Apart from his moments of lucidity Kyungsoo had made great mental progress. When Hwamin first met him he’d seemed like a wild animal. Currently he seemed about as mentally capable as a child, perhaps six years old. His moments of clarity appeared increasingly more often. Hwamin could now take him outside with her without him struggling or complaining. He insisted on holding her hand when they went outside but allowed her to take him almost anywhere.

The problem now was to get him to wait for her. Kyungsoo still hated being alone and since he wasn’t able to communicate very well, he expressed what he wanted simply by doing what he wanted. It wasn’t very helpful when Hwamin needed to use the restroom at a café but other than that Kyungsoo was harmless.

Although he was very fond of her, Kyungsoo didn’t like other people that much. He wouldn’t openly growl at them, as he had growled at the postman, but still glared at people who got too close. Often he seemed conflicted between stepping between Hwamin and a stranger or hiding behind her when they approached. Hwamin dealt with it the only way she could. She took his hand and held it at all times, squeezing it when Kyungsoo didn’t seem happy.

“Do you like this one?”  Hwamin asked as she watched Kyungsoo eat his ice cream. He stopped halfway through a and nodded at her. Without hesitating he held it out to her and scooted closer when she didn’t it as he wanted. In protest to her refusal Kyungsoo just pressed the ice cream to her lips, and by accident over her nose.

“Kyungsoo! It’s really cold. It’s going to be sticky, too.” She scolded him slightly as she wiped her nose clean and her lips before wiping those clean. Kyungsoo seemed partially sorry but said nothing and refocused on his ice cream. Occasionally he looked up at Hwamin and paused to see if she’d say something.

“It’s okay, really. I don’t like cold things that much. Just eat it.” Hwamin smiled at him. Kyungsoo said nothing to indicate he heard her, but kept eating. Hwamin rolled her eyes but watched him anyway. Her mother had recently sent her the contact details of one of the people in her old class. The girl had agreed to meet up with Hwamin, which was she was waiting in the café. Kyungsoo just refused to be left alone at home.

The girl Hwamin was meeting up with was called Mihyun. When she first entered the café, the girl almost immediately recognized Hwamin and walked over to her with a bright smile. Kyungsoo, full of distrust, grabbed Hwamin’s hand and glanced at her. When she nodded at him he straightened up and bowed his head at the girl who joined them.

“Hey Hwamin, it’s been so long.. You look great! Really pretty! You got a cute boyfriend, too.” She winked at Hwamin and eyed Kyungsoo who seemed oddly flustered. Hwamin looked over at Kyungsoo and smiled at him. The lights were going on, she noticed.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mihyun.” Kyungsoo greeted her calmly. Something about his mannerisms seemed familiar to Hwamin. It was as if she felt an itch just under her skin, something she could almost reach. Now she clearly remembered this man. She remembered him speaking to her and singing to her a long time ago, but how was it possible?

“A-ah.. Yes he’s..” Boyfriend? Hwamin glanced over at Kyungsoo. Of course it seemed like that to Mihyun. Why else would Hwamin bring a man around her age to a meet up between classmates? Mihyun couldn’t understand that just minutes ago Kyungsoo had been toying with his ice cream. Every part of Hwamin’s being wanted desperately for Kyungsoo to stay like this so she could talk to him. There were so many things she needed to hear from him, but more than that she just wished for him to stay like this. When the light faded, it seemed like she was losing someone important, and Hwamin hated that feeling.

“I’m just kidding Hwamin, but it’s cool that you wanted to meet up. We haven’t seen each other in so long, how are you doing? What are you up to these days?” Mihyun smiled at her and sipped her take away coffee. Hwamin straightened herself up and smiled at the bubbly girl sitting in front of her.

“I’m going to college soon. It’s all very interesting. But I got the invitation for the reunion not too long ago and I actually.. I don’t remember much about that school at all. I was wondering if we could talk about that.” She confessed. Mihyun tilted her head but shrugged and sipped her drink again.

“I really don’t know how you could forget about that, but sure that works. So that means you’re coming to the reunion?” Mihyun clapped her hands, “that’s great really! I’m sure everyone will be happy. You just disappeared you know, like one day you were there and this giant mess happened but then you were gone and we never heard anything about you again.”

Surprised Hwamin turned to Kyungsoo. It seemed like a natural thing to be worried about. He shook his head and squeezed her hand in his. It seemed painful to recall, but Hwamin willed herself to remember it anyway. As hard as she could, she pushed against the mental blockade. Even if there was pain on the other side, Kyungsoo was there too.

