Himchan lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh, for a second there, I thought you were bringing stupid Mr Angry Eyebrows," he says, with a scrunch of his nose. "But...you've brought home that crazy elevator lady instead...yay. You sure know how to pick 'em, don't you, Yejin?"

The flatten expression on his face, makes me elbow him slightly. "Hey, don't be rude!" I quickly scold.

But Himchan just makes a face at me, and his lack of enthusiasm, makes Hyosung nervously smile, as she now stands up, to walk over to us.

"Hi," she docilely says. "I'm sorry about how I reacted from last night; I really should have controlled myself better..."

Himchan stares at her for a bit. "It’s okay, apology accepted," he lightly says, with a careless shrug.

This makes Hyosung finally look up at him, with hopeful eyes. "Okay, I want to start over!" she eagerly says. "My name is Jeon Hyosung, and I'm here to help you, with your memory loss."

A look of interest now takes place on Himchan's place. "How do you know about this?" he curiously asks.

"Because," she says. "Because...I-I'm your...b-best friend!"

Himchan blinks at her. "My...best friend?" he repeats, with a raised eyebrow.

I can feel that Hyosung's lying skills aren't too convincing, and so I decide to step in and quickly help her. "Yeah, she's been overseas lately, which is why she's only just come now," I inform. “She was really overwhelmed yesterday, so that’s why we couldn’t explain this to you, right away.”

"I see..." mumbles Himchan.

Grabbing a hold of his arm, Hyosung then yanks Himchan over towards the sofa. "Come on Channie, I have some photos that might help you remember!" she excitedly says. "And by the way, this apron looks really cute on you!"

Himchan looks quite puzzled, as he allows her to drag him over to take a seat. "Uh, okay...?" he quietly says. 

I watch, as Hyosung opens up the photo album, and begins to show him the images. Some of them consist of the two together, while the other pictures show them with a few others, along with some random scenery. Hyosung's eyes continue to shine brightly, with the more interested, that Himchan becomes. He's curious to hear more of her stories, and every time when he would laugh, or exclaim out a fascinated, "Really?!" it would make the happy creases on her face more obvious.

And as Hyosung proceeds to animatedly retell him of their exciting adventures together, all I do is find myself, experiencing a déjà vu-like sensation.

Because watching him with her, is like watching Yongguk with Jieun all over again, except that...this one feels far worse. 

Deciding to let the two have some time alone together, I then walk into the kitchen, to grab a hold of the patbingsu that Himchan has just made. It looks great, and because there is already two small bowls prepared, I take a hold of them, to bring them out into the lounge room. Offering one out to Hyosung, she slowly takes it, and when it's in her hands, I then give the other one to Himchan. Hyosung looks astounded to find out that Himchan made these, so she takes her first bite, with much care.

And as she goes to chew down the mixture of shaved ice, with a blend of some ice cream and other assorted sweets, she's impressed.

"Whoa, this is really good, Channie!" praises the brunette.

Himchan beams at her. "Thanks," he politely says.

And for some reason, Hyosung's eyes widen in shock to this, but I don't have enough time to try and figure out the reason, as I suddenly feel a poke on my arm.

"Say aaaah~" sings Himchan, as he offers me a spoonful. "The Himbear wants to know Yejin’s thoughts."

I can’t help but laugh a little, just before leaning forward, to take a bite of the dessert.

And as I go to chew away the milky ice with pieces of fruits, Himchan watches me with expectant eyes.

"So?" he prompts. "Is it good, or is it good?"

My lack of choice makes me playfully roll my eyes at him. "It's great," I eventually say, after swallowing it.

Himchan is happy, as he now takes a bite of his dessert. "Woo!" he animatedly cheers. "The Himbear wins, yet again!"

His cute happy dance makes me laugh, but I can’t help notice how Hyosung is unusually quiet, as she watches our interaction.

But she eventually starts speaking again though, as she returns back to telling Himchan more stories.

Some of them are actually quite hilarious; especially the one where Himchan had willingly stuck his finger into a clam, thinking that it wouldn't close down on him. Or like the time when they rented out some bikes together, only to realise that Himchan had no idea how to ride it, which made Hyosung have to struggle, by consistently teaching him. And in the end, he apparently crashed into a gate, and because of that, it's the reason why he hates bicycles.

———————————————

It's now dinner time, and after all that talking, Hyosung finally comes to close her photo book shut. "So...was this of any help to you?" she questions, with anticipation.

Himchan scratches his head a little. "Sort of," he says. "I mean, I really do remember some of that you've told me, such as how I crashed into that stupid fence, but...I don't know, things are still a little fuzzy."

