Lia pulled back. “What?” She turned to the others for answers.

“Lia, he has amnesia,” Tae Yang said softly. “He doesn’t remember anything.”

“What?” she gasped again, stunned.

Ji Yong looked around the room, blinking in confusion. When he woke up, he couldn’t remember why he was there. Heck, he didn’t even know what he was doing there.

The doctor came in and began asking some questions but he didn’t know the answers for it. Then later some dude called Young Bae or Tae Yang or whatever came in and he found out that this stranger was his best friend and that he was in a band called Big Bang. He saw the fear and panic look in Tae Yang’s eyes as he explained everything about Big Bang to him to the point where he was able to tell them apart by the description he had been given. But they all seemed strange to him. He doesn’t know them. Who are they?

And when this girl came in, it just added a lot more confusion.

Who is she?

“Lia, he has amnesia,” the one who dark rings under his eyes said. Seung Ri. That’s his name.

The girl, Lia, frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“Memory loss is common among people who were in a coma,” Tae Yang explained to her in a kind voice.

“But he didn’t have amnesia the last time he was in a coma!” Her voice was shrill, a tone of panic at the edge of her voice.

He was in a coma before? He shook his head. Everything was spinning. He had a throbbing headache.

“He must have hit his head too hard,” TOP muttered.

“Will I regain my memory?” Ji Yong spoke up and everyone except Lia turned to him.

Tae Yang nodded. “The doctor said that you will, eventually. It’s just . . . how long, he’s not sure.”

“Oh. But, er . . . who is she?” Ji Yong asked, nodding awkwardly at Lia who suddenly went quiet.

“Your wife,” TOP replied softly, biting his bottom lip.

Oh. He had a wife? He looked at her. She was so beautiful. But he had no memory of her like how he had no memory of anything except of what happened after he woke up. “I’m sorry about that,” he said lamely. He was addressing to Lia now. “I don’t —”

“I know.”

He winced. She tried to sound strong but he could hear her breaking down. Of course she is hurt! She’s his wife and must love him so to hear him tell her he doesn’t remember her will hurt a lot! But really, he had a wife???

Just then the door burst opened and three kids ran in. They all jumped on Ji Yong’s bed and threw their arms around him. “Appa! You are finally awake!” they squealed happily as the other members of Big Bang tried to get them to calm down. “Umma has been crying every night for you!”

“,” someone — it must have been Dae Sung — cursed under his breath.

Ji Yong awkwardly let them hug him. His wife cried? Damn, he felt so uncomfortable to think about this girl this way. He doesn’t have any feelings for her. Are these his kids? Why are they calling him Appa?

Eunhye frowned. “Why isn’t Appa hugging us back?” the little girl asked loudly. She turned to her mom for answers. “Umma, Appa isn’t hugging us. Doesn’t he love us anymore? Umma?”

Lia burst out crying. She just stood up and ran out of the room.

Se7en hurried out after her and Tae Yang and Dae Sung immediately took the kids out to walk around the hospital, leaving Ji Yong, TOP and Seung Ri alone.

“I’m sorry,” was all Ji Yong could offer to say. What else could he say?

“It’s not your fault,” Seung Ri replied. He turned to TOP and the two of them walked to the corner of the room to have a whispered conversation. “What’s going to happen now, hyung? Where is he going to stay?”

“Well, he’ll stay with Mei and the kids,” he replied. “But we’ll have to be slow. We can’t rush them so he’ll stay in the guest room.”

“Will Lia be okay with it?”

“She has no choice.”

They walked back to him and he looked at them expectantly. “Yes?”

Seung Ri held back a sigh. He looked so weak and vulnerable. After months of waiting for him to wake up, Lia found out that he had no memory of her whatsoever. He knew that she must be feeling terribly upset. He hoped she was okay.

“The doctor said you can go home a day after tomorrow,” TOP told him. “And then YG President said that we’ll be on a break until you regain your memory.”

Seung Ri bit his lip. What if he doesn’t?

“Where will I be staying?”

TOP looked hesitantly at Seung Ri. “Well, I think maybe you should stay with your wife and kids . . .”

Ji Yong hesitated. “Will she be okay with it?” he asked, remembering her face expression a moment ago.

“She has no choice,” TOP said stubbornly.

He nodded once. “Okay,” he reluctantly said. “I guess it should be fine.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be sleeping in the guest room,” Seung Ri quickly said. “That way it won’t be that awkward.”

He looked at the door. “Did she mean something to me?” he asked them softly.

“She meant the world to you,” TOP replied. “My sister and the kids.”

He looked at TOP, startled by his words. “She’s your sister?” He groaned and covered his face. “Oh man, that’s a mess. Listen, hyung, I’m really sorry. I don’t remember. I’m —”

“It’s fine,” he lied.

He nodded, wishing that his memories will return back to him soon. “So, um, tell me more about Lia,” he told them.

