Chapter Text
Six year old Jeon Wonwoo sits on a wooden swing one afternoon, quietly eating his ice cream cone as he hears the birds around him chirp melodiously and the metal of the swing squeaking. In front of him though, is a noisy group of kids around his age, making a huge fuss about playing hide and seek. He sighs, if only they could let him enjoy his peace. He might seem a little too young to be thinking like that, but blame his family background, he just can't act like the ordinary kids.
"Hey! You wanna play with us?" A cheerful voice chirps.
Wonwoo looks up at the other six year old, wondering how and when he managed to get so close.
"No."
"Aww whyy," The boy whines, naturally taking a seat on the swing next to Wonwoo's.
"It's boring."
The boy pouts, and Wonwoo's reminded of a golden retriever puppy, especially with those sparkling eyes of his.
"Fine. Anyway, my name is Mingyu, Kim Mingyu. What's yours?" Mingyu asks brightly despite the rejection from Wonwoo.
"Why do I have to tell you?" Wonwoo replies coldly, not relenting to the cute smile.
"Aww, pleaseeee? We could be really good friends!" Mingyu kicks his feet into the air from where he's sitting on the swing, causing the sand from the ground to fly around.
Wonwoo takes a good look at Mingyu, sees the fluffy brown-ish hair, a slightly dirtied blue polo shirt, white sneakers that had turned grey and an annoyingly bright smile that looks like the sunshine. Wonwoo doesn't like him.
"Jeon Wonwoo." He finds himself speaking.
"Wonwoo! See, that wasn't so hard! So what's your favourite color?"
Mingyu paces around the waiting area right outside the surgery room. He bites his lip in worry, fingers trembling as he tries to clasp them tight together.
"Mingyu-yah, take a seat, he won't be out anytime soon." Jeonghan's voice comes after he notices Mingyu's non-stop pacing for the past twenty minutes.
An hour prior to this, Mingyu received a call from the hospital while setting the table for his and Wonwoo's dinner, claiming Wonwoo had been in a car accident, resulting in a severe head injury amongst others. He had dropped everything, not even bothering to bring his coat out on a chilly winter night and drove to the hospital. Upon arrival, he was informed by a nurse that Wonwoo was undergoing surgery and would not be out in at least a few hours. Not knowing what else to do, he had called his hyung, voice cracking as tears spilled from his once bright eyes and only calming down a little when he hears Seungcheol's voice through his phone, "Calm down Mingyu, Wonwoo's a strong kid, he'll get through it okay?"
Seungcheol, and Jeonghan by association, arrived at the hospital fifteen minutes later, worry clearly shown on their faces. They decided not to ask the others to come so as to not overwhelm Wonwoo if he happens to wake up, and instead opting to give them a call about the situation instead.
Seungcheol walks over to Mingyu and pulls him to sit down on the row of chairs lined up against the walls. He pats his back.
"Hyung, what if-what if he doesn't make it, what if he doesn't wake up?" Mingyu stutters, face wet with the never-ending tears leaking through his eyes.
"Mingyu, let's have some faith in him okay? Wonwoo will be fine," Seungcheol says, and at this point, he isn't sure if he's trying to reassure Mingyu or himself.
Jeonghan holds Mingyu's arm from his other side, rubbing comforting circles against the soft material of the hoodie Mingyu's wearing, Wonwoo's hoodie. Mingyu doesn't miss the small droplets of tears rolling down Jeonghan's rosy cheeks. He wasn't the only one distraught after all.
After many comforting messages from his friends and long hours of anxious waiting, the automated sliding doors of the surgery room open. The three of them immediately stand up, rushing towards the surgeon.
"The surgery was successful." The surgeon starts.
Mingyu feels the weight on his shoulders lift off, sighing in relief.
"However, the patient's head was very badly hit and there is a chance of him having retrograde amnesia due to where he was hit."
Mingyu's knees buckle and he knows Seungcheol's arms are the only things keeping him up.
