Side Story 1. Two Eui-woos
The issue came up out of nowhere.
“Jae-jin, I have a question.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“So… does that mean we’re dating for the second time now?”
“…?”
What kind of question is that to ask in the shooting range…
Jae-jin fired consecutive shots at three moving targets, then lowered his gun. As he swiftly lifted his goggles, he saw Seo Eui-woo staring at him with wide, expectant eyes.
“We first dated before you went missing, and the second time was after you returned. And now, since I’ve also come back and our memories from both the first and second timelines are merged… should we call this our first relationship or our second?”
“Why are you overcomplicating things? You’re making it confusing.”
“But if we call it the first, then we have to reset our anniversary.”
“Oh.”
So that’s what he was worried about…
Jae-jin separated the bullet from the chamber, placed the rifle back on the gun rack, and gave a small shake of his head.
“Let’s just call it the second. Counting separately is a hassle.”
“But we never actually broke up.”
“Well… death is still a kind of separation.”
“You’re alive and well, so why would that count as separation? I’m telling you, we never broke up.”
“Then just call it the first relationship or whatever…”
“Hmm, but that’s a bit iffy too. Back then, we weren’t really dating properly…”
Seriously?
Then what does he want me to do?
Feeling exhausted by the conversation, Jae-jin wiped the sweat running down his neck and gave a half-hearted answer.
“Then just count them separately.”
He raised his fingers one by one in front of Eui-woo.
“First relationship, second relationship. Two anniversaries, two countdowns. Happy now?”
He really shouldn’t have said that.
Absolutely not.
That was a mistake.
***
The first rays of sunrise gently seeped through the white curtains. The cozy bedroom was bathed in golden light, casting a soft glow over Jae-jin’s face as he lay buried in the bed.
Jae-jin was curled up like a cocoon beneath the warm blankets.
As always, he was wrapped securely in Seo Eui-woo’s arm, held snugly in place. The firm embrace made for a warm and reassuring sleep.
In the distance, the early cries of seagulls echoed, blending with the refreshing sound of the morning breeze. His body, which had been completely relaxed, slowly regained its strength, and his quiet breathing deepened.
Morning had come.
Jae-jin stirred under the covers, shifting slightly as he woke. But something felt off.
The bed seemed… smaller than usual.
‘That can’t be right.’
The bed, which sat prominently in the middle of the bedroom, was massive—more than spacious enough for two grown men.
Jae-jin rolled to his left. His forehead bumped into a solid chest. No wonder it felt cramped.
‘He’s clinging more than usual today…?’
This time, he turned to his right—only to bump into another firm, muscular chest.
…Huh?
‘What the fuck?’
His eyes snapped open.
To his right—Seo Eui-woo.
To his left—Seo Eui-woo.
Two Seo Eui-woos, one on each side, holding onto his waist and tangling their legs with his. Under the covers, six feet were intertwined in a mess.
‘Wh-what the hell—’
Was he dreaming? Still half-asleep?
Was this some kind of ridiculous nightmare…?
Panicked, Jae-jin tried to wriggle free from the blanket, but both Eui-woos moved in eerie synchronization, tightening their grip around his waist.
With two of them clinging onto him, the weight and heat pressing against him doubled—making it twice as suffocating.
A sleepy voice mumbled next to his ear.
“Mmm… Jae-jin, you’re awake…?”
“Oh, you’re up early. Good morning.”
Both Seo Eui-woos kissed Jae-jin’s stunned face at the same time—one pressing a soft kiss to his cheek, the other to his forehead.
“…Why the hell are there two of you?”
He was too dumbfounded to even raise his voice.
They say when someone gets shot, they don’t scream but instead let out a weak, deflated gasp. Right now, Kwon Jae-jin was experiencing exactly that.
The situation was so unexpected that he could only mumble, barely managing to swallow his breath.
“Oh, you mean why there are two of me?”
“Obviously.”
“It’s our anniversary.”
“555 days.”
“And 100 days with me.”
…What kind of bullshit was that?
Jae-jin clutched his forehead with both hands.
If this was a dream, he wanted to wake up immediately. But the cold chill running down his spine told him, very clearly, that this was real.
Seo Eui-woo possessed an absurdly powerful multi-ability—one of a kind, unmatched. He could teleport, create clones of himself, and even use his powers unconsciously while asleep.
A clone.
Jae-jin knew this was possible.
The Seo Eui-woo from the second timeline—the twenty-year-old one—was still inexperienced and couldn’t create perfect copies. But the twenty-four-year-old Seo Eui-woo? He could replicate himself flawlessly, down to the last detail.
And, of course, whenever he did, he usually used it to keep tabs on Jae-jin.
