Kyungsoo's heart was beating in his ears. The tears that escaped his eyes were concealed only by the rain dripping down his face. Minseok's small tent was steadily growing farther and farther away. But still, the last moments within it only grew within his mind.

"Well, maybe you remembered wrong," Minseok had said.

"No." Kyungsoo's knuckles were white. "There's no way I could forget any detail of that day."

"That's impossible," Minseok scoffed. "It was seven years ago. You aren't perfect Kyungsoo, you're human, and the human brain just doesn't work that way."

Kyungsoo had continued to deny it until Minseok forced him to leave. But as Kyungsoo walked towards the bus stop, a twinge of fear had crept into his heart. Minseok could be right. No matter how much he wished otherwise, his memory wasn't perfect. It could forget or be fooled. The intimate details Kyungsoo had run through his mind a million times could be wrong. Or even worse, he could've forgotten a crucial detail that could have revealed the killer or saved him from prison.

Anger and fear clogged his heart. His legs threatened to give out from under him. All these years, the only person he had to trust had been himself. But he couldn't even have that. The only things that had been keeping him sane were the memories he had cherished of his loved ones.

Kyungsoo sat on the couch, staring at the TV, not really registering it. He could feel his mother's eyes on him. He could hear a quiet discussion between her and his sister. He ignored the gross feeling in his stomach.

"Hey," His sister plopped down next to him. "So, you'll be coming to my highschool soon, huh?"

Kyungsoo didn't answer. His eyes drifted from the TV to the floor. She patted his leg.

"It'll be a lot better than middle school." She said. "The kids aren't completely terrible. Most of them anyway."

"Baekhyun's going there," Kyungsoo mumbled. "A bunch of kids from my middle school are."

"Well, if you need to, you can hang out with my boyfriend and me." She smiled.

"I don't like him," Kyungsoo said. "You deserve better."

She laughed. "Aw, come on! Jongin's a really sweet guy."

"Sweet enough for you to ignore me all the time?" Kyungsoo asked.

"Geez, I don't text him that much." Her phone buzzed.

Kyungsoo smiled a little. "Try all the time."

"I'll work on it,"

Was that even real? Had it just been a moment he'd dreamed up in an effort to feel closer to his sister? He could only remember her laugh, never hear it. He could only remember her smile, never see it. What had she really been like? Could he ever know for sure? Had his mother really been so protective and caring? Had his father really been so distant? He couldn't know. Each of his breaths was shaky as his mind drifted from precious memory to precious memory, fearing the worst.

The sky above them was pitch black, their path only lit by the lights of the shops they passed. Their laughter greeted the night air like an old friend. Yifan had an arm around Kyungsoo's shoulder. Kyungsoo could smell his cologne, he'd put way too much on. Luhan and Tao were trying to explain a childhood story, but they were laughing too much to get the whole thing out. Everything felt right.

That moment had been perfect. The whole world was just as it should be. But nothing real can be so perfect. Kyungsoo wanted to kick himself. He should have known. Hadn't he seen just how imperfect the world was for the past seven years? Despair clouded his vision. It was impossible. He couldn't solve a murder that happened so long ago. All the true evidence was long gone. And the one piece of evidence he'd been clinging to was completely untrustworthy.

He covered his face. He knew it was pointless. So, why? Why was he still unwilling to give up? He was afraid, utterly terrified he would never find the killer. If he never found who really killed them... there was only one result. Kyungsoo was the killer. It wouldn't matter what he remembered or what he had felt. The world would see him as a killer and he would be unable to prove, even to himself, he wasn't.

The bus stop drew closer. A small group of people stood around it. Kyungsoo wiped his eyes and struggled to look composed. He pulled his hood up and didn't make eye contact with any of them. He knew if they recognized him they would be scared the entire bus ride. No one really seemed to pay attention to him. Kyungsoo could feel the ocean in his mind beginning to settle after the storm. There was no point in wallowing in self pity over the unchangeable. He couldn't give up. He would either find the killer or die trying.

The bus pulled around the corner and approached, slowing to a stop in front of them. The doors opened, and people began to board. Kyungsoo stepped towards it. A hand grabbed his sleeve. Kyungsoo looked down. Minseok was absolutely drenched. His hand was shaking as it clung to Kyungsoo's jacket.

"M-Minseok?" Kyungsoo stared at him.

"I'm sorry." Minseok fell to the ground. "I'm so, so sorry. It's all my fault."