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The scent of vanilla filled the air as Mark woke up to the sound of a heart monitor beeping beside him. His head hurt slightly as he looked at his surroundings, blank white walls, a window with the blinds opened, and a bouquet of flowers placed neatly on the bedside table. He quickly realized he was at a hospital. Mark tried to recall what happened that led him here, but his mind was drawing a blank.
The door opened which made Mark snapped out of his thoughts. A group of 5 boys were present, all of them had a shocked expression on their faces and rushed to see him. “Mark! Gosh I can’t believe you’re finally awake, we were so worried.” One of them spoke, a relieved tone noticeable in his voice. “How do you feel? Are you alright?” Another boy questioned him.
Mark observed each boys’ face as he tried to remember who they were. A lightbulb went off in his head as he mentioned their names. “You guys are… Jeno, Hyuck, Jaemin, Jisungie, and Chenle, right?” Mark asked, clarifying their names. The boys gasped and hugged Mark together, who hesitated to return the hug.
“You remembered us, I’m so relieved!” Donghyuck exclaimed, tears streaming on his cheeks.
Mark felt his heart flutter at the warm affection and smiled. The boys pulled away from the hug as Jaemin started, “We’re really happy to see you doing okay, but I gotta ask: Do you remember how you got here? Anything at all?” Mark shook his head and said, “Sadly no. I don’t recall anything before I ended up here.” Jaemin nodded as he pursed his lips. The youngest, Jisung, softly gasped and asked, “Since Mark hyung is awake, shouldn’t we contact Renjun hyung by now?”
Mark tilted his head, hearing a new name being mentioned. “Renjun? Who’s that?” He questioned the others. The group looked back at him and then at each other, Donghyuck then responded, “Renjun is a friend of ours.” He paused as he took a deep breath and continued. “He’s your boyfriend.”
The older boy felt confused. “Boyfriend? I have a boyfriend? Since when…?” He pondered to himself, not knowing Chenle was looking at him.
Chenle looked back at the others filled with worry. “Guys, how are we going to explain this to Renjun? He’ll be heartbroken if he finds out that Mark doesn’t remember him.” He whispered, feeling anxious. The others frowned as they thought of Renjun;
Renjun was really close with Mark to the point that both of them promised they would always be at each other's side.
The thought of seeing the look of despair on Renjun’s face made the boys more worried for him. “It would be best if we contact him now. You know we can’t lie our way out of this, that will make Renjun more devastated.” Jeno sighed, turning around to look at Mark, who was busy pondering by himself. The other boys agreed as Donghyuck pulled out his phone and dialed Renjun’s number.
A few moments later, they heard a soft knock on the door. As soon as Jeno opened the door, he saw Renjun sweating as if he ran his way to the hospital. “Jeno, i - is he okay? Can I talk to him, please?” He stuttered, his heart beating with anticipation. Jeno nodded and led Renjun inside, he then signals the others to leave them alone for now. As they all exited the room, Renjun looked at Mark and felt his eyes well up in tears. The older was looking out the window, unaware of his presence; Bandages were covering his arms and an iv drip was attached to his left hand.
Seeing Mark in this state made Renjun feel guilty, he tried to prevent his tears from being seen by quickly wiping them away with his sleeve. Mark turned around and saw him, his mouth agape by his appearance. He smiled sweetly which triggered a familiar feeling within Renjun’s heart.
“Hi, you must be Renjun.” Mark greeted, his voice making the younger feel nervous. Renjun cleared his throat and said, “Yeah, that would be me. It’s nice to see you awake, Mark.” Mark couldn’t help but feel pity towards the younger male. He really wanted to remember him, but no matter how hard he tried, he can’t seem to recall any memory he spent with him.
“I feel like I have seen you somewhere, but I can’t put my finger on it. I’m sorry.” Mark mentioned with a sad smile. Renjun shook his head as he responded, “No, no. It’s okay. We can take our time.” He slowly walked towards Mark and sat beside him, he parted a stray hair that was blocking Mark’s face.
The gesture made the older’s cheeks tinted red, he shyly chuckled as he looked down. Noticing this made Renjun’s worries set aside. As the both of them started to chat with one another, the other boys were watching from afar. “It seems like things are going well with those two.” Donghyuck pointed out, his back hitting the wall as he sighed in relief. Chenle hummed in agreement and went beside him. “I have a feeling that Mark might remember Renjun sooner or later.” He said, looking back at the two.
Mark and Renjun bickered until the sun went down, hearing his voice makes Mark feel at ease. The time has come for them to say goodbye; Both of them hoped they wouldn’t get to this part. Renjun promised he’ll come and visit him tomorrow morning, holding Mark’s hand with a small smile. Mark stared at his hand and looked up at Renjun.
This… feeling is so familiar, but why can’t I remember? He looked so sweet and just him being here makes me feel better. So, how come I can’t remember?
