The group is discussing where they should proceed from here when the door opens. They freeze and swiftly turn to see if it was a frantic fan who had slipped through security,

"It's just me." Dr. Park says, raising his hands in innocence when he notices the tense stares on him when he enters the room.

"Gosh, Jaehyung, didn't realize an author could have such dedicated fans."

Jae gives him a guilty smile,

"Did you fend them off for us?"

"You make them sound like zombies,"

"Hey. I'm fighting for survival here,"

"Shut up, Dr. Park said there are no threats to your well-being."

"You're a threat to my well-being," Jae replies and Brian responds with a fake laugh.

"Is it 'cause I'm so hot that I always make your blood pressure go up?"

"No, the only reason you raise my blood pressure is because of how problematic you are-"

"Oh, get a room." Wonpil interrupts, rolling his eyes, and Dr. Park laughs. 

"Well, for now, they're gone. For the most part, your fans seem to understand that you need the space and privacy to rest and heal."

"The buzz in the media isn't settling though."

Brian scratches the back of his head, his expression almost guilty as his eyes keep switching their focal point. He's thinking of what the statements would be, what the reactions could be, what articles might be written.

He's woken up from his concerned thoughts when Jae places his hand on Brian's,

"Hey. Don't worry, everything will be okay."

The other replies with a smile, it's uncertain at first, but becomes sincere when Jae smiles at him too.

"Don't release a statement yet, my manager can deal with it for now."

"Didn't you say to tell them it was just a friend?"

"I wasn't thinking straight so just ignore it for now."

Brian gives him a curious look,

"Okay, fair enough." Wonpil says.

When Dr.Park takes a look at his watch, he proceeds to say,

"Oh, I have to check on my other patient. See you, boys,"

"Bye, Doc!" 

"Yeah, I should get going too."

"Where are you going?"

"I started working part-time at the cafe,"

"Geez, you and Sungjin are inseparable." Brian says with a smile,

"Says the one who hasn't been to work in 2 days because he's too busy here," Wonpil replies with a playful wink and triumphant smile.

Brian scoffs and shakes his head,

"Tell Sungjin I say hey,"

"Will do." he replies as he's making his way at the door, he looks at Jae and says,

"Get better soon, yeah?"

"Yeah." Jae says and gives him a nod.

And with that, Wonpil leaves Brian and Jae.

"Hey," Jae says,

"I'm not bedridden, let's go for a walk,"

"A walk? Your fans might see us."

"Oh, yeah.. Good point." 

Brian laughs, and Jae offers an alternative,

"Then, take me up to the rooftop."

"Are we allowed up there?"

"Pretty sure, why wouldn't we be?"

Sure enough, they gain access to the rooftop. To their surprise, the rooftop is actually a park, with beautiful flower arrangements and benches spaced out. They're not the only ones up there, as Brian spots a nurse along with a patient in a wheelchair, and a teen alone on a bench.

They make their way to an empty bench in a relatively secluded area.

"Hey, what did you mean by what you said earlier?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said you weren't thinking straight when you said to release that statement."

Jae hums as he thinks of how to word this.

"Okay, I can't say for sure, but I'm assuming you and I had- have," he corrects himself,

"Something more than just a friendship right?"

Brian feels bashful to nod, but he does so anyway.

"If I had told the media that you were just a friend, but later I announced you as my boyfriend... That wouldn't look good. Also, there's you."

The other tilts his head slightly in confusion,

"Saying you're just a friend must've hurt a bit, so that's why I said I wasn't thinking straight."

"You know, you claim you don't remember-"

"I don't. I swear,"

"Don't worry, I believe you. But I just wanted to thank you for being so freakin' amazing. Just you, as a person... I'm really thankful you are the way you are. For being so understanding and optomistic despite the situation we're in... You know, recently I realized the reality of us."

"Okay wait, before you continue that, I just want to let you know that I now have no doubts that I fell for you."

It's quiet as the two just stare into each other's eyes.

"Wha- How do you expect me to just continue after you go and say that?"

"No please, continue. The reality of us..." Jae quotes as he uses his hands to gesture for Brian to continue. Brian chuckles before continuing,

"I was just thinking about all these circumstances that seem to be working against us... But, I don't think they're doing their job properly."

"What do you mean?"

"I think they're making us stronger, if anything. Rather than discouraging us, and having us think 'maybe we're not worth all this trouble' or 'this is signs from the divine telling us we're not meant to be'... We're making it through, somehow."

"Wait." Jae says, as he places a hand on his head.

Brian immediately panicks, gets up from the bench,

"What? What's wrong? Does your head hurt, Jae? Are you okay?"

