"Okay, umma!" Jongin responded as he his heel and made way for his bedroom where his school bag was. He hadn't ever met this doctor before, so he had no idea what to expect other than another man poking him with needles and asking him an abundance of questions.

 

When Jongin was sure he had everything, he closed the door to his room and walked towards the living room where his doctor was waiting patently.

 

"Ah, there you are," Jongin's mother cooed as she stepped towards her youngest son, cupping his face in her small hands and peering into his brown eyes with a giant smile on her face. "You look very handsome today."

 

"Aish, umma," Jongin replied with an invisible smile. He still hadn't smiled yet, no one he'd come in contact with had evoked that from him yet.

 

"Jongin, the is Doctor Zhang," his mother said as she moved out of the way and let Jongin face the other man in his living room.

 

"It's nice to meet you," Doctor Zhang gingerly greeted as he bowed. Jongin replied respectfully with a bow as well, taking a mental note of the way the older man was dressed. He definitely was not much older than Jongin himself, but he seemed quite respectable and intelligent. "Should we get going?"

 

"Yes," Jongin replied quickly. "Umma, where is your other son?"

 

"Your brother left for dance practice thirty minutes ago. Doctor Zhang offered to drive the both of you." Jongin looked at his doctor sideways. He had a weird feeling in his stomach, but he couldn't identify an emotion to tie it with.

 

"I guess we will be on our way then," Jongin stated. Doctor Zhang gave Jongin's mother a small smile after she pecked Jongin's cheek and then together they left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, Jongin, it's good to see you're doing well," Jongin's teacher, Mr. Park, greeted as he walked in with Doctor Zhang following at his heels. "I'm assuming this is your helper your father told me about?"

 

"Hello, I am Doctor Zhang Yixing," the young doctor introduced himself formally with a bow.

 

"Nice to meet you too," the teacher replied with a small bow in response, taken aback with how respectful the other male was. "I have all your makeup assignments here, Jongin," he spoke to the young man as he handed him a folder stuffed with weeks of assignments he missed. "I hope you can catch up quickly."

 

"I don't doubt that I can," Jongin replied stoically as he accepted his work. The young man his heel and made way for a seat in the back.

 

After getting set up and looking over a few of the worksheets, the first bell rang, indicating that in a few short moments he would meet his friends once again.

 

"I hope you don't mind," Doctor Zhang murmured, "but I will be taking note of every little detail of you. That means I'm going to have to listen in on conversations..."

 

"You do what you have to, I understand it's for the best," Jongin replied as he read over a copy of the first set of notes.

 

"If I ever make you uncomfortable, don't hesitate to let me know," the elder whispered, keeping his voice hushed so the students flowing in wouldn't hear.

 

Jongin could sense a disturbance in the atmosphere, voice around him began to blend together. He looked up and saw the majority of his classmates staring at him in shock and dismay. He heard his voice in quiet tones, it was no surprise everyone was talking about him, his parents and Taemin cautioned him of this prior.

 

"If you ever feel overwhelmed, just let me know." Jongin nodded in response to his doctor, lowering his head and ignoring those around him that seem fascinated by his presence.

 

"Jong... Jongin?" a hesitant voice called from the doorway. The dark haired boy looked over to see a thin, blonde boy looking at him with knitted eyebrows. "You're back?"

 

"Hello," was all he could say, he only knew the boy to be named Sehun, but any other memory he should've had wasn't present.

 

"What... I mean how, you're back, that's great, I think? Taemin said you would be, but I didn't think... Do you...?" Sehun rambled on as he walked towards Jongin. "Do you... Uh, do you remember? Me, that is..."

 

Jongin heard the doctor's scribbles next to him, he felt the whole class watch, wait, hold their breath in anticipation, even the doctors pen came to a halt the longer Jongin waited to respond. He should've felt something, but nothing came to mind other than the pictures Taemin showed him. Pictures of him and the boy in front of him, smiling, laughing, pouting, and everything in between from moments he couldn't recall.

