Chapter 3: Better on my stay...

Hyuk continued to stare at him. After a while, the kid started to snicker.

"Ajusshi, you're really weird... don't you know?"

Shin immediately chuckled at the boy. "You think so?"

"Yeah," said the boy before jumping off from the swing. Little Hyuk turned around to face him. "Ajusshi, did you have a girlfriend?"

Shin immediately blinked at him. "Pardon?"

Hyuk grinned. "I mean... if I'm a girl, I'd probably be really taken in by that pickup line..."

"P-Pick... pickup line?" Shin sputtered as little Hyuk giggled and tripped on his footing and fell to the ground. He exclaimed aloud before rushing forward towards the kid.

"Are you hurt?" he asked in alarm as Hyuk remained quiet. The kid slowly raised his head towards him before smiling.

"I'm fine... Ajusshi." The kid suddenly let out a long sigh. Hyuk cocked his head slightly at him.

"It's been a while, isn't it... Mr Goblin? You seem well. "

Without warning little Hyuk changed his mannerism towards him as Shin jumped back in surprise.

xxx

He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Did Hyuk... no, Yeo, retained the memories of his past life? H-how... was it possible—

The little boy slowly picked himself back up before brushing the dirt on his hands away.

"Are you really surprised? Really?" The kid just shrugged as he remained silent. Glancing briefly towards his side, Hyuk spoke again.

"If you really wanted to know, you might as well ask that guy..."

Shin turned towards the direction Hyuk was looking at and as expected, he could see a certain white moth, fluttering nearby before it went away. He frowned at the sight. Well, he should've expected it. Shin turned back towards Hyuk.

"Then, from the beginning... did you already know that I'm—"

Hyuk let out a long yawn before reaching out to him.

"Ajusshi..." The kid ignored his query as he continued talking. "... could you take me home?"

Shin stared at the kid in confusion.

Little Hyuk took out a card from the back of his pocket before passing it to him. Shin stared at the card as an address and contact number was written on it.

"This... why are you—?" Shin stopped himself as he caught Hyuk's body before he collapsed to the ground.

xxx

How could this be?

He couldn't quite understand it. One moment Hyuk was talking like his adult self, and the next he's back to being a simple 5-year-old kid he just encountered a few hours earlier.

What's going on?

Did Yeo... or Hyuk somehow retained his past life's memories? Come to think, the last time he saw Wang Yeo at the tearoom... he didn't remember seeing him taking the oblivion tea before leaving with his sister. Was that it?

He shook his head.

But it can't be... since the kid hasn't shown any signs of recognition when they first met. Yet after spending time a bit with each other, would it be possible for—?

Shin paused in his steps. Did his presence near the kid somehow trigger the old memories to resurface? Was that it? He glanced back towards the card that Hyuk has given him earlier to confirm the address.

Ah well, he might as well send the kid home first. Then, later on, he might try to figure out what actually was going on with the kid.