"W-what?" He utters.
"Retrograde amnesia?" Jeonghan asks.
"Yes, sufferers of this type of memory loss lose or forget memories that were formed before the occurrence of a traumatic event such as a crash in his case. This condition causes the loss of past memories before the crash occurred. While we hope this isn't the case, the chances are high." The surgeon explains kindly. "I'm sorry, we've done the best we could." He bows before leaving.
Mingyu remembers feeling lightheaded before falling to the cold floor of the hospital. Sounds of Seungcheol's and Jeonghan's words drown out as if he were underwater, and he finds himself not being able to focus on anything but the image of Wonwoo's smiling face when he last saw him.
A nurse tells Seungcheol that Wonwoo will be moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and only immediate family or a guardian in Wonwoo's case, will be able to meet him during his time there. Wordlessly, Seungcheol and Jeonghan agree to let Mingyu stay with Wonwoo.
After gaining back his senses, Mingyu takes a deep breath and enters the ICU with slow and careful steps. The smell of antiseptic reaches his nose, and he looks around the area. The nurses calmly checking the vitals of the many patients their care is under, the electronic beeping of machines keeping the patients alive, and the clack of the keyboard by the admin staff.
Mingyu follows the nurse towards a room, with a name labelled against the wall beside the sliding door, 'Jeon_Woo'. The door slides open and he walks in. His eyes inevitably land on the most beautiful person he's ever met, even with the bandage around his head, or the cast around his right arm, Jeon Wonwoo's still beautiful in his eyes.
He takes a tentative step towards the unconscious boy with an encouraging nod from the nurse. He kneels beside the bed, and gently takes Wonwoo's hand into his, softly caressing it. With his other hand, he touches Wonwoo's cheek, extremely careful not to put any pressure onto any part of the injured boy's body. A tear unknowingly rolls down his face once again. How could he not? Seeing his beloved lying unconscious on a hospital bed in the dead of the night, Mingyu blames himself. What if he had been a little more adamant about driving Wonwoo home from work? What if he was there with him? Maybe none of this would have happened. His love wouldn't have had to experience such a horrible accident.
Mingyu barely pays attention to the nurse speaking, telling him something about the emergency button if anything happens before she leaves the room to give the two privacy. Mingyu eventually sits himself onto the stool placed beside the bed, both his hands still clutching Wonwoo's cold hands as if it was his lifeline.
Hours pass, and Wonwoo hasn't woken up. Yes, the nurse did mention that the doctor has decided to let Wonwoo sleep to recover for some time, but that doesn't stop Mingyu from being worried.
Almost a day has gone by, and Mingyu hasn't eaten anything. He just wasn't hungry. Just then, his phone vibrates, it's a call from Jeonghan.
"Hello?" His voice weak from all the crying in the last twenty four hours.
"Mingyu-yah, have you eaten something? You haven't been checking your messages." Jeonghan's concerned voice almost chokes him up.
"I don't have the appetite hyung," He sighs, his free hand still on Wonwoo's.
"Kim Mingyu, you have to eat something, anything. You don't want to collapse in there do you? What's Wonwoo going to wake up to then?"
Jeonghan does make sense, but he doesn't want to leave Wonwoo's side either. As if sensing his worry, Jeonghan adds, "Seungcheol and I will be there to take care of him, don't worry."
With that, the call ends and soon enough, the duo show up at the door. Though still reluctant to leave, Mingyu leans over to give Wonwoo a soft kiss on his lips before standing up.
"Please, let me know if anything happens." He pleads.
"Of course Gyu." Seungcheol pats his shoulders and they head in.
Mingyu heads downstairs to the cafeteria and collects his food. When he sits down at a table at a corner, he couldn't help but notice the sweet and spicy chicken on his plate.
Wonwoo's seated across him at the school's cafeteria, quietly munching on his food, taking tiny ant-sized bites at his rice. Mingyu knows Wonwoo likes the sweet and spicy chicken best, and how he prefers leaving it to the last. 'Best for last', he remembers him saying. So he takes the chicken he has from his own tray and places it on Wonwoo's.