Hyosung frowns at this, but then appears to have thought up another plan, as she suddenly straightens her posture up. "Channie," she sweetly says. "Would you like to go on a cruise?"

I can see a knowing twinkle in the brunette's eyes, and becoming aware of that, it’s making me wonder what she's up to.

Himchan lights up. "Like with a fancy boat and everything?" he enthusiastically says. "That sounds fun!" Turning over to me, he then gives my arm a nudge. "What do you think, Yejin?"

"I—" My eyes study Hyosung for a bit more. "I think it's a...interesting idea."

Pleased, Hyosung then claps her hands together, with a smile. "Great!" she cheerfully says. "You used to go on lots of boats, so maybe this can help you."

"Hopefully," says Himchan. "Anyway, I need to start making some food..."

Hyosung blinks. "Food?" she confusedly says.

"Yeah, it's almost dinner time," I enlighten.

Her eyes widen at this, as she goes to take a look of the clock. "Ah," she says, in surprise. "Well, I guess I should be on my way..." Getting up from her spot, she then slowly makes her way over towards the front door, with us both escorting her. "Thanks for having me over," she says to me, with a genuine, small smile. She then turns her attention over to Himchan, and longingly gazes at him. "Channie, I really miss you, so please hurry up, and come back."

And then, without giving him a chance for him to say anything, Hyosung extends her arms out, to bring him into a hug.

Blinking, Himchan looks slightly puzzled, but cautiously returns the embrace.

When that's over, he then walks into the kitchen, to start preparing some food, which leaves Hyosung and I alone.

I'm the first one to speak up. "So the next part of your plan is to take us on a cruise?" I carefully say.

Hyosung gives me a confident nod of her head. "Yeah," she replies. "I'm thinking if photos and stories aren't enough, then maybe...maybe we're going to have to make him relive the last thing that he did, before he forgot everything.” Her tone of voice now changes into a much more confused one. “And by the way, what did you do to him?!"

Slightly puzzled, I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a trick question of some sort. “What do you mean by that...?” I warily ask. “I don’t think I’ve done anything...except lie.”

“Well, aside from that, but since when did Himchan cook?!” says Hyosung, with an incredulous expression. “I’ve also never heard him say the words ‘please’, ‘sorry’, and ‘thank you’, so to her him say them all in a single sentence, was really something!” She lets out a small sigh. “He’s...become different, but...in a good way.” Hyosung then shakes her head from side to side. “Anyway, enough about this—” she quickly says, directing us back towards our main focus. “Back to the plan.”

I force my attention back to her proposal. "Well, I don’t think it’s not a bad idea..." I slowly say. "But what do we do, if it doesn't work?"

"Then...then I'm just going to take him back home with me, and just hope for the best," answers Hyosung, with a frown. "Which reminds me, you have to tell him the truth."

Paranoid, I quickly look over, to see where Himchan is, but he's well located in the kitchen. "I will tell him," I firmly say, in a quiet voice. “Because when I make a promise, I don’t intend to break it.”

Hyosung’s eyes sternly search my equally serious ones for a moment longer. “Okay,” she simply says. “I believe you.”

Her words make me secretly exhale out.

“But!” she abruptly adds in. “If you take too long, then I won’t hesitate to tell him myself. Because what you’re doing is wrong, and it’s not fair for Himchan.”

And with those harsh words, I watch as she calmly saunters away, towards the stairway.

I don’t know how long it’s been since she’s left, or that I’ve been standing here, but it must have been for quite a while, as I now feel something give my shoulder a minor shake.

“Yejin?” pokes a voice. “Yejin, what’s wrong?”

Bit by bit, I turn over to my right, to see Himchan worriedly looking at me.

“You’ve been standing here for a while, and you look a little pale,” he says. “Are you not feeling well?”

Using every ounce of my willpower, I then coat my facial expression, with an artificial smile. “It’s nothing,” I force myself to say. “I’m just thinking about Hyosung’s cruise trip...”

Himchan shows me a grin. “Yeah, I hope that works out, because it sounds fun,” he cheerfully says. “Anyways, come cook dinner with me!”

Robotically walking into the kitchen, I numbly grab myself a chopping board, along with a knife. Himchan has given me a few vegetables to slice, for the kimchi pancake that he’s decided on making. As we continue our task, my mind can’t help, but find itself zoning in and out, every now and then. So at one moment, it’ll be silence, and then the next, Himchan will be pouting at me, because I’ve completely missed out on what he was just saying.

And I think it’s because of my lack of response, it’s why Himchan has now decided to just stick to humming a joyful tune to himself, as he continues to sort out the kimchi.

But all of this stops, when I hear Himchan’s concerned voice, question me once more.

