Hi…? Thanks for the beta, awesome paperhunter! ;)

CHAPTER FOUR

Kyuhyun…

He couldn’t get his mind off of this so-called name of his. It seemed so familiar, very comfortable to say more than that, he feels possessive over it. Still, there was this nagging thought that it doesn’t really belong to him. It’s like Kyuhyun is his, but he is not Kyuhyun.

Was that even possible?

A groan escaped his lips as the wind blew onto his face. He’d been having the same thoughts for nearly six hours now.

He initially thought that staying in a boring room triggered such crazy ideas, so he asked Yunho to lead him outside, for a newer environment. He settled on sitting on the wooden platform.

The place was actually beautiful, especially the house. It looked traditional; having sliding doors; pillars made of stone, and tiled roofs with a curve at their edges. All of them are to wear socks when inside; no shoes allowed. He thought it looked like a temple from the outside. There was a term they use, he couldn’t remember it but there was a term for this kind of home.

This memory disorder—whatever it was called—he’s going through is torture.

He looked up the night sky, amazed at the abundant number of white sparkling dots that were scattered on it. Unconsciously, his fingers found the characters attached on the chain around his neck and he traced them oh-so-gently. The name Kyuhyun popped in his mind again, as well as his theory behind it.

‘Maybe it’s because of the memory loss,’ he thought sadly. The missing pieces of his life have not returned, perhaps not too soon.

“Kyuhyun,” He visibly flinched; hearing it from another person felt weird. Thankfully, Yunho didn’t seem to notice. He turned to the man and smiled when he saw Scar, the man’s pet dog.  “Dinner’s ready.” Yunho announced, wearing that gentle smile he’d seen the first time they met.

Dinner? Hearing the word made his stomach growl, though familiar, the meaning of it inside him was vague. Thinking it was associated with food, he stood up quite eagerly and marched to the dining area with the taller male, biting back a grin.

He kept his distance, though. Even if the man had been too nice to him, he still doesn’t know him so he reminded himself not to get too close. Besides, his mother might get furious if she saw him touch her son.

Speaking of the mother, his excitement towards dinner was soon forgotten the moment they entered the room where other members of the Jung Family were present. Predictably, they don’t look as welcoming as Yunho.

The room was quite spacious, with walls and ceilings still made of wood. In fact, almost everything in the house is wood. It was peculiar, in his opinion, yet it made the abode homey. On the ceiling, there resembled a cup only that it was upside down and there’s light from it, and under it was a big and long wooden table at the center where they were all gathered for the last meal of the day.

Despite the mouth watering sight in front of him, he couldn’t lift an arm to grab some food to place on his plate. The  other Jung’s were constantly throwing him dirty and cautious looks. It certainly was uncomfortable, especially whenever Yunho put food on his plate and ask him if there’s anything he wanted.

He swore he heard Mrs. Jung’s snort.

In the end, that dinner turned out to be awkward.

The family was well-off, that he could figure. Mr. Jung was the one running the transactions in relation to their family business, which was a farm. Yunho got his attractive overall looks from his father, except for his lips which he inherited from his annoying mother. Of course he didn’t want to think badly about Mrs. Jung but she just makes it so hard for him not to do so. Throughout the hours that he had been awake, the woman never ceased sending him glares or mumbling curses and insults. The father, though, acted like he didn’t exist, despite the awareness of him staying over for a while. Well, that was better than being constantly insulted.

Apparently, Yunho had a younger sister named Jihye. She’s still in high school, and she’s kind of cute. He didn’t expect her to be nice to him judging from his experience with their parents. And that was a wise decision. Jihye was a combination of her parents when it comes to the attitude towards him. She doesn’t talk to him, doesn’t insult him, but would roll her eyes when he passed by. He will try getting used to them, even though there’s a slim chance he would stay for too long, anyway.

Yunho was the only nice one to him… and Scar.

As he fell into deep slumber, he wished his memories will go back.

The next day was quite fortunate for him. Mr. and Mrs. Jung were out for business purposes and Jihye went to school and will not be going home until tomorrow because she’s staying with a classmate. Another good thing was that Yunho didn’t have anything to do for the day.

