Chapter Text
Dongmin had listened patiently through Bin’s recounting, never making a sound. As he listened, his face got increasingly stonier. Eventually, he was staring harshly at the wall behind Bin, processing.
“Minnie? You okay?” Bin asked after several minutes of tense silence.
“…I don’t know.”
“Well, then… um, what are you thinking?”
“That I hate being right,” Dongmin answered flatly, though there was a distinct catch in his voice that betrayed his emotions. Bin seemed to deflate.
“Oh Dongmin…” Bin scooted closer and layed his head on Dongmin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. I just… am feeling a lot right now.”
“Maybe talking about it will help?”
“Maybe.” But he remained silent, continuing to stare at the wall.
“Minnie?” Bin tried, but received no answer. He opened his mouth to try again, when he was abruptly cut off by Dongmin.
“I really wanted to be wrong, you know? I really wanted the story to end there.” Bin shut his mouth and let Dongmin continue. “No matter how much my logical side was telling me that there had to be more to it, I wanted to leave it well enough alone. So I pushed aside any suspicions I had, any inklings as to why I looked like him, and tried to ignore it. But I guess no matter how much I want it to be otherwise, I’m doomed to be followed by tragedy. Now I’m stuck with the knowledge that I look exactly like the man who murdered my mother.” He let out a bitter laugh. “I’m stuck with never getting a happy ending.”
Silence once again followed, before Bin sat straight up and grabbed Dongmin by the collar and pulling him in close harshly. Dongmin’s eyes widened in shock.
“Wha-?”
“Lee Dongmin you listen here, and you listen good. What happened to you and your family is tragic. No one should ever have to go through that. But I refuse to let you think that that is the end. Your family isn’t gone. Though they might not be in a state to be able to care for you, Alice and your mother clearly love you very much. Your adopted family loves you. Your friends and band mates love you. I love you. So, so much. You aren’t some harbinger of doom. You inspire love and happiness in those around you. And with you in my life, I have the best ending of all.” Bin finished his lecture with a bright smile, eyes growing teary. For a while, Dongmin just stared at him, mouth gaping. Then, he leaned forward and pulled Bin into a tight hug.
“…thank you.”
“Bin, are you sure this will work?” Dongmin asked as they made their way down the street. It had been about a week since Bin’s final dream. He never had another one after that, so they felt it was safe to presume that they were finished. Dongmin couldn’t tell if Bin was happy about it or not. Though currently he seemed positively chipper.
“Positive, I made the store- oh, uh, your mom, promise to let me back.”
“Oh God, I don’t know if I’m ready for this.” Dongmin gulped. Bin stopped and turned to Dongmin, grabbing his shoulders.
“We don’t have to do this right now. If you need more time we can wait.”
“…No, I don’t think I’ll ever really be ready. And I- I want to meet them. I might not remember them, but they’re family right?”
“…Alright.” Bin squeezed his shoulder and kept walking down the street. When they reached the spot Bin disappeared from before Bin stopped and inhaled deeply. Then he shouted as loud as he could, “HEY ALICE! LET US IN YOUR GRANDSON WANTS TO MEET YOU!” Dongmin hid his face in his hands.
“THAT was your sure-fire way to get us there?”
“Well it’s not like I got in by myself the first time. They have to come to us. Oh wait, I forgot.” He pulled out the mask Alice had given him and put it on. They waited a few minutes before Dongmin turned with a sigh.
“I don’t think it worked. Come on, let’s go-” He stopped as he looked around the street and realized that everyone else had vanished. And that he had no idea where they were. Dongmin spun around, eyes wide. Bin laughed at his expression.
“I told you, fool-proof! Now, let’s go, it’s up ahead.” Bin grabbed his hand and started dragging. Dongmin started to feel like his insides were twisting. Before he could get his stomach to settle down he was suddenly thrust through a door under a rainbow sign. He found himself in a cozy café filled with foliage and a wall of bizarre bottles. It was just like Bin described. Said person was clearly scrunching his face in distaste behind his mask.
Dongmin looked around slowly. The place felt… nostalgic. He felt like he had definitely been here before, though he still had no memory of it. It certainly lent some credibility to the whole thing. It’s not that he didn’t believe Bin, the whole thing was just hard to wrap his mind around.
As he tried to wrestle his thoughts a door near the rear of the store opened and a petite woman stepped out and tentatively walked forward. Her eyes were wide and wary, inspecting them carefully.