“Since our anniversaries overlap, there’s no helping it, right?”
“If both of us want to go on a date with you, this is the only way.”
“Since I was splitting off a clone anyway, I tweaked it a little. Can you tell the difference?”
Both Seo Eui-woos gently pried Jae-jin’s hands away from his forehead.
With his vision cleared, their faces came into full view.
One was the youthful, familiar twenty-year-old version.
The other… looked slightly different.
His features were more mature, his hair slightly longer, and his gaze calmer. His fully grown physique was solid, his muscles honed like tempered steel after four extra years of rigorous training.
The twenty-four-year-old Seo Eui-woo.
“You…”
“So? What do you think?”
“You seriously…”
“Do you not like this look? Maybe I shouldn’t have adjusted it.”
“No, haah… You just startled me.”
Jae-jin tried to push the two Seo Eui-woos off him, pressing his hands against their shoulders. Naturally, neither of them budged.
“At least give me a damn warning first!”
“But I wanted to see you surprised.”
“Yeah, and I thought you’d be happy to see me.”
“I am happy… I am, Eui-woo.”
“Hm?”
“Yeah?”
The exact same voice echoed from both sides in perfect unison.
Kwon Jae-jin let out a deep sigh—silently, internally.
Anniversary.
‘They’re saying the anniversaries overlapped…?’
What were the chances? How the hell did that even happen? Of all the days, why today?
No, actually, that wasn’t the most pressing issue right now.
“…Are you seriously planning to stay like this all day?”
“Of course.”
“Obviously.”
“All three of us…?”
“Yep. The three of us.”
“Let’s go on a date.”
“Where should we start?”
“This is gonna be fun. Don’t you think so?”
…Fun.
As if this was something that could be summed up with a single word. As if that word alone could cover all the chaos that was about to unfold.
Jae-jin lifted his throbbing head, trying to mentally prepare himself. Two Seo Eui-woos. Could he even handle that?
For an entire day.
From morning… until night.
…Yeah. Night, too.
“…First, let me just have a coffee.”
Jae-jin reached for an iced Americano.
Might as well add two extra shots.
***
‘Stay calm.’
Jae-jin took a long gulp of his coffee. The cold liquid rushed down his throat and settled in his stomach, sending an instant chill through his body. His mind cleared in a snap.
“Maybe I’m overreacting. This might not be a big deal after all. No need to freak out prematurely.”
Sure, there were two Seo Eui-woos now. But at the end of the day, they were both still just Seo Eui-woo. And today was their anniversary.
‘555 days and 100 days, huh.’
555 days of dating in the first timeline.
100 days of dating in the second timeline.
It was infuriating how the dates had somehow perfectly overlapped by pure chance, but in the end, it was just that—an anniversary.
‘All I have to do is get through today. Go on a date with both of them, play along for a bit, and then by the afternoon, I’ll talk them into sending one of the clones back. Then we can wrap up the day like usual.’
There was no way he’d stay split into two all night… right?
Jae-jin emptied his iced Americano and crunched a piece of ice between his molars. As he chewed, he braced himself for the worst.
‘All night. With two of them…’
No.
Nope.
His mind flashed back to that morning—the bed that usually felt spacious suddenly was suffocatingly small with three bodies tangled together.
If he ended up doing… that… with both of them at the same time—
“…Fucking hell.”
Jae-jin forcibly shoved the horrifying thought out of his head.
No matter how much of an unrepentant, godforsaken, sex-crazed beast Seo Eui-woo was, even he wouldn’t cross that line. Anniversary or not, some things were just off-limits.
‘Alright. Just think of this as a silly little event.’
<But I wanted to see you surprised.>
<Yeah, and I thought you’d be happy to see me.>
Maybe Seo Eui-woo really had done this without any ulterior motives.
Maybe, in his own way, he just sincerely wanted to celebrate both anniversaries—so much so that he used his ability to bring together both versions of himself who had shared time with Jae-jin.
‘Yeah. No need to jump to conclusions. I’m probably overthinking this. For now, I should just focus on making today meaningful.’
And if—by some horrifying chance—Seo Eui-woo really was planning something insane, Jae-jin would just have to shut it down.
He could reason with him. Talk him down.
Because three was just—
Even for Seo Eui-woo—
That was— Ugh…
Jae-jin, still pacing around the living room with his coffee, popped another ice cube into his mouth. The sharp crack of it breaking between his teeth sounded like the first warning shot before an all-out battle.
Since when did spending an anniversary with a lover feel this nerve-wracking?
The sun had barely risen, and yet he could already tell—it was going to be a long and exhausting day.