Mark felt Renjun letting go of his hand and waving goodbye, taking the older by surprise. He waved back as the door closed. Silence filled the room as Mark frowned and lay down on his bed. He closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.
He then feels a cool breeze hitting his cheeks, he opens his eyes for a moment to find himself at a field in the middle of a countryside. Mark can hear someone calling for his name, he instantly recognizes who it was and looks around. He then feels someone’s hands covering his eyes;
“Guess who~” The voice teased, whispering into the older’s ear. Mark was quiet for a while until he responded, “Renjun? Is that you?” He regained his sight and looked behind him, the sight took his breath away. It was Renjun, however he looked different than what Mark had remembered. His hair was dyed pink and he was wearing a white shirt with brown suspenders, he was also wearing round glasses which Mark also owned back home.
“It’s good to know that you remembered me, I missed you.” Renjun said as he flashed a smile. Mark made a sound of confusion as he replied, “Missed me? But we’ve just seen each other.” The younger shook his head and cupped Mark’s face. “I missed being with you, it’s been a while and our other friends missed you too.” Renjun explained. “I just miss the two of us together. We were always together, we promised…”
When Renjun mentioned that statement, Mark felt his head hurt slightly as he started to remember the memories he had with Renjun; From meeting him back at high school to spending time with him every single day, to sharing every moment with each other. Mark seemed to notice his eyes getting blurry as tears came out.
Renjun cooed at the sight and wiped them away with his thumb. “My beloved, please don’t cry. It’s alright. We’ll see each other again someday. So keep your chin up high for me, okay?” He reassured him, caressing his cheek softly. Mark sniffed as he nodded. The breeze started to get stronger as Renjun looked at a distance, a sigh of relief escaping his lips.
“Mark, when you wake up… I hope you can remember me. I’ll be waiting.” He mumbled under his breath, a beam of light blinding Mark’s vision. Mark opened his eyes and shot up from his bed, panting from the thrill. He looked around to find himself in the hospital once more. He sighed as he looked down at his hands.
“Renjun… Renjun, that was his name.” He mumbled, balling his hands into fists. He bit his lips as a memory popped up into his mind.
“Mark, promise me that you’ll be by my side. No matter what happens, okay?” A faint voice of Renjun rang in his ears. Mark chuckled dryly as he told himself, “I promise, Renjun. Don’t worry about it.”
Renjun went to the hospital the next day to see Mark, he felt twice as nervous than before. Before he could knock on the door, he heard a melody being sung. A song that he and Mark used to sing together before they started dating. When Renjun turned the doorknob and entered the room, he saw Mark singing the melody with his eyes closed, a smile was present on his face.
The moment the song ends, Mark opened his eyes to find Renjun staring at him in shock. “You remembered that song?” That was the first thing Renjun could ask before anything else. Mark scratched his chin in embarrassment and answered, “I do. I’m starting to remember things more clearly.” Renjun felt his heartbeat quicken as he sat beside him. “Does that mean… you remembered me?” The younger asked, hoping for the answer he was expecting.
Mark turned to him and moved closer to him, touching their foreheads. Mark then smiled and said, “Of course, how can I not see this sooner. You’re my beloved Injunnie, aren’t you?”
Renjun felt overjoyed and embraced Mark in a tight hug. Mark felt happy as he hugged back and patted Renjun’s head. “Oh Mark, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.” Renjun sniffed as he held onto him, his tears staining his white shirt. “It’s been months, Mark. I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you nor even hear you anymore. But now that you’re here, I-”
He tried to speak but Mark stopped him, placing a finger on his lips. “Hey, hey. It’s okay Renjun, I’m fine now. I promised that we were going to be together no matter what happens, right?” Mark reassured him, making the younger laugh. Renjun pulled away and cupped Mark’s cheeks, a familiar scenery played in Mark’s head.
“Do you recall doing this same thing to me back then?” Mark teased, earning another laugh from Renjun. “Yes, I do. But you seem to have forgotten one thing that I did to you.” He added with a cheeky grin. They locked eyes for a minute before Renjun leaned in to kiss him softly, a warm feeling took place in Mark’s heart as he returned the kiss. Their hands intertwined as Renjun deepen the kiss, making Mark smile.
The sound of someone clearing their throat made them stop abruptly. “It’s good to see you guys embracing each other and all, but can you get a room? We’re still single here you know.” When Mark looked back, Donghyuck and the others had arrived. The look of disgust was plastered on Donghyuck's face as he jokingly mentioned, “The next thing you know both of you are gonna go at it while we’re here.”
Renjun turned red and squeaked, “Lee Donghyuck! What on earth are you thinking, you idiot?” As Renjun tried to sort out the misunderstanding, Mark chuckled and grinned; A feeling of relief settled in as he thought to himself, “I never imagined meeting someone like you, Huang Renjun. But I’m glad I was able to fulfill the promise we made a few years ago.”
Mark continued to watch the two bicker as the summer breeze brushed his cheek, reminding him of the time that he found the one who will be spending the rest of his life with.