“I’m sorry...I-I didn’t mean to.” Baekhyun says politely.

“Oh, no, don’t say sorry. It’s okay. I’m sorry!”

“No. I’m sorry, really.”

“No, I’m sorry.” Chanyeol says

Bakehyun chuckles, “Really? You won’t stop saying sorry?” He smiles, and Chanyeol could feel it slicing through his necktie and into his chest.

“You’re the one performing later, right?” Chanyeol asks as if he was unsure but, he is – in all forms – sure that the man before him is none other than Byun Baekhyun.

“Yes, are you going to watch?”

“Makes sense why I’m here, right?”

“Well, definitely. I hope you enjoy the show.”

They both hear the hall’s door opening and in a few seconds, Jongdae and Sehun were walking almost as if they came out together,

“Hyung!” Sehun shouts, “Over here!”

“Baekhyun-ah! Come inside now!” Jongdae says.

They both looked at Jongdae and Sehun but, Baekhyun was the first one to come to his senses,

“See you in a bit!” He tells Chanyeol as he runs towards Jongdae and into another door specific for the performers. Chanyeol loses him as fast as he had hit him.

Sehun walks towards Chanyeol, “Are you...I mean, come on, let’s go inside. It’s about to start.”

Chanyeol smiles lightly and enters the hall with Sehun and as soon as they were seated, he whispers,

“It’s still the same, Sehun...It’s still the same.”

The lights dimmed down as Baekhyun makes a grand entrance. The spotlight illuminates the beauty of his eyes as his candle-like fingers hovered over the piano keys. It takes Chanyeol back to one of his memories when the boy played a piece for him inside the music room in the university. After 5 pieces, Baekhyun exits the stage only to return in a simple turtleneck and trousers. His make-up looks more natural this time, not unlike the one he had awhile ago.

“Good evening, fellows!” He greets the audience, “I would like to thank you all for coming tonight! I hope you will enjoy my last 2 performances.” He smiles; he sees Chanyeol in the crowd. Indeed, the tall guy stood out. He was dressed formally as if he were to appear in a court hearing, he nods at him and places the microphone on its stand. He closes his eyes, and then, he sings.

This is the first time he hears Baekhyun sing – or so he thought. His voice sounded as magical as he imagined it would be, as if every note and every word were piercing fairy dust into his ears that if Chanyeol was Peter Pan, he would be able to fly with the amount of pixie dust that drizzled over him. His black turtleneck fitted perfectly across his chest and his trousers ran gracefully through his thighs. Chanyeol felt his heart racing – again, and again, and again.

After the song, Baekhyun says his last greetings to the audience, “Well, this last song is something I think I have written a long time ago. I haven’t released this in any of my albums. I’m glad to have it played here for the first time.”

He sits before the grand piano and that’s when he plays the same piece in Chanyeol’s memory.

Chanyeol closes his eyes and he sees it once again – just the two of them seated next to each other. Sehun looks over Chanyeol and he need not to ask what was going on; he knows what’s happening. Maybe it’s some sort of muscle memory, the way he played the piece as if it was just yesterday. Maybe it is simply muscle memory but Chanyeol hopes it's not - he prays it's more than just that.

After the concert, the three of them – Luhan, Chanyeol, and Sehun – were invited backstage as Luhan is apparently Jongdae’s friend. Chanyeol shivers in shock and excitement. The universe must be playing games on me, he thinks.

The three bowed before Baekhyun and Jongdae as they entered the dressing room. Chanyeol couldn’t snatch his eyes away from Baekhyun and the latter tried to pretend that he wasn’t being looked at all along. They all sat on the couch,

“Jongdae, it’s nice seeing you! Thank you for the tickets.”

Jongdae smiles, “It’s not too much. I’m glad to hear that you’re still here.”

“Well, I had to do a lot not to be deported.” Luhan says as though he could remember what happened in the past. Chanyeol and Sehun looked at each other as Luhan said this – Chanyeol with his eyes seemingly worried, and Sehun telling him to stop.