"Eat more," He says.
Wonwoo looks up at him with his cute doe eyes, "Really?"
"Mhm!" Mingyu nods enthusiastically, he would do anything for the boy.
As he watches Wonwoo happily munch on the chicken he gave him, Mingyu's heart tugs at him, and he makes a promise to himself, to never hurt the boy. And obviously, give him all the sweet and spicy chicken he wants every lunch that it's become a habit.
Mingyu pokes into the chicken with one of his chopsticks, and takes a bite. It tastes good, it really does, but it doesn't compare to when he's eating it with Wonwoo. He quickly shoves the food into his mouth to stop the tears from falling.
Once he finishes, he rushes back into the ICU, shooing Seungcheol and Jeonghan away since three of them couldn't be in the room at once. He holds Wonwoo's hand again, and this time, he lets the tears fall.
"Hyung, I'm so sorry," He sniffles.
"I should've been there for you," he lowers his head underneath their held hands.
"Please, please wake up Wonie, I can't lose you,"
He continues sobbing as all the memories of him and Wonwoo flood back to him. When they ran in the rain because they forgot to bring their umbrellas, when they got scolded together for reaching school late because Mingyu missed his alarm, or when they spent nights just watching movies and cuddling, or when-
He feels movement.
Mingyu's eyes shoot up, and he sees Wonwoo's eyes flicker open and his fingers twitch in Mingyu's hands, and it's almost as if he's seeing it all in slow motion. He pinches himself to make sure he isn't dreaming.
"H-hyung?" He gasps out.
"Hyung are you awake? D-do you recognise me?"
Wonwoo just stares blankly at his face, not showing any response.
"Hyung-"
"Who are you?"
Mingyu's heart drops. It shatters, like the broken pieces of fragile glass. His hands shake, trembling as he tries his best to still hold on to Wonwoo's hand. He shakes his head, no, this can't be. There's no way Wonwoo would forget him.
"Wonwoo hyung-" He cries, "It's me, Kim Mingyu."
Wonwoo looks at him, eyes empty.
"Wonwoo? Kim Mingyu? Who are they?"
Mingyu lets out a breathless gasp, his mind and body not able to take in the new information. Wonwoo forgot him, even his own name. He remembers what the nurse has told him though, so he gathers all the strength he has left to press the emergency button, calling for the doctors.
The doctors come quickly, whisking Wonwoo away from him, out of the ICU to conduct tests. Mingyu sits outside the room, head hidden between his arms as he crouches down, crying. He just can't seem to stop can he? The impact Jeon Wonwoo has on him is incredible.
Just imagining Wonwoo not being able to remember any of their moments together, and for the last twenty years of their memories forgotten without a single trace of it in Wonwoo's mind? Mingyu crumbles.
When the doctors bring Wonwoo back, they give him a brief consultation about Wonwoo's condition and test results outside the room, like they didn't want Wonwoo to hear any of this.
"Having seen his condition today, it's confirmed that he does have retrograde amnesia. He does not seem to remember anything prior to the accident, not even his own name. I believe you're the closest to him?" Mingyu nods. "Good. Please do try your best to spend as much time as you can with him, because although it isn't common, there is a possibility that his memories return. I strongly suggest showing him pictures or spending time with the people he used to be with, and please be careful not to mention anything about the accident just yet, as it might trigger his traumatic memories to resurface."
Mingyu zones out, nodding at every sentence the doctor says, even as he goes on to how he should take care of Wonwoo from now on.
He steps back into the room, endless thoughts clouding his head. He closes his eyes, somewhere in him wishing that once he'd opened them, Wonwoo would be welcoming him into his warm embrace, but fate really is cruel.
Jeon Wonwoo does not know him.
He steps closer to Wonwoo.
"Hey," He tries, he knows he shouldn't crumble in front of Wonwoo, so he steels his heart.
