Fifteen

 

Jongin   Like any other day, I was just sitting by Min’s bed, staring at her peaceful face. Like any other day, I was just sitting there, hoping that she’d wake up. Unlike any other day, I was offered more hope today.   Moonkyu burst in screaming, “Kim Jongin, move it!”   “Woah - wait, what?” I shouted, as I was unceremoniously shoved off the chair and onto the floor.   “Oh yes, finally...” Moonkyu muttered in relief, and I couldn’t help but to question his sudden happiness.   “Moonkyu... is there any special reason why you’re so happy? Anything you’d like to share?”   “I think I know how to help Min!” Moonkyu looked away from Min and shot me a grin, and I swore for a second that the excitement had gotten to his head, because he almost hugged me. Only almost, but that motion of nearing me with open arms was not missed.   I had to ignore this fact temporarily though, because I felt like my ears had been deceiving me.   “What?!” I shouted, jumping up from my new spot on the floor, “You- you what?!”   Moonkyu brushed his hair out of his eyes and nodded eagerly. I disappeared off to fetch the others, bringing them back into the room.   “What’s going on?” Lu Han asked Moonkyu, eyes happy. “I heard from Jongin that you’ve figured out a way to wake Min up?”   Moonkyu nodded, then began to talk.   “I guess for you all to understand this, I’ll have to start from the start, with an analogy. Our memories are a lot like files, and our brains are the file cabinets. Once you experience something, that file is added to the cabinet; it can never be completely removed, only pushed back. I have the ability to move files around, making you remember or forget things at will. Min, however, has the power of ‘file creation’ and she can create memories that do not really exist.”   “... and?” Yixing wondered aloud.   “Today I finally remembered the filing cabinet theory, so I took a look at Min’s, and...”   I could feel the whole room tense up at Moonkyu’s words, waiting for his answer, his verdict, almost.   “It’s... completely messed up. When the concrete block hit her head, it must have caused a lot of jarring. Although Yixing was able to fix her physically, her memories, her files, are all over the place. Min’s kind of... she’s too messed up to operate. Literally.”   We were all silent for a moment, before I asked the question that we were all wanting to ask.   “So, how do we wake her up again?”   Moonkyu turned to us with a smile.   “Our minds are never meant to be this messed up, so her head must have been hit pretty badly. I’m going to go in there and sort out her files. I don’t know how long it’s going to take or even if it will help at all, but I’m going to do this because she’s my sister and I need to do something. I can’t just sit around waiting anymore; it's driving me crazy.”   “Then try,” Baekhyun replied, patting Moonkyu on the back. “We won’t know until we try.”   For the next three weeks, I left Moonkyu alone so he could work in peace. Although he never said anything about me bothering him by being in the same room, I could tell that I was making him uncomfortable.    “Why does it take this long?” I asked one day in frustration.   He just looked at me sadly. “It’s 19 years worth of memories, Jongin,” he replied. “It’s a lot of sort through.”   Finally, almost four weeks after Moonkyu started his task, he pulled me into the hospital room. “I’m almost done,” he said, face pale. “Just one more file.” Suddenly, he didn’t look so confident. “What if it doesn’t work, Jongin?” he asked, biting his lip. “What if this doesn’t work and Min never wakes up.”   I didn’t want to think about that. If Min never woke up, I would never get to tell her how I felt and Moonkyu, he would be shattered.    “Let’s find out,” I said shortly.    “I wanted you to be here,” Moonkyu said finally. “You’ve spent a lot of time by her side these past few weeks and I think you should be here if- when she wakes up.”   I took a seat in the armchair pulled up to Min’s bed and watched with bated breath as Moonkyu narrowed his eyes in concentration, slotting the last memory file back into place.    Nothing happened. For a moment, Moonkyu’s shoulders seemed to sag. Then, Min’s scream broke through the silence and a second later, she was clutching at my arm.    “Oh my god she’s awake; it worked, it worked,” Moonkyu gasped, stepping back. “I’m going to get Dr. Lee, just calm her down.”   Calm her down? Min was yelling hysterically, sobbing into the front of my shirt as she clutched it tightly between her fingers. Her eyes seemed to focus after a moment and she gazed at me through tear filled eyes.    “What’s going on?” she asked through sobs. “Where are Lu han and Baekhyun? Did we get out? Where am I?”   “Min,” I interrupted, holding her shoulders to stop her rambling. She hiccuped, but seemed to calm down a bit. “It has been almost two months since the Revolution and you were knocked out. Everyone is fine now.”   “Fine?” she repeated, blinking hard.    “You’re safe and sound now,” I said, hugging her close to me again.    There would be hell to pay later on, when Moonkyu gets back to find me hugging his sister. He was probably goin