"Miyoung!" the stranger boomed again.

Miyoung clung the pot even closer to her. Her heart lurched in fear of the person who knew her name. He was taller than Baekhyun, with shaggy brown hair and round eyes. His skin was sunkissed and smooth, she could see lean muscles on his arms. He was good looking, over all, but Miyoung was terrified of him.

"Miyoung, are you okay?" He raced over to her and she pressed herself against the window in a failed attempt to escape. He put his strong hand on her shoulder and she flinched, suddenly the boy noticed the way she avoided his eyes, and the way she trembled, "W-whats wrong?" He asked, slowly removing his hand.

The boy started to reach for her once again when something caught his hand.

"H-hey!" he shouted. Baekhyun held tight to the boy's wrist.

"What are you doing?" He shouted, wriggling to get free. Baekhyun was flopped around by the movement like a rag doll, the tan boy was much stronger than him. 

"Who are you!?" he finally screamed and managed to throw Baekhyun off. Though the weaker boy was ready to burst back into the fight the moment Miyoung told him to.

"It's okay, Baekhyun," Miyoung said, letting her fingers that gripped the plant relax. 

The tan boy looked between the two of them, extremely confused, "did ya get yourself a body guard or somethin'?"

A bell went off in Miyoung's head at his accent. It wasn't the smooth speech of the people of Seoul, it was the rugged rashness of the countryside. Busan, to be specific.

"Who are you?" Miyoung asked bravely, setting the plant down.

"You're kiddin right?" he asked, looking around like this was all some sort of sick joke.

"Baekhyun wait outside," Miyoung ordered. Baekhyun could do nothing but comply. He shot once last glare at the tan boy before shutting the door behind him.

"Miyoung who was that guy?" the tan boy began again, "I didn't know you got yourself a boyfriend since you moved to--"

"Who are you?" Miyoung repeated the question she must know the answer to. Maybe her light had finally found her. But something was off. The rugged deep voice of this boy was not the same as the smooth velvety one in her head. 

"Okay," the boy sighed, "I'll play along."

He sat on her bed and looked at her, "I'm Kim Jong in. Kai."

"How do you know me?"

"We're best friends, Miyoung," Kai insisted, "I've known ya since I was born!"

"Why did you come here just now then?"

"I'm really sorry! I would have come sooner if I had known, but I only heard the news the other day! I hadn't gone into town fer a month!" his eyes were sincere.

"Where did you say you were from?"

"I'm from Busan, and so are you!" he tilted his head and looked deep in thought, "Well, I guess I live on the outskirts, but it's still Busan!"

"I'm from Busan," Miyoung repeated, a strange nervousness began to flutter in her stomach, "And my parents?" she took a desperate step forward, "what about them?"

"Miyoung-ah," Kai said, his voice suddenly growing soft, "don't be like this."

Miyoung furrowed her eyebrows, why wasn't he answering the question? She refused to give up though. She needed to know more.

"How can I trust you? What proof do you have?"

"Yer bein insane!" Kai boomed, but still turned over to pull his wallet out of his pocket. He tossed it across the room and Miyoung caught it, then opened it. Inside were two photos. One was of a small girl no older than twelve with long black hair and big eyes, a young and brighter image of herself, next to her was a boy with tan skin and shaggy brown hair. The other was a high school aged Miyoung, bright eyed and beautiful with a bouquet in her hands. Next to her was Kai, and behind them were two parents that matched him. 

"Where are my parents?" She asked again, searching the pictures over and over, even though they obviously weren't there.

"By that time they had already--" Kai stopped, and tore the wallet away from her hands, "Okay that's enough. I'm gonna ask the questions now."

Miyoung pouted, but obliged. 

"First of all what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you acting like you don't know me?"

"Because I don't, I may have used to."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kai demanded.

"You heard about my accident right? That's why you came here?"

"I'm sorry it took so long."

"I lost my memories," Miyoung explained, "All of them."

The boy froze, he didn't even blink. His eyes searched her's desperately, waiting for her to laugh and tell him it was all a joke. He wanted her to slap his shoulder and say of course she remembered him. But she didn't.

"You're serious," Kai dropped his shoulders with realization.

"I'm sorry."

Kai ran a hand through his hair, "this is crazy."