Luhan continues, “I heard our Baekhyun here also sold his memories before he left?”

“I did...but, I do remember Sehun.” Baekhyun smiles shyly, “How have you been? I haven’t heard from you for like 3 years and I see you’ve brought your friend with you. Are you two together now?” He asks.

Sehun and Chanyeol laughed at Baekhyun’s question mainly because it was definitely ridiculous and partly because it was quite painful to hear it from the boy. Luhan eyed the two; from the look on his face, he seems like he’s also eager to know the answer.

“No, we’re not!” Sehun says, “We’re just neighbours...I-I can’t believe you still remember me.”

“Of course, I do. You’re one of the people I’ve been friends with since I was in the university. How could I forget?”

It echoes through Chanyeol’s ears, How could I forget? How could I forget – how?

“Oh, let me introduce my friend here, his name is Chanyeol.” Sehun was trying to hide his laugh. 

“Your name sounds familiar...Oh, wait. You’re the one...”

Chanyeol hears his heart pumping.

“You’re the one I bumped into.” Baekhyun says, “I’m really sorry. I’m always so clumsy.”

“It’s okay. Besides, I was being clumsy too.” Chanyeol says.

“Jongdae-shi, isn’t Baekhyun one of those people who sold their memories completely? I heard you sold it according to detail.” Luhan says

“I did...Well, apparently, I can’t remember anything about the procedure as well.” Baekhyun answers.

Jongdae supports him, “It’s been 3 years. It’s quite difficult to remember of course.”

“Sometimes, I feel like the memories come back through my dreams.” Baekhyun admits, “I don’t know if they are dreams or memories or something I've just  watched on TV. To be honest, they seem so vivid.”

“Was that why you were sleeping so soundly before the press conference?” Jongdae asks and Baekhyun gives a slight nod. Sehun looks at Chanyeol and Chanyeol knows exactly what the latter is thinking.

Maybe, Baekhyun could still remember.

Silence fills in as one of the bodyguards enters the room, “Mr. Kim Jongdae, the car is ready.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you! Luhan-shi, we have to go. It was nice meeting you and your friends.”

“Thank you!” Baekhyun says.

Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol as he exits the door – he feels as though there’s something different about that boy. This is just jetlag, he tells himself. He hopes it simply is.

Chanyeol invites Luhan and Sehun for some post-concert tea at his house, it’s almost midnight but, the three decided to have some small talk before they sleep. The three of them sat around Chanyeol’s small dining set and sipped some warm tea from their cups,

“Chanyeol, have you heard about the case of Daebak, the baby?” Luhan asks.

“Is that about the mothers who were fighting for the custody of the child?”

“Well, it isn’t just that. It’s actually different. I think this case could actually change the whole memory system.”

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol and Sehun asked in sync.

Luhan explains “I know this quite difficult to believe. To give you a background, Daebak, the child, has been up for adoption when he was 3 months old. His mother – I’ll call as Mother A – left him in an orphanage. After a month, he was adopted by Mother B; as in the constitution, children’s memories are erased before they are given to their adoptive families. This means that Daebak no longer remembers his original mother. Hence, on Daebak’s first birthday, Mother B brings the baby to a playhouse where Mother A was working. During this time, Mother B didn’t know who Mother A was. Mother B leaves Daebak to the personnel so that the child could play, after a few minutes, Daebak went missing.”

“Was he found?” Chanyeol asked vigorously; his lawyer instincts were kicking in.

“Of course, he was. The thing is, Daebak was staying with Mother A the whole time. Mother A knew it was Daebak all along. Mother B thanked Mother A for taking for of her child. Daebak was placed at the nursery room for some snacks. During this time, Mother A took the chance and confessed to Mother B that she is Daebak’s mother and now, she wanted to fight for custody.”

“So, who won?” Sehun questions, “It’s a tough call for the court because they are both mothers and they both have the right to their child.”

“Here’s the thing,” Luhan continues, “The court decided to wait for 3 years to let Daebak decide. By the time Daebak was 4, he was called by the court with both of the mothers. Mother A and Mother B were seated in front of Daebak, the child psychologist and the lawyer asked Daebak to decide who he would choose to live with.”