“Hello Alice!” Bin greeted cheerfully. “I told you I’d be back! And I brought someone I think you’ve been missing for a long time.” He paused and gestured at Dongmin, who was desperately trying to place the woman in front of him who screamed familiarity. No matter how hard he tried it was as if there was an invisible wall blocking him. Bin continued, “Alice, this is Dongmin. Minnie, meet your grandmother.”
Alice froze at the sound of Dongmin’s name and Dongmin stared uncertainly at Alice. Unsure of what to do, he offered a timid smile. The very air in the room seemed to be still, not a single creak or noise permeated the space. Alice slowly moved toward him, unblinking and possibly unbreathing, he couldn’t quite tell past his own current difficulty with breathing. She reached him and extended a trembling hand toward his face and gingerly touched his cheek, searching his eyes.
“It’s really you…” she breathed, and then she was hugging Dongmin, head buried in his chest. On instinct he hugged back tightly, burying his own head in her hair. Something about it just seemed right. There was a large creak from the building around them, accompanied by the sound of clinking glasses. Alice pulled back and looked up. Dongmin trained his eyes up as well, and swallowed a lump in his throat. He stepped away and moved toward the middle of the shop before putting on a strained smile.
“…Hello mother.”
And suddenly the walls were creaking, leaves were rustling, and the bottles seemed in danger of falling with how much they were moving and clinking. The shop filled with a cacophony of noises. Then, it struck Dongmin. The shop was crying. Crying from happiness, from sadness, and from everything that never was. Crying for him.
And then he was crying too. Large, mournful sobs were wrenched from his throat, and he felt like a little kid again. Crying because he was scared. Because he was sad. Because he wanted his mother.
The shatter of glass pierced through the air, and suddenly Dongmin was on his knees as scenes flooded his head. There were visions of yelling, of blood and anger. But behind these terrible memories were soft smiles, gentle kisses, and the feeling of being surrounded by warmth. For every bad moment a joyful one took its place. All he could see was a smiling woman with long dark hair, radiating comfort and love.
As he managed to calm down and wrangle his thoughts towards the present, he realized that the warmth that surrounded him was still there. He looked to find himself wrapped in a hug from Bin. He let out a small smile and returned the hug. With tears now streaming silently down his face, he felt loved.
.
.
.
Later, after everyone had calmed down and cleaned themselves up, they continued to chat into the evening. Dongmin listened to tales of his mother growing up, and some of the more memorable customers that they had gotten. It turns out Myungjun had made the list, much to Bin’s amusement. As he cackled in the background Dongmin explained to a bemused Alice that they were all in the same band together. She let out a snort.
Eventually, Bin and Dongmin had to leave. They left with hugs, promises to come back soon, and a promise to apologize to Myungjun and Jinwoo. And to possibly bring them along sometime. It wasn’t until they were walking home that something occurred to Bin.
“I wonder why you suddenly got your memories back.”
“Dunno. It was rather overwhelming, so I don’t really remember what was going on around me.”
“All I know is one minute you’re crying and then something breaks and you’re on the floor. Freaked the crap out of me.”
“Something broke?”
“Yeah, sounded like glass. Wonder what it was.”
“Who knows? We can ask next time we go over.”
Bin gave him a grin. Then he leaned in and quickly gave Dongmin a peck on the cheek, immediately running away afterwards. Dongmin let out a surprised “Hey!” and started running after his boyfriend. As they raced and Dongmin listened to Bin’s bright laughter, he couldn’t help but laugh and smile wide. He didn’t know how his story would end, but with Bin there, he was unable to be anything but optimistic.
As her grandchild and his boyfriend left the shop, Alice let out a long sigh. That was a lot for one day. The sound of wood settling reached her ears. She smiled up.
“Looks like even I can be wrong.” Gretel responded in a creak that seemed like laughter. Alice grinned wider, then left to walk to the back room.
On the floor were dusty shards of glass. She carefully collected all the pieces, and placed them lovingly in a small wooden box. Then she placed it on the shelf next to a box that had only been put there about a week ago. She watched as the box carved itself and made to match the one next to it. She let out a huff of laughter. What was she going to do with those two? She gave the pair one last smile and then quietly left the room.
“Loving Curiosity” – Moon Bin
“Satisfaction of Love” – Lee Dongmin