꧁ Admired from Jeongin's rooftop, the morning sky looked like an ocean of all shades of pink. At the very horizon, there was a golden beam of sunshine, spreading all across the fresh rosy shades which turned lavender, the further they got from the sun. Minho almost missed the clouds, for they somehow blended in with the breathtaking blush he enjoyed seeing. He'd never been a morning person, so he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips as his eyes took in the view.

Apparently, Yang Jeongin had this cool aunt who let him have her place when he came of age, with her visiting from time to time. He and Seungmin had been living in the two-storey home for a while now, and judging by the neat furniture and white, well, everything, they surely knew how to take care of it. Even the rooftop was stunning, spacious enough to sit down and stare at the outlines of buildings and people, and most importantly, to think.

All these years, as Minho watched the girl he'd fallen for love somebody else, ignore him, so beautifully innocent and unaware of his feelings, he'd wanted nothing more than to hold her. When he lost her, he had wished he could wrap his arms around her one final time, mumble a quick joke and make her smile the way only he could, but he'd never gotten the chance. And now there she was, so strangely different, yet completely the same.

The girl who had hugged him like there was no tomorrow, who told him all the soothing words and spoke so calmly, wasn't his Dahye. Just like Lee Felix from the universe he knew was a polar opposite to this one, just like Changbin of this world had no idea who he was, Dahye had her own little differences, despite him failing to notice them yet. Maybe she had just been confused to see a familiar face in her friends' bed, got too emotional and overreacted, with no clue for him she was the world.

"That's probably it," Minho whispered to himself, finalising the inner battle. "Maybe she's just overwhelmed."

But why would Felix and Seungmin be so terrified of her walking in, then? What else could have made them like that? What could have possibly concerned all of them so much?

Despite having felt sleepy, Minho hadn't gotten much rest after Jeongin left the room. He'd drifted off at some point, whilst pondering the fact that the cut on his forehead was gone, about how strange both Seungmin and Jeongin were.

Sure, the new world meant Seungmin was probably different from the boy he knew, too, but there was no difference yet, other than his strange behaviour. There was definitely something different about Seungmin, but not in the way it was with others. Just the way he behaved, talked as though he knew more than anyone else and successfully dodged almost each and every question Minho had asked, not to mention, the way he acted when Jeongin got that sudden nosebleed -it was all odd. Then again, what even is odd after crossing worlds?

Minho munched on some potato chips Jeongin had handed him when he woke up -the boy's aunt, a very nice woman, had reheated some mouth-watering egg rolls, but it turned out that Felix, who'd stayed to play video games, had assumed they were for him. Minho had only given Felix a narrowed stare, as a joke, of course, and climbed to the roof with a bag of snacks in his hands.

The salty crumbs fell onto the sweatpants he was wearing, yet another item he didn't know the owner of, but he assumed they were Seungmin's, judging by the size, and he brushed them off wish his fingers. With a sigh, he leaned back and rested on his elbows, eyes roaming over the beautiful skies.

"Stunning, right?"

Minho jumped with a yelp, the plastic bag spilling over. He watched longingly as the last few chips fell down and disappeared from sight. "You are stunning. You litterally stunned me," he mumbled to Felix, who only watched, his hand over his mouth. "You just won't let me eat today, will you?"

Felix shook his head and turned back around. "Shit, sorry. I'll get you some more, I'll be right back!"

Minho scoffed and leaned back down. "No, leave it. I'll get some later, come here." He patted the place beside him.

He watched as the boy nodded sheepishly and sat down, mimicking his position by leaning back. Comfortable silence was interrupted only by vehicles that occasionally passed through the street, the clicking of Felix's tongue and Minho's own breathing.

"So... what Seungmin said..." Felix started, turning his head to look at Minho. "You believe him, right?"

Minho nodded. "Of course. I saw it myself. The strange voices, the chills, the light, and then I blacked out." He rubbed his palms together to get rid of salt that remained after his almost-meal. "There was a picture on the table, a picture of him and me, together during summer camp. I never went to summer camp. I don't remember taking the picture, either. I don't think he'd go as far as to edit a photo of us just to get his revenge."