“Yejin,” I hear him quietly start off. “Why are you crying...?”

Caught off guard, my wide eyes now meet with his fairly worried ones, and it’s only then, that I’m aware of the moisture in my eyes, blurring up my vision.

Since when did I—?

I force out a small laugh, as I now go to quickly dab my wet eyes, with the sleeve of my top. "Onions," I lightly say, with a shake of my head. "They're stinging my eyes again."

Himchan doesn't say anything to this, and just continues to observe me for a bit longer. The questioning (yet concerned) look on his face, forces me to continue on, with my false smiles, and he looks as though he wants to say something, but isn't so sure how. Breathing out a small sigh, he eventually then makes his way over to me, to gently place his hand down onto my own. It makes me look up at him, and when I go to ask him what it is, he doesn't respond right away.

Eyes on me, Himchan seems to be searching for something in my own gaze, and it's because of that, I find myself breaking away from the uneasy eye contact.

I voice out another "what?" but this time, it's filled with nervousness.

My small query, makes Himchan's small frown greet my uneasy grin, as he now calmly takes the knife out of my hold. "Here, I'll cut them instead," he softly says. "So you can just work on the batter instead."

Slightly confused, I'm forced to little by little, step away from the onion filled chopping board, as he now moves it towards himself.

But I feel a little more puzzled, when I see how Himchan suddenly narrows his eyes at the tiny white pieces. "Stupid onions," I hear him mutter, with a pout. "How dare you make Yejin's eyes water like that, huh?" And then, with the grumpy expression on his face, he now begins to rapidly chop away the vegetable. "I'm going to cut you up real good, you hear me?!"

I continue to watch, as the poor onion, gradually becomes an unrecognisable pile, and for some reason, Himchan's silly behaviour, makes me stifle back a laugh.

The sound of my chortle causes him to eventually slow down his furious chopping, where his facial features, now soften with relief.

Although, that look on his face doesn't seem to last very long, as I now see him blinking a lot, in discomfort.

"Wah, Yejin, help!" cries Himchan, with a wince. "The onions are fighting back, because they're now making my eyes sting, too!"

I breathe out a small sigh, as I go to shake my head at him. "That's what you get, for chopping away like a crazy person," I quietly say, with a little laugh.

Himchan continues to blink away the discomfort, with a frown. "Aish, so you're saying that my revenge was for nothing?" he skeptically says. "That I'm not allowed to do anything, if I see you crying?"

"But I wasn't—"

"Think of it this way," says Himchan, cutting through my attempted fib. "If someone or something makes you cry, then I'll make sure to have them or it cry, too. Except in this case, the onions kind of won, but..." He then shrugs his shoulders, with a beam. "It's okay, because they stung my eyes too, so you're not alone."

The smile on his face continues to shine, as the last parts of his words go to repeat themselves in my mind.

And as this happens, I feel a twinge of happiness in my chest swell up, and it's enough to make my lips slightly tremble, as my eyes now become wet again.

Himchan is aware of this, and a perplexed look now sits on his face. "Yejin...?" he carefully says, with a tilt of his head. "Are you—?"

"I'm sorry," I quickly blurt out. "I just...need a moment away from the onions, since they're really irritating my eyes; I'll be right back."

Concern is written all over Himchan's face again, but I don’t give him the chance to say anything, as I now rush towards the bathroom.

Closing the white door behind me, I then make sure to lock it, just before resting my back against it. My chest feels heavy, and as I clutch onto it, I can feel the rapid pounding of my anxious heart. I try to compose myself by calmly breathing in and out, but even my inhales and exhales come in and out, rather shakily. As a further attempt to push this troubled feeling away, I step over to the sink, to let the cool water run through my fingers.

After a moment or two, I then begin to splash some of the liquid onto my face, hoping that maybe the sensation of it, can help wake me up, and recover my bearings.

It does, by a fraction, but after I dry off my face, I find that my legs aren't able to take me out of the bathroom right away, and because of this, I once again, let out another sad sigh.

I sigh, because my thoughts are on Himchan, and I've just realised that...

That I might not actually have the courage, like I say I do, to tell him the truth.     

———————————————

A/N: Yejin’s losing it, huh? See guys, this is why you should never ever EVER lie, because the guilt of it will EAT YOU ALIIIIVE...even if there’s a chance for you to be with a cute guy, LOL but seriously, I’m sure everyone knows that lying isn’t cool, hahaha. Anyway, thank you so much for reading, subscribing, commenting, and upvoting! *Aerial dives into you all* Your support and patience is greatly appreciated; honestly, I never I thought that this story would get the amount of love that it's getting, so thank you! ;__;