➵

Something felt wrong. The daily routine Yves had become accustomed to had managed to feel nothing more than a burden that weighed down on her frail shoulders.

When she got out of bed to brush her teeth, something felt off.

As if, the girl was used to the sight of a second colorful toothbrush next to her own in the cup on the sink.

Maybe today was just a bad day, she thought to yourself. But of course, that didn't stop her from feeling like there was a missing piece that she forgot about.

Everything feels heavy. Everything feels dull.

It’s exhausting.

Yawning, Yves slowly stretches out her arms. Gradually, she makes her way to the door, throws on a coat and give the apartment a final glance before leaving.

The door shuts with a deafening click.

**

The walk to the train station was dreadful. All she does is wonder about the emptiness that lurkes in her stomach.

On the platform people stand like statues, their coats an array of colours against the dull background. Each one of them is waiting, wasting their time, shivering and shaking in the bitter wind.

She pulls out her phone out of the pocket of her heavy coat to check the time. Two minutes until the train.

Across the platform a train pulls in, going the opposite direction. As it stops, metal on metal screeching to a halt, so does her heart.

Inevitability settles with the snow, fluttering off her eyelashes. There’s a pull, a magnet attraction that yanks at her chest and slows her breathing. Something is compelling her, an invisible force pushing her body, fate entwining their fingers and whispering temptations in Yves' ear.

Her feet move. Slowly at first but then speeding up, one in front of the other. Before she knows it, Yves is flying across the dull stone ground, her boots slapping against the frozen floor. The wind whips her cheeks and burns her eyes and she laughs as she crosses the bridge.

Exhilaration drips colour into the sky.

The train is warm, in contrast. The people sitting on it look at her like she’s crazy.

Yves thinks, perhaps, she is.

**

A few trainstops later, Yves stands up from her warm seat and slowly gets off the vehicle.

The station leads directly onto a beach, cement merging into pale and frozen sand.

She tries to find a place to sit by the shore, wiping away snow and dust from a wooden bench. The sea's grey tinged waves engulf themselves as they fall upon the sand and draw back in, as if they are constantly reaching for something they can never have.

There’s something solid in the inside pocket of her coat, and she pulls it out to see what it is.

Her diary sits, worn leather in her hand and she doesn’t remember putting it there. She doesn’t remember moving it from her desk where it’s sat for the past three years.

Opening it curiously, she runs her finger over the pages. There’s a clump of tattered paper by the spine as if pages have been forcibly ripped out. Brow furrowed, Yves reads the dates. Two whole years’ worth of her diary gone. Her life lost. Just like that.

The sound of someone sitting next to Yves brought her attention back to the world at hand.

"Seems like you had a tough week" the stranger chuckled, pointing at the diary.

Apon closer inspection, the stranger looked odly familiar. The way her hair was loosly covered with a hood, the way she smiled, hell, even her posture, Yves was sure she'd seen it all before.

"Yeah, woke up pretty confused this morning." she replied but soon started to talk again, "Do I know you by any chance?"

The stranger smiled again, bringing her coat sleeve to wipe her eyes.

She was crying. Confused, Yves stood up and gave the stranger a tissue.

"No, I don't think I've ever met you." she sniffled.

**

Months had passed since that encounter and you two had met almost every day. Either by chance or fate, maybe it was even destiny.

The stranger's turned out to be (Y/N) and you was a delight to be around. And you had instantly clicked and now Yves even considered you a close friend, that's why yiu had decided on spending an all-nighter next to the beach to catch the sunset and sunrise that following week.

Since you two had met, Yves life had become less bland. Your presence had somehow made her enjoy the little things. Like, that one freckle on your shoulder that started to show when you started wearing looser clothes as the cold air finally started warming up, or the fact that you both listen to the same genre of music, and even the look in you eyes when she jokes about how they met.

Still, when you two were together no matter how complete Sooyoung felt, something felt off. Almost like she alrrady knew everything about the girl she adored (even loved), like they had met before.

One night, when she visited your house, she was looking around. It wasn't really considered snooping around if you're doing it to your not-really-girlfriend, right?

Her fingers accidentally brushed a paper on the edge of the desk when she tried leaving, but curiosity got the best of her when she kneeled down and read its contents.

"Dear Ms. (L/N)

has had you,

erased from her memory.

Please never mention your relationship to her again.

Thank you

LACUNA INC."

"What are you doing?" your voice intruded as you walked towards Yves.

All the girl could do fall to her knees and sob loudly. "So all this time, you knew? Oh God, why cant I remember anything? Why can't I remember you?" she cried, her nose angrily flaring.

You couldn't answer so she instead reached for your lover, hands trembling. "I-I, we got into an argument one night and, the next day I got this letter. The same day I got it, I w-went where I know I'd find you and ask you if this was a joke." your sigh filled the room "But when you looked at me, like, like I was a stranger, I knew I had to do something. I couldn't lose you. Not again."

Yves stood up. "But why, why did we argue?" her watery eyes looked at you.

Now, it was your turn to sniffle as you replied.

"You started falling out of love with me."

****

Yves rolled over her bed to see that once again, you had sent her countless messages. She didn't even bother looking through them and instead shut off her phone.

Since that incident, she hasn't spoken to you. Maybe it's a good thing, maybe it's a bad thing but what she knew was that she needed a break.

And soon, her life had become bland again. She lost count when was the last time she heard your sweet voice.

The pain, it was too much. The ache that she felt whenever she thought of you was too much. Maybe this is why she signed up for that stupid brainwashing thing, so she could forget.

One afternoon, when you hadn't crossed her mind in weeks, a letter came in the mail. She had lost total contact with you and even managed to delete your number from her phone whenㅡ

"Dear Ms. Ha,

has had you, , erased from her memory. Please never mention your relationship to her again.

Thank you

LACUNA INC."

That's when she realized,

now it was her turn to lose you.