and I followed to stop you; it really shouldn't have happened at all because it was a mistake in your past life. But I think God might have wanted to resolve this issue for your soul, so He made a similar event happen, with all the characters involved. You didn't drive recklessly, there was no accident, no rash actions, no ignoring anyone. Aunt Jan was still alive; there was no loss. It's like your past life's issue was finally resolved."

 

"I really don't know how to feel about your God." Angry that it had turned everything in his life for the worse?

 

Thank you for giving me this second chance. I really didn't know.

 

"You have every right to be angry, but they've paid for it. They've made amends for their mistakes. I guess they've divided the work into departments, too," Jerome tried to lighten his lover's mood with a joke.

 

"Who knows? You wouldn't believe it unless you experienced it yourself," Jinn pulled away, wiped away his tears, and then stared at the person sitting opposite him with a gaze filled with a multitude of emotions.

 

“That’s right. I’m the biggest believer in this, but I’m experiencing it myself. From now on, we’ll get annual health checkups, drink less, not smoke, not race, not drive too fast, and you’re not allowed to touch the car when I’m angry. We’ll go on trips often and live life to the fullest. I want to do so many things with you. You, being so strong and full of life, okay?” Jerome gently touched Jinn’s cheek, where his teeth marks were, before moving his hand down to touch the tattoo on the left side of Jinn’s neck.

 

"Did you get a tattoo back then?" Jinn also stroked Jerome's tattoo.

 

"No tattoos, no thoughts of that at all. I take care of myself, work, find time to relax, and I have two cats to keep you from being lonely. Living like a super retired couple." A light punch to the stomach made Jerome burst into laughter.

 

"Okay, I'll do as you say. I'll live my life to the fullest, like I couldn't back then. I'm sorry, Jay, even though I can't remember anything."

 

"It's alright. You shouldn't remember. It's the best thing ever, because if you did remember, things wouldn't be like they are now." Jerome didn't want Jinn to remember, not at all, because he was afraid. Afraid that the other person would be like they were back then. It's better this way. Jinn still loves him, whether in a past life or in this one.

 

"Hmm, but at least you asked for it, because you're really such an idiot," Jinn poked Jerome's forehead repeatedly with amusement.

 

"Well, yeah, I don't think I'm stupid, but I'm naive, clueless, and I tend to overlook things that are close at hand. It's been like this since I realised I was dating her in a dream. No, let's go back to when we were kids. I always believed I was smarter than everyone else. Damn it!" 

 

Jerome, who overlooked and ignored everything, cursed wearily. He thought that if it were Jinn, he would have known everything before seeing the ending, or even if he didn't know everything, he would have been more suspicious than him. He, who had to wait for the truth to be revealed—if that's not naivety, then what is?

 

"But being naive has its advantages, you know. At least we're here because of you. Thank you, Jerome, for loving me so much," Jinn said, gently stroking his lover's cheek.

 

"No, I should thank you for always loving me," Jerome leaned his forehead against Jinn’s and stayed like that for a moment.

 

“Thank you for loving us.”

 

"Yes, thank you for our love."

 

From now on, may your life be filled with happiness and fulfilment. Every path you take will be smooth and free from obstacles. Live your life to the fullest, as if blessed with good fortune.

 

JJ will be happy from now on.