Also the fact that the girl he cared about had died and now she somehow came back to life...

"Revenge?" The freckled boy frowned and Minho got a look at his eyes. Warm brown, just like his sister's, but while hers were decorated with small green flecks, Felix's eyes held this warmth to them, tiny golden and copper dots dancing around his eyelids like flames. "I thought you guys ended things on good terms."

"We did. That's why I doubt it... So yeah, I believe him. I hope you guys believe me, though."

Felix tutted. "Well, I do. I know Dahye does." He tilted his head. "Jeongin has been quite nice to you as well, I think he understands."

"He knows something," Minho said simply. "Seungmin, too. They know something we don't. And Chan is just... I don't understand what I did wrong. Does he really think I'm the guy from here?"

The younger boy frowned. Minho saw him sit up straight, arms resting on his knees as he sat cross-legged. Eyes focused on his hands, bottom lip tucked underneath his teeth, he was thinking.

"There's... something we haven't told you."

Minho blinked and sucked in his lips. He allowed the back of his head to softly hit the floor, completely lying down now. When Felix turned back questioningly, he nodded at the boy to continue speaking.

"Minho wasn't a good person."

Minho lowered his eyes to look at the boy. "I figured. Just the way they all looked at me... What did he do?"

Felix cleared his throat. "There's... there's not exactly something I could name, there's too many things. He simply... he never cared about anyone except Dahye. No filter, no heart. He hurt people around him, and didn't regret it one bit. He and Dahye were in love, he had a soft spot for her, treated her well, but everything else... We all suffered a lot. Sacrificed a lot."

Minho's hands felt clammy as he tucked them underneath his head, refusing to look at the boy any longer, staring up instead.

There it was, the answer. The answer to why the girl had run to him like her life depended on it, why she was among the few people who'd tolerated him ever since he'd woken up. She loved him. Not him him. His other self. She had thought he'd returned.

"I'm sorry."

Felix was in Minho's line of sight again, brows furrowed and pouty lips downturned. "You have nothing to feel sorry about. Just keep in mind some of them... well, most of them, might hold grudges against you. Just let them be until you figure out a way to return home."

Minho just nodded, unable to say much. He wanted to know what exactly had happened to each one of them, what his other self had done, but he kept quiet. He didn't say anything else even when the freckled boy stood up, dusting off his pale jeans with a goofy smile. It was far-fetched to assume, but something told him he wouldn't get his answer anytime soon, from any of them.

"You should come in. Innie wanted to try my old brownie recipe."

The older boy's eyebrows rose. "Innie?"

"Jeongin," Felix explained. "You know, the sweetheart."

Minho nodded half-heartedly and told him he'd be there. Once Felix was gone, his dark eyes got lost in the clouds once again. The navy tint of the sky had long since faded, with tiniest remaining stars still flickering above the city.

"Innie," he repeated quietly, tasting the name on his lips as he watched the stars fade. "The sweetheart."

꧁ His black bag over his shoulder, Minho exited the lecture hall one final time that day, Seungmin, Felix and Hyunjin following suit. The four walked down the hallway without too many words, letting the noise of other students drown out their thoughts.

Minho sauntered with his head hanging low, furrowed eyebrows above his eyes like stormy clouds. His hands tucked in the pockets of his skinny jeans, he focused on his own shoes and the way they tapped against the floor, instead of the glares and whispers of students around him. Once they reached the exit, Minho picked up the pace and found a spot on a bench under a big oak tree, and sat down.

"Now," he started, "how about you guys tell me why that one kid called me 'The psycho twin'?"

"Because you're a psycho?" Hyunjin suggested, but Minho ignored it.

"They're all looking at me like I'm a ghost." He narrowed his eyes. "I had to change my whole name to prove I'm not the same person, but now I'm considered the crazy lost twin. That's great."

It had been two days since Minho woke up in the new world and things were already going downhill.