“That day,” Hwamin started and tried to think back, “that was a real disaster huh?” Flashes came back to her, but they weren’t very useful. It felt more like a seizure than an actual memory coming back. Hwamin felt sick and pushed the thoughts away, looking at Mihyun instead. Mihyun was playing with her dress and laughed.

“Yeah.. Looking back on it, I think that teacher was really a bad teacher. My parents pulled me out of that school when they found out. She was seriously- well she’s not coming to the reunion I hope. She’s bad. But that day, I don’t really know what happened. It was like there was a ghost in the room.” Mihyun’s fingers played thoughtlessly with the lace of her sleeves. Her glance landed on Kyungsoo shortly, who moved closer to Hwamin.

“I don’t really remember what you said his name was. People were all laughing a lot but I think there really was a ghost there. There were things happening like things falling over. And the teacher, too.. She fell after she hit you. Like someone pushed her.” There it all was. Hwamin’s face overflowed with tears as she recalled the horrifying day. Kyungsoo had been there, he really had been. He’d held her close and taken her away. Overwhelmed Hwamin covered her face and sobbed. She wasn’t sure what was so sad about it, since it’d been so long, but the memory made her heart break.

A gentle pair of arms pulled her closer. She recognized the humming as Kyungsoo’s. His hands carefully rubbed her back and gave her strength. Kyungsoo was here, Hwamin repeated to herself as she lowered her hands to look at him. He smiled at her. His eyes were bright but there was that same look of endless and unconditional love. He was here and he wasn’t leaving. Hwamin smiled and wiped her tears.

“I see.. Thank you.” She whispered. Kyungsoo wiped her tears slowly and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Mihyun seemed entirely flustered by the scene and coughed awkwardly, shifting in her chair.

“S-so what’s your boyfriend’s name anyway? I mean.. He’s coming to the reunion as well isn’t he?” She asked when Hwamin reluctantly pulled away from Kyungsoo.

“His name is Kyungsoo.” She wasn’t sure why she still hadn’t corrected Mihyun about Kyungsoo being her boyfriend, but she really didn’t know what to think. All she wanted was to be alone with Kyungsoo, because she felt like she was about to remember something very painful.

“I’m sorry, but I think we should be going.” Kyungsoo spoke. It sounded so strange to hear him speak rationally and like a grown adult. Hwamin nodded slightly and got up, taking his hand in hers tightly. Don’t leave just yet, she thought. Mihyun shrugged.

“Alright then, but you are still coming, right? We’ve got a lot more to talk about.. I have so many questions.” She waved at Hwamin as the pair gathered their belongings. Hwamin answered half-heartedly and gazed at Kyungsoo, willing for him to stay like this for just a bit longer. She needed to talk to him.

Hwamin wasn’t sure how to convey what she needed to say to him. Kyungsoo walked, leading her, with that look of clarity in his eyes, but Hwamin was scared to see it fade. Any moment now, she thought she might lose him. This Kyungsoo who was so important to her. There were so many things she needed to know. Hwamin stopped as soon as they turned around a corner and grasped Kyungsoo’s hand firmly, willing him to look at her. He turned and gave her a gentle, calm smile.

“Kyungsoo..” She started but lost her voice. What could she say to him? What was there for her to say? “I’m sorry.. I’m so sorry.” Sorry that I forgot about you. Hwamin’s throat seemed blocked and she just stood there, blinking away her tears. Kyungsoo’s smile didn’t falter for a second as he his fingers over her cheek.

“Don’t say sorry Hwamin. It wasn’t your fault.” Somehow it broke her heart. His voice, his face, his gentle touches were all so warm and full of unconditional, unwavering love. It felt unlike anything else she’d experienced in her life. Although she loved her parents and they loved her dearly, Kyungsoo’s affection was so different from theirs. It was always been so focused. And I, Hwamin thought, I forgot about him.

“I missed you..” She managed, “even though I forgot.. I missed you so much.” There were too many questions. Is this real? Am I dreaming? What happened? Are you real? Where did you come from? Where did you disappear to? Why couldn’t I remember? And most importantly, can you stay this time?

“I missed you too, Hwamin.” Kyungsoo whispered, gently wiping her tears, “let’s not spend our time being sad.. There are so many things we still have to do on this earth, together. So show me that smile I love, won’t you?”