Yunho decided to tour him around their farm. A farm, he learned, was a vast land where fruits and vegetables were planted and grown.  It was pathetic how his head tilted from time to time, thinking and squeezing out information that seemed to be buried deep. It was unfair. He figured that if it wasn’t for the accident, he would still be well aware of what a farm is. Perhaps, though, he had never been to one, for his mind felt no trigger by it

As they roamed around, he noticed that Yunho was loved by the workers; all of them greeted the man happily and Yunho would raise his hand in response to it. He wouldn’t really be surprised; Yunho was too nice, even to a stranger like him.

It surprised him, though, that Yunho is an accountant, but he really wanted to be a veterinarian. However, as much as he doesn’t know what a veterinarian was, it sounded so familiar to him. His head and chest hurt when he first heard that word.

Blurry scenes appeared in his mind but before he could focus on figuring it out, it already faded away. He shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to recall what he just saw. He needed to see it. He needed to know what it was. He knew it was from his memory. It will help answer his questions.

“Is there something wrong?” Yunho’s worried voice distracted him. He almost flinched when he felt Yunho place his hand on his shoulder. He subtly moved his upper body so the taller man could withdraw his hand hopefully without getting offended. “N-No.”

“We could go back if you’re not feeling well…” Yunho’s concern towards him felt weird.

“No, it’s okay. I’m okay.” I’m not okay.

The raven-haired stared at him for a while, not believing him, before nodding slowly. “If you say so…”

They went around for a while again. The fresh air hit him gently and he smiled.

“So Scar...” He started, feeling a little confident and wanting to lighten up the mood.

“Scar came from Seoul.” Yunho started. Again, he frowned. Seoul – where was that? Shaking his head, he allowed Yunho to continue.

Yunho’s neighbour while he was studying in Seoul owned the dog. The poor pup was being neglected by its former owner so when Yunho had the chance, he took the beaten dog and brought him to his hometown. Since he was a frustrated veterinarian, a doctor for animals, he nursed the dog back to health. Still, the wounds left various marks in his body including the one on his eye, thus he was named as Scar.

He couldn’t fathom, but the word veterinarian and animals pinched something inside his chest. It was not his head that ached, but his heart.

When the topic of schooling came up, he couldn’t help but inquire about Yunho’s age. Apparently, the man was on his late twenties which surprised him a lot. Yunho looks a lot younger than his age. Because they didn’t know his age, Yunho guessed that he’s not older than 24 so the man insisted that he call him ‘hyung.’ He said no, of course; he believed he’s as old as Yunho. They argued about it for an hour.

The last place they went to was a very big house with transparent walls and roof, and there are long rows of plants inside. Yunho said it is called a strawberry greenhouse.

“Hey, U-Know!”

As they entered the greenhouse, two men approached them. The smaller one is tanner and kind of reminded him of a big animal swimming in the waters with a long beak and chubby body. What. Was. That.?The other one has high cheekbones, thick lips and had fairer skin than the animal-looking one. They’re good-looking, though.

“U-Know?” he couldn’t help but ask.

Yunho laughed lightly as he high-fived the two other men. “They gave me that nickname.”

High cheekbones grinned at him and extended his hand for a shake, asking, “Kyuhyun, right?” He fought the urge to say ‘I don’t know.’ He just faked a smile and let the other continue. “I’m Yoochun,” He took Yoochun’s hand—quite rough, he noticed. “And this is Junsu.” Yoochun placed an arm on the smaller male’s shoulders. They must be very close to each other. He ignored the strange feeling in his chest. Junsu smiled widely and shook his hand enthusiastically.

Yoochun and Junsu are friends of Yunho who also became partners in the strawberry farm. They told him the farm didn’t initially grow strawberries, so Yunho thought to add them for expansion and managed it himself. The two tagged along because of Junsu’s fondness for strawberries.

Strawberry, he discovered, is probably the best fruit out there. Luckily for him, it was harvesting season. They taught him how to pick those little heart-shaped red fruits and let him have a taste of some of it. The taste was life changing. He liked it the best when dipped on cream.

The entire day was spent in assisting in picking strawberries that will be delivered to town tomorrow. It was fun; the strawberries smelled very pleasant, the farmers were nice to him, and he finished two baskets. In fact, he asked Yunho if he could work there every day. Yunho didn’t want it at first because he’s a guest, but he just made his eyes big and puckered his lips a bit, and voila, the boss said yes. He could use that technique for survival.

Today’s activities exhausted his weak body a lot. He had actually forgotten that he was still recuperating from the accident but no one can blame him; strawberry picking was an outlet from his frustration because of his memory loss.