He had talked to Jeongin and said he would give him time, that the explanation could wait. Needless to say, it was all thanks to Felix who'd already spilled the beans -well, most of them. That boy really couldn't keep his mouth shut, so now Minho knew the basics: his other self was a dick.

"I honestly don't see the point in keeping it from him."

Minho glanced at Hyunjin who had been standing by the bench. Despite Seungmin's deadly glare, the tall boy pointed somewhere behind him, and Minho's gaze followed. What he saw made his blood run cold.

One of the trees on the other side of the tiled path was surrounded by students. Some held papers, some held colourful cutouts, candles or even flowers. The tree trunk had a photograph stuck to it, decorated with equally vibrantly coloured papers in shapes of hearts and stars. Minho's own photograph.

"They, uh... everyone kind of moved on, but I guess seeing you - the 'twin' -reminded them all of what happened." Seungmin rubbed the back of his neck.

Minho heard Seungmin, but said nothing, still glaring at his own picture and the students gathering in memory of his death. "He's dead?"

"Yeah, well... You know how that fire happened in your universe when Dahye died?" Seungmin said quietly and Minho froze. "Well, it happened here, as well. I guess this Minho just... couldn't let her die there. He saved her life, but never got out of the house."

The oldest of the four averted his gaze from the tree and looked at Hyunjin, waiting for him to burst into that bubbly laughter he despised, and tell him it was all a stupid prank. Instead, Hyunjin stood there with no smile on his face, lips pursed as he analysed Minho's reaction.

"What kind of drugs am I on?" Minho questioned. His fingers clenched into fists in his lap and his teeth hurt from how much he grinded them together, but he paid no attention. "I believed every single thing that came out of that mouth of yours, Seungmin. This is too much. Not to mention, I never fucking told you Dahye died."

Seungmin's relaxed behaviour was back. "Say whatever you want. You believe me and you know it. You're just in denial. I told you, all of this makes sense so much that it's scary."

"It is scary."

Hyunjin sighed. "Oh, come on! You're not just planning on sitting there all day, mourning your dead other self, are you? People here consider you crazy, so what? I do, too!" He hit Minho's shoulder lightly. Minho raised his eyebrows and Hyunjin took a careful step back. "B-but yes, you shouldn't let this stun you too much."

"Too much? I'm basically dead!"

Minho's shout made numerous heads turn in their direction, curious students peeking at the boy who apparently got separated from his twin at a very young age, and had now returned to continue his education there -Lee Yunho.

The name had been chosen by Changbin himself when he went to ask his parents -Chancellor Seo and his wife, who was in charge of the campus -to let his friend apply. They gave him fake identification with no explanation required, and let him stay in the part of the campus which was for the privileged only, better known as Changbin and his clique. Of course, being acquainted with the Chancellor's son made Minho quite privileged, so he soon got to share a whole floor with Hyunjin and Felix.

It was his first day, and he was glad the classes were not too different from what he'd had in his world. Even the students he had classes with were the same.

Minho was two years behind Chan and the rest of their generation because of the performing arts course he'd taken in Australia and his time in Seoul when he thought he'd start a dance career without further education after high school, so he now went to classes with students younger than him. It was quite normal for Minho. Even in this world it remained the same, for he mostly had same classes as Hyunjin, Seungmin, and other kids their age, despite the difference. Changbin was a junior, having started education normally, while Jeongin studied medicine, a proud freshman.

That's how he ended up with his roommates, Hyunjin and Felix, and Seungmin, his self-proclaimed guide.

"And you'll be quite literally dead of you don't shut up."

Minho glared at Seungmin, but the younger didn't falter, lips pressed together tightly.

Hyunjin whistled. "Wow, the sexual tension... Do y'all want us to leave?"

"No," the two muttered simultaneously and Minho looked away first.

"I crave death." He muttered and Seungmin scoffed.

"Don't be dramatic."

"Yeah, don't wish for your own death just like that, especially not in a situation like this." Hyunjin nodded. "Not with all of them already mourning your other persona."

"Who said anything about craving my death? I crave someone else's. Some llama meat, while we're at it."