"But I'm glad you're here," Miyoung continued, even though he looked lost, "you can help me."

"No, no," he shook his head, "I don't know if I can."

"Of course you can!" she said, "if you're my best friend you'd know me better than anyone else!"

"I was your best friend, Miyoung," Kai said, looking up at her.

"What does that mean?"

"It means," he explained, "that you moved to Seoul after high school and I haven't seen you in four years."

Miyoung let that sink in, let it ferment under her skin. 

"Okay," she nodded, "then we can talk about before that."

The boy nodded slowly, still deep within obvious shock. He backed up and sat on the bed, his eyes moved back and forth as if searching for an answer inside his head. Miyoung lowered herself beside him.

"When did we meet?"

"I was 4," he said, "I don't really remember. Yer parents moved into town, from the city I think. We were neighbors."

"What were they like?" Miyoung asked eagerly, gripping the sheets of her bed. 

"They were like family," he replied, "Your mom always made me lunches when Omma was too busy, and yer dad took us fishin."

"What did they look like?"

"It was a while ago, Miyoung, I--" he shook his head, not sure if he could explain it well.

"Please."

"You look like your mom," he continued, "but you have your dads eyes. That's what people always used to say."

The image of herself in the mirror floated into Miyoung's mind. She wondered if Kai's parents had a picture of them. She wanted to see for herself how much she looked like them.

Then Miyoung swallowed hard, "what happened to them?"

"It was an accident," Kai choked, he himself wasn't comfortable yet with talking about it, "we were fourteen."

Miyoung let him regain his shaky breath before continuing.

"Their car fell off a bridge into water, they--" he in a deep breath, "they didn't make it out."

Miyoung felt her heart rupture. As if the wire brace inside that held her up was suddenly collapsing. 

"After we graduated you went to Seoul, we were all worried," he shook his head, "you vanished, Miyoung," he smiled apologetically, "we haven't talked since then."

The only words that could escape Miyoung's lips were: "Oh."

"This feels wrong," Kai laughed dryly, "I shouldn't be explaining yer life to ya."

"It's okay," Miyoung whispered, though inside she felt anything but okay. Maybe it had been better not knowing.

"Let's talk about better things now," Kai stood up and shook out his arms to break out of the sadness, "yer life wasn't all bad," he sauntered over and picked up the flower pot on the window sill.

"What's this?"

"A present."

"You hate this color," Kai laughed and side glanced at her, she gllared at him and he laughed nervously and set it down, "you always liked blue."

"Blue is too sad," Miyoung explained, watching him move around the room, looking uncomfortable in the foreign place.

"Are ya sure yer Jin Miyoung?" Kai asked with raised eyebrows, "'cuz my Miyoung used to love sad things."

"Why would I love sad things?" Miyoung's eyebrows laced together.

"Dunno," Kai shrugged, "you were just a bit o' a sad person I guess."

"I see."

Kai stopped in his pacing and turned to her, "Y'know, if you need help rememberin, or anything at all. I'm here for you. I can stay in the city if you want."

"Did I ever have a relationship with you?" Miyoung asked out of the blue. Something had flickered in his eyes the moment before, something that Miyoung recognized as love.

"Me?" Kai gawked, "No! No, no," he shook his head, "we've always been friends. You're like my sister! How could I?-- No."

"I'm sorry," Miyoung chuckled, "I just assumed because of the way you were looking at me."

Kai immediately shut his eyes, "Sorry! It's because we're family!"

Miyoung laughed again, "It's fine, really--"

"I do love you!" he shouted a little too loudly, his eyes still knitted shut, "but only as a sister!"

Miyoung stood and put her hands on his shoulders, "Okay, I get it! You can open your eyes now."

Kai popped open one eye, keeping the other shut, then he gradually let the other open too, "You're weird," he said.

"What's weird?" Miyoung stepped back.

"You're..cheerful," he half smiled, "before ya woulda yelled at me, or said nothing at all."

Miyoung tried to picture who she was before, she tried to imagine why she would have yelled.

"Miyoung?"

"Do you have any other pictures of me?"

Kai nodded slowly, "Yeah," he pulled an old model phone out of his back pocket, "I have a few."

He opened up the gallery on the device and handed it to Miyoung, "have a look."

