"Really?" Yunho asks as he plops down on the sofa, switching on the television as he attempts to talk to Byul who's sitting on the high chair at the kitchen island. "How did you know that Hwayoung's birthday is on the 6th of November?"

"Hongjoong told me, and I wanted to ask you since you're her father... but missing a day of kindergarten wouldn't hurt, right?" she grimaces before quickly adding, "I just wanted to spend some time with her on her birthday. If she wants to, that is."

"Just both of you?" He blinks his eyes as he hugs the cushion to his chest. "I mean... can I come along too?" He sticks out his lower lip.

She chuckles. "Why do you want to? It's supposed to be a girls' day out." She rests her elbows on the back of the chair as she looks at him. "And I thought that you wouldn't want to do anything with me after that night."

"It's not that I want to spend time with you," he huffs before looking away, sulking. "I still won't want to leave her alone all day with you."

She smirks. "Well then, you can come along, since you're worried about me doing something to your child. I hope you like eating ice cream, shopping for unicorn plushies and going on merry-go-rounds, though."

"Of course I do!" he fights back. "I've been doing that with Hwayoung for the past months."

"Relax," she says. "I'm not going to take her away from you, it's just one day. Don't be so petty."

"I'm not being petty." But he looks like a child as he crosses his arms, completely ignoring the documentary on the television he flipped to. "I come together or Hwayoung's not going out with you."

"Gosh, you're such a baby do you know that?" She rolls her eyes before jumping off the chair and walking towards him. She reaches out her hand and ruffles his hair, talking to him in a fake baby-voice, "Of course you can come with us, Mr. Jeong. I'll buy you all the ice cream you want and we can-"

"Seriously guys, again?" Yeosang walks over to the fridge, grumbling as he takes out a box of popsicles. He takes out one strawberry-flavoured popsicle and bites it before he realizes that Byul is staring at him like he's an intruder. Maybe he is. "What?"

"Why did you dye your hair to hot pink?" Byul asks, pulling her hand away from Yunho's hair.

"Why not? I look good in pink, and no, you can't tell me otherwise. We just dyed our hair because it's a new era for us," Yeosang says cryptically.

Yunho knits his brows before looking at Byul, who's looking at Yeosang with the same expression he has on, but there's a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth.

"I'm kidding," Yeosang deadpans, his eyes shifting towards Byul before uttering, "We dyed it just for fun."

"We?" she asks again, but there's a difference in her tone that Yunho does not pick up. He's too busy trying to switch off the television.

"Uh-uh. Seonghwa dyed his hair back to black and San opted for a green shade. Just something fresh for us." He takes one large bite off the popsicle before adding, "Gotta look good anytime, anywhere."

"Priorities," Yunho comments.

Byul's expression has changed as she walks away from the living room and enters her bedroom, which is still only made up of a single mattress with her clothes and necessities arranged on the shelves they collectively assembled for her.

Maybe she could get a new wardrobe, or a proper bed, but it would be a waste of time when she probably won't be around here anymore to use them. She locks the door, then gathers her purse and the box that looks funny because it was taped with duct tape hastily.

It's Hwayoung's birthday tomorrow; the 6th of November and she has been planning to take her out to spend some time with her ever since she decided to go through with their plan to take the Bifidensis down. Everything has come to this, from her death on the very same date 6 years ago, to her stumbling upon the man she then realized she had not forgotten.

She takes out the only picture she has in her purse; the only picture she has left of her with her parents. The rest of her memories burnt together with her house, the charred remains leaving her with no pictures to keep, no memorabilia to bring. When she was brought to the orphanage with nothing of her possession left and she cried without stopping, Yunho went back to her house, basically trespassing the supposed criminal scene and brought back the picture for her.

The picture holds both memories of her parents and Yunho; how it's the only picture she has left of her parents and how Yunho had went through to bring it back for her.

She goes over to one of the shelves and rummages through to find something that she can use to tear open the tape around the box. She comes up with a sharp piece that must have splintered out from the broken mirror she dropped the night she got the news that Wooyoung was shot.

She shakes her head as she still hasn't gotten over how panicked the whole house had been, with Yeosang frantically trying to call for San, but he didn't answer so it resulted in the hacker having to track down his location. He found him drunk in an upscale bar at the Treasure district, and when he fainted before Yeosang could deliver the full news about Wooyoung, Yeosang brought him back to the dorm.

San was completely knocked-out, and Yeosang had left him together with Byul, asking for her help to tend to him because he was rushing to the hospital where Wooyoung was at. So two nights ago while the rest were gathered at the hospital she was at the dorm, sitting at the end of his bed. The guilt was consuming her as she heard him stir in his sleep, calling out for Wooyoung, and even when the tears were falling down his cheeks his eyes remained closed, begging for anyone to take him out of the water.

She cried as she sat on the foot of his bed, hand over her mouth as she didn't want to make any sound that could disturb him. He couldn't stay still as he kept tossing and turning, while mumbling and reaching out to hold on to something. At one point he did manage to hold on to her hand, and she stood frozen as his grip went tighter around her hand, but it wasn't her name that left his lips. It was an alternate between a girl's name - Sora - and Wooyoung's name. After that he went limp and he let go, and she quickly wiped off her tears.