"You've said something like that before."

"W-what?"

"You mentioned odds being against us... Yeah," Jae says, his smiling getting brighter as he adds,

"Before you asked me out."

It takes a few seconds for Brian to realize what Jae had just said. But once he does, he grabs Jae's hand and begins running to the exit from the roof,

"Hey, slow down my body is still sore! May I remind you I was in a car crash!" Jae practically yells as he struggles keeping up with an excited Brian

"Oh right, sorry. I just can't wait to tell Dr. Park,"

With that, Brian slows down at a reasonable speed, allowing Jae to move comfortably. Once they make it to the 2nd level, they seek out Dr. Park to tell him the good news.

Brian is barely staying still in his seat as Jae recalls his experiences with Brian clearly, Dr. Park listening intently and trying not be distracted by Brian's ecstatic reactions. Dr. Park gives Jae his guess as to why he remembered so soon, and that reason simply being Brian being at his side this whole time. The constant exposure and interaction had maybe triggered the memories, but whatever the reason was, he's glad that Jae remembers.

Like the first day they met, as the doctor is leaving the room, Brian says,

"Dr. Park, can I talk to you for a few?"

They're just outside of Jae's room but they don't lower their voices because there's no need.

"I just wanted to say thanks for being a cool doctor, you know with Jae's fans and stuff." 

Dr. Park responds with a light laugh and,

"No need to thank me, he's my patient. Just doing my job."

Brian nods, and he's about to let the doctor go back to his job when he says,

"Hey. You guys may face a lot of harships, but hang in there. You guys will make it one day."

The young male gives him a warm smile, and they part ways.

He re-enters Jae's room, and Jae is currently going through Brian's bag of snacks that he had brought.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm hungry."

Brian chuckles,

"Fair enough."

Jae grabs a few mini-bags of chips, a bag of candy and an apple.

Brian stares at the apple,

"Really?"

"What? I got to keep healthy.

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away,"

"We're in the hospital. How is it supposed to keep the doctor away?"

"I was just saying a common expression, why are you attacking me?" Brian says, a hand on his heart and his jaw slacked with faux offense.

Jae scoffs, followed by laughter.

"Hey, Jae."

"Yeah?"

"Do you really remember me?"

"Well, yeah. Ask me something."

"When was our first kiss?"

Jae thinks about the question,

"Wait, what would you consider our first kiss? The one in your apartment during your birthday party, or the one where we talked about how we would proceed?"

"Wow, I guess you do remember-" Brian cuts himself off, catching what Jae said,

"Wait... You remembered kissing me at my party?"

Jae suddenly becomes aware that they had both acted like it didn't happen.

"Uh-"

Brian gives Jae a look that can only be described as amused with a hint of sass.

"Hey, you acted like it didn't happen too."

"Fair enough." he admits and adds,

"While we're on the topic, I just wanna say that I didn't necessarily hate it... Well, I mean, I hated the way it made me feel so confused and conflicted, but... I didn't hate the way your lips felt so natural on mine."

Jae starts blushing and he whips the apple at Brian,

"Shut up,"

Brian catches the apple, and looks at Jae with a sweet smile. He takes a bite, and Jae looks almost horrified,

"My app-"

"It's mine. I brought this from my place." he cuts off before Jae is able to finish his complaint.

"I really wish I could tell you that I remembered you too, entirely. I wish we could talk about our moments as teens, growing up together..."

"You know, there's a saying that we should live in the present, not in the past. If you don't remember, that's fine. If you do, that's fine too. Because, in my eyes, it's enough that you love me in the present."

The duo are currently positioned face to face, Jae's sitting comfortably in his bed, while Brian his leaning over, sitting in the chair he had pulled up the day before.

They talk about what Jae had forgotten, what their fears are, their fated meeting in Toronto. Brian's almost done the apple at this point when he says,

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"I've heard this line so many times." and Brian can't argue with that, so he just laughs a bit before asking his question.

"Will you be my boyfriend?"

Jae just stares at him, his mouth agape.

"Please?" Brian adds, accompanied by a playful chuckle,

"I mean, you could say no but just saying, I would be extremely-"

His words are cut off by the familiar, almost natural feeling of Jae's lips. Brian wonders if this is the first nice kiss that Jae has initiated, and he can't help but smile into it.

"Yes." Jae says when they pull away, but not too far. Their faces are still close enough that Jae can admire Brian's eyes that turn into happy crescents, and Brian admires Jae's lips that are curved into a content smile.

"When I get discharged, I would like to take you out on a date." the author says, interlacing his fingers with Brian's.

"I look forward to that."