They got home a little late. Mrs. Jung was already preparing dinner. The sight of the intimidating woman made him walk behind Yunho. If only he could be invisible.

“What do you plan with that amnesiac freeloader behind you?” Unfortunately, he didn’t escape the scrutinizing eyes of the witch.

Yunho sighed and pulled him to his side by taking his wrist. His feet were never that interesting to look at. “He’s a guest, mom. And he’s got a name.”

He winced hearing sarcastic laughter from Mrs. Jung. “I am not so sure about that, son. He’s going to stay here longer, that I am sure of.”

“Mom, please…”

Mrs. Jung stopped placing plates on the table. “I heard he’s helping in your strawberry cage? Why doesn’t he help in the house, too? There’s nothing free in this world, son.” It really was a good idea, but because it came from Mrs. Jung, it’s not.

Then again, he should try to get on the good side of the owners of the farm since Yunho most likely wouldn’t allow him to go until he gets recovered completely. Plus, this could be his way of repaying Yunho’s kindness to him.

Yunho opened his mouth to speak, so he cut him off. “It’s okay, Yunho. She’s right.”

“But—”

“I told you it’s okay. I’m okay.” He tried reassuring his saviour. Yunho still looked hesitant.

“Great! Then go stay outside the kitchen. Our servants eat there.” Mrs. Jung clapped her hands and pointed at the back door.

He lightly smiled at Yunho once again before he walked towards the door, preparing himself for the start of his suffering with the Jung Family.

I’m not okay… he thought as he gripped on the pendant tight.

~0~

The Lees are saints, he swore.

He almost cried when they told him they’ll be keeping him until he recovers and gets his memories back. Of course, for courteousness’s sake, he refused it, reasoning that hospital bills cost a lot but they only laughed at him, saying that money spent on him could still be earned.

‘There is no other better feeling in this world than the feeling when you help others…’ he remembered Mrs. Lee telling him that.

‘Besides, you look very rich, anyways, so I’m sure you’ll buy us a very cool boat!’ Donghae exclaimed after, making all of them laugh. Even without saying that, he will surely purchase anything they want once he remembers everything. Plus, if he’s really rich, he’ll give them a yacht.

True to their word, they visit him every day, taking turns on who will stay with him, bringing him clothes, and buying his medicine. It was mostly Mrs. Lee who stayed with him. The others were usually out fishing. Sometimes, Hyukjae and Donghae have dance rehearsals with their group. They join every dance contest out there.

Aside from the physical support, they also contributed a lot to his emotional stability. Mr. and Mrs. Lee provide him motivational words, while Hyukjae, the monkey-looking one, and Donghae, the youngest, were his source of entertainment. The Lee brothers are idiots that even if he’s the one suffering amnesia, he’s still smarter than them. At first glance, one wouldn’t think the two were blood-related because they don’t look like each other, but yeah, they’re brothers.

Donghae was the person he liked the most in the family. His bubbly and carefree personality affected him most of the time. It was like Donghae never ran out of energy. He makes him smile and laugh, and somehow, Donghae reminded him of someone… someone he probably knew, but forgot.

Maybe that was another reason why he liked hanging around with Donghae. Maybe sticking to the hyper guy would help him remember that person he’d forgotten. Maybe that person was the key to his identity. Maybe that person was significant to his life.

“You can walk! You lied to us! I’m hurt!”

He rolled his eyes. Donghae was overreacting, yet again. It’s normal. Everybody knew Donghae was just joking, though. He was standing in front of his hospital bed and had managed to take a couple of steps forward. Mr. and Mrs. Lee looked very proud of him. He suddenly felt like he’s a kid trying to impress his parents.

When the intern next to him giggled, he grinned a little. Suji was very attentive and was always there whenever his doctor wasn’t available. She often rides along with Hyukjae and Donghae’s corny jokes which not every female would bother doing because the jokes were bad. Also, she’s intelligent. At the age of 21, she’s already serving as an intern. She said she’s accelerated. They usually share intelligent talks (mostly in the medicine field) and weirdly, he could relate it to it. She thought that his profession, perhaps, was in the same field.

“The bones in his legs are perfectly healed when he woke up,” Dr. Park, a strict-looking 50-something year old male but he’s alright. “It only felt numb because he hadn’t used it for long. If you’ll be doing fine, then you may be discharged tomorrow.” His legs are fine, but his right arm was still healing and can’t be moved.

