00 - 00 - 00

Mark did not get any sleep the previous night, and if Jinyoung’s half-open eyes and constant yawning were any indication, neither did he. They did not say much to each other the whole morning other than pleasantries and directions to where the spare towels were kept. The way Jinyoung came out of Mark’s bathroom, small towel strewn over his wet hair and mind still lagging behind with lack of sleep, did, however, make Mark’s heart race.

Jinyoung blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. When he saw Mark staring at him, he smiled sleepily. He rubbed the towel over his hair and walked forward toward the kitchen. His brain did not seem to be able to multitask just yet, though, and he stumbled forward a little. Mark instinctively reached out to keep him from falling, arms wrapping around his waist. Was the blush on Jinyoung’s cheeks left over from the heat of the shower, or did Mark cause that?

Soon enough, the two of them were slowly making their way to the company office. The streets were busy with men and women in business attire as they headed off to work. Mark tried his best to keep Jinyoung from running into people. He obviously did not function well on little sleep. Or more like he did not function at all. When they next passed a convenience store, Mark popped in and bought JInyoung a coffee. Luckily, the caffeine seemed to wake the other up.

Mark could not help but be anxious about bringing Jinyoung to meet with a Memrase engineer. He did not entirely understand why he felt this way, though. The engineer would fix Jinyoung’s memories, and life would go on as normal. Same old, same old. Mark would no longer have to worry about being stalked by a very handsome guy who seemed to remember even more as his memories were erased. Things would go back to how they were before he met Jinyoung. Before Jinyoung asked, “Do I...know you from somewhere?”

The frustration at Jinyoung’s actions that should have been there was surprisingly absent.

Mark held open the door for Jinyoung as they walked into the company. The receptionist seemed to know immediately who they were here to see and directed them to wait outside the small meeting room on the first floor. They took a seat in the only two chairs available.

The two remained silent as they waited, but Mark could not remain still. He fidgeted with the edges of his shirt, with the fraying seams of his jeans, and with the small hole in the fake leather of the chair he was sitting in. He did his best not to think about the main sitting next to him. About how this man turned his life upside down. About this man’s beautiful flushed cheeks and half-open eyes as he stumbled sleepily from the shower this morning. About the way this man had leaned in close to him across the table, eyes glistening with an emotion Mark could not quite place. About how Mark no longer wanted his life to return to its previous, boring monotony before Jinyoung.

“Mark...”

It was the first word that had been said since they left Mark’s apartment, and the older was not prepared for how much Jinyoung just whispering his name would affect him. Jinyoung then reached over and pried one of Mark’s hands away from where it was fidgeting with the other. He held Mark’s hand in his own gently, looking down at their now intertwined hands before smiling fondly at something that must have passed across his mind.

“Thank you for telling me everything,” he continued, tone warm.

“I-I was told to do so.”

“Still, you’re very kind. And...I’m so glad to have met you again.”

“Again?” Mark repeated, not quit