He smirked, watching Hyunjin who only scrunched up his face in disgust and flipped him off. Minho rolled his eyes, standing up.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Felix called after him.

"Back to the dorms!" He didn't even turn around. "They want a psycho twin, they'll get one."

"He looks like that guy from Harry Potter," Jisung mumbled.

"You mean Ron Weasley?"

"Yes, and the brothers. They're all ginger."

"But Jisung, those aren't even the same shades. Minho's is brighter, right, Minho?"

Minho turned away from the mirror to look at Changbin and nodded, confirming the answer to his question. "They're ginger. This is fire orange."

"You were already creepy enough," Seungmin muttered. "There was no need for any hair dye."

"You know I look good, admit it."

Seungmin ignored the comment and crossed his arms over his chest, choosing to look at Jisung instead.

Hyunjin, Felix and Seungmin had ended up following Minho to campus. That's when they ran into Changbin and Jisung, and the two joined. Minho was surprised Jisung had decided to even be around him, but he had chosen not to say anything. It might ruin it.

"I want to talk about what happened now," Minho had told them. "Call Jeongin and Dahye. Call Chan, too, if he wants to hear me out."

As soon as he walked in, he'd got his dear roommate, Felix, alone and asked him if he had some hair colour. Felix, of course, possessed an entire assortment of colours, but the moment Minho spotted the orange among them all, he had decided what to do already.

So while waiting for Dahye, Chan and Jeongin to arrive, he'd successfully dyed his hair, with Felix's help. And he fucking loved it.

"Well, it does look good," Dahye commented with a grin, feet dangling off the edge of her twin's bed as he rested his head in her lap. "Now we're sort of matching."

Minho chuckled, eyes raking over her pastel orange curls. He nodded. "Right, both burned our hair to crisp."

She rolled her eyes and Minho smiled to himself, satisfied with how he managed to tease her whatever he said.

"Let's stop the useless banter and get to the point, shall we?" Hyunjin clasped his hands together. "Minho, you're the one who wanted to talk now, so it's better if you start."

Minho nodded and walked over to his bed, sitting down beside Seungmin. "I'm gonna start and tell you guys everything important, no interruptions."

"Right," Chan muttered. "Let's hear your best excuse."

It seemed like he wanted to say more, but Jisung nudged his side without a word, and he fell silent.

"It's true, there are many similarities between these two worlds, probably more than we know. But I am not the same guy you knew. He's dead and I'm not, I'm here now and I want you to know we're not the same." Minho looked down at his hands. "I suppose whatever he did affected all of you so much that you now can't even look at me." He saw Jisung shuffle in his seat. "And I am genuinely sorry about that."

Gaze moving over the people in the room, Minho saw Dahye's teary eyes, Jisung's trembling hands and Jeongin's hopeful smile, and that was a sign for him to tell them everything.

A/N:

the chapter could have been better ngl but i just kept deleting and rewriting and ugh this is the best i could get out of it, promise

i had to add orange haired minho because that's my religion, folks... hope y'all agree with me or else imma need you to check your eyes

you might have noticed some changes in the book description or this chapter itself, it's because i decided to make the story revolve less around romance and more around the fantasy setup itself. this doesn't mean there won't be romance, yes there will, but be ready for your ships to sail and sink repeatedly because i am in for the heartbreak

at this point, you can literally ship anyone with anyone, in all seriousness

also, sorry to notify all my gay bitches out there that i will soon remove yejin's character from the book. i love her so much, but with the changes in the plot come changes among the characters, roles change, ideas change, so she's just useless. her aesthetics will be removed but some of the other characters' will be changed or just developed more. changbin, jeongin and seungmin are a major part of the story yet i didn't know it back then and i made their aesthetics simpler and smaller and that needs to change

you won't have to reread anything because of yejin (you can if it's easier for you), just imagine as though she never existed

anyways, what did you guys think about this chapter? i personally have seen better, but it's still not the worst... if you have any questions, feel free to ask. take care <3

p.s. thank you for 500 reads uwu