“But, he’s just a child...” Sehun says

“Children are given as much freedom these days.” Chanyeol explains. “What happens then?”

“You see, Daebak chose Mother A – his real mother even after her years of absence and even after he has forgotten.”

“So, what you’re saying is...” Sehun couldn’t come up with the right words so let's Chanyeol speak.

“People could still remember.” Chanyeol says it slowly as though he was unsure.

“This why I work so hard every Monday night... I think about it over and over again, and I...I want to prove it – or maybe, I just want to know why because, I don’t believe that people could actually forget. Memories can be taken away from the brain but, the heart clings onto it. I believe that the people who forget - those who sell their memories, those who work for the government, the adopted children - have this inclination towards their memories. That, they have this tendency.”

“Do you think you could still remember?” Chanyeol asks Luhan.

“I know I can’t. I think that’s impossible but, my senses can.” This time, Luhan looks at Sehun, “My eyes could remember what they used to see. My ears are familiar with the noise and the silence that I may have loved. My tastebuds tingle as I eat something familiar, the things I touch tell a story, and my nose would wrinkle when there’s something odd yet, recognizable. I can feel it in me..."

Sehun looks at his cup of tea, half-full and half-empty while Chanyeol dwells in his own thoughts.

“I have to go now...It’s getting late.” Luhan says.

“Thank you, Luhan! I hope all is well with Daebak’s case.” 

“I’ll be going too...” Sehun walks towards the door, “Good night!”

“Wait up, let’s just go outside together.” Luhan tells.

“Have a good night! Oh, and Sehun, just lock the door, I’m too lazy to walk now.” Chanyeol chuckles.

“Okay, bye, hyung!”

Sehun and Luhan walked through Chanyeol’s pathway in silence; the breeze was the only sound surrounding the two of them. As they reach Luhan’s car, Sehun bids him good night and walks toward his house. Luhan watches Sehun’s back and soon, he couldn’t hold it in anymore. He calls him out,

“Sehun!”

Sehun was startled, he looks back at him, waiting for the boy to carry on with his words.

“I hope you know why I’m staying inside that coffee shop...It’s because that’s what my senses are telling me.” He smiles as his cheeks suddenly turn into pink.

Sehun couldn’t find any words to say. He sees the pink hue of Luhan’s cheeks and just as he was about to open his mouth for a response, Luhan enters his car and drives away. Soon, his cheeks felt as warm as the tea they drank. He runs towards Chanyeol’s door and knocks as fast as he could,

“Chanyeol! Chanyeol!”

Chanyeol gets the door, “What is it? I thought you had to go home!”

“It’s true what Luhan said! People don’t really forget.” He hugs Chanyeol in joy and tells him what happened. This gives his friend a hint of hope.

Maybe, it wasn't just muscle memory after all. Maybe, it was Baekhyun's senses speaking to him, Chanyeol thinks.

Baekhyun lies on his bed that night feeling something weird inside his chest. He stands up and looks outside the window. There were no stars that night but, he still looked at the sky. He closes his eyes and tried to picture the meadows he saw in his dream. Soon, he calls Jongdae,

“Jongdae, I’m asking you this as a friend, can you take me to the meadows tomorrow?”

“The meadows? What?! Baekhyun, it’s so late. Go to sleep now!” His voice sounds as drowsy as he is.

“The one near the beach...I think, that’s the one I’m talking about.”

“Okay, okay. Just go to sleep now.” Jongdae ends the call.

Baekhyun smiles at the thought of visiting the place however, it wasn’t the only thing he was smiling about. He smiles because it was the first time he performed that piece – he had no music sheets, no practice, no everything yet, he played it flawlessly as though he practiced it for months. He remembers the sound and the feel of the keys meeting his fingers but, he doesn’t know where it is from or how it came to him.

It doesn’t matter, he thinks. His senses just remembered it pretty pretty well.

the chapters are becoming longer, I'm sorry...