Seung Ri and TOP exchanged glances. That is a good idea — hopefully he’ll remember her by them telling him about her.

Where do they start?

* * *

Tae Yang and Dae Sung were leading the triplets to the hospital’s cafeteria. They didn’t know where else to take them too. They were distressed because the triplets were distressed at the fact their father didn’t hug them when he saw them coming into the room a moment ago. And they were upset their mother cried.

“How come Appa didn’t hug me?” Eunhye asked her two uncles. She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

“Doesn’t he know who we are?” Kwan Yong added with a frown.

Seunghyun was really quiet throughout the entire conversation. He just looked down at his feet, occasionally kicking the tiled floor.

“Of course he knows,” Dae Sung lied. “He’s just tired after waking up from a really long sleep. You kids didn’t give him enough time to let him remember.”

Kwan Yong’s eyes grew big as the thought processed into his mind. “So it’s our fault?” he shrieked.

Tae Yang clamped his mouth, muffling his screams. “No,” he quickly said, shooting Dae Sung a look who just grinned sheepishly. “He just needs time. Don’t worry about it, arraso?” He put a fake smile.

“You two are lying, Appa doesn’t recognize us,” Seunghyun said quietly.

The two older men gave each other looks and nodded. Dae Sung quickly took the other two kids to buy drinks while Tae Yang and the oldest triplet sat down on a table.

“What do you want to know?” Tae Yang asked gently.

Seunghyun shrugged. “Appa doesn’t know who we are. He doesn’t recognize us.” It was a statement, not a question.

Tae Yang sighed. “Your father hit his head pretty hard,” he began. “Sometimes, when you wake up from this deep long sleep you tend to forget everything. All the memories, everyone, you’ll forget them.”

“Will his memories come back?”

He nodded. “They usually do.”

Seunghyun frowned. “Usually? So there is a chance that he might not?”

Damn, this kid is pretty smart for a six-year-old, Tae Yang thought dryly. Just like his parents. Damn those genes.

“Yes,” he said slowly, “but most of the times it will.”

“What if Appa doesn’t?”

“He will,” Tae Yang said stubbornly.

Seunghyun looked at him long and hard but then shrugged. “I never liked Appa.”

“Wae?” Tae Yang was shocked.

“He never listens to me,” he mumbled. “It was always Kwan Yong or Eunhye who gets all the attention from Appa. Only Umma pays attention to me as well. If Appa pays attention to me, it is only when he is scolding me.”

“That’s not true,” Tae Yang argued back. “He scolds you because he loves you. You did a mistake and he wants to make sure you don’t do it again.”

“How come he never scolds Kwan Yong for bullying Eunhye all the time?”

“Because Umma scolds him,” he replied.

Seunghyun scowled. “Whatever. I do not care if Appa doesn’t remember me.”

When did kids their age talk like this??

But then he looked thoughtful. “I wish he’d faster remember Umma. She looked so sad just now. I don’t like seeing her sad. I love her.” He sighed, looking down. “Everyone loves Umma. And they love Kwan Yong and Eunhye more because they’re smaller and cuter.”

Tae Yang was about to say something when Eunye came rushing back to Tae Yang. “Look! I got this!” She shoved the can of grape juice in front of him. She beamed happily and started to bounce up and down in excitement. She loves grape juice.

Kwan Yong beamed as well, holding out a can of cold Milo. “Hi!” he said loudly, making a few passersby to turn and look.

“Awww, he’s so cute!” some of the women gushed.

“Hee.” He looked away in embarrassment.

Seunghyun just scowled as he watched all of this. It did not escape from Tae Yang’s notice and he made a mental note to talk to Lia and to TOP about this later.

“How was it?” Dae Sung asked quietly so the triplets wouldn’t hear.

“I’ll tell you later,” he whispered back. “We have some sibling grudges over here.”

Dae Sung winced. “Ah, that can’t be good.”

Tae Yang watched Seunghyun. He seemed to be fine, pretending to be happy but deep down he knew the little boy was hurting.

Lia,” Se7en said gently. “He’ll remember soon. Just hang in there.”

He cringed. Lia looked so upset, it was heartbreaking to see someone he cared for look like this. He sighed inwardly, running a hand through his hair. Ottoke? He didn’t know what to say to make her feel better. Only Mir can do it but right now Mir is busy. He looked around the place.

“I waited months for him to wake up!” she went on. “Only to find out that he doesn’t even remember me or the kids!” She was distressed. It hurts so much.

Suddenly she felt a pair of arms around her. “Mir Oppa,” she cried.

“I’ll take care of her,” Mir told Se7en who just nodded and left. He turned back to Lia and just hugged her, not saying a word. He sighed, hugging her tightly to let her know that he is there for her. His eyes were hollow as he watched the girl he loved break down in his arms because of another man.

“Ji Yong,” she sobbed. “Ji . . .”

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I found my thumbdrive! It was in my pencil box -.-

Anyway, here's an update I've been meaning to update for SO LONG!