Miyoung scrolled through the pictures on the screen. In the first she was 15, sitting on the floor of a small house and reading a book. Her long black hair fell in and overshadowed her emotionless face. In the next picture, she had dropped the book and was shooting a glare at the camera. In the next one, she had disappeared through a doorway. The next was a video, Miyoung looked at Kai and he nodded. She pressed the center button and it began.

"Happy 15th Miyoung!" Kai's voice shouted from behind the camera.

Miyoung didn't look up. She stared at the cake before her with sullen eyes, watching the fire flicker.

"Go on, blow out your candles!" another voice said, perhaps Kai's mother.

Miyoung in a shallow breath and released it. The candle went out. Without a word Miyoung stood, her eyes glimmered slightly wetter than a second ago, she her heel and left.

"Miyoung wait!" Kai and the camera rushed after her and put a hand on her shoulder. The girl threw him off, her eyes now b with tears.

"Just go away!"

"..I'm sorry..." the words barely dripped from Miyoung's lips.

"T-that's okay," Kai said, quickly taking the phone back before she could see the other photos, "I was used to it."

"It was even my birthday, and the cake.." Miyoung shook her head, "I shouldn't have done that."

"No it's fine!" he assured her, "we understand. It was your first birthday without them."

"Kai, where are they?" Miyoung bit her lip.

"They're in Busan," Kai replied, knowing immediately what she meant, "Do you want to see them?"

Miyoung shut her eyes tightly, "I don't know."

"Ya have a lot to think about, I get it," he took a notepad from the side of the hospital bed and scrawled across it, then tore it off and handed it to Miyoung, "this is the address, if ya ever want to go. And that down there," he pointed to another set of numbers and letters, "Is where I'm staying. I'll stay in the city for a bit in case ya ever need me."

Miyoung looked up, "Kai that's--"

"That's what family is for," Kai smiled, "I'd go with you myself, but," he glanced towards the door with a knowing smile, "I think there's someone else you'd rather go with."

He opened the hospital room door. A stern Baekhyun greeted him immediately. He watched with iron eyes as Kai walked by and down the hall, calling "See ya!" over his shoulder.

Miyoung sighed and dropped to the window seat, holding the little yellow note in front of her.

She heard footsteps as Baekhyun entered and settled beside her. 

"My parents are there," Miyoung told him, not lifting her eyes from the paper.

Baekhyun tapped the address and raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah," she nodded, "but I'm not sure if I want to go."

Miyoung watched as Baekhyun pulled out his notepad and began writing across the entire paper, a message longer than any she'd seen before.

It may be hard, but you can do it. You have to.

Don't you want to see them?

I'm sure they want to see you.

Let's go, Miyoung. Let's go together.

I'd like to meet them too.

A sad smile pulled at the ends of Miyoung's mouth, "you'll come with me?"
He nodded, of course he would. Any day. 

He had to hold his breath when Miyoung crushed into him, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders. A gently euphoric smile formed on his face and he wrapped his hands around Miyoung as well. He rested his chin on her shoulder and allowed her to pull him closer. If it was up to him, there would be no distance between them. He would keep the precious girl beside him all the time. 

A muffle voice reached Baekhyun's ears from his chest where Miyoung's head was, "Thank you."

A hill above the ocean. The green of tall grass shimmered and bent with each gentle blow of the breeze. At the horizon it kissed the endless blue sky. White dots of seagulls darted like snow above the calm field below. The roar of waves and the salty tang of the ocean could be heard and smelled. Even the air felt fresh and new, with the slight stickiness of the sea. 

"It's beautiful," Miyoung whispered, stepping out of the car the the end of the path. Baekhyun and Miyoung had driven hours to get to Busan, and from there they had followed the address to a funeral home. After asking about Miyoung's parents, they were sent up the long dirt scenic tourist road, which had come to an end a hundred yards before the end of the cliff. It was there and the edge of this rocky and grassy outcropping that Miyoung's parents had stayed for seven years.

Baekhyun slung the bag carrying their lunch over his shoulder and shut the trunk of the car. He motioned for Miyoung to move forward.

A smile warmed his lips at the sight of her back in front of him. She was wearing a thin jacket with a white elegant dress beneath that billowed and coiled around her legs with each brush of the wind. Her black hair tousled around against the echo of the blue sky. He wanted to tell her she was beautiful.

