For datzme + mysteriousguest

Gladiolus (Forget-Me-Not Pt.3)

It had been almost two years since the accident and Naeun still hadn't regained her memory. But, true to her word she made things work with Jongin, and true to his word, he went out of his way to make her feel comfortable and he understood her. They fell in love all over again, and Jongin couldn't have been any happier. Sometimes, she still had doubts as to whether he was really alright with her condition, but all he would reply to her was, "how many guys out there are lucky enough to fall in love with their girlfriend all over again." And this would make her swoon, and she would fall deeper in love with him. She had responded with, "well if this is what it was like to fall in love with you the first time, then I'm glad that I could experience it all over again too."

On this particular day, Jongin went into work and Naeun was at home. She was bored, so she started to do some cleaning in the apartment. When she got into the bedroom, she was rummaging through some of Jongin's drawers when something had caught her eye. It was sparkling in the sunlight and she picked it up and examined it, and gulped when she realised that it was an engagement ring. She continues to go through the drawer to somehow disprove her suspicions but she found a wilted flower and a speech that seemed to have been written a while ago as the papers edge was frayed and the colour had faded. She realised that Jongin must've been planning a proposal before she got into the car accident. She carefully took out the flower, and was admiring it, when he mind went into a white haze. She went back to sit on the bed and close her eyes, and the picture became clearer if she concentrated hard enough.

Naeun’s boss had just informed her that she was assigned for a morning shift. She was meant to meet up with her boyfriend but she couldn’t ignore this request. She had taken a few days of the previous week and she needed to make up for it. She decided to inform her boyfriend to postpone their date for a few more hours. He picked up on the first ring.

“Are you that excited to see me?”

“Yeoboseyo? Oppa?”

She heard him chuckle on the other line. Sometimes he could answer the phone in the weirdest ways possible.

“Ne. Naeun-ah…wae?”

“Oppa! You go first to our meeting place today. My boss called me in for a morning shift. It will only be three hours. Okay?”

She heard him sigh on the other side of the line.

“Okay…”

She decided to try and cheer him up.

“Yah! It’s only a few hours then we can spend the rest of the day together! Cheer up!”

“Ahrasso…”

“I love you!”

“I love you too…”

Naeun snapped out of the memory and the ring again. She thought that Jongin must have been planning to propose that day, but what intrigued her even more was the sudden flashback. Was she starting to regain her memory again? At her doctor’s appointments, the doctor said that she healed perfectly, and although she still didn’t remember anything, there was still hope. Naeun and Jongin weren’t holding on to that because they didn’t want to be disappointed. They were happy with just trying to work on their relationship. But now, Naeun reached out and grabbed that hope. Hopefully, she would be able to remember more. She put the flower back in the drawer and took the ring and put it on a chain that she hung around her neck. She wouldn’t tell Jongin about this. She was just going to surprise him when she got her memory back in the best way possible. They didn’t need to waste any more time; Naeun was just going to be the one to propose to him.

----////----

Over the next couple of months Naeun was getting more and more pieces of her memory back. She could feel how much she had loved Jongin, and she could feel how much she grew to love him again. She always kept the ring around her neck; she always had her plan in mind. She was growing more and more confident by the day, and she had already been planning her proposal. She and Jongin continued to go on dates and he still had no clue about her getting her memory back and she liked to keep it that way. He was happy, but he was going to be even more ecstatic when she proposed.

One morning, Naeun woke up and just decided that that would be the day. Again, Jongin was at work and she was glad that she could finally put her plans into motion. She decided that it was going to be the most clichéd proposal ever. She had found out about their favourite park. She was going to pack a picnic lunch and lay out a red, checkered picnic blanket. They would enjoy feeding each other. She would toss grapes at him and he would try to show off by trying to catch them in his mouth. She would be clumsy and spill some of her food. They would talk about how far they had come in their relationship. She would give him a kiss and then they would lay down on the grass and go cloud watching. Then, she would get up and then retrieve a book from inside the basket. She would open it up to the middle page and show him that she remembered.

Naeun heard her phone ring beside her table. Jongin was doing his usualy morning greeting when he had to leave for work before she woke up.

“Yeoboseyo?”

“Good morning!”

“Good morning to you too…”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m in the kitchen.”

“Okay…I was just checking up on you…”

“Oppa…”

“Yeah?”

“When you finish work can you meet me at the park?”

“Sure. But, why?”

“I planned a date for us.”

“Can I meet you there in an hour?”

“Yes.”

When Jongin had arrived at the park, his jaw dropped. He immediately went over to Naeun and wrapped her in a hug. The date had gone smoothly and they did everything that Naeun had planned inside her head. At this moment, Naeun had just got out her book. She opened it to the desired page and then handed it over to him.

“What’s this?”

“You don’t remember?”

“Of course, I do. It’s a forget-me-not. Is this the same one that I got for you on the day you got into that accident?”

Naeun nodded her head.

“I pressed it so that I could keep it forever. It meant that you didn’t want me to forget about you right?”

“Yeah…”

“Even though in my memory I may have forgotten you, it seems as though my heart never did. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here now.”

Jongin grabbed Naeun’s hand.

“Oppa…flip to the next page.”

As he did, he came across another flower.

“What’s this one?”

“It’s a gladiolus.”

“What does it mean?”

“Remembrance.”

Jongin locked eyes with Naeun who had tears in her eyes. Jongin reached out to wipe the tears that were threatening to fall. She pushed away his hand and then unclasped the chain around her neck, and then watched as the ring dropped into her palm. She presented it to Jongin, as he stared at her in disbelief. He was about to speak, but she silenced him with a finger to his lips.

“A couple of months ago, I was cleaning the apartment, when I went through one of your drawers and found this. All of a sudden, I had this image flash into my head and I wanted to know more. Then I held the ring even tighter and concentrated. I remembered our last phone call before I got into the accident. I remember that we were supposed to go on a date. It was going to be at this park. I put two and two together and figured that you were going to propose to me. I’m sorry that I ruined your plans, and you had to try so hard to understand me and win me over again…but you still did. And before you say it, I know that love means not having to say sorry…but I am sorry and I’m also thankful…for you. So, will you marry me? It’s two years late, but…marry me…”

“Yes.”

And Naeun gave the ring to Jongin to slip on her finger. He grabbed her hand and kissed it.

“It’s now right where it belongs…”

They both lay back down on the grass and thought about how blue the skies were at that moment.

“After you had that flashback, did you start to remember?”

“Yeah…I don’t remember everything, but now, I get bits and pieces here and there. Even the most random things can trigger a memory now.”

“That’s good…”

“It’s all good…”

“You know…I think you got psychic powers along with your memory back.”

“Wae?”

“This date. The picnic. Cloud watching. The flowers. Everything. This was exactly what I had in mind two years ago…”

“Jeongmal?”

“Yup.”

“So, you liked it?”

“Loved it. And I love you too…”

“And I love you…”