 

"I know you're name is Sehun, but I do not remember you or any memories of you. I'm sorry," he answered automatically in an insincere way. The class seemed to deflate, Sehun's face fell and his shoulders dropped. Doctor Zhang began writing quicker, documenting how Jongin answered and how the reactions were.

 

"Okay class," the teacher hollered, gaining everyone's attention. "Get out your notebooks, class is about to start."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Hey Sehun-ah," Doctor Zhang called when the teacher released the students for lunch. "Could Jongin and I sit with you today? I'm thinking if I surround him with old friends and acquaintances, then maybe he will pick up his memories and emotions quickly."

 

Sehun looked over the elder's shoulder at his oblivious friend. A small smiled appeared on his lips and he nodded frantically at the doctor. "I want him to remember me as soon as possible."

 

Doctor Zhang smiled and nodded twice in response.

 

"Oh but a fair warning," Sehun called. "Our group of friends are a bit... Open minded. And then there's Seolhyun." With that last statement, Sehun smirked then walked out of the class.

 

"Are you ready?" Jongin asked as he stepped next to the confused elder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Jongin-ah!" Hyeri hollered once she spotted him. The younger waved at him with a big smile on her face as the rest of the table, and practically the whole lunch room, turned to look at the blond man.

 

It was as if the world paused for a second to take in the sight of Jongin. Jaws dropped, voices hushed, the show was about to begin.

 

"Aw my baby is back!" Heechul squealed as he ran to Jongin and pulled him in for a tight hug. The young man didn't hug back, he didn't respond in any way and once again, Doctor Zhang was taking note.

 

Jongin looked around at the many faces that watched. Heechul pulled away, gripped Jongin's free wrist and dragged him to their table.

 

"Uh, you can return to your regularly scheduled life," Amber sassed when she had enough of silence and gawks. "Yeah, you too Siwon! I see you over there too Hyunsik!"

 

"Yah, Amber! Don't yell at your oppas like that," Seolhyun hissed. Amber simply rolled her eyes as she returned her attention back to her food.

 

The cafeteria came back to life once Jongin sat down, Doctor Zhang a little behind him awkwardly.

 

"Do you remember any of us?" Jongdae blurted out impatiently. It was the question everybody seemed to wonder.

 

"Guys, Taemin already explained this to us," Sehun barked as he shot a glare at Jongdae.

 

"If you can ask, then why can't I?" Jongdae retorted.

 

"Children, let's not," Sungjae warned. Jongdae and Sehun shut up, but they held each other's gaze with underlying annoyance.

 

"I only know you're names. Taemin showed me pictures of all of you and gave me names, but I cannot recall any memories we may have had in the past," Jongin replied monotonously. It was quite obvious he had said the last part a few times already.

 

Doctor Zhang cleared his throat, not for attention, but purely because he had a cough. But he did catch someone's attention.

 

"Oh, Jongin-ah," Seolhyun purred as she peered over his shoulder. "Who is your friend?" She smiled at the doctor staggered behind Jongin and wiggled her fingers at him.

 

"I'm Doctor Zhang," he answered for himself and a halfhearted smile and a wave back.

 

"How old are you, doctor?" Seolhyun cooed. Amber rolled her eyes and fake gaged while the rest of the group just shook their heads.

 

"I'm twenty," he responded nonchalantly as he wrote something down on his notepad.

 

"Omo. You're that young?" Sehun asked as he turned to look at him. Doctor Zhang nodded as he looked up at the group.

 

"You're only two or three years older than most of us. How are you already a doctor?" Sungjae asked in shock.

 

"I graduated high school two years early and doubled up on my classes in college. It wasn't the brightest idea, but I graduated early and got a job almost immediately after earning a degree," he explained calmly. "But, I am not here for me. I'm here to help Jongin," he stated with a pat on the younger's back.

 

Jongin felt eyes on him, but more of an objective stare rather than his friends surrounding him. He looked up and glanced around until he found the source.

 

Across the cafeteria, Jongin spotted a red haired boy staring at him. His eyes never faltered, not once. Jongin only looked off when the doctor pulled away his attention, but the other boy continued to stare silently.