They smile at each other for a few moments, before leaning back in for another kiss.

This one is significantly longer than their previous ones, it's sweet and slow. Brian's hand is holding Jae's chin, while Jae's hand is running through Brian's now lavender hair.

Some may argue that the kiss they're currently sharing is too early, too rushed. However, they don't care. They deserve to express themselves like this, because they've been through a lot, and both of them are aware that they're most likely going have to go through much more.

They're still in that position, when they miss the knock and Eunyi walks in.

"Oh!" she exclaims, and the couple quickly part.

"I'm really sorry, I should've waited longer after I knocked." Eunyi explains,

"It's okay." Brian says, clearing his throat as he feels his face getting extremely hot.

He looks at Jae whose blushing furiously, clearly embarrassed as he refuses to look up at Eunyi.

"Hey," Minri says, quickly following behind Eunyi and Brian is thankful it was Eunyi who had caught them.

"Oh, Min.." the author says,

"Hi, sorry I couldn't visit earlier. I was dealing with new apartment stuff, and difficult movers."

"You should've helped her, I'm fine." Jae says to Brian,

"Oh no, it's fine. I would've called Brian, but Eunyi helped me." Brian shoots Eunyi a thankful smile, and she just nods in response.

"Thanks for dropping by,"

"No problem. Ah, right. I brought some food, figured you would get tired of the hospital food." Minri says, smiling as she begins to take out tupperware from the bag that was resting at her side.

"Oh you're lucky, Min's cooking is amazing."

Min shoots Brian a sweet smile,

"Not amazing enough to make you stay though."

"Oh my God." Eunyi whispers as Brian just blanks out, staring at Minri. Jae's about to say something to break the seemingly awkward silence, but Minri bursts out in laughter before he gets to. Brian shakes his head while laughing himself,

"I'm just playing."

"Thank you," the author says sheepishly, accepting the food.

"Bri," Min says,

"I need to talk to you for a minute." and with that Brian gets up from the chair, and the two make their way outside.

Eunyi and Jae proceed to have a casual conversation, Eunyi playing around saying that their date didn't end with Jae in the hospital. Jae rebuttals, agreeing but also going on to say that they basically had a crash ending.

"What's up, Min?" the latter asks once they're outside Jae's room,

"Your mom..."

Those 2 words alone cause Brian's friendly smile to go away.

"What about her?"

"When I was grabbing some stuff from the apartment, she stopped by. Asked why I was moving out, and I saw this new side to her..."

Brian continues to listen,

"Usually when she's talking to me, she's sweet, she's accepting and loving... But this morning... she was asking me all these questions, as if it was wrong to let you go. There was prosecution in her voice, her eyes and tone basically telling me that I should've made you stay, even if I knew that wouldn't have ended well for either of us."

"Hey, hey.." Brian says, placing his hands on Minri's shoulders as he notices her begin to ramble, lose control of her words due to panic.

"It's okay. Did she hurt you, did she yell at you?"

"She raised her voice a bit, but she didn't hurt me." 

Brian's eyes dart around, thinking of how to deal with his parents,

"Did you tell her where I was?"

"I said that I was pretty sure you had work today, and she seemed satisfied with that reply."

"She probably saw the articles though..." Brian runs a hand through his hair, exhaling as he thinks of his mom showing up at the hospital.

"Did they say what hospital Jae was staying at?"

"I don't think so... I hope not." 

"Why don't you and Jae elope?" Minri suggests, and laughter is Brian's response.

"That wouldn't be a bad idea if I wasn't so scared."

"Scared of what? You handle planes fine,"

"What if the move causes another relapse?" Brian asks, and Minri doesn't know how to answer.

"What happens if we're moving boxes, and I suddenly don't know whose stuff I'm carrying, whose new place I'm walking in to... I'm scared I'm not gonna know the blonde man who's looking at me, concerned, asking if I'm okay but I can't answer because I don't know who Brian is."

"I mean, I understand that I live with that risk everyday. But, last time, my sudden move to Toronto triggered a relapse, and I'm just scared... We've come so far and I don't want to lose that progress."

"If you and Jae ever need a place to hideout from your mom, here's my new address." 

Brian chuckles as Minri takes his phone, and adds that information to her contact. 

"You're the best, Min."

"Bri... Do you think you could cut ties with your mom?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm just wondering... Because if your parents are sincerely adamant about this... You may have to choose between your parents and Jae."

"Of course, I'd want to be able to stay with both of them... But, if that's how things work out..." his voice trails off,

"I'd go with what my gut tells me to, at that moment."

And with that, the two wrap up their conversation and enter the room, to see Eunyi beating Jae with a pillow.