When he woke up from his hangover the next day, Byul had made sure that he wouldn't see her in his room, and even before that Hongjoong had went back to the dorm, inviting her to go to the fast food restaurant to meet with Lee Minhyuk. So much happened in one night, and it took her so much will to not cry again as she told Hongjoong that San had finally found out who she is.

Hongjoong took it with a mere nod, passing a comment about how the three of them - San, Yeosang and Seonghwa - the high-ranking trainees are supposed to find out soon, because they're needed for the mission to bring the Bifidensis and KTC down. After the meeting with Lee Minhyuk so early in the morning, they returned to the dorm without any of the members noticing. The rest slept like a log after visiting Wooyoung at the hospital, only waking up when it's almost noon.

Luckily, Byul and Hongjoong went back on time to bring Hwayoung to kindergarten, watching her carefully as she seemed to be excited as she knows that it's her birthday tomorrow. Lee Mikyung had some time off from kindergarten, and although Hwayoung asked around, they didn't have the heart to tell the little kid about what had happened. So they merely told her that maybe she went to take a much-needed break.

Just as she was picking up Hwayoung back from the kindergarten, she received a text message from Hongjoong to tell her that he had finally broke the news to Seonghwa, San and Yeosang; about how they're needed for this mission. He didn't elaborate on how they received the news, but apparently they must have had accepted it as she saw Yeosang with his newly-dyed hair, while he claimed that Seonghwa and San did the same thing.

Maybe it's the fact that Yeosang's hair turning into something so bright reminds her that the path they're about to take is completely different than the vibe given off by his hair colour.

She grabs the shard and tears the tape off with a few slashes, taking it out and leaving the paper box stripped off its superficial layer as she takes a deep breath. She grips either side of the lid, unsure of what she wants to feel right now. A mixture of sweet and bitter memories lie inside the box, and she takes the contents out one by one.

Her trainee identification card; one that only bears her number label and her lethality level, in which she was told that she was different from the others and had to be isolated; she wasn't assigned an Aeon. She had murdered two Bifidensis board members when they were transporting her from the main training area to her cell. That was when they decided she was a dangerous specimen, and all contact with other trainees in the centre was highly prohibited. She spent her time alone and cried almost every day until Yunho appeared before her.

She takes out a bunch of sweets wrappers next; Yunho would always give her one piece of chocolate every year on her birthday, because that's the only thing he could afford to give her at the training centre. She would always keep the wrappers every time she finished eating one, collecting them until some of the words faded but she never threw them away. She counts them; one, two, until it's the fifth one... that was how long they were together.

There are several other random items that Yunho would bring for her that she kept in the box; sometimes it's as thoughtful as a shell he found by the beach, or sometimes it's the most ridiculous thing such as a pen that one of the staff dropped. He would simply bring it to her and told her, this reminded me of you, and she would take it with a smile on her face. It's embarrassing to say or maybe it wasn't even real because they were only young children, but to her they were so in love that she never wanted to look at another boy.

She takes out the last item in the box, brushing her palm over the cover of the book as she smiles with tears in her eyes; it was a diary she kept during the whole duration of her pregnancy. A picture falls out from in between the pages and she picks it up; it was the first ultrasound she had when Hwayoung was still a little dot, and she had mixed emotions when she first saw it. She was scared, happy, overwhelmed.

No one to share the news with, so she took the diary the kind doctor gave to her and wrote her feelings down. She thumbs through the pages and unknowingly some of her tears drop onto the pages. It's not only once or twice; she lost count on how many times the writings in the diary was smudged because she cried over the pages.

She wrote everything down. Every time she felt the baby inside stirring and kicking. Every time she craved for something. Every time she wished Yunho was there by her side. Every time the crescent moon appeared in the sky. Every time she hummed the lyrics to Illusion. Every time she felt alone. Every time she wanted to give up, but held on because of her nameless baby.

She wanted to look through the list of names she could give to her baby, but she couldn't bear to do it when she knew that she wouldn't even be able to call out the baby's name as much as she would liked.

The director never visited her of course; no one did except for the doctor, and another person. It was a man named Kim Hodong; who by then she knew used to be her father's colleague.

Kim Hodong had laid out a deal for her, knowing that she had decided to sacrifice her life in exchange for her baby's. He told her that he could help her fake her death, but she must promise him that she wouldn't hesitate when he would come to ask for her help.

She ignored him during his initial offer because she believed that he was only lying to her and trying to trick her, but not when he showed a picture of Uncle Remy alive and well, somewhere off the island. It took her so long to finally accept the deal, when she was almost due and her body felt too heavy. Whatever was supposed to happen after the public execution wasn't told clearly to her at first; the only thing she knew was that she would survive the execution, but to others it would seem like she was shot dead.

On the day of the execution, they tied her up and put a sack over her head. But before she was taken to the execution ground, Kim Hodong quietly went up to her and suited her up, a bag full of fake blood was placed on her body and a protective vest wrapped under. The shooter? The shooter was bribed, where Hodong had paid him to purposely shoot her exactly where the bag of blood was. The shooter was a trained and skilled one, someone who would barely miss a target.

