Location: Jeju Island – Hidden Basement of the Villa
It had rained all night. The sound of thunder lingered in Dephnie's ears as she descended the narrow stairs beneath the villa. Arin had drawn a sketch—one she didn't remember giving her—a blueprint of the villa showing a sealed door in the basement.
Dephnie followed it.
She reached the old stone wall and brushed her hand over its surface.
Click.
A soft hum vibrated through the stone. The wall split open like a forgotten gate, revealing a small chamber. In the centre sat a box—made of polished obsidian, inlaid with a symbol she hadn't seen in years:
The sigil of the twin crown.
She touched it, and the room lit up with swirling golden light.
Suddenly—
A vision hit her like a wave.
Vision Sequence – Alternate Timeline
She stood in a palace—not in Korea, not in her world—but one where Lee Gon never became king. Instead, another man sat on the throne—his identical face framed by a darker crown.
His name was Lee Min, Lee Gon's twin.
This version of Dephnie had been a royal guard. She had never met Lee Gon.
But Lee Min—cold, mysterious, magnetic—had fallen for her in silence.
"You are my sword and shield," he had whispered one night. "But I'd throw away the throne just to be the one you choose freely."
And she had loved him. Deeply. Passionately. Silently.
Until the world collapsed.
Back to Present—Jeju Island, Basement
Dephnie gasped, hand shaking over the obsidian box.
Lee Gon rushed into the room.
"I felt something—what happened?"
She turned slowly.
"There's another version of me. One who loved your twin."
Lee Gon froze.
"My… twin?"
"Lee Min."
A name neither of them had spoken until now.
Arin walked in, holding a strange metallic object—a golden key with two crowns overlapping.
"This is yours," she said softly. "It unlocks a door… where one love was forgotten to save another."
Location: Seoul – National Archives of Reality
Professor Woo-jin examined the key.
"This is a paradox anchor. It allows one person to revisit an erased path... and survive the memory intact."
Lee Gon clenched his jaw.
"And what happens if that path leads to a heart that never chose me?"
Dephnie looked at him, eyes soft but conflicted.
"Do you want me to forget it?"
"No," he said, holding her hand. "I just want to be enough—even when the past wasn't kind."
Location: Seoul – Alternate Doorway Site
Underneath the Namsan Tower, where timelines once brushed against each other, a portal began to hum.
Arin stood in front of it, holding the golden key.
"Only one can enter. Only one truth can be brought back."
Dephnie stepped forward.
"I need to know if that love… ever ended."
Lee Gon touched her shoulder.
"Just return to me."
She nodded and took the key. The gate shimmered.
A flash of light.
She vanished into the forgotten world.
Alternate Korea – Palace Grounds
Dephnie awoke dressed as a royal guard, her hands roughened from years of sword training. A crown prince rode toward her—his expression cold and distant, yet deeply familiar.
"Guard Dephnie," he said, dismounting. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."
"Lee Min..." she breathed.
He paused.
"You haven't called me that since the fire."
The vision collapsed briefly, a swirl of broken memory returning—
A fire. A betrayal. Her decision to leave him to save the world.
And now… he remembered her.
"You came back."
"Only to say goodbye properly this time."
He smiled, a rare, bitter smile.
"You never did know how to love halfway, did you?"
Closing Scene – Edge of the Timelines
As Dephnie walked back through the collapsing memory, Lee Min whispered behind her.
"He must love you beyond time itself… if he let you come here."
She turned.
"And you must love me just as much if you let me go."
Episode 20 End