Still good news. He’s excited to see the Lees’ house.

He felt someone tug his sleeve and he saw Suji smiling widely at him. “Keep it up!” She encouraged; raising her fist, her smile brighter than ever. It will be a total lie if he says he’s not having a crush on Suji. She’s just… pretty.

Donghae then jumped on him causing for him to stumble back to his bed. Everyone went frantic and quickly pulled the hyper Donghae away from him. He’s alright, though. He’s too happy to even bother about it. He can walk, he can go out of the hospital; he’s definitely alright.

His hand made its way to the pendant on his chest. From the time Hyukjae gave it to him, he hadn’t removed it yet. He thought it was his lucky charm because things have been going smoothly recently, and he just felt the need to share the happiness to the pendant. It’s weird, but he did it anyway.

“Sung… Min.” he mumbled, his eyes fixed on the gold characters of his necklace. He made it a habit to stare at it and continuously whisper it. Aside from doing that might trigger something in his mind, the name was just pleasant to listen to.

In fact, he thought the name doesn’t suit him. Sungmin made him think of angels, sugar, spice and anything nice. None of the mentioned definitely described him. Then again, that happens sometimes. His parents probably wanted that name so much even if it doesn’t fit their son.

“Hey, Sungmin, are you ready?” It took him three seconds before he registered Hyukjae was talking to him, which was an improvement. He was slowly getting used to be called by that name. Days ago, they had to shout in front of him to know that they’re calling him. There are times he did it on purpose just to piss Donghae.

He smiled at Hyukjae and carefully stood up feeling refreshed as he finally wore decent clothes, not hospital gowns. The clothes were from Hyukjae since they almost have the same build, though the pants reached above his ankles. He looked hilarious. Plus, he had a cast on his right arm.

It was slightly disappointing knowing that Suji wasn’t there. Dr. Park told him she had some errands to do in the neighbouring city and couldn’t come back until the next day.

After a few more reminders from Dr. Park, they already settled in a jeep that the Lees own. They belong in the average class. They’re not rich, but not poor either. It’s just right. And the jeep was amazing.

The travel from the town clinic to the Lee residence took only fifteen minutes via car. It felt short, though, especially that he’d enjoyed the sight throughout the drive. It was quite different from what was in his mind. There were fewer cars, less pollution and less traffic, in general. People usually walk or ride a bicycle. Plus, the residents seem to know each other well. Several even greeted the Lee’s. Donghae and Hyukjae were popular with girls.

He was not surprised to know that the Lee’s live at the seaside considering that their livelihood was fishing. The sand was a bit rough and brownish. There were fishing boats everywhere. The houses were located quite far from each other, but not far enough for the residents not to interact. Again, neighbours cheerily greeted the family, and he was introduced to them. He was surprised, though, seeing the house.

It was a small one-storey house. The walls were made of wood, put up horizontally, and were painted in light blue, giving the house a summer vacation house look. A bench was there at the porch facing the sea. It was probably where they sit whenever they want to meditate or something. He thought it might be his favourite spot.

He didn’t say it, but the sight of the sea kind of bothered him. He had no idea why.

There were only two bedrooms, so he will have to stay in the brothers’ room. They don’t have beds; instead, they sleep on mattresses, and thankfully they have extra one. It was also a good thing Hyukjae was a neat freak so even if Donghae was being the filthy person he was, Hyukjae will voluntarily and begrudgingly tidy up their shared room. He will survive.

He almost cried, again, when Mrs. Lee prepared roasted chicken for dinner, unlike the usual kimchi and fish. Donghae said they have it during special occasions and they consider his release from the hospital something to celebrate for.

Can’t this family be any more perfect?

Throughout the meal, the smile couldn’t be erased from his face while listening to their stories. It was nice to laugh with them at simple things. He felt that he haven’t been that happy in such a long time. He had never forgotten to clutch on his precious pendant.

He and the brothers were at the living room playing poker. He didn’t know how to play it at first, then after watching them, he figured he really does know the game. He also figured the two were terrible at it, considering that he was using only one hand.

Randomly, Donghae blurted out, “Hey, why don’t we take a picture of you and post it on Facebook?”