It was a risky attempt, but knowing that the other choice was her actually dropping dead, she took the chance by making everyone believed that she was shot dead. When she was taken away to be 'buried', Kim Hodong intervened and there she was, shipped off on a boat heading for the mainland, the only possession she brought with her was the box filled with her memorabilia of Yunho and her then unborn baby. When she arrived at Desire district, she met the rest of the team members of Dyskaryo - Uncle Remy, Kim Danbi, Qama, Alana and Shon. They were all defectors of the system, and they were nice to her when she first came.

She wasn't herself the first few months; she kept asking whether she could meet her baby again, she kept singing the song even when her voice felt like it would crack and she kept shouting about how Jeong Yunho betrayed her. She was on the verge of becoming crazy, refusing to accept the fact that she lost her baby the moment she gave birth. Danbi was always by her side, calming her down and asking her softly to get back to reality. She believed that the world was against her so she cursed her fate, cursed that she was born as Lee Eunbi.

She was tired of being Lee Eunbi, until one day she snapped out of her self-made pity bubble and requested to the rest of them: she'd like to change all of her - her identity and her physical appearance. They even seemed happy at this; they were glad she had finally grounded herself back to reality, where she shouldn't waste herself away. So she went under the knife, changed as much as she could and took up a new identity as Han Byul.

True, it was the nickname given to her by Yunho, and the director had told her that he never loved her. But that's what she told the director back; even though he never did, she did.

That was how Han Byul was born, and to her, Lee Eunbi was merely a dead person that should not appear in her life anymore.

Kim Hodong came back to them one day saying that he would like all of them to work together with a group of people that he would assemble; a group that he'd like to give the name ATEEZ. The name didn't strike anything within her at first, but as soon as he gave the list of the members' names, she immediately lashed out and stated clearly that she didn't want to work with any of them, especially the man named Jeong Yunho.

She might had loved him, but she couldn't bear the thought of meeting him and working with him again. She's scared that she would break down again, and lost herself like she did when she was Lee Eunbi.

So she left everything behind.

It was her attempt to start a normal life, because she wanted to know how it felt like before it was too late for her. Forging a high school diploma was an easy task for her, and with that she got accepted into the course at Chrysalis University; the top university located in Utopia district.

She cut all contact with Dyskaryo, lived at different student flats, worked multiple jobs to support herself and lived under a mountain of debt just so she could feel like she was a normal person. She forgot everything her life had brought her in the past, convincing herself that she was Han Byul, born in Utopia district and lived with her aunt before she got kicked out because her aunt wasn't supporting her decision to enter university.

Or at least, that was what she told herself when there wasn't even an 'aunt' in the picture. The story she built up for herself had become planted so deeply in her mind that sometimes she even forgot that it wasn't the least bit true.

She managed to somewhat lay low during her university years - safe for attracting the attention of the jerk Yoon Daewon - but even then life was never easy. There was no turning back for her, because she said to herself this was the best she could ever get, and this was the life she deserved.

Until she met Yunho again.

Of course, when she saw the neon crescent sign of the cafe, she was strangely drawn to it and she had no idea what she had brought herself into. When she tackled Yunho to the ground it was his eyes that she noticed first and only then she took in his whole face. He never changed, and it took her a lot to look away and walk away. She was scared; scared that he would recognize her but she reminded herself that she looked different than how she used to be. She wasn't Lee Eunbi; she was Han Byul - a stranger to Jeong Yunho.

She wanted to leave, but when he asked ever-so-softly, "Rough day?", she couldn't say no. She missed him, and even with the initial thought that he had betrayed her, she followed him into the cafe, promising to herself that she would only get a cup of coffee, take a look at Yunho and then leave. It didn't work out because Hongjoong had to announce to the whole cafe about their mission, ultimately causing them to buoy between the decision to kill her or take her in.

She ran; she ran because she didn't want to fight back. She didn't want to use her skills that she had when she was Lee Eunbi, because she threw that person years ago. They caught up to her, and then she's caught in the complicated web of the Bifidensis and KTC yet again. She should have refused... but she was caught offguard as the little voice disturbed their meeting about whether they should take her in or throw her away.

She was surprised and her heart felt like it could shatter at that particular moment; her child that was taken away before she even got to hold her properly was standing on her own two feet, healthy and growing up so well.

Hwayoung is her name. A beautiful flower.

Jeong Yunho... you kept your promise.

Still, she was stubborn because she wanted to know how much of it was the truth, and how much of it was a lie. She needed to stay until she unearthed something bigger, finding the broken compass that she chucked years ago. Using ATEEZ to find back Dyskaryo, because after seeing Hwayoung with her own eyes again, she wanted to see the plan set in motion once again.

Tomorrow, it will be the 6th year anniversary of Lee Eunbi's death. It will also be Hwayoung's 6th birthday, and it would be her first time celebrating it with her mother.

She hugs her pregnancy diary to her chest with tears in her eyes and mutters, please don't let it be the last.