"Baekhyun!" Miyoung turned around with a ridiculously joyful smile on her face, one hand cupped beside her ear kept her hair from falling in her eyes, "It's amazing out here!"

He nodded and trotted a bit to catch up to her.

"Have you ever seen something so beautiful in your entire life?"

Baekhyun watched the movement of her cherry lips, admired the glow in her eyes. I think I can think of something else, he thought.

It was the middle of winter but Baekhyun didn't feel cold at all here. It was an outrageously warm and bright day beside the beach. Like a miracle had happened that caused today to be perfect. The news anchor that morning had claimed it was the hottest winter day in the history of Busan.

The snow that had enveloped the entire country just the other day had melted over the course of the week to reveal a fresh green lawn beneath. 

"It should be cold as ice but I don't have a single goosebump!" Miyoung screamed to the sky. Baekhyun wanted to open his mouth and shout something too, but his condition wouldn't allow.

The pair crested the hill and stood overlooking the long ocean. A miracle in the making, Baekhyun thought at the pure beauty of the place. He took a deep breath of the salty air.

"They should be up here somewhere," Miyoung said, tilting her head around to find what the man at the funeral had told them about.

Miyoung looked up when Baekhyun tapped her shoulder, and she saw it. A single white tombstone stuck out of the ground a few feet away, surrounded by tall grass.

It was, in many aspects, extremely simplistic. It was shaped perfectly square and though thick and sturdy, the sides were slightly scratched from the wear of the wind and the grass. 

"There they are," Miyoung whispered, her voice turning placid. 

Baekhyun hiked up the short distance and opened up the bag. He pulled out a fresh rose he had prepared and set it down. He wouldn't come empty handed to this sort of thing.

Miyoung's eyes could barely read the weathered letters engraved into the tombstone, 'Jin Dong Il and Jin Nayoung'.

"Hi," Miyoung mumbled to the names, "I'm here. I came."

Baekhyun pat her shoulder and gently pushed her down into a sitting position, he sat beside her.

From the bag came their lunch, and gifts for Miyoung's parents. More flowers, and a scarf to keep them warm, along with a bottle of soju to share.

"I brought you these," Miyoung wrapped the scarf around the base of the tombstone, and laid the flower on the top, "I wasn't sure what you liked."

Baekhyun unwrapped the kimbap lunchthey had brought and handed Miyoung her set of chopsticks. He kept quiet like the wind, giving her room to speak to her parents.

"How are you?," she whispered, running her fingers down the names, then smiled, "You've got a beautiful set up here."

The wind whispered sweet nothings throught the grass, waves crashed against the rocks below.

Miyoung put her hand on Baekhyun shoulder, "This is Baekhyun. He brought me here. Nice of him, isn't it? I bet you'd really like him."

Baekhyun smiled and patted her hand. Miyoung sighed.

"What else can I say? Kai says hello. He misses you.

I wanted to meet you, but I guess I can't. I'll have to wait until I remember, I suppose."

Miyoung laughed dryly, "I'm not really sure what to say, because I don't know you very well. I don't know what I would have wanted to say for the past seven years, because I don't remember. I'm sorry about that, too. Sorry I have nothing good to say."

Baekhyun nudged her and offered a piece of kimbap. She chewed it with a sad smile.

"I don't really know who you are, to me you're both strangers," she continued after swallowing, "but I miss you anyway."

The waves rolled and folded on themselves in the distance, the call of seagulls echoed around the field. 

She leaned into Baekhyun to keep from falling over. It was a comfortable warmth she always appreciated.

"I want to know who everyone is," she sighed. She let her eyes lift up to Baekhyun with an apologetic smile, "I want to know who you are too."

Baekhyun raised an eyebrow.

"I just wanted to know," her eyes bore into his without looking away, the moment seemed frozen in time. Electricity crackled between them, speeding up their hearts. Miyoung blinked twice to break the contact and tried to continue, "more and more, I--"

She couldn't even blink before Baekhyun's lips crushed into hers. 

IT'S HAPPENING!

How long have we all waited for this moment?

..Not very long? Well, Oh well. It had to happen eventually. 

I hope this gets everyone very excited for the next chapter.