Hyukjae clapped his hands and snapped his fingers, beaming. “That’s a good idea! What do you think, Sungmin?”

What does he think? He doesn’t even know what Facebook is. So he answered, “…I don’t know.”

“WHYYYYYYY??” The youngest Lee whined.

“Maybe not now…?” He replied hesitatingly. Besides, if they’re going to spread a picture of him (and he prayed that it won’t be just like those missing criminals) he should look more presentable to be recognized. He’s not even sure if Sungmin was indeed his real name.

“Yeah, he looks like a zombie.” Hyukjae agreed, voicing out the exact thing in his mind. Though he was kind of pissed after hearing that.

Another surprise was when he saw Suji in the living room drinking coffee the next day. She turned to him, smiling oh-so-brightly that it rivalled the sun.

“Sungmin, good morning!” She exclaimed as she stood up to greet him. She was not in her usual white coat thing. She was in a simple blue shirt and jeans, her hair tied up in a messy bun. She looked like a normal young adult, not an intern at a hospital.

He grunted as a reply, smiling as well. He can’t speak yet; his morning breath stinks. She should have informed him before coming over at seven in the morning. He was just supposed to pee then go back to sleep! He literally looked like a zombie but Suji didn’t seem to care.

“Sorry I wasn’t there yesterday. I attended a conference. But it’s okay. I’m here now!” Suji cheerfully told him while pulling him to the couch. Mrs. Lee then placed a plate of fresh bread on the coffee table. Damn, he liked the smell of coffee and bread.

“It’s okay.” He mumbled while munching bread. He almost moaned in satisfaction because the bread tasted heavenly.

After Mrs. Lee joined them in the conversation, Suji started telling them stories about the conference and about herself, too. Those were things they weren’t able to talk about in the clinic. Apparently, she was on a day off so she wasn’t in a hurry and had a lot to tell. Suji grew up in Seoul—he shortly went dizzy but didn’t make it obvious—and came from a rich family.

She didn’t originally want to be a doctor; she dreamt of being a singer, a K-Pop star; however, she had no support from her doctor parents so she just pursued the medical field. It also helped that she’s a genius because she finished the program at a very young age. She was still undecided at the specialization she might take, though.

She fled to Mokpo for internship because she wanted to be away from her parents for a while. They had been too strict on her that she felt suffocated. She’s already 21 yet they weren’t allowing her to explore things on her own. In fact, they didn’t like her staying in Mokpo for months. She went on dramatic mode and voila, she convinced them.

“Maybe you were also from Seoul,” Suji remarked. “I can look for your records when I get there.”

Suddenly, images came flashing in his mind. Tall buildings, vehicles, busy streets—they were blurry and they transition very fast. The sounds on the background were muffled and incoherent. His vision was spinning.

Then, a new scene appeared. It was still blurry, yet he could identify that he was in a house. He was sitting. The annoying sounds were gone. It was quiet. Someone approached him, slowly. He could only make out the chest part. The person crouched in front of him and lifted a hand to touch his face. And he felt it. He felt the soft hand caressing his cheek. He felt it when the hand touched his hair. He leaned to the touch. It felt so good.

‘Min…’ he mumbled. His gaze went upwards and he just saw the most beautiful smile. His heart raced faster.

‘Min…’

‘Min… Sungmin…’

“Sungmin…”

He opened his eyes, blinking it a few times to clear his vision, and Suji’s worried face welcomed his sight. He heard heavy sighs around him, and then it made Suji smile. It wasn’t like that smile. Her smile was different. It wasn’t as beautiful as the one he saw. He wondered who owned that smile.

“Sungmin, God, you made us worry!” Mrs. Lee shrieked from beside him. What happened? He looked around, noticing that he was lying on the couch.

“You passed out. Here, drink some water.” Suji said as Mrs. Lee helped him sit up. Suji pressed the rim of the glass on his lips and made him drink its contents. He was still too stunned to speak and move. He can’t remember all the images he saw, but the only thing that stuck in his mind was that breathtaking smile.

“How are you feeling?” The intern asked in a soft voice.

“Fine,” he croaked. He felt better after drinking the water.

“You should have more rest, son. Let’s go to the bedroom.” Mrs. Lee suggested. Just in time, Hyukjae went in and immediately assisted in getting him up once he knew the situation.

When he was already on the mattress did he only realize that he’d been holding his pendant all throughout.

TO BE CONTINUED