"Help!" Jae says in between spurts of laughter,

"She's attacking a cripple,"

"Oh shut up, you're completely fine." she says, but Min still pulls her away from him.

"That was my point-"

"What'd Jae do this time?" Brian asks,

"Why do you assume it's my fault?" Jae responds, offended but not seriously.

Eunyi is about to talk back when a voice interrupts them,

"Is bickering with everyone natural for you, Jae?" 

The crowd turns to see Dr. Park at the door, and Brian concludes that he hasn't seen him without a content smile on his face; not yet.

"Apparently. He's just a problematic person." Brian responds,

"Don't get me started again," Jae counters, a warning finger pointed at Brian, and that causes Brian to raise his hands in defeat.

"I just wanted to stop by and let you know that you can be discharged. We'd just like to do one more scan, to make sure everything is okay, and then you'd be free to go."

"Seriously?" the author says, excited

"Mhm." the doctor replies,

"Just give us a few minutes, and we'll come get you for the scan."

"Okay!"

Jae looks at Brian whose smile is just as bright as his.

"Min and I are gonna get going," Eunyi says,

"Already?"

"You have to go get scanned anyway,"

"Fair say.."

"Bye!" Minri says, waving at the two males and then proceeding to link arms with Eunyi.

They exit the room, leaving Jae and Brian alone.

"Why was she hitting you?" he asks after a few minutes of silence.

"She was calling me stupid..." Jae replies,

"Telling me she couldn't lose me to a car crash too." he turns to look at Brian with a solemn expression.

Jae explains the meaning behind her words, and finishes just in time as Dr. Park enters the room.

Brian is left alone in the room as Jae goes to get the scans done. He's just fumbling with the zipper on his sweater, when he hears footsteps approach the room, and he assumes it's Jae. Once they get close enough, he gets up,

"Hey, how was-"

Brian had spoken too soon.

It wasn't the author's familiar tall figure that walked through the doorway, but a someone of shorter stature, also familiar.

"Younghyun." his mom said, and Brian gritted his teeth.

"I'm Brian."

"Younghyun, you need to get-"

"I said." his voice is stern,

"I'm Brian. My name is Brian Kang. I'm a musician, I work at a cafe with my best friend Sungjin. My ex-girlfriend is Minri Kim and she's probably the second best thing that's happened to me... Second to Jaehyung Park."

"You better stop this nonsense-"

"No, mom..." Brian's voice is shaking, and he's not sure of the exact reason.

Maybe it's because what Minri had asked may become a near reality. Or it could be the way he's being torn between family and Jae, it may be the tears that are lining his mom's eyes.

"Right... You're my mom." he says, laughing sarcastically,

"A parent. Who is supposed to love me unconditionally but you..." he points an accusing finger at her,

"You have a condition. It may only be one, but it's still a condition. That condition is whoever I love, whoever I settle down with and put a ring on..." he trails off, sighing in defeat,

"That person must not be a man."

"Young-"

"Stop calling me that. I get it, that's my birth name, that's what's written on my birth certificate that I found." Brian says,

"But I don't get why you can't understand that I'm not Younghyun. I'm Brian Kang, and I love a man who goes by the name of Jae. I'm your son, and you can't accept that... I can't comprehend how you're so close-minded and ignorant and can't see that I truly love him."

"You don't truly love him... It's just a phase, just like when you were a teenager."

"Mom!" he breaks, and he's so immersed in the conversation that he doesn't notice Jae in the doorway.

Brian's voice is weak, as he practically begs,

"Please..."

AUTHOR'S NOTE;

hi guys! here's another update for y'all! <3 :D I got some comments recently from silent readers, so I just wanted to say I'm sincerely thankful! I know that some people just like to read, and don't comment so thank you so much for taking time to say a little something! <3 if you guys are wondering why I don't have any restrictions on this story, like "Subscribers only" or "Members only" it's because I'm aware that Day6 hardly has any stories, so I'd want this to be open to people that don't even have an account. Like wattpad, omg LOL I don't have a wattpad account for that reason. Also, I want people to subscribe because they want to get updates from this story, not to just be able to read it! ^_^

like always, please please please (lol see what I did there? ;D) comment !! i love talking to guys LOL seriously. upvotes and subscribers are greatly appreciated too, but being able to communicate with you guys matters more to me. I reply to all comments, so don't be shy!! :D <3

thank you guys for the continuous support, and I hope this chapter didn't disappoint.

I'm about to go to the mall for a couple of hours, so I'll respond to new comments (if any lol cries-) when I get home!

love you guys. i hope to update soon, until then, PEACE! - Zen