Wonwoo just tilts his head in pure confusion.
"How are you feeling?" He tries again.
Wonwoo looks around the room, and his gaze lands on his hand with needles and tubes in it. "Fine,"
"Do you-" He breathes, "do you remember anything?"
Wonwoo shakes his head.
So Mingyu mentally calms himself down before he reintroduces himself, "Hi, my name is Kim Mingyu, but you can just call me Gyu, that's what you used to call me."
"Oh," Wonwoo frowns, attempting to dig into his memories but it was fruitless.
"What were we...?"
At that, Mingyu hesitates. Should he be honest and tell him they were boyfriends? Would that be too much for Wonwoo to handle?
"We-we were really good friends," Mingyu doesn't want to burden Wonwoo with his feelings, or feel awkward at all with him, so he settles for this much.
"Oh, I see. Tell me about us?"
The next few weeks were spent on Mingyu re-telling stories about them, all the way back since they were young, and helping Wonwoo around the hospital twenty four-seven. Mingyu does agree it gets tiring sometimes, accompanying him for physiotherapy, feeding him and washing him. And he does end up crying at the corner of the room while Wonwoo's asleep because he misses the old Wonwoo he's so used to, but for him, Mingyu thinks it's worth it. It always is.
Three and a half months later, Mingyu's elated to hear that Wonwoo could get discharged from the hospital and he immediately invites Wonwoo to come visit his home. To which Wonwoo had replied, "sure, why not?"
Wonwoo has his left hand holding on to Mingyu's arm, making slow steps as Mingyu guides him through the front door.
Wonwoo looks around. Mingyu's loft was very cozy looking, rather clean and looking untouched as he hasn't been spending much time there the past months. The loft was made mainly of polished wood, making the atmosphere warm despite it being still pretty cold out. The living area and kitchen were on the first floor, and a comfy bedroom up on the second floor.
"Welcome to my humble abode," Mingyu says.
"Woah," Wonwoo replies as he walks further into the loft, "I like it, it feels so- homey."
"Well, you did play a part in making this place feel like a home to me," Mingyu shrugs.
He sits Wonwoo down on his couch before heading up the stairs to grab some old pictures and items holding memories they once shared. He carries them down the stairs and plops himself on the couch right beside Wonwoo. They've grown closer now, with the amount of time they've been spending with each other. He sets the items down.
"These are pictures of us," He lays the pictures down onto the coffee table before them, "this was when you were fifteen and I was fourteen." He points to an old picture of the both of them throwing snowballs at each other outside Mingyu's house. Mingyu smiles at the memory.
Wonwoo picks up the pictures one by one to get a close look at them, "We were cute," He comments, not knowing the bittersweet taste it leaves on Mingyu's tongue.
"Yeah, we were."
Mingyu shakes his head, trying not to think of anything that would ruin the mood. Instead, he shows Wonwoo a wooden box with a lock on it.
"I kept all the notes we secretly passed around in class in here, as well as the little gifts we would give each other when we were young."
Wonwoo nods, listening.
Just then, Mingyu's doorbell rings. "I'll go get the door real quick okay?"
Wonwoo hums, distracted as he fidgets with the lock.
Mingyu receives his package from the door and thanks the delivery man before he makes his way back to Wonwoo.
"Hey, I got this for you-"
Mingyu stops in his tracks, frozen in his spot with the parcel in his hand as he stares at Wonwoo in absolute shock. Said boy looks at him, clueless, but with the wooden box opened on his lap.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I just- happened to get the password right-"
Mingyu takes a few seconds to come back to his senses before rushing towards the boy. He checks the lock, it was indeed open.
"H-how did you know the password?"
Wonwoo shrugs, "Just, seemed familiar?"
Mingyu looks at the opened password lock, the numbers '1706' on it.
"There's no way..."
"What do those numbers mean?"
Mingyu looks into Wonwoo's eyes, "It's our birthdays combined."