The next day didn't start like any other.

The hall of the castle was crowded with hundreds of residents, raising their fisted arms in the air and shouting "We Want Our Rights". Rights as in, their memories. These dull people became so protestant today they jammed the place without thinking correctly. And someone was leading them.

Choi Beomgyu.

Yoon Min should've known he wouldn't take her advice seriously. Instead, he joined hands with the objectors, the same people who were bullying her mentally for the past weeks. He seemed to be leading them quite enthusiastically, claiming for his memories as if he had not understood her even a little bit.

With arms crossed, she stood in a corner with her friends and a few other guardians who seemed to be the only people still sane. They didn't care who got their memories or not. But they were too few to compare with the overflowing number of volitant residents. She watched them silently, fear growing inside. The strength and will in their united voices were scaring her. How had things came to this point? Then she remembered, it was all because of her.

"Girls, I've been thinking something for a while." Koushi commented standing beside her.

Sung Rin said, "Go on."

"Okay so what if...behind these volitant residents who have become so protestant in these months...is one person? Like what if someone is constantly brainwashing these people? Continuously reminding them of Yoon Min and Jin Seonbae's actions. Regularly urging them to fight for their so-called rights?"

She had a strong intuition. The rest of them were impressed by her thought.

"Who?" Yian asked earnestly.

"Don't you see?" Koushi replied. "Guardian Beomgyu. It's him."

Myeong Jo took a look at Yoon Min's face and it was too obvious she had realized it long before them. Her pale, unmoving eyes were the most noticeable features of her face right now.

She added, "You're right. I mean, there must be some reason everyone has become so obsessed. If I were one of them, I would have forgotten all about it in a week. Unless someone constantly told me to fight. Seeing Beomgyu coming out of his shell makes it all clear."

Right then, the roaring of the residents increased when the princess entered the castle. She must've gotten the word of the chaos and came straightway. But she wasn't alone, the seven senior guardians were behind her, following her inside. The sight of the senior guardians eventually silenced the residents to a bearable limit.

Seokjin wasn't aware he was going to be faced with such a bad-tempered large crowd They walked to the throne where the princess climbed up to her seat and stood, facing the residents.

Aereum scanned the entire room and thought it wasn't visible, she was quite taken aback by the presence of all guardians, fairies and employees. Everyone had gathered here to start a protest, not caring about the universe or their duties. Indeed, the peace was already shattered. Her vision came true.

She cleared her throat. "What is the meaning of this unexplainable gathering? Can someone care to explain?"

It wasn't long before Beomgyu raised his hand and yelled, "We want our memories too, Princess! It's not fair to let only one guardian receive hers. We want to know our pasts too. No more of your injustice! Let us have our memories or we will continue with our protests."

Everyone exclaimed in approval and nodded their heads in union.

Yoon Min closed her eyes in regret. It was all because of her. Everyone had a problem with her remembering her past. Meanwhile, Seokjin was surprised to see Beomgyu on the objector's side. Why was he doing this?

The princess opened her mouth. "So all of you want to remember your lives where you were bound to kill yourselves?"

Her question seemed to do something to the residents because suddenly, the crowd turned quiet and stared at her.

"All of you committed suicide; each in a different way. One of you risked drug poisoning so that you can die in your sleep. One of you drove your car to the highest speed in a sane mind to crash into a tree. One of you hung from the ceiling, jumped from a high place, cut your wrist, threw yourself in a busy road, starved to death, shot yourself and God knows what way!"

Aereum didn't know she was growling. Her angered voice raised goosebumps within the residents.

"Why did you do that? Well, because some of your business suffered huge loses, some of you failed your exams, some of you were bullied for your looks or skin color or simply the way you were. Some of you were abused, raped and you had none to beg for help. Some of you had doubts about your gender identity, some felt dangerously isolated, felt like failure or inadequate, felt the ghosts of their trauma. Maybe some of you were forced to marry a person or act a certain way according to the society. Some of you lost a loved one to death. Every one of you had a reason to give up on your own gifted life."

The residents were silent, not because they were nervous under her roaring voice, because the suicide reasons she mentioned were familiar to them. The Earth was still plagued by suicide to this day. Somewhere around the world, someone was going through a tough period of their life. Every day, while helping suicidal souls, the guardians learned about their reasons and became used to it.

But only a few of them ever wondered these were the same reasons that cost them their lives. Her reasons and methods reminded them that once, they too had committed suicide falling victim to their own tragedies.

The princess asked then, "And now you want to remember why you did that? You really want to learn what made you take that decision? Who bullied you, who raped you, what hurt you to the point living wasn't an option anymore? You want to remember those?!"

Only her voice was echoing inside the hall, shaking their intestines and feelings. "Look, I know you are upset by the fact I gave a guardian back her memories when she wished for it. But have you ever asked her how she felt after learning her past?"

Finally the residents found a chance to whisper. They moved their heads in all directions in search of the certain guardian. Yoon Min was heavily taken aback upon her name being mentioned. This was the last thing she wanted. Everything was going so fine and the princess successfully ruined it by mentioning her.

At one point, everyone figured out where she was standing and all eyes were on her. It was difficult to understand how they were staring at her, whether in rage or sorrow or empathy. But her reaction showed she wasn't prepared for this.

"Guardian Yoon Min?" Aereum asked her from the throne. "Tell me what was it like to embrace the few happy moments of your life again?"

She opened her mouth but nothing came out. She wasn't informed she would be questioned or else she would've prepared her answer. She looked around, everyone was looking back at her.

Beomgyu stared at her too.

Trying to think about it, memories of only Seokjin rushed inside her head. Their first meeting, their first confession, their first kiss, their first date, their wedding. There was no happiness in her life before him. He gave her the opportunity to smile and be happy as much as she wished. He was her happy moment.

At last, she answered, "I-It was like being seen after a lifetime of darkness."

Seokjin's lips curved upwards, hearing her voice. He had no idea she imagined him.

The princess had no doubt about the answer. She was expecting it. Now she got to the main part.

"And what was it like to face the demons of your tragedy again?"

The little smile on her lips faltered. The residents were more interested now to hear her experience. Almost all of them knew what happened to her and why she took her life. This time, even Beomgyu remained his sharp stare at her.

Yoon Min suddenly remembered the moment she walked inside their home and found out about the cheating. There were no words to describe what she actually went through to take in the betrayal and understand the ugly truth. The memory faded into another day; the worst day of her life. The day when she was given the news of Seokjin's death. Nothing could make her utter how she endured the pain and lived for months without him, survived with the hope of his child. That memory also blacked out into the final strike of her life; the day she jumped to her death.

Every attack was achingly bad and sorrowful. She met not only one tragedy, but quite a few. She was thrown to the dirt after being worshipped and when she was almost on her feet to stand, the sky landed rain on her, soaking her to her final end.

There was a long silence before she managed to hide her tears and respond, "It was like...death seized me again and again, all at once."

Her answer raised the whispers and concerns among the residents. Seokjin nibbled at his bottom lip, understanding the deep meaning of her words. She used the word Death to explain the demons of her life. So that means her life was dead all along.

Beomgyu looked at the faces of the residents and he was terrified to learn they were slowly understanding they were wrong all along. This wasn't what he hoped for. He hoped for something else, he hoped the princess will punish Yoon Min and Seok Jin by separating them since it was only because of them the residents were being like this. He had to do something. Cleverly escaping the eyes of everyone, he snuck out of the hall and went to steal a forbidden weapon.

Aereum no longer wanted to pressure the guardian. She received what she wanted to hear from her. Then she turned to the residents and said,

"Now I want you to hear our second guardian who was punished to have his memories as a reminder of his sin."

He stepped forward and faced the crowd. He had no idea what was going on the princess's mind because she didn't tell him she was gonna make Yoon Min speak up as well. Maybe the princess wanted to hear her honest and raw answers.

Clearing his throat, he began, "I'll keep this short. We keep forgetting we committed suicide, don't we? Suicide means we were not happy on Earth. We were pushed to the edge alone to take our lives. There aren't anything to reminisce about, even if there is, it's too little compared to the reason of your suicide."

He added after a pause. "I was depressed after learning my past. Many of you saw how I was for a couple of weeks, how terrifying and lifeless I became. And it's not just me. It's also Guardian Yoon Min."

Once again, everyone turned their heads towards her direction. On the other hand, Yoon Min didn't expect Seokjin was going to speak about this too. And she certainly didn't expect he would mention her too.

Meeting her eyes, he continued, "She also became gloomy, tired and depressed. Why do you think that happens? Because when we remember our lives, we remember every single detail from every touch to every emotion. We see how we were born, what made us depressed, why we weren't being helped, and finally how we reach the last moment of our lives. And let me tell you, those aren't damn easy."

"All of you had to face similar tragedies like w-we did. If you remember them, you won't be able to handle yourselves let alone going back to Earth again to save humans. Please, please...don't do the mistake of asking for your memories. Don't...when it's just a punishment."

The residents were calm and normal now. They weren't speaking up anymore. Their heads lowered in shame, unable to meet the eyes of the princess after knowing they were very wrong and stupid to ask for their memories.

While they were engaged in realization, Yoon Min suddenly found Seokjin in front of her. He took her hands in his and gently whispered so that only she could hear him, "I wasn't entirely honest back there. It's not a punishment, remembering you can never be a punishment."

She smiled warmly at him. "Me too."

Aereum read their expressions and it relieved her to see most of them were now positive about their so-called rights. They understood the point clearly and did not value what happened to their lives anymore. They wanted to live in peace and save suicidal humans.

It made her smile as well. Her plan worked out perfectly. The united voice of the three of them won against the thousand of protestants. She was glad the universe was going to be back the way it was, no more problem or anything.

Or so she thought.

Right that second, while positivity and hope breathed, the large doors were slammed open by a strong force, shocking everyone and gained their attention.

There stood Beomgyu at the entrance, looking no less friendly as he carried a sword with him.

------------------

One Chapter left till